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PROLOGUE I

Iraq

Five Years Ago

“Little American whore ” The kick was harder this ti the breath out of her and causing her to send a tortured cry through the small cell she had been tossed into

Her cry She kneas her screaer sounded familiar to her Reality had receded the day before, and it hadn’t yet returned

She had been dragged frohdad, blindfolded, and shoved into a van And that had been a walk in the park compared to the hours since

“How ive us e need?” The un caressed her cheek “You could die then Quickly There would be no more pain Wouldn’t that be nice? No more clamps attached to tender parts of your body No more electricity No more kicks All you need to do is tell us who contacted you Tell us the information they have ”

The voice was an insidious whisper inside her head as she felt herself crying Curled in on herself, shuddering with sobs

Oh God, please don’t let the her body now, the swollen tenderness of her nipples, the fragility of bones that couldn’t take

They hadn’t broken her yet Had she ed to convince theal weapons pipeline they were buying their guns and explosives through? That she knew nothing of the information she had been sent to retrieve about the spy within Ar access to those weapons?

And what did she do with the information that only one person had knohere she was headed and why?

“So easy,” a voice crooned, and she focused on the accent It wasn’t Iraqi, she knew Iraqi It wasn’t Afghani There were tonal differences in the voices, even when speaking the sae She knew the difference This voice was a whisper of so else Someone else She knew this voice

Another blow landed and a scream tore from her as the toe of the boot connected with her ribs Terror washed through her like an oily, dark wave of suffocating heat They would break them next If her ribs broke she wouldn’t have a chance of escape Naked, bruised, and hurting, hell yeah She could escape given half a chance But if they broke her ribs? If they caused internal bleeding? She would never make it

“Maybe ill get to keep this one awhile,” the voicethe tone “I think maybe she enjoys our caresses, yes?”

No No She shook her head, dry heaves shaking through her, torturing her as the spash her body