Asaad jerked his head to the side and barked a command. One of his men came forward, dragging something—someone—behind him.
Cam’s eyes filled with tears.
It was his Salome. A rope was looped around her neck; her hands were bound. Her face was dirty and bruised. And she was weeping.
“Cam,” she sobbed. “Oh, Cam!”
Asaad watched, smiling. He let her get within inches of Cam. Then, still smiling, he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back.
“I only regret that you will not live to watch me enjoy my prize, Mr. Knight. I suppose you won’t live long enough to sign that oil lease, either, but it’s almost worth the privilege of seeing you—”
Cam raised his gun. The sultan’s eyes widened with shock.
“Bang,” Cam whispered, and pulled the trigger.
A perfect hole appeared in the center of Asaad’s forehead and he crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
Thwap.Thwap.Thwap.
&nb
sp; One of the sultan’s men let out a wild cry. Cam looked at Salome. Now, he told himself. Now. One bullet remained. One bullet to spare her agony.
God, no. He couldn’t. Couldn’t…
Thwap. Thwap. Thwap.
A giant bird dropped from the sky, a Blackhawk helicopter painted in desert camouflage. Shots rang out. Asaad’s men scattered. Too late. They were easy targets.
Then there was silence, except for the sigh of the wind.
Cam struggled to lift his head. Tried to speak his golden dancer’s name. Tried to go to her.
“Cameron? Cameron, goddammit, man, can’t we take our eyes off you for a minute?”
Cam blinked. His vision was graying out, but he could have sworn he saw his brothers leaning over him.
“Damn it, Cam, keep your eyes open. Do not close your eyes. You hear that? You die on us, bro, we’re never going to forgive you.” Matt’s voice was harsh but his hands were gentle.
“Get his head up,” Alex said gruffly.
“Salome,” Cam whispered.
Matt’s head bent to his. “What?”
“Salome. My golden dancer…”
And then the gray turned black, and Cam fell into an ocean of darkness.
Noise. Lights. Pain, sharp as the blade of a knife. Pinpricks and a duller pain, pulsing with each beat of his heart.
Salome.
Salome.
And then, again, darkness.
Voices. Some that were familiar, some that weren’t.