Out Of The Night by Geri Foster

door. If el Jibar ever got his hands on him, there would be nothing left. No one would be safe and he’d be dead, probably decapitated while the whole world watched. Joe didn’t want his family to see him die. Not like that.
    He stood and paced. Only Hana could aid his escape. Of course, Joe was no fool. If she did help him, her life would be in more danger than his. She would bring insult and shame to her family. In this region of the world, that held dire consequences for a woman.
    Joe had a lot to lose. And so did Hana.
    For days he’d accepted his fate and waited to see where all this would lead. Once el Jibar’s name came into the picture, things had changed.
    He had to get out of here no matter what. He studied the chains on his wrists. They weren’t heavy, nor were they strongly secured to the wall. He sat down, grabbed the chain on his left hand and pulled with all his strength.
    It didn’t budge. That fed the notion that if it were easy, he’d be gone by now. Still, he had to find a way. Bracing his feet against the crumbling wall, Joe pulled using all the strength in his leg muscles.
    Feeling around, he discovered he’d not made much progress, but he could feel tiny bits of mortar between his fingers. That encouraged him and before he knew it, sweat dampened his shirt and his legs grew tired.
    He would rest for a while ; then begin again.
     
    Proletarsky
    Tony looked at the Russian across the top of the car as the man’s partner came up behind Tony and jabbed a pistol in his ribs.
    “What do you want?” Tony asked. “We have done nothing.”
    Abby stepped out of the car with her hands in the air.
    “The neigh bor said you two drove up in that police car.” He gestured with his gun toward the car on the other side of the street.
    “That’s not true.” He pointed to the red car Mac had left for them to use. “This is our s.”
    Tony looked beyond the man holding the gun on Abby to Mac who stood with his back to him. Maybe he had something up his sleeve to get them out of here because it was beginning to get real dicey.
    “We are waiting for the commander. Then we will take you to the station and learn the truth.”
    Mac turned and fired two shots. Both Russians fell to the ground. “Get out of here. I have this covered.”
    Tony and Abby jumped into their car and pulled away from the curb headed toward St. Petersburg.
    “What was that all about?” Abby asked. “I thought with Mac we’d be safe.”
    “We’re not down at the police station, are we?”
    “Christ, you guys are dangerous.”
    “I’d like to say that’s just the way we roll. But I’m not exactly sure how we do things.”
    “Makes you wonder how you can be involved with a company that does all this stuff, huh?”
    Tony looked at her. “I guess that’s true. I so badly just want to be a normal person. But I’m not. I know because when that man had a gun pointed at you, I wasn’t afraid.” His gaze cruised ahead. “I knew inside me there was a way to get out of the situation. I don’t think normal people feel like that.”
    “No they don’t. Falcon Securities agents don’t fear much of anything. You work exclusively for the president and the Department of Defense. Your boss has unprecedented access to whatever he needs to pull off any job.”
    “Mac filled me in on some of that.”
    “Did it help your memory?”
    He shrugged. “I think so. I remembered a lot more about Mac and A.J. when I woke up this morning. I also remember Frank. The rest is still a little fuzzy.”
    “You’re making great progress.”
    “About that.” He rubbed his freshly shaved chin and smiled. “Since we were once an item, I think we should have sex and see if it helps my memory.”
    Abby punched him in the head.
    “Ouch. That hurt.” He rubbed the spot she’d just smacked.
    “Good, I meant it to. I’m not having sex with you as an experiment just so you can regain your memory. And we don’t even know if that would work. ” She