The deafening roar all around made Elodie''s heart pound in her chest. She stared at the rising dust clouds in the distance—they wereing fast, the danger nearly upon them.
She knew exactly why: the entire team was making an emergency evacuation, scrambling to escape with all their equipment.
Her expression grew tense. "All right, pack up the gear-make sure nothing gets left behind or broken."
She barely finished before stooping to retrieve her phone from the ground. The screen was shattered, jagged from where it had struck the rocks, but it still flickered to life-barely usable.
With the crowd surging around her, Elodie moved quickly toward the exit, punching in Jarrod''s number as she walked. The situation here was spiraling into chaos; she had to stop Jarrod froming anywhere near.
But-
"We''re sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavable..."
That sterile, automated voice squeezed her heart with icy fingers.
A vague, suffocating sense of dread swept over her.
She reached the car and paused, trying Jarrod''s number again.
Same result-no signal, no answer.
Elodie drew in a shaky breath, climbed into the back seat, and immediately called Esmeralda instead. Esmeralda wasn''t with her; Elodie had no idea if she was safe.
This time, the call connected, though Esmeralda''s voice crackled and broke with panic. “Elodie?! Where are you? Are you still there? Someone just pulled me out, I''m okay-are you all right?"
The car door mmed shut and they sped onto the main road. Gunfire rattled in the distance. Elodie had always known that her home country was strong, that ordinary citizens rarely experienced this kind of violence. But outside her borders, the world was a very different ce-one forged in blood and chaos.
She pressed a hand over her ear, raising her voice to be heard over the noise. "I''m fine-I''m on my way-"
Bang!
A violent explosion rocked the car. The driver swerved and Elodie''s phone flew from her grip, cutting the call short.
Even the signal seemed to flicker and fade.
Panic shed across her face as she
scrambled to find the phone.
least she knew Esmeralda
.n
safe;
now she had to find some way to
reach Jarrod.
But when she finally found her phone, the screen was dead-ck, unresponsive, finished after two hard falls.
Cold sweat pricked her brow.
Forcing herself to stay calm, she turned to the big, broad-shouldered man escorting her—a security contractor from a partner
agency-and asked, "Could I please borrow your phone?"
He didn''t hesitate. His phone was old and basic, but he handed it over without question.
Elodie had always had a sharp mind and a wless memory-she tapped in Jarrod''s number without a second thought.
But nothing. The signal here was too weak, the lines jammed or disrupted. She couldn''t get through.
She forced herself to breathe, to keep her nerves steady, and gazed out the window at the swirling sand.
They sped through the desert for nearly twenty minutes before the driver mmed on the brakes.
Elodie looked ahead, her expression grave once more.
Jarrod stepped off the ne and straight into a waiting car destined for the restricted zone.
He''de prepared; Andrea had
made arrangements before takeoff, hiring a specialized security firm to escort him. Here, things were
different from back home-special measures had to be taken.
It would be about an hour''s drive.
As the car rolled along, Jarrod remembered he should check in with Elodie. He switched on his phone and immediately saw a missed call from her.
He called back right away.
No service her number wasn''t reachable. He frowned, but only for a moment. He didn''t dwell on it.
Not until they drew closer to their destination, and one of the security detail turned in his seat.
"Mr. Silverstein, I strongly advise you to turn back now."