Patriot by M.A. Rothman (macos ebook reader txt) 📕

“On it.” Annie abruptly changed lanes, veering around a slower car.

With his face buried in the seat, the sheikh started laughing, his body shaking underneath Connor. “You are too late. You’ll never stop what’s coming. It’s impossible.”

“Shut the hell up, asshole.” Connor adjusted his position so that his body weight would keep the sheikh pinned.

“What kind of ride did you have in mind?” Annie asked, making a sharp turn.

Connor braced himself against Khan as she veered through the intersection. “Improvise.”

Khan laughed again. “You are a fool!”

“I said shut up!” Connor pressed his forearm into the back of the sheikh’s neck, shoving his face deeper into the seat.

Khan managed to turn his face to the side. “There is nothing you can do to—aaaah!”

Connor had pressed the tip of his silencer into the Khan’s cheek. It was still hot from Connor’s rapid-fire barrage as they’d left the mosque, and when he pulled it away it left a red mark on Khan’s skin.

“Looks like God’s instrument can still feel pain,” Connor said. “How much do you think you can take? In my experience it’s a lot less than you think.”

“I will tell you nothing,” Khan spat, his voice muffled by the seat cushion.

Connor touched the silencer against a spot on the sheikh’s neck, pressing hard. He could almost hear the skin sizzle. Khan screamed and writhed under Connor’s touch, trying to kick out, but Connor sat back, trapping the man’s legs under him. Then he holstered the pistol and punched Khan square in the kidney.

Khan screamed again, his entire body tensing at the blow.

Connor punched him again and again, ramming his fist into the same spot. The tender area where the kidneys were situated wasn’t ideal for knocking someone out or ending a fight quickly, but the pain inflicted could be extremely debilitating.

“I think I’ve got something,” Annie said, abruptly putting on the brakes and turning into a dark parking lot. It was flanked by a pharmacy and a gym, but both businesses were closed, and it didn’t look like anyone had thought to maintain the light poles.

Annie pulled to the back of the lot, next to an older model Explorer. She stopped the car and hopped out. “Be right back.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Annie moved to the Explorer, pulled a small tool from her pocket, and slid it into the keyhole. A second later the door was open and she was reaching under the dash. The Explorer’s engine rumbled to life, its headlights coming on automatically, illuminating the parking lot.

She got out and opened the Tahoe’s back door. “Good evening, sunshine.”

Connor pushed himself off the sheikh so Annie could pull the man out. She was surprisingly strong for her size, and extracted him with no problems at all. Connor followed Khan out, taking hold of one arm, and together they loaded him into the back seat of the Explorer. Connor once again pushed his face into the seat and resumed his position on top of the man.

Annie put her phone on speaker as she drove. “I need a vehicle cleaned.”

“Oh, come on, again?” It was Brice, and he sounded more than a little frustrated. “That’s the second one this month. What do you have against nice vehicles? I mean, if it was your motorcycle—”

“Brice!”

“All right, all right. Keep your pantyhose on.” A couple seconds passed. “Done.”

Annie looked over her shoulder as they left the lot. Connor followed her gaze.

The front of the Tahoe exploded and burst into flames.

Connor’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me?”

Annie shrugged. “Standard procedure for a compromised vehicle.”

“We were riding on explosives this entire time? What if one of those bullets had hit the package?”

Annie motioned dismissively. “It was perfectly safe. You can do just about anything to C4 and it won’t go off.”

Under Connor, the sheikh laughed again. Connor grabbed a handful of the man’s robes and pulled back, hard, cutting off his airway. “Where’s the next bomb going to go off, Khan? We know you’re behind it.”

“You know nothing!” Khan croaked.

Connor gave him another kidney shot. “Where is it?”

This time Khan didn’t scream. He just let out a pained grunt and shook his head. “Soon you will see the power of God’s will. Soon your entire country will understand!”

“Screw this guy,” Annie said. She reached into her pocket and held out her knife for Connor. “Here.”

Connor waved her off. “No, I got this. You don’t want to answer my questions, Abdullah? That’s fine.” Taking a page out of Annie’s playbook, he grabbed hold of the sheikh’s little finger. “Last chance. Where’s the next target?”

“Go to hell, pig.”

Connor twisted hard. The crack of snapping bone echoed inside the car. Khan screamed and frantically tried to get away from his tormentor. Connor had a fleeting image of a cowboy riding a bull at the rodeo as he fought to keep his balance. He pressed his head against the Explorer’s ceiling, using it as leverage to keep Khan pinned underneath him.

“Still nothing?” Connor asked, taking hold of the next finger.

Khan blew out a series of breaths. “You’ll never stop him. The power of All—AAAH!”

The next finger snapped with ease. “I can do this all night. Hakimi has a nuke. What’s his plan?”

The mention of Hakimi gave Khan pause. He held his breath for a bit longer than he should have.

Connor grabbed the next finger. “Where is he?”

“There is nothing you can do to me that—”

Connor snapped another finger.

Khan pounded his forehead against the seat and let out a long string of curses in Arabic while trying to wriggle away from Connor’s powerful grasp. He tried to ball up his fist but couldn’t force the fingers to close.

Connor grabbed his index finger and squeezed. “Where?”

Khan took a long breath and began reciting the Koran in Arabic. “Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them and take them captive and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush.”

“Koran, at-Tawbah 9:5,” Connor said, recounting the chapter and verse of the text Khan had quoted. “That’s right, I know my Koran