Dana took a deep unsteady breath. She needed a plan. But, first, she needed to free herself. Trying to ignore the way the tough fibers bit into her wrists, she pulled, then relaxed in a persistent cycle as she attempted to create some slack in the rope.

It was tedious, painful work but she gained ground slowly. Suddenly the door burst open. Hastiin Sani was thrown into the room and landed hard, facedown, on the floor five feet away from her.

“You finally got smart, medicine man.”

The light from the adjacent room gave Dana the chance to make out the features of the man standing between them and freedom. There was no hope of her knocking him out of the way. Their kidnapper was tall and well-muscled.

His gaze was sharp but expressionless as he looked over at her, then back to Hastiin Sani. “You were smart to cooperate, old man. You’ll live to see the sunrise, and the woman, too. But if the list you gave us is a phony, the schoolteacher will pay. Once you get tired of her screams, maybe you’ll be more inclined to do as you’re told,” he said. He looked at Dana again, this time with a leer that left no doubt he’d enjoy carrying that threat through. She tried not to let her fear show, but failed. He laughed, then stepped back and closed the door, locking it behind him.

Dana inched across the floor toward Hastiin Sani, uncertain of how she could help him. She was still trying to slip her wrists free of the ropes binding her. Blood from where she’d rubbed her skin raw was running into her palms now. She reached his side then stopped and waited. She called his name softly but he didn’t reply.

Then someone in the other room said something about cigarettes. There was the sound of another door closing, then silence. After a quiet two minutes, Hastiin Sani rolled over in the other direction and struggled to a sitting position. “I’m glad you’re awake,” he whispered through swollen lips. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, and not much time.”