She shuddered and let her gaze roam their prison. It consisted of four cement walls with a door on the one opposite from where she lay. From a small barred window above her head streamed a thin ray of light, cigarette smoke, and low voices that sounded like they were arguing, although she couldn’t make out the words.

Except for a brief stop at the outhouses lined up along the south wall that included lewd looks and a few comments she pretended not to hear, she and the other girls had been left alone by their captors.

Which was confusing, but welcome. However, she didn’t expect that would last much longer. The one thing allowing her to keep her fear under control was the fact that they hadn’t been searched. Knowing it would happen at some point, she’d seized the opportunity during a chaotic moment at the school to snag the satellite phone from the pocket of her burqa. Using the bodies crammed against her as a shield, she’d pressed the SOS button and sent out her distress signal.

Minutes passed, the only sounds being the hushed whispers and terrified weeping of her cellmates mixed with the low voices of the guards outside the window. Sarah leaned her head against the wall and watched the hallway while her hand searched through the folds of the cloth. Fatima looked up at her as Sarah’s fingers closed around the sat phone. Did she dare take a chance to see if anyone had called? If there was a message? If help was on the way? All she had to do was sneak a peek.

“Don’t ask why,” she whispered to Fatima, “but can you sit slightly in front of me?”

“Yes.” The girl moved enough to shield her from the guard’s gaze should he return.

With shaky fingers, she pulled the phone from her pocket.

Talia’s eyes widened at the sight of the phone. “What are you doing? If they know you have that, it won’t be good.”

“I know. I need to find a place to hide it.”

She glanced at the screen. Nothing. No response that her plea for help had been seen. Cold dread sent a wave of nausea through her. The SOS should have gone out to her brother, FBI Special Agent Caden Denning, and to their father, Lieutenant General Lewis Denning. Even if her father had ignored the message, Caden should have been able to track the phone and have help on the way before these monsters could blink. Caden might be in the United States, but he had a long reach. As did their father. She’d thought carefully about adding him to the SOS list, but had decided to do so “just in case.”