With that last word, everything in her mind shifted. All hope for a quick resolution was gone. This was bad, and it was only going to get worse. No one—not even Nir and his team of Kidon fighters—would be able to protect her from what was bound to come next. She didn’t even know if they could save her at all.

Stepping forward, Asadi removed his phone from his pocket. He pressed several buttons, then held the screen in front of her. She recognized the photo immediately. It was from her modeling agency’s portfolio. The bikini was quite spare, and the camera angle left little to the imagination. “Is this you, Miss le Roux?”

Nicole looked down once more and didn’t answer.

Asadi’s tone was firmer when he spoke again. “I asked you a question. Is this you?”

Without looking up, she nodded. “Yes.”

“It is?” He looked at the screen for a moment, then turned and said something to the guards before swiping on his phone as he faced her again. “I must say I am surprised at you.” He held up the phone again. “What about this one?”

The photo was from a lingerie shoot she’d done. She’d loved it because it had seemed so artsy. But now, seeing it on this man’s screen, she felt dirty and ashamed.

“It’s me.”

Once again, Asadi said something to the guards, who both responded with obviously crude comments. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now I’m more than surprised at you, Miss le Roux. I’m shocked. I told my men it couldn’t be you, but they were sure.” He laughed. “I must say, they really love this picture. In fact, I think Officer Taheri over there has made it the new wallpaper on his own phone.”

Nicole looked at Taheri, who leered back at her.

“I should be angry with you for causing me to lose my bet. But I figure it’s just the money I won in the first wager. Besides, your body of work on the internet has simply given us all too much enjoyment for me to be mad,” he said, emphasizing the word body. He seemed quite amused at his pun, because he immediately said something to the guards, who both laughed at his great wit.

Nicole fought to keep control. Adrenaline had warmed her, but now her shivering was from fear. She didn’t know if she was about to be beaten, raped, imprisoned, or killed—or quite possibly all of the above.

The lieutenant sat on the chair opposite her.

“Okay, Miss le Roux, enough fun. It is time for business. Tell me why you are in Iran.”

She knew this one. She’d practiced it over and over. “I’m here on a photo shoot. I have a session with a photographer this afternoon at Namakabrud Beach. I was in Tehran overnight because I wanted to see the city.”