"Where the hell is she?" Adam demanded of the darkening sky. The sun had set fifteen minutes earlier; and he'd pulled the Zodiac onto shore a half-hour before that... in case Ava arrived at the pick-up point ahead of the agreed-upon time.

He'd been alternately sitting on the gunwale of the tender, and pacing about on the rocky beach, impatiently kicking at stones with his work boots, searching the surrounding area for any sign of her. But this vacant expanse of scrubland situated on the mainland, a mile east of the pier where Adam parked his bike, remained deserted.

He'd spent most of the day fretting about her safety and, yes, though Ava was the biggest pain-in-the-ass he could feature at this point in his life, when he wasn't fretting about her he was missing her. Her infectious enthusiasm for life, her sweetness and giggles, her hot temper and hotter kisses. She was a delightful olio of contradictions. He figured she wouldn't say shit if she had a mouthful, but she could be tough as nine-inch nails. One minute her eyes would be shooting daggers; the next she could morph into a cuddly plush toy. Adam recalled an incident from their first night on Vendetta. He'd heard Ava sneeze twice –aitshoo-aitshoo– as she exited the shower. He would've sworn they were the sneezes of a twelve-year-old kid.

Ten minutes later, Adam had ventured a short distance down the beach in the direction of town, all the while scanning hopefully as his mind raced through the possibilities. His anger was rapidly being displaced by the anxiety plucking at his chest. He massaged the back of his neck. Ava had promised to meet here, at sunset. He'd trusted her word.

Something must have gone wrong, or did she forget? No, sneezes aside, Ava was not a twelve-year-old kid, and this was life-or-death shit.

Was it possible she'd lost her way? No, you could practically spot, from this location, the building housing the Yemen Observer offices.

Had Ali Khan and his brother, Badaki, abducted her? Not friggin' likely... with that disguise... nah, they wouldn't spot her. Besides, they were banking on the law to handle the Ava Blair annoyance.

What about this Abel character? Could he be trusted simply because he was a fellow journalist? How well did Ava really know this guy?

Adam didn't need a crystal ball to conjure up several scenarios that involved Aaron Abel, corruption, payoffs and quid pro quo deals that could result in the ultimate disappearance of a rogue, female reporter. He turned abruptly and sprinted, panic-fueled, back to the Zodiac.