by Kishan Paul
He stiffened but didn’t respond.
“I believe him. I also believe the reason why you’re in this position is the reason why we can’t leave.”
Omar’s shoulders dropped as if she’d relieved him of a weight he’d carried. He planted his elbow on his knee and rested his head in his hand. “I am the leak, but whatever you think you know doesn’t matter. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Get on the train and let Boss and the others take care of the drive without you. When Wassim shows, we’ll get him and the stem cells your son needs.”
“The man on the phone told me Wassim’s not going to be at the drive tomorrow, and when he realizes I didn’t show up, he will be angry. Angry enough to hurt someone you care a lot about.”
Omar stared at the floor in silence.
“There’s a way we can help all the people we love.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “I am not getting on that train.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SAFE
Two hours after he’d gotten confirmation that Alisha was in a secure location, Eddie was still in his spot at the computer focusing on the footage and reports coming in from his team. A team itching to question him about the events of the day. When the door to the apartment opened, he knew the time for reckoning had arrived. Tay and Ari entered with Moose and Raz close behind.
He planted his elbows on either side of the keyboard and rested his head in his hands, keenly aware five pairs of eyes were glued to him—at least one of which might be relaying events to Wassim. “I know you have questions, but now’s not a good time. We need to plan for tomorrow’s drive.” Eddie switched between footage from Om’s body cam before he went off grid to the interior of the nursing building.
“We have to be prepared for whatever happens tomorrow.” He eyed the two most tech savvy members of the team. “Sai and Tay, check on the food order and double down on the social media blasts for the event. Make sure Sara Irfani’s name is front and center in all the PR stuff you send out. We not only need every hungry college student in the area to show up, but we need Wassim to be there too.”
“Moose, Ari, and Raz.” He waved his hand in the direction of the three men. “Survey the area. I want every detail about the auditorium. The floor plan, bathrooms, how many entrances there are in and out of it, where people can hide, what’s above and below it, how to block off traffic. Everything.”
“Will do,” Ari replied. “But first, there are things we need to discuss.” At six-six, he towered over the rest of the team.
Eddie ignored the giant of a man’s comment. His mind filled with issues requiring his attention, many of which would be addressed once he reached Director Kerry. As he considered the best way to contact her, the dining table he sat in front of and the monitor on top of it that he stared at, slid backward and away from him. His hands dropped from the table to his lap. He stayed in his seat, crossed his arms, and observed while Moose readjusted the furniture.
Once the asshat was satisfied with the arrangement, he sat his butt on the edge of the table he’d moved, crossed his arms, and stared down at Eddie.
“Let’s start with something simple,” Ari began.
Eddie leaned back and lifted his brows, oscillating his attention from the smug idiot in charge to the muscle-bound enforcer. They’d want answers, and if there was a chance one of them could be working with Wassim, those were answers he couldn’t provide. Moose ran a nervous hand through the stubble on his bald head.
Ari cleared his throat. “Why did you send us out on a detail to protect an asset and not mention that the asset was our mother?”
He had to hand it to the kid. Aside from how his voice rose a couple of octaves, he seemed almost intimidating.
“After that,” Ari continued, “we can go to something more complicated like what scared Om enough take her away and hide her from all of us. From there, we can address the final question of, what the fuck is going on? You taught us to think before we act. Not to do anything last minute without understanding every detail, and in the past few hours, we’ve broken every one of those rules.”
Eddie considered the five pairs of eyes contemplating him, wishing he could get inside their heads. “Your mother needed to be kept safe, and that’s what Om is currently doing.”
“Kept safe from us?”
He shrugged off Sai’s question. “Until I can figure out what’s going on. Yes.”
“And none of us doubt Om will keep her safe.” Tay, the peacemaker of the group, pointed his finger at Eddie. “The problem is you don’t believe the rest of us are capable of protecting her.”
Eddie let his silence do the responding.
“You preach about the importance of trust and loyalty, then turn around and do the opposite. If you trusted us, you would have told us who the asset was.” The hurt that flashed across Ari’s face sent a surge of guilt through Eddie. Trust was central to an effective team. And the fact he questioned their loyalty made all of them vulnerable. The question was, once it all came to the surface and they got to the other side, would there be a team left to salvage?
“But it made me think. We’ve worked with you for two years. You know us, and you know how much she means to us. This information would not have been kept from us without reason, and the only thing that makes sense is you must think all or some of us are not trustworthy.”
Eddie let Ari’s conclusion sit unanswered, allowing them a chance for it to sink in before responding. Until he had answers, he had to play the role of asshole. A role he was pretty good at playing. He sucked a breath and jutted his chin in Raz’s direction. “Three years ago, your brother over there helped Wassim abduct your mother and played a role in the death of her husband.” Raz’s jaw flexed as if he’d been slapped.
Eddie tipped his head toward the monitor screen zoomed in on Adil’s apartment. “While another one of yours is currently searching the university to find her because he wants to kill her. Most of you haven’t even seen her in six years. Things change in that amount of time, people change. So, forgive me if I have reservations about your loyalty.”
“You know where our loyalty lies,” Moose growled. “I’ve saved your ass over a dozen times.”
Eddie studied the muscle-bound gorilla of a man. For as calm and steady of a shot as he was on the job, Moose angered quick, especially if the issue had anything to do with the people he considered family. Tay rested a hand on the aggravated man’s shoulder and flashed him a look, to which Moose nodded and sucked in a breath.
The calmest of the group, Tay not only had a way with people, he also had the respect of his brothers. “I think what Moose means is, we’ve proven our loyalty to you. As far as our mother is concerned, we may not have seen her in years, but there’s a reason we claim a woman we only knew for a short time as our mother.”
“Bullshit.” Eddie surveyed the men in the room. “Sara Mummy, Sam, or Mom, giving a person a title doesn’t indicate loyalty. It’s a word until you put action behind it. Thus far you haven’t done so.”
The tension in the room multiplied. Many of the faces turning various shades of red. “Look, you can all be angry at me. I understand, but I need you to tamp it down until this mission is done. Because…” He stopped in front of Moose, looked him in the eye. “She’s the speaker at the drive tomorrow. Which means you will see her and all your talk about loyalty will be put to the test,” he lied.
The kid tipped his head, making his intention of accepting the challenge clear.
He swallowed the disgust he felt for all the deceit he weaved, reminding himself of why he had no choice and the ultimate goal: Alisha’s safety.
Eddie turned his focus to Sai. “Wassim and Adil are searching for her and have already gotten way too close for comfort.”
Sai remained stoic, his face revealing nothing.
He continued. “Which is why I made a decision to keep her hidden from everyone, including you.” Arms crossed, each of them tracked Eddie’s every move as he spoke. He pulled his chair to the n
ewly relocated table and positioned it in front of the screen. “Once all this settles and your mother’s secure, and we get Wassim, I will make sure you get your reunion.”
That part was not a lie. He had every intention of following through on that promise.
“It’s hard to make all that happen when the only people who have knowledge of the actual details of this plan are you and Om.” Moose’s irritation only added to Eddie’s own.
“Om was in the dark about the asset’s identity until she stepped out of the office this morning, and he helped her out the building. This mission is on a need-to-know basis. If I’m being honest, I’m not even sure I should be trusting him. Your mother has a way of manipulating everyone to bend to her whim.”
“First of all,” Tay answered, “my brother understands our mother well enough to know what she’s capable of. And second, the asset we’re talking about is not a weak child. If she could handle Sayeed, she can definitely deal with Wassim.”
He waved his hand at all of them. “You all need to understand something. Adil failed to get Sara Irfani by twenty seconds today, and he knows what’s coming tomorrow. He will be more calculated, aggressive, and ready. We can’t afford to—”
“She’s here…”
The urgency in Sai’s voice had Eddie cutting his speech short and staring at the kid who gaped at the computer monitor.
Eddie knew the answer before he even asked the question. “Who’s here?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
REUNION
Ally wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and stared at the door in front of her. Every day for almost six years, she’d wondered about the fourteen boys. What they looked like, who’d they’d become. She now knew those answers regarding two, Razaa and Omar. As far as the rest, all she had were stories and a folded picture of a select few. She filled her lungs with air. On the other side of the wooden door were those select few. And soon, she’d be able to touch and hear the voices she’d ached for.
They had been her reason for living during her captivity with Sayeed. The driving force that got her out of bed every morning to face whatever hell he inflicted on her, because she had to survive so she could save them. Then, when it all came to an end, she’d left.
Her fingers tingled at how tightly she clenched her hands. Nervous flutters filled her stomach, making it twist. Would they be happy to see her? Or would they hate her for disappearing?
Om put his hand on her shoulder, a storm of feelings passing across his face. “You don’t have to do this.”
She pressed her hand over his. “Just stick to what we discussed. You talk to Boss about the change in plans while I have my reunion with the boys.”
He stared at the door in front of them. “I don’t like any of this.”
Before she could answer, the door opened. Her ability to breathe ceased the instant a familiar pair of hazel eyes stared down at her. His handsome face still held the boyhood innocence it had all those years ago. Ally’s cheeks burned with emotion. She stepped forward, putting her palms on his cheeks, the feel of his stubble against her skin a reminder he was no longer a child. “Tahir?”
“It’s me.” His voice cracked, his eyes red with emotion. He pressed her palm against his cheek and pulled her in. Once inside, he unraveled the scarf covering her head, and the smile he flashed her was the same she remembered all those years ago. Tahir wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off her feet. Ally held him as tight as he did her, her cheek pressed against his. She noticed Om disappearing down the back hallway before she shut her lids and savored her son’s warmth. After a long while, he planted her back on her feet and wiped her tears away while she wiped his.
“They want to meet you too.” He tipped his head toward the others in the room. She feasted her eyes on her boys. Emotions overwhelmed her, words stuck in her throat, making her lips quiver.
The tallest of the brothers, Aryan, stepped toward her. Like Tahir, he lifted her off the ground as if she were weightless. Ally touched his face, feeling through his beard for the scar beneath it. She pressed her forehead to his. “I always knew you’d be tall.”
“I always knew I’d see you again.”
Ally kissed the tip of his nose. “I never wanted to leave you.”
“I know.” His voice cracked, and his eyes glistened with emotion of his own. When they hugged, she continued to whisper in his ear, never wanting to release her hold. When he rested her on her feet and let her move on, her gaze landed on the shortest of the boys. Tears glistened his cheeks. The sight of his emotion made her smile. The brothers used to tease him about how easily he cried. She wiped the emotion away with her finger.
“Saiyan.” She opened her arms to him and they both walked into each other’s embrace. He rested his face on her shoulder and squeezed. The grueling workouts Sayeed made them endure had triggered many asthma attacks in him. Ally tucked her fingers in his hair and pressed her cheek to his ear. She closed her eyes and savored the feel of him. “How’s your breathing?”
“Good.” He sniffed. “Better now.”
When she stepped away from Saiyan, it was only for her to be wrapped up into the muscle-bound arms of another. Ally ran her hand over her son’s clean-shaven head. “You never did like washing your hair.”
Musa’s deep laugh reverberated from his chest to hers. “I still don’t.”
The brothers encircled her, talking, laughing while she wandered around hugging, touching, not believing what she was experiencing. With each embrace, she lingered, not releasing them until she’d had her fill, until she told each of them how much she loved and missed them. “I’ve dreamed about all of you. Wondered if I’d ever get to hear your voices, hear your stories.” Even Razaa earned a few hugs when she passed by.
“Well, now you have.” Arms crossed, Eddie leaned against the entrance to the hallway, observing the reunion. The sight of him cooled her joy. He scrutinized her as if trying to read inside her head.
“Hello, Eddie.”
He tipped his head at the boys. “Om is in the back. He needs to fill you in on some stuff. I need a moment with your mother.” An uncomfortable silence filled the space, and no one moved. The area between his brows turned a deep shade of red. Eddie fixed his attention on the others in the living room behind her, anger radiating from him.
Musa crossed his arms, placing himself between her and Eddie. A few of the others positioned themselves by her side as well, making it clear they weren’t sold on the idea of leaving her alone with Eddie. Ally patted the back of Musa’s shoulder. “Your Boss is right. He and I need to talk.”
Throats cleared, and feet shifted. One by one, they passed her on their way to the farthest room down the hall. She watched them, flashing reassuring glances at those who looked over their shoulder when they moved past. The last of the brothers, Razaa, didn’t follow the others. Instead, he remained by her side with his arms crossed.
“Really?” Eddie rolled his eyes and laughed. “I’m not the one she needs protection from. I’m the one who’s trying to keep her alive. Get your ass in there and close the door behind you.”
After Razaa disappeared in the back, he waved his hand in the direction of the leather couch in the living room. “Have a seat.”
Ally positioned herself on the sofa, bracing herself. They kept winding up in this situation. Both angry with the other for betraying them, for not listening, both knowing they were guilty of the same crime.
He still stood by the entrance, surveying her. He and Omar had only been in the room for a few minutes while she spent time with the others. Had the younger been able to stick to the plan?
“Before we chat about the purpose of tonight’s surprise visit, I have to ask, was your earpiece working okay?”
She put a hand over the ear where the device once sat. “Yes.”
He pulled on his ear lobe. “How about your hearing? Have you had it checked recently?”
She let out a sigh. “My hearing is fine.”
“I se
e.”
Ally focused on the magazines scattered across the glass table in front of her. She’d spent the car ride over trying to figure out what to say, and how to convince him she needed to be present at the drive without giving too much away, but hadn’t been able to come up with anything he’d find convincing.
“Which means back in Sanaa Khalis’s office you heard everything I said and chose not to listen.”
When she opened her mouth to respond, he flashed his hand. “I need to say a couple of things first, because I’m noticing a trend here.”
His words were controlled, and from the deepening red of his brows, he worked to rein in his anger. She closed her lips and nodded. He pulled his earpiece out of his ear and walked to the coffee table in front of her, flashing the device in his palm. “The reason we wear this is so we can communicate with each other when in the field. Because when we are out there, we are blind and have to trust each other to be our eyes and ears. Make sense?”
He didn’t wait to see her nod, instead sat on the edge of the table making them eye level. “Success to us means not only meeting our goals but minimizing the risk we put on others. Those things can only happen when we work together and listen.” He tossed the device in her lap. Ally’s cheeks burned but, as much as she itched to respond, bit her tongue. He’d asked for her silence so he could explain and deserved it. “So, I have to ask, why the fuck didn’t you listen to me?”
She thought about the information she’d gotten from the caller and the other lies he’d told her. “I could ask you the same thing, Eddie.”
“Can we discuss one violation at a time please?” He slammed his eyes shut and rested his forehead in his hands. Anger radiated from the man inches from her, but she wasn’t worried. She’d watched him risk his life more than once to save hers. Granted he was at times overprotective and condescending in how he approached her, but ultimately, she trusted him with her life.