Abrianna looked at Kadir and lifted a lone brow.
“The man is considered dangerous,” the reporter said. “Authorities ask that, if you see him, you not approach him, but call the number at the bottom of your screen.”
Kadir shoved Roger out of the way and turned off the television. Afterward, he spun around and faced the small group. “I—I had nothing to do with it.”
“Have a twin, do you?” Abrianna asked.
“No!”
Ghost cocked his head.
“I mean, yes. But that’s not him. My brother is in Yemen.”
Abrianna’s confusion was clear from her twisted expression. “So that was you with the suicide bombers?”
“Well . . . yes.”
“So you’re not an ex-criminal?” she asked.
Kadir tripped over his tongue. “No. I mean, yes.”
Ghost laughed, shaking his head. “Damn, man. Now you even got me confused.”
Kadir took a deep breath and combated his rising panic. “I am an ex-criminal, but that is most certainly not what it looks like.”
“It looks like a couple of suicide bombers got out of your car and went inside the airport and blew it up,” Abrianna said.
He took a couple of seconds to process that. “Okay. So technically it is what it looks like.”
“I’m glad that you cleared that up,” she said, enjoying his fluster.
“Let me start over,” Kadir said. “I don’t know those guys. They just live in my apartment complex and needed a ride to the airport. That’s it.”
No one responded.
“You believe me. Don’t you, Ghost?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Why not?”
“I’m an Uber driver. It was just a damn fare.”
“Sounds simple enough to clear up.” Roger shrugged. “The federal government is filled with open-minded people. It should be no problem to prove that you, a Muslim American with a federal record, didn’t collude with two other suicidal Muslims who live in your apartment complex, who you’re on surveillance cameras dropping off in your car at the airport and helping them load bombs onto a cart.”
“Shit.” Kadir raked his hands through his hair. “I’m fucked.” He turned the television back on, but this time, a different news reporter, Elly Simpson, stood in front of the Hay-Adams Hotel with the same BREAKING NEWS banner at the bottom.
“It’s a gruesome scene down here at the luxury hotel Hay-Adams. A man’s body—riddled with bullets, according to some staffers’ accounts—was discovered in one of the hotel’s federal suites. The name of the victim is yet to be released. However, we have been able to pick up rumblings that the victim is indeed a high-profile member on the Hill.”
“Holy shit.” Abrianna blinked in utter incredulity when she saw her own image on the television screen.
“The police are on the lookout for this woman seen here on the hotel’s security cameras leaving the crime scene. If you have any information, the local authorities would like for you to call the number at the bottom of your screen.”
Kadir, Ghost, and Roger turned their shocked eyes toward Abrianna.
She gave them a one-shoulder shrug and a small smirk. “What can I say? It’s been a helluva crazy day.”
40
Tomi wasn’t expecting Chief Holder to join her and Castillo at the Lunchbox café. But when Castillo slid Holder’s photographs from the Hay-Adams surveillance cameras across the table, she was faced with a dilemma.
“What are you going to do?” Castillo asked after the young reporter went over everything she’d gathered from the night of the masquerade party.
“What do you mean, what am I going to do? I’m going to write the story,” Tomi said matter-of-factly. “What else can I do?
“The president’s administration is trying to bundle what happened at the airport with what happened to Speaker Reynolds. Of course, it makes perfect sense why they would want that. Anyone other than a terrorist would land the conspiracy theories at his feet. Reynolds was going to pursue impeachment, after all.”
“Well, nothing there indicts the president,” Holder said. “Not unless Abrianna Parker is an assassin working for the federal government.”
Tomi laughed. “There is a difference between real-world reality and political reality. Some random girl from a party just happens to go to the Hay-Adams and kill the newly elected speaker? Not flashy enough. The conservative media industry could spin Bree into being a contract killer for the president before the first commercial break. That’s just how it is here.”
“Do you believe that?” Castillo asked, sipping her coffee.
“It’s not about what I believe. It’s about the facts.”
Castillo shook her head. “I know that I’m a cynic, but the facts are kind of murky here. Bree going with him to that hotel doesn’t prove a hell of a lot. Was she there? Yes. Did she kill him? We don’t know.”
“Whoa. Whoa. I’m not trying to convict her of anything. Just stating that she was there is bad enough. Not to mention, she didn’t go to the police.”
Castillo laughed. “If my memory serves me correctly, Ms. Parker wasn’t much of a fan of the police, even though this former cop risked everything to rescue her from Avery’s basement.”
“Wait. Are you suggesting that I don’t write about this? These pictures are going to be leaked to the press, if they haven’t been already. My only advantage is, at this moment, I know who she is.”
“We know who she is,” Castillo corrected. “We also know what she’s been through.”
“You’re losing me again.”
Castillo sighed.
“I can’t not write the story. It’s my job,” Tomi said.
“I’m not saying don’t write it,” Castillo said.
“Oh. Then I must get my hearing checked because that’s exactly what it sounded like you were saying.”
“I’m saying . . .” Castillo realized that she didn’t know what she was saying. “Just . . . be careful. I think Abrianna Parker is in a very fragile state, and I’d hate to see her end up like Shalisa.”
“Shalisa who killed her mother?” Tomi asked.
Holder nodded like he’d come around to Tomi’s way of thinking.
“Look. No one is more sympathetic to what Abrianna has gone through, and is going through, than me. But maybe it’s because of that—a violent streak exists.”
“Then you should be worried,” Castillo said. “Because, the way I see it, if they could snap, then maybe one day you will too.”
41
“You’re wanted for murder?” Kadir thundered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I haven’t exactly had the opportunity,” Abrianna said, defensively. “I don’t remember you mentioning that you were a domestic terrorist.”
“I’m not a damn terrorist,” he roared back.
“And I’m not a murderer!”
Their gazes shot over to Ghost, who looked around to see if they were staring at someone else. “Why are you guys looking at me? My face isn’t plastered all over the damn news. Thank God. But if you want my opinion, I’d say that you guys are in a pretty fucked-up situation.”
Kadir pulled in a deep breath. “He’s right. We’re fucked. Between the two of us, we probably have every government agency in the book scouring the city.”
“And some that aren’t in the book,” Ghost tagged on.
“You find this funny?” Kadir challenged his friend.
“If you’re riding through hell, you may as well laugh while doing it.” Ghost shrugged. “At least that’s what my grandmother always said.”
A cell phone trilled.
Ghost jumped. “What the fuck is that?”
Abrianna looked around and picked up her jacket off the floor. “Relax. It’s just my cell phone.”
Ghost exploded. “You brought a cell phone down here?”
Before she could answer the call, Ghost snatched the smartphone out of her hands. “HEY!”
�
�Number-one rule: no cell phones!” Ghost thundered.
“Give that back,” she snapped, lunging for the phone, but then she hissed out in pain. Her drugs were finally wearing off.
“Are you all right?” Kadir asked.
Ghost whipped around and threw the offending gadget down as hard as he could at the concrete floor. It shattered instantly.
Abrianna gasped.
Ghost wasn’t done. He stomped his big gorilla-sized Timberlands down on top of the phone several times.
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” she screamed.
Ghost faced her. “No. Have you? These damn things are tracking devices. Are you trying to get caught? Don’t you know that Big Brother is always watching? The moment they ID you, the first thing they’re going to do is look for any device attached to your name. Within seconds, they can lock on to the GPS in your phone, which would get them in here to bust this operation. This place is off the grid, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
Abrianna glared at Kadir. “Are you going to do something?”
He shook his head, siding with his lunatic friend. “Sorry. But he’s right.”
Ghost dialed down the anger. “I don’t mind helping you guys out, but you’re not the only ones who have something to lose.”
Abrianna’s curiosity finally piqued. “What is this place?”
“See? Now you’re worried about the wrong damn thing.”
Her gaze shifted back to Kadir. “Are you going to check your boy or what?”
“Check me?” Ghost looked at Kadir. “Are you going to check your girl or what?”
“I’m not his girl!”
“Lucky him.”
“All right. All right. Enough.” Kadir rubbed his throbbing temples. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Squash this shit so we can use our energy to figure out what we need to do next.”
Ghost and Abrianna glared at each other.
“I mean it. Are we good?” Kadir asked, his gaze darting between them.
Ghost worked his jaw, chewing on the words that he really wanted to say. “I’m good.”
Kadir looked at Abrianna. “You?”
“I’m more than good,” she said, though her eyes spat fire.
Kadir relaxed, but his gaze lowered to her bandaged shoulder, where dots of blood seeped through. “Here, let me . . .”
Bree jerked away from his touch.
Stunned by her reaction, Kadir blinked. “You’re bleeding,” he told her.
She glanced down at her bandaged shoulder, but shrugged it and his concern off. “I’m good,” she said, lifting her chin.
The woman baffled Kadir, but if she insisted on being stubborn, there was nothing he could really do about it. He turned toward Ghost. “Hey, you got something that she could put on? A T-shirt or something?” The strain of not looking at her incredible body had grown to be too much—for all the men in the room.
“You’re in luck.” Ghost went to a closet next to the door that neither Abrianna or Kadir had noticed and pulled out a duffel bag.
“Here.” He tossed a black T-shirt toward Abrianna. “It might be a little too big for you, but it will do the job.”
Bree caught the shirt but, before putting it on, sniffed it.
“It’s clean,” Ghost told her.
“Just checking.” She smirked before lifting the T-shirt over her head. However, getting her sore arm through the short sleeve presented a challenge.
“Here, let me help.” Kadir stepped forward. Once he got her arms through and pulled the shirt down over her head, their faces came intimately close. Instantly, Kadir was intoxicated by her vanilla-scented skin and sensuous lips. Images from that incredible dream came flooding back.
Abrianna, on the other hand, was entranced by the flecks of gold in Kadir’s dark gaze. The attraction took her back. Maybe it was the combination of his honey-brown skin, intense eyes, and wavy black hair. He was a handsome man—dangerously handsome.
Ghost coughed to clear his throat.
Jolted out of their momentary trance, Kadir and Abrianna cast their gazes toward a weary-looking Ghost.
“Could you give us a few minutes?” Kadir asked his friend.
Ghost lifted a brow. “Are you sure?”
Kadir nodded.
“All right,” Ghost grumbled while casting a displeased look toward Abrianna.
She mirrored his expression while tapping her foot impatiently. Once the irritating man left, closing the door behind him, she shifted her attention to Kadir. “Interesting friends you have here.”
“They are good guys,” Kadir said.
“If you say so.”
“Look . . . Bree, was it?”
She affirmed with a simple head nod.
“Look, Bree. Regardless how you feel about Ghost and his team, we need them right now.”
She laughed. “The hell I do. I don’t need anyone’s help. Thank you very much.”
Kadir laughed. It was clear that she didn’t hear the irony of her words. “You are joking, right?”
Her jawline became marble-hard.
“Well, it sure seemed to me that you needed my help when you dove into my car with those goons chasing you—and when you were bleeding out in that same car. Who were they?”
Abrianna’s face darkened, but she couldn’t refute his words. Instead, she said something insane. “That was different.”
“Different?” he asked, incredulous. “Different how?”
“I don’t know. It just was.” She shrugged, avoiding his gaze.
Kadir crossed his arms and waited her out.
“What?” she challenged.
“I think you know what,” he said. “Two words. First one starts with a T.”
“Oh my God. You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He clammed up and waited.
Bree huffed and shifted around on her feet for another thirty seconds. “All right. So I needed your help earlier.”
“And?”
“And . . . you helped.”
He laughed. “You really can’t say it, can you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can say it . . . if I want to.”
Kadir lifted one of his brows, still waiting.
“All right.” Abrianna took a deep breath. “Thank you. There. I said it. Are you happy now?”
“Actually, I am.” Kadir’s smile revealed two rows of perfect pearl-white teeth.
Abrianna scowled even though her pulse quickened. “Okay. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, any way one of your flunky friends can loan us a car or something? I need to get my hands on some cash so that I can get the hell up out of D.C.”
“That’s it?” Kadir asked.
“Look. I can’t make any guarantees, but maybe I can get enough money from Madam Nevaeh to help your situation, too,” she said. “All I know is that I can’t stay in . . .” She glanced around. “Whatever this place is.”
“That’s my whole point. This is the safest place we can be right now.” He gestured to the broken smartphone. “Ghost’s paranoia about tracking devices is legit. He’s a master at cloaking this place from the federal government for years.”
Abrianna’s body language loosened. “Yeah?”
He nodded. “Yeah. So you might want to try and be nice. You’ll get more bees with honey, I’ve been told.”
She sucked in a breath. “I’m not apologizing to him.”
Kadir folded his arms again.
“He broke my phone!”
Silence.
“He should be apologizing to me!”
Silence.
Abrianna locked her jaw tight, determined to win the silent war—but she didn’t last a minute. “Fine! Whatever. I’ll apologize.”
He smiled. “Thank you.”
Abrianna pretended that the fluttering in her stomach was just her body still reacting to the fact that she’d actually been shot.
“Hey. Are you sure that you’re all right?” he asked, his smile flipping.
; “Yeah. I’m fine. Why?”
He nodded like he didn’t want to argue, but said, “You’re sweating pretty bad. May I?” Without waiting for permission, which likely would have never come, Kadir placed his hand against her forehead. “You’re burning up.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, unconvincingly.
“Sit down,” he ordered, forcing her back to perch on the edge of the bed. “You have a fever.”
His words confused her. “No. I feel fine.” Abrianna placed a hand against her forehead and was clearly surprised at how wet it was. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
Kadir remained dubious, but didn’t want to push. “Sooo . .. you want to tell me what’s going on?” Kadir said, nodding his head toward the turned-off television.
Abrianna pulled another deep breath. “I can’t tell you what I don’t know.”
Kadir waited again.
She squirmed under his stare. “Look. I went to this party and I hung out with this guy . . . and some other chick. I did some drugs and . . . I blacked out. When I came to, the man was dead and the other girl was gone.”
Kadir frowned. Remembering what Cashmere had told him. He wanted to ask whether she had been an escort at that “party,” but couldn’t get himself to ask.
“It’s the truth, I swear.”
“Then what happened?”
“I got the fuck out of there. I know a setup when I see one.”
“So who was the other girl?”
“How the fuck would I know?” Abrianna snapped. “I didn’t know either one of them before Friday night.”
A strange look fell over Kadir’s face.
“I know that look,” Abrianna sneered. “You’re judging me.”
“No, I’m not,” he lied.
Sensing his deception, Abrianna inched away from him. She had no intention of explaining her whole damn life to a complete stranger. Who gives a fuck what he thinks?
“What about the rest?” he asked.
“The rest?”
“I wasn’t anywhere near the Hay-Adams Hotel when you dove into my car. And you hardly explained who the goons were that tried to take us out.”
“I don’t know who they were.” She shrugged, defensively. “I was at my apartment explaining what happened to . . .” Her throat tightened.
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