“Ronin?” Declan whispered fiercely.
“On it.” The younger Stone brother replied.
Though she wasn’t sure what that meant, she stuck close to Farhad’s side. Declan hurried over and knelt in front of them.
“Can you manage Farhad on your own?” Declan asked.
“Why?” She asked.
“Guys!” Thunder’s voice was urgent. “What’s taking so long? Zero is coming in for extraction.”
“Hold your horses!” Declan growled. “I’m going to draw fire while you guys get out. Ronin, Charges?”
“Set in this section.” He replied.
Zahrah wrapped Farhad’s arm around her shoulders like she’d seen Declan do then braced herself. Declan peered out to ensure the coast was clear and they made a dash toward the exit. Ronin would stop from time to time to stick something on anything he passed.
She gritted her teeth, bearing the brunt of Farhad’s weight. The moment they exited the building, she automatically set off toward what Declan had called the extraction point. She didn’t have to go far. Zero was already out of the vehicle and running toward her. He helped her with Farhad and was assisting him into the vehicle when Ronin and Declan made an appearance.
“Get in!” Declan hollered.
“What about Thunder?” Zahrah asked.
“He’s coming.” Ronin said. “In!”
The moment we were in the vehicle, Zero flipped a U-turn and headed back toward the other SUV. A truck swerve around the building and headed for us. Declan pulled his gun and leaned out the window as our SUV’s sped faster and faster. The gun battle continued, bullets clanging off our moving van. One took out one of the mirrors which irritated her more than it should.
The van chasing them crashed into a building, but they weren’t in the clear. Soon, another appeared—Zahrah wasn’t sure from where. Zero swore under his breath and turned our vehicle again.
“Hang on!” He shouted.
She wrapped her arm around her brother and braced herself. When she looked up, it was in time to see Zero use their vehicle to clip the back end of the other causing the attacker’s van to spin out of control. That bought us enough time to reach the other SUV.
“Zero, get Thunder.” Declan called as he and Zahrah moved Farhad to the empty SUV. Darius ensured no one got the drop on them.
Zero was off again.
Once they were set, Declan climbed behind the wheel and they took off in the opposite direction. Another minute later, the banged-up SUV Zero was driving pulled in behind them.
An explosion lit up the night sky.
Zahrah knew what that was—Darius had set his little homemade charges all over the place on their way out. The fiery mess was his calling card—his Darius was here mark, if you will.
Then, silence.
Farhad directed them to a home just outside Alexandria. Apparently, it belonged to his girlfriend who was currently away in Canada for University. Though he was hurt, Zahrah could still see the pride in his eyes when he talked about her.
“We have to find him a doctor,” Zahrah said.
“No. You don’t.” Declan told her.
“What?” She asked. “What do you mean?”
“Cyclops was a doctor.” Darius explained. “Zero and I will make sure we’re alone.”
Declan nodded. “Zahrah, find a bathroom and get me all the clean towels you can find. Look for alcohol…”
“No—liquor here.” Farhad explained. “Una doesn’t drink.”
Declan frowned. “We need something to help clean these wounds. Find rubbing alcohol—anything. Thunder, head into the kitchen, I need hot water.”
Zahrah took off running then, searching each room until she found the bathroom. She gathered some pristine white towels from a rack then went through the medicine cabinet. She came up with a small first-aid kit that sat on the toilet’s tank and a bottle of rubbing alcohol from the cabinet.
She then sat by their side, holding Farhad’s hand while Declan cleaned the wounds, bandaged what he could and leaving the rest. Once he was finished, he inspected Farhad’s eyes then looked up at her.
“The cuts are superficial,” Declan explained. “A few of them were—well…”
“Torture…” Zahrah said. “I’m not fragile, Declan.”
“I didn’t say you were.” He frowned. “I know you’re upset, but I’m trying to help.”
She sighed. “You should rest, Farhad.”
“I’ll be fine. Anyone has any water?” He asked.
“I’ll get some.’ Declan pushed to his feet and left her alone with her brother.
“You should be nicer to him.” Farhad said, leaning heavily into the chair, breathing like a runner. “He seems like a good sort.”
“He is. I’m frustrated.” Zahrah told him. “I know none of this is his fault. I just want it to end so he…”
“He what?”
“He and I are—well, kind of together.” Zahrah met Farhad’s gaze to catch any form of disapproval. She braced herself for the verbal dress-down she knew had to be coming.
Farhad smiled. “We’re not in the middle ages anymore, Zahrah.” He explained. “I wasn’t able to protect you like I should. I have zero say in what goes on in your life. He has done my job for me, which—there is no honour in that.”
“You can’t use guilt as a form of permission.”
“That’s not what I’m doing!”
“No?” Zahrah asked. “Then what are you doing?”
“I’m saying this man takes care of you. That’s one of the most important things in a relationship, right? Aside from love and trust and honesty—we all need someone who can take care of us—feed our emotions, our carnal desires—does this man do that for you?”
“Oh, I’m not talking about my sex life or lack there-of with you.” Zahrah sighed. “But he’s going to ask you about Hadeel. Please don’t lie to him.”
“Lie to protect that snake?” Farhad growled. “If I had the strength, I’d strangle him myself. He killed our father for the money only to find out he gets nothing. Then he turned around and almost killed me…”
“And me.” Zahrah added.
“I never thought he’d go after you.” Farhad muttered. “Not in a million years. You are our baby. I thought—I thought even if he killed dad and went after me, he wouldn’t do that to you because you are the best of all of us.”
Zahrah shrugged. “Do you think father knew?”
“I don’t know.” Farhad told her. “When he changed his will, I was shocked. This was right after you accused Gulzar of rape.”
Declan returned and handed Farhad a glass of water. Farhad thanked him and drank the entire thing in one go.
“I was surprised when our father sent Gulzar to America after mother passed.” Farhad continued. “I wanted to go, I thought as your older brother, I should have been the one. I thought he would have at least sent Hadeel. Somehow, Hadeel convinced him Gulzar would make a great substitute and father left the company in my hands so he could stay home and see to mother’s funeral arrangements When Gulzar returned, he and Hadeel were closer than ever which, again…”
“Was weird.” Zahrah finished.
Farhad nodded. “Then you accused him of rape and my heart sank. It was my fault. I should have voiced my disapproval strong.”
“Why didn’t you go to her?” Declan asked. “This is your baby sister.”
“Baby…” Zahrah reached over to squeeze his thigh.
“I’m sorry…” Farhad muttered.
Declan growled but Zahrah dragged her palm up and down his thigh.
“I know why he’s angry, Zahrah.” Farhad told her. “And he’s right. I should have developed a backbone and stepped up then. I should have squeezed both Hadeel and Gulzar to find out what was really happening—I should have believed you. You are my sister and this man hurt you and instead of speaking up, I remained silent. I did nothing. When I finally pulled my head out of the sand, Hadeel was already into his plan
s and everything just went wrong.”
“What happened to your father?” Declan asked.
“I suspect poison.” Farhad admitted. “I was kidnapped right after his death. I didn’t have the chance to order an autopsy, to tell them I suspect he was murdered. I missed his funeral.”
Zahrah sighed and stood. “Let Declan help you to a bed. I need to—I need to breathe.”
“Where are you going?” Declan asked.
“Not outside. Just—another room or something. This is a lot—my brother murdering my father then siding with my rapist to—to…to what? Shit—I can’t breathe.”
“Thunder!” Declan called.
When the man rushed in, Declan stood. “Can you help Farhad to a bed? He needs to rest.”
“Declan…” She whispered.
“I’m coming with you,” he said. “Don’t argue.”
Zahrah headed for the door but stopped and ran back to hug Farhad. She framed his cheeks and met his eyes. “I’m okay.” Her voice cracked. “You don’t have to worry about me anymore. And there’s nothing to forgive because all I ever wanted was my brothers. Sure, there’s no coming back from what Hadeel has done. But I have you.”
Farhad kissed her forehead and after a smile, she rushed back to Declan’s side and they left the house.
Chapter 19
Before bed, Cyclops checked on Farhad’s wounds. Once the house was silent for the night, he sat around with Thunder, Zero, Ronin and Tex on the phone. Using the information Farhad had given them after his walk with Zahrah, Tex was able to find Hadeel’s bank accounts. The Texan smirked like an evil genius as he removed Hadeel’s access to all of them. Tex even found the bank account Hadeel had in the Grand Caymans. That account, Tex removed all the money except one dollar.
With the money gone, they settled into pushing Hadeel into a corner. Tex was able to hack into Hadeel’s security cameras.
“Well, all is panicky on the middle eastern front,” Tex said. “He’s screaming on the phone—Cyclops I know you speak some Arabic…”
“Not that much,” Cyclops said. “Ronin?”
Ronin listened and translated for the group. Apparently, Hadeel was pissed his henchmen had let Farhad escape. He was upset the warehouse was gone and that no one seemed to know where Farhad and his idiot friends had disappeared to.
“Well, at least they don’t know where we are,” Zero muttered. “Let’s keep it that way. I’m still sore from earlier.”
“Zero is right.” Thunder added. “We need a little time to figure out what the next move is.”
“It shouldn’t be that hard.” Ronin leaned forward to set an empty water bottle on the floor. “We go get him, bring him out like a sheep to the slaughter and drop him at Sunshine’s feet.”
“I’m going to agree with Ronin on this.” Zero nodded. “That little puissant did some fucked up things. I mean, his own sister?”
“It gets worse. Gulzar is who I want to drop at Zahrah’s feet,” Cyclops told them. “And I will break Hadeel’s neck myself if he gets in the way of that.”
“Why?” Tex asked. “What’s so special about Gulzar?”
Cyclops looked up to meet Tex’s eyes on the screen and Tex shook his head.
“He didn’t!” Ronin was incredulous.
“This makes it worse.” Thunder muttered. “I would put a bullet between his eyes but an asshole like him needs to suffer.”
The group silently agreed.
“That’s why I want to bring him to Zahrah.” Cyclops’ voice was soft. “And he’s going to listen to everything she has to say until she’s said her piece. When it’s over, it will be her decision what we do with him. He’s going to learn what it feels like to have someone else holding his life in their hands.”
Tex nodded. “I approve.”
Someone called Tex from off the screen and Cyclops figured it was Tex’s wife. He smiled. “Go to Melody, my friend. Tell Caro we’re fine and will try to head states side as soon as we can.”
Tex nodded. “Shout if you need me.”
“Oh, we will,” Zero said.
Declan didn’t sleep all night. He kept moving between checking on Farhad and Zahrah. Zahrah hadn’t said much since we found Farhad. When he was alone with her, she merely curled into his arms, holding onto a fistful of his shirt. He knew he needed to say something to ease her mind—something to make her world stand right-side up again. But Cyclops had none. It was heart-wrenching.
Morning finally came and after a breakfast of Beid Bel Basterma—eggs cooked in ghee with dried beef—Zero and Thunder took first watch over Hadeel. While they did that, Cyclops grabbed what was left of the first aid kit and went in to see Farhad’s wounds. Zahrah decided to get a hold of Tex who should be able to get in touch with Craig so she could speak with him safely.
Cyclops’ back still went up at the thought, but he said nothing. Instead, he threw himself into inspecting the wounds for any signs of infection.
“Where’s Zahrah?” Farhad asked.
“She’s calling her friend.”
“A friend?” Farhad asked. “You are jealous, Declan. Am I to believe this friend is of the male gender?”
Cyclops stopped and tilted his head to glare at Farhad. He said nothing and went back to rewrapping the more serious of the wounds.
“You don’t have to be jealous, Declan.” Farhad continued. “My sister seems to have eyes for only you.”
“And how would you know that? When was the last time you saw your sister?”
“Fair.” Farhad sighed. “She seems to really care for you.”
“Is this where you give me the if you hurt her, you’ll die speech? Because I’ll have to tell you, you have no right.”
“I’m aware of that.”
Cyclops finished what he was doing and dumped the soiled cotton balls into a nearby bag and tied the mouth. He exhaled long and hard. “Listen, I’m sure you know Zahrah and I have been—together. We owe you no explanation, but I’ll say this. She means the world to me and if you’re here to hurt her again, I will make sure you suffer a worse fate than death. Do you understand?”
Farhad opened his mouth to speak but Zahrah sauntered into the room with two bottles of juice and two of water. Cyclops accepted the one she offered all the while staring at Farhad.
“How are you feeling?” She asked her brother.
“Better. Thank you.”’
Cyclops left the room and it wasn’t until he made it out, he realized he hadn’t been breathing. He exhaled, long, hard and loud.
“You okay?”
He turned to look at her and smiled. “Fine—just a little tired.”
“Come sit with me for a second.” She cooed.
“I can’t. Ronin and I will have to relieve Zero and Thunder soon.” Cyclops looked around. “Where is my brother?”
“Outside trying to see if the banged-up ride will survive what we have coming,” Zahrah said. “You have two minutes. Come.”
He allowed her to take his hand and lead him into the living room. When she sat, he eased between her legs, rested his back to her chest and allowed his head to slowly fall backward to her shoulder. Zahrah wrapped her arms around him, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her soft breasts pressing into his back.
“Have you thought of what you want to do when you get back home?” Zahrah asked.
“Not really…”
“Is that because you believe you won’t get back?”
He shifted to think about her question. The truth was he hadn’t given it much thought because his mind was preoccupied with everything else happening around them. He had to keep focusing—hell, he hadn’t even thought of what he would be doing with the rest of his life when he was seated on the plane heading home from Germany.
There were so many possibilities.
“I could go back to being a doctor.” Cyclops told her.
Zahrah, who had been making soft circles against his chest stopped. “A doctor? You were a real, life doctor?”
He chuckled. “Yes.”
“Then how did you go from that to a sniper? I thought you took an oath to do no harm?”
“I did. But then I realized it’s bullshit.”
“How so?”
Cyclops hadn’t told the story in years. In fact, he went out of his way to avoid telling it. “I was young—took my oath seriously. And I was doing pretty well. One night I was manning the ER and they brought in a young man—he couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. He shot—bleeding internally and I jumped into action.”
“You saved his life.”
“Yes. I should have let him die.”
“Declan…”
“A week after he was released from the hospital.” Cyclops’ voice cracked. “He broke into a house about a block from the hospital. He—ah—forced the father to watch as he—killed the mother and the two little girls and then left the father alive.”
“Oh God.”
Cyclops chuckled bitterly and eased away from her. “I think he looked away for that one—I saved this kid’s life because I thought he was worth it. Those kids and their mother died because of me. Because of that stupid oath.”
“You can’t mean that,” Zahrah whispered. “You saved his life because it was the right thing to do. The fact he went out and did something terrible speaks to the kind of person he is. You had nothing to do with that and you had no way of knowing.”
“So, I thought, being a doctor helps the bad-guys—so, I went back to the military.”
“Back?”
“Yes. I went back into training and when I was deployed, I was ready.” Cyclops closed his eyes for a moment then looked over at her. “I was the monster who allowed this man to get away. I never wanted to have someone get away from me and hurt others again. It’s almost like dying—it has to be what dying feels like.”
“Darling.” Zahrah hugged him tightly. “You’re a good man, Declan Stone. No one sees you as a monster. The same way you don’t see me as broken, I don’t see you as evil. I wish I could help you forget.”
“You can.” His voice cracked. “But let’s get this done first. Once we’re somewhere safe, then you can help me forget.”
Defending Zahrah Page 17
