"Then we go to war," Azula states bluntly.
Cyrus shifts his focus to Zahra. "We go to war."
41
ZAHRA
"For the record, I hate this plan," Declan protests for the hundredth time.
"You're going to be following behind us the whole time. It's like we'll be together." I place a hand on his chest, knowing my words will do little to assuage him.
"But we will be separated, which is a giant problem in my book." He juts his lip out in a pout. Because even mafia Dons get pouty when they don't get their way. "Remind me why I can't be the one who comes with you?"
"Because after all of your brother's protests, I realized he was right. We should at least give Don Demir some sort of benefit of the doubt before we go in guns blazing and ruin our alliance with the Turkish. Cyrus was by my father's side when he initially signed a contract indicating the terms of our alliance, and has continued negotiations with them since, so he'll hopefully be able to butter Demir up and convince him to hand Lorkan over. "
"And if he doesn't..." Declan brings me flush to his chest and uses a hand to toy with the chain of my necklace.
"And if he doesn't, you'll be right there, listening to the conversation so you know when exactly to send backup. If we have to go through with Plan B, then we'll hold everyone in his inner circle captive until he gives in. Which he will."
"There's nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?" Declan sighs, placing his large hand on top of mine and holding it to his heart.
I shake my head. "No, but I'm pretty sure my stubbornness is one of your favorite things about me," I tease.
He rolls his eyes while Cyrus approaches us. "Zahra, our plane is ready. Declan, yours is also set and awaiting your boarding."
We decided it would be best for Cyrus and me to travel in a smaller private plane to eliminate any suspicions of our ill intent. Declan, Azula, Aidan, Connor, and the rest of our soldiers will travel in our classic jet, flying a slightly different route so it doesn't look like Cyrus and I are flying in with a militia. They'd land an hour or so after us, and hopefully by the time they do, Lorkan will be in our clutches and ready to be transported back home, where he'll get the punishment he deserves.
Standing up on my tiptoes, I place a harsh kiss on Declan's lips, relishing in the way he immediately wraps me in his arms and lifts me closer into his embrace. He tugs on my lip as I pull away. "We'll be reunited soon. I promise."
Declan sets me down as I tuck away a loose strand of his hair that's fallen in front of his eyes. "Don't be a martyr, Zahra. And don't be afraid to ask for help," he warns.
My heart swells at his gentle but stern tone. The passion in his eyes. The way he's fighting his instincts as a boss to take over. Because he trusts me and my capabilities. There’s another emotion in Declan’s eyes that I can’t bring myself to fully think about right now or I’d never leave.
Cyrus clears his throat in the background. " We really need to leave if we want to land in time.”
“Go, before Cyrus drags you onto the plane." Declan gives me a quick kiss before running toward the other side of the tarmac.
"You really have that boy wrapped around your finger," Cyrus notes, causing me to bristle.
Cyrus never really had a knack for being warm and fuzzy. Blunt is his specialty. I shake it off. "Are you ready for what's to come? Demir is one of your oldest friends."
"I’m ready. Everything that happens next is necessary. You remember that, Zahra." His words send a chill down my spine as I settle into our seats and hear the pilot come over the intercom, instructing us to buckle in and prepare for the ride.
"I want you to know that I'm not above begging. Especially given the fact that I'm currently talking to an inanimate object while being propelled tens of thousands of miles in the air," I groan at the monitor in front of me, currently projecting the encryption code on Lorkan's phone.
If I ever met the person who protected his device, I don't know if I'd stab them in the neck or beg them to teach me their ways because this code...is absolutely brilliant. Every time I thought I had it cracked, I realized there was another part I had completely overlooked that would no doubt trigger a full deletion of whatever is stored on here.
The code haunted me, and not only because of the fact that it has been my hardest challenge to date, but also because I can't shake the feeling that I’ve seen it before. There were parts of the code I could've sworn I'd created myself, and the otherparts felt as if someone had taken my code and combined it with...my father's.
Holy shit. Could that be it?
I scrub my tired eyes harshly, taking a long, deep breath before finally looking back at the screen. Line by line, I ask myself, "What would this code be telling me if it wasn't just speaking one language but two?" The first few translations in my head are rough and nonsensical until I realize that this code is supposed to read from right to left.
While I’d been fluent in speaking Farsi my whole life, I always struggled with reading and writing. I largely attributed this to my American brain struggling to adapt to having to read words in the opposite direction of what I'm used to. Reading the code properly was a bit of a slog, but finally, fucking finally, I understood it.
"Please, please, please work." I send a quick prayer out to the universe and my dad as I type a few commands on my laptop, suck in a breath, and press enter.
A spiral forms on my screen, spinning for an excruciatingly long period of time before it finally stops. Then, the home screen of Lorkan's phone flashes in front of me.
