The lingering tension in my shoulders finally dissipates after weeks, but my hands are shaking as I click through his phone. Most of it is standard, protected contacts, tracker apps, notes from various trade meetings, but one thing catches my eye - a folder titled 'For Zahra.'
I click it without giving it a second thought; whatever patience I have is long gone. My stomach starts to turn when the folder opens, and by the time I've rummaged through its contents, I’m convinced I’m going to vomit on the floor.
At first, I don't believe it. But the documents, pictures, and videos can't be argued with. Especially notthe final video, the one of my father, and also Declan’s, being struck by a round of bullets, while their murderer sneers with joy.
I jolt as a sharp pain strikes my neck, and when I look up, I see Cyrus with a tight grip on a syringe.
"My sweet Zahra, I'm sorry no one ever taught you to let the men handle business."
I scream, thrusting and thrashing my body...or at least Itryto. But instead, my entire body falls limp, and the last thing I see is the rough brown carpet of the plane, followed by a never-ending fortress of darkness.
42
DECLAN
From the moment our plane took off, a chill buried itself in my spine.
Everything about this feels wrong. I’ve never been one to ignore my instincts but everyone keeps assuring me that everything’s fine.
About ten minutes into my assurance seeking, my brother pulls out a laptop and brings up a flight tracker for Zahra's plane. I stare at it for the majority of the flight, even after the cabin lights turn off and Azula chastises me for not resting in case we’re heading into a battle. The only thing that makes me crack is Aidan promising to stay up and keep watch, vowing to wake me if anything suspicious comes up.
Sleep is even more unpleasant than being awake. Tossing and turning in my reclined chair, I’m overcome by nightmare after nightmare, all of which end the same—with Zahra dead. In the first nightmare, Lorkan shoots her in the head. In the second nightmare, she’s poisoned by Don Demir. By the third nightmare, she gets strangled by one of the Italians. I donothing to save her in any of those cursed dreams; instead, I stood there frozen, as death overcame her.
My eyes fling open after the fourth and final nightmare. One that’s entirely too familiar - me showing up late to save my father, Naser, and Zahra from their doom. Mercifully, my timing works out well, as a minute later the pilot announces our landing.
The instant the tires hit the ground, everyone jumps into action. I take the laptop from Aidan's hands. "Looks like they landed in Istanbul an hour ago, according to the tracker. But I haven't gotten any messages from Zahra or Cyrus." I double-check my phone as the pit in my stomach grows.
Azula mimics my actions, lips turning down into a frown. "Things are also silent on my end. That's not like Zahra at all..."
"Let's not immediately jump to the worst possible scenario. Don Demir is a smooth talker and it's very possible he's just been schmoozing the whole time, and Zahra's silence is an indication that nothing of much excitement—good or bad—has happened," Arman speaks up as the voice of reason.
As much as I'd like to believe him, I know I won't relax until I have my eyes and hands on Zahra.
"Boss, it looks like we have company," Connor calls out as he peers through one of the windows. Following his gaze, I see a bunch of large black SUVs, flying flags with symbols of the Turkish mafia, roll up and surround the plane.
"No one leaves this plane without being armed," I bark, heading toward the exit door and throwing it open. "Keep your hands on your weapons the whole time and don't be afraid to shoot."
It takes endless restraint not to draw my Glock as I walk down the stairs of the private jet onto the tarmac. Demir's soldiers stand at attention, hands on their own guns. At first glance, they had us outnumbered, but they had no idea we hadthe private airport surrounded with our own soldiers camouflaged in the desert bushes, waiting for my cue.
Once myself, Aidan, Azula, Connor, and Arman have fully settled, the Turkish mafia soldiers part down the middle to reveal Demir...standing shoulder to shoulder with Lorkan.
I scan the field quickly, noticing my wife's absence, as well as a missing Cyrus. My heart pounds as I do a double-take, coming up empty again. Finally, I lock eyes with the waste of human flesh I was so unfortunate to call my uncle.
He conducts his own assessment of the circumstances, likely realizing this will be the end of him one way or another, until he locks eyes with me.
"Where's Zahra?!" The question is so loud it reverberates across the tarmac, but that's not what surprises me the most. It's the fact that the first words out of my uncle’s mouth are to ask me about where my wife is. As if he doesn't know....
Nothing about this is right.
"What the fuck do you mean, where is she? She landed here an hour ago to talk to Demir about handing your sorry excuse to us so you can pay for what you did," I seethe.
Demir's expression is one of genuine confusion. "No one else has landed here but you all. We've been waiting here for hours after one of our surveillance teams spotted your plane on an international tracker."
"You're lying!" I shout. "Bring me my wife right now or I swear on every fiber of my being I will burn your city down brick by brick until I find her," I snarl, baring my teeth.
"Look around the tarmac, Declan, do you see any other planes here? Even if we had Zahra hidden somewhere else, there's no way we would have been able to hide an entire plane in this tiny airport. Especially if she was supposed to land right before you did," Demir tries to reason with me.
My body starts to shake as I search the empty stretch of asphalt in front of me.
