“No one goes anywhere alone,” he says. “Every time one of us steps out of that house, we’re risking the whole operation. We shouldn’t even be here.”
“Aazar knows Kabul better than anyone. Even Raziq. And his intel is always solid. We need him.”
A scooter buzzes from my right. Low, but getting louder. Adrenaline floods my veins. “This is it.” Austin disappears deeper into the shadows. “Check on Lisette, will you?” I whisper.
The comms units Pritchard brought with him are twice as sensitive as the ones we used on the mission to rescue Joey. Multiple frequencies piggyback off our phones. With two taps, Austin can link up with Griff and Leo. Zephyr. Even Ford—assuming he’s not neck deep in whatever shit is going on back in Boston.
Aazar coasts to a stop in front of me, a grim expression on his round face.
“Salam alaikum.” I place my right hand over my heart and bow my head. “But what sort of time do you call this? I’ve been out here for an hour.”
“Salam,my friend.” Aazar flashes me a brief smile in the moonlight. “I watched you for some time before I let myself be known. The tall American you are with draws too much attention to himself.”
“Austin, get the fuck out here. You’re blown.” I shrug. “Sorry. He wouldn’t let me come alone.”
“A wise decision on his part. You have something for me?” Aazar asks. “What I have done for you…it is no small thing, Viper.”
I reach into my pocket and withdraw a thick envelope. “I know. There’s twenty-five in there.”
Austin steps into view, and Aazar shoves the money into a small leather pouch at his waist. “I pray your death will be an easy one, my friend.”
“Raziq and his men are the only ones dying today,” I snap. “And they aren’t worth your prayers.”
“Perhaps not, but you are two. He has dozens.”
“We need an exact number,” Austin says as he looms over Aazar. “For twenty-five thousand dollars, I expect better intel than that.”
I force my way between the two of them. “Stand down. This ismymeet. Not yours.” Turning my focus back to Aazar, I take his arm and draw him a few steps away. “We need to know how many men he’ll bring with him to the handoff and how many he’ll leave at his home.”
Aazar shakes his head. “You must understand, no one knows for certain. He pays for silence. And his reputation does what little the money cannot. When he travels the city, he is always accompanied by at least six. Only once did anyone try to attack him at his home. They brought eight. A dead body appeared outside his gate once a day for eight days. All had been freshly killed.”
Fuck. He kept them alive to torture them.
“How did this asshole stay off my radar for so long?”
Aazar holds my gaze. “He has never taken a woman before. He is merciless with those who wrong him, but he is revered by many in Kabul. He sends men to the slums with food and medicine. He buys houses destroyed by your American bombs, then hires crews to fix them.”
I feel Austin move before I see him. He jabs the barrel of his Glock 19 under Aazar’s chin and shoves him against the wall. “If Raziq is such a fucking saint, why are you here? Did you set us up—?”
“No, no. I swear!” Aazar looks to me. “Viper, I have always been honest with you.”
I move to Austin’s side, but don’t do a damn thing to call him off. “For the right price. But my American friend has a good point. Raziq owns Kabul. Stands to reason he owns you too.”
Aazar holds my gaze. “He is a pestilence on this city. He willneverown me.”
I nod, and Austin lowers the Beretta. “Keep talking,” he says.
“When Raziq came to Kabul, he hired a dozen men to build his home. He kept them inside the walls of the compound and refused to let them see their families. He sent their wages to their wives, fathers, brothers. He was even contrite. Hehadto keep them locked away so they would not reveal anything about his security measures. But he promised once the house was completed, all would be well.
“The men worked like dogs for months. Morning to night. Every day. That summer was the hottest in fifty years. Three died while putting in hispool.” Aazar spits on the ground at Austin’s feet. “When the remaining nine men finished the job, Raziq lined them up outside the gates and had them shot. My brother was the last to die.”
“Fucking hell,” Austin mutters and holsters his gun.
Aazar runs his hand over his beard. “It is wrong to pray for another man’s death. But if you truly believe you can kill him, my friend, I will help you in whatever way I can.”
His words light a fire inside me. Raziq will pay for his crimes with his own blood. For Aazar’s brother. For the families of all the people he’s killed. But most of all, for what he’s doing to Lisette. And Mateen.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
