He rolls over to peer up at me, a solemn look on his face. “Yes, Maman. I promise.”
“I do not think Nomar is dead.” Saying the words makes it real, and I pull Mateen into my arms. I need his solid weight against me. To smell his hair. To anchor myself to this moment in case we do not have many more together. “I came here with Nomar and three other men. And after the explosions, I saw four people moving quickly away from the fire. I think one of them was Nomar.”
“Is he going to save us? Like he did when we lived with Papa?”
Tears well in my eyes. “If he can find us, I know he will.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Nomar
Austin grabs my arm.“Shapur Khan? What is he doing here?”
I glare over at him. “How the hell should I know?”
Clearing his throat, Shapur steps back through the glowing hole in the door. “If you wish to die, by all means, remain here. I, however, prefer to see the dawn. Stay close to the wall. There is a camera across the street. I believe Raziq wants to witness your deaths.”
He and his men take off. I wouldn’t trust Shapur with the life of a flea, but he could have left us here to die. “Fuck. We can ask questions later. Come on.”
Austin and Griff follow me out the door and up a long set of stairs to the rear of the property. Shapur climbs a ladder braced against the wall, and waves at us before he jumps down to the street. When did he turn into an Afghan action hero?
Halfway up the ladder, I tap the comms unit in my ear. “Leo? You better not be headed to the target location.”
“Thank fuck,” Leo mutters. “We weren’t sure he was going to make it in time.”
“The hell? Youknew?”Austin leaps off the fence, with Griff at his heels.
“Hurry, hurry,” Shapur says, ushering us around the side of the house. “Stay west of the wall.”
“What then? You finally going to explain how you found us? And who the hell told you I’m the Viper? Because I’m going to find them and pull their nuts out their nostrils.”
“That’s something I’d pay to see,” Austin mutters. “But—”
“Thirty seconds to detonation.” Shapur shoves me forward. “Run, but stay low.”
The first percussive wave drives us all to the ground. Sparks singe the back of my neck. Fuck. I catch a whiff of burning hair, and pat my head down, praying it’s not mine.
The second blast is hotter. I can’t hear anything but a dull roar. Shapur tries to get up, but I slap my hand down on his back until the ground shakes for a third time.
I spring onto my toes and stare back at the house. The windows on the top floor shatter. The roof is next, exploding into flames thirty feet high.
“Fuck. We would have either cooked or suffocated in under ten minutes.” Bending over, my hands on my knees, I try to force a couple of deep breaths, but they won’t come.
“We need to get out of here,” Griff says. “If Raziq suspects we didn’t die in there, he’s going to get a hell of a lot more volatile.”
And Lisette will pay the price.
Austin runs a hand through his hair and scowls. “Son of a bitch. How bad is it?”
I peer up at a patch of singed skin behind his left ear. “Well, you’re not bald.”
“Fucking hell. When we find this murdering asshole, promise me I can shave his beard off before you kill him?”
“I’m much more concerned withhowwe find this murdering asshole.”
“Soon, all will be revealed,” Shapur says with a smug smile.
That’s it. He’s severed my last fucking nerve. I lunge for him, grab his tunic, and slam him back against the wall. “Listen, you piece of shit. Raziq has the woman I loveandher son. He’s had her for—” I check my watch “—almost eleven hours now. If he hasn’t hurt her, he will soon. And we don’t have a fucking clue where they are.”
