They both remained silent for a moment. Leila waited for her to continue.
Drake took a deep breath, keeping her focus on the windshield. “I first met Adel about twenty years ago when I lived on the streets. Didn’t have a home or family or even friends to go to. I picked pockets, used any cash I stole to survive. One day, I picked Adel’s pocket. He caught me. But instead of calling the police, he offered me a job, and slowly, he integrated me into the Medjay. He didn’t care about my background. He made it possible for me to learn computers. He gave me a roof over my head. He showed me what love is. He means… everything to me.”
Leila’s mouth slowly dropped.
“I wish he’d have told me he was going after Faris. He shouldn’t have done it alone.” Drake pursed her lips and pounded a fist against the steering wheel. Her eyes were dry, but blazing. Her voice shook with firm determination. “We have to find him.”
“I’m here to help,” Leila assured her.
The back door opened and Xander jumped in. As if nothing had been spoken at all, Drake started the SUV, and they began to roll. The news still swirled in Leila’s mind. Drake and Soliman? She had never even considered that possibility. They had always been so businesslike with each other, never spoke about anything personal. They only seemed to see each other during Medjay meetings.
Hours ago, Drake’s strong desire to find Soliman seemed like loyalty. Picturing them as a couple was impossible. But there was no reason for Drake to lie about something like that. And now Leila only wanted to find Soliman alive even more.
• • •
An hour later, a blue road sign with white letters swished past. Five miles to Taba. Five miles to the border. Five miles to the final farewell.
When they reached the outskirts of the city, Drake slowed the SUV and pulled onto the shoulder, the tires crunching over gravel. The vehicle continued to roll, then Drake maneuvered between two boulders until the road was no longer in sight. She shifted the vehicle into park and cut the engine. The town of Taba waited before them, a short walk along the desert road, to the twinkling lights of resorts and restaurants.
“Two miles to the border,” she announced. “Last chance to back out. Once we cross, there’s no coming back. Not until Faris is dead.”
Leila licked her cracked lips. There was no way she would back out now. She glanced over her shoulder at Xander. He sat straight, his mouth neutral, giving no indication what he might be thinking. It reminded her of the way he acted when they’d met for the second time, three years ago in Saqqara.
“So,” Drake continued eagerly, “the smugglers’ entry. It’s a tunnel about half a mile long. It wasn’t in the best shape last time I went through…” Drake paused as she pulled the map out of the glove compartment, “so we really have to be careful. Getting caught by the patrol guards could mean getting shot, no questions asked. But it also means we could be caught by smugglers, which wouldn’t end any better. Possibly worse.”
Leila nodded. She’d already had one run-in with a weapon smuggler—Tahir Awad. Even though things went in her favor, the end result was… bloody. Three men dead, and she barely dodged a life of who-knew-what. Not recommended.
Drake flattened the map over the steering wheel and pointed to a spot along the thick black line indicating the border. “It’s about a three-mile hike from here.”
“Ready when you are,” Leila said with all the confidence she could muster.
Drake opened the door and they all climbed out.
Leila stood next to the open trunk as Drake shoved her things into a backpack. Drake moved on to the passenger seat to sort through the glove compartment. Sensing Xander standing a few feet away, Leila turned to him. He stood with his arms crossed, his lips curved downward.
“You can take the backpack,” she said breathlessly.
“Why?”
Leila shrugged. She was glad they didn’t have much with them. They still had their water bottles, a few small snacks, and the cash. She hadn’t checked if there was any Israeli money in there, but she supposed Xander had thrown in some from all of Egypt’s bordering countries. It would be easy enough to split what little they had. “I can put my things in Drake’s.”
Wordlessly, Xander stepped past her and picked up the backpack from the trunk. Drake reappeared and tossed the keys at him, which he caught one-handed.
“Are we ready?” Drake watched Leila with a pointed look.
She stopped herself from saying no. Xander’s attitude was making this hard. He could say something. Anything. But she couldn’t just walk away.
“Could I… have a minute?”
“Catch up if you can.” Drake turned and marched down the path toward the road.
Once she was out of sight, Leila whirled on Xander. “Come with us.”
He straightened his shoulders and looked down at her with a heated gaze. “Why? I’ve already lost everything. There’s nothing left to fight for.”
Leila felt like she’d been punched in the gut. “How… how can you say that? Faris blew up a museum, killed people, kidnapped my family, and he’s threatened to do it again. You won’t fight for what’s right? You won’t fight for justice? You won’t fight for… us?”
He opened the passenger seat door and tossed his backpack inside.
She lifted her chin. “Coward.” The word came out as a half-cry, half-snarl. “I wish you’d stop shutting me out! You’re acting just like you did before we started dating, and you wouldn’t let anyone know what was going on. You act so self-righteous that I lied to you, but newsflash, Xander… you lied to me, too.” She tore her gaze from him, whirled around, and stormed after Drake.
Xander didn’t stop her.
Leila found Drake hiking along the shoulder of the road. Silently, they passed houses—some crumbling, others with a fresh coat of paint—mixed with hotels and restaurants. Music still played in some, though many had already turned off their lights and closed up for the night. Like Sharm El-Sheikh, there was a touristy feel to the town. Energetic, sleepless, relaxed. Everyone was here to have fun. Everyone except for Leila. She swallowed the red-hot anger burning in her throat. Xander wouldn’t even say goodbye. That jerk.
How could it all have ended like this?
She wiped her cheek. She was never going to see him again, and that was the worst good-bye imaginable. But there was no taking it back at this point. What was done, was done.
To keep her heart from shattering, she did the only thing she could. She followed Drake.
Her thoughts continued to twist in her mind as they walked through town. Eventually, the houses and buildings thinned out. The road snaked farther down the coast, the Red Sea waves crashing against the rocks and drowning out the stomping of their feet. Only a couple of cars passed as they walked, no one slowing down to investigate the two backpackers. Road signs informed them of the upcoming border and passport check.
Suddenly, Drake darted to the natural wall of rocks on the other side of the road. Leila hurried across, and Drake took a path that led up an incline, away from the street.
From the top, Leila gazed toward the white, flat-roofed building a quarter mile down the road. Yellow lights shone through the glass doors where the immigration officers waited for the next travelers passing through. The safe way across. Were they crazy not to try that instead? Were they being too paranoid? She lightly rubbed a finger over the burn scar on her wrist and shuddered. No, they had to keep their heads as low as possible. Presenting themselves to border control was asking for trouble. She turned and hurried after Drake, eager to put more distance between her and the border—and Xander.
Keeping their backs bent, they slunk across the rocky terrain until a concrete wall came into view. They stayed two dozen yards away, walking parallel to the wall, out of range of the lights. The rocks provided plenty of hiding spots whenever they thought they heard voices or footsteps.
