“No,” Leila whispered, her heart thudding. “Why? Why is he doing this?”
“He hates us, Leila. He hates us with a vengeance.”
“I just don’t get it.” Leila shook her head. “If the bomb is in London and he’s on an island in the Aegean…”
“I was just getting to that. Listen. There’s a cell phone. All he has to do is make a call, and the bomb will go off. We need to get that phone from him before he sets it off today.”
“How did you find that out?”
“He and I had a little talk. He was not shy about his plans. He smiled. He laughed. He’s enjoying every moment of this.”
“He’s insane.” Leila curled her fingers into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She could just see him, boasting to Soliman. So that was how the conman was going to pin it on the professor—get his fingerprints on the phone. The question was, would he really set off another bomb? Would he really kill dozens of innocent people, just to spite his enemies?
Her gut told her, yes. Yes, he would.
“But what do we do?” she asked. “We can’t stop him if we’re stuck in here.”
The professor was silent for a moment before he asked, “Have you seen him yet?”
“No. The guards caught me in the warehouse and threw me straight in here.”
“All right. That means he will come for you soon. Or the guards will take you to him. I’m sure he won’t be able to stop himself from gloating to your face. He can’t help it.”
Leila nodded, then remembered Soliman couldn’t see her. “Right. So, I wait for someone to come?”
“Yes, let’s hope he plans on taking you upstairs. There’s more to this island than tunnels and warehouses. There’s a villa—a new construction—on the southern end, and there are ancient temple ruins on the north side.”
Leila knitted her eyebrows together, trying to build a picture of the island in her mind.
“Get a hold of that phone,” Soliman said. “Keep it safe.”
Her throat tightened. He was asking the wrong person. If he knew how much she’d failed during her journey here, he wouldn’t have so much confidence in her. “I’ll try,” she said to the drain. “But you shouldn’t rely on me.”
A moment passed. Leila leaned in toward the floor, wondering if she’d missed Soliman’s response. Then, in a soft voice, the professor asked, “What do you mean?”
Leila swallowed. How would she even explain? She’d have to start at the beginning. After a long breath, she talked through the events of the last week, as detailed as possible. It already seemed so distant, like it had happened years ago. Egypt felt like it was worlds away.
When she came to Drake’s death, she faltered. Her heart wanted to spare him the pain. Her stomach churned as she continued, “We didn’t realize there were smugglers in the tunnel. They… shot at us. Drake was—” The image of Drake’s unmoving form filled Leila’s mind, the round hole in her forehead, her blank stare.
“What?”
“Killed.”
“No,” was the only thing Soliman said. Then all Leila could hear were his sobs echoing through the drain.
“I’m so sorry,” Leila croaked. “She told me…” she hesitated, wondering how to put it into words. “She told me how much you cared for each other.”
Soliman didn’t speak again for a long time. Instead, he howled. Crashes echoed in the drain. His screams penetrated the walls.
Leila remained sitting near the grate, her heart thudding each of her fears and grief against her rib cage. Replaying Xander’s last moments. Reminding her of the sickening feeling when she drove the knife into Montu’s stomach. Driving her back and forth between sadness and anger.
She set her eyes on the pile of crates, her fingers itching to join Soliman in his release and grab a board. To smash it against the wall, to break every single plank.
But her body refused to move. Her arms hung limp at her sides and her legs felt too heavy to stand. So she allowed more tears to flow until her throat hurt too badly to continue. Was this misery ever going to end? It hadn’t even been a day. And now, stuck in this room, all she wanted was to shut her eyes and never wake up.
Then, in a moment when Soliman’s rage had fallen silent, she heard it. Footsteps. More than one set, stomping down the hall. She watched the battered door. For all she knew, they were coming for Soliman instead. Or maybe both of them. Maybe neither of them.
The footsteps stopped outside her door. Leila’s breath caught in her throat. Keys jingled, the lock clicked, then the door banged open.
Here we go…
She and Soliman hadn’t even had a chance to finish discussing a plan. All she could do was try her best with the information she had. Two guards rushed in and grabbed her by the elbows and pulled her to her feet. A moment later, a new zip-tie tightened around her wrists, and she was shoved toward the door. Another guard stood just outside, keys dangling from his hand.
“What’s going on?” Leila growled as she was led down the hallway. The guards kept their mouths shut and their hands tight around her upper arms as they marched, Soliman’s screams fading behind them. Dread churned in her stomach. What if Faris shot her on sight? Would she even get a chance to see the phone, let alone take it from him? She was led up a flight of stairs, down another hallway, up another flight of stairs, until finally, they emerged into the sunlight.
Squinting, Leila studied her new surroundings as they walked out of a bunker-type structure. To her left, a cluster of ancient Greek columns rose toward the sky. The rest of the island was mostly dirt and gray rocks, dotted with green bushes and olive trees. A white stone path wound its way around the bumps, dips, and boulders. A hundred feet below, deep blue water stretched to the sharp line of the horizon.
As they turned a corner, the ground turned into a green lawn, dense and perfectly cut like a carpet. It was a completely different world than what existed in the dank belly of the island.
She was led along a wall of white plaster, then around a corner onto a terracotta patio, the tile squares immaculate. A large rectangular hole, lined with glossy turquoise tile, gaped in the center of the patio. The future pool was dry with stacks of unused tiles still sitting along the edges. A smaller, more shallow pool a few yards away sparkled with clear, blue water.
The patio area widened as they rounded the corner to the back of the house, descending a wide staircase that led to a balcony hanging over the sea. Even though she couldn’t see the bottom, she knew it was a long drop to the water. Even if someone survived the fall, they would be swimming for miles until they reached the next island, which wasn’t likely.
She couldn’t resist another longing glance at the horizon. If only she could have a second chance. To go back in time and do everything the right way, to never lie to Xander. Now she’d never be able to make things right. The sun glared off the glass water, too bright to see anything except shades of blue.
A pair of footsteps clacked across the patio, then a familiar voice barked out a command in Greek.
Leila shuddered as the guards quickly cut the zip-tie, whirled around, and scampered off. Slowly, she turned.
