“But it’s ten-thirty. Just stay here for tonight.” Nur stood and picked up the dishes on the coffee table, the koshari—a hearty dish made with lentils, rice, and tomato sauce—untouched. “Hani already freshened up the guest room.”
“Thank you. Really.” Leila sighed, glancing at the speckled cat sitting on the other side of the couch with his eyes half-closed, tail thumping lazily against the cushion. It was going to be hard to leave her aunt. The guilt was already twisting in her gut. She leaned forward and brushed a few crumbs off the table and into her palm. The position meant she didn’t have to look at Nur. She dropped the crumbs onto a napkin.
Nur straightened and stared at the dishes in her hands. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat anything?”
Leila shrugged.
“I know. I can’t bring myself to eat either, thinking about Aisha and Sami somewhere out there… But I really think it would be better if you stayed. At least for tonight.”
If only Leila hadn’t been dragged into Drake’s plans, then she would have taken her aunt up on her offer. But she couldn’t back out now. Not that she ever could. She let out a sigh, and with it, a lie that came too easily. “I need to be with Xander.”
Nur nodded, her face solemn. “I understand. Is there anything I can do to talk you out of leaving tonight?”
Leila’s half-hearted smile was slow. “Nope.”
Uncle Hani trudged into the living room, his eyes glossy and red under his bushy, black eyebrows. “I think I will have something to eat, after all.” His voice boomed, though it lacked the usual jollity. “Is there any of that kanefeh from yesterday left?” He vanished into the kitchen.
“No, none for you,” Nur said as she walked after him with the plates. “You know what the doctor said about sugar. I’ll warm the koshari back up.”
At last, Leila had found her opening, but she reached to the other side of the couch and rubbed one of Pickles’s velvet ears. He closed his yellow eyes and purred. Here, she was comfortable. At home. With family. And her mother and brother were still trapped in the ruins? Safe at a friend’s house? Unidentifiable in a morgue? Where?
She swallowed back the pain in her throat. Even if she couldn’t do anything to help find them, she could at least fight the looters—which would keep her mind off things until she finally got some news. And it would be good news. There were lots of stories of people being found alive beneath the rubble of a building.
Still, it took a huge amount of self-discipline to stop petting the cat, stand up, and grab her purse and keys.
After saying a quick goodbye, she stepped out the door, followed by Nur carrying a thermos of coffee. Leila and her aunt walked down the path that cut through the front garden to the Jimny parked on the curb. They embraced, holding each other a few seconds longer than normal.
“She really does love you,” Nur said softly and pressed the thermos into Leila’s hand. “I don’t understand her much, either. But she has a lot to sort through after everything that happened.”
Leila noted the use of present tense. Yes, there was still some hope. Her hand felt like it weighed a hundred pounds as she placed it on her Jimny’s door handle. “I know.”
Nur dabbed at her cheeks again and stepped back as Leila climbed into the vehicle.
“You call or text when you get home.”
“I will.”
“Are you sure you can drive? If you’re tired or upset, pull over, okay?”
“Don’t worry, I will. The coffee will help. And driving will keep my mind busy.”
The vehicle rumbled to life, then Leila pulled away from the house and headed for the highway, opting for the faster toll road. Now that she was on her way, a switch flipped in her mind and all she could think about was the mission.
Shadowed desert and palm trees flashed by as she made her way up the Nile. The coffee thermos was soon empty, and the highway signs began to mark the various roads to different Cairo neighborhoods. Leila followed the signs to Palm Hills, then drove past the gate and found a parking space several blocks away.
Sitting in her Jimny, she sent a quick text to her aunt, then one to Xander to wish him a good night.
XANDER: You all right?
LEILA: Yeah. I’m so exhausted. I’ll see you in the morning.
XANDER: Try to get some sleep x
She smiled sadly, wondering how things would work out once they were married. Xander would certainly notice if she was sneaking out at night. And lying about where she was at three in the morning was not a good way to start a marriage. At all.
Tell him the truth.
She knew she had to. And more than anything, she wanted to. But how without causing trouble?
Something knocked on the window. Leila jumped and reached for the glove compartment. Drake’s face greeted her on the other side of the glass and Leila sucked in a breath of relief.
“Let’s go,” Drake said, nodding in the direction of the Palm Hills gate.
Leila got out and walked around to the back. She grabbed the backpack from the trunk and hurried after Drake, who was already a block away. Leila caught up, walking a few paces behind Drake as she checked the woman’s hands for weapons. They were empty.
The neighborhood was silent, the streetlamps already off for the night. The two Medjay diverted their course and followed along the wall that blocked off the cluster of Bauhaus-style homes from the rest of the city.
Using a tree next to the wall, they climbed up and over, landing on a grassy lawn on the other side. They continued down a pristine sidewalk shaded with palm trees, until Drake stopped next to one of the trees and pointed at a Tetris-block looking home a few houses down the street.
“That one,” she whispered.
Leila nodded.
“We’ll go around the back.”
Leila followed Drake the rest of the way until they stopped next to a plaster wall.
“Who lives here?” Leila craned her neck to see the top of the wall.
