Her shoulders relaxed. She really had to stop letting her imagination run away with her. Hoping he hadn’t seen her jolt, she entered the room, giving him a brief smile in greeting.
“You’re feeling better, now? I hope the move wasn’t too stressful, right after everything that happened.”
“I’m feeling much better, thanks. Everything worked out fine.” She slipped into the hard canvas chair and placed her arms on the rests. Wishing she had rehearsed exactly what she wanted to say, she rubbed the back of her neck and shifted in her seat.
Soliman’s gray eyebrows scrunched together. “So.” He cleared his throat. “Is everything all right?”
Instead of speaking, she reached in her pocket and took out a small object. Wordlessly, she placed it on Soliman’s desk. Her gaze locked on his face. He stared at the bone stamp, his neutral expression frozen across his features. He made no move to have a closer look.
Leila swallowed down the rock in her throat, then spoke firmly, “Abdullah said the scroll is safe.”
Soliman lifted a hand. It trembled as he slowly removed his glasses. So, her statement had meant something. He must know.
Feeling more confident, she went on, “It was the last thing he said to me. Before the mountain exploded. You know it wasn’t a volcanic eruption, don’t you?”
He placed a palm against his forehead, shielding his eyes.
“He told me about the Medjay. He gave me the seal to—”
Soliman slammed a fist on the desk. The seal tipped over and rolled in a circle across the surface. “Did he say where the scroll is?” he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.
Leila started. After a few quick breaths to regain her composure, she shook her head, then threw a glance at the door. Maybe it was time to go.
The professor released a puff of air and sat back in his chair, dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief.
Visions of the hospital scene flashed before her eyes again and she sat up as if to leave. Her fingernails dug into the armrests. She couldn’t walk out. She needed answers and she was going to get them.
With a softened tone, she tried once more. “What scroll was he talking about?”
“Haven’t you told her?” A familiar voice, deep yet feminine, came from behind Leila.
She twisted around in her seat, and panic rushed through her like an electric shock.
Dressed entirely in black, arms crossed over her chest, the assassin leaned against the door frame.
CHAPTER 48
It was like someone had punched Leila in the gut. She jumped up, knocked over a tripod, and backed behind Soliman’s desk. Weapon. She needed a weapon. A thick book caught her eye and she snatched it from the shelf.
“It’s all right, Leila,” Soliman said calmly. “She’s not going to hurt you.”
Leila tightened her grip on the book, not taking her eyes off the woman. “What is she doing here?”
“One moment. Take your seat, but know you can leave any time you wish. There’s nothing to worry about.” He placed a gentle hand on her arm.
Drake raised her hands. “I’m unarmed.”
Leila looked her up and down. No weapons in sight. But how would she know Drake wasn’t lying?
Soliman then stood and planted both hands on the desk, glaring across it at Drake. “He took her to Alexander’s Sinai tomb. Was that a part of your plan? Now he’s gone, Drake. And she knows everything.” He waved at Leila.
Eyes downcast, Drake tapped her fingers on her upper arm and pursed her lips. Then she pushed away from the door frame.
“You know it wasn’t.” She sauntered across the office and dropped into a chair in the corner.
“What plan? What are you talking about?” Leila eyed the door, her heart pounding. Would they stop her if she ran? Not that she would find out. The part of her that wanted answers kept her back glued to the bookcase.
“It was supposed to look like a kidnapping,” Drake said, turning sideways in the chair and hanging her legs off the armrest.
Leila’s shoulders relaxed a little. There was something non-threatening about seeing her kidnapper sitting in a chair like a teenager.
“When we saw someone probing on the darknet for a hitman, we were… alarmed. We couldn’t go to the police since that would expose us.
“So we wanted to make it convincing, and point the cops toward the bad guy while we tried to figure out who he was or who he might be working for, find out what his motive was, and stop him from hiring an actual assassin to do the job.
“But he was good at clearing his tracks. Too good. I eventually uncovered his name and traced him to his hotel in Cairo, but when I got there to snuff him out, he’d already checked out and vanished again.”
Unbelievable. Leila shook her head. “Why couldn’t you have told me?”
The professor sighed and lowered himself back into his seat. “We wanted to keep you in the dark. The less you knew, the better. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out.”
“Then why not knock me out and take me straight to the desert? Why the restaurant?”
“Bes’s beard, Drake.” Soliman glanced up at the ceiling. “I told you not to play any cat-and-mouse games.”
“A game?” Leila’s hands curled into fists and she glared at Drake. “It was all a game to you? I was scared to death. We could have gotten killed in that car wreck. You were running after me with a gun. What kind of game is that?”
“That restaurant is my favorite. I thought you’d appreciate a good meal before going into hiding. Not my fault you didn’t even eat.” Drake spun a miniature globe that sat next to her on one of Soliman’s shelves, like nothing Leila said was a big deal. “I thought Abdullah was the best choice for keeping you safe, anyway. He wanted nothing more to do with us, the Medjay. He was the last person on the planet who would have talked about it.”
