Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“The other thing is this: Raine is totally protected at all times by a couple of different branches of the government. She’s considered valuable. Someone shot her; that’s why she limps and walks with the cane or crutches right now. The shooter was hunted relentlessly. He is no longer alive, and everyone involved in the plot is gone as well. It isn’t a good thing to try to attack her. Felicity, it was a good thing you owned up to what you were doing immediately.”
Shabina made the statement more for the benefit of the students than the women. She didn’t feel Raine was threatened in any way by the women. If anything, they admired her. She wasn’t so certain the conversation had that same effect on the male students.
“Enjoy your lunch,” she told the women and turned toward the students, greeting them in Arabic. The moment she stepped close to the table, Larado and Zero, two of the security team, stood and walked through the café quite casually. Zero stopped, appearing to look at the view through the window while Larado took up a position close to her, draping himself coolly against the wall. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
Jules Beaumont and Deniz Kaplan both shook their heads and thanked her for the wonderful meal.
Emar held up a hand. “Jamal and I would like to speak with you. And perhaps with your friend.” He gestured toward Raine.
Shabina shook her head, trying to look regretful. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing to say.”
“It is of the utmost importance,” Jamal said. “We wouldn’t intrude otherwise.”
“I won’t be available until after six, and I won’t be alone. My friends will be with me. Whatever you have to say to me will have to be said in front of them.”
Emar and Jamal exchanged a long look, and then Emar nodded. “Where?”
“I think you’re familiar with the address to my home. Don’t try to enter the grounds without permission. The dogs will attack, or a member of the security team is likely to shoot you. You’ll have to stop at the gate and wait for an escort inside the grounds.” She figured if they were desperate enough to see her under those circumstances, she might as well ask the questions she wanted answers to.
Both men nodded and murmured their appreciation.
“I intend to ask you questions. Don’t bother coming if you aren’t prepared to answer me honestly.”
There was a brief flurry of activity at the table nearest to where Zero stood. Zero was tall with dark skin and tight curls on his head. He wore his hair longer so that it fell around his forehead and ears, giving him an unruly appearance. He had wide shoulders and a lithe body, all muscle. He had inserted his body between the men at the table and Shabina. To her horror, she realized that Sean wasn’t with them, but the two men who had been seated while she was talking with Theresa, Val, Felicity and Eve were the two interning with Sean.
She hadn’t banned them from the café, so technically, they could come back and clearly had. She pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips and forced herself to breathe. She didn’t want the students from Algeria, the ones reporting to her father, to see her go to pieces again. Rainier wasn’t close and she couldn’t reach out to him while he was in the field. She didn’t want to call attention to the fact that he wasn’t around. She hadn’t seen Boucher and Cormier around, but if they were still searching for information, she didn’t want it known that Rainier was out of the country while Scorpion’s cabinet members were assassinated. That would put him under suspicion for sure.
“We’re just asking to talk to her.” Oliver Smythe’s voice was belligerent, sounding oddly like Sean.
“If you’ll excuse me,” she said to the university students. As she started toward the table, Vaughn moved to intercept, but Larado got there first.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Larado demanded, inserting his body between hers and the two men.
Zero pointed to the chairs. “Sit, gentlemen. I won’t tell you twice. If you insist on causing a scene in this café again, you will be physically removed.”
“I’m going to tell Mr. Smythe and Mr. Vanderpool exactly what Zero just told them,” Shabina informed Larado. “I own this café, and my customers aren’t here for the drama.”
“I don’t know, Shabina,” Carl Montgomery called out. Once again, he was seated with the local veterinarian. “I think we’re all just waiting to see what happens next. The drama is pretty interesting.”
“Carl,” Dr. Amelia Sanderson reprimanded with a little laugh.
“If it keeps happening and is that entertaining, I’m charging double for the show along with the food,” Shabina threatened. The customers within hearing laughed, just the way she knew they would.