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)
“Raymond Decker called. He presented the evidence against Bale to the judge and a restraining order has been granted. It is temporary, giving Bale the opportunity to fight it. I doubt that he would be that ridiculous, but you just never know with him.”
“Isn’t Mr. Decker a lawyer with the CIA? Why would he continue to work for me? I haven’t even seen a bill.”
“You won’t see a bill,” Raine guessed. “I asked him to come to the meeting with the FBI agents as a special favor to me and he did. He refused to take payment. I believe he knows Rainier. I know for a fact that he knows Sam and Zale. Apparently, one or more of them have done him favors in the past. The men in the Special Activities Division of the CIA often work for one another by trading favors.”
“And he presented the evidence to a judge on my behalf? I didn’t have to be there?”
“Not in this case, but if Bale were to fight it, you would have to go to court with Decker and present your evidence. Decker would do that for you as your representative.”
She hoped she wouldn’t have to go to court. No doubt Rainier would insist on going. There was no getting around the fact that Rainier could dominate a room.
Her phone vibrated, and she glanced down at the screen. The text was from her father demanding to know if the rumor of her marriage was true. She had no desire to speak with him. None. Where before just getting a demanding text from him left her shaky, now she didn’t feel anything at all. Had her mother called her, she would have answered and spoken to her, but she truly had no desire to interact with her father.
The thought of never having to deal with him again brought her peace, but it hurt to think she would never have interactions with her mother. Jack didn’t allow Yasemin to go anywhere without him, at least Shabina had never seen her mother venture anywhere away from him. If he forbade her to see Shabina, no matter how much Yasemin wanted to, she would never defy Jack.
“Why are you looking so sad, Shabina?” Raine asked.
“I was just thinking about my mother. I miss her and wish we were closer.” She shrugged. “I’d better hurry up and get out on the floor. I had hoped the two FBI agents would eat fast and leave, but it looks as though I might have to interact with them.”
“I shouldn’t even ask you, but you do remember their names, right?” Raine said.
“Yes.”
“Don’t answer any questions. I believe you’ve been ruled out as a suspect, but that doesn’t mean they won’t keep prying. And now that they know Rainier’s in the picture, they might think he’s involved.”
“We do have knowledge of evidence and how it came to be on those altars,” Shabina pointed out. “Technically, we should relay that information to them.”
“I think it’s a good idea, especially since I doubt Rainier’s going to reverse his decision to send those two students back to their country. He isn’t like you, Shabina. I can see you’re already worried about them.”
“It’s just that it’s possible they were telling the truth about bringing disgrace to their families. I could see, from their point of view, why they thought they should help Jack.”
She couldn’t quite bring herself to call Jack Foster her father any longer. Shouldn’t fathers protect their daughters? He couldn’t claim a religious belief. He wasn’t a believer in any kind of worship. Yasemin was, but not Jack. He was raised by his parents and grandparents with a different value system—one Shabina didn’t understand.
Shabina had embraced Salman Ahmad’s love of his family. The way he treated his wife and children. The way he valued every member of his tribe from oldest to youngest, male or female. That was the type of person she wanted to be. The type of man she wanted for a partner. The kind of family she’d dreamt of having someday.
“You have a great deal of compassion and kindness in you, Shabina,” Raine said. “It’s easy to see why Rainier fell so deeply in love with you. You must have been like the sun rising, such a bright light that he could see for the first time when he rescued you. He was in such a dark place.”
Shabina shook her head. “You’ve got it wrong. I was the one in the dark place, Raine. He not only saved my life but my sanity. He’s my bright light. Without him, I don’t feel safe or truly happy. I feel alone until he’s back with me. I know not everyone sees him the way I do, but I know him, the heart of him. What’s inside him. He shares that with me. He doesn’t get upset when I cling to him. He never gets impatient with me.”