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)
That same ominous shadow crept into her mind that had begun to visit her far too often when she thought of her father, and the door to her memories creaked open. She had kept that particular door closed and barricaded because she didn’t want to know the truth about the choices her father had made during those times.
She had a brain demanding answers though. Once a puzzle presented itself, her subconscious insisted on working on it. Even if she tried to shut it down, in the back of her mind, she continued to work for the answer. Why had an assassin been sent to her exact location when she was supposed to be rescued? Was he supposed to kill her? She’d asked Rainier, and his reply had been abrupt and didn’t answer her question. I don’t kill innocents.
That didn’t mean her father hadn’t tried to hire the notorious assassin to kill her. He certainly had the means to reach out to an anonymous assassin. But then, if he had, he couldn’t possibly know Deadly Storms’ true identity. No one knew for certain. She doubted if her father would even guess. Rainier was a doctor. An officer. He worked for Blom in the Special Activities Division of the CIA. That was all factual and could easily be verified. She doubted anyone would suspect him of being a notorious assassin. Rainier had confirmed that fact. If her father did know, he would use the information to get whatever he wanted. There was no way he knew the identity of Deadly Storms.
The story of her rescue prior to the assassin striking during a sandstorm was plausible. Rainier had kept her with him while she was partially healing because she’d begged him not to allow anyone else to see her in the condition in which he’d found her. Again, he’d concocted a believable story, one his agency bought, that they had been trapped by Scorpion as he’d searched the desert for his captive, believing it would be impossible in her state to transport her a far distance quickly.
Rainier had convinced Blom it had been impossible to use a helicopter because of the strength and duration of the sandstorm. Shabina had been in such bad condition that once he took her to a safe place, he had to treat her in order to keep her alive. That had to be his first priority. As soon as he knew it was safe to contact his people, he had, but he hadn’t allowed transport until he knew she would survive, and no one could come to them because he wouldn’t chance exposing their position. It had all been very plausible.
Shabina couldn’t imagine how that would incur her father’s wrath. She sighed and tapped the back of her head against the seat. “Why does my father dislike you so much, Rainier? It isn’t some small thing between you.”
He brought her hand to his mouth, kissing her fingers and then bringing their joined hands to his chest directly over his heart all the while keeping his eyes on the road. “No, baby, you’re correct, it isn’t a small thing. It’s quite a few things.” He pressed her hand tighter to his chest. “Do you really want to know hurtful things about your parents on your wedding day?”
She had been avoiding the truth for years. Hiding like a child with her eyes closed, covering her ears, trying desperately not to allow her brain to give her answers because all along nothing added up.
“My father despised you, and he still does. He went out of his way to turn me against you. Even now, after all these years, every chance he gets, he says disparaging things about you. If he could, I think he would do his best to ruin your career.”
“He tried. Jack found he doesn’t have that kind of clout. I shut him down after that. I warned him to quit trying to mess with my career. He stopped. I would know if he did anything stupid.”
“Weren’t you worried he’d turn me against you?” She’d always been curious about that.
“You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. You stick to your own convictions and judgments. You don’t let someone else make up your mind for you. You’re fair. When I first got you out of Scorpion’s camp, you talked to me about the people you’d met, the good ones. The brave ones. You were determined to beat Scorpion at his own game. There’s fire in you.”
“I was dying. I wanted to die.”
“Baby, you had a raging infection. You’d been tortured. Raped. Through all that, you didn’t arbitrarily convict every man, woman and child born in that country. You told me about the ones who helped you. Nothing I said was going to change your mind. You changed my mind. I had turned myself into a sword of revenge, but by listening to you, I learned to be a better person—at least I hope I have.”