Page 17 of Deceptive Lies

“Don’t doubt it,” Cooper replied, a small smile curling his lips up.

If there was one thing you could say about his sister, it was that she wasn't shy about making her needs and wants known. Growing up with six big brothers, she’d had no choice but to learn how to stand up for herself if she didn't want to get lost in the crowd. That confidence was going to help her get whatever she wanted out of life, and already she was on her way to making her dreams come true.

“So, who is the guy?” he asked. After walking around for a solid hour at the pyramids, making sure the man was still following him, he’d risked an encounter with him. Doubling back abruptly, he’d left the man with no choice but to either make a run for it and make it obvious what he’d been doing or stand his ground.

The young man—who looked like little more than a college kid—had chosen to stand his ground, and Cooper had managed to get a close-up picture of him. Wanting to see how he would react, he’d then asked the kid if he would mind snapping a few pictures of him with the pyramids in the background because he didn't want to pay one of the men who worked there to do it for him.

Although looking extremely uneasy, the kid had complied, which gave him a fingerprint that he’d been able to send to Prey for them to run through databases. While he was no forensic analyst, Cooper was grateful for the few things he did know because now he had an ID that could be the key to getting the professor to talk.

“He’s a twenty-year-old by the name of Aston Duncan. Just finished his sophomore year at the same college Professor Mahmoud works at,” Connor informed him.

Coincidence?

Nope.

Not a chance.

“What's he in the system for?” Cooper asked. If they could ID the kid through his fingerprints, then at some time in the last couple of years he’d committed a crime.

“A couple of possession arrests during his freshman year,” Cade replied. “No charges were ever pressed. Dad’s got some money and made a deal for his son to do rehab instead. Seemed to have worked. Noarrests at all this year, and he’s passed all his drug tests with flying colors.”

“He in any of the professor’s classes?” he asked.

“Nope. Not a one,” Connor answered.

So, what was the kid doing here in Egypt following him around tourist sites?

The college was a connection between the young man and the professor, but how would they have met? And did the fact that the kid had been on drugs at some point play into it in any way?

“All right, I’ll see if I can use that to get Mahmoud talking,” he said as he unsnapped his seatbelt and climbed out of the car. One thing for sure he wouldn't be missing when he got back home was driving. These Egyptian drivers didn't bother following any of the alleged road rules, and they’d never met a horn they didn't enjoy using. If you weren't able to drive assertively, you’d never make it over there.

“Remember we’re listening in on everything,” Cole reminded him as he strode purposefully across the street.

“I’m going to put you guys on silent now,” he told his brothers. Just because they’d be listening to everything he said didn't mean he wanted anyone to hear what they were saying. There was no way that Mahmoud didn't know who he was or who he worked for, but he also had to make sure the professor believed that his reasons for being there were personal only.

The last thing he wanted when he was alone over there was for things to spiral out of control.

Depending on what he learned, he may take it home to his team and Prey, and see if they needed to plan some sort of op. But for now, he was there merely on an intel-gathering mission and didn't want things going sideways.

After pressing the buzzer, he waited. How the professor approached this unexpected visit would hopefully tell him just how deeply involved the man was in whatever had led to his mother’s death.

Nervous.

That’s how Cooper would describe the older man when he came hurrying down the front path.

“Ah, Mr. Charleston, I was not expecting another visit from you,” Mahmoud said but still unlocked the gate and allowed him to enter.

“I think we have a couple of things we need to discuss,” he said, voice low, a hint of menace in his tone.

The man’s eyes flared but he gave a nod and ushered him toward the front door. “Yes, yes, of course, I actually would have reached out to you again anyway.”

“You would?” Cooper asked, not believing it in the least. There was no way the professor had any intention of ever contacting him or his siblings again. Whether it had to do with his mother, the figure in black, or something else entirely, he was pretty sure that Tarek Mahmoud was rethinking his decision to reach out in the first place because he had secrets he wanted to keep hidden.

As he walked through the house, he couldn’t not wonder about the figure in black. No matter how many times he tried to convince himself it wasn't his problem, that he was there to clear his mom’s name, he couldn’t get the person out of his mind.

They were in trouble, he was sure of it, and it killed him not to be able to do anything about it. But again, he was there on his own, his siblings were counting on him to get this intel, and he couldn’t let them down. Not for anything.

“Yes, yes, of course,” Mahmoud babbled as they entered the kitchen.

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