Page 90 of Deceptive Lies

“Trust me, knowing what you did to her while you were holding her captive, and knowing what you were going to do to her if we hadn't shown up, there is nothing that would make me happier than shooting you and watching you bleed out slowly. But in the end, all I want is for you to pay for what you did, and if that means you sitting in a prison cell for the rest of your life then I'm up for that as well.”

“I’m not going to prison,” Professor Mahmoud shouted like he had more than two options.

“Well then, pick the body bag. Personally, I don’t care either way, but one thing is for certain,” Cooper said, his voice dark and menacing, “you are not walking out of here with my girl, so make your choice.”

“I-I have to g-get away,” Professor Mahmoud wailed, and for the first time the weapon held to her head began to waver just the tiniest bit.

All Willow needed was one little chance.

In her hand, she still held the box cutter. She was not stupid enough, even in the haze of fear, to put down a weapon and leave it behind. If the gun moved away from her temple, even just an inch, she could use the box cutter to get the professor to loosen his hold on her.

Then all she had to do was drop to the ground and let Cooper and his brothers do their thing.

“Why do you have to get away, Tarek?” Cooper asked, a measure of calm to his voice she knew he wasn't feeling because she could see the anger and terror for her raging in his eyes.

“Because otherwise they’ll kill me,” the professor mumbled.

“Who?” Cooper asked. “Who will kill you?”

“It wasn't supposed to go this way,” Professor Mahmoud keened, ignoring—or not even hearing—Cooper’s question.

“What wasn't supposed to go this way, Tarek? How was it supposed to go?” Cooper asked.

“I didn't want to reach out to you,” Professor Mahmoud babbled. “It was dangerous. Stupid. They made me. It was supposed to divert attention away from them, put it on me. I was just supposed to give you a tiny bread crumb, not enough to give you anything that you would be able to use to prove what happened to your mother. I said it was stupid. That you’d never be able to figure things out anyway, butI was outvoted.”

The professor was starting to sound panicked, and Willow got the feeling that the man was devolving. And quickly.

She needed to look for an opportunity to make her move.

Right now, Cooper was restricted in what he could do because the professor was using her as a human shield, and with the gun to her head it was too great a risk for him to try much of anything.

This was on her.

If she wanted to live to have the chance with Cooper that she so desperately wanted, she was going to have to get herself out of this mess.

“Tell me names, Tarek,” Cooper ordered in a voice that brokered no arguments.

“I can't,” Professor Mahmoud wailed. “They’ll kill me.”

“I’llkill you,” Cooper said matter-of-factly. “So, pick your poison. There are only three options. You do something stupid and get yourself killed right here and now, which I’ll say is my personal favorite. Or you put that weapon down and let me take you into custody. If we go that way and you’re prepared to tell everything you know, then we’ll make sure whatever prison you wind up in you're protected. Or we can take you into custody and leave you wide open to whatever attack comes from your friends.”

Behind her, Professor Mahmoud’s body began to shudder. He wasn't just afraid of whoever he’d been working for, he was flat out terrified.

She needed to amp up his fear.

Cooper and his brothers were an intimidating bunch, and right now they were the biggest threat because they were right there and itching to kill him.

If she could push him over the edge, she was sure she could get that gun away from her head long enough to act.

This was not the way she wanted to deliver this information to Cooper or his brothers, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Sending up a quick prayer for forgiveness for blindsiding the man she was falling for, Willow said the words she knew would break Cooper’s heart.

“He raped your mom, Cooper, probably with these men he’s scared of,” Willow told him as gently as she could.

The anger radiating off the six armed men staring at them flew up several dozen notches and she got exactly what she’d hoped for.

Professor Mahmoud’s shaking increased.

The pressure against her temple disappeared.

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