Page 41 of Stand Fast

She nodded, still not trusting her voice.

Her hands were clammy, her lips stiff. What she wouldn’t give to feel Zaid’s strong arms around her right now. If they’d been alone she would have crawled right into his lap and burrowed into him, because then she’d feel truly safe.

Squeezing his hand once instead in silent thanks, she let out a slow breath and turned to stare out through the windshield. “So he definitely wasn’t The Jackal.” She hadn’t thought Yasin was, but now yet another lead had been violently eliminated—this one right in front of her.

“No.”

She clenched her jaw tight and took a deep breath. Zaid was still holding her hand tight. She didn’t plan to let go until she had to. “Well. I guess the good news is, our list is one suspect shorter now.”

Two lead suspects killed within the space of a few days. There had to be a leak somewhere. But where? They had to completely lock down the flow of information to try and isolate the source within the taskforce, reducing their group to only U.S. personnel and a few select others they trusted.

Now it was a race against the clock to find the leak before someone else wound up dead.

Chapter Ten

Jaliya paused outside the door to the team rec room that night as the sound of male banter came from inside, and questioned her decision about coming here. She’d dragged a male analyst from her team with her just in case, even though she had tons of work waiting for her on her desk. She should have stayed in her makeshift office here on base and attempted to make a dent in the paperwork instead of doing this.

But after witnessing the assassination earlier, she hadn’t been strong enough to stay away. The part of her that ached to be close to Zaid again had compelled her to come, even if she’d only be able to interact with him in a non-intimate way. Seeing him but not being able to touch him would be torture, but not seeing him at all was unbearable.

“Are we…going in?” Her analyst prompted, sounding confused.

“Yes.” Raising her hand to knock, she jumped back when the plywood door suddenly swung open.

A big man wearing an AC/DC shirt and jeans stood there, blinking at her. Agent Logan Granger. His reddish-brown beard made him look like a Viking, or maybe a Highland warrior.

He seemed surprised to see her standing there, whether because he hadn’t known she was coming, or because she wasn’t wearing her hijab. “Hey. Are you guys…here for game night?”

She flashed him a smile. “And pie. If that’s all right. Agent Khan invited me earlier.”

“No, yeah, of course. Come on in.” He stepped aside to let her pass. “I was just on my way to grab some munchies. I’ll grab some pie if I see any.”

Once inside the room, Jaliya scanned it and felt totally out of place. The entire FAST Bravo team was there, minus their commander, and a couple other guys she recognized as SOF operators from around the base.

She was the only female here. That was…awkward.

She got a few curious glances but the room was so full she couldn’t see Zaid. Damn, she should have brought a female analyst with her. This place all but reeked of testosterone.

Then, over in the far corner of the room where a long table had been set up, she finally spotted Zaid. He looked up and caught her eye, then stood, and the smile he gave her made her heart swoon.

“Hey, you made it,” he called out over the noise, causing all his teammates to look over at her.

“I did.” Probably a mistake, but no point dwelling on it now, and she felt better just being able to see him.

He waved her and her colleague over. “Come on, I saved you a seat.” He patted the back of one between him and Prentiss.

“I’m gonna go grab something to drink,” her colleague said.

“Sure.” Even though a large part of her wanted to turn around and head right back through the door, she walked over and sat down between Zaid and Prentiss.

“How’s it going?” Prentiss muttered as he raised his coffee mug to his lips.

“Good.” Still a little rattled by the shooting whenever she thought about it, though. “You guys got the whole night off?”

“So far,” Zaid answered. “Can I get you anything? I’m betting you haven’t eaten. Granger just went to grab snacks.”

“Yes, I just saw him as I came in. I’m okay, thank you. Maybe some tea, if you have some?” She’d kill for a cup of Earl Grey.

His slow smile heated her insides. “So very British. I can find you an iced tea. Will that work?”

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