Page 16 of Chasing the Past

After Eli called and updated JT on what happened, they set a time for first thing in the morning to go over everything.

“Be safe, Eli. This guy is clearly dangerous, and I hate to be the one to have to warn you of this, but we don’t know the extent of Asal’s story yet.”

“She’s not part of this,” Eli insisted.

“I know you don’t want to consider the possibility, but I’m afraid you must. Don’t put yourself in a position to get hurt emotionally or worse.”

Chapter Eight

She slept fitfully, waking up more than a half-dozen times because of some nightmares that chased through her dreams. Most were related to Omar, but not all. The story Eli had told her about Sashi’s death replayed in her dreams, and she was the one frantically running through the building trying to escape. Each time, with her hand on the door, she was too late. The building exploded around her, and she could feel herself dying.

Asal finally abandoned sleep entirely and got up and put on the same clothes from the day before.

As sounds came from inside the house she headed toward the noise.

Eli was in the kitchen drinking coffee and listening to music on his phone.

He turned as she entered the room. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” He clicked the music off.

“You didn’t. I was already awake.”

He searched her face. “You didn’t sleep well? Want some coffee?”

“Yes, please, and no, I didn’t.” Asal didn’t elaborate and Eli didn’t push.

He handed her the cup. “I could make us some breakfast.”

Asal realized the few spoonfuls of soup she’d had the night before had long since worn off. “That would be lovely. Can I help?”

He told her no. “Breakfast is the one meal I can make, and I happen to have all the ingredients for some mean breakfast tacos.”

She smiled at him and took her coffee over to the bar where she could look out the window that had peek-a-boo glimpses of the water.

“And what does a mean breakfast taco consist of?”

He laughed and searched the fridge. “Eggs, breakfast sausage, hash browns, cheese. You name it.”

“That actually sounds quite good.”

“It is.” While Eli went to work on breakfast, Asal sipped her coffee and watched the sun brighten the skies of Hope Island.

“It’s beautiful here. How did you find this place?” She realized she knew very little about his life other than the details of the past and that he now worked for Hope Island Securities, a private investigation firm.

“I came here with JT and Declan. JT was the brainchild behind the formation of Hope Island Securities. JT had lived here for a while and was a police officer when he left the force and came up with the idea of creating our own private investigation business. I’m glad I agreed.” He tossed her a look over his shoulder. “It gave my life some purpose. After Afghanistan, well, I couldn’t let go of what happened. I kept thinking about that night. I was part of the invasion that forced the Taliban out of Kunduz in October of 2015. I’d gone to the burned-out building in search of answers but I couldn’t find any. I went to the hospital where Sashi worked looking for some of her friends but by then everyone was gone.”

She couldn’t imagine the pain he’d gone through. “I’m so sorry.”

He turned around. “I was in a bad place when JT suggested the partnership. It turned my life around.”

He finished off the tacos and set the plates on the table.

Eli pulled out a chair for her. As she stared at the taco on her plate, a memory that had no place in her life played through her head. She’d–no, someone—had shared a meal with Eli before.

“Colossal tacos,” she murmured.

He stilled. “I beg your pardon?”

“Colossal tacos.” She looked over at him.

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