Page 12 of Chasing the Past

The trailing vehicle did the same.

“He’s still coming.” Eli made the first left and then a couple of more elusive moves. “I don’t see anything. I think I lost him.” He searched the rearview mirror intently. “It should be safe for you to sit up.”

Asal rose to a sitting position and peered through the side mirror.

“He has my purse and wallet—all my IDs which include my passport.” Her troubled eyes found Eli.

“Let’s not worry about that yet. I can have a friend who is on the police force go with you to retrieve them.” Eli wound his way across the island taking the long way to reach his home.

He pulled the SUV into the garage and turned in his seat. “Let’s get you inside.” Eli got out and Asal did the same. He opened the door that led into the kitchen.

She didn’t have on a jacket and the temperatures were dipping close to freezing.

Eli quickly removed his and placed it around her shoulders. “Come through to the living room.”

He led the way into the small living room that contained a gas fireplace. Eli clicked the fireplace on and dragged up one of the chairs close to it. “Please, sit.”

Asal slipped into the chair.

Eli pulled up one next to her. “What happened tonight?”

She was shaking and he wondered if it were from the cold or the harrowing experience she’d gone through.

“He was waiting for me when I got home from meeting with you.”

Eli couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Did he suspect where you’d been?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so, but he was acting funny. Anyway, I went to my room and fell asleep. I woke up to the sounds of talking. Omar was speaking to another man who sounded angry.” She clutched her hands together tight. “I cracked the door to listen. They were speaking in Dari.”

Eli remembered Sashi was fluent in Dari. Was Asal? “You understood what they were saying?”

A frown crossed her face. “I did, but I don’t know how. I don’t speak it.”

This caught Eli’s attention right away. He refused to give freedom to the hope rising in his heart.

“Go on.”

She slowly nodded. “I started to close the door, but my foot hit it and they stopped talking. I’m guessing they heard me. I watched the man leave the house.” She shuddered. “He gave me the creeps.”

“Did you get a good look at him?”

She shook her head. “No. He was dressed in dark clothing, but I do know he had dark hair and dead eyes.”

Who was this man and how was he connected to Omar?

“Go on.” Eli waited for her to continue.

“Omar knocked on my door. I believe he was trying to see what I’d heard. I played dumb. He invited me to dinner, but I told him I was tired.” Asal stared at the fire for a long time. “A little while after he’d left, I heard him talking to the same man again. He’d obviously seen me and was questioning Omar as to why I was still alive.”

Her attention returned to Eli. “I don’t think he knew I was staying here until he saw me.”

Why had Omar chosen to keep her presence a secret? “You’ve never seen this man before?”

She confirmed she hadn’t. “I don’t know who he is, but he was talking about something that was coming up.”

The thought was terrifying. If this was the Panther, then he’d come to the states for a reason. Something big was coming.

“Asal, you can never go back to Omar. He’s dangerous.”

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