Page 36 of Chasing the Past

She pulled in a breath and faced him. “Such a twisted way of thinking.”

He agreed. “Let’s hope we can get the answers we need before whatever Panther is up to can take place.”

Outside the window, the wind raged as the nor’easter sunk its teeth into the island.

“It’s getting worse out there,” Asal said and held her arms tight.

“I’ve gone through several nor’easters before, and you never know what they’ll bring.” The oven timer went off causing them both to start. “Looks like the meatballs are ready,” he said with a sideways grin at both their reactions.

He was on edge, and it wasn’t all because of the storm. Every moment they were searching for answers, the fate of the country and their lives were at stake.

Chapter Sixteen

“You have the information? All of it?”

“My people have taken care of the traitor’s secrets once and for all,” Omar assured him.

“You’d better hope so. Too much is at stake for there to be possible incriminating evidence out there. No one must suspect me of being involved.”

“No one does. It’s been handled.” Omar waited for him to say something else. When he didn’t, he got out of the vehicle. The door barely closed before the driver sped away.

Omar stared after the vehicle, his anger growing. He’d grown tired of answering to another. Soon, he and his team would take down el-Nemr once and for all and he would claim the title of the Panther. He would handle things the way they should have been from the beginning.

el-Nemr had grown old and tired. The Panther was a toothless old fool that didn’t understand his old ways of attacking an enemy and then falling back was the best plan of attack. el-Nemr had come to the US and planned his token attack where he would claim responsibility and then sit back and bask in his power. But Omar had a different plan in mind entirely. The old Panther would fall victim to his own attack. Omar and his people had been working quietly behind the scenes to turn el-Nemr’s people against him. It was almost time. Everything was almost ready. As soon as the bomb was in place, el-Nemr’s closest confidant would take him to the site and come up with an excuse to leave. Omar planned to be there to tell him what was happening before his former mentor died. He wanted to see his tired old face when he realized he’d been unseated by Omar.

Omar walked toward the waiting car with a smile on his face. He whistled as he walked. As he neared his ride, the driver flashed the headlights. Omar got inside.

“How did it go?” she asked. She was his trusted one.

He reached for her hand. “Very well. Everything is set. He has no idea the location of the bomb has changed and he will be walking into a trap.”

She smiled into his eyes. She was strong. His equal in many ways. She’d given so much to forward their cause. She’d proven herself up to anything that was asked of her. Even if it meant murder.

???

Asal strained the spaghetti noodles and dished some on each plate with fingers that shook. Her nerves had nothing to do with the danger bearing down on them from the weather and Omar and everything to do with the man who was quickly capturing her heart. She tried to rein in her feelings. After all, they were from two different worlds. Her life wasn’t here . . . she had no idea where she belonged, but she so desperately wanted to find her place.

“Everything okay?” Eli asked and took the plates from her.

“Yes.” She forced a smile.

While she got their drinks, he added sauce and meatballs to the plates and set them on the table.

“This looks amazing,” she told him after the prayer.

“I hope you enjoy it. It was Grandmother’s recipe.”

Asal looked at him curiously. “Were you close?”

He swallowed a bite. “Yes, we were. My dad died when I was four, and my mom moved us in with her. I know it was hard for my mother, but it was heaven for me and my grandmother. We went on all sorts of adventures together. When I started school I hated it because I couldn’t see her all the time.”

She smiled as he recounted the story. “She sounds like a remarkable woman.” Asal had seen a photo of her parents and yet she didn’t recognize them. Why didn’t she have an instant reaction to seeing their faces?

“She died soon after I joined the army.”

“I’m so sorry. That must have been hard.”

He reached for his water glass. “It was. It just about broke my heart. I still miss her. Mom still lives on the property.”

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