Page 71 of The Scribe (Irin Chronicles 1)

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Yes.” She saw Malachi enter the small room where she was using the landline. “Mostly.”

“And your friends? Are they Turkish? From that region, perhaps?”

“Kinda.”

Malachi stopped and listened for a moment, then his face became a very carefully composed mask.

Dr. Sadik said, “Pardon me?”

“Hey, Doctor, can I call you back? I’m going to return to Istanbul eventually, but I just wanted to let you know where I was and apologize for missing my appointments. If there’s a charge, just let me know, okay? I really need to go.” There was something wrong with Malachi. He’d gone entirely still, and he was staring at her.

“Ava, is there—”

“Really need to go.” She felt her face flush. “I’m fine! I’ll talk to you soon.”

She hung up. Malachi stood carefully on the opposite side of the room, still staring.

“You called the doctor,” he said quietly.

“Yes.”

It wasn’t a calm quiet.

“From the house phone.”

She shrugged. “Um… yeah. What’s the big—”

“The one that can be traced?”

Ava frowned. “By my psychologist?”

“We have no idea who he is, Ava.”

She rolled her eyes. “Right. But I imagine he’s calling the Turkish police to come raid the place right now.”

“Don’t make light of this.”

“Yep! That Dr. Sadik, he’s actually a… a spy who’s into old—”

“Ava.” He took a step toward her. “There is no Dr. J. Sadik operating in Istanbul.”

A heavy silence filled the room, and a thread of anger uncurled in her chest.

“Of course there is. You’ve been to his office with me. You know, if you wanted an excuse to argue with me, how about—”

“He. Doesn’t. Exist.” Malachi crossed to her. “Do you understand me? He is a ghost. Rhys can find no documentation on him from Turkish medical boards. No trace of his practice. And he left his office in the city the same time we did.”

A sick churning hit her stomach. “You were checking up on my psychologist?”

“Do you understand what I’m telling you? We don’t even know what his connection is to your psychologist in Israel.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’re unbelievable!”

“We’re trying to keep you safe, as it’s evident we’re the only ones who—”

“Shut up!” Ava rose to her feet. “I understand there could be any number of logical explanations why a harmless man who washelpingme might not be in Rhys’s computer searches.” The anger took over, begging her to slap at him for the intrusion. The doubt. For making her question everything and everyone she’d allowed herself to trust. “What Ican’tunderstand is why you felt you had the right to spy on me. What else have you been looking into? Checking out my trash? How about listening in on my phone calls like you did just now?”

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