Page 65 of The Only Reason (The Trident Trilogy 2)

Mason looks up from his phone. “Agent Laskin, do you want any protection today?”

“No,” Alex says quickly. “And Agent Marsh doesn’t need it, either.”

Mason smiles at me. I know he’ll be outside the spa like he said he would.

As the room door closes behind us, Alex grabs my wrist and pulls me to the elevators. “All of that,” he says, waving his hand back toward our room. “All of that last night was completely inappropriate. First, you come back in the room after dinner smelling like him. What if someone would have seen you two together in public? Then you spend the night with him in our room? You’ve lost your goddamn mind if you think that’s appropriate behavior for an agent on assignment.”

I break his hold on my wrist as the elevator door opens. “Let’s just get through the rest of this,” I say coldly. “I’ll let you know if I learn any more at the spa today. You can take the next elevator.”

His eyes bore into me until the elevator closes. The last thing I feel like doing right now is getting a massage, but I push the button for the spa level anyway. As I walk out of the elevator, I see Butch sitting at a table at the top of the staircase that leads down to the spa. As I walk by him, he says quietly, “Keep your phone in your hand during your massage.” I nod and start down the staircase.

Mr. Bukhari is at the spa’s check-in desk when I walk in. There’s no one else in the room.

“Mrs. Laskin, I’m so glad you could join us,” he says, bowing his head slightly. “Will you follow me to our waiting room?”

I smile and follow him through a doorway that leads to what looks like empty treatment rooms. I don’t see anyone—not even spa workers. It’s really quiet. We walk past all the rooms and through a doorway that looks like an exit back into the hotel.

“If you will wait here, someone will help you shortly. Please help yourself to some tea or water,” he says, waving his arm toward what looks like a hastily set up drink bar. He smiles as he backs out of the room.

I turn around. The room is big—at least 2,500 square feet. It looks more like a small conference room than a spa waiting room. There are three doors including the one we just walked through. I open the door to my right. It’s a supply closet. I walk toward the other door as it opens slowly. A woman—wearing a scarf around her head—walks in. When she looks up and sees me, she slowly lowers the scarf onto her shoulders. Her eyes widen as she looks at me. She shakes her head slowly as a slight smile comes to her face.

“You look just like her,” she says softly.

“Several people have told me that,” I say, smiling back at her. “I’m assuming you’re my aunt Azayiz.”

She walks slowly to me and reaches out to gently touch my face. “You can call me Aza, Yasmine.” Her tired eyes light up slightly as she says my name. “Although I should call you Millie. That’s your name now.”

“You can call me Yasmine if you like. It’s a pretty name. I understand it was my grandma’s name.”

“It was. She was a strong, beautiful woman. When Nejra found out she was pregnant, she so wanted it to be a girl, so she could name you after her mother,” she says, looking down. “Nejra’s life ended the day her parents died and began again the day you were born. She would have been such a good mother. She wanted to be your mother with everything inside her.”

“I’m sorry I never got a chance to know her. My father told me she was very special.”

She looks back up at me. “I’m glad he realized that. Her life changed forever when she met him. I wish she had not engaged with him, but she was drawn to him like a moth to the flames. At least she knew great passion. Do you know that passion with your husband?”

“I’m not married,” I say as she nods her head.

“It is what I thought. My son, Fareed, told me that you worked for the CIA. You met him a few months ago when you met your uncle Sayid. So this was all a trap to take me back into custody? It’s what Fareed said to expect.”

“I’m not going to take you anywhere you don’t want to go. I just want to know if my dad’s alive. Do you know?”

She breathes in deeply as she turns to walk toward a row of chairs. She sits down and looks up at me. “Do you know your husband—or I guess your partner agent—is the person who gave up my hiding location?”

“What?” I say as my mind starts spinning. “Alex?”

“Yes. The agency hid me successfully for nine years until he became the head of this region. He sold me out within a month of having the job. I’m still not sure why.”

I shake my head and look down. I can’t believe he would do that, but it’s starting to make sense now why he wants her back so badly. He’s promised her to someone, and if he’s not able to deliver, he’s probably going to be killed.

“I’m sorry he did that. I had no idea. Do you know who he told about you?”

“Fareed said one of the government ministers told them where my safe house was. I barely got out before they got there. I’ve been hiding with friends since then.”

“So Fareed has been playing both sides? For how long?”

“Since I moved back to Pakistan. Your uncle Sayid was like his big brother. Fareed was loyal to him, but he’s more loyal to his mother. He fed me information about the network for years. Sadly, he would never give me their location. This could have been over long ago if he had.”

“You’re putting yourself in danger by coming here today.”

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