LITMIR.BIZ

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to ask but he hadn’t succeeded in life by being afraid or by clinging to superstitious silence. “Who is he?” he asked, allowing for only a brief hesitation.

      “Atrar Tashfin. Berber—and one would think that’s simple enough but there’s something a bit strange about him.”

      Emir choked back an impatient involuntary reaction at what he considered Zafir’s theatrics. Short and simple, that’s what he lived by and what he preached to his siblings. But he was cut off almost immediately by Zafir’s next words.

      “Here’s the thing. We tagged Atrar. That’s the one you thought came out of the Sahara. You know, the one with the fancy boots? The sand and camel dung—”

      “Knock-off Ralph Lauren,” he interrupted as if that mattered.

      “Yeah, it’s the same one. He belongs to a Berber village on the south edge of the Atlas Mountains. The village of Kaher. I looked it up and it’s pretty remote, backs the mountains but fronts the beginnings of the Sahara. I think you need to pay it a visit. There might be answers there and it’s a good place to start. It might be better than what you’ve been doing. So you can get moving now, rather than waiting, agreed?”

      “Agreed,” Emir said shortly. “Someone in that village may know something.”

      Kate’s attention was fixed on him but there was a troubled look on her face and he knew she was already going through possibilities. He’d never lacked confidence, but with her beside him, he felt like he could have scaled Everest without equipment. No woman had ever made him feel like that. No woman had needed to, but Kate... He let the thought trail, not sure what it all meant.

      “What about the other?” Emir asked, looking over as Kate nodded approval, as if he’d read her mind or, at least, as she’d showed in the short time she’d been here, that she was on the same wavelength.

      “Can’t get anything on him. Not yet,” Zafir replied. “I’m sure the authorities will have an ID eventually, but we can’t wait. So I’m giving you what I’ve got.”

      “Emir!” Kate whispered urgently.

      “Just a minute,” Emir said to his twin.

      “We need to get there as soon as possible. Does he have the coordinates?” Kate was on her feet.

      “I sent them to your email, Em,” Zafir said.

      “There could be more information there and a more specific area—” She broke off, a worried expression on her face.

      “Exactly what I was thinking,” Zafir agreed, his voice slightly distant through the speaker phone.

      “Is it possible to land anywhere nearby?” Emir asked.

      “There’s a short landing strip. I’ve spoken to them and they’ll have it lit for you,” Zafir said.

      “This confirms what we were already thinking.” Emir looked at Kate and saw the same urgency he felt, to get going, reflected in her eyes. Already he was planning their new strategy even as he saw the intense look on Kate’s face, the frown that marred her normally smooth brow and knew she was considering options. None of his agents did any less than think on their feet. It was how they succeeded in some of their most difficult cases and how they protected the clients they had—how they had become number one on two continents.

      “The sooner someone gets there, the better. I’d go there myself...” Zafir paused. “But apparently I’m on Emir duty.”

      Emir gave a half smile. It was how Zafir had always referred to the times when they had switched roles, more notably in their youth. As adults, this was the first time they’d resorted to such tactics.

      “Kate and I have it covered.” He looked at her with a wry smile, thinking how much his opinion of her had changed and how, only a few hours ago, he couldn’t imagine himself saying that. But she’d more than proved herself in the short time they’d known each other. She’d proved her skill in the best and worst situations. She’d been willing to take a bullet for the cause. Fortunately, good marksmanship on both their parts and Dell’s had prevented that from happening.

      “We’ll fly tonight. Hopefully we can get there soon enough to get some answers. That means you, like you said, lead this show. Tara’s kidnappers have to be heading into their final act and asking for more and soon. I don’t think they can play this out much longer.” He looked over at Kate, who nodded agreement.

      “I’m a good twenty minutes away,” Zafir replied.

      “We’ll wait.”

      “That’s not all I’ve got. I think I have a major lead, man. More than what I just told you, but you needed to know that first. There’s no getting around the fact that someone has to go there. And, as we agreed, that’s you and K.J.,” Zafir said. “But there’s something else,” he repeated.

      “Shoot.”

      “A sighting—and it’s a good chance it might be Tara.”

      “Why didn’t you say that right away?” Emir’s eyes met Kate’s, his heart pounding at the idea—hope and fear seeming to converge at what this might mean.

      “Because I think it’s more important you get to the village.”

      “You thought? Zaf, this isn’t your case.”

      “She’s my sister, too. You’re not the only one who is torn up about it,” his brother growled. “Look, this is what I have. A girl who looks like Tara was reported in Ouarazate Province by a couple of Berbers.”

      “When?”

      “That’s the problem. We received the information late. The man who reported it said they’d seen her just before noon today. At the time, they didn’t know about the kidnapping. Word’s gotten out since then. I think what happened may have been let out by our own staff at the compound. You know, mentioning something of our situation to friends or family. Many of them or their families have ties to the desert. Anyway, he contacted me as soon as he heard. They said they came upon the group over twelve hours ago and they were in a Jeep. There were five of them and the girl.”

      Emir cursed under his breath. Ouarazate, the gateway to the desert. But too much time had gone by; they could be anywhere.

      “Look, I’ll be there as soon as I can. There are a few things I have to clear up here and then, depending on the traffic...” Zafir paused, as if considering options. “Don’t wait. You’ve got to get moving. There is too much that needs to be done. Too much at stake.”

      “You’re right. Tara can’t wait,” Emir said.

      “Get moving. Let’s get our sister,” Zafir said.

      “Done,” Emir said and clicked off.

      * * *

      TARA CRINGED. She hated the dark, the shadows her imagination had the uncanny ability to turn into more threats than those she already faced. Time seemed to be crawling by and the darkness was never-ending. Without the moon, the night was only broken by the few, too distant stars, and by the fire that crackled and spit over thirty feet away. There was a tent, but she preferred to sit outside it and, oddly, they’d allowed that one request.

      Maybe, somewhere in the back of his mind, the leader remembered her for who she was and what she had been to him. Whatever the reason, she was grateful. Somehow it seemed safer here where there was some distance between her and them. She clutched the blanket. It was cold again tonight. She shivered and her eyes never left the fire and the men around it. It wasn’t safe for her to take her eyes off them. She’d learned in the early hours of her kidnapping that they were unpredictable.

      She was so tired. She couldn’t help closing her eyes just for a second. A minute passed and then two before she was snapped awake by angry shouts that echoed through the small, struggling oasis.

      Tara drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as if that would

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