Something wasn’t right.
“What’s wrong?” Mena asked, worry in her eyes.
“Stay here,” Julian said slowly, eyes trained on the waiter inching closer to a crowd of guests near the dance floor. “Do not move.”
Turning from the ledge, Julian raced into the crowd.
Chapter Twelve
Adrenaline spiking through his veins, Julian pushed his legs harder, zipping through the crowd. Grabbing the kid waiter’s arm, he jerked him back, sending the tray of champagne flutes falling to the ground with a loud crash.
Crystal shards decimated against the ground as the liquid sprayed across guests standing nearby. Gasps and screams erupted through the night air as all eyes darted to Julian and the kid.
He held on tighter as the kid waiter jerked and writhed, but kept his movements still and cautious. He didn’t want to ignite the disaster he was trying to prevent. The kid waiter started to wiggle within his grip, easing out of the oversized white jacket with his free arm to try to get away.
Someone in the crowd shrieked. “Oh my God!!! He’s got a bomb!!!”
Panic swelled through the crowd.
“He’s a suicide bomber!”
“We’re all going to die!”
The Irungu family security guards in the crowd brought out their weapons, some training them on the kid waiter and Julian, while others tried to corral the crowd from panicking and trampling back toward the ballroom. They all knew the risks too well. Any sudden movement could detonate the bomb before any of them had a chance to diffuse the situation.
Julian turned the kid waiter toward him. The fear in his eyes was palpable. He’d seen that haunted look before.
Two security guards stepped closer to Julian, but he held up a hand, stopping their movement.
The cries and screams grew to a crescendo as the other guards slowly started to direct the crowd toward a concrete stairwell near the furthest end of the courtyard.
Julian stole a quick glance behind him. Mena stood where he’d left her near the crystal pedestal overflowing forget-me-nots. Defiant, refusing to leave him and join the others to seek safety. She had a clear path to the French doors that led into the ballroom, but she hadn’t tried to escape. As long as he was out here, he knew she would be too.
The kid waiter jerked against Julian’s grasp. Julian took a step toward him, tightening his hand on the kid’s skinny arm. He watched the boy’s hand moving toward his pants pocket, fumbling as he pulled out a small detonator.
One push of the button would end the life of every person on the rooftop.
“Did they force you to do this?” Julian asked, keeping his voice steady and calm.
The kid waiter’s eyes grew wide, tears welling, as he stared back at Julian. Releasing the boy’s arm, Julian raised his hands in the air.
“Did they kidnap you?” Julian asked.
The kid waiter nodded, adjusting the detonator in his hands, closing his fingers around the small object.
“Tell me what happened?” Julian asked.
The boy shook his head, eyes darting through the crowd as sweat rolled down the side of his face.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Julian said, taking another step back to give the kid waiter more space. If he could get the kid to talk, it would give all of them much needed time. If he was lucky, he might be able to convince the kid there was another way out for him. One that didn’t end with blowing up himself and the hundred guests on the rooftop. “Tell me what they did to you.”
The kid waiter took a deep breath, his eyes locked on Julian’s.
“It’s okay. You can talk about it.”
The kid waiter began slowly.
“They took me and my sisters. They wanted me to go into the city for a mission, but I refused. I didn’t want to leave my two little sisters alone with them. I’ve seen what they do to women and young girls. My sisters are ten and thirteen years old, but that wouldn’t stop them from violating them. I was afraid of what they would do to my sisters if I left to do a mission for them,” the kid waiter said, through choked sobs.
