The text messages from a week ago made her shudder.
Need to see you
This could not be happening. Why now?
“Don’t just sit there, read the card,” Isaac said. He lifted the small card nestled inside the flowers and handed it to her.
Mena plastered on a fake smile, hiding her growing ire, and pulled the card from the envelope.
A single date, written in handwriting she thought she’d forgotten years ago, was scrawled on the card.
January 13th.
Today’s date.
For the first time in forever, she hadn’t thought of what this day represented. She’d been focused on Julian and her new life. Not her past.
Mena slipped the card back into the envelope as her cell phone vibrated on the table. The text message flashed on the screen.
Meet me in Uhuru Park to celebrate.
Blood rushed through her head as heat radiated on her skin. Her hands trembled as she lifted her purse from the desk drawer.
The coral peonies glowed beautifully in the sunlight flooding the room from the windows. Disgusted, Mena threw the card on the floor, then grabbed the flowers with her fists, crushing them within her fingers and threw them into the trashcan.
“Mena? What’s wrong?” Wangari asked, concern etched across her face. Isaac and Grace stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“I’m sorry, I have to go,” Mena said as she sprinted across the room.
Chapter Seventeen
“Who knew you would be my good luck charm?” Sunny’s voice whispered in his ear, her hands resting on his shoulders as her hair brushed against his neck.
Julian lifted the coffee mug to his lips and sipped the bitter black brew. Earlier that morning, Timothy Irungu had wired him a six-figure bonus for saving his daughter’s life. But with the payment came a new expectation. One he knew Mena wasn’t going to be happy about.
“I hate it when you make me worry,” Sunny said, then signaled for the waiter as she took the seat across from him. “Why are you so quiet? What’s wrong?”
“Mena’s not going to be happy about this,” Julian admitted.
Sunny raised both eyebrows as the waiter greeted her at the table. She ordered a plate of nyama na irio, a flavorful dish of mashed green peas and potatoes with stewed meat, and a glass of water then sent the waiter away.
“You talked to her? What did she say exactly?” Sunny asked.
Julian shook his head. “No, I haven’t talked to her about any of this, but I know how she was feeling this weekend. Watching me do what I’ve done hundreds of times as a SEAL scared her. It was different than what happened to us in St. Basil.”
“How so?” Sunny asked, a skeptical look crossing her face.
“I was trapped just like she was. I had to save my life and hers,” Julian said.
“But you went into a dangerous situation on purpose to save her when you were otherwise safe,” Sunny countered.
“Because I love her,” Julian whispered.
Sunny shrunk back, the weight of his words affecting her in ways he didn’t want to comprehend.
“You think because you risked your life for a bunch of strangers, that makes it different for her? She knows you did countless missions as a SEAL, most of them infinitely more dangerous than what happened Friday night. You are a highly trained, special operative. You don’t lose those skills after being a SEAL for as long as you were. It’s in your DNA now,” Sunny said.
“I know that. You know that. But I think Mena just realized that and she doesn’t like it. She didn’t say this at all, but I know she wants me to quit working at TIDES,” Julian said.
