“Take it easy, man,” Enzo said, holding Julian back. “Don’t do something you might regret later.”
“We’re waiting for an answer, Hakeem,” Glaze said, rounding the corner. The four of them surrounded Hakeem as he stared at each of them.
“I was never going to hurt her. But I needed to use her as … bait,” Hakeem said.
“Bait? For what? What were you planning to do?” Julian asked.
“Kill that bastard Tubeec Hirad. I knew he was desperate to get Mena back. Tubeec doesn’t put out a bounty for anyone, but he did for Mena. If I could deliver her, it would get me a chance to be alone with him. To end that miserable bastard’s life,” Hakeem said, venom and hatred oozing from every word.
“What beef you got with Tubeec? Where is that coming from?” Enzo asked, releasing Julian.
“He kidnapped my sister and held her for over a year. Forced her to do … despicable things. I’m going to make him regret what he did,” Hakeem said.
Julian closed his eyes. After rescuing Hakeem from the diabolical leader of the militia, Sunny had been kidnapped by Tubeec for masterminding Hakeem’s escape. Hakeem knew what his sister had gone through to help him and he wanted Tubeec to pay.
“Julian, I promise you I wasn’t going to let Mena get hurt in any of this. I was going to get her back to Nairobi safely after I’d finished gutting Tubeec,” Hakeem said, the sincerity in his tone ringing true to Julian.
Julian rubbed a hand down his face. He couldn’t be distracted by Hakeem’s revenge plot. He needed to find Mena. “How do you know it was al-Harakat that hijacked you and kidnapped Mena?”
“I recognized their gear. The brand new TIGR Jeep they were riding in was supplied by Russian benefactors,” Hakeem said.
Glaze asked, “So, where do you think they are taking her? To Tubeec?”
“Yeah, I’m sure it didn’t take them long to contact Tubeec, he’ll instruct them to take her to El Wak. Wasn’t too long ago that they took her. I’m sure you can overtake them,” Hakeem said.
“And what are you going to do?” Julian asked.
“What I came here to do. As soon as you help me get this Jeep turned over,” Hakeem said.
“You can’t go after Tubeec alone,” Glaze warned. “He’ll kill you for sure.”
“No, he won’t. He thinks I’m on his side. I’ve been doing small jobs for him, trying to get close enough to make him pay for what he did to my sister,” Hakeem admitted.
“Does Sunny know about this bullshit?” Enzo asked.
“No! And you aren’t going to say anything about it to her. Just help me get the Jeep turned over and go find Mena. I’ll do this on my own,” Hakeem said.
“No, you won’t. I’m coming with you,” Glaze said. “You’re going to need back up.”
Turning toward Julian, Glaze asked, “Think you can manage without me?”
“Yeah, I can,” Julian said. He could manage to save Mena even if they all abandoned him. “Let’s get this Jeep back on four wheels.”
Taye, Glaze, and Enzo lined up along the side of the Jeep, then on Julian’s count, they heaved and pushed the vehicle in unison. After several tries, the Jeep creaked and rocked, tipping over onto the tires.
“We need to get going,” Julian said to Taye and Enzo. He couldn’t keep Mena waiting any longer.
Chapter Fifty
“Based on the terrain and the available routes, al-Harakat will have to cross this road to get to El Wak,” Enzo confirmed.
Julian peered through the binoculars, looking for any movement on the horizon. An hour had passed and they’d been in contact with TIDES HQ. Zale had helped navigate them across open desert, showing them the main roads to avoid as they tried to cut off al-Harakat before they reached El Wak. Taye had given them an update about finding Hakeem and his plans to go after Tubeec with Glaze.
Sunny was noticeably absent. Simon and Zale indicated she hadn’t come into the offices yet and no one had heard from her. Where the hell could she be? Did she know what was going on with Hakeem and his quest for revenge against Tubeec Hirad for her? Was she out trying to stop him?
Julian pushed the thoughts from his mind. He couldn’t worry about Sunny. She could take care of herself. His only concern right now was finding Mena and extracting her from the hands of terrorists hoping to trade her for a big payday.
The radio crackled, and Zale’s voice lingered in the air, “Transport spotted, traveling east parallel to Saba Route. Closed convoy, one TIGR, four gunmen, hidden Barbie.”
