They have done dark things to survive. They will do what they must.
She took in the scar beneath Nasir’s left eye. The dark circles. When Mariela had said Hena was in danger, was it possible she’d meant from Nasir?
No.She stopped herself.
Those visions weren’t real.
They weren’t.
But what if they were? There was no way to know for certain.
“Is that really what you want?” Hena asked. “To keep me safe?”
He startled. “What else would I want?”
It’s Nasir,she told herself.I know him.
And that was the problem. She recognized the fear written across his face. The guilt.
There was something he wasn’t telling her. Something serious. She looked past him to the large French doors lining the back room. The garden outside.
Something told her to run.
So she did.
23
•
“Hena!” Nasir cried out as she fled. “Come back. Please!”
She ignored him and hurried down the terrace steps. The sky was dark. Frogs croaked in the distance. Wind whipped against her hair. Glancing back at the brightly lit resort, she prayed she was hidden.
She needed to reach Haris. He had to know Nasir was back. She dialed his number. Straight to voicemail.
She tamped down her frustration. Now what?
Then she saw him. In the distance, striding down the grassy lawn, his back to her—Reza. How long had he been out here? She’d told him he was welcome to keep an eye out while she spoke to Nasir. But he wasn’t watching her right now. Instead, phone pressed to his ear, he was slipping into the maze. Why?
Heart thudding, she followed him. Entering the narrow pathway, she crept forward. He was here somewhere. It would have been easy enough to call out his name, but an unspoken dread she could not articulate rendered her silent.
A few paces in, she heard him.
“I’m trying,” Reza said into his phone. He was a row ahead of her, his body obscured by the maze. “…unpredictable.”
She crept closer, flinching at the sound of her heels clicking against the paved pathway. Kicking them off, she turned the bend, straining to hear him, until finally—
“She doesn’t suspect anything, but things are moving faster than planned.”
Hena faltered mid-step.
“I know what’s at stake,” he snapped. A long pause. “I don’t care. Like I’m just going to walk away?”
The rustle of leaves. Through a narrow gap in the branches she clocked his face. Furrowed. Angry.
“Of course I’m not listening to them. This is serious.” Another pause. “Yeah, well, he showed up today!” A pause. “Yes. Nasir is at the fucking wedding.”
Hena’s blood ran cold. She froze, watching Reza’s profile shadowed in darkness.
