Page 103 of Sheltering You

“I know.”

“Second, even though that’s true, I haven’t found it helps much. You gotta talk to someone about it when you get back, process it. Otherwise, it’ll either eat you up or make you callous.”

“You mean like a counselor?”

“Exactly. Bryan’s doing it. He could give you a name, and you two could even talk to each other.”

“Bryan? Did he…?” Derrick’s brother had told him a little about what had gone down in Germany a couple of weeks ago, but he hadn’t shared that much.

“Talk to him,” Michael said. “Tell him I said it’s okay to tell you. The point is, it should bother you. If it didn’t, that would be a problem. Okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“And also, nice shooting. I’m impressed.”

That didn’t help, at all. “About that plan?”

“Not only do I have one, but I have good news. Put me on speaker, would you? They’ll want to hear this.”

He pressed the button and, dropping the phone on the bed, called, “Rabie? Come here for a sec.”

The kid came out of the bathroom.

“He’s here,” Derrick said.

“Hey, buddy.” Michael’s voice was loud over the speaker. “Guess what.” When the kid didn’t say anything, Michael continued. “We found your sister.”

His eyes popped wide. He climbed onto the bed and spoke to the phone. “Is she okay?”

“Aside from how worried she is about you, she’s fine. When my friends told her you were safe, she started bawling.”

“Girls.” Rabie shook his head like the thought disgusted him.

Derrick pretended not to see the moisture in his eyes.

Jasmine covered her mouth, not bothering to hide her own tears. “Where is she?”

“She’s with my friends,” Michael said. “They’re going to escort her to meet her cousin. You guys will meet them there tomorrow morning.”

Rabie’s face was brighter than Derrick had ever seen it. “We will see Basma tomorrow?”

Jasmine nodded and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you.” She aimed her words at the phone. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course. But sis, next time⁠—”

“There will not be one,” she said. “Never again. I promise.”

“Hmm. Okay. Leila had a long message she wanted me to pass along with lots of…suggestions for you.”

Sniffing, Jasmine swiped her fingers under her eyes. “She is very angry with me?”

“More scared than angry,” he said. “She wants to call you, but I won’t give her the number, just in case.”

In case what? In case Dari caught up with them again? How would he?

Derrick didn’t want to think about that.

“I don’t want any links to her,” Michael continued. “You understand.”