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“I don’t understand, Diya. Why are we still here?” Yoshi asked as they sat in Diya’s car outside the hotel. It was the middle of the night and he was sure Diya hadn’t slept yet. He had slept for a couple of hours earlier, but the quality had been poor and he had a crick in his neck from leaning against the car window.
She didn’t answer him. She just continued to look out the car window as if waiting for something.
“Diya?”
She sighed heavily and turned hollow eyes on him. She had lost weight over the last few weeks. Her face was beginning to look gaunt and haunted.
He felt a tug in his heart for her. She was more a sister to him than a cousin and he wished he could shelter her from all of this. He should have been there the night the murdering Americans had come to slaughter their family. He should have been there to either defend them or to die by their sides trying.
But then, if he had been, he wouldn’t be here to help Diya now.
“What is it, cousin?” Yoshi reached for Diya’s hand.
She took his hand in both of hers and held it, as her eyes met his. “I’m just so tired, Yoshi. I need to finish this. I need to finish this for them.”
“We will, Diya. We will. Rest now. Close your eyes. I’ll watch,” he said gesturing toward the hotel, although he didn’t know why she felt this frenetic need to watch the American woman until the end.
If it was what his cousin needed, he’d do it for her.
She closed her eyes and lay her head back against the seat. He turned to look at the hotel. He would keep watch for Diya. For his only family left.
Chapter 33
Logan paced in the offices of Sutton Capital. They had been there all night, trying to track down Sam. There was no sign of her anywhere and none of their contacts in local law enforcement or the FBI had been able to find any hints of where she was.
His thumb tapped the grip of his weapon in his holster as he paced, a comfort somehow in knowing it was there. Probably not exactly healthy, he knew, but it was helping.
Billy came to him again from where he had settled to watch him in the corner. He jumped lightly to stand on his hind feet, resting his front paws almost delicately on Logan’s arm. Logan took a deep breath and looked down into the eyes of the dog who had come to mean so much to him.
“I need her,” he said to the dog.Great. He was talking to his dog now.
Billy continued to stare at him, ever patient.
“All right,” Logan said, rubbing a hand down his face before moving to sit on the floor with Billy. As soon as he sat, Billy climbed across his lap and lay there, letting Logan run his fingers through the thick fur of his coat as though anchoring Logan.
Yeah, that was better. That helped.
He looked out the recently-repaired window as day broke and the dark gave way to a gray light. There was very little traffic on the streets below them, but it was growing steadily.
Fifteen hours had passed. If Diya gave Sam the forty-eight hours her plan had called for, he was hopeful she was still safe.
He knew Sam. She wouldn’t—couldn’t—kill herself. So, if Logan hadn’t found her before forty-eight hours was up, and she hadn’t done what Diya had told her to do, what would Diya do then?
He didn’t want to think about it. Diya wanted Logan to pay. He was sure she wouldn’t simply walk away from this if Sam didn’t play her game.
Chad entered the office, with Jennie behind him.
“One of my contacts just called,” Chad said. “They found her car.”
Logan was on his feet in a heartbeat. Billy stood and came to his side.
“It’s parked a few blocks from here, but there’s nothing but closed businesses where she parked it. I suspect she parked it and walked somewhere from there. That, or caught a ride, I guess. I’m not sure who could be helping her. Jennie has been reaching out to everyone Sam communicates with online who’s in the area. No one has heard from her. Or if they have they aren’t admitting it.”
Logan uttered a curse and went to the window.
“Where was the car?”
Chad gave him the cross streets, but the location didn’t seem to mean anything. At least, there wasn’t any significance that Logan could see.
