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Bennett never left the honor instilled in him as a Marine. Although Alex never walked in those boots, he’d heard the saying, Once a Marine always a Marine. After meeting Bennett, that saying became clear. Right now, it was the loyalty Alex needed, and a code he respected. “Let’s do this.”
Bennett didn’t move. “This isn’t about me or you or your mother. There are women, families, who will be affected if we fuck this up. It’s more than just our lives on the line here. I will organize men to be on standby.”
Alex had been so focused on his mother he’d missed the big picture. It was good to have Bennett around to bring that to light. That didn’t mean he wanted more of the same, tough bastards hovering with guns. One was bad enough.
“I don’t want anyone knowing what’s going on. Or why my family is involved.” Alex wasn’t sure if he could stop it from leaking out to the rest of the world, never mind his family, but he’d try.
Bennett said, “The Turchetta family would be the perfect people for this and could get in and out in days. You don’t need to be there. Let me make some calls.”
There was no doubt that Bennett and the people he knew were able to pull off shit that most couldn’t. His family had witnessed it a few times over the past two years. If he said the Turchettas were who they needed, it made sense to use them. But this wasn’t about who was best for the job. This was personal. Something he needed to do himself. I want my mother to know I found her, that I looked for her. Not someone on my payroll.
“If that’s the case, why hasn’t it happened already? What are you waiting for?”
Bennett shot him a look, and he knew exactly the issue. Brice hadn’t given his go-ahead. As far as Alex knew, Bennett hadn’t shared what he’d learned with anyone other than Brice, but then again, Alex had been kept out of the loop. Not sure if it was on purpose or not. Alex knew if they were waiting on Brice, they could be waiting a long time. He never acted until he had every fact. That was the problem with being the scientific one. It had to have a logical order or it didn’t happen. Won’t take action till he knows her name and location. It could be too late by then. It’s not a cushy life in Tabiq. Who knows what kind of life my mother has had? If she’s happy or sad, or hell, if she’s healthy. I’m not going to wait until she’s six feet underground before I make my move.
He didn’t knock his brother for the way he liked to handle things, but Brice had a hard time accepting that others functioned differently. He’s just going to have to deal with it, ’cause it’s not all about him this time.
Alex was a risk-taker. Every plan he’d ever tried to carve in stone went to hell. He was the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type. No one would change that about him. He liked his lifestyle and anyone who didn’t could just shut the fuck up. He didn’t want to hear other opinions, because he was set in his ways and didn’t care what they thought.
“I want to go. This is my mother we’re talking about. I don’t need someone doing what I can do myself.”
Bennett sighed heavily. “You’re as stubborn as your brothers.”
“Better believe it,” Alex said firmly.
“It’s not a compliment. It’s going to get one of you killed one of these days.”
“It’s going to get me answers I need. That’s all I care about right now,” Alex growled.
“I must be just as fucking stupid, ’cause I’m going with you.”
“No. Zoey is pregnant and needs you here.” Alex wasn’t just saying that because he wanted to do this alone. Zoey was expecting their first child. Although Alex wasn’t a doctor, he could see she didn’t look well. When he asked her about it, she said it was just morning sickness. The way Bennett hovered over her all the time said it was something more. There was no way he could risk Bennett being thousands of miles away if Zoey needed him. That didn’t mean he was going to allow the Turchettas, or anyone else he didn’t know, to get involved. I was planning on doing this solo anyway. Why change that now?
“I’ll have Tessa, Lena, and Morgan watch out for her. We’re not going to be gone that long. In and out, remember?”
He’d wanted to be gone already. It was becoming evident that Bennett wasn’t going to let up. “Remember, no one can know where we’re going.” Alex shot Bennett a warning look.
“That’s the way I roll. My bag’s in the limo out front.”
Cocky bastard.
Alex bent down, grabbed his suitcase, and headed for the door. His head remained filled with more shit than he could process. At first, he hadn’t been looking forward to the long flight ahead of him. Now he knew he needed it. It was going to take all the self-control he could muster to pull this off. Pretend to be like my father. A lowlife scum-sucking bastard.
Ziva Gryzb hatedholding back. Knowing a Henderson was back on Tabiq soil—and all she could do was sit back and wait—was killing her. Thankfully, it wasn’t James, but it was still one of his evil sons, Alexander.
Her hands trembled as she gripped the steering wheel. He walked into the hotel holding his head high, as though he was welcomed here. She was sickened, thinking of how many bastards before him had come to this place for the same purpose. Their money paved the way, so almost everyone in power turned a blind eye to the dehumanizing behavior.
She needed to remind herself he was only here because her country was greedy and catered to his request. That’s why they come. Why he came. Because no one here will tell you no. Or so you think, Mr. Henderson. I’m here. I may not be able to stop everyone, but I will stop you. That I promise.
Her heart ached. Not for herself, but for her sister, Isa, who had fallen victim to such monstrous practices years ago. She barely remembered what Isa was like; she was so young when she disappeared. Nights of hearing her mother cry herself to sleep in sorrow still echoed through her soul. Her mother was never the same after that. None of us were.
She hated thinking back to those days, and hearing the name Henderson brought it all back as though it were yesterday.
It hadn’t been all terrible. Her childhood had seemed normal. She had friends and played outside until the sun went down each day. As she grew older, things began to change. Not just for her either. All the neighbors seemed to have the same issue. The smiles that once lit their faces faded. She was lucky to see any of her friends outside, and even then, it was brief and they weren’t allowed to speak.
Her father, Jaysin, also changed. He became overly protective and never let her out of his sight. One night she heard her parents whispering and her mother crying. Her father had said, “You know what will happen if we don’t do this.”
A few days later, on her sixteenth birthday, normally a special day for a young lady, her father took her for a ride far away from home. Everything about that night was still crystal clear. It was the day she said goodbye to not just her childhood but to life as she’d known it.
