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“It’s okay,” she said slowly, trying to articulate her thoughts correctly. “I can help.”
Her words didn’t seem to be sinking in. Without the rage fueling him, Malik seemed to be going into a daze once more. His eyes had already turned cloudy as they stared into the distance.
“Malik,” Birgitta whispered. “Listen to me.”
Birgitta let her hands reach up to his shoulders. A small part of her was afraid of how he would react to being touched—he was so out of control, she wasn’t sure what he was capable of—but she needed to bring him back, if only for a moment.
She placed her shaking hands on his shoulders gently, trying to coax him back.
“Malik,” she smiled, “I can help.”
He frowned at her as if he had forgotten who she was.
“I work at the migration board,” Birgitta said quietly. “Let me help.”
Malik shook his head to the side sharply, trying to get himself to concentrate.
“Don’t worry,” Birgitta continued. “I’ll look over the files myself. I’ll see what’s going on.”
Malik could only nod in reply. Kent came over then, tentatively glancing between Birgitta’s eyes and the back of Malik’s head. Eventually looked over Malik’s shoulder and raised one of his eyebrows, asking her a question. After all their years of marriage, Birgitta still couldn’t read his expressions properly. She assumed that he was asking,is everything okay?
Birgitta nodded to Kent. All she wanted was for him to go away. Instead, he walked up to Malik’s side and gently put his palm on his upper arm, his fingers cupping gently.
“We’ll do whatever we can to help you,” Kent said.
“It’s not just the migration board,” Malik snapped, having finally found his voice. “Now that they want to deport me, my landlord will evict me as well. My lease was conditional.”
Birgitta frowned. “On what?” She asked. “You being able to stay in the country?”
Malik nodded his head slowly, letting his eyes drift down the ground in defeat. Birgitta hated seeing him like this, so shattered and worn down. He was a man—a real man, with fire and passion inside him. How had life reduced the flames to embers in such a short time? Birgitta couldn’t help but think that there was more going on than met the eye. Even if he was making it sound worse than it was, she was going to help him. There was no way she could stand idly by and watch him struggle through this alone.
“If it comes to that,” Kent said, his voice firm and self-assured, “you can have our guest room.”
Birgitta wanted to scream. She clenched her teeth together so hard she thought she was going to break them. Her fists involuntarily balled and her arms started to quiver.
Why the hell would he promise such a thing?Birgitta’s own voice shouted inside her head.Why? Why is he doing this?
Kent’s eyes looked over to hers. Birgitta could see the shock cascade down his face, turning his smugness into horror. Birgitta didn’t know what she looked like at that moment, but she knew it probably wasn’t good.
“Where’s your mother?” Birgitta asked. “Is she safe?”
“She’s with friends,” Malik sighed. “There’s . . . There’s no room for me there.”
That was a relief, at least. Trying to find space in their small house would be difficult. This wasn’t going to be easy, though. Having Malik around all the time would be blissful for her—and torturous. How was she supposed to keep her hands off Malik’s strong, brown body when he was always around? How was she going to keep her feelings secret from her husband? She wasn’t ready to leave him yet, especially since she didn’t know if their relationship was just a fling. There was no way she was throwing everything away just for a couple of weeks of fun.
If he stays with us, we’ll have plenty of time to discuss it,she thought.As long as we’re not caught by Kent.
Birgitta tried her best to focus on Malik’s face, standing in front of her. It was difficult. She was so consumed by her own thoughts that she could barely see past her own nose. The rest of the world looked fuzzy and distant to him, as if it wasn’t really there. As if it had never been there to begin with.
“It’ll be okay,” Kent said, patting Malik on the shoulder.
Birgitta glanced between them, wondering what she’d missed. Malik looked a lot more stable now, and Kent’s impish grin was back on his face. Whatever she’d missed, she didn’t think it mattered since Kent had already decided that this was for the best. How was she going to talk him out of it, by telling him that she had feelings for Malik? No. She’d just have to accept it . . . and constantly watch herself around Malik.
“We’ll make sure everything is made right,” Kent said, doing his best to reassure Malik. “Won’t we, Gitta?”
Both men looked to her then. Birgitta forced a smile onto her lips and nodded along, pretending to be as enthusiastic as Kent was.
Chapter nine
