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“Careful. Idiot.” She shoves it back, protectively putting her hand over her stomach.
“Sorry, Dada.” He frowns.
“What do you mean,exactly?” I prompt Tony.
“The drone avoided detection by our cameras. Which means Walid knew our layout. He’s obviously watching us. There’s no time to waste.”
He’s right. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Dada grimaces.
“You okay?” Tony asks.
I don’t blame him. She looks… worn and tired. Why is her hand on her stomach? Could she—
“Justice?”
I jump a mile at Leland’s voice, and laughter feathers around the room.
Leland stands at the entrance, beckoning me with a crook of one insistent finger. “Would you please accompany me to the next level?”
Silence. Every eye in the room turns to me.
Yeah, I have no idea why I’m being summoned to the “next level,” aka the closed-off lower levels that not even the Fantastic Five are permitted to enter. This looks bad for me.
Tension ripples across the room.
I stand and walk across the silent room. Every eye seems pinned to me, speculating about what this could mean. Damn, this is so awkward.Someone cough or say something.
“Tragically,” Tony says loudly and with a weepy tone, “we never saw her again.”
The room erupts in laughter. Leland shakes his head. Tension broken.
And that’s why Tony is my favorite sister.
44
SANDESH
The bright recessed lights of Mukta Parish’s colorful lower-level office, along with a soft, rose-scented perfume, contradicts the fact that this place is the center of dark pain and anger and plotting.
This dual nature has also been the upbringing of the person I love, the person I can admit to loving in my mind, but not to her face. Even if Justice weren’t sitting right next to me looking wary, I’d have a hard time telling her. Mostly because I’m not sure it’s something she wants or needs to know.
She definitely doesn’t need it right now. She’s about to get hit with a new reality.
I stretch my hand out, covering hers. She lets me, and we both keep our attention on Mukta, seated at her desk, with her hands cupped upon it.
“Justice, we have some bad news to impart.”
“If it’s worse than ‘your school was bombed by the man who killed your sister,’ I don’t want to hear it.”
Behind Mukta, his usual ramrod straight posture on display, Leland clears his throat, an action that does nothing to ease the rasp in his voice. “We believe your father is involved with the traitor.”
My hand goes tight around Justice’s. I’m stunned. Isthisthe way they’ve decided to reveal to her that her father is, in fact, dead, murdered, and was tortured?
Justice pulls her hands out from under mine and puts it up in astopgesture. “Cooper is drugged out and not capable of conspiring with anyone.”
Mukta twists one bracelet around her wrist then another. “He’s capable of following instructions, coming to see his daughter, and reporting back to his co-conspirator. He’s capable of meeting with one of your siblings, following their orders, and getting in touch with Walid.”
