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EVEN AFTER TWO WEEKS OF PLANNING, they still hadn’t come up with a better idea than letting Imara get captured. Over the past few days, their planning had shifted to consider the logistics of the kidnapping. Despite Abe’s protests.
Imara stepped out of the airport. Abe was there to greet her with a bubble car, just like he promised. As always, as long as she was in Egypt, he was there for her completely. She shook that thought away and scolded herself. Of course he was always in Egypt. He was trying to save his business.
Either way, he did not look happy. He typed the location into the bubble car’s hologram screen as she climbed inside. Once the car started moving he said, “I don’t like this kidnapping plan.”
“I know,” she said as she reached for his hand. “But I’m still doing it.”
He ground his teeth and let out a burst of air through his nostrils. “Why?”
She cocked an eyebrow up at him, and the fury in his eyes melted away in an instant. She looked down and said, “This plan will stop the taggers for good. And once we get the Kenyan police involved, they’ll probably find a way to stop Sef too. We’ll save your business and—maybe more importantly—all of Egypt.”
He pressed his lips against the back of her hand, then rested his chin on top of her head. “You don’t have to save everyone, you know?”
She let out a soft laugh just as she picked up a spicy smell. “I thought you liked that. In the catacombs you specifically said that’s what I love about you.”
“I do love it,” he said. He pulled his hand from hers and used it to prop up his forehead. The veins in the back of his hand popped out as he gathered up a fistful of his hair. He sat that way for several seconds without saying a word. Finally, he said, “Maybe I’m starting to understand what you were saying about how people care about me and I shouldn’t be so reckless with my life. For their sake.”
“Good,” she said through pursed lips. It came out harsher than she meant it. Even still, she was grateful for his realization.
There was the spicy smell again. Strong, but with a sweet undertone.
She pulled his hand away from the death grip it had on his hair. Squeezing it lightly, she said, “I love you. And I’ll be careful.”
He popped a curl down over her forehead. “You better be because I love these curls too much, and I don’t think I could ever find the perfect replacement.”
She gave him a gentle jab with her elbow. “Just my curls, huh?” She said I love you and he said he loved her curls. It probably meant nothing, but for some reason it stung anyway.
He ignored her question and slid his fingers through the short hair on the back of her head. “Just promise you’ll be extra, extra careful.”
She nodded and rested her head on his chest. Now she had pinpointed the source of the smell. Abe. He smelled like spicy cinnamon and cardamom wrapped in a rich milky scent and layered with a hint of musk. The milk and musk brought back memories of hila school, but the spice was all Abe. The combination of them made her certain she’d never smelled anything so exquisite.
“Are you sniffing me?” Abe asked.
“No,” she said as she sat up with start.
He snickered. “Hurry and kiss me because we’re almost to headquarters, and then we’ll have to be—” he stuck his tongue out and grimaced— “professional.”
As he leaned toward her, he screwed his face into a knot. “Hang on. You have stuff in your eyes. Tons of it.”
She leaned into his touch as he cleaned her eyes. When he wiped the goop onto his pants, she saw faint scarlet red threads of desire dancing out of his copper skin.
“Abe,” she said, watching the threads disappear as quickly as they had appeared. “There’s something I need to say.”
He smiled and stroked his thumb across her cheek. She hated to ruin the moment, but she’d made up her mind. She turned back to him and said, “I’m only going to say this once, and then, I promise I won’t ever bring it up again.”
He cocked an eyebrow up in question, but didn’t stop smiling.
“You’re a healer.”
Just like that, his smile fell. He rolled his eyes and pulled his hand away from her. “Not this again.”
She plowed on, knowing he’d react like this. The one thing that changed was the tone in her voice. She didn’t turn to the soothing voice Professor Santini had taught her. Instead, she turned to a softer voice. One that hopefully demonstrated how much she recognized his pain.
“It took me forever to realize why you wouldn’t believe it, but I finally figured it out.” She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. This next part wouldn’t come easily.
“It’s because of your mom,” she said quietly. “She died because she didn’t know how to use her hila, and now you’re afraid to have the responsibility of a hila. It’s not just your hila either. You fear any responsibility except when it comes to your dad or your business.” She opened her eyes to see the effect of her words.
Abe folded his arms over his chest and clenched his jaw tight in a scowl. “What do you mean I fear responsibility?”
She bit her lip, trying to think how to explain. She didn’t want to offend him, but he needed to know. “Any time someone starts expecting something from you, like you being able to provide medical care, you insist you have limited skills, and no one should rely on you. You only ever save people when they aren’t expecting it.”
His jaw clenched again, and her stomach sank as they arrived on the last block before headquarters. She knew he’d be frustrated, but she also knew she’d regret it if she never said anything. He kept bugging her in the catacombs about seeing the worst in people. If anything, she had a duty to keep bugging him about this. She just wished she had kissed him first because they’d be at headquarters soon, and her next chance wouldn’t be until late into the evening.
“What about with you?” he asked in a frosty tone. “A relationship takes responsibility, doesn’t it? Haven’t I accepted that responsibility?”
“Only when I’m in Egypt.” She immediately regretted her words. His scowl turned darker, and he jerked his head away. If only she could take the words back. She was frustrated that he still hadn’t come to Kenya, but he was busy with his business. He couldn’t help that it took so much time.
When this recon mission ended, she’d just apologize over and over and keep her promise to never bring up the healer thing again. They’d be fine if they could just get through the next few hours.
