Eddie lowered himself in between a large cluster of trees and bushes. He’d noticed the spot a few days ago and had made a mental note of it. Tall, flowering shrubs surrounded the trunks, providing an excellent cover. The perfect location for his needs. His duffle lay beside him. He moved a couple of the branches of the bush in front and positioned his binoculars, zooming in on the yellow light glowing from the bedroom of the darkened third floor balcony of the house.
He didn’t need to check his watch to know it was around five in the morning. The Azaan from a local mosque floated through the air, and a few seconds later, another call to prayer from a distant mosque echoed the words of the first. Soon the sun would rise and the day would start. If his plan worked, it would be a day most of the people in the home would not live to see the end of.
Farah and the baby were safe, out of harm’s way. And as much as he wanted to kill Razaa for putting everyone in this hell, his sister made a powerful argument for why he should live. It helped that his story about David’s death and how he ended up with Shariff went along with Eddie’s theories. Now, if the kid didn’t follow through on his promises, he’d be dead before the afternoon.
Eddie dropped his binoculars and unzipped his bag. Time to prep for the morning festivities. A few minutes later, the metal magazine of his .30 caliber rifle locked into place. He angled the weapon and stared into the telescopic lens. A few hundred yards away, on the bottom floor corner, stood a set of sliding glass doors—the target. He positioned the rifle according to what he remembered about the layout of the room hidden behind thick curtains. It would be a clear shot.
To his left, a light on the third level terrace turned on. Eddie lowered the weapon, grabbed his binoculars, and focused on the spot. The door opened. His body tensed as soon as Shariff and two guards entered the balcony. What the fuck were they doing in her room? A second later, Alisha joined them.
Two thirds of the men with her had openly discussed the prospect of raping her before they killed her. The final one third was the asswipe who brought her into the house and hadn’t been able to keep his fucking hands off her since.
The guards slid trays of food on the plastic table and nodded at whatever Shariff said. While Eddie kept his focus on them, he dug into his bag, feeling for the cell phone with earbuds wound around it.
Alisha wore a light colored top that fit her curves. Considering the company that surrounded her, it fit a little too well for his comfort. Although she seemed calm and collected, Eddie would have bet money on the fact that her knuckles were white. He unwound the wires from the phone and plugged one of the buds into his ear as he turned on the device.
The guards left the balcony and walked out the bedroom. Shariff followed them to the door, shutting and locking them out. Alisha leaned against the railing, and by the time he returned to the balcony, Eddie had the audio up and working. Soon the horny asshole’s voice filled his ear. “Not everyone related to me is an arsehole.”
Eddie rolled his eyes. Bull-fucking-shit. Shariff put an arm around her waist, and when he pressed his groin against her ass, Eddie found himself considering the prospect of grabbing his handgun, sneaking in through her closet, and shooting both of the little dick’s heads off.
“It is lovely, isn’t it? It takes me back to better times,” he said, while staring down her shirt.
“Patience,” Eddie muttered under his breath while he listened to their conversation. “Need to be fucking patient.”
He focused the weapon on Shariff. His index finger rested firmly against the trigger. One little application of pressure on the metal and a bullet would go straight through the asshole’s head. An asshole who stood way to close to Alisha for his taste. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he tried to rein in his urge to finish him off.
Stick with the plan, he told himself. Killing Shariff now would make the others run. Escape was not the outcome he intended for any of them. She'd gone through hell. Had her life ripped apart one too many times and today he’d make it all end.
He observed them as his mind drifted to five years ago. In an unfurnished room, he faced a computer monitor watching the same woman, but back then, she was tormented by a different brother. And seated across from Eddie had been her husband.
David's shook with rage as Sayeed tormented his wife. Eddie had considered the man’s inability to keep his emotions in check a handicap and regretted bringing him along on the mission. Probably because the woman they had watched meant nothing to him. Just a picture. A name. A means to get the man he'd dreamed of killing for years.
This time it was different and watching Shariff touch Alisha triggered a kind of anger, a possessiveness he'd never felt before. The kind that made it hard for him to think straight and hard to not kill whoever hurt her. The kind David had felt five years ago.
His brows rose as soon as the realization hit. The kind David felt? Where the fuck did that come from? He shook it off and lowered his weapon. This was not the time to get emotional, not if he wanted to get her out alive. And he would. For her. For David. His face heated. He'd finish this.
The satellite phone in his jean pocket vibrated. He pulled out the ear bud and pressed the cell to his ear. “Yeah?”
“The kids are all fast asleep,” Leanna said. She’d come in the day before, and as much as he hated asking for her help, he was glad he had. He trusted her and knew she’d keep his sister and niece safe.
He dug into the duffle a second time and grabbed a small gaming controller and the rest of the pieces to the remote control rifle system. “Did the kids give you any problems?”
Leanna went along with the coded story. “Nope, perfect little angels.”
Eddie screwed the weapon onto the base of the stand as he listened.
“What are you up to?” she asked.
He connected the camera to the top of the rifle. “Nothing much. I’m still in bed.”
“Did I wake you?”
“Nope. I was up.” The wiring fit smooth into the battery pack. “Doing some light reading.”
“Good book?”
“It’s a dark read.” He turned on the receiver and pressed the arrows on the remote control. Eddie smiled as the gun moved accordingly. “But I like it.”
“Is it the book you told me about the other day? I’ve heard the heroine’s easy to fall in love with.”
He stared at the balcony and the two tiny figures on it. “Yeah, I’m noticing the same.”
The gates to the entrance opened behind him. He looked over his shoulder as the bright lights of a car flashed across the lawn. “Well, I should get back to the book. It’s getting really good.”
“Okay. Let me know how it ends.”
Eddie didn’t bother responding. He hit disconnect and slipped the phone back in his pocket.