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IMARA SAT IN A CRUMPLED MESS on the ground when the door slid open. Someone pulled her to her feet and called her name. The words sounded so far away, like a single leaf drifting in the midst of a tornado.
But the arms around her gave her a sense of peace. And peace gave her courage. She sucked in a breath while her lungs clung to the new oxygen inside her.
“Imara,” the voice said again. Now she placed the owner of the voice.
“Abe,” she said, sinking deeper into his arms. “I think you just saved my life.”
He had been touching the bald spot in her hair, but his hands froze. Looking into her eyes, he said, “Really?”
She nodded, feeling more strength return with every breath.
“Finally,” he said, with a victorious grin. “I finally did it.”
She chuckled until her head snapped up with a start. “Santini was going to lower the forcefield and send the results of the vote herself. She might have done it already. She got away.”
Abe pulled her back into his arms. “The forcefield is still up. The police caught Santini before she did anything. She won’t tell them how to lower the forcefield. They need us to evacuate so Keiko can blow up the glass dome.”
“They caught her?” The words seemed unbelievable. Impossible.
Abe kissed her forehead. And then her lips. Then he seemed to forget everything as he hugged her even tighter to his body.
He came up for a bit of air and said, “I missed you.”
She nodded, her brain feeling a bit fuzzy again, but it had nothing to do with oxygen this time. “When do they need us to evacuate?”
He blinked and turned away from her as if trying to break the spell her presence had cast on him. “Oh yeah. Right now. They’re waiting for us.” He shook his head and trailed a finger down her neck until it found the drips of blood coming from the bruise in her chest.
“The bruise on your face is superficial, but I don’t like the bald spot in your hair. I need to take care of that immediately. And this bruise is even more concerning. What did she hit you with? A stick?”
“It was her high heel. She dug it into my chest while she stood on me.”
He cringed, but nothing could take away her good mood now. He was here, and the police were free, and the council members were alive, and Santini had been caught.
She tried to step forward, but with her body in its weakened state, it was difficult. Without a word, Abe lifted her into his arms and trailed down the hallway.
When they left the glass dome, the air felt fresher than ever. Abe helped her to her feet with his hand on her back to steady her.
Just when Imara was certain her mood couldn’t improve, Naki jumped in front of her and wrapped her into a hug. “I did it, Imara. I got all the council members out of the glass dome and I didn’t panic once.” She squeezed Imara even harder. “Basara helped, of course. I couldn’t have done it without him, but still. He couldn’t have done it without me either, and we actually did it.”
Naki pulled away and did a little jump in the air. “We did it!”
“Mali,” Imara said when she noticed the contortionist standing nearby.
Soon Naki had all three of them in a group hug.
“You’re alive,” Naki said. “I was so worried when you got caught, but you’re here and it’s over.”
Mali extricated herself from the hug, but she had a hint of a smile on her lips. “Yeah,” she said. “The city definitely turned to crap without me, but you didn’t let Santini take over the world, so there is that.”
Naki chuckled and went back to Basara. Imara noticed Siluk trying to hide behind Basara’s tall frame.
Abe had somehow acquired a bag of medical supplies and started working on Imara’s wounds. As always, the pain seemed to disappear with impossible speed. When Imara noticed Siluk again, a lump of guilt settled into her throat.
Before she could do anything about it, another police officer came up to her and said, “The council members would very much like to know what is going on. They’re confused about your speech and seem to think you’re the only one who can give them answers.”
Imara nodded and started walking even though Abe was in the middle of dabbing one of her wounds with ointment.
“Do they need to know right this second?” he asked as he continued to dab, trying to keep up with her.
“They’ve been locked up for weeks. This is the first time they’ve been out. I think they’ve waited long enough.”
Abe grumbled under his breath, but he didn’t try to stop Imara as she kept walking. He didn’t stop tending to her wounds either. It probably looked funny with them walking down the street while he dabbed at her head and chest with ointment and bandages.
By the time they reached the council members, the butterflies in Imara’s stomach had decided fluttering was insufficient. They were jumbling now. It made her brain and nerves a mess.
In the back of her mind, she had known this was coming. Since she gave the speech, she knew she’d have to explain it. Now that the time had come, she didn’t want to do it.
The police officer directed her to a short platform. She fiddled with her ring, taking her time to find the microphone app. Abe had stopped tending to her wounds, at least. He gave her an encouraging nod. He ended with a quick wink.
For some reason, remembering that she still had to tell Abe about the pearl-white resolution she had seen in the mirror made it that much easier to stand tall. She took in a deep breath. “Earlier today I told you to vote for Santini. I made it sound like she was worthy to be the global judge. That was a lie. I’m sorry for lying, but I did it to protect you. If I hadn’t, she would have killed you all.”
The entire front row of council members had a mass of fear spikes grow out from their skin. She recognized distrust in their eyes as well. Why wouldn’t they be afraid to trust her? She just admitted to lying.
But the more she talked, the more they warmed to her words. Their emotions showed trust, but it was more than that. Their faces looked brighter. They understood that this nightmare was finally over now.
When she stepped off the platform, they all cheered. She felt her cheeks flush and hoped they wouldn’t notice the red in her ears. Abe started tugging her away from the crowds toward an empty alley nearby. Her heart leapt in her chest at the thought. They hadn’t been alone together in so long.
Before they could reach the alley, the chief of police himself stepped in front of Imara. He grabbed her hand, shaking it maniacally. “You’re hired,” he said. “We would love to have you work for the Kenyan police. We don’t even care if you’re still a fugitive in Egypt. Mali told us all about you and your skills. We’d love to have you work for us.”
Imara opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her brain didn’t even supply thoughts. Even her emotions seemed unable to react.
Weeks ago, her only goal had been to keep people from dying. Now, her goal had changed. She didn’t just want to save people’s lives, she wanted to save their souls. As noble as being a police officer was, it probably couldn’t help her with that goal.
She managed to squeeze out a quiet thanks, but her heart wasn’t in it. The chief of police didn’t hide his disappointment at her lack of response, but Abe saved her yet again.
“If you don’t mind, Imara needs a moment to relax. She’s had a lot of stress, especially in the last few hours. Maybe you can catch up with her later.”
“Of course,” he said. “I completely understand. But Imara, do let us know once you’ve had a chance to rest.”
She barely had time to nod before Abe snuck her away. Somehow, they made it to the alley without anyone else bothering them. The moment they rounded the corner, his eyes locked onto hers with wave of desire. Her body responded to the look, leaning into him as if magnetized. But deep in her navel, something held her back.
Just as Abe reached her, she turned away. “While you were gone, I ...” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words.
“Siluk,” Abe said.
She glanced up at him while guilt sliced through her. How did he know?
Guessing her question, he said, “Naki told me.”
Imara let out a sigh, grateful she didn’t have to be the one to say it. But still, how much did Naki say? Naki would have made the whole thing look like Siluk’s fault. It mostly was, but Imara knew she wasn’t completely innocent.
She rubbed her arm as she turned away from Abe, afraid to face him. “At first he just comforted me. We thought you and Darius were dead. I checked your power signal and it was there, but then it was gone. I was devastated. We both were.”
Abe gently took her arm and pulled her back toward him. “It’s fine,” he said. “I don’t care what you did.”
“You don’t care?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
He huffed and loosened his hand on her slightly. “Okay, yes, I do care. Of course, I care. I keep having an image in my head of him holding you, and it makes me want to punch something. At least all you did was hug.”
Her hand flew to the back of her neck. She stared at the ground as she tugged on the short strands.
She heard him gulp before he asked, “Is that all that happened? That’s what Naki said, but—”
“He almost kissed me.”
Abe let out a sigh of relief and took her hand. “You thought I was dead. Even if you had kissed him, I can’t blame you. I’m glad you didn’t, but either way, you shouldn’t feel guilty about it.”
He leaned in closer now, his hands getting hungrier as they slipped around her waist.
“I didn’t kiss him, but I thought about it. I should have stayed away from him, especially because you were worried about him and me. I thought you were dead, but still. Do you think I’m awful?”
He pulled her so close, his knees bumped into her thighs. “I think we’ve been away from each other for too long.”
Just before their lips met, she asked, “You’re not mad?”
“Imara.”
The hint of impatience in his voice did more to soothe her guilt than anything else had. She let out a tiny chuckle and finally let him have what he wanted. What they both wanted. He pushed her right up against the wall and kissed her with a fire that warmed her straight through.
