Chapter 27 #2
“Tariq and I wanted out of Saudi Arabia and away from our family’s control.
We both tried making it on our own, but we weren’t exactly great at making money.
And to live the lives we’d grown accustomed to, if we wanted access to our family’s wealth, we had to be people we didn’t want to be.
” Her cheeks grew a touch rosy as if embarrassed.
Spoiled? Shocker.
“So, we came up with a plan to find someone with the means to support the both of us. Tariq made a list of possible suitors who our parents would approve of and who wouldn’t mind an independent and modern woman. That’s how I ended up with Ario.”
“He took the bait.” Kaira wasn’t so innocent, Finn decided.
“You weren’t supposed to fall in love, though,” he said, recalling what she’d shared with Julia in the bathroom.
And now, he found himself once again studying Julia.
He wasn’t supposed to fall for her, either, and here he was—dangling over that cliff.
“Even before I fell in love with Ario, getting rid of him was never part of the plan. But I also didn’t want one more man telling me what to do in my life.
My brothers, aside from Tariq, are as controlling as my father.
Especially Amin. He hated both Tariq and me for our lifestyle choices.
But Ario was different. He treated me like a partner instead of a possession.
I helped him with the company, too. I had a sense of self-worth I learned by being his wife,” she went on, her tone a bit shaky.
Finn glanced at Julia, and as their eyes met, his chest grew tight. Her absolute trust in him was conveyed in that shared look, which also served to awaken his fear that he would one day fail her.
“If your brother, Tariq, is so modern, why does he fund terrorist groups?” Harper interjected, stealing Finn’s attention back to the room.
Kaira shook her head. “You have it all wrong. Tariq loves the West. He loves all things American, especially the women. But he also has another habit, one not so healthy.”
“Drugs,” Finn said under his breath, resenting the fact that this dark cloud kept hovering over his head. Drugs. He wanted them freaking eradicated.
“Tariq has fought depression for many years, but my father considers taking antidepressants or seeing a therapist a weakness, especially in regard to his sons. Tariq was forbidden from seeking help, and with my father’s connections, trust me, he would find out about it.
So, Tariq sought out pills from other sources as a way to escape reality.
He’d disappear for days. Is it called a bender?
I’m not sure. But Amin would use Tariq’s passport, dress like him, and he was the one behind all of that type of activity.
Tariq found out after the fact, but no one in my family believed he was innocent. ”
What. The. Actual. Hell? What kind of brother was this Amin guy?
“I know it sounds crazy,” Kaira went on.
“But it’s true. I promise. This was another reason Tariq wanted to get away from Amin.
I think Amin got the idea to deal pills from Tariq’s addiction.
He denounced Western culture as greedy and selfish, and he said drug use would ultimately lead to their demise. ”
Finn needed to sit down.
Was the room spinning?
Roman seemed to pick up on the fact that all the talk about drugs was affecting Finn because he quickly started his way. Well, that’s not embarrassing. Twenty years, dude, and you still can’t handle the subject.
Finn held his free hand up to let Roman know he was okay, and he lightly squeezed Julia’s side to reassure her as well. “I’m fine,” he added, taking in A.J.’s concerned and confused expression once he was steady on his feet. “Go on,” he urged Kaira once Roman hesitantly returned to Harper’s side.
“Our parents slowly started weaning my brothers off solely relying on their inheritance. Yes, Amin worked for the family business, but he didn’t put in as much effort as our parents wanted, and I think that’s when Amin saw my husband as his way out from under our parents’ financial thumb.
I-I don’t know if he ever suspected I’d used Ario for the same reason, but late last year, Amin started demanding cash infusions into his account.
Ario put up with it a few times but ultimately refused to support yet another brother of mine.
He was already funneling money to Tariq whenever I asked.
Amin grew angry, and that’s when he started to drop hints he’d kill Ario and remove the obstacle in his way to the billions.
” She took a deep breath as if trying to regain her composure.
“I told Ario to remove my name as executor of his will. By doing that, Amin would have no reason to kill him, nor would he be able to get his hands on Ario’s money should something happen to him. ”
“Ario didn’t believe Amin would ever follow through with his threat to kill him, and he didn’t get along with any of his family well enough to change his will,” Jack spoke up as if sensing Kaira needed a break.
“That’s when she phoned me and explained she was dealing with a stubborn husband and a psychotic brother. ”
“I didn’t know who to turn to, and my gut told me Jack and Joan would be able to help,” Kaira added. “They suggested new identities and faces for both Ario and me, which would ensure we could stay together without looking over our shoulders forever.”
“Why would Ario do that if he wouldn’t even change the will?” Roman asked.
Kaira chewed on her lip for a moment. “You’re right. My stubborn husband wouldn’t do it. But he did come with me to meet Giorgio. In the end, Ario turned him down. I met with Giorgio on my own and told him to put us on his schedule anyway and that I’d quadruple his price.”
“Did Ario ever learn the truth about the plan you and Tariq had initially cooked up?” Julia whispered.
“No. But as I fell in love with him, the guilt started to eat at me. If I hadn’t schemed with Tariq to win over and use Ario as our means of escape a few years ago, he’d have been safe, free to live his life.
” She closed her eyes. “I’d hoped Ario would agree to my plan for both of us to change our identities and disappear, and even after he turned down Giorgio, I held out hope I could convince him somehow.
But Amin killed Ario before I could change his mind.
And now that he’s really dead, it’s like I murdered him. ”
“Had you intended for Oliver to be your fall guy?” Julia’s voice lowered, fueled by her anger.
“No, throwing the blame on Oliver was never in my plan. We were going to ‘die’ in a boating accident.” Kaira opened her eyes. “Hard to find bodies in the ocean.”
Yeah, Echo Team had run across those types of faked deaths before.
“The day Ario died in January, Amin unexpectedly showed up at our house, angry that Ario was refusing to give him money. He was so mad . . .” Kaira whispered, visibly shaken. “Ario had already left for the day, so I was alone.”
Tears ran down Kaira’s face as she struggled to go on.
“Amin said he’d ordered Ario to meet him at the construction site that morning without Oliver, or else he’d kill me.
” Kaira let out a sob. “And then Amin beat me. Told me when Oliver arrived to pick up Ario as usual, to say the beating was by my husband’s hand or else he’d .
. . kill Oliver. So that’s what I did. You can guess the rest of the story—Amin pushed Ario to his death, paid off the workers at the site to say it was Oliver, bribed the police to cover it all up and arrest Oliver.
” Kaira wiped tears from her face. “You know, I don’t think Amin premeditated the murder.
But I’m certain that Ario refused to give him money again, and his anger took over. ”
“Why’d you lie to the police? I assume he gave you no choice?” Harper asked, probably beating Julia to the question.
“Amin forced me to tell the police those lies in the report,” Kaira said in a disappointed tone.
“You need to tell the police the truth.” Julia stepped closer to Kaira. “They’re going to kill Oliver.”
“She can’t,” Carter spoke for the first time in a bit. “Not until we stop Amin first.”
“He’ll kill her and her brother.” Jack stood and shoved his hands into the pockets of his Top Gun leather jacket.
“I’m still confused. Why’d Tariq go to Egypt? That was him there, wasn’t it? And it’s Tariq at the party tonight, not Amin, right?” Finn asked.
Kaira turned to Joan and Jack as if searching for the okay, and Jack nodded.
“You can trust them,” Carter added.
Kaira’s shoulders sagged. “Amin has been searching for someone. A name. I-I don’t know the details.
He’s been forcing Tariq to do the legwork for him while he’s off the grid somewhere.
He knows how close Tariq and I are, so while he’s off spending Ario’s money on God knows what, he’s making Tariq do his bidding under the threat that I’ll be killed if he doesn’t. ”
Finn’s head was still spinning a little bit, but he managed out, “Did you know Tariq was sent after Giorgio?”
“I didn’t know why Tariq went to Egypt until he returned to Dubai the other day all upset,” she explained. “You see, I never told Tariq about my plan for Ario and me to run away. And it didn’t seem necessary to do so after Ario’s death.”
“We felt it’d be better if no one else knew,” Jack spoke up. “Not until later, when Ario and Kaira were living their new lives. And the plan was to leave Tariq in charge of the will. Executor of everything.”
“So, when Tariq went after Giorgio as Amin instructed him to do, he stumbled upon your name and your husband’s on that list, too,” Roman said, putting it all together.
“Yes. He confronted me about it, and I told him everything. He was worried what Amin would think when he received the list and saw my and Ario’s name on it,” Kaira responded in a shaky voice.
“He didn’t want me to go to the resort this weekend, worried I was up to something again, and I’d get myself killed. ”
“Tariq saw the names of the hosts for the party this weekend, and he remembered them from Giorgio’s list, which is why he showed up and wouldn’t leave her side,” Jack pointed out. “He put two and two together that we were Kaira’s initial source in her plan to fake her death.”
Julia stiffened against Finn’s side. “So, is Tariq a threat to you or not? I’m confused.”
Kaira peered Julia’s way with apologetic eyes. “Tariq’s been with me all weekend to protect me. You see, in his eyes, keeping me from defying Amin is also protection. For now, he thinks we have no choice but to do what Amin says or die.”
Protection? Tariq was her protector. How was this possible? How could a brother . . .?
“I guess I don’t understand why Tariq used a false identity to lure Giorgio to Egypt,” Harper said under her breath. “If they’d never previously met or even talked.”
“When I initially approached Giorgio, I explained that we wanted to change our identities because of Amin. Tariq didn’t want to take any chances that Giorgio would fear he was like Amin and refuse to meet with him,” Kaira replied.
“Do you know your brother’s big plans? Does it have to do with drugs?” Harper followed up with another question, and Finn was glad he had the support of his teammates there to help since he wasn’t thinking all that clearly.
Kaira shook her head. “In the last few months, Tariq has done his best to try and win over our brother’s trust by doing his bidding and acting as though he’s been keeping tabs on me, all to try and figure out what Amin has been up to.”
“So you can do what?” Finn asked this time.
Carter looked Finn’s way and smiled. “Stop him, of course.”