Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
“Hey, Nahla, it’s . . .” Jessica’s eyes dropped closed; she nearly sputtered her real identity over the voicemail, exhaustion settling in. “It’s Stephanie.” She cleared her throat. “Just checking to see where you are. Hope everything’s okay.”
Nahla had been a no-show at the airport, which wasn’t like her. The last-minute text to meet at Jessica’s hotel bar instead officially had her on edge.
Her gaze drifted out the window overlooking the city center of Berlin. Her eyes captured the sliver of the moon making its debut in the dark blue sky as the night ate up the rest of the day.
She was looking forward to seeing the girls tomorrow. Lately, her online teaching sessions had become far too infrequent, with her work schedule exploding from the seams. Apparently, bad guys didn’t take time off, so neither could she.
Jessica owed the girls a visit, though. It shouldn’t have taken an email from Nahla to get her to come, either.
Guilt. Five letters heavier than boulders weighing down on her shoulders.
She’d been teaching the girls for nearly six years. Some had already gone off to college. She couldn’t believe how much time had passed since she’d first met them in Aleppo—the same time she’d met Asher.
Asher. God, she hoped he wouldn’t go to the fight club tonight. She’d given Knox and Liam a heads-up to keep an eye on him since Owen and Echo Team had left the city around the same time she had this morning.
The last thing she needed to worry about was Asher getting arrested for knocking the shit out of his sister’s new boyfriend.
She blinked away her thoughts, nearly missing the vibration from a text on her phone.
A change of plans. Again.
After reading the instructions, she grabbed enough euros from her purse to cover the wine and then slipped on her brown leather gloves, wrapped her pink scarf around her neck, and tightened her coat before heading out into the freeze-your-ass-off cold. It wasn’t snowing, at least.
A taxi delivered her to Pariser Platz. She strode toward the gate where tourists were snapping photos. Brandenburg Gate had once divided the country, but now it served as a beacon of unity and peace.
Another vibration from her purse had her shoulders sagging. Was Nahla canceling again?
Jessica retrieved her phone and eyed the text.
Asher: Checking on you.
She removed a glove to type back, a smile skirting her lips. A smile a text shouldn’t be able to provoke so easily.
Jessica: I should be the one checking on you. You good?
Asher: If you’re wondering if I’ve damaged anyone’s face today, that’d be a negative.
Asher: . . . Unfortunately.
Her smile broadened, and she lifted her chin to observe the crowd, checking to see if Nahla had arrived. No sign of her yet.
Jessica: Good. Do you think you can stay out of trouble until I’m home?
Asher: This is me we’re talking about.
Jessica: Exactly.
Asher: Where are you right now?
She looked at the neoclassical monument before directing her focus back to the screen.
Jessica: In front of the Goddess of Victory.
She’d see how good his German history was.
He didn’t answer, and she figured he was busy Googling to determine her location. Of course, he could ping her cell and triangulate her position if he wanted to get tactical on her.
Jessica: You enjoying your break from me?
Three little dots popped then disappeared.
When the dots appeared again, her mind drifted back to the Christmas party last month, to the kiss with Asher that night. A mistletoe-inspired one, but still.
In the weeks that followed, Asher had tried to raise the topic of that night, but she’d always brought down the hammer and killed the conversation not even five words in.
“Stephanie!” Nahla’s voice stole her attention as she moved toward her through the crowd.
Jessica quickly stowed her phone and slipped on her glove before slinging her arms around her friend, pulling her in for a hug.
“It’s so good to see you.” Jessica edged back to catch her friend’s eyes.
Nahla looked left and then right, and her hand settled on Jessica’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I had to change the plans, but . . . someone was following me.”
Her words had Jessica’s hand sweeping over Nahla’s arm. “What are you talking about?”
“I think I lost them on my way here,” she said, her voice breathy as if she’d been running.
Jessica scanned the plaza now. “We need to get you out of here so we can talk.”
“No, we should stay in a public place. The more people, the better.” Nahla’s hand fell to her side, and she clenched the strap of her purse tight to her body.
“What’s going on?” Her heart raced as she blew through a dozen potential scenarios. “Who would be following you?”
A blast of frigid wind picked up and whipped her long, dark hair in front of her. “I-I made a mistake. Someone figured out who I am.” Nahla’s eyes closed and then opened. “The real me.”
“Oh, God.” She scrolled through contingency plans in her head. “We’ve got to get you out of here. I’ll arrange a safe house until I can figure out what’s going on.” She hated being without her team if shit were about to hit the fan. It felt like being naked in the cold.
“I’m so sorry.” Her teeth clicked together like a chill of fear had blustered up her spine. “I lied to you. I asked you to come for the girls, but—”
“No, don’t be sorry.” Jessica shook her head as she tucked her gloved hand in her purse and grabbed her cell.
“If your cover is blown, it was smart not to say anything over an unsecured line.” She’d taught Nahla how to send encrypted messages, but even then, someone with enough cyber skills could crack them.
“Let’s go.” She pointed toward the road where taxis were assembled.
They’d barely taken a few steps when a crack burst through the air, followed by a snap—a bullet breaking the sound barrier as it zinged past them.
The crowd scattered.
Another slug soared so close to Jessica she could practically feel the sting of the bullet. She crouched, the phone clattering to the ground in the process. She forced Nahla down next to her.
Nahla gasped, her eyes flaring.
Jessica didn’t think the bullets had been meant as kill shots. No, they were intended to disseminate the crowd. To try and get to . . . shit.
“Stay by my side,” she ordered.
Nahla peered at her. Fear darkened her eyes, but she nodded. “Okay.”
“I’ll keep you safe,” Jessica tried to assure her once they were on their feet, even though she wasn’t strapped.
She considered their options. If they stayed with the fleeing crowd, she’d put more lives at risk. But if they didn’t have the cover of others, they’d be putting a bull’s-eye on their heads.
“Let’s move.” She held onto Nahla’s elbow and raced in a zigzag pattern in the direction of the Goddess of Victory, keeping her head low.
A shot whooshed over her shoulder a moment later, and it had her instinctively pulling Nahla down and to her side. She cupped Nahla’s head to her chest, offering the best protection she could.
“Stay there!” a hard voice broke through the surrounding screams.
Jessica remained in a squatted position but looked back over her shoulder to observe the gunman on approach.
Tall. All black from head to toe. A mask with eyes visible through slits.
A duffel bag clutched in his right hand.
A bomb?
In front of them, he discharged his weapon again, but the bullet didn’t come close.
Jessica looked back to see a Polizei officer take a hit.
“What do you want?” she demanded, facing him again, her defiance a soft echo.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
But they’d never make it in time.
Her heart stuttered as she stared at the masked shooter.
Nahla pivoted out of Jessica’s reach and rose, standing her ground before the man. “Please, don’t do this.”
“Get behind me!” Jessica lurched to her feet to grab hold of Nahla’s wrist, but her heart leaped into her throat as the man squeezed the trigger. “Nooooo!”
She immediately sank to her knees, falling to Nahla’s side and pressed her gloved hands over the chest wound, blood smearing the leather.
Jessica’s throat contracted as she cried, a broken sob releasing from deep within her chest.
“I-I . . .” Gasping breaths left Nahla as her eyes pinned to Jessica before the life drifted free of her in a split second.
“No,” she whispered in grief. “No. No. No!” She added pressure to the wound. She had to save her. It couldn’t end like this.
“Come. Now,” the man said from over her shoulder, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Nahla.
She growled the words, “I won’t go any—” But agony bloomed on the side of her head and everything went black.