Chapter 38
“We’re never going to find her!” Angela groaned, leaning against the ancient stone wall and letting her sneakered feet slide out from underneath her. Once her bottom was safely on the ground, she sighed hugely for dramatic effect.
“We will find her!” Zayn replied with absolute certainty as he plopped down beside Angela.
Rafi snorted, but sat down on her other side, trying unsuccessfully to mask his frustration. “We’ve figured out all of the clues so far. We can figure this one out too.”
Laith sat down, but his decent was more practiced and he sat with his legs crossed underneath him, frowning thoughtfully. “Dad always says to focus on the positives, then figure out the obstacles.” He looked around at the other three. “What are the positives?” When silence followed, he urged, “Hey, we’ve found every clue so far. That’s something!”
Angela nodded, feeling minutely better. “He’s right. I just…didn’t think it would be this hard.”
“Me neither,” Rafi replied with a heavy sigh. “What would Dad do now?”
The four of them pondered for a long moment. Then Zayn blurted out, “He’d ask for help.”
The older three stared at the youngest of their cohort, the one they considered to be the “baby” even though he was only one year younger than the rest.
“He’s right,” Angela whispered, wrapping her arms around Zayn and planting a loud kiss on the top of his head. “My dad talks about how Uncle Khal tried to do it all by himself when he first took over.” She looked at Laith and Rafi. “Your dad told us stories about how he used to run around with the Special Forces team before he realized that his older brother needed help.” She pointed to herself. “And my dad used to run a whole bunch of businesses around the world. That’s how he met my mom. But when they realized Uncle Khal needed help, they stepped up and took over special areas. Still, when they run into a problem, they go to experts.”
Laith sat up a bit straighter. “You’re right!” he whispered, unaware of the security guards listening in around the corner and rolling their eyes. “Should we talk to our dads?”
The four of them looked at each other, all wanting the others to agree first. Asking for help felt like failure. And yet, they were all sitting on the floor, unsure of where to look next for their missing aunt.