Chapter 23
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“Hena!” Nasir cried out as she fled. “Come back. Please!”
She ignored him and hurried down the terrace steps. The sky was dark. Frogs croaked in the distance. Wind whipped against her hair. Glancing back at the brightly lit resort, she prayed she was hidden.
She needed to reach Haris. He had to know Nasir was back. She dialed his number. Straight to voicemail.
She tamped down her frustration. Now what?
Then she saw him. In the distance, striding down the grassy lawn, his back to her—Reza.
How long had he been out here? She’d told him he was welcome to keep an eye out while she spoke to Nasir.
But he wasn’t watching her right now. Instead, phone pressed to his ear, he was slipping into the maze. Why?
Heart thudding, she followed him. Entering the narrow pathway, she crept forward. He was here somewhere. It would have been easy enough to call out his name, but an unspoken dread she could not articulate rendered her silent.
A few paces in, she heard him.
“I’m trying,” Reza said into his phone. He was a row ahead of her, his body obscured by the maze. “…unpredictable.”
She crept closer, flinching at the sound of her heels clicking against the paved pathway. Kicking them off, she turned the bend, straining to hear him, until finally—
“She doesn’t suspect anything, but things are moving faster than planned.”
Hena faltered mid-step.
“I know what’s at stake,” he snapped. A long pause. “I don’t care. Like I’m just going to walk away?”
The rustle of leaves. Through a narrow gap in the branches she clocked his face. Furrowed. Angry.
“Of course I’m not listening to them. This is serious.” Another pause. “Yeah, well, he showed up today!” A pause. “Yes. Nasir is at the fucking wedding.”
Hena’s blood ran cold. She froze, watching Reza’s profile shadowed in darkness.
Reza rubbed the back of his neck. “I told you we should’ve handled this days ago.”
No.
“I know,” he said after a beat. “I’ll end it now.”
He paused again, listening.
“Can we talk about this later? Lulu already gave me an earful.”
Lulu? What the hell was going on?
“I’ll keep her close,” he said. “Don’t worry.” Another pause. “Of course the location tracker is on. I don’t trust it, though. The signal’s shit out here. We can’t afford to wait.”
She felt dizzy. A tracker. Her phone burned in her hands. She dropped it. It cracked on impact.
Reza jerked his head at the sound. Through the gap in the branches, his eyes met hers. His mouth opened. Shut. He stuffed his phone in his pocket.
“Hena.” He slipped from view, reappearing at the entrance of the pathway where she stood. He started walking toward her.
Hena took a step back.
“Fuck. Hena—listen to me. I can explain.”
“Stay away from me.”
He moved closer. She raised her palms.
“Don’t come any closer.” She edged away. The leaves, spiky and calloused, bit into her skin.
“It’s not what you think. I want to help you.”
“Help me,” she repeated. “So you haven’t been lying about who you are?”
“No! I mean, it’s not that simple.” He paused. “I was hired to protect you. It’s what I’m trying to do right now.”
“Protect me?” she said, her voice tight with fury. “I heard you. You bugged my phone.”
“That wasn’t me. Hena—”
His mouth was moving, but she couldn’t grasp his words over the roar of panic in her ears. Her vision was tunneling. The masked man in the boathouse. The gloved grip against her throat. The one she’d stabbed with a knife.
The scar across Reza’s stomach.
“You said…you said it was a fireplace poker…” she said slowly. “That man. It was…it was you.”
She had delivered herself straight to him.
Reza fell silent. His face went still.
“You don’t understand,” he said.
Except she did. A wave of nausea roiled through her. All these years, it was him. He was the one who had haunted Nasir. The reason the last three years of her life were spent in grief and pain.
Their conversations flashed before her. He’d known exactly what to say to get close, hadn’t he? He just had to flirt a little and share stories of trauma at the hands of his father. All he needed to do was leave a fucking KitKat bar at her door, and poof—she was putty in his hands.
“Look, we’re out of time.” He stepped toward her. “I need to get you off the property. Now. You’re in danger.”
The path felt like it was shrinking around her. Reza was right. She was in danger. Reza was the danger.
“Leave me alone,” she said through gritted teeth. She backed into a main artery of the maze. “And stay the fuck away from Nasir. Do you hear me? Don’t talk to me ever again.”
He stood still. Debating. Then his eyes narrowed. He took a step forward.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I can’t do that.”
He lunged for her, his hand shooting out. She jumped back.
Then she ran.
Her feet slammed against the concrete as she flew down the winding path. He was behind her, close on her heels.
Branches scraped her arms as she tore through the narrow hedge openings, her billowing skirt snagging on thorns.
She raced left, feet skidding. Her bridal clothes were bulky, and Reza was fast. So fast. But she was the one who was desperate.
She veered into the next alleyway, praying it didn’t lead to a dead end. From there, a hard right. She panted. Her chest burned. The thud of her beating heart so loud it drowned out everything else.
The maze twisted and doubled back on itself. She breathed heavily. Glancing back, she’d lost him. For now. There was only luck in a maze like this, where every turn looked the same.
She heard Reza on the other side of the hedge. His steps growing closer.
She stopped suddenly. A dead end.
Hena pushed down her rising dread. If she turned to double back, he would find her. Grab her. And then what?
He would finish what he’d started.
Her heart skipped a beat. Here: a break in the hedge. Barely wider than her shoulders. She ran her hands along the spiky leaves. She could squeeze through. Maybe. Which meant she stood a chance.
Vines scraped her arms as she fought her way out. The leaves stung, their jagged edges slicing against her skin. At last, she stumbled onto the grassy lawn on the other side.
Reza’s footsteps grew louder—then stopped.
“Hena!” His voice thundered in the darkness.
He was still in the maze.
For now.
Hena broke into a run. She reached a gated fence, flung it open, and raced through the butterfly garden.
“Wait!” Reza was out. He was closing in fast. “Don’t do this!”
She raced out the other side, slamming the back gate shut and securing the latch, then kept running. Past the gardens. Through the gravel path. Into the parking lot.
She exhaled a ragged breath. Her bare feet burned. She scanned the rows of parked cars. It was only a matter of time before Reza hopped the fence or broke right through it.
What now?
Then she saw the headlights as they cut through the misty night. A silver Range Rover crossed the drawbridge and pulled in.
Haris’s car.
She sprinted to it and pounded the window. Hearing the locks click, she yanked the passenger door open.
“I—I called you,” she said, breathless.
“My signal’s crap out here,” he said. “I was going to—” He saw her face. His expression changed. “What happened?”
Glancing back, Reza’s shadowed figure loomed in the distance. He’d hopped the fence. Of course he had. Now he was running toward her.
“Nasir. He’s at the wedding. And Reza—” She struggled to choke the words out. “He’s not who he said he was. I’m in danger, Haris.”
Haris clenched his jaw. “Get in. Let’s go.”