Page 61 of Acting on Instinct
But now she was roping other people into her discomfort. Christen took her seriously. She was going to put others in motion.
Kira wondered if her nerves, raw from the burglary, weren’t still primed with adrenaline.
The burglary had been horrific, but all told, it had taken Rory and Ty less than ten minutes to subdue the bad guys. The longest part of the event was waiting for the police to assemble, load up the bad guys, and take their statements.
It was violent and awful, and then it was over.
Kira wondered where Ty was at that moment.
He’d left at two so he and Rory could get dressed and be in place by five.
This was supposed to be a training exercise, but they put Echo in play. That meant that while she drove toward the Charlotte airport, Ty was probably “boots up” somewhere in the sky, jetting to the fight.
The places Ty went usually meant landing in Europe for refueling, then flying again to the Middle East or East Africa. He might be landing at his mission location about the same time as Kira would land in Washington, depending on what ticket she could get.
It was a comforting kind of symmetry.
She wished the geometry were different, and that they were together instead of running in parallel.
Kira was a threat to someone because of something she knew.
It was so improbable to have a doctorate in literature, but somehow her knowledge was a danger. Of course, what they wanted to ask her wouldn’t have anything to do with feminist themes in Jane Austen novels.
“What did she know?” became a thought loop.
Family honor would be a reason her hard-line uncle would take extreme actions.
But wouldn’t that be a conversation from long ago? The almost two years since Omar’s death were significant.
Why now?
Qatar was at the epicenter of a global hot spot.
There was enough for Uncle Nadir to focus on in the region right now. Even if Tanzania had never happened, and Omar had never happened, Kira certainly wouldn’t be getting on a plane and flying in for a visit any time soon.
In the capital of Doha had been missile and drone activity that had put everyone on edge.
Surely no one would dare take her to Qatar right now if only for their own safety.
Might they try something here in America?
“He will send someone to get you so they can ask you questions, and then you will no longer be his problem.”London’s note had said.
What did it mean to ask her some questions?
And while London thought the last part about no longer being Uncle Nadir’s problem was a life-threatening statement, could it all be innocent?
“Do you love this, Ty Newcombe? Do you mean to marry him?” Kira had her uncle ask her in her imagination. “Yes, I love him with all my heart. And I will marry him as soon as I feel safe,” she’d reply.
Safe from what?
Safe from Ty? Tywasher safety net.
If she thought that her uncle would throw his hands in the air and say, “Then marry the man. You are no longer my problem.”
Kira knew in her bones that London’s letter had nothing to do with her love for Ty.
London was a creative soul, and she felt the emotions around her like a texture she could rub between her fingers. Even disabled, Kira believed that London would only betray someone she loved to save someone she loved. And certainly,William would think of London’s note as a betrayal. London had, indeed, put the magical ring from so many years ago into use as predicted.
