Page 72 of Acting on Instinct
“That’s right, my father and mother fell in love and married, and Dad wished to stay here. My mother deferred to her husband in all things. My father didn’t need that, didn’t insist on it, talked to me at length about not becoming like my mother, that it was her background, but he would make sure I had choices.”
“Choice of …” Lynx asked with a nod of encouragement.
“Following a life in Qatar under the protection of my hardline uncle or being here in America.”
“And you chose Qatar and an arranged marriage?” Gator asked.
“To Omar Imadi? Yes, as my family is very deeply important to me, and I would have lost that connection if I hadn't relented. Of course, I didn’t realize what my uncle was asking me to do. He’s dead—my uncle is alive. It’s Omar who’s dead. I think it is a great gift in my life. I am so grateful he’s dead.”
“You already had the book when your uncle made the arrangement?” Lynx asked.
Kira stopped and stared at her. A tingle moved through her nervous system. “I don’t think so. I think those two things overlapped. My Aunt sent me the books via express mail. And it arrived at the same time I met Ty—that Lula sent Ty to me. And at the same time, I learned about the marriage arrangements from my uncle.”
“You thought Lula was your friend?” Gator asked.
“She is my friend. And she used my friendship,” Kira said.
“You figured out her job, or they told you?” Lynx asked.
“Oh, Lula told me that she is also called Johnna White. And of course, when Gator and Christen met, they were with a woman named Johnna Red. It wasn’t rocket science to put that together. More things came together. I was connecting dots. Lula came to see me because Ty had finished his mission and refused to be her asset. She had some questions for me about the conversations I’d overheard at the Range and at the family compound in Qatar. We had it out, Lula and I. I did anyway. I screamed and yelled at her, and she let me wear myself out. It broke my heart to lose what I thought was a dear friend and what I imagined I had had with Ty.”
“You do have that,” Lynx said, “without a doubt. Whatever you thought you had with Ty was there the night I saw you together at the Davidsons’ party for Christen and Gator. That man would have ripped to shreds anyone who came toward you. With claw and tooth, with his last drop of blood, he was ready to protect you because he had not just fallen in love with you, but he knew you were hisone.”
Kira felt tears swim in her eyes.
“And on top of that, I have known Lula for many years. We have had our differences of opinion, differences in perspective. But I hold her in high esteem. And she knew she had days to get someone on a plane to Tanzania to stop Omar and to save you.”
“That’s right.”
“So she had to pick someone you would fall in love with immediately. And she had to pull out her copious set of tricks to get that job done.”
“Yes.” Kira swiped at her eyes.
“And she knows that you have always been intuitive.”
Kira stopped and blinked.
“Yes?” Lynx asked.
“Yes.” Kira agreed.
“And so the person she chose had to fall in love with you at first sight, or you would know it was an act. Yes?”
“Yes,” Kira whispered.
“And so while your Uncle Nadir chose Omar Imadi to advance his needs, Lula chose Ty Newcombe for you to advance everyone’s needs. Omar was removed from the world of terrorism. Ty told you why that was important to his unit in particular?”
“A brother’s fiancée, Storm, was gravely injured.”
“Exactly. Lula got what she wanted. The Unit got what they wanted. Ty got what he wanted in finding the love of his life. And you got what I’m sure must be a great deal of confusion. Ty is, after all, what you wanted, too. Just under different circumstances. If Lula didn’t truly love you, you’d know. And if she didn’t love you as she does, she could have sent anyone. She chose for you to be safe and happy.”
Kira cleared her throat. “That’s a perspective that I haven’t considered.”
“But if I were in your shoes, I, too, would struggle with the level of betrayal you must have felt from all sides and from the people you wanted most to trust.”
“With Ty and Lula, yes. My uncle saw me as a commodity, and that was it.”
“Let’s get back to your family,” Lynx said, smoothing her hand carefully over the cover of the photo album. “Your Uncle Nadir married your Aunt Fatima. You said it was an arranged marriage.”
