Page 80 of Acting on Instinct
The second man walked to the landline and ripped it from the wall.
Kira pulled the trolley up to cover her knees, then unfolded her napkin and put it on her lap, using the gesture to hide her moves as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket.
As the men wandered around her little suite, looking behind curtains and in the closet, Kira turned off the airplane mode and tapped the CIA panic button, then she slid the phone between her legs, letting it fall to the ground, and tapped it with her foot until it moved under the skirt of the chair. She had no idea what the panic button did, but it might mean help.
Gator, with Lynx and their FBI friend, was winding through traffic to check on her.
Stalling the next steps felt like the right choice.
Kira picked up her sandwich and took a bite.
The man with the gun came in, pulled a chair from under the table, and moved it in front of Kira. He let the pistol dangle between his knees, lowering the threat level. “I'm here at the behest of your Uncle Nadir. He would like to know why you are in Washington, D.C.”
Kira took another bite of her sandwich to give herself a moment to think. She swallowed and said, “My uncle should know why I'd be in D.C. My friend Christen Davidson is traveling here, in hopes of getting a flight to Tanzania. She’s very upset about her dad’s health and needs my support. If you’ve talkedto my uncle, maybe you have an update on William Davidson's condition?”
The man with the gun pulled a phone out of his pocket, pressed a button, and said, “She’s here.”
“Kira.” Her uncle’s voice was a snarl.
“Hello.”
“I can’t find her computer,” said the second man.
“It’s beside the bed, charging,” Kira called.
“You have her phone?” Uncle Nadir asked.
“Right here,” the gun said.
“I would like to know if your Aunt Fatima has sent you a gift,” Uncle Nadir asked.
“Oh,” Kira said, thinking of Houston and his alert. “I haven’t received a gift from Aunt Fatima in years.”
“What was the last thing you got from her?”
“Maybe a piece of artwork that she did or something that one of my cousins had made. I have those pieces hanging up in my hallway at my house.”
“You know. Don’t be stupid. What did Fatima send you? You will tell me now, or she will pay the price.”
A screech rose out of the phone speaker that covered Kira with sweat and gooseflesh.
“Uncle, stop what you’re doing. What has taken hold of you? Aunt Fatima isn’t in the habit of sending me anything. I haven’t received a single thing from her since the last time I saw you.”
“You need to come speak with me in person.”
Kira could hear the cruelty in the undertones of his words. She could feel the menace and roiling anger. “I don’t want to do that, Uncle. I have duties to Christen.” Her voice quivered into the phone, and she knew that all she was trying to do was keep everyone talking so Lynx and Gator could get there.
Did it put them in danger?
Oh, Kira hadn’t considered that.
How selfish was she? How much did she wish to spare herself?
She didn’t know what kind of pain her uncle would devise for her when the questions came.
He’d been a hard man, a displeased man, but she’d never seen signs that he was a sadistic man. Not with his family.
“Could you not ask Aunt Fatima what it is you’re talking about?” Oh, she probably shouldn’t have said that.
