Page 9

9

KYRA

K yra turned around and crouched next to her open duffle bag, reaching for the small velvet pouch containing Jasmine's tarot cards.

"What are you going to do with these?" Max asked. "Are you planning on showing them to Soraya?"

She straightened and put the pouch in the pocket of her pants under the abaya. "Jasmine believes that I got them in America, so they will mean nothing to my sister. It's just for good luck." She patted her side where the cards were. "It's a talisman of sorts, a connection to the daughter I found and the family I hope to reunite."

She lifted her hand, showing him the two rings Jasmine had given her. "I hope Soraya will recognize these. Jasmine doesn't know if I had them with me when I arrived in America or bought them later. I'll just make sure that Soraya notices them, and I'll watch her response."

He gently gripped her fingertips and lifted her hand to his lips. "They look—" Max began but was cut off by the sound of the safe house door banging open.

They exchanged a quick look before rushing out to the main room.

"There's been an attack on Yasmin's home," Nadim announced without preamble. "It's happening right now."

Kyra felt ice flood her veins. "What do you mean, an attack?"

"Our watcher just reported in," Nadim said, his words clipped. "Armed men stormed the house. The guards are down—likely dead. At least two men entered the residence."

Kyra clutched her pendant. How could she have been so wrong? Why hadn't it given her a warning?

Perhaps getting in contact with Durhad's evil body had contaminated it.

"The enemy has made its move," Max said.

He had to remember not to mention Doomers in front of Nadim. The guy knew that the bad guys who had taken the daughters of two families were involved with the Revolutionary Guard, and that was enough for him. He knew not to ask too many questions.

"How many people are in the house?" Yamanu asked, holstering his guns .

"Yasmin, her husband, and their five children," Nadim said.

Five children. Kyra's nieces and nephews, blood of her blood, were now in the hands of the same creatures who had tortured her, Fenella, and her four nieces. The thought sent a wave of rage through her so potent that it momentarily stole her breath away. She thought of the cruelty which the Doomers had exhibited in the past and all the horrible things they had done that Max had told her about.

That same soulless cruelty would be turned against Yasmin's children now.

"We move," Yamanu said. "We won't get there in time to prevent them from being taken, but we might be able to follow their trail and retrieve them."

His words gave Kyra hope. Perhaps the situation was still salvageable.

The team sprang into action, the careful plan they'd spent hours crafting discarded in an instant, replaced by the urgent need to intercept the Doomers before they could disappear with Yasmin and her children.

"I'll drive the lead van," Nadim said, keys already in hand. "I know the fastest routes."

Within minutes, they were loading into the three vans they'd arrived in. Kyra considered shedding the traditional clothing. They were going in hot, ready for combat, so she wouldn't need to blend in, but she needed to leave the fat suit on because her weapons were in there, and she didn't have time to take it off and put her hidden arsenal in holsters. She could feel the dull press of her knives, guns, and gear through the padding, and it was a strange comfort amid the chaos.

As she and Max got into the van with Yamanu and Nadim, Kyra felt the pendant grow almost painfully hot against her skin, and the sensation only further fueled her anger. The heat seared into her sternum as if chiding her for not sensing the ambush coming. She balled her free hand into a fist, knuckles whitening.

Now you are warning me? When the danger is obvious?

You're useless .

"We'll get to them." Max took her hand, reading the fear and fury in her expression. "We're not too late."

Kyra wished she could believe him. Questions assaulted her thoughts in rapid fire. Had they taken Yasmin's husband alive or gunned him down for interference? They weren't human, so they could've just snapped his neck and done that right in front of his children. She could practically hear the terrified cries that must be echoing in that house right now.

As the vans pulled away from the safe house and accelerated through the streets, her mind raced with horrific scenarios. What if they arrived only to find the entire family already gone? What if the Doomers had killed the parents and taken the kids?

Hang on, she directed the sentiment toward a sister she couldn't remember and children she'd never met. I'm coming for you .

The van swerved around a corner, horn blaring to clear pedestrians from its path. Through the windshield, Kyra could see the traffic parting before them, startled faces turning to watch them speeding away. She felt the adrenaline spike flowing through her veins, every sense sharpened as her body prepared for the imminent fight.

Drawing on years of combat experience, she steeled herself for what they might find and pushed down the personal terror threatening to overwhelm her focus. One way or another, the Doomers would learn they had made a grave mistake—and Kyra vowed she would not let them slip away unscathed.