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Back The Desert of Glass Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. BY MICHAEL C. GRUMLEY
  2. Prologue
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. 63
  66. 64
  67. 65
  68. 66
  69. 67
  70. 68
  71. 69
  72. 70
  73. 71
  74. 72
  75. 73
  76. 74
  77. 75
  78. 76
  79. 77
  80. 78
  81. EPILOGUE
  82. II
  83. III
  84. IV

He started to turn when Eshe’s dark eyes caught him, and he stared back, softening his gaze and lowering himself onto one knee.  For a long time, the two looked at each other without saying a word.

“What… is going on?”

The women had no idea, prompting Mona to ask Eshe in Arabic.

“She says Joe looks familiar to her.”

“Like—who?”

“She didn’t say.”

Angela looked at Rickards.  “Joe?”

He breathed in before looking up.  “She looks familiar to me, too.”

“You said you hadn’t been here before.”

“I haven’t.  But there’s something very familiar about her.”  He inhaled again, eventually smiling at Eshe and pushing himself to his feet.

“We have to go,” he repeated.

“Where?”

“Anywhere but here.”

Angela and Leonard moved quickly to the room’s outer door and immediately crossed the hall.

When Townsend disappeared into his room, Angela paused momentarily at her own door, turning around to look back.  No one else in the room could have known except Joe, but he was too close to see it.  Even with her darker complexion… Eshe bore a small resemblance to Joe’s daughter.

67

67

They were inside Mona’s car in under fifteen minutes, packed shoulder to shoulder within the modest sedan with Rickards in the driver’s seat and Mona next to him.  Angela and Townsend occupied the back, with Eshe securely strapped in between them.

“Find us the nearest police station.”

Mona raised her phone and presented it to Rickards.  “You turned off my phone.”

“Right.”  He reached into his pocket.  “Use mine,” he said, handing it over.

Rickards started the engine and backed out the car, then turned and drove forward, carefully scanning the parking lot through the windshield.  He glanced down when Mona started the navigation on his phone and targeted an ENP address two kilometers away.

It was past ten o’clock, and most of the traffic had cleared, allowing them to reach El Wahat Road and smoothly merge with a long stream of other cars as the large numbers on Rickards’ phone decremented to 1.8 kilometers remaining.

“Tell me again why we’re doing this,” said Mona.

“Telling everything to the police no longer makes you Saad’s sole liability.  Once other people know, his problem gets bigger, and hopefully, ours gets smaller.”

“Then what?”

“Then we find another place to hide.”

“Such as?”

“Another hotel.  While we come up with a new plan.”

“What about Eshe?”

Rickards looked at the girl in the rearview mirror.  “I’m working on that.”

He slowed and glanced back, moving over a lane, preparing to turn as instructed by the voice on his phone.

The exit was called Dream Land, and they followed the road as it curved left and rounded into a lengthy boulevard, heading for a cluster of buildings in the distance.

“Should we tell the police about Eshe?”

“I’m not sure,” said Rickards, considering the question.