Rania felt nauseous as she remembered how she’d ticked yes and exited the plywood voting booth with a plastic smile so wide her cheeks ached. The poll monitor was watching her, so she swallowed down her revulsion and joined the woman next to her cheering, Yes, yes, yes, Saddam.

“Of course I voted,” she muttered. “I don’t need more trouble with the regime.”

“More trouble? What do you mean?” Alarm flashed in Huda’s eyes. “Did they find out about Kareem and the cleric?”

“It’s not that.”

“What is it, then?”

Rania eyed Huda carefully. Could she trust her with the truth? Despite all the hurt they’d caused each other, they both wanted the same thing—to keep their children safe.

“One of Uday’s men has been here.” Rania lit her cigarette and drew hard, like she was running a race to see who would burn out first, her or the roll of tobacco. “He wants to take Hanan to his palace.”

Huda flinched.

“You can’t let that happen.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Rania exhaled a shaky stream of smoke. “I went to see Kareem. I asked him if he could get Hanan a passport and an exit visa.”

“And?”

“He wants three thousand dollars.”

“Three thousand?” Huda’s mouth fell open. “No one has that sort of money.”

“Ally does.” Rania sighed. “I thought about asking her for a loan, but it’s too risky.”

“You’re right.” Huda frowned. “The mukhabarat are monitoring her. She might let something slip. What about your mother? She must have—”

“Debts. She has huge debts. The farm has been mortgaged twice. Her creditors are already pressuring me.”

“I don’t understand—Khalid’s passport is not costing half that.” Huda reached across the table. “We must fix this, for Hanan’s sake.”

The leaves in the trees hissed. Rania and Huda locked eyes. In that moment, past and future, loyalty and betrayal, all seemed to collide. Rania remembered the moment they sliced their thumbs, mingled their blood, and swore not to keep secrets.

“Kareem and the cleric are lying to you.” Truth escaped before Rania had time to change her mind. “They’ve got no intention of giving Khalid a passport. They’re using you.”

“How do you know?”

“Kareem admitted it.”

High overhead a flock of pigeons turned in a loop, like a necklace of gray beads, and then flapped toward the Tigris.

“That means I need a new plan to keep my child safe.” Huda took a deep breath and squeezed Rania’s hand. “And so do you.”

* * *

Huda nudged her cigarette pack closer to Rania.

“Then it’s agreed? If Kareem won’t help, we’ll pay people smugglers to take Hanan and Khalid across the border together. They’ll have to watch each other’s backs. I don’t see another way, do you?”