Ride the Tide by Julie Ann Walker

Author:Julie Ann Walker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2020-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

9:13 a.m.

Izad glanced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and tried to see the young man he once was.

It was impossible.

Years of grief had taken their toll, wiping away any vestiges of his virility. But if there was one thing he could be grateful for, it was that with age came wisdom. Wisdom and patience.

He understood that just because McCarthy had thwarted his plans by disappearing from the hotel, that did not mean McCarthy would thwart his plans forever.

Age had not stolen Izad’s relentlessness. If anything, it had only strengthened it.

“Sir?” Navid’s voice was accompanied by a soft knock at the door. “Cas has returned from the morgue.”

“One moment, please.” Izad’s voice sounded weary, even to his own ears.

He gave himself one last look in the mirror before turning for the door. His hand shook on the knob. His knees were shakier still as he exited the bathroom and glanced first at Navid and then at Cas.

He knew what Cas had discovered without the man saying the words. Horror was written over Cas’s face.

A heavy shadow fell over Izad’s heart, blanketing his spirit and driving him to his knees. The pain was familiar, and yet it was impossible to put into words. Unless one had lost a child, one could never understand the magnitude, the limitless breadth and depth of the grief that came with it. The imagination failed in its ability to conjure such agony.

He knelt on the cold tiles, his throat full, but the tears…they would not come. It was like the punch of a bullet or the slice of a knife. The flesh was so shocked it could not process the injury. Even though his mind now had the horrific, bloody truth, his body could not accept it.

“Tell me.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“I gained access to the morgue during the shift change.” Cas’s throat was thick with grief. “I identified Kazem and Mahmoud.”

Though Izad had been expecting them, the words still stung like a thousand angry hornets. Bile burned the back of his throat. “Was it quick?”

Cas nodded. “A headshot.”

Izad let out a ragged breath and sent up a prayer of thanks. If there was any peace to be had, it was in knowing his boy had not suffered.

“I am sorry, sir,” Navid whispered, wiping at the tears that slipped down his cheeks. Kazem had been a favorite of all the men in Izad’s security detail, a blazing light that had brightened their days.

Now, thanks to Mason McCarthy, Kazem’s fire had been snuffed out forever.

“Do not be.” Izad’s jaw clenched so tightly the words were barely intelligible. His grief would not help him now. But his anger would. He opened himself to it. Letting it fill him. “Just help me kill Mason McCarthy.”

The American lifted a hand. “Is anyone interested in how I think we can accomplish that?”

As much as it infuriated Izad to admit it, the American had been right. About everything. It was time for Izad to heed the man’s advice.

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