In Absentia by Melissa F Miller

Author:Melissa F Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781940759456
Publisher: Brown Street Books

Sasha considered her bubbleheaded performance a success. She’d fooled Clive at any rate, and he actually knew her. She’d nearly laughed aloud at his reaction.

She hoped Omar had bought her act, too. It would be a huge, nearly incalculable, advantage if he underestimated her. The more harmless she could convince him she was, the greater the element of surprise would be when she made her move.

She doubted Youssef, however, would ever make the mistake of believing she was a wide-eyed innocent. But unless Omar took Youssef to a hospital or doctor’s office, Youssef was going to be in too much pain to cause her any problems. If he was very lucky, she’d simply broken his ribs and lacerated or torn his liver. He’d pee blood until his liver healed and it would hurt when he breathed until his ribs knit back together, but he’d eventually start to feel human again.

If he wasn’t lucky, well, the internal bleeding from a ruptured liver might kill him. She was having a hard time scraping up any sympathy, though.

She slumped against the wall and let her eyelids flutter down over her eyes. Sooner or later, Omar was going to have to deal with his injured partner and the corpse in the yard. And when he did, she’d be ready to make her move.

For now, rest was the first order of business. She regulated her breathing and closed her eyes, calling up images of Connelly, Fiona, and Finn to keep her company while she bided her time.

Even with her eyes closed, she could feel Omar’s cool gaze on her. He was watching her, assessing her. She furrowed her forehead and squeezed her eyes more tightly closed. She projected worry and fear.

Thanks for convincing me to join drama club in high school, Mom. I have a feeling this is going to be the performance of a lifetime.

After a long moment, she heard him shift his weight. He walked out of the shack with light, almost soundless footfalls. She listened hard to learn the soft sound his feet made against the floorboards.

He was stealthy. He’d already surprised her once. She didn’t intend to let it happen a second time.

His footsteps grew fainter and finally faded away entirely as he crossed the room and slipped out into the backyard. Youssef greeted his appearance with an anguished wail.

She opened her eyes and examined the tape around her wrists and ankles. Omar had done a competent, but not overly thorough, job of binding her. His handiwork looked sufficient to hold a small civilian woman. Unfortunately for him, she was ninety-five pounds of pure fury with a bad attitude.

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