Siren in the Wind Book One of the MIT Series

Chapter Thirty Eight

Abby's swollen bottom lip had Max on his feet.

He pushed a water bottle into her hands. "Drink and eat the bread."

Two men followed behind. Muller the douche and Roman the prick.

"Who hurt you?"

"I'm okay. It's you I'm worried about."

"Who touched her?" Max asked Kris.

"I may have got a little amorous while cuddling up to my cricket, she's such a hot little pocket."

"Muller, if it wasn't personal before, it sure is now. I'm going to rip out your spleen."

"I'm sure a spook like you could. Try anything and I'll shove my Alfred Khuzwayo up your arrogant ass, before pulling the trigger." Kris waved an AK47 around.

Max assumed the term Alfred Khuzwayo was the local slang for an AK47.

"Try it," Max growled.

The two men faced off. Kris grinned. "I have more important things to deal with than some Yankee dickhead."

Kris nodded to Roman, who yelled in Arabic for the two guards to leave. Once the four of them were alone, Kris focused his attention on Abby. "We need to talk."

"I'm not telling you anything, you can go to hell."

"We've been watching you for a long time. By 'we' I'm not referring to Khalid."

Max then figured out Muller's game and squeezed Abby's hand. "Kris was the one who slipped you the note on the napkin, back in February."

Kris bowed. "Guilty as charged. I was trying to warn you. Khalid's network was closing in on your location, and I'd hoped you'd take the hint and disappear. Instead, you sent away the brat and continued squatting in Johannesburg."

"But you work for Khalid?" Abby said.

"The man is like a father to me but lacks ambition. I'm expanding my operations, when I heard that Khalid was hunting for you, we needed to find you first. I still love you after all your lies and deceit, I fucking love you."

Roman walked up beside Muller, Abby shot him a dark look. "Roman is in on this?"

"He's my new business partner."

Max didn't like this treacherous turn of events. "The business partner who attacked Abby in the strip mall parking lot."

"We were trying to spook her into leaving the country. Roman had to make it realistic."

"Realistic, huh? Was a nasty head wound, concussion and sexual assault what you were aiming for?" Max asked.

"He got a little carried away. Joey, why didn't you leave?"

Abby drank the water, wincing as it hit her split lip. "Because I'm tired of running and my name is Abigail, not Joey and not Cricket."

"Well. ABIGAIL. You've got us in a real tangle, and it's now up to me to save your lying ass."

Abby tightened the water cap with shaking hands. "Were you actually drunk when you came to my house or was that just part of your act?"

"I temporarily fell off the wagon. Watching over you—seeing you again—made me feel all nostalgic. You make me weak, and I don't like it."

"None of that was guilt, for getting your team killed, or butchering a highly endangered species?"

Kris folded his arms. "The unit got in the way of my business operations and needed to be eliminated. Rhino horn is a lucrative income."