Beyond Desire

36-Nothing should happen to her.

Khalid'S POV

The treadmill hummed beneath my feet, steady and relentless in a way that made my stride fall into rhythm. My body moved with instinct while my mind remained deliberately furious, the sharp scent of bleach lingering in the air, pushing me deeper into resentment. The cleaner must have gone heavy on the floor again. I filed the irritation away, a note to have it changed.

Sweat gathered along my hairline, then slid downward, tracing a slow path along my neck and spine, darkening the back of my shirt. I welcomed the burn in my legs and the pull in my chest, It was the closest thing to quiet I'd had all day.

The treadmill console blinked steadily, showing distance, time, and heart rate. I ran until my thoughts thinned, until the noise in my head dulled into something manageable, until every word of disappointment my father had spat on me withered, until my phone vibrated on an in-built tray beside the panel.

I ignored it at first, pushing my pace harder. Whatever it was could wait. But the vibration came again, almost immediately after the first one died down.

I exhaled slowly and reached forward, tapping the console to slow the belt. My shoes slapped against the rubber once more before the treadmill eased to a stop. You would think hours of working out would ease my fury, but the minute I stopped, I was back to square one, wishing I could drill out every bit of my father's blood from my body. There was nothing I despised more than being his son. Nothing at all.

I picked up the phone, answered, and brought it to my left ear.

"Speak," I said, lifting a bottle of water to my mouth.

"Sir. Good afternoon."

The voice belonged to a junior intelligence analyst on the Abuja operation. He was newly promoted, sharp enough to earn his place but still careful with his words around me. He wouldn't call, unless there were something worth interrupting me for.

"How's the operation?" I reached for a towel from the neatly stacked rack and dragged it through my hair, down my neck, and over my shoulders.

"Stable. There are no discoveries, the trail hasn't shifted and everything is moving as expected." His words sounded rehearsed. Perhaps they were, I don't really care, all I wanted, was for my work to be done right.

I tossed the towel into the laundry hamper by the locker, listening for what he wasn't saying. Silence hung on the line a beat too long, something that wouldn't bother me on a normal day, but it did now.

"Why am I being called?"

There was another pause of uncertainty before he finally spoke up.

"There's... something else, sir. I didn't think it was important at first. But I felt it was better you knew."

I leaned my forearm against the nearest wall, my tone flattening the way it always did when something mattered but I couldn't summon the interest to care. "Say it."

"There's someone else sniffing around the house."

Now that got my attention. I pushed myself away from the wall.

"Someone?"

"Yes sir. A lady."

I said nothing, letting him talk. While inwardly, my mind was racing, weighing who else might have a stake in this case. The last time I checked with the tech unit, they had confirmed the path was clear, and we were the only ones on it.

"She's been around twice, two days in a row. She didn't make much effort to hide the fact that she was sniffing though, which is why I'm conflicted."

"She didn't?