Second Time's the Charm

Part 7

It was past midnight and the sound of Ferman's phone ran loudly in the room. Dila felt him shift next to her. Pretending to be asleep, she held herself still in the darkness of the night while he answered the call. As expected, he shot out of bed instantly and headed to the ensuite bathroom for the remainder of the conversation. Right about now one of his minions was telling him two of his top-secret warehouses had been set on fire and illegal products worth millions were burning into ashes.

An attack she'd organized in an attempt to keep him distracted.

The second Ferman left the house Dila got out of bed and started getting ready. If everything was going according to plan, Serdar's men were in the process of rescuing Naz and Sermin at this very moment. In a few minutes she'd leave Ferman's house for good and her family would be safe. She was going to turn in every piece of incriminating evidence she had on Ferman over to the police and he'd be out of her life for good. At long last she'd finally be free.

Every nerve in her body was tense. As much as she wanted to call Serdar and find out what was going on, she had to remind herself to stick to their plan. He would call her when things were safe so as not to jeopardize their operation, and she had to do the same. In the meanwhile, there were things that needed to get done.

Quickly and quietly she gathered a few of her things together and left the house. Throwing her suitcase in the back seat, she slid inside. Eyes fixated upon Ferman's house, she stared at the structure for a few seconds. This was a place that held many bad memories, holding her hostage to a madman's whims. But no more, never again. Yet fear still coursed through her, her heart still raced at the thought of Ferman being close to her, and for just a moment she let herself wonder if that would ever change. Would she always be afraid?

She shook her head, shaking the thoughts away. Now was not the time to dwell.

She started driving away.

A few minutes later she on an isolated road, careening towards her destination when she spotted a parked car ahead right in the middle of the road. She honked, urging them to move out of the way but the car remained in place. A familiar figure lurked in front of the car, leaning back against it. Recognizing Kuzgun, she slowed down her speed until she came to a complete stop few feet away from him. Dressed in a leather jacket over a jersey knit, casual jeans and wearing a worried expression, he fixed her with a piercing stare. Finally she got out of the car, careful to keep her distance from him.

"What do you want?" she demanded. "What are you doing here? I told you to stay the hell-"

"Do you have any idea how much danger you're in?" Kuzgun interjected, his voice heavy with anger.

"Is that why you're here? To hurt me?"

He looked taken aback for a second. "Not from me," he growled. "From Ferman. What the hell were you thinking blowing up his warehouses?"

She wanted to kick herself for her own stupidity. In the past week she'd been so focused on carrying out her plans she must have grown careless about Kuzgun's spies. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Desperation clouded his eyes as he advanced forward. "Whatever it is you're doing, Dila. Stop. You're risking your life here."

"What I'm doing, or not doing, isn't any of your concern!"

Her fingers gripped the door handle to pry it open but suddenly Kuzgun's hand was on hers. She jumped up at his close proximity. He was standing right next to her, his breath so close she felt it shimmer against her neck.

"Tell me what's going on." The urgency in his voice was raw, insistent.

She refused to look at him. "There's nothing going on. You're imagining things."