A Wind of Change (A Shade of Vampire #17)(18)

“Are you aware of a group of Americans in the desert with tanks? Do they have permission to be there? What are they doing?” I asked.

The policeman and woman eyed each other, then shrugged. “We are not aware of them. But I will verify their authorization to be here.”

We remained sitting in that office throughout the early hours of the morning. Officers came in and out, and we listened to reports of progress. I held my hands clasped together, praying every time a speaker crackled or an officer came in that they would have found them.

But 11am came around and they still hadn’t located either Lalia or Hassan.

“At least now that it’s daytime, we can see more easily,” the policeman said, rubbing his eyes wearily.

I looked toward my grandfather and Dafne. She had fallen asleep against his chest.

“Let’s return home for a short rest,” my grandfather said. “Sitting here any longer is not going to help. We’ve told the police all we know. We can return again this afternoon.”

Although I knew what he was saying made sense, leaving the police station felt like yet another step away from my sister. Still, Yusuf and I agreed and we headed to the car. Fariss drove us back to my grandfather’s home.

There was no way I could sleep no matter how tired I was. Clearly neither could Yusuf. He retreated into the living room and began making phone calls—presumably to his wife and relatives.

My grandfather carried Dafne upstairs to her bedroom. I found myself standing in the hallway with Fariss, who looked exhausted.

I still couldn’t get those strange American soldiers out of my mind. What were they doing in that part of the desert, so close to where my sister and Hassan had disappeared? I just knew that they had some clue about what had happened. I couldn’t shake the feeling.

Fariss was about to return to the car, presumably to drive home for a sleep, but something made me call out and stop him.

“Fariss, would you do something for me?”

“What would that be, Miss Giovanni?”

“I need you to take me back to that area where we saw those tanks,” I said.

He looked nervously at me and I was sure that he was about to refuse.

“Please,” I begged before he could object. “I will talk to my grandfather and convince him to let us go.”

He rubbed his forehead. “All right, I will take you there. But I really need to sleep, otherwise I’m sure I will crash before we ever reach the desert.”

“Okay,” I said. I understood he must’ve been exhausted, but I couldn’t help but feel frustrated all the same. “How much time do you need?”

“Give me four hours.”

“Then can you sleep in one of the spare rooms here? Traveling back to your home will just waste time.”

“Okay,” he said.

I took him up the stairs and showed him one of the spare bedrooms. I met my grandfather on the staircase on my way back down to the ground floor.

“Fariss is sleeping in one of the bedrooms,” I said. “He agreed to take me back to the desert, to where we saw those tanks.”

My grandfather stared at me. “I don’t understand what good returning there will do. Yusuf said that you already asked them and they had no idea about the situation.”

“I just don’t believe them,” I said. “I want to return there with Fariss to watch them for a few hours. Perhaps overnight.”

“I don’t like the idea of you two going alone. If you insist on going, I’ll come with you.”

“No, Grandpa. You should stay. Dafne needs someone from her family here. If you want to send another person with me, then ask Bashira if she will come.”

He sighed, then nodded. “Let’s ask Bashira.”

We headed to the kitchen where she was seated, looking pale and sipping from a cup of tea. We explained the plan and she agreed with little hesitation. So it was decided. Once Fariss finished sleeping, we would head back to the desert.

The next four hours were possibly the hardest of my life. They felt like an eternity. I tried to find things to do around the house—like search for a flashlight to pack in my travel backpack and take a shower—but nothing made the time pass any more quickly. My grandfather suggested calling my mother, but I refused. I kept telling myself that we would find Lalia soon. That there was no need to worry my mother. We’d tell her the story once Lalia was safe at home again. I had to keep thinking like this, otherwise I would sink into a pit of despair. I had to stay strong. We all had to.

Finally the staircase creaked and Fariss descended it. He looked refreshed. He looked from me to my grandfather. “Will you be coming, sir?” he asked.

My grandfather shook his head. “Bashira and River will be going with you.”

“Very well,” he said.

In the meantime, Bashira had been preparing lots of food and water to take with us in case something happened and we got stuck out in the desert longer than we had expected. I wanted to stay at least the whole night in the desert, camp out in the car and keep an eye on the Americans to see what they were doing—assuming they were even still there.

I gave my grandfather a hug. Then we exited the house and climbed back into the white truck.

We sped up along the road, and although the tank was nearly full, we stopped by a gas station and filled it right up. We also stocked up on some extra fuel just in case we ran out.