Eye of the Falcon (Psychic Visions #12)(34)

And it pissed him off. “I’d do it for anybody,” he said in a brisk tone.

Silence was her only response.

He hit the highway and floored the gas pedal. He wanted to get back as soon as possible. Preferably without being followed. More than that, he didn’t want anybody to see Issa beside him. He’d seen many cops, lawyers, and judges on the wrong side of the law so knew better than to trust anyone.

“Tell me about your mother,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like you had a great relationship with her.”

“I don’t know that it was bad, but it wasn’t a loving one. With no other family members, it was just the two of us.”

“When did you come to the States?”

“Soon after my father and brothers were killed.”

“Interesting.”

“Why?”

“It’s a long way to run,” he said quietly.

“Well, if we were running, she didn’t show it. I didn’t have much to do with her in the last few years. Sure, I saw her on weekends, but it seemed like we were almost strangers. She was always on social media. I couldn’t stand to be in town, and she couldn’t stand to be out of it.”

“If she was on social media, then she might have been found earlier, if anyone was looking.”

“I doubt it. She had Americanized her name when we came over here.”

“You each dealt with pain in your own way.”

She nodded. “Doesn’t everyone? What about you? Do you have any family?”

He shook his head. “My mother passed on ten years ago.”

“I’m sorry. What happened?”

He gave a bitter laugh. “I was in the military, in a Special Operations unit. She always worked with Doctors without Borders and traveled the world—dragging me along with her when I was younger. She had the biggest, most compassionate heart. Her life was her team. She went into a small village in Afghanistan where they held her and the whole group as hostages. Of course the United States doesn’t deal with terrorists and certainly doesn’t deal with hostage demands like that. We went in with a small unit to rescue them. They found out we were coming, and they shot her right in front of me. I had a few moments with her before she died. She said she would’ve done it all over again if it meant saving my life.” He shook his head, shaking off the memories that still brought tears to his eyes, plugging his throat with sorrow. “It’s one of the few times in my life that I let vengeance control my actions. When I walked off that mountain with my mother’s body in my arms, the other hostages by my side, no adult male was left standing.” His tone was harsh. “You see? You don’t know me. I’m just an asshole soldier, and you happened into my life. The fact is, I was having a weak moment.”

When she remained silent once more, he shot her a hard glance. If she showed one bit of pity for him, he would dump her on the side of the road. He couldn’t stand that. What he had said had been very true, yet he couldn’t leave somebody in trouble.

She shook her head. “You might like to show your prickly exterior, particularly when you talk about things that are very emotionally hard for you. Whatever. I know who you are on the inside.”

Now it was his turn to be silent.

He drove steadily, not wanting to get into any more emotional conversations, still in shock he’d brought up his mother’s death. That was so unlike him.

After another ten minutes, she said, “What about your father?”

“He walked out of my life when I was a toddler. He didn’t want me then, and I don’t want him now.”

“You never felt the urge to look him up?”

“No. He made his decision. No way I’d let him in my life now. I lost my mother, and that asshole of a father is no worthy replacement.”

“Hardly a replacement. How about another person in your life? You don’t always have to be alone.”

He looked at her. “Really? So how come you’re so alone? Or is there someone I don’t know about? A lover? A casual friend for the night? Or what about your mother? Did she remarry? Date anyone seriously?”

She shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. About my mother or me.” She played with her fingers. “I have no rings and no ring marks that I can see, and so far there aren’t any memories of anybody. And my mom spent all the time I was there visiting her on social media, pointing out stupid posts and stuff. If it wasn’t a meaningful conversation, I didn’t want to waste my time on her either.”

“Meaning, you wanted answers. She wouldn’t give them to you.”

“That probably sums it up. But I didn’t know about the two boxes she had. She could have given them to me at any time in the last ten years. It’s not like I’m a child anymore,” she cried out passionately. “What a way to find out, now that she’s gone.”

“But it was the easiest way for her. She didn’t want to deal with the guilt, the pain, or the fear of whatever is in those boxes.”

“I understand that. But neither did she want to explain it. To tell me her side of it. And that is something very difficult for me to understand.”

“Hopefully we’ll get the answers soon. Do remember where you live?” When there was no answer, he turned to look at her, his eyebrows raised in question.