“My father isn’t a sentimental man, and he knows I can handle myself. I was the best person for the job, so here I am.”
Marie grunted softly. “You sound like him, too.”
The comment was unexpected, catching Alex off guard. She was lost in it for a moment, lost in the memory of her father — tough as iron when he needed to be, and sometimes when he didn’t.
“Are you all right?” Marie asked.
“I’m fine.”
El-Hashim studied her carefully, and Alex knew she wasn’t yet convinced. “If your father did send you, then he must have told you why we met last week.”
There was only one way to deal with this question.
“He most certainly did not,” Alex said, an edge to her voice. “Let’s get something straight. I do not work for my father. I don’t know what he does. I don’t get involved. But when he asks for my help, which doesn’t happen often, I’ll do what he needs.”
“An impressive speech,” Marie said. “But if you don’t work for your father, then what is it you do?”
Alex paused. This was something that was bound to come up. They had even discussed it at Stonewell, and decided it was best to stick as close as possible to the truth.
“I collect people who’ve skipped out on their bail,” she said. “Car thieves, burglars, assault suspects. I work in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Real cream of the crop kind of people.”
Marie frowned. “You’re a…bounty hunter?”
Alex nodded. “And before that I was in the army for a couple of years. Didn’t think to bring a resume. Sorry.”
It was a make-or-break moment. The women could easily have walked out of the room right then and there — and that would’ve been the ballgame.
But they didn’t walk out. Instead, Marie said, “How much do you and your father expect to be paid for this service?”
Hooked, Alex thought, and had to struggle to contain her relief. “Me, I want nothing. My father? That’s between you and him.”
El-Hashim sneered. “Of course.”
Alex shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it mutually beneficial. You’re both resourceful people.”
“This is an interesting proposal,” Marie said. “But I think you’ll understand that my friend here needs time to think it over.”
“I do understand. But I’m afraid time is one thing we can’t afford to waste. I’ll need your answer before I leave.”
The two women exchanged glances, then El-Hashim said, “Please give us a moment.”
Alex nodded and watched them walk to the bedroom door, where they stopped and spoke together quietly.
As she waited, the door to the bathroom opened, and Teterya stuck his head out.
She’d been wondering how he was holding up in there.
When he saw Alex, he made a gesture indicating he was ready to come out, but Alex held out her hand, palm first, letting him know not yet. He nodded, retreated inside, and quietly closed the door.
Finally, the two women came back over and El-Hashim spoke first. “If we are to say yes, how would you get us out of here?”
Alex shook her head. “Not all of you. My instructions pertain to El-Hashim only.”
“I’m not leaving here without Marie.”
“You’re not leaving at all,” Alex said.
El-Hashim frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“The two of you have a nice little bait-and-switch thing going here, but I figured you out a while ago.” She turned to Marie. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re the real El-Hashim.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The women looked at Alex, nonplussed, and the one who had been calling herself El-Hashim started to protest—
— but Marie waved her off. “Don’t. It will only waste time. There’s no point in denying it.” She stared at Alex. “How did you know?”
“I suspected it when you let your friend here do your fighting for you. You confirmed it for me when you said I sound just like my father.”
“This doesn’t change anything,” the fake El-Hashim said, stepping closer to Alex. “I won’t let her go alone with you. It could be a trap. You could kill her the moment you are out of our sight.”
“I could kill her now,” Alex said, shifting her gaze to Marie, aka the real El-Hashim. “I could kill you both now. I could have killed you when your bodyguards were still here, and thrown them on the pile. But I didn’t, did I?”
The friend, who may or may not have been named Marie — it was hard to tell around here — eyed her defiantly. “You boast, but can you deliver?”
“Try me.”
The woman held her gaze for a moment, then finally looked away.
Alex dismissed her with a glance and returned her attention to El-Hashim. “You’re in prison. Even without an assassin on your tail, there are thousands of ways you can die in here. I’m offering you a way out, sooner rather than later. Take it or leave it.”
“There is still the question of how you propose to do this,” El-Hashim said.
“You’ll find out when the time comes, not before.”
“Can you at least tell me when that time will be?”
A reasonable question, Alex thought. There were two factors involved in the timing. The first was that any escape would be best conducted at night. The second was that Cooper and Deuce would need to be in position on the outside.
This, of course, meant getting them a message and receiving their reply — a procedure that might take hours. There was no way it could be done in time to leave tonight.
“Well?” El-Hashim asked.
“Tomorrow night, or the night after that at the most,” Alex told her.
El-Hashim considered this, then looked at her friend as if seeking advice. But Marie — or whoever she was — was already shaking her head. She leaned in toward El-Hashim and whispered something in French.
Alex could hear a few of the words—not…crazy…now—but most were said too quietly for her to pick up.
After several seconds, El-Hashim patted the air with her hand. “Qui, je sais. Je sais.”
Yes, I know. I know.
She turned to Alex. “Ms. Poe, I understand your need for an answer. But you must understand that I cannot take this on your word alone. I need time to verify that you are who you say you are.”
“I won’t put this on hold. It’s now or never.”
“You say it will take at least a day before we can leave. I’d suggest you proceed as if I have said yes, and by this time tomorrow, I can give you a definitive answer.”
Alex couldn’t blame her for wanting to check her story. She would’ve done the very same thing. But while she hadn’t lied about her background, what if El-Hashim tried to verify everything through her father?
How would he respond?
Would he sell out his own daughter?
Alex didn’t think he was capable of that, but she had also never thought him capable of leaving her and Danny. And time and distance didn’t always make the heart grow fonder.
A part of her wished she had just come in here and asked El-Hashim straight out about her father. Asked her where to find him. But she knew the woman would have told her nothing. The only way to get an answer was to gain her trust and get her away from this prison — alone. And when El-Hashim had no one else to rely on, that’s when Alex could make the push.
She made a show of not being happy about the request, but finally nodded.
“I’ll give you until noon tomorrow,” she said. “No more. After that, you’re on your own.”
“That is most appreciated.”
It had better be.
And this had damn well better be worth it.