Page 20 of Dark Rebel's Fortune

"Not really." Fenella took another sip of the overly sweet drink. "It's just a delay."

Despite her dismissive words, though, the sense of foreboding refused to dissipate. She should have been more insistent and convinced Din to cancel his plans. Heck, she could have told him that she would come to him instead. Anything to keep him from boarding the next flight.

Perhaps she should call him back.

Except, she had a feeling that the stubborn ox wouldn't listen to reason.

7

KYRA

The team was gathered around the dining room table, an array of enlarged maps of Tehran neighborhoods that were relevant to their mission spread out, along with surveillance photos and building schematics. It was a mosaic of vital intelligence for their mission, but Kyra was paying little attention to anything other than the photographs of her sisters.

When Nadim's cousin entered with a tray of steaming plates, Max collected the strewn papers into a neat pile to clear the table, and Kyra helped her set out lunch.

Nadim had vouched for Fatima, claiming that she'd been part of the underground network that he had worked for many years and that he trusted her with his life. Max had peeked into her head just as he'd peeked into Nadim's before, making sure that she was legit, and had approved her presence.

Given her apparent culinary skills, the woman was certainly a great addition to the team. A well-fed warrior was more effective than a hungry one.

After they were done with the first course, Yamanu wiped his mouth and turned to Kyra. "We need to decide how to approach each target and in what order. I understand your argument about approaching the older sister first so she can help convince the others, but operationally, we may need to choose differently."

Kyra had suspected as much, and the truth was that her younger sisters were more vulnerable and should be prioritized because they still had their children with them, and that's who the Doomers were mainly after.

The older women were less of a priority.

Still, she'd rather start with Soraya because she could help with the others.

"Soraya and Rana have the least security," Max said, echoing Kyra's opinion. "They each have just one guard, but even though they might be easier to extract, we need to get those with children out first."

Traitor. Still, he and Yamanu might be right.

Kyra was too close to the targets to think objectively, and she should leave those decisions to Max and Yamanu, who were no less experienced than she was and knew how to handle situations like that.

In fact, they were better equipped than she was because they'd dealt with Doomers many timesbefore, while Kyra's experience with them had been anecdotal.

"I suggest we get Parisa first," Yamanu suggested. "Since she's a widow, there is no husband to consider. She's alone with her sons."

Jade shook her head. "They're more heavily guarded precisely because their children haven't been taken."

"They still don't know why the girls were kidnapped," Nadim said. "The missing girls' fathers suspect someone wants something from them because of their military connections—perhaps to release prisoners or to extract ransoms. But since no demands have come, they're half-mad with worry."

Kyra felt a pang of sympathy. These men had lost their daughters, not knowing they were safe across the world. But that sympathy was tempered by the knowledge that at least one of the husbands—Fareed, Soraya's husband—was a commander in the Revolutionary Guard and was possibly working with the Doomers, either knowingly or unknowingly.

"I still think that we should prioritize approaching Soraya," Kyra said. "Firstly, because she's not heavily guarded, and secondly, because I can easily convince her to help us by showing her the notes from her daughters. Also, Arezoo told me that her mother had mentioned me, saying that she missed me. This suggests that she might draw parallels between what happened to me and her daughters,and she will consider the possibility that her daughters will never be heard from again, much like what happened with me."

Max frowned. "She's also the riskiest because her husband and the girls' father is a high-ranking commander in the Revolutionary Guard, who could have direct connections to the Brotherhood."

"Which is precisely why we need to get Soraya away from him," Kyra countered.

"I still think that the widow would be the safer first approach," Max persisted. "No husband to complicate things, and according to our intelligence, she's struggling financially. She might be most receptive to an offer of a better future for her and her sons."

As the team looked between them, waiting for a resolution to their tactical disagreement, Kyra felt the weight of their gazes, but she'd learned a long time ago to listen to her gut and stand strong on her opinions even when her team disagreed with her.

Her fingers moved to her pendant, seeking its guidance.

The stone was warm against her skin, a sensation that had become more pronounced since they'd arrived in Iran. It wasn't a warning signal, though, but rather a reassurance that she was on the right path.

"Soraya has to be first," Kyra said. "It's my gut feeling, and it rarely steers me wrong."

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