Page 45 of Dark Rebel's Fortune

"Yes. I'm trying to get a stubborn stain out of my sleeve. That fruit stand was filthy!"

"Well, hurry up. Women are giving me dirty looks for standing out here."

"Two more minutes! It's almost out!"

Parisa's lips quirked up in a smile. "Amir is a good guy. Not all of them in the Revolutionary Guard are evil, you know."

Kyra nodded. "Of course not. People are rarely black and white. Most are shades of gray." She tilted her head. "What color is Fareed?"

Parisa's lips twisted in distaste. "I owe him a lot for helping me after my husband got killed, so I don't want to speak badly of him, but he's not a good husband to Soraya or a good father to the girls. There are worse men, but that doesn't make him good."

"Do you think Soraya will agree to go without him?" Kyra asked.

"That depends on what will await her on the other side. Where will you take her?"

Kyra smiled. "To her daughters." She leaned closer. "They are in America, and all of their expenses are paid. They lack for nothing. I promise you that you will receive no less. You will all be set for life, and it will be a very good life."

Something in her tone must have convinced Parisa, or maybe it was the hope of a better life, because she nodded. "Let's say I believe you. How are we going to get past the guards?"

"We'll get you out," Kyra said. "Talk to Rana and tell her to come stay with Soraya as well. It has to happen tonight, though. We are not concerned with the guards you have now, but if the others get to you, things might get ugly."

Hopefully, Fareed wasn't home and wouldn't mind two of his wife's sisters staying with her.

"Do we need passports?" Parisa asked. "I don't have a passport, and neither do my boys. We've never left Iran."

"We'll take care of everything. Take just what you can't part with. Clothing and everything else will besupplied, so don't bother packing that. Meaningful jewelry, birth certificates, any family keepsakes you can't bear to leave behind, those are the kind of things you should take with you."

Parisa closed her eyes for a moment and then let out a breath. "What if this is some elaborate trap? How do I know I can trust you?"

Kyra met her sister's eyes through the narrow slit in her niqab. "Soraya's and Rana's daughters were taken, and then the same people attacked Yasmin's home and killed her husband and the guards who were trying to protect her. No one met them ahead of time and tried to convince them to leave. They were taken by force. If you don't get away, there is a very high chance that your sons will face the same fate that nearly befell your nieces. These people don't take no for an answer, Parisa, they wouldn't be here talking to you."

A long moment passed as Parisa made her decision. Finally, she nodded. "Tonight, then?"

"Yes."

"Can you spare the guards?" her sister asked. "I don't want their deaths on my conscience.

Since they were probably all human, Yamanu could thrall them to stand down, but they would face harsh punishments for failing.

"We will spare them. We have a special method of disabling guards without harming them."

"I hope you're telling the truth about my nieces."

"I am," Kyra assured her. "They miss you.Especially Arezoo—she talks about your cooking all the time."

A ghost of a smile crossed Parisa's face. "That child would eat nothing but my saffron rice pudding if allowed." The small moment of normalcy seemed to strengthen her resolve. "Very well. We will be ready."

21

MAX

Max adjusted his position on the rooftop, ignoring the bite of gravel digging into his elbows as he maintained his surveillance of Rana's modest, one-story home. Beside him, Anton lay flat on his stomach, his eyes focused on the windows of the residence across the street.

"These guards are not taking their job seriously," Anton said. "They are just sitting on the couch in the living room and eating the snacks Rana serves them."

Max chuckled. "If her baklava is as good as Fatima's, I don't blame them. After all, they are only human."

Rana and Soraya had both gotten an additional guard after what happened to Yasmin, but the question was whether the guards were there to protect them or merely to control their movements until the Doomers decided to move them. But even if theywere there to protect, there wasn't much they would be able to do against Doomers, and that was why Max and Anton were guarding Rana from the roof while the rest of their team had split up to guard the other sisters.

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