Page 56 of Dark Rebel's Fortune

"Dima and I have Parisa, and we are en route to the rendezvous point. Jade has the boys."

"Copy that. We are heading there as well." He paused, then added, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but there were a few scary moments. Nadim's crew created a diversion in the nick of time. It made Parisa's and my escape possible and Dima was waiting and collected us from a back alley. Be careful. The Doomers seem to be everywhere."

Max was relieved that Yamanu had sent Dima to help Kyra and Parisa. He felt much better knowing that they were no longer on their own.

"I'm always careful, love. See you there."

When the comm went silent, he turned to Rana, who had been listening to his half of the conversation with evident interest because he hadn't deactivated the teardrop. "Your sister Parisa and her sons have been secured."

"Thank God." Something flickered across her features—relief mingled with suspicion. "You said that you found my nieces by chance when you went to rescue someone else from those bad people."

"That's correct."

"Who was that someone? And where were the girls held?"

Max had been expecting those questions, but it was Kyra's story to tell, and it would have to wait until they were safely on the plane heading home. Still, Rana deserved something more substantial than vague deflections.

"We were sent by a daughter to rescue her mother. I can't really tell you more than that at this point."

Rana didn't look satisfied with his answer, but she accepted it and leaned back in her seat.

Anton made another turn, this time onto a wider boulevard that would take them toward the industrial district where their fallback point was located. The van moved more smoothly now, blending with the flow of traffic.

"How far to the rendezvous?" Max asked.

"Ten minutes if traffic holds," Anton said. "I hopeYamanu will be there with Soraya by the time we get there."

Max's earpieces crackled again. "All teams, be advised," Yamanu's voice came through. "We have a situation at the fallback point. Brotherhood forces have established a perimeter. They've somehow anticipated our extraction routes."

Max swore under his breath. "How did they know about that?"

"I don't know," Yamanu replied. "But we need to adapt. Divert to the secondary fallback point."

"Copy that," Max acknowledged. "Anton, change of plans. We need to head to the warehouse district instead."

The Kra-ell warrior nodded, already adjusting their route.

"What about Parisa and her boys?" Rana asked.

"They received the same instructions," Max said, though concern for Kyra gnawed at him. If the Brotherhood had somehow identified their fallback points, what other intelligence had they acquired?

What if the leak was Nadim? Or maybe Fatima?

Turner had vouched for Nadim and his team, but perhaps the guy had been compromised and betrayed them?

Even the best of people could be made to do the unthinkable when their loved ones were threatened, or some other leverage was used against them.

"These people are very well organized and verydetermined," Rana said. "Those genetic traits you mentioned must be invaluable."

Smart woman.

"They are," Max confirmed. "Those fiends are part of a highly structured organization with specific objectives, and they are also motivated by vendetta. We killed their people and injured their pride."

"What are those special traits?" Rana asked, ignoring the second half of his answer. "What could we possibly have that would make them go to such lengths?"

Max hesitated, then decided on a partial version of the truth. "Your traits are hidden at this point, but when activated, they will make you stronger, faster, and a bunch of other qualities. At this point, though, it's gone beyond what they can benefit from your family's special traits. It's a matter of pride and revenge. We demolished their stronghold when we freed the mother and your daughter and nieces, and yesterday, we did the same to their stronghold on the outskirts of this city when we freed Yasmin and her children. We should have known that they wouldn't just lick their wounds and let us get away with it. We were banking on them not having a heavy presence in Tehran, but it was a bad gamble. Not that it would have changed anything. We would have still rescued Yasmin and her kids and demolished that place. We had no choice."

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