Page 64 of Zain

The man turned, stopping Dana in her tracks.

She stumbled. “What—” She jerked up her head. The angle and close proximity allowed her to see beneath the man’s visor. A silvery scar cut through his left eyebrow.

All the oxygen left her lungs, as if a bowling ball had hit her diaphragm. She opened her mouth to scream—

Something sharp pierced her side. A sizzling sound crackled in her ears. Her body jolted. Panic and pain combated inside her. A ragged, barely audible gasp escaped her throat.

Heat scorched her side as the man shoved her into the back of a car. Her body slumped against the seat, and spasms overtook her muscles. Her eyes rolled back, and darkness came crashing down.

CHAPTER 20

Annoyance puckered Zain’sskin.

The cop scratched his head. “We already took Mrs. Mitry’s statement. Sorry, not sure who you were talking to.” He shrugged and sidled around Zain to return to his car.

Zain grumbled and pivoted away from the driveway, heading to where he’d left Dana only moments before. The space near the sidewalk was empty.

What the—

He scanned the property, spinning toward the house. Some of the commotion had dwindled. Where the hell had she gone? “Dana!” he called.

No answer.

Angst fisted his esophagus. “Dana!” He moved across the lawn. Police cars still filled the driveway, and a firetruck was parked at the side of the road. A deflated hose was stretched across the grass. Had she wandered off? Stopped to speak with someone?

Every step he took told him Dana wasn’t there. Panic climbed rapidly up his neck. He jogged to the cop he’d spoken with a moment before, who was now chatting with another officer. “Hey! My girlfriend’s missing. Did you see her? She was standing over there.” He pointed to where he’d left Dana.

The man removed his hat and wiped a line of sweat from his forehead. “Uh, yeah. I saw her a minute ago. She was talking to one of the firefighters when you approached.”

His gut clenched. “She’s gone.”

“I’m sure she’s not far. I’ll ask some of the other officers.” He strode away much too fucking leisurely.

Zain muttered a frustrated thanks and jogged to the firetruck. Men in heavy gear ambled around, loading up to head out. Zain searched each man’s face—there were six of them. None of them was the guy who’d told him the police wanted to speak with his mom.

He stopped one of the men. “Was there another guy here? Heavyset with a scar on his eyebrow?”

The man shook his head slowly. “Sorry. We don’t work with anyone who matches that description.”

Pain spread through Zain’s chest, but it wasn’t just crippling fear seizing his muscles. Not only was this his fucking fault—he hadn’t seen thesigns. The assassin had walked right up to Zain, and he’d been too blinded by the damage to his mother’s house to put the pieces together. Dana had told him about the scar on the man who’d attacked her.

Christ.

Zain dragged his hand over his face and pulled out his phone. His first instinct was to call Rami, but since he’d just left with their mom, he dialed Taschen instead.

“Hello?” he answered, sounding half asleep.

“It’s Zain. Dana’s missing.”

“What?” Dana’s brother’s shrill yell rattled against Zain’s eardrum.

He pulled the phone away from his ear an inch. “We’re at my mom’s. There was a fire this morning. She was with me and—”

“Don’t move. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Text me the address and call the others.” Taschen hung up.

The pressure in Zain’s head multiplied. His fingers shook as he forced himself to follow Taschen’s instructions. Standing in one spot would drive him to insanity. He needed to move. To drive or run. Something. Anything but be useless when Dana was in danger. After sending the address to Taschen, he sent a group text to the team.

He needed to call Maxine. He stalked back and forth across the lawn as he dialed her office number. No answer. He muttered a curse and hither private number. She’d be pissed he was calling it, but to hell with—

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