Page 76 of The Presidents Shadow

Maddy smiles as she taps quickly at her phone, trying to find an emergency contractor. Then she suggests that they both do their best to clean up the place.

“Maybe we should just put everything in the middle of the room and set it all on fire,” says Belinda.

“Then I’ll have to defend you against an arson count,” Maddy says. “And at this point, I’ve missed so much work I don’t even know if I have a job anymore.”

They begin by clearing the mattress of moldy sandwich crusts, old cigarette butts, and empty plastic bags that still hold traces of what Maddy suspects is cocaine.

When the mattress is finally cleared, Belinda pulls off the filthy sheets.

“The time has come to wash these rags,” Belinda says.

“The time has come toreplacethese rags,” Maddy says. Then she adds, “I’ll go out and buy some new ones for you. Think of it as a birthday gift.”

“My birthday isn’t until February,” Belinda says. “And I don’t take charity.”

“February?” Maddy asks, pulling out her phone to mark her calendar. “What day?”

“The fourteenth,” Belinda says, touched that Maddy is adding it to her calendar.

“Not a birthday present, then,” Maddy says. “But how about I be your early Valentine?”

“Ha,” Belinda says, her eyes suddenly going dreamy. “Somebody beat you to it.”

Maddy goes still, a suspicion that had taken hold in Dubai resurfacing. “Is it Abdul?”

Their handsome protector had been a miracle for sure, but Maddy had noticed right away that he paid a little too much attention to the overly young Belinda. To Maddy he had always been polite, but to her companion he was friendly—even affectionate.

His behavior had been a red flag for Maddy, but she’d kept it to herself, knowing they had much bigger problems at the time, and no way to survive in Dubai without Abdul’s help. Even so, she’d been sure to keep Belinda by her side at all times to make sure that Abdul never got her alone.

Now she looks at her friend with concern. It’s time to have a hard conversation.

“Belinda,” she says quietly. “I know that you liked Abdul. I know that it was all very romantic, how he swooped in and saved us. But—”

“But he’s too old for me?” Belinda finishes Maddy’s sentence.

“Well, yes,” Maddy says. “That’s one thing.”

“He’s twenty-one,” Belinda argues. “I’m fifteen. It’s only six years. If he were thirty and I were twenty-four, you wouldn’t say a damn thing about it!”

“Except you’renottwenty-four,” Maddy bites back. “And I bet once you are, he won’t be interested anymore.”

“That’s a horrible thing to say,” Belinda says, crossing her arms. “Is it so hard to believe that he likes me for me?”

“No,” Maddy says carefully. “After all,Ilike you for you. You’re a wonderful person, Belinda. You’re caring and smart, you’re tough, and you’ve got the determination of a pit bull.”

Belinda’s face softens at the compliments.

“But you are still a minor,” Maddy says sternly. “And Abdul has no business being around you.”

“He’s a wonderful person, too!” Belinda insists. “He’s caring and—”

“Okay, listen,” Maddy says sharply. “I’m going to tell you who Abdul actually is, and it’s not who you think.”

“What?” Belinda asks, her eyes narrowing.

Maddy sighs. Her suspicions about Abdul had kept her on alert at all times, and unable to sleep, even though she and Belinda had a pile of expensive rugs as their bed.

“I saw Abdul in his father’s office one night when I got up to use the bathroom,” Maddy explains. “It was way after hours and the shop was closed up.”

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