Page 49 of The Geek and the Sheikh

She nodded and lowered her legs to the floor. “I agree.”

He paused when he noticed that she was worrying her bottom lip and tapping her fingers in a rhythm. He noticed that she did movements like that when she was bothered by something. He reached out and cupped her hand.

“What is it?”

Her eyes slid over his face before she looked away. He could sense the tension rising in her. She finally pulled her hand free, pushed the comforter off her lap, snapped her computer shut, and rose to her feet. He gripped the comforter and stood when she stepped away to stand in front of the windows.

“I’ve been helping my sister ever since I can remember fight bad guys… and there have been some terrible ones. I think Bronislav and the Coldhouse brothers have been the worst. I don’t know if it is because they have a bunch of people working for them, or if it is because they don’t care who they hurt.”

“We’ve been dealing with Bronislav and Coldhouse for a couple of years now. Yeah, they are bad. I’ve seen worse, not often, but there are crueler people in the world,” he quietly replied as he slowly moved closer to her.

She nodded. “That’s why I need to help—to stop bad people like that. Everything was going well until I.. well, I received a message. They directed the message to me. It scared me because no one ever knew who I was before.”

“What kind of message?” he asked as he held her.

There was something in her voice, a slight change like she was confused. “It popped up from an anonymous source. I followed it back to SVDM. I'm sure you know that it's one of the most powerful computer development companies in the world, most famous for their advancements in security and imaging in the medical field.”

Jameel nodded. “Junayd has been going on about them for the past decade. Junayd was working with Sergei Vasiliev years ago to test a lot of their new software. It has helped make Jawahir’s medical facilities one of the best in the world.”

“What do you know about Vasiliev and a man called Dimitri Mihailov?”

Jameel frowned before he shrugged. “I don’t know them personally. I didn’t work with the medical side extensively. I just monitored any Black Hats trying to harm our national security through our health system networks. I can tell you that Junayd has spoken highly of both men. If he trusts them, I would.”

She pulled away, and he followed her when she walked back to the table. She sank back down in her chair and opened her computer again.

"What exactly did the message say?”

She leaned forward and clicked on an icon on her desktop. A screenshot of the message she received popped up. He read it several times.

Harlem always spoke highly of you. He said if anyone could help us, you could. We need you to find information on Operation Rebirth and a woman named Dalla Bogadottir. Harlem said you could access the information. Respond to this message when you do. Your secret—and Midnight’s—are safe.

“I’m positive the message came from either Vasiliev or Mihailov. I’ve tried tracing what I knew about Harlem back to them, but it’s impossible. Harlem was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It's hard to know which information is true, false, or just misleading,” she said.

Jameel reached out and touched her chin. She turned troubled eyes to his. He slid his hand along her jaw.

“It doesn't seem like a threatening message, but I understand why you're rattled by it.”

She hesitated, her lower chin wobbled and she sniffed. She slid her hand into his free one and squeezed it. He waited as she took a deep breath. It was unnerving to see her this upset. Not even when she'd been shot at and chased had she shown fear like this. She was literally shaking.

“Harlem…. Whoever sent this said that Harlem told them I could access the information.”

He frowned. “You said that Harlem was dead, right? All this shows is that they knew him before he died.”

She shook her head. “No. It means more than that.” She looked at the message again. Jameel leaned closer when her lips moved. Her voice was almost inaudible.

“What?” he hissed, staring from her face to the computer.

She drew in another deep breath before she exhaled it and stared back at him with an unwavering expression, her face once again composed.

“They did not implement Operation Rebirth until after Harlem’s death. The only way he could know about it… the only way he could have recommended me to those men was if he was still alive,” she calmly stated.

Jameel’s hand dropped from her cheek and he grasped her hands in both of his. His mind swirled at the thought that this man… someone who had lived such a dangerous life… could have faked his own death. He reluctantly released Junebug’s hands when she pulled away.

She made a lap around the room, muttering under her breath to herself before she turned and retraced her steps to him. She knelt in front of him, her eyes wide with determination. He covered her hands when she placed them on his lap.

“If Harlem is alive and he knows what I’m capable of, then there is nothing I can do. He will show up when he shows up. Right now, we need to focus on getting away. I’ve been able to keep track of Bronislav. He is the easy one. It’s the ones like Allison and the mercs that I can’t always counter. When I was home, it was easy. No one knew where I was. I’m vulnerable here. I’m not like Midnight or Idella. If I’m right and Harlem is alive, he knows that it is probably only a matter of time before Bronislav captures me. Harlem won’t let that happen. He’ll—” She stopped and lowered her head.

“He’ll what, Junebug?” Jameel asked.

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