Free Freedom Does Matter (Mercenaries Book 2) by Tony Lavely Page B

faint she almost didn’t, “ Min fadlik. La. ”
    “What?”
    The girl’s head lifted slightly, but her eyes remained fixed on her chin. “Please. No.”
    “Okay, for now.” Beckie slipped off the chair and crouched next to her. As she felt the girl’s head, she said, “Does this hurt? Or this?” Finding the lump above her ear ended the discussion; Beckie took the water bottle and washed the blood away to determine the cut had sealed itself until she began playing with it. “I think you’re going to live.” She drew herself up to command: “Tell me your name.”
    The girl’s eyes opened wide and she caught her breath. “Noorah.” Her voice barely carried beyond her lips.
    Beckie nodded, pleased that no additional threats were needed. “Okay, Noorah. We can get family names later.” She reached into her back pocket and withdrew the knife. “Nice. I like mine better, but it’s personal preference.” She hefted it in her hand, then fixed Noorah with a glare. “You didn’t bring it for protection. Why attack me?”
    Noorah’s head had come up when the knife flashed under her eyes. Once Beckie’s words sank in, her expression faded into stark terror, eyes wide enough to see the whites and mouth open, drawn back over her teeth. In a complete non sequitur, Beckie found herself marveling at how white the girl’s teeth were. That won’t do any thing, she told herself angrily, and knew from Noorah’s reaction that the anger made it to her face. She leaned back and took a deep breath. “Sorry. Were you going to explain?” When Noorah made no effort to speak, Beckie glanced out the window and said, “Still dark. We’ve got some time. Tell me about yourself.”
     
    It took Beckie a couple of hours and considerable teasing out of answers before she could sit back and review.
    When she began, Noorah was astounded and not a little fearful. The little peeks she kept giving Beckie… Well, she probably expects me to kill her. In halting words, Noorah explained that she was motivated solely by her sheikh’s threats to kill, first her brother, and second her sister, if she failed to halt the negotiations by killing Ian and then Beckie.
    Noorah believed that her sheikh believed the land to be his tribe’s “by right of birth and working.”
    Of those, the first was the only one of importance, since Beckie had no way of knowing how well Noorah understood the sheikh. The girl could think of no other reason, but admitted he had told her essentially nothing beyond where to go and what to do.
    And Noorah’s motivation applied here and now. The third time she broke down saying, “I have failed again. My sister will also be forfeit,” Beckie tried to comfort her but, being the cause of the girl’s distress, she found it difficult. After a moment, she stood and walked back and forth across the room.
    The girl was the cause of her distress as well as Ian’s near fatal injuries. Beckie sat and mused in uncomfortable silence. Do I hang her out to dry? She’s looking out for her family. Yeah? And who’s looking out for Ian? Her sympathy for the girl’s motivation didn’t overcome her anger. Yeah, I want revenge, too! ‘Specially if Ian… doesn’t recover. But it’s not really her, is it? What about her fucking sheikh? He’s the one. Can we get rid of him? She took a deep breath. But first, does she know anything else? How would I gain her confidence?
    After several minutes, she realized, I do have a little empathy for her. “I am tempted… Do you understand tempted?” When the girl nodded, Beckie said, “I am tempted to race in and take your whole family away. I suppose your sheikh would not like that, which doesn’t bother me. And while your brother and sister might be happy, your mum might not be, being snatched from everything she knows. Still, it would have the advantage of getting you out of a bad situation. At least to me it seems bad.”
    This time, Noorah’s brow furrowed and her eyes slitted.