23. Azadeh—Age 29

Chapter 23

Azadeh—Age 29

Present Day

“You know Dariyus is going to kill you for not calling him instead of The Cinders, right?” Zeke whispers in my ear as we get off Lev’s private plane.

“Briar is having a baby. My brother doesn’t need to be worried. We’ve got this. Besides, Alaric is good at all the espionage stuff and has more connections than Lev.”

Zeke laughs. “Don’t let Lev hear you say that.”

We were briefed in the morning before we piled into the jet. The group holding my sister was called SALT, a religious cult that kidnapped children and young women. They didn’t take Mona for their usual reasons. Mona was being leveraged for money. We still didn’t understand how they got her since Lev’s house is secluded and has a state-of-the-art surveillance system. There was nothing on the monitor to show it was even them who took them.

“Why did you think I was working for The Cinders in the first place? Alaric’s connections from the club have come in handy. He’s made some strong connections with the black market in Iran. I wanted it. Besides, they’re fantastic guys who were in a shitty situation.”

Zeke chuckles. “Good guys don’t fuck their stepmother and kill all her husbands.”

I glare at Zeke. “It’s complicated. Trust my judgment, okay? They aren’t that bad. Besides, without them, I doubt we’d have a concrete plan. Lev has blueprints, but Alaric has a way in. Apparently, the leader is a frequent patron of the club. Into some funky shit, too. If the man has a cult, why is he bothering to find services that cater to his brand of crazy?”

“The cult is pretty new,” Zeke says. “Maybe he’s in the good guy stage. Not that I’ve accumulated enough power to show you all the crazy I’m about.”

“We’re going to see Markus Issacson,” Alaric states. “He’s the one in charge of Mona’s care.” He turns to Lev. “You have the money?”

“Yes,” Lev says. “One billion dollars.”

My heart drops to my stomach. “One billion dollars? Lev, do you even have that kind of money?”

Alaric laughs. “Levinston is worth one hundred billion dollars. You don’t know who his parents were? The Cartwrights were filthy rich. Generational wealth in astronomical amounts.”

I’ve always understood that Lev had money, but apparently, he has God-like amounts of money.

Zeke bends and whispers in my ear, “You were a kept woman and didn’t even realize it.”

I glare at him. “Pardon me?”

Zeke laughs. “Who do you think paid for you to go off and save all those women?”

If someone punched me in the face right now, it would feel less shocking. “What do you mean? I was working with various organizations. Ex-military and martial arts experts. I worked with humanitarians.”

I looked at Lev, standing with one of Alaric’s hired guns.

“He paid for it all, Az. He said that if you were going off to do foolish things, he’d ensure you were safe. He gave them all explicit orders to leave you alone unless you were in danger. Their entire purpose was to protect you. He’s spent billions over the years.” Zeke drapes his arm around me. “I told you, you’re his security blanket. He was mostly fine until you went to Iran. That’s when he lost his mind and made some unfortunate decisions, like taking Mona.”

“I wish he’d shown Mona his face. She might not have run off if Lev had told her it was him the whole time. I have no idea why he didn’t.”

Zeke kisses my cheek and pulls me close. “Love makes people blind, deaf, dumb, and stupid. He couldn’t see anything other than you. He regrets his choices. You probably won’t be able to forgive him, but you should. His broken pieces are a little more complicated. Besides, he didn’t have you to help him like I did. Not when he was young, scared, and alone.”

Lev stands straight as he speaks with Alaric. He’s focused, and I know that deep down, he’s kicking himself for what he’s done. If we get Mona back safe and sound, I won’t hold it against him. As much as a part of me wants to make him beg and wallow, a bigger part of me loves him too much to deny him. I’ll find other ways to punish him, but refusing him my love will not be part of the equation. I won’t break his spirit like his mother did.

A black limo pulls up to the hangar.

“Everyone ready?” Alaric asks.

“Let’s do this.” Cyrus beams. He’s always ready for anything that entails a fight. If The Purge was an actual event, Cyrus would do a year-long countdown in anticipation of the big day. I should be worried about how much he likes carnage.

The limo pulls up to an abandoned warehouse. It looks like an area that was booming at one time, but all that remains is abandoned warehouses and industrial plants.

I survey the area as we exit the limo to see if there’s any way they can infiltrate us. I can’t see any people, and only one car is in the parking lot.

Zeke startles me as he grabs my hand, his fingers squeezing. “It’s gonna be all right. I won’t let anything happen to you or Mona.”

“No.” I shake my head. “I won’t let anything happen to Mona or me.”

He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eye like usual. “You know it’s not sexist for a man who loves you to want to take care of you, right? It’s not like I’m asking you to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.”

We all approach the decrepit cement stairs leading to a steel door. Alaric tugs the metal handle, and the door opens. A simple tug. No security, no codes.

I shiver as the stench of vomit and piss assaults me. Fear clutches at my throat, making it hard to breathe. “This is where they’ve kept my sister?”

As the words leave my lips, I see all the blood. I don’t want to pay these men and go on my merry way. I want them to suffer. Mona is privileged to pay to get out of this circumstance, but what about the other girls these monsters abduct?

I squeeze Zeke’s hand, and he lowers his ear to my mouth. “He has to die.”

I don’t know when I decided that death is an acceptable outcome for certain people. It sure wasn’t from my mother, who firmly believed in tolerance. Even with all she went through, Nasrin Baran demonstrated the virtue of mercy.

But I don’t.

Forgiveness isn’t possible for those who have no issue harming others. Men who rape, steal, torture, and kill can’t change. All they can do is fake it until they’re convinced they have society fooled. Men who use religion as a tool for corruption cannot be allowed to obtain power. Divinity becomes a weapon in their arsenal, powerful enough to brainwash the masses.

Alaric halts at a large door. Two men with semi-automatics strapped to their backs talk into a walkie-talkie before opening the doors.

“Alaric,” says a thin man with a goatee and greasy hair. He stands from his chair and raises his hand for Alaric to shake.

“Not sure if pleasantries are warranted, Marcus,” Alaric sneers, refusing to shake the man’s hand. “You kidnapped someone important to me. I’m sure you realize that this altercation means the end of any business deals my organization has with yours.”

Marcus laughs. “Dear Alaric, with the money I’ll be gaining today, I could buy your organization ten times over.”

“Let’s cut the bullshit,” Lev says as he opens the briefcase.

“That’s not the amount we agreed on,” Marcus says in disgust. “Where is the rest of it? This is a quarter of a million at most.”

“No suitcase in the world could house that amount of paper bills,” Lev states. “We have your Cayman account, and we’ll wire the rest of the money once the girl is returned to us safely.”

“Levinston Cartwright, I assume?” Marcus asks. “Your parents threw wonderful events with the best party favors. Such a shame you didn’t continue their legacy.”

Lev’s back stiffens, and his eyes go blank. That same look he gets when he’s touched. I want to jump in front of him and stab Marcus until his body goes limp and falls on the floor at Lev’s feet.

Lev looks away from Marcus and shuts the briefcase, regaining his composure. “Yes, well, my parents’ interests and mine differ drastically. Now, I suggest we forgo discussions about the past and continue with our negotiations.”

Marcus laughs and pulls out his phone. “Bring the girl in.”

A large man bursts through the door with my sister. She looks good and has no visible markings. Her eyes are alert, and her hair and clothes are clean.

I free myself from Zeke and run to her, wrapping my arms around her tight. “Joonam.”

Tears fall from Mona’s eyes as she returns my hug. She keeps saying sorry in Persian. Mote’as-sefam.

“Shh. I’ve got you. There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’ve got you.”

“As you can see,” Marcus says, “the girl is fine. So how about you wire that money, and we can all be on our way?”

I wrap my arm around Mona’s shoulder and hand her to Zeke. Pulling my knife, I turn and throw it across the room. The blade lands in Marcus’s throat.

The big dude pulls a gun, but Lev is quicker and puts a bullet between the man’s eyes, causing blood and brain matter to splatter Cyrus’s black hoodie.

Cyrus shrugs. “It’s cool. Everything washes out of black.”

The two guards barge in, but before they can do anything, Cyrus has one in a chokehold while Zeke has the other pinned against the wall, his gun at his head.

“Looks like this turned into a party after all,” Cyrus says as he pulls out his zippo. The guy screams as Cyrus holds a flickering flame against his face, and his flesh burns. “Azadeh, what do you think about me starting a perfume business? There has to be a market for Eau de Burned Flesh.” He bends and sniffs the man’s cheeks. “Even this piece of shit now smells divine.”

My gaze moves from Cyrus to Zeke. He has a spoon held upright under the man’s eye. Shock takes over as I witness how ruthless my sweet Zeke can be. I always grasped that Cyrus was a bit unhinged, but seeing Zeke push a spoon into someone’s flesh and scoop an eye out so effortlessly is a little jarring. Never in a million years did I think him capable of such brutality. The man has a hard time calling me a slut, and here he is, consumed with violence and gore.

The room fills with the screams of the tortured men, so I barely hear Alaric.

“Azadeh, get them under control,” Alaric says as he places a small device on the table. “We gotta get out of here. In five minutes, the place will blow. We gotta go.”

My gaze flits between Zeke and Cyrus, unsure how I can calm their blood lust. While I’m trying to figure it out, Lev solves the problem by putting a bullet between each guard’s eyes.

“Dirty pool, Lev,” Cyrus growls. “I was having a good time.”

“We gotta go,” Lev states.

The six of us sprint out of the building and make it to the limo as the thunderous roar of the explosion echoes behind us and searing heat licks at our backs, leaving us breathless and shaken but alive.

“I’m still bitter. I can’t smell the flesh,” Cyrus whines. “You owe me a burning carcass, Lev.”

I ignore everyone and everything except my sister as we pile into the limo. “You okay?”

“I am now.” She moves closer and whispers, “Did you know Zeke was so lethal?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“I had such a crush on him. I assumed you were stupid for years because you said he was your friend and not your boyfriend,” Mona said, her mouth tipping up in a small smile. “But I feel you, sis. Why settle for one when you can have three? Bet you feel safe knowing they’d all kill for you. I sure do.”

I belly laughed, and the men in the limo turned to look at me.

Cyrus cocks an eyebrow. “Care to share the joke with the class?”

I grin. “I was thinking that you’re all crazy, but I love you.”

“Whoa, you better not be loving this guy over here,” Cyrus says, pointing to Alaric. “My self-esteem can’t handle another pretty boy. Lev is already too much.”

“I’m happily taken,” Alaric interjects.

“I think three is more than I can handle,” I say as I hug my sister.

“Will you stay?” Mona asks, gazing up at me. “I’d like to have my sister around for more than a few weeks at a time.”

“If she had, you wouldn’t have been in this mess,” Lev mumbles.

I turn to him and glare. “I think you mean if you hadn’t taken her.”

“Wait, Lev was the one who originally kidnapped me?” Mona asks in shock. “Dude, I thought you were the smart one. Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve played along. Now she’s gonna make you beg like a puppy until she forgives you.”

Lev shrugs, a sly smile on his lips. “I’d beg your sister until the end of time if it meant she’d be by my side.”

Mona glances at me. “Okay, that’s some Romeo and Juliet shit. How the heck are you the one with all the luck? I’m lucky if a boy looks at me.”

I laugh and hug her closer. “You sure you’re okay? They didn’t do anything to you?”

“I’m fine,” Mona says firmly. “Other than shitty food and a disgusting toilet, nothing happened. But do you think I could take martial arts classes?”

“Oh, yes,” I say as relief floods me. “I’ll get you trained by the best.”