The Man in the Black Suit

  To her surprise, he enveloped her in a bear hug.

  Tears pricked her eyes. She’d never thought she’d be so happy to see him.

  “I’m sorry we’re late.” He released her.

  “Concussion, head wound, facial bruising and lacerations, and blunt trauma to the lower back. She vomited on the way out,” the Israeli reported. His expression was stoic.

  Acacia had forgotten he was there. “Thank you. Thanks to all of you. I’m so sorry about what happened to Innes.”

  “He’s going to be fine.” The officer stepped forward. He shook hands with Rick. “You need to get out of here.”

  With a nod, Rick walked Acacia up the stairs and into the plane. He lifted the staircase and closed the cabin door.

  Acacia quickly surveyed the inside of the cabin.

  She turned to Rick. “He didn’t come?”

  Rick shook his head, his face blank.

  “But he sent you for me?” Her voice grew hoarse.

  Rick nodded. He looked uncomfortable.

  “My father thinks Nicholas is Mossad.” Acacia blinked back tears. “Others may think the same thing. You have to warn him.”

  Rick’s eyebrows shot up. “Your father mentioned Mossad?”

  She nodded.

  Rick cursed and pulled out his cell phone.

  A middle-aged woman wearing surgical scrubs moved from the back of the plane. “I’m Doctor Büchi, from Geneva. Let’s take a look at you.”

  Acacia sat on a low couch and turned to look out the window. In the light provided by the makeshift landing strip, the soldiers clustered around the Humvees.

  She said a prayer of gratitude for her rescuers before taking a moment to mourn the loss of life at her father’s compound.

  “Whoever kills a soul—it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one—it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” She recited the words from the Qur’an in her head.

  A tear fell.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  “IT’S INFECTED.” Doctor Büchi paused her examination of Acacia’s head. “I’m going to clean the wound and leave it open to the air so it can heal.”

  “That’s fine.” Acacia was having difficulty staying awake.

  “I’m going to start an IV with fluids and an antibiotic. How’s your pain?” The doctor continued speaking in French.

  “It hurts, but I’m so tired.”

  “I’ll give you something for the pain. Just stay with me for a few more minutes, then you can lie down.” The doctor set up a portable IV and uncovered a surgical tray. “I’m going to have to cut your hair a little in order to deal with the head wound.”

  “I don’t care.” Acacia’s blinks became longer and longer.

  “Acacia.” The doctor took her hand and prepared to administer the IV. “Do you speak Italian?”

  “No, Spanish and Portuguese.”

  The doctor switched to Italian. “If I ask questions, can you understand? I can understand Spanish, but I can’t speak it.”

  “I think I can.” Acacia looked at the doctor curiously.

  “You’re my patient,” she continued in Italian. She gave a sideways glance to Rick. “Anything you say will be kept private unless you direct me otherwise. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Acacia responded in Spanish. She wondered why the doctor didn’t want Rick to understand their conversation.

  “Tell me how you got your injuries.”

  “The bruises on my back happened in Paris. Someone struck me from behind.” Acacia pointed to her bruised face. “My father hit me. Someone hit me in the head, probably with a rifle. That’s where the wound came from. They put some kind of a poultice on it.”

  “I saw that.” The doctor wrinkled her nose. “I think it made it worse. You have other bruises on your body.” Efficiently, she administered a peripheral IV line and taped the connection to the back of Acacia’s hand.

  “I fell in Paris when they hit me from behind. I fell just now when the soldier was carrying me. He was shot.” Acacia swallowed a sob as she recalled Innes crying out in pain.

  The doctor gave her a sympathetic look. “Did anything else happen?”

  “No. They gave me something for pain, but I don’t know what it was. The pills were white. Can I lie down now?”

  “In a minute. Acacia, were you raped?”

  “No.”

  “Were there any other assaults?”

  “No.”

  “Did you lose consciousness at any time?”

  “In Paris. They must have knocked me out before taking me to Morocco. And then I lost consciousness when they hit me on the head. I think that was yesterday.” She thought hard. “I don’t know what day it is.”

  “When you went to the bathroom, was there any pain or bleeding between your legs?”

  “No.” Acacia shook her head vehemently.

  “All right.” The doctor switched back to French. “I’m going to help you lie down so I can work on your head wound. You can sleep if you like. Just remember you have an IV in your hand. Don’t thrash around.”

  Acacia allowed the doctor to help her recline on the couch. She started to shake uncontrollably and the doctor covered her with a blanket.

  “It’s shock,” the doctor explained. “You’re going to be all right, Acacia. Just get some rest.”

  It took a while for Acacia to stop shaking. She closed her eyes.

  When Acacia awoke, she was in Geneva. An ambulance waited at the private airport and transferred her to a nearby hospital, with Rick and Doctor Büchi at her side.

  Acacia had no idea how she’d been able to enter Switzerland without a passport or without even speaking to a customs agent. She was too weary to worry about it.

  A team of doctors examined her, and then a group of nurses tidied her and helped her change into a hospital gown. They scanned her body to determine the extent of her injuries and to look for possible brain damage. Finding none, they sedated her, and she fell into deep, dreamless sleep.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  NICHOLAS SAT NEXT TO ACACIA’S HOSPITAL BED and lightly stroked her arm. He’d showered and shaved for the first time in days and now wore dark jeans and a blue shirt. He hadn’t slept much since Acacia’s disappearance. Purple smudges lay below his eyes.

  “I was afraid you were dead,” he whispered.

  He knew she couldn’t hear him. That’s why he was there.

  He bowed his head, and his damp hair brushed her hand.

  “The doctor wouldn’t tell me about her injuries,” Rick said in a rough voice. He faced his boss from the other side of Acacia’s hospital bed. “I just know what the contractors told me when we picked her up in Tangiers: concussion, head wound, facial bruising, and trauma to the lower back.”

  Nicholas lifted his head. “I’ve known Doctor Büchi for years. She won’t betray a patient.”

  “I assume she asked about rape. I don’t know what was said.”

  Nicholas looked stricken. He pushed a curl from Acacia’s face and tucked it reverently to the side. “This is my fault. If we hadn’t argued, she would have stayed with me.”

  “Put the blame on the animals who took her.” Rick swore. “They would have made their move eventually. They would have tried to kill you to get to her.”

  Nicholas let out a tortured exhalation. “Look at her face. They’ve done God knows what to her, and it’s all on me.”

  “You should have seen her, calmly thanking the contractors for rescuing her, as if they’d taken her out for pizza.”

  Nicholas smiled a half-smile. “That’s my girl. But she shouldn’t have to be brave. I was supposed to protect her.”

  “You did. You got her out of there.”

  Nicholas’s hands folded into fists. “One bruise is one too many. At least her father isn?
??t a threat to her now. The Syrians made contact with the contractors. It’s done.”

  “Justice,” Rick murmured. “I would have liked a crack at him. He’s the one who did her face.”

  Nicholas bent to kiss Acacia’s forehead. “When she wakes up, let her know her mother has been moved, and she’s safe. She’s worried, understandably. Wen can arrange for them to talk.”

  “Done. How’d Mossad take the news?”

  Nicholas clenched his jaw. “As well as could be expected. Their deal with the Syrians was profitable, I’m told. They promised to disavow me, as I requested.”

  “You might as well have been an agent for all the trouble it caused you.”

  “Which is precisely why I’m not an agent.” He rubbed his forehead. “Did I ask you to warn Silke? I can’t remember.”

  “Her handlers already got to her. She’s gone underground for a little while.”

  “Mossad will regret recruiting her. I’m sure of it.”

  Rick looked at his employer more closely. He gestured to his face.

  Nicholas reached up and touched his scar. His dark eyes widened. “I forgot. Have I been without my prosthetic all this time?”

  “You had it when we left Paris. After that…” Rick shrugged. “I don’t remember.”

  “My parents never mentioned anything.” Nicholas paused. He looked down at Acacia in wonder. “She made me forget.”

  “She has that effect on people.” Rick’s tone was dry.

  Nicholas’s gaze sharpened. “You’ve changed your opinion of her?”

  “She’s got a will of iron. I respect that.”

  “Jesus,” Nicholas whispered.

  He kissed Acacia’s forehead once again and walked over to Rick, extending his hand. “Thank you, my friend.”

  “Don’t mention it.” Rick’s voice was gruff as they shook hands. “Are you still going?”

  “I have to see it through.”

  Rick thrust his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “That’s the wrong move.”

  “What did you say?” Nicholas’s eyes narrowed.

  “Look at her.” Rick pointed to Acacia’s serene form. “Your girl needs you. You should stay.”

  “She doesn’t need me, Rick. She left me.” Nicholas sounded bitter.

  “She asked for you. She didn’t ask for food or water or a fucking doctor. She asked for you.”

  Nicholas looked at Acacia, lying peaceful and quiet in her hospital bed. “I spoke with Kate. She’s booked on a flight from Paris tomorrow afternoon, with the cat.”

  “A fucking cat,” Rick mumbled. “If that ain’t love…”

  “What’s done is done,” Nicholas said softly. “I turned her father over to the Syrians. In her eyes, I’m a killer.”

  “You did what you had to do. The guy was a terrorist.”

  “It doesn’t matter if my intentions were good. She’s against killing.” Nicholas turned his back on her. “Take care of her and Kate.”

  Rick nodded.

  With one last look, Nicholas left the room.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  “WILL HE COME TO SEE ME?” Acacia asked Rick as soon as he entered the room.

  It was more than twenty-four hours after she’d arrived at the hospital. Her head still ached, but the nausea had subsided.

  Rick had absented himself while Doctor Büchi examined her during morning rounds. He remained in the hall while the nurses tidied her and dressed her wound. When he returned, Acacia was nibbling at her breakfast.

  “The boss has already been here.” Rick sat next to the bed. He was casually dressed in jeans and a black shirt. But for whatever reason, he wore combat boots.

  Acacia dropped her fork on the breakfast tray. “When?”

  “While you were asleep.”

  “Will he come back?”

  Rick shook his head. “He’s gone.”

  “Where?”

  Rick leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. “He’s flying Kate from Paris. She’ll arrive this afternoon. She’s bringing your cat.”

  Acacia leaned back on the pillow. “He wanted to see that I’m all right, but he doesn’t want to talk to me.”

  “Fuck,” Rick swore under his breath. “He wants to talk to you, but he had something to take care of.”

  “Has he found the man who took his family’s artwork?”

  “How are you feeling this morning?” Rick asked in response. “What did the doctor say?”

  “I want to see him,” she whispered.

  “Acacia, I don’t think—”

  “I need to see him.” She lifted her voice.

  Rick hesitated. “I’ll call him. You can speak to him on the phone.”

  Rick walked into the hall.

  Acacia waited on tenterhooks for him to return. She tried to formulate sentences in her mind, but had difficulty deciding what to say.

  A few minutes later he returned. His face was impassive. “The boss is busy at the moment. He wants you to rest and take care of yourself.”

  Acacia’s eyes filled with tears.

  Rick lifted his hands. “Don’t cry. Kate will be here soon. When you’re discharged from the hospital, I have orders to take you both back to Paris. And, uh, your cat. What’s your cat’s name? Ned?”

  Acacia pressed the call button for the nurse. She threw the covers back and shifted to the edge of the bed, near her IV stand.

  Rick moved forward. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m leaving.” She wiped her eyes with a napkin.

  “You can’t leave. You have a head injury.”

  She turned furious eyes on him. “Why didn’t you stop him from going after the Russian?”

  “What makes you think that’s where he’s gone?”

  “Because he’s obsessed with getting justice for his family. I know his team was working on finding Yasmin’s ex-boyfriend. I know he wouldn’t want me to know he’s in Russia.”

  “Listen, you need to rest. I’ll call the nurse.”

  “No. I’m not going to lie here while he destroys himself.”

  Rick skirted the bed to stand in front of her. “There’s nothing you can do.”

  “I have to try.”

  He rubbed his face with both hands. “Get back into bed. Kate has your cat. Don’t you want to see your cat?”

  “Tell Kate I’m sorry. I’m going after Nicholas.”

  “No, you aren’t.”

  Acacia leaned forward at the waist. “I’m not asking for your permission. I killed a man in Morocco. Did you know that?”

  Rick’s expression didn’t change.

  Her shoulders slumped. “You already know. But what you don’t know is that I have to pay for that. I have to pay for taking a life by saving a life. And I’m going to save Nicholas.”

  “That’s the nuttiest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.” Rick glared at her. “Some terrorist tried to kill you, and you severed his artery with a spoon. I should give you a fucking medal. Do you hear me? You don’t need to save anyone for protecting yourself. It was self-defense.”

  “I didn’t mean to kill him, but I did. I accept the consequences.”

  “You need to have your head examined.”

  “What’s going on?” A nurse stood in the doorway. “Why are you sitting up?”

  “I’m leaving. Please remove the IV.” Acacia held out her hand.

  “You aren’t going anywhere until you’re discharged by the doctor.” The nurse pushed Rick aside. “And who are you? Why are you shouting at her and using foul language? I’ll have security remove you.”

  Rick folded his arms over his chest. “Lady, I am security.”

  “Tell Doctor Büchi I’m signing myself out. If you don’t remove the IV, I will.” Acacia gave the nurse a determined look.

/>   “Just wait. Okay? It’s dangerous to try to remove an IV when you don’t know what you’re doing.” The nurse gave Rick a severe look. “Both of you, just stop. I’ll find the doctor.”

  She scurried into the hall.

  “If you cared so much about him, why’d you leave him?” Rick spoke.

  “If he didn’t care about me, why did he hire a team of commandos to rescue me?” Acacia countered, slipping off the bed.

  She was unsteady on her feet and had to grip the railing for support.

  Rick touched her elbow. “You need to lie down. You can’t even stand up.”

  She pulled away from him and fell against the bed, almost toppling her IV stand.

  Rick caught it just in time. “Fuck. Will you just sit down?”

  She leaned heavily on the mattress. “One way or another, I’m getting out of here, and I’m going after him. Are you going to help me or not?”

  Rick pulled out his phone and tapped at the screen. “You aren’t going anywhere without clothes.”

  Acacia looked down at her hospital gown and bare feet. “I can’t wear this?”

  Rick’s face reddened. “Are you nuts?”

  She frowned. “It was a joke, Rick.”

  He crossed the room, speaking into his phone in hushed tones.

  Doctor Büchi bustled into Acacia’s room a few minutes later. “The nurse said you want to go home.”

  “That’s right.” Acacia held her hand out. “Please remove my IV.”

  The doctor turned to Rick. “Could you wait outside, please?”

  Rick made eye contact with Acacia, who nodded at him. He withdrew and placed his cell phone to his ear.

  “Why don’t we talk for a moment?” The doctor pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. “Tell me what’s happening.”

  “I need to go. I’m feeling better, and I have things to do.”

  “You have a concussion that needs to be monitored. You have a head injury that’s open so we can irrigate it to fight the infection. You need to stay here.”

  Acacia was contemplative for a moment. “If I hire a private nurse to deal with the head wound, can I leave?”