Ashes of the Red Heifer by Shannon Baker Read Free Book Online Page A

lucky.” His gaze shifted to David and locked on him.
    “Hey buddy,” David said. “That was one hell of beating you took.”
    Hassan nodded, wincing in pain. “Yeah.”
    There seemed to be something unsaid between the two and Annie was afraid if given enough time they’d launch into the religious folderol again. “David, will you go get coffee?”
    He hesitated, looked from Annie to Hassan and said, “Sure.”
    As he was leaving the room Annie called to him, “Black.”
    “With you it’s always black or white,” David said.
    “Very funny.” She eyed Hassan. “Jeeze, you look like shit.”
    His voice croaked. “Yes? Well, I like your black eye.”
    She grinned, “It is a nice one.”
    He swallowed painfully. “They destroyed the computer?”
    She nodded, hating to remember the attack. “And the backups are gone.” She reached to the floor and pulled up the blue case containing the blood and tissue samples. “But we have these.”
    His eyes lit up. “Thanks to Allah, all Merciful.”
    She tried not to cringe at his invocation. As always, it made her nervous he’d fall into the same brand of fanaticism that had wreaked such havoc in her life.
    Hassan gave her a thumbs-up then his eyes clouded with worry. “Annie, you have to get away from David.”
    “What?”
    Hassan closed his eyes as if waiting for a wave of pain to flow through him. “He’s dangerous.”
    Even if Hassan didn’t like David, this was over the top for him. “David didn’t cause this. If you didn’t notice, he has a few bruises, too. Bruises he got trying to save you.”
    “The Silim didn’t bomb the kibbutz.”
    “Then why would they say they did?”
    “They didn’t,” he repeated. “It’s the people with David that blamed the Silim. You have to get away.”
    Annie held up her hand. She leaned over and put her palm on Hassan’s forehead and tried to use her most tender voice, one she didn’t bring out often. “Whether things work out with David and me or not, you and I will always be friends. Don’t make it harder with this jealousy thing.”
    He let out an exhale. His voice grew deeper and more sure. “You know I’ve loved you for years. But I never expected you to love me, not that way.”
    She felt tears in the back of her throat. “Hassan…”
    He frowned. “It’s not jealousy that makes me say this. You need to get away from David.”
    She struggled to find something to say. Anger popped up in one side of her brain. Why couldn’t he be supportive of a new relationship if it made her happy? But the anger wasn’t strong enough to overcome the sadness she felt for hurting him. Whatever he might say, she was sure Hassan resented David because Annie was falling for him.
    Hassan swallowed and his eyes held a plea. “You have to get me out of here.”
    She looked at him. “Now I know you’re out of your mind.”
    “Listen to me. They will kill me.”
    “Who will?”
    He shrugged, barely moving. “I’m not sure who. But they are after me.”
    He’d been kicked in the head. That must account for this paranoia. She tried to calm him. “I think maybe the kibbutz was bombed to stop the research and I have no idea why. But I can’t believe anyone is out to harm you or me personally.”
    “Annie, trust me.” Even with his voice as weak as it was, he sounded scared.
    His fear was so real she had to reassure him. “It doesn’t matter anyway.”
    He looked at her with a question in his eyes. She took a deep breath. She’d made this decision but it felt akin to giving up a beloved child for adoption. The key was not letting Hassan know the depth of the pain. “I thought curing BA 23 was the most important thing in my life. If you’d asked me yesterday I’d have said I’d do anything to find the vaccine. But after the bomb that nearly killed us, and seeing them come after you, I know that no vaccine is worth your life. So I’m going to give our research to another team.”
    Tears sprang to Hassan’s