Behind the Lies (A Montgomery Justice Novel) by Robin Perini Read Free Book Online

Farzam. “You wish to speak?” he said, his voice quiet.
    Farzam shook his head in shame.
    “I thought not.”
    “May I bury them?” Farzam whispered.
    “They deserve no honor. They will become a reminder.” Khalid stared down Farzam. “You worked with your brother. You studied in the United Kingdom. You share his views?”
    Farzam swallowed. “No, sir.”
    “Very well.”
    “His daughters?” Farzam asked.
    “You care for Pendar’s children?”
    “It is my duty.” Farzam refused to let him see how much he cared.
    “It is their duty to serve. If they do well, perhaps they will be returned. Perhaps not.”
    Khalid waved his hand, walked back into the building, and closed the door. Two guards pulled Setara’s screaming daughters into what looked like a men’s barracks.
    They would be unable to wed after being held here. Of this, Farzam had no doubt.
    His eyes burned as he stared at his sister’s torn and shredded body. She had been so smart, so beautiful. His father and mother had dressed her as a boy so she could attend school. Her education had been her downfall.
    He let his gaze fall to his brother-in-law. The fool. The idealist. He had believed the CIA goon who had convinced him they would be safe, that Pendar and his family would be welcomed in the United States. Zane Morgan had caused this calamity.
    He had brought dishonor and tragedy on their entire family.
    Farzam would never be welcomed back at the university as a professor. His entire life had been ruined already. Once Pendar’s fate was learned, any hope of salvaging the life he had lived was gone. Khalid would see to that. His influence went well beyond the borders of the tribal lands.
    The guard shoved him toward the exit. He was leaving this place. He had half expected to be taken before the firing squad as well.
    He was alive.
    The guard blindfolded him and led him back through the pass, through twists and turns, thoroughly confusing Farzam. Finally, the guard removed the covering over Farzam’s eyes.
    “You can walk from here.”
    “Water?” he asked softly.
    Surreptitiously, the guard glanced from side to side. He shoved a small bottle at Farzam. “Make it last. It will be dusk soon. I wouldn’t be on the road after dark.”
    Farzam started toward Kabul. Step by step he left the bodies of his family and the ruined lives of his nieces farther behind him.
    Zane Morgan owed their family. He would pay.
    An eye for an eye.
    On his honor, Farzam would make the American suffer and die as Pendar and his sister had.
    There would be no reprieve. Except in death.

    Zach scanned the street, searching for anything out of place before stepping out of the taxi in front of his La Jolla mansion’s privacy gate. Behind the tall iron entrance lay the refuge Theresa had discovered for him six months ago. The ocean breezes swept across his face, the bite of sea air and salt nipping the tip of his tongue. Good to be home and not at the wrong end of an Uzi…or a knife…or suffocating.
    He hadn’t almost-been-killed this many times in one day since the
Dark Avenger
movie—if his luck held.
    Which was why he couldn’t stay. He had to outfit his truck and get to his Colorado safe house before anyone found him.
    With a twist, he slipped a few bills from his wallet to pay the cab driver. The movement tugged at the cut across Zach’s chest. A drip trickled down his skin.
Great.
He’d reopened the wound. He needed a few butterfly bandages before making the trip.
    The taxi revved and pulled away.
    He dug his keys out of his pocket then scanned the front of his home, checking for signs of any intruders. The vehicle gate was closed. He eased closer. The infrared sensor positioned at the entrance didn’t indicate any tampering. Zach checked the settings. A bit of movement, but the gate hadn’t been opened from the inside or outside since he’d left months ago. Wind, a dog, a cult fan trying to get in perhaps.
    He reset the sensor and pushed through the