Page 157 of Mr. Charming

“How did you get my number?”

“My nephew is on the internet site called Facebook, and he found your name. The rest, he said, was easy-peasy.”

That’s scary.

“Why are you calling me?”

“I saw your article, and I have information you might want.”

“Yeah?”

“The hesitation again!”

“Look, this is awfully strange. I’m being careful.”

“You didn’t trust me before and look what happened. Will you trust me now?”

“Okay…” I replied, hesitantly.

I wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Good. Your friend, Cooper, gave you wrong information.”

“What do you mean?”

I glanced over at his naked body on the bed.

“Some of the names he gave were wrong, and I can prove it.”

“Prove it? How?”

“It’s not safe to discuss on the phone, as you know. You must come to Afghanistan.”

“I’m not sure…”

“Trust me,” he interrupted. “You can find me in Samangan. You know where.”

The call ended. I stared at the phone a moment, still stunned. After waking up the laptop, I checked my email and saw thirty-two new messages – all about my story. And it had only been up for two hours.

Thanks to the internet, the story had spread far and wide. I turned and looked at Cooper on the bed. Should I wake him?

THIRTY-EIGHT

Jade

As I watched him sleep, Cooper opened his eyes. When he saw me watching him, he smiled and patted the mattress next to him.

“Come and rest,” he said.

I walked over to the bed and laid down next to him in my pajamas.

“You’re a bit overdressed,” he teased, putting his hand on my stomach.

“We need to talk,” I said seriously.

He rolled over, propping himself up with his elbow.

“What’s wrong?”