Page 119 of No Regrets

“We’re still working on the laptop.” They heard Sanchez’s phone ring. “I have to take this. I’ll be in touch.” He ended the video call.

A tense silence hung in the air. Kelly stared at the picture of Amir on screen and then back at her laptop.

“Do you recognize him?” Dex could tell she’d seen something.

She looked at him, and then at Sam. “I think I do, but it can’t be possible. Look at this.” Two more pictures appeared on screen next to Amir’s.

“Ahmed Khalini, who’s the other one?’ Ryan questioned.

“Amir Khalini, the brother that died three years ago,” Sam interjected, looking at Dex.

“The photo of Amir is old, and I know their faces are mostly covered in hair, but just look at the eyes, the shape, the mouth. I studied these men for years, was a part of the airstrike op. Is it just me or does Amir Saleem look very similar to the deceased Amir Khalini?”

Silence hung around the table. Dex met Sam’s gaze. Kelly saw it. “What? What is it?” Dex heard the frustration in her voice but kept quiet. This was Sam’s call; he’d learned his lesson about sharing too much information.

“There’s a possibility Amir Khalini might be alive.” Sam studied the pictures.

“OK, so even if his brother is alive. It’s not good but what has that got to do with Dex? The threats? Why would he be targeting you? Is this about me?” She was looking back at Dex wanting an answer that he couldn’t give.

Sam placed his hands on the table, bracing himself, head down.

“Sam?” she pushed.

The tension in the room was thick. They all knew the answer, except Kelly. That intel was classified and as Sam had bluntly told Dex, way above Kelly’s security clearance. Everyone waited for Sam to speak.

Finally, Sam raised his head. “Raven captured Khalini a couple of weeks ago.”

Dex swept his eyes over his team seeing they were as surprised as him that Sam had shared that information.

“Paybacks a bitch,” Kelly said quietly, repeating the words of one of the threats.

“Yes. No one has had any reason to think his brother may still be alive. There’s been no word, no chatter. But the airstrike killed their parents and sister. It makes sense that he would be looking for revenge and now we’ve got his brother too.”

“Wait, you’re telling me you have Khalini?” Kelly probed.

“He’s under interrogation. He let slip that Amir was alive, but we were still checking it out. He could have been playing us. And before you ask, no, he hasn’t divulged anything about Lazir yet.” Sam’s tone was sympathetic. Dex looked at Kelly, her face pale.

“OK, so if this Saleem dude is the brother and this is revenge, how does he know it was us that took his brother?” Ryan asked.

“That there is the question that concerns me the most.” Sam’s glance drifted around the table.

“This can’t be a coincidence,” Ryan said. “We know Khalini worked for Lazir, that they are planning attacks here, building cells. If this is Khalini’s brother, he must be part of Reborn.”

Dex went to Kelly, stood behind her squeezing her shoulders. “You’re safe here, I promise.” No one was getting into the farm. This place was airtight.

“I agree with you. But it doesn’t explain how they linked Dex to the Khalini op. Someone must have recognized you from when you went to get Kelly,” Sam said.

Everyone expressed their agreement. There was no other explanation.

“Alright. You all need to get cleared by Psych and PT.” Sam ordered. The guys began to protest. Dex held up his hand to silence them.

“Guys, Nyx are sidelined with injuries, so we need to be mission ready. Plus, when they find this fucker, I want to be able to go get him, don’t you?”

The team grumbled, reluctantly agreeing.

Sam dismissed them. “I will keep you posted on any developments. Now get out of here.”

Dex leaned down, kissing Kelly on the cheek. “Hopefully won’t be too long. Call me if you need me.”