Chapter Forty-Five – On Gunpoint
"Who's Sheikh?" Angel asked again.
Her voice didn't rise.
Didn't shake.
But the way it landed made the room feel smaller.
Silence answered her.
Not the ordinary kind.
This one rang. Loud. Thick. Heavy.
Even the birds outside went quiet, as if instinctively aware that something fragile had been disturbed. No fluttering wings. No distant chirps. Nothing. The kind of silence that made the hairs at the back of Angel's neck rise.
Zahid stood frozen.
His jaw tightened. His fingers curled slowly at his sides, then stilled again. For the first time since she had met him, Zahid looked unsure of what to say next.
"Angelina…" he started, then stopped. Swallowed. "I didn't mean to keep it from you."
Her eyes stayed on him. Unblinking. Studying his face like it might suddenly rearrange itself into something familiar again.
