The Desperate Mother

But Nadi had already tuned everything out.

Adi's brows knitted together in an instant. He released Nadi, ended the call without hesitation, and fixed his gaze on Ryan. "What happened? Didn't we assign enough people to City of Luna Bay? How could something go wrong? Are you sure this isn't one of Hasan's schemes?"

What he was really implying was that Fatimah wasn't in any real danger. The so-called trouble was nothing but a ploy by Hasan, a scheme to pressure him into letting Nadi return to City of Luna Bay.

Ryan shook his head, lips parting as if to speak, wanting to tell Adi, no, this was real.

Smack! A sharp slap echoed through the car, cutting Ryan off before he could utter a word.

The slap came from Nadi, landing squarely on Adi's face. It was hard enough to leave an immediate imprint of five fingers on his cheek.

Silence swallowed the car whole.