Six
Malik hadn’t known what Leila would request of him, but her response surprised him nonetheless. For a second or two, he could only stare at her, not quite sure what she was asking. “You want to go home to Highland Park? You know that’s not possible.”
“No, not there,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I’m not talking about going back to stay. I know it isn’t safe. I meant that I wanted you to take me home to Irvine, to the house where I grew up. I need to see it for myself. I — ” She stopped there and drew in a small, hitching breath, as though she was attempting to hold back a sob. Indeed, her dark blue eyes did look suspiciously bright. “I need to know that they’re really gone. Can you do that for me, Malik?”
Of course he could. He deemed the journey safe enough, for there were no
