Finally, the door opened and Melanie’s frame appeared. Just as Moretti had hoped, Aliyah and one of her men stayed in the house while the rest of her militants filed out the door and down the steps, one of them pushing Melanie in front of him, his hand gripping her shoulder harshly.
Melanie’s face seemed to lack the innocence it did just a few days ago, tears cascading down her cheeks. Her curls had grown limp, her vivid, innocent eyes showing the terror she had been forced to witness first-hand.
Rage filled Alexander, his face burning, despite the snow and low temperatures. He didn’t care about answers anymore. He wanted Aliyah to suffer for what she had put his little girl through. It took every ounce of resolve to not pick up his weapon, march into that house, and put a bullet through her heart, but this would only work if he kept his head. He needed to focus on getting Melanie to safety. The rest would fall into place.
Melanie’s shoeless feet crunched in the snow as the man kept a hand on her shoulder. Finally, after several tense moments, the man released his grasp and pushed her toward Alexander. He quickly fell to his knees, wrapping her in his arms, soothing her sobs. He kissed her head, savoring the warmth of her, not wanting to let go for anything. Despite everything he had done over the past two days, there were moments he didn’t think he would ever be able to hold his daughter again. Now, he never wanted to let her go.
“Daddy, what about Mama?” Melanie cried as he cocooned her, rising and rushing down the block toward the van.
“Don’t worry, princess. She’s going to be okay,” he assured her, opening the door of the SUV.
He glanced over his shoulder at the bay window of Olivia’s old house. Aliyah’s attention was entirely devoted to what was going on outside, completely oblivious to the sole FBI agent now padding lightly into the hallway from the basement entrance to the house. He remained just out of sight, hovering against the wall around the corner from the living room everyone was assembled in.
Outside, Aliyah’s men approached the group of cowering women. They didn’t even bother bringing to bear the automatic weapons they wore slung over their shoulders, apparently assuming the girls wouldn’t put up a fight.
“How?” Melanie pushed.
He met her fearful eyes once more. “Because I’m here.” He placed her in the back seat, one of the paramedics immediately wrapping her in a blanket and doing a preliminary examination. “I need you to do me a favor. You remember the fireworks we saw during the Fourth of July? How loud they were?”
She nodded. Alexander caught motion out of the corner of his eye. Aliyah’s men were within arm’s reach of the undercover agents.
“It’s about to get just as loud, so cover your ears, sweetheart. And no matter what you do, keep your eyes facing forward. Don’t look back.”
He slammed the door shut. The sound of its tires turning up snow met Alexander’s ears as Moretti’s voice crackled into his earpiece. “Go.”
A barrage of bullets erupted, the agents who had their heads down just moments ago drawing their shotguns in one swift motion, firing at the unsuspecting men. Their bodies fell to the ground like dominoes, their blood bright against the white snow.
Alexander rushed up the block toward the house just as more agents swarmed the front living room from where they had been hiding in the basement. Aliyah’s only man left raised his weapon, ready to get off a shot, but he was no match for the trained agents closing in on him. Without blinking, one of them fired and the man in black fell to the floor.
Retrieving his gun from the snow, Alexander dashed up the front steps and into the house, his weapon raised, ready to take Aliyah out with no mercy. He was about to fire when Aliyah pulled Olivia back to her, holding a knife to her throat. The baby Olivia held in her arms wailed as Alexander glanced down at their feet to see Selena lying in a pool of blood.
“Don’t come one step closer! Tell your men to lower their weapons and kick them over here, or I will cut her and you can watch her bleed!” She shot her eyes from Alexander to the team of agents with their guns trained on her, then back at Alexander again. Her expression almost maniacal, a woman desperately trying to hold on to the little she had left, Aliyah pushed the long blade against Olivia’s throat. “Tell them!” she shrieked.
“I’m going to put my gun on the ground.” He slowly lowered his pistol, pushing it away from him. Raising his hands in surrender, he continued, “Let Olivia hand me the baby and I’ll order them to lower their weapons.”
Olivia met his eyes, slightly shaking her head as she pulled the bundle closer to her chest.
“Fine,” Aliyah hissed.
He gave Olivia an encouraging look, trying to tell her with his eyes that it would all be okay, that no harm would fall on the baby, that she would hold him again when this was all over. Reluctantly, she pulled the baby away from her chest and Alexander took him from her arms, instinctively patting the crying baby’s bottom to try to soothe him as he handed him to one of the FBI agents.
“Don’t even think about it,” Aliyah warned as the agent headed toward the front door. “No one is leaving this house. You take one step out that door with that baby and I slash her throat.” She held the knife closer. “I’ve held up my end of the bargain, now tell your men to lower their weapons.”
Alexander looked at the FBI agents, giving them a small nod. They immediately lowered their weapons and placed them on the floor, nudging them across the room toward Aliyah.
“Let’s talk about this,” he said. “I know you don’t want to do this. If you did, you would have already killed her and the baby.”
“Don’t assume you know anything about me!” she hissed. “All you Americans are exactly the same! You think by coming into our country, trying to impose your western ideals and culture on ours, we’ll all hug you and praise you with thanks? Well, I’ve got news for you, Mr. Burnham. Our customs were around for centuries before yours and will thrive long after yours have perished.”
“Your customs?” he repeated, raising his brow. He’d witnessed those very customs first-hand. Many of the people he had met during his time overseas were friendly and thankful to have them there. But there were always those few, a very vocal minority, who had nothing but disdain for the western presence in their country. “You’re not trying to protect your culture or traditions. You’re trying to protect what you deem to be important. Your laws have evolved over the years, giving women more freedom. But, apparently, you don’t like that idea, even though it’s clear you’ve benefited from it.”
“Have I benefited from it? Yes, I have, but I’ve only used my position to do everything in my power to protect the traditions too many people have forgotten about. Do you know how many families I’ve been able to reunite because of my ability to infiltrate the ministry? Countless! And it wasn’t until Landon and his pal, Rahima, decided to take it one step further and hide these women, even from the ministry, that I knew I had to do more.”