Fever by V. K. Powell Page B

guide?”
    “He’s gone. Took off in the middle of the night.”
    “Kamau?” When Zak nodded, Sara felt calm for the first time since seeing the man yesterday. “Oh, really, that’s too bad.” A smile crept across her face.
    “I assume you have a plan B since you’re smiling about this unexpected turn of events.”
    By this time Ben and Imani had joined them and waited for Sara’s answer. “I was hoping you’d stay on.”
    “No.”
    The quick response took Sara by surprise, like Zak hadn’t even thought about it. “Why? Are you still upset about my touching your—”
    “Absolutely not,” Zak snapped with an irritated frown. “It’s just not possible.”
    “Anything is possible if you want it to be. If I have to wait until Randall finds another replacement, we’ll be behind before we even get started. Will you at least consider it? I need you, Zak.”
    Ben and Imani had been watching the exchange in silence and now their gazes rested on Zak. “I’m sorry. I can’t.” She spun and walked away.
    Sara started after her, but Imani raised her hand to stop her. “I will go.”
    “She is the most stubborn, inflexible woman I’ve ever met. What’s the big deal? If it’s the money, I’ll pay her more.”
    Sara asked the question to no one in particular, but Ben, shuffling his bare feet in the dusty ground, replied. “Ebony does not wish your money. She wishes you safe.”
    “I’ll be safer if she’s with me. At least I know her, a little, and feel comfortable with her.”
    Ben’s glance shifted from her to Zak, as if struggling with his thoughts. “She knows things you do not. It is safer without her.”
    If Zak’s friend thought she’d be safer without her, something had evidently gone terribly wrong since they arrived. Zak’s previous objections to the job had given no hint of danger, just annoyance. She watched the exchange between Zak and Imani, though she couldn’t understand anything they were saying. At first Zak assumed a quiet conversational posture, and then her body tensed as if she had become more confrontational. A few minutes later she balled her fists at her sides and the tones became more audible and insistent. The only sound Sara could distinguish was a word Imani used and Zak repeated as they looked in her direction. Mpenzi .
    “What does that word mean, mpenzi , Ben?”
    He looked at the ground as though embarrassed and walked away.

    *

    Roger Kamau’s departure hadn’t relieved Zak’s discomfort. It was unexpected but not unwelcome. Neither his character nor his abilities impressed her. But she dreaded the discussion with Sara about his replacement. She knew Sara would ask her to stay. Zak had made her initial decision to leave quickly, in the heat of excitement and emotion. This one would require more thought, an objective threat assessment, and the thing she feared most, an honest evaluation of her feelings.
    This woman already stirred up uncomfortable emotions that made no sense. Her very presence was distracting and her persistence annoying to the point of irritation. But her ability to ask for exactly what she wanted, which initially chafed, now left Zak with a pathetic-puppy-dog desire to grant her wishes. Her hard exterior shell seemed to melt in Sara’s company, which was a dangerous tendency, especially in such an unforgiving country. One idealist in their midst was too many. She needed to remain on point.
    When Sara asked her to stay and said she needed her, the protector in Zak sprang to life. Just like in the plane during the thunderstorm, she wanted to say yes and shelter Sara from any harm. But in this case, she was also a threat. Wachira gave no thought to collateral damage. The look in Sara’s eyes was warm and pleading, its draw entirely too enticing.
    Zak refused and walked away before Sara could spot her reservations. But Imani knew her better than Sara and saw what she tried to hide.
    “Why do you refuse her, Ebony?” Imani asked.
    “I’m part