Visions of frosted glasses and ice cubes dancing in her head, she heard Alex speaking Arabic on the phone. Then he clicked it off and stuck it back in his tuxedo pocket.
“Why didn’t you call someone at Cadair?” she asked.
“They might be monitoring the phones.”
“Oh.” She pulled off the saddle.
Alex quickly lifted it from her arms.
“Then, won’t they check the taxi?”
Halfway to the little hut, he looked back over his shoulder. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, when it drops us off at Cadair, the police are going to see us.”
“The taxi’s taking us to a hotel.” He continued his journey, climbing the single step and pushing open the pale- green door that hung on one hinge.
A hotel?
Well. She supposed that made sense. And she could live with a hotel. Just, please, let them have a nice suite available, with a whirlpool tub and twenty-four-hour room service.
“Are we going into Dubai?”
“To Ajman.” Alex went to work on the other horse. “It’s closer, and I want to leave a trail of bread crumbs.”
Brittany watched him work efficiently on the buckles and straps of Roc’s saddle. Even the expensive tuxedo couldn’t make him look civilized. His shoulders were too broad, his chest too deep. He had big, rough hands, a darkly defined brow, a broad nose and the kind of square chin that would make other men think twice about crossing him.
“So you’re an American,” she ventured.
He cracked a small smile. “I’m an American.”
“How did you meet Harrison?”
“He advertised for an international lawyer.” Alex straightened and effortlessly lifted the saddle from the big animal. “We have newspapers in America, you know. And I do read.”
She ignored his sarcasm. “I thought you said you were a soldier.”
“I was a soldier.” He crossed the road to the shack once more, talking over his shoulder while he walked. “When I wasn’t busy shooting people, I studied law.”
“They let you do that?” she called.
“Yes, ma’am, they let us study pretty much whatever we want.” He walked through the door, then shortly returned. “As long as we keep shooting people in our off-hours, of course.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
He went to work on Cedar Twist’s bridle. “You do know I’m joking, right?”
No, she hadn’t. “You’re not a lawyer?”
“No, I don’t shoot people. You don’t go to law school during the day and shoot people in the evenings.”
“Oh.” Well, she hadn’t assumed he meant every evening. “Then, what
He crossed to Roc, removing the stallion’s bridle, as well. “I was involved in the Gulf War, early on, aerial reconnaissance.”
“You fly planes?”
“Yes. I prefer that to killing people.”
She fought a smile. “Good to know.”
He gathered up the two bridles and gave her a nod. “I would think so. What with the two of us all alone out here on this deserted little road.” Then he turned once more toward the shack.
She stared after him in frozen silence, suddenly hyperaware of the quiet, the heat, his excruciatingly powerful maleness.
It hadn’t occurred to her to question her safety. It certainly hadn’t occurred to her to question his intentions.
He exited the shack, looming closer, his feet sending up small puffs of dust into the still air, his powerful arms swinging with his determined walk, his dark eyes watching her.
“Oh, hell,” he spat out, making her jump. “I was
She tossed her head. “I’m not scared.”
He stopped in front of her, hands going to his hips. “I protect people,” he stated, the offense clear in his tone. “I would never,
It occurred to Brittany that his words would ring a lot truer if he wasn’t shouting them at her.
Julia moaned loudly, folding her arms on the dashboard of the Jeep and dropping her sweaty forehead onto them. “I’m
The sun had cleared the eastern mountains two hours ago, but Harrison refused to run the air-conditioning. He claimed it wasted fuel. And while she was firmly
“Buck up,” said Harrison. “I don’t think it’s more than ninety-five.” The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up, and he’d long since discarded his tux jacket and bow tie.
“But we’re in an oven.” She sat up and gestured to the heat waves rolling up off the sand. “We’re actually cooking!” She tugged at the collar of her dress. “And I’m wrapped in foil.”
Harrison started to laugh.
“Don’t,” she barked at him. Whatever the metallic fabric was, it held in every ounce of heat and moisture. “I swear, I’m going to rip this thing off my body.”
“Be my guest,” he said. Then he nodded ahead down the faint sand track. “But you might want to have something on when we meet up with them.”
Her gaze darted out the windshield.
Half a dozen colorfully dressed men on horseback were riding toward them. The troop looked like something straight out of
“Bandits?” she asked Harrison, her sweat suddenly turning cold.
“I have no idea,” said Harrison. “There are a lot of different tribes out here, doing a lot of different things in the desert.”
“Are they dangerous?” Their windows were all down, and the fabric top of the Jeep offered little protection if somebody meant them harm.
“Looks like we’re about to find out.”
The group drew closer, kicking up dust and revealing a camel amongst the horses. If Julia wasn’t so frightened, she might have appreciated the fascinating spectacle.
As it was, she held her breath while the riders separated around the Jeep, passing by on either side. Harrison didn’t slow down, which Julia thought was exceedingly wise.
When the last of them streamed past, she allowed herself a sigh of relief. Perhaps they were merely fellow travelers, moving from one village to the next.
“Uh-oh,” Harrison muttered, glancing in the rearview mirror and pushing his foot down on the accelerator.
“What?” Julia twisted her head.
They were coming back.
“This can’t be good,” she intoned.
“Tell me about it.” He shifted gears.
But the riders were gaining on them, whooping and shrieking in a chantlike fashion. She was pretty sure it wasn’t a greeting.
They passed by, arms raised, some with swords, peering in the window, before peeling off to circle around again.
“Be nice if you had a head scarf,” said Harrison.
But she had nothing she could use. For the first time today, she was glad of the full coverage provided by the evening gown.
“What do we do?”
