remembered his father walking through the foyer and that moment of foreboding as she’d glimpsed the al-Lehans’ power, and she felt the absolute full force of it now.
Yes, his prey was exactly what she was—he had sought her, found her and now she was within his grasp. As she stood there, waiting, they were plunged into darkness, for it was as if the desert had swallowed the fierce sun whole.
Gabi ran.
It was a rather stupid thing to do in a darkening desert but for now it didn’t matter, she simply wanted to be away from him, only Gabi didn’t get very far.
Alim caught up with her easily but so panicked was Gabi she shook off his hand from her arm and attempted to take off again, but she fell to the ground and lay with her head on her arm facing down, knowing that he stood over her.
Knowing there was nowhere to run.
‘Gabi.’
His voice was annoyingly calm and terribly, achingly familiar.
Despite his attire, despite the unfamiliar surroundings, he was still the Alim she knew.
Gabi felt soothed when she should not, yet she could taste her panicked tears and feel the conflict for she wanted to turn around.
She wanted again to lift her face to him.
But anger won.
‘You set me up,’ she shouted, and thumped the ground.
‘Come inside.’
‘I don’t want to come inside!’
Yet when he held out his hand she took it and she stood brushing herself down as the wind whipped her hair into her damp face.
So much for a sophisticated reunion!
‘This is kidnap!’
‘You are too dramatic.’ Alim shrugged.
‘Not where I come from. Your assistant told me I would not even have to see you...’
‘Violetta ensured discretion,’ Alim defended her. ‘Don’t you want a chance to be together for a while? I know that I do.’ He had to shout to make himself heard over the wind. ‘Don’t you want a chance to speak and to catch up on all that has been going on?’
That was the very last thing that Gabi wanted!
Alim must not find out about Lucia while she was effectively stranded here.
‘Come inside,’ Alim said again, and the authoritarian note to his voice told her that he would not be argued with.
That did not stop Gabi. ‘I don’t want to.’
She shouted it but the wind whipped the words straight from her mouth and carried them into the night. Her mouth filled with sand and it was the most pointless argument ever, she knew, for she could not survive out here in this savage land.
Gabi had seen from the sky just how isolated they were.
He offered his hand to walk her back to the tent but Gabi declined it and for a few moments she stood her ground.
Alim would not stand in the fierce winds, attempting to persuade her. If she ran again he would find her in a matter of moments, for Alim knew the desert well and in her cumbersome clothes and winds such as these, Gabi would only manage a few steps.
Still, he was relieved to make it to the entrance and then turn around and sight her.
He waited, and after a short stand-off he could see that Gabi knew she was beaten.
There wasn’t really a choice but to go inside and be with Alim.
The desert gave few options, she told herself.
The truth?
Gabi wanted to be with him.
GABI WAS RELUCTANT to enter.
But for reasons of her own: she was scared she might like it.
Alim stood aside and Gabi stepped into relative silence.
She put down the shoes she carried in her hand, along with the small overnight bag, and felt him walk up behind her.
Her bare feet were caressed by soft rugs; oil lamps gave off a gentle glow that danced along the walls, though bore testimony to the fierce winds outside.
It was a haven indeed.
And she fought to keep her guard raised.
The peregrine note she had first breathed in when they’d danced was more prominent for Gabi now; it hung in the air and enveloped her from all around. It was hard to be scared with Alim so close by her side.
Gabi was angry, though.
‘There is no one else here,’ Alim informed her as he watched her walk through to the main living area.
She looked up at the high ceiling and felt terribly small. ‘So there’s no point screaming.’
Alim merely sighed. ‘Gabi, you really are far too dramatic. What I meant when I said that we are alone is that there is no one here to disturb us and no one to overhear us when we are talking.’
He wanted to make it very clear to Gabi that whatever was said was just between them.
For now.
A baby certainly would change things—Violetta would have even more work cut out for her but at the very least he hoped by the end of this trip Gabi would leave knowing that both she and the baby would be taken care of.
Since he had found out that Gabi had been on maternity leave, Alim had been trying to find out what he could and using his best contacts to garner information.
It had proven surprisingly difficult.
Gabi did not work for the Grande Lucia; however, he had found out that indeed she had been on maternity leave. There was some recent CCTV footage of Gabi in the foyer of the Grande Lucia, speaking with a woman who handed Gabi a baby.
Alim had watched the grainy footage and had found himself holding his breath and zooming in on the image, desperate for a better glimpse of his child.
His child!
A fierce surge of protectiveness had hit him and his plans to bring Gabi to the desert had increased in their urgency.
He still did not know whether it was a boy or a girl.
And, from her silence, Alim was starting to realise that Gabi was in no rush to enlighten him with the news.
‘I think,’ Alim said, ‘there is rather
