framed between palm trees as it dipped inexorably lower towards the shimmering horizon.
The desert?
He sat up straighter in his seat, his interest piqued, though wondering if he was mad in the next moment. His recent visit to Al-Jirad had reunited him with his three old friends, Zoltan, Kadar and Rashid. It had also brought two brief forays into the desert. But neither of them had afforded more than a taste of the desert as they had raced to retrieve first the Princess Aisha and then her sister, Marina, from the clutches of the snivelling Mustafa.
The first excursion he had found exhilarating, speeding with his three friends in a race against time across the dunes. The second he’d found less so, although the horses had been just as willing, the company just as entertaining and the sunsets and dawns just as magnificent. It was seeing Marina again after all these years that had spoilt that trip for him.
Of all the women in the world, how unfortunate that Zoltan had to marry her sister, the one woman he had sworn never to see again in his life. Even more unfortunate that she could still make him hard with just one look.
Maybe a return visit to the desert would cure him. Maybe the desert sun would sear her from his brain, and the crisp desert night air clear all thoughts of her once and for all.
And maybe not just any desert. Maybe it was just time to go home.
Home.
How long since he had thought of the desert as his home?
How long since he’d called any place home?
But why shouldn’t he go now? There was nowhere he needed to be. He had no one to please but himself. And this time he could take the time to drink in the colour and the texture of the desert, take the time to linger and to observe and absorb its sheer power, and breathe in air turned pristine under the heat of the desert sun.
But, more than that, out in the desert there would be no flashes of colour across a crowded room; no glimpses of flesh to remind him of another time and another woman he wanted to forget.
He breathed deeply, content for the first time in days, making a mental note to check flights and make enquiries after he had slept. He was glad this run of nights was behind him. Surely now this run of bad luck must be over too? For right now it could not get much worse.
The mobile phone vibrated in his pocket. He hauled it out, curious who would be calling him at this early hour, less surprised when he checked the caller ID. He pressed the phone to his ear. ‘Zoltan, what can I do for you?’
He listened while the grey of the dawn sky peeled away to pink and his run of bad luck took a turn for the worse.
CHAPTER TWO
‘NO.’
‘Bahir,’ his friend insisted, ‘just listen.’
‘Whatever it is, I don’t need to hear it. The answer is still no.’
‘But she can’t travel home by herself. I won’t allow it.’
‘I thought Mustafa was cooling his heels in prison.’
‘He is, but I made the mistake of underestimating him once before. I won’t do the same again. So long as there’s a possibility someone out there is still loyal to him, I’m not taking any chances with Aisha’s sister’s safety.’
Bahir raked one hand through his hair. ‘So get Kadar to do it.’
‘Kadar has urgent business in Istanbul.’
He grunted. ‘How convenient. Rashid, then.’
‘You know Rashid. He’s disappeared. Nobody knows where or when he’ll show up again.’
He had to be dreaming. Bahir pinched his nose until sparks shot behind his eyelids but there was no waking up. This nightmare was real. ‘Look, Zoltan, it doesn’t have to be one of us! What’s wrong with getting one of the palace guards to babysit her?’
‘They’re busy.’ A pause. ‘Besides, Aisha specifically asked that you do it.’
He hesitated. He’d liked what he saw of Zoltan’s new bride. Although he’d had his doubts at first, now he could not imagine a better woman as a match for his friend. In any other circumstances, he would not hesitate to do whatever she asked of him. But Aisha had no idea what she was asking of him. ‘Aisha was wrong.’
‘But you know Marina.’
‘Which is exactly the reason I’m saying no.’
‘Bahir—’
‘No. Isn’t it enough that I agreed to come with you to rescue her? Don’t push me, Zoltan. Why don’t you do it yourself, if you’re so God damned keen on her having an escort home?’
‘Bahir,’ came the hesitant voice of his friend at the end of the line. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘Nothing is wrong!’ Everything is wrong. ‘Listen, Zoltan, we broke up for a reason. Marina hates me and, when it all comes down to it, I’m not that overly fond of her. She might now be your sister-in-law, but you don’t know her like I do. She’s as irresponsible as they come, the original party girl who’s never done a thing for anyone else. She’s spoilt and headstrong, and if she isn’t given exactly what she wants she goes out and takes it anyway, regardless of the consequences. And, if that’s not enough, she’s got the morals of an alley cat and the litter to prove it. I tell you now, Zoltan, I am not going back there.’
‘God, Bahir, I’m not asking you to marry her! All you have to do is make sure she gets home safely.’
‘And I’m telling you to find someone else.’
There was silence at the end of the line. A brooding silence that did nothing to encourage Bahir to think he was swaying his friend’s opinion. ‘You know, Bahir,’ his friend said at last. ‘If I didn’t know better …’
Bahir felt like growling. ‘What?’
‘Well, anyone who didn’t know you better might actually think you were actually—worried—about spending time with Marina.’
‘Are you suggesting I’m afraid?’
‘Are you?’
‘You just don’t get it, Zoltan. Even if I agreed to take her, there is no way this side of hell freezing over that she’d agree to come with me. Didn’t you hear me say that she hates me? If you’d bothered to ask her you’d already know that.’
There was a telling pause at the end of the line and Bahir felt a glimmer of hope as he saw a way out of this madness.
‘In that case, you might try asking her. She’ll give you the same answer I have. No. If you’re so convinced she needs someone to make sure she’s safe, then you find someone else to do your babysitting.’
‘And what if she agrees?’
He laughed out loud. ‘No way. She’ll never agree. Not in a million years.’
