by Holly Rayner
The doors unlocked, and Malouf opened his door and climbed out. Alyssa stayed where she was. The lights came on, revealing Malouf standing near the inner door to the house. He dropped the clicker back into his pants’ pocket.
“You might as well follow me,” he said. “There is no way out, and I have food and water inside.”
At the mention of water, Alyssa’s throat itched. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she had become over the course of the terrifying drive.
Sweeping her gaze around the garage, Alyssa found paint cans and a few plastic chairs, but mostly empty space. More confirmation that no one really lived in the house.
And what about the car? Was that Malouf’s, too? Or had he stolen it and broken into this vacated house in an attempt to cover his tracks?
Alyssa wasn’t going to find any answers sitting in the car. It was hot and stuffy in the garage, and though Malouf was a slight man, she had no chance against him with two babies in her belly.
The only thing to do was follow him.
Leaving the car, she went through the door Malouf held open and found herself in an open-plan area. There was a kitchen to the left, and to the right was a living room area with a beige sofa that looked itchy and a military cot with a pillow and blanket. Beyond, a closed door led to whatever was in the rest of the house.
Alyssa stood there awkwardly, her hands on her belly. The door closed behind her, making her jump. She swallowed, watching Malouf out of the corner of her eye as he walked to the center of the room.
“Please.” He gestured at the old sofa. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Alyssa stayed where she was, her legs heavy as lead. It was warm in the room, but not as bad as it had been in the garage. To her right, she noticed something she hadn’t before: a door boarded over. The front door, presumably.
Alyssa’s lips drew tight. So, that limited her potential avenues for escape.
“You can have a seat.” Malouf nodded once. “You must be tired.”
“What do you care?” Alyssa spat out. “Of course I’m tired. And terrified. You just kidnapped me!”
Her shout echoed in the empty house, and it only reminded Alyssa how far away they were from other people. The closest house she’d spotted had to be a quarter of a mile away, and it had been so run-down she couldn’t even be sure anyone lived there.
Malouf hung his head, hiding his face. “I will get you some water.”
Alyssa stayed where she was, keeping an eye on his every move. His steps across the floor. The opening of the fridge. The unscrewing of a water bottle.
When he walked to her and extended the bottle, she eyed it warily.
“It’s fresh,” Malouf said. “You saw. I only opened it a moment ago.”
As much as Alyssa hated to accept anything from him, she was desperately parched, and so she took the bottle and sipped at it cautiously before drinking half of it down. The cool water kissed her throat, and she sighed in relief.
Dabbing at the water clinging to her lips, she looked at him. “What now?”
God, she hated to ask that. She was terrified of the answer. If this man tried to hurt her in any way, tried to hurt her babies…he would pay. Alyssa might have been nearly nine months pregnant, but she wouldn’t go down without a proper fight.
She stared into Zahid Malouf’s dark brown eyes, doing her best to convey how fierce she was, how terribly she would fight him if he put a finger on her. She expected her attitude to anger him, but he only sighed. His shoulders dropped, and he turned and walked for the couch, where he took a seat at the far end.
Alyssa stared at him, and he placidly stared back. The hairs on her arms rose. Why was he acting so calm?
“Please, Mrs. bin Talid. I apologize for what I have done, but it is necessary. Please have a seat, and I will explain.”
Alyssa eyed the sofa. Her feet did hurt. Of course. They were always swollen and aching.
She knew she wouldn’t be able to refuse the seat for long, so she went ahead and settled on the cushion furthest from Malouf.
“You said that you did what was necessary.” Alyssa paused. “That can’t be true.”
He laced his hands in his lap and nodded. “But it is, I am sorry to say.”
Alyssa arched a brow. “Care to explain? Care to tell me why you pretended to be a doctor and kidnapped me from my home?”
He blinked. “Oh, but I really am a doctor.”
Alyssa scoffed. “Sure.”
“I am,” he seriously said.
Alyssa bit her lip. “Fine. You’re a doctor. But you don’t work at the practice I go to.”
He pursed his lips. “No. I do not.”
Alyssa took a moment to silently curse herself. She should have known Malouf was a fraud for the very reason that if Dr. Latifi worked with him, Alyssa would have already met him.
“Then what gives? Why am I here?” Alyssa’s hand tightened around the water bottle, and the plastic crunched.
“I know your husband,” Malouf said.
“Okay,” Alyssa responded slowly. “From where?”
“It’s a long story.”
Alyssa exhaled hotly. The conversation reminded her of the one she’d had with the man on Carl Lawson’s yacht. Another stranger being vague about their past with Ali.
Except, right then, Alyssa didn’t care much about Ali’s business practices. She only wanted out of that house with the boarded-up door and musty smell seeping out of the carpet.
She wanted to be home, holding Rashid in her arms. She wanted to be watching the clock, waiting for her husband to arrive home. She wanted to be worrying about all the things she had been preoccupied with only hours before. The upcoming C-section. Ali steamrolling businesses. Scheduling enough family time. All of those issues seemed so little, now. If only Alyssa were home, everything would be all right. She could manage anything.
Except this.
Her eyes burned with tears. This time, there was no hiding them from the man sitting across from her.
“I am sorry to see you are upset,” Malouf said.
“Yeah, right.” A tear slid down Alyssa’s cheek, but she gritted her teeth and continued to glare at him.
Malouf sighed heavily. “Please. May I continue?”
Alyssa looked around pointedly. “I don’t see anything else for us to do. No TV, right? So, you might as well tell me whatever you have to say.”
“As I mentioned,” Malouf began, “I know your husband. We were business associates.”
Alyssa blinked away the last of her tears. She had a feeling she knew where this was headed.
“In what business?” she asked, curiosity momentarily usurping anger and fear.
“Medicine.”
Alyssa remembered what the man on the yacht had said. He’d mentioned something about Ali lobbying for new laws for medical facilities that could never be met by smaller practices—just one of the ways he made it easier to swoop in and take over or destroy competitors.
Alyssa didn’t know how to respond to that. That part of the story had been the one she’d wanted to believe the least.
“Is your name really Zahid Malouf?” she asked.
He nodded. “It is.”
“Aren’t you worried about what will happen once I get out of here? Ali will find you.”
Malouf shook his head. “No, he won’t. Ali is very powerful, but he is not all-seeing. I have places I can slip off to.”
He hadn’t corrected her mentioning her escape from the house. So that meant, whatever he had planned, he didn’t intend to kill her.
“What happened?” Alyssa asked. Maybe, if she kept him talking, she could get him properly distracted and then hit him over the head with something. With what, she didn’t know—the house was nearly barren—but she had to do something.
“Ali and I were friends before we became business partners,” Malouf said. “It used to be that we were very close. As the years went by, however, Ali became more ruthless. Insatiable when it came to money
and power.”
Alyssa thought of the Ali she had met in New York, the man who’d had very little interest in his family’s businesses. “That’s not how he was when I met him,” she found herself murmuring.
“Yes,” Malouf said. “I heard he moved to New York in order to start fresh. To take some time off. But habits are hard to shake, you know. My assumption is that he has fallen into his old ways. Or he will, soon. Tell me, you must have seen the signs.”
Alyssa didn’t want to respond, but she knew exactly what Malouf was talking about. After becoming more involved with his businesses, Ali had quickly taken on a frenzied passion.
She had thought, at first, that he was showing enthusiasm and good work ethic, but maybe she had been watching his overzealous side come out. Maybe when they’d met, he’d been trying hard to keep that part of himself checked. And then, once he got back into the swing of work, once she’d encouraged him to take on a bigger role in his father’s dealings…
Alyssa’s stomach lurched.
“Ali is quite the calculating man,” Malouf said.
Alyssa ground her teeth. “So, what happened? Why do you hate him so much?”
Malouf’s brown eyes flashed with a look close to surprise. “That is inconsequential.”
“Isn't it why we’re here?”
He looked away. “The specifics are not important. Ali was not fair in our dealings. He took what he wanted, with no qualms at all.”
“Look… Dr. Malouf.” Alyssa hesitated. Even if he was a real doctor, it felt weird to call someone who had abducted her by a title that usually conveyed respect. “I’m sorry about whatever happened between you and Ali years ago. But why don't you just talk to him?”
“Talking will not bring me what I need.”
“Are you sure?” Alyssa asked. “I think you're remembering a different—”
“I remember it all quite well,” Malouf cut in.
The sharpness in his voice made Alyssa pause. The last thing she wanted to do was aggravate the man. There was no telling what he might do if pushed to the edge.
“Ali is different now,” Alyssa said softly. “He has a family. Children. I can't believe he is the same person you knew years ago.”
“You seem to be a very caring woman. I fear you might be too kind. Your husband appears to have succeeded in making you think he is someone he really is not.”
Anger clawed at the inside of Alyssa’s chest. She and Ali might have had their troubles, but he was the love of her life. She wouldn't let this man turn her against him.
“People change,” Alyssa said.
“Enough,” said Malouf. The word was firm, and though not spoken violently, it echoed in the near-empty room.
Alyssa swallowed hard. “What now, then?” she asked. “With me?”
“I will keep you here until Ali gives me what he owes me.” Malouf nodded in satisfaction.
“Money? You're holding me ransom?”
“Merely funds that are owed to me,” Malouf said tersely.
There was no point in arguing over that part.
“How long are you planning on keeping me here?” Alyssa’s voice cracked with emotion. “In case you haven't noticed, I’m full-term. My babies are due any day.”
“I have noticed. And, rest assured, I will do everything possible to make you comfortable.”
Alyssa gaped at him. “I have a C-section scheduled on Friday. One of the babies is breech.”
She didn't miss the alarm that quickly skittered across his face. So, he is human, after all.
“It’s Monday now,” Malouf said. “You’ll be out of here in plenty of time to make it to the hospital on Friday.”
Alyssa studied him warily. “You mean that?” She trusted this man about as far as she could throw him, but she was genuinely interested in what his plans and beliefs were.
“I know Ali,” Malouf said. “He only gives his time to the things he desires wholeheartedly. If he married you, it means he would do anything for you. I will post the ransom today. Do you really believe he would leave you here all week long, especially when you are due for an operation?”
Alyssa opened her mouth, but it took her a few seconds of working around her tongue before she got any words out.
“The st-stress,” she stammered. “My twins are already in a higher-risk state. The stress could be bad for them.”
The last word came out choked, and Alyssa pressed her lips together. She didn’t want to start pleading, because that would mean she had become emotional, and if she became emotional, she would lose the scrap of self-control she still clung to.
“Again,” Malouf said, “I will do everything I can to ensure you are comfortable. As a physician, I took an oath to do no harm, and I intend to stick to that oath. Please let me know if there is anything you need.”
“To get out of here,” Alyssa said without hesitation.
“Soon.” Malouf stood. “In the meantime, do not attempt to leave. I have made sure the house is well secured.”
Alyssa looked at the floor. She’d tried her best to talk some sense into Zahid Malouf, and she’d failed. Now, all there was left to do was wait.
Chapter 11
Alyssa
“I need to use the bathroom.”
Zahid Malouf looked at Alyssa from where he sat on a wooden chair in the kitchen area. He’d been there the last hour or so, at first typing something on his phone before putting it away. Her ransom note, Alyssa figured.
After that, though, he’d only sat there, saying and doing nothing, and Alyssa had done the same. There had been plenty of time to think, but she’d mostly worked on clearing her mind. Thinking, as she had quickly discovered, could easily turn into panicking.
“Is there a bathroom here?” Alyssa asked.
Malouf gave what Alyssa had come to see as his signature single nod and stood. “Right this way.”
He opened the door opposite the entrance to the garage, which took them into a short, dark hallway. Squinting her eyes, Alyssa made out two more closed doors at the end of the hall. To her right sat an ajar one.
“Right in there.” Malouf stepped to the side and folded his arms. “I’ll wait here.”
I’m sure you will.
Alyssa closed the bathroom door behind her. She went to lock it, only to discover that the lock had been removed.
Repressing a sigh, she turned and took in the tiny bathroom. Like the main area, there was next to nothing in it, not even a shower curtain. There was, however, soap. At least Dr. Malouf respected the important practice of thoroughly washing your hands.
Alyssa hadn’t been lying. She really did need to pee. First, though, she needed to check the window.
Conscious of the man listening on the other side of the door, Alyssa stepped up to the window and grabbed hold of the sill. Her fingers brushed against a small piece of metal, and her stomach dropped. The window had been nailed shut.
A weight pressing on her shoulders, Alyssa used the toilet and washed her hands. The whole time, she looked around the bathroom for anything that could be used as a weapon. Nothing. Malouf had already foreseen any possible escape attempts and made sure to nip them in the bud before he’d even brought Alyssa to the house.
With nothing left to do in the bathroom, she returned to the dark hallway. Malouf, predictably, stood right where she had left him.
In the main area, Alyssa went back to the sofa, and Malouf crossed to the kitchen.
“I’ll make you a sandwich,” he announced.
“Okay,” Alyssa said glumly. Fear had stolen her appetite, but she knew better than to refuse sustenance. She had to keep her strength up in order to hold onto her wits, and for the sake of her babies.
She watched him take the bread from the cabinet and pull hummus, lettuce, and meat from the fridge. The packages were unopened, which Alyssa figured was good. At least it didn’t look like he was poisoning her.
He made the sandwich and brought it to her on a plate with a bottle of water. A
lyssa almost said thank you, but she bit her tongue just in time.
Malouf went back to his chair near the kitchen counter, and Alyssa forced the sandwich down her gullet.
As she ate, she looked around the room. It must have been just past noon, because light streamed in through a window where the blind hadn’t been pulled down quite all the way. The light illuminated a thick crack at the bottom of the pane.
She washed down a bite with a sip of water. Her heart sped up. That window was weak. Could she break it?
Not with her arm—she would only cut herself. She would have to use something hard, like a chair.
She glanced over her shoulder at Malouf, who stared at the wall, a scowl on his face. Would he leave her alone? Maybe she could pretend to need something, some pregnancy-specific medicine that he wouldn’t have to hand. When he went out to fetch it, she could break the window with his chair and escape.
Or, she could just wait until Ali paid the ransom. If that truly was Malouf’s plan.
But how much had he asked from Ali? To take the risk and kidnap his pregnant wife, it had to be a great deal.
Alyssa put the plate on the floor. “How much did you ask Ali for?”
Malouf’s jaw twitched. “The appropriate amount.”
Right.
Alyssa looked for something more to say. Sitting still and doing nothing was killing her.
“When did you guys meet?” she asked.
Nothing. He didn’t so much as look at her.
Alyssa turned away, her face burning. He could at least do her the decency of answering a question.
Her heart heavy and her limbs weak, Alyssa lay down on the couch. It smelled stale, and the fabric scratched at her arms. She didn’t want to put her face on one of its pillows, so she folded her hands under her head and closed her eyes.
Just a few minutes of rest. She would stay alert, though, always listening. If Malouf did happen to leave the house, she couldn’t miss her opportunity.
A noise made her jerk, and Alyssa sat up. Her vision blurry, she rubbed at her eyes. The room was different, and Alyssa blinked, trying to figure out what had changed.
There was a camping lantern on. That was it. It rested on the kitchen counter, close to where Malouf still sat in his chair.
