A Sulta's Ransom

by White, Loreth Anne

  A loud banging sounded on the door. His body snapped tight.

  He pulled back, eyes flashing, his breathing ragged. “Paige—” he touched her cheek “—before everything changes—”

  The banging intensified. A man started to yell. Rafiq’s eyes shot toward the entrance hall.

  She followed his look, suddenly frightened. “Before what changes, Rafiq?”

  His eyes drilled back into hers. “No matter what happens, I will keep you safe. Believe in me, okay? Just promise me that.”

  Butterflies skittered through her stomach “Rafiq—”

  He jerked to his feet, flung the cloth over his face, stalked to the door, one hand on the hilt of his jambiya.

  Paige got up, followed him nervously at a distance.

  He swung the door open.

  The carpet dealer stood there, staring at Rafiq as if he were seeing him for the first time.

  “What is it?” Rafiq asked, irritation clipping his voice.

  “Why do you hide your face?”

  Rafiq cursed. He reached out, took the man’s arm, drew him into the apartment and locked the door behind him. “You know why,” he said in a low voice. “I’m an exile. I’m a wanted man in this country. I do not wish to show my face to men who might betray me to the sultan.”

  “I will not betray you.” There was challenge in the dealer’s voice. Paige saw Rafiq’s fingers closing around the hilt of his jambiya.

  She took a step back. These two powerful men were squaring off, and she didn’t know why. Her eyes flicked over to the desk. Rafiq had left his scimitar there.

  “Show me your face.” The Na’jif rebel boss threw down the gauntlet.

  Paige edged backward toward the desk, toward the sword. If these men were going to fight, she might need a weapon.

  “You have no need to see my face,” Rafiq said. “It is safer this way, for both you and me. They cannot torture you—or your family—if you have not seen me. You know this.”

  Paige’s hip touched the desk. She kept her eyes trained on the two men as she fingered the smooth lacquered surface until her fingers connected with the cool hilt of the curved scimitar. She closed her hand around it, dragged it slowly toward her.

  The dealer stood his ground, eyes fixed on Rafiq. Silence stretched taut, vibrated. The sounds of the city seemed to grow unnaturally loud, the midday heat heavy.

  “It is true, isn’t it?” the dealer said suddenly.

  Rafiq did not answer.

  “By Allah,” the dealer whispered, his hand going to the gold symbol that hung from the thong at his neck. “It is true.” There was a quiet awe, a reverence in his voice.

  Paige stilled. Now she was really confused. What was true? She looked at Rafiq.

  Still he said nothing. He stood erect, tension rolling off him in waves.

  The dealer dropped suddenly to his knees, lowered his body as if in prayer and kissed the ground.

  Paige’s jaw dropped. What in hell was going on here?

  He kneeled up, took Rafiq’s hand in his, kissed that too. And Rafiq let him.

  “Rafiq bin Zafir bin Omar al-Qaadr,” the dealer whispered. “The legend is true. The rightful heir has returned to lead us into battle. The king has returned.” Tears filled his eyes, and he kissed the ground at Rafiq’s feet again.

  King! Paige dropped the sword. It clattered to the tiles at her feet. Neither man looked at her. They stared at each other, tension thick, vibrating, flowing out around them.

  Rafiq slowly unwound his turban, let it drop to the ground.

  The dealer watched, then bowed his head in silent reverence, tears flowing down his face. “It is true. It is true. It is true.” He whispered over and over again. “Our people shall be saved. The battle starts.”

  Paige covered her mouth with her hand. Rafiq? He was the legendary savior? Her abductor was the rightful heir to the sultan’s throne, the true sultan that the whole country had been waiting for all these years? It was not possible. How could it be?

  A billion questions spiraled through her brain. She stared at his dark, arrogant profile. Was that the face—the image that all those women carried in little lockets tied to their waists hidden under their chadors? She’d never have recognized him. No one would. How could they? The images she’d seen were so old and so blurred and had been reproduced so many times on ancient black market equipment that it could have represented any Hamnian male. And the heir had been a young man when he’d fled the country fifteen years ago.

  And he’d died in a battle with his half brother. Sadiq had killed Rafiq after he’d tried to slice his throat. There’d been a funeral. His father had attended.

  So how come he lived? How come the true sultan was standing right here in front of her in pulsing flesh and blood, more alive and vital than any male she’d ever come across.

  If this was true…she reached out, steadied herself against the desk as the implications began to sink in. If the true king really had returned, and word was out, that meant the revolution had started.

  Her heart began to thud.

  This was the sign the whole country had been waiting for. As word of the true king’s return began to spread across the desert and into the cities, members of the Silent Revolution would be breaking open the underground arms caches, arming villagers, preparing to march on to the capital, to storm the palace and overthrow Sadiq and his corrupt regime.

  The dealer got to his feet and stood in front of Rafiq with his head bowed. Where he’d once exuded confidence and authority, his posture was now one of subservience, in deference to his king.

  And damned if Rafiq didn’t look regal. He wore power as if he were born to it—which he was. This land belonged to him, the throne belonged to him. He was the rightful heir.

  These were his people.

  She couldn’t quite get her head around it.

  “I will bring the leaders of the rebel cells together at once,” the dealer said. “We’ll start coordinating with the cells in other villages and cities. We’ll prepare for battle, praise the lord.”

  Rafiq placed his hand firmly on the man’s shoulder. “No.”

  Disbelief rippled over the man’s face. “What?”

  Rafiq hesitated, and she realized he hadn’t been ready for this. This was not part of his plan. So what had he been planning? A little question began to niggle at Paige. If he hadn’t been killed by Sadiq, why had he left Hamn? Why had he deserted his people? Where had he been all this time when his nation had so clearly been suffering? Why had he hidden from power?

  “No battle. Not yet,” said Rafiq, his tone calm, but commanding.

  “What do you mean, ‘not yet’?” the dealer asked.

  “We need a proper plan of attack. We cannot have a repeat of the Bin Ja’fir slaughter. The people were not prepared.”

  The dealer lifted his head, looked his king directly in the eye. “They were. They were prepared to die. For you. Sadiq had purged half his council. He’d killed everyone loyal to you, everyone who’d supported change. This was the act of a murderous autocrat. And the people of Bin Ja’fir were the first to rise in protest.”

  “And the last,” said Rafiq. “We cannot let a massacre like that happen again. All the rebel cadres must be fully armed and they must be prepared to move in a coordinated fashion so that when we march on Al Qatar, the palace will fall swiftly. And all planning must be done in utmost secret, or the revolution will die before it starts.”

  Rafiq pressed his hand firmly down on the dealer’s stalwart shoulder. “Which is why Sadiq must not know I am here. Not yet. You must help me leave the country at once. And you must quash the rumor that I have returned before it spreads beyond the walls of Na’jif.”

  The man stared at Rafiq, incredulity in his eyes. “This cannot be possible,” he whispered. “We have waited for fifteen years for your return. We have prepared. You cannot leave us now.” He shook his head. “Why? Why did you even come back if you are not ready to lead us?”

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p; Rafiq raked his hand over his hair. Paige could see distress in the gesture. “I…needed to see firsthand what was happening in the country, so that I could go back and get that financing we spoke about. And the weapons. That has been my plan, and we must stick to it. I will be back with all the reinforcements we need. And I will come with the support of our neighbors and the international community. We must not go into battle ungirded fools. We cannot underestimate Sadiq’s strength.” He paused. “Or his hatred. And that is why I hide my face in Na’jif. I am not ready to show my presence. Not yet. And you must kill this rumor that I am back. I put my full faith in you. Lives will depend on this. Can you do this for me?”

  The dealer stared at him. The seconds ticked by heavily. Finally, he bowed his head and spoke. “I am honored to do this for you, for our country.”

  She could see Rafiq’s shoulders relax almost imperceptibly. “Thank you. You have harbored us well, and we are deeply grateful, but now we must leave. If you could make sure the way is clear? And make sure your mother lets everyone know she made an error in judgment?”

  The man bowed lower and backed toward the door.

  Rafiq let him out. He locked the door, but he stood facing it.

  Paige walked up behind him.

  “You are the sultan?”

  He turned slowly, met her eyes. “I am the firstborn son of the first wife of Zafir bin Omar al-Qaadr. I am the rightful heir to Hamn.”

  Her jaw dropped. “So Sadiq is your half brother—you’re the one who almost killed him?”

  A hurricane of emotion ran through his eyes, and his fists clenched at his side. But he said nothing.

  “Why did you do it? Why did you attack him? I thought he killed you.”

  “That’s what they wanted the world to believe.”

  “And you let them get away with it? Why? Where did you go? Why did you hide? Do you know what happened after you disappeared? Do you know how many people were killed, how the country suffered?” She took a step toward him. “What made you run, Rafiq?”

  He raised both hands. “Enough!” he barked. “Not now. Now we move.”

  “You cannot be serious? You can’t possibly leave them now. Not again.”

  “I have a mission to complete,” he snapped. “I must get you to safety.”

  “But Sadiq will hear of this, if he hasn’t already. People could be taking up arms right now.”

  “I asked them to wait. They will.”

  “It’s too late, Rafiq!” She stepped right up to him. “Don’t you see? You can’t leave them now! The war has started!”

  He grabbed her arm, his grip like iron teeth in her skin. “Be quiet,” he hissed. “We must leave. The balance of world power is at stake. I have a job to finish.”

  She jerked free of his hold. “Oh right, go save the world and watch your own people die. I don’t think I can stand to watch it.”

  He glowered at her.

  She glared back. “You lied to him, didn’t you? You told the dealer you were coming back. If you really intended on coming back, you would’ve done it years ago.”

  “I did not lie. It’s the truth.”

  She gave a soft snort. “Yeah, right. You’re a coward, you know that? You’re a coward who deserted your people the first time, and you’re doing it again.”

  His face turned to black thunder. His brows lowered and he began to shake. He pointed his finger at her face. “Do not presume to pass judgment on something you know nothing about.” He leaned closer, getting his face right into hers, his voice growling like low smoke through a ravine. “Prejudice, Dr. Sterling, is an evil in itself. And you, as a scientist, should know better.”

  She held her ground, looked him square in the eye. “Then why don’t you explain it to me, Rafiq? Why don’t you tell me what really happened?”

  “Because,” he said slowly, “it’s none of your business.”

  “Then how the hell am I supposed to understand you?”

  “You’re not.” He stood to his full height, looked down at her. “And I don’t need your approval.”

  His words hit her in the gut. They hurt. A hell of a lot more than they should have. Paige stared at him. He’d come to save her before he gave his men the codes. He’d protected her at the risk of his mission. He’d kissed her. He had to care what she thought. Didn’t he? Had she totally misjudged, misread everything about him?

  An alarm screamed from the computer.

  Paige gasped, whirled around.

  Rafiq lurched toward the system, jabbed a few keys. The terrible screeching sound died. He hit another key. “Sauvage!”

  Silence.

  “Sauvage! Come in!”

  “Zayed!” Just one word and the tension could be cut with a knife.

  “The alarm sounded. What’s going on?”

  Paige could hear tense voices in the background. “I’m putting December on.”

  A man with a deep and resonant African accent spoke. “We’ve been compromised, Zayed. The transmitting device has begun to self-destruct.”

  “But…the download is not complete.”

  “The process has been halted. I believe the device has been found.”

  Rafiq cursed violently in Arabic. “How is that possible? I thought no electronic trace would lead back to the hard drive on which it was installed.”

  “This had to have been detected manually. Someone opened her hard drive, and searched specifically for it.”

  “Could it have malfunctioned, perhaps, started to self-destruct early?”

  “It’s possible, but not likely,” said December.

  Paige came to his side. “What now?” she whispered.

  He looked at her. “Now the bio-bomb goes off.”

  Silence hung heavy.

  Her heart began to pound.

  She turned to look at the screen, watched the electronic clock ticking down the seconds. “How…how soon?” she whispered.

  “God alone knows. We’ll monitor intelligence channels, watch news wires. It’s all we can do for now. Wait. And pray.”

  Paige felt sick. “Can’t you alert anyone? Get the cities to evacuate?”

  “If by chance the device did self-destruct, alerting federal emergency teams would show the Cabal that the president had engaged outside help. That could, in itself, launch the attack. And we don’t have an antidote. We don’t even know how it will be released. Evacuating the cities could just end up spreading the disease faster throughout the entire country. We’ll know soon enough if they’re on to us.”

  By the first deaths.

  Dizziness spiraled. The heat weighed down on her. Paige pressed her hands to her forehead. He was right. They’d have to quarantine rather than evacuate. They’d have to hold everyone in the cities. And if people knew what was coming, they’d try to flee. It would be chaos. They’d have to bring in the National Guard to hold back the citizens, if the soldiers didn’t flee themselves. And the violence…. Oh God, they needed that antidote. It was the only hope.

  She grabbed Rafiq’s shoulder. “Get me out of Hamn! If you guys don’t find an antidote stock, I can start working on creating some. This disease will spread, and it will be terrible, but if state emergency measures can contain it to the key cities we may be able to halt a worldwide pandemic. Get me out, Rafiq. Now.”

  “She’s right,” said Sauvage. “Leave Hamn, mon ami. At once. And bring the doctor in. If we don’t find what we need in the download data we do have, she and Meyer are going to have to get to work. It’s the best we can do now.”

  Rafiq hit the button, cut off communication. He slapped the case shut, scooped up wires. “Go!” he yelled as he worked. “Camels are saddled and prepared in the courtyard. I’ll meet you there.”

  Paige grabbed her chador and ran for the door while Rafiq cleared up the rest of the equipment.

  13:00 Charlie, Sultan’s Palace, Al Qatar, Hamnian capital, Friday, October 4

  The bell over his bed sounded. Sultan Sadiq bin Zafir Omar al-Qaadr cursed sof
tly. Then chose to ignore the bell. He traced his fingers slowly over the young woman’s rounded breast. She lay naked in front of him, legs splayed, her dark hair spread over his silk pillows. He found her nipple, rolled it tightly between his fingers.

  Was that brightness in her eyes fear? A smile curled slowly over his lips. He liked the mix of pain braided with pleasure. It made him so hard and so hot it hurt. It made his body scream for release. He ran his tongue over his teeth, leaned over her, his chest pushing up against the tightness of her breasts.

  The bell clanged again.

  Damn the fools! Did they want to risk their lives?

  He jerked up from the bed, snatched his silk robe from the bedpost, cinched the sash over his waist, and strode to his chamber door. He flung it open, words of fury on his lips.

  It was his chief counsel, anxiety in his eyes.

  The words of anger died on Sadiq’s lips. Worry wormed its way into his heart. “What is it?” he demanded.

  His counsel hesitated. Sadiq’s heart beat faster. “Speak! You keep me from my rest!”

  “It…it is probably just a rumor, Your Majesty. You know how these things are. It cannot be true. It…it’s just not possible.”

  Sadiq stepped out of his chambers, closed the door quietly behind him, glanced down the corridors. “What is just a rumor?” he hissed.

  “Rafiq. He…your half brother is back.”

  Chapter 10

  16:50 Charlie, Hamnian desert, Friday, October 3

  The man squinted into the glare that bounced off the sand. Even behind shades, his pale eyes burned. It was the curse of scant pigment, but physical discomfort was something he’d learned to register only in a very distant part of his brain. What snared his attention now were the military troops that appeared to be surrounding the walled city of Na’jif.