“You say this because she is beautiful?”
“Be reasonable. There are many women in the world. You can take your pick. You don’t need this one.”
“You must have some reason you want to get rid of her.” Bakari walked up to the window and looked down at the busyness of Manhattan, cars and people filled the space below, all in constant motion between the tall, gray and glass skyscrapers, like ants in a modern anthill of concrete. His fists clenched. His brother was right, the American had gotten into his blood.
“She’s too good to be true Bakari.” Chasisi blew smoke into the air. “Beautiful, smart, sassy, willing to do anything you want and… here is” He paused as if he wasn’t sure he should continue. “What I really don’t like about the American—she turned up just as you are about to pull off the most daring art heist of the century.”
Bakari kept his eyes on the streets below. “Many women are willing to do anything I want. I am rich and powerful. I am no fool.” A light rain fell outside and people put up umbrellas to protect themselves. They scurried with haste never looking up to see the sky or the people who watched them, all intent on their own little worlds.
“But no other woman has affected you like this. I can see it in your eyes; hear it in your voice. You trust her and you shouldn’t.”
So that was it. Bakari walked over to Chasisi and sat down in a chair opposite him. “What if she’s innocent?”
“I shouldn’t have to tell you about collateral damage. The museum raid will take place tomorrow afternoon. Let me take her out before then.”
Bakari put his head in his hands. Sadie. For the first time in his life he’d glimpsed what it would be like to have a modern relationship. His four wives had never made him feel like she did, not for a moment. They acted more like obedient slaves than true lovers. He could see the fear in their eyes and could taste their hatred for him on their lips. Prostitutes could amuse him for hours at a time, but they had worn out hearts. They made him feel like he was fucking a black hole.
Sadie Stewart. She could be his woman in a very real way.
“Are you listening to me Bakari?”
He must have zoned out and missed something. “Yes, yes of course I’m listening. I just don’t agree.”
“Was she that good in bed?”
Bakari stood up and strode to the window again. Normally he thought nothing of discussing such things with his brothers, but it felt wrong to talk about Sadie. The sky had turned a darker shade of gray and the drizzle had hardened into rain. “I didn’t sleep with her.”
“Sleep?” Chasisi’s voice rose, indignant, and he shook his head. “Maybe, that’s your problem. Screw her. Screw her until you no longer have a need to screw her. Then maybe you’ll have your wits about you again.”
“No. The raid on the museum is planned for mid-day. Sadie will fly out of New York on the Dutch Airlines at six for Amsterdam. I have no time to…”
“Make the time Bakari.”
He shook his head. A quick indulgence wouldn’t satisfy him. When he had sex with Sadie for the first time he would relish every moment of it, take her slowly and deeply. He didn’t want to bang her as the Americans say.
His brother sneered.
“I have insurance. He pulled out his phone and showed Chasisi a picture of Mitchell tied to a chair with today’s Amsterdam newspaper sitting on his lap. Blood trickled from his mouth. “At the first sign of trouble with her, I will show her this. He is her best friend, her only family that I know of.” The memory of Sadie’s tangy perfume and moss green eyes swamped him for a moment and he stiffened. If only there’d been another way.
“I still think you should kill her.”
“Not unless I have proof she has betrayed me. Find that and then I will let you do whatever you want with her.”
His brother stubbed out his cigarillo and stood up. “I will hold you to that Bakari.”
***
Sadie updated Jeremiah through another coded message and waited. She loved New York City, its diverse culture, its busy-ness, its speed. When she was fourteen she’d lived in a model’s apartment with a bunch of other teenagers. At sixteen having made her first cover on Vogue, she moved into a studio apartment of her own. She married and divorced Jonathon that year. She sighed. The CIA recruited her here when she was twenty. In many ways the city felt like home, even though she grew up on the rough side of Seattle. In New York she could be anybody she wanted to be. The largeness of the city gave her the feeling there were no limits to her life.
Stretching out on the leather couch in the hotel room Bakari had arranged for her, she travelled down memory lane for a few stolen minutes. A sharp disinfectant smell made her sit up. Bed bugs? Had the hotel been infected? Damn she hated those biters. They crawled into the best hotels in the world. She checked her arms.
No signs of bites. How silly could she be? Frightened of itsy bitsy bugs, when she’d chosen to take on a major international criminal. She laughed. The scales in her life never balanced. But the thrill of the chase was worth it.
Thrill. Her thoughts flowed to Sebastian. He’d been leaving messages on her phone and she had been ignoring them. She’d told him to stay out of her way, told him she needed to do this alone, but the stubborn giant with the big heart didn’t seem to listen. When she saw him in Cairo, she automatically opened the window of the car. It wasn’t a wise thing to do. It could have blown her cover, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted him to get the message to stay back, to stay safe. But one didn’t take subtle hints. In fact if they both survived they’d have to have the talk about him listening to her and taking her seriously.
In the background, a John Wayne western played on the television. Any minute now he’d say, “Well shucks mam,” and plant a big kiss on the mouth of the heroine. The lighting would fade and cheesy music would play. If life and love could only be that simple. She changed the channel to a cooking show, figuring the people who monitored her could make whatever they wanted of that.
No sign of Bakari. Had he changed his mind about her? She thought she’d hooked him, but she hadn’t seen him since their dinner on his terrace in Cairo over twenty four hours ago. Her only company, if you could call it that, had been Deadeyes. She tapped her foot. The waiting would drive her crazy.
Whatever Bakari planned, had to happen soon. That’s why he’d brought her here. His time frame was short. Otherwise he couldn’t fulfill his promise to return her to Italy next week.
The blond on the big flat-screen whipped meringue to top of a very-yellow lemon pie Must be nice to have such a safe job. If she lost all her modeling contracts, would a TV show like this take her on? Although she regularly burned her morning toast, her practiced smile might help the ratings. Lucy from I Love Lucy came to mind, being goofy but lovable in the kitchen. She could ham it up if need be…
A discreet knock sounded on her door. Show time?
Looking through the safety lens she saw Bakari holding a bouquet of roses. She undid the top button of her silk blouse and pushed her breasts together. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.
Bakari handed her the roses and walked into her room as if he owned it, but then in a way he did. He scanned the room. “Nice to see you again Sadie.”
A shiver slithered up her spine leaving a residual trace of dread along its path. It squeezed her throat and froze the words on the tip of her tongue. She couldn’t afford to freeze-up now. She’d have to work with her body responses, not fight them, if she wanted to look authentic.
She took the roses and held them to her nose giving herself the time she needed to regain her composure. “They’re gorgeous,” she managed. And of course they were. Large red roses with long stems. Each one absolutely perfect. Must have cost him a couple hundred. But that would be pocket change for him.
“I thought we’d talk about your next job,” he said as his eyes returned to her.
She’d only met Bakari twice before and each time he gave off a strong aura of being in co
mmand, not only of himself, but of everyone else, so strong an aura that it sucked the air out of the room and pulled everyone in. Even though she’d put up her mental defences to counter his charm, she’d felt his pull. Like a freaking undertow.
He was a lion of a man. Meeting him made her understand how people could follow Hitler. Bakari had that kind of charisma that challenged and took charge.
Once again the full force of his charm descended upon her, flooding her senses with his strength. Touching the ankh around her neck, she smiled at him.
Strong men fascinated her. His characteristic air was a finely meshed cloak he’d perfected to get people to do his bidding. His atrocities were probably overstated too, so that if his charm didn’t work on people his evil reputation would. But today he didn’t wear his evil warlord mask. Today, he seemed almost human, but shadowed by an extraordinary sense of who he knew himself to be and his purpose in life. His confidence and determination glowed from every pour of his body and its power sucked her in. Or at least tried to.
“Are you worried about the heist?” she asked.
The sound of busy of the busy hotel came through the open door. He closed it and walked over to the window. “Rashida’s doctor called this morning.”
Holding the roses, she waited for him to say more.
“The cancer is growing quickly. He says we have to tell her, but I can’t…” His voice hitched.
Sadie put the roses on the coffee table and walked over to him. She put her hand on his shoulder. His body shuddered at first and then stilled. They stood like that for a while, Bakari stared out the window as if the answer might be out there, but of course it couldn’t be. There are no answers to painful times. There’s only the going through it with people you love.
Bakari turned around and looked at her, tears welling in his eyes. “Life’s so cruel,” he said.
“Go back to Cairo and be with her.”
Light flickered across his black eyes and the air in the room grew colder. Her chest tightened. She’d met many bad guys, but none like him. He had an uncanny ability to change the mood of a room in a second. The hair on the nape of her neck rose sensing a darkness approaching; fearing his next words. Needing to act, she reached out to him and wiped a single tears from his cheeks. “Bakari.”
His eyes softened for a moment and he took her hand in his and kissed it. “Sadie you are an enchanting woman.”
Oh oh, here it comes. The friggen bell’s tolling. She had to act. Stepping closer to him, she said in a soft voice, “Bakari I like you too.”
“In another place… in another time, we could have been lovers.”
“We still can be.”
He exhaled slowly. “Why is it Americans think they can change everything? Have everything? Some things habibi you cannot change. Our paths have crossed, but we are not destined to be together.”
“How can you say that?”
“After I show you something, you will never want to talk to me again. This is the last time you will see me.”
She put up her hand to stop him from saying more.
“Fate is pulling us apart.”
And a hundred other things like the fact she had a thing for a crazy Dutch guy and she didn’t date evil men, but she wouldn’t argue with him. She waited.
He swallowed so hard she could hear it. “Let us have one kiss, one kiss before I show you.”
There are many things a spook can prepare for, but kissing a man like Bakari wasn’t one of them. Her stomach dropped. Of course she’d anticipated this moment, but there was no way she could be prepared for it. Her heart stopped. Stay in cover. She leaned in and he kissed her.
His lips felt cold and rubbery. Her mind detached like a boat leaving the shore.
Softly at first, and then deeper, he kissed her, his tongue exploring her mouth. His whiskers rough on her skin.
Her body felt ice cold, frozen in the grip of darkness. She moaned softly and made her breathing increase. He ran his hands through her hair. How long could this damn kiss last?
His hands roved down the sides of her body and came to a rest on her ass. Oh great! He pulled her closer and she could feel his full, very full erection. She moaned more loudly in response and prayed for deliverance.
Stepping back, he moved his hands to her face. “I am sorry Sadie. I wish we could have had more.” Sorrow and regret shone in his eyes.
“Bakari, we could get together after the raid. We have the rest of our lives.”
His lips firmed into a straight line. “It’s time for me to show you.” He pulled a cell phone from the inside of his suit jacket. “I don’t want to hurt you. I hope our kiss proves to you that I truly care about you. But you left me only two choices. Either I have you killed, or I take insurance to ensure you do as you’re told and don’t get in my way. I cannot risk my plans being damaged by you. Not when Rashida’s life is at stake”
Her chest tightened even more.
He punched keys on his mobile phone and turned the screen towards her, so that she could see it. Mitchell sat tied to a chair with today’s Amsterdam newspaper on his lap. His eyes were black and swollen disfiguring his face. Blood trickled from his nose and a weeping cut marked his handsome left cheek.
Her knees gave out and she sank to the floor. Bakari reached to steady her, but instinctively she hit his hands away. She crumpled like a broken Barbie onto the carpet. “How could you?”
“If you behave, I give you my word, that you and your friend will be released unharmed.”
She glared at him. Now she had tasted evil. “What do you want me to do?”
“Give me your cell phone and promise to not contact your people at the CIA”
She swallowed hard. Tears welled in her eyes but she refused to cry in front of him. He knew… and he had Mitchell. Her end game was screwed. She headed down the final runway alone. No point in arguing with him. Either his men had broke her cover or he’d read her. A man like him didn’t get as far in the underbelly of the world without being able to read the nuances of every face and every heart. He knew her true identity.
Ah to hell with that thinking. Red hot anger burst through her fear, swamping her body like a tsunami. She’d find a way to take him down. She stood up and stared at him for long minute. He was only human, and humans could be destroyed.
She grabbed her cell phone from the table and handed it to him. “How did you know?”
“I didn’t,” he said looking at her with sad eyes. “Not until you confirmed it this minute.” He stared at her and continued. “You are too perfect. My people warned me about you, but I wouldn’t listen.” He shook his head. “But I worried. A beautiful smart woman with so much courage spending her days modeling clothes. It didn’t add up. I guessed and am so sorry to be right. Good bye habibti.” He turned and walked out the door closing it quietly behind him.
35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Bakari entered Djeserit’s hotel suite ten minutes later. Sitting in the middle of the outer room on a posh New York City sofa, she looked up at him. In front of her a spread of tarot cards lay on a purple cloth she’d put on top of the glass coffee table. He didn’t want to disturb her concentration. Her face looked pale and a single tear ran down her left cheek.
“What is it?” he said.
Her hands darted out and pulled all the cards together into a pile. He hadn’t had a chance to identify the cards, but it didn’t matter as he didn’t have her vision to understand them. To him they were rectangular pieces of cardboard cards with elaborate images on them. They didn’t speak to him the way they did to her.
Still, it was interesting that she felt the need to hide the cards from him. He made a mental note to have Chasisi review the camera tape. She wiped away the tear. “I don’t like being bossed around, Bakari. It interferes with my energy. I cannot see all that I need to see.”
“I’m sorry Djeserit. I know you don’t like leaving Amsterdam, but I need you here. I am about…”
“
To do something very foolish.”
“You saw it in the cards?”
“No in your eyes and in your heart.” She waved her right hand dismissively in the air.
“I want the amulet.”
“Sometimes Bakari a man needs to let nature take its course. To interfere…”
“Yes, yes, yes… so you keep telling me. I tempt the wrath of the gods. I break the balance of life. I threaten the karmic rules. There will be a grave price to pay. I get it.”
“But still you go on.”
“I must save Rashida.”
Silence filled the room.
“And the other woman?”
“What other woman?”
“The American who seeped into your heart. Did you think I wouldn’t see her?”
Bakari grimaced. Why did he ever try to hide anything from this woman? He smirked. “Her name is Sadie Stewart and I am attracted to her in a way I haven’t experienced before. Perhaps it’s what people call falling in love, and for me it would be for the first time in my life.”
“Then abandon your stupid plan. Be with the woman and allow Rashida to die with grace.”
“No.” Bakari hadn’t meant to shout, but he had.
The sorceress’s head moved back an inch as if she’d been slapped. She held up her hand for him to stop.
“I must save my daughter. She is my flesh and blood.” He took a seat opposite Djeserit and looked at the stacked card. “And you will help me.”
The air grew still and cold. The seer’s eyes flickered to each side of the room and then came back to rest on his. In the olden days she would have been considered a holy one, one of the initiated. Later she would have been called a witch. He thought of her as all of that and more. He counted on her vision to steer him to the amulet.
“If you insist.” She lit the single candle on the table and gave him one last searching look. “I will not use the cards for this.”
His jaw firmed. At last she admitted her gift. He had to know what she saw.
Covert Danger Page 19
