Declan helped her from the front seat and escorted her into the house. He went through it, checking every room and out the back. Once he gave her the okay, she carried her bag into one of the bedrooms, tossed it on the bed and set about taking a shower.
They cleaned up in silence.
They ate in silence.
She climbed into bed alone and in silence.
There has to be more to life than this.
When she woke a few hours later, close to morning, a strange man was standing at the glass door at the back, staring out. Zahrah skidded to a stop and braced herself for trouble. There was nothing to use as a weapon and he was almost as big and muscular as Declan.
“You’re not Declan.” Her voice didn’t crack.
Zahrah one.
Fear, zero.
“Of course not.” The man turned to face her. He was the spitting image of Declan Stone—only, this man smirked at her, his lips curled upward at one side making him too handsome to be real.
Still, he was not Declan and she wanted Declan.
“I’m the handsome one of the two.” He continued. “You do see that, right?”
“Darius…” Zahrah muttered.
He bowed at the waist. “At your service.”
“Where’s Declan?”
“He had something he had to do.” Darius told her. “He wanted to do it alone before you were awake.”
“The cave…”
Darius said nothing to answer her statement. But when he took a step toward her, she opened the space between them by taking two of her own.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Zahrah.” Darius promised. “Okay, I get it. You don’t know me, so you don’t have to take my word for it. There’s coffee in the kitchen. You can go back to your bedroom until my brother comes back.”
“How did you get here so fast?”
“My team’s deployment is over. We were on our way back State side when Declan’s Texan friend put in a call.” Darius explained. “We were passing through Cairo when I was turned around.”
Zahrah worked the time and distance out in her head and shrugged. “Fine.” She headed into the kitchen for the coffee. As she sipped from her mug, Darius stepped into the room. Though his hair was cut into a mohawk and his skin was a bit darker than Declan’s, everything else was Declan. Everything from his eyes, the flatness of his nose, the lushness of his lips, the size of his body…all of it reminded Zahrah of the monster crush she had on Declan.
“Oh gawd, you look so much like your brother.”
He laughed and winked at her. “Thank you. I should pour myself a mug of that too.”
Chapter 8
Getting into the cave was easy enough. After parking a good block away, Cyclops merely wandered in with the crowd of half-drunk men heading that way. The place wasn’t really a cave. It was constructed about fifteen years ago to house loot that was robbed from tourists heading into Cairo or Giza—mostly Giza. After the last major raid by law enforcement, it was deemed unsafe for their loot and was turned into a marketplace of all things illegal. From women to black market kidneys, the cave was a one stop shop.
He wandered around, eavesdropped on a few conversations, but for the most part, nothing seemed out of whack. As he made his way down another section when a familiar face caught his attention. He was the man who worked the front desk at the first hotel they’d stayed in. At first, Cyclops thought he was mistaken but he had a knack of remembering faces. The crescent moon shape scar in the center of the man’s forehead told Cyclops he hadn’t been mistaking. Glancing both ways over his shoulders, Cyclops followed while eating from a bag of peanuts.
He followed the man down another corridor to the place then hid behind a column as the man sat on the floor with two other men. Cyclops tied a black strong around his phone, activated the record function then hunched down. Holding the free end of the string, he slid the cell across the dirt flower. It stopped just outside the archway in the corner and he prayed it was recording. He wasn’t fluent in the language and maybe Zahrah could translate for him when he returned.
A few of the words he understood. But those weren’t important. They irritated him but he remained hidden until the men separated and cleared the area. Slowly, he pulled on the string to retrieve the phone, shoved it into his pocket and was on his way out when someone shouted at him. He turned to see the man from the hotel, screaming and waving his arms and pointing toward Cyclops.
“Shit.” Cyclops took off running just as others joined the yelling man. He didn’t know the interior very well. This entire thing was a blind mission. Still, he couldn’t be caught. He found the darkest part of the cave and waited close to the door. The first man through, Cyclops grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed him into the wall a couple of times. He grunted but the weight of his body told Cyclops his captive was unconscious. Cyclops released him and listened to the body hit the floor like a wet sack filled with sand.
Two more darted through. Cyclops peeled himself from the wall to punch one into the throat before giving the other a roundhouse to the head. The first man was on the floor gasping for air, but the kick had only stunned the other. He fired a shot toward Cyclops who jerked to the right. He went low, tackling the man with the gun around the midsection. The gun the man held clattered to the ground and vanished in the dark.
With him on the ground, Cyclops training kicked in.
Go low. Do as much damage as you can, then disappear.
He dropped a couple fists to the sides of his attacker’s head. Rolling off him and pushing to his feet, Cyclops stomp in his neck but the man merely grabbed Cyclops’ leg and pulled. On his back, Cyclops coughed as sand filled his throat and eyes. That opened him up to a barrage of kicks and fists. Blindly, he reached for one of the hands and tugged forward. When the man fell on top of him, he twisted his body to get him in a rear-naked choke. While squeezing the life from him, Cyclops twisted.
His attacker’s body was heavy now for death came swiftly.
No one else came through and Cyclops remained on his back, panting and trying to get his throat to stop burning. He knew he couldn’t stay there—he knew that. He rolled over and pushed to his feet. His ribs hurt like the devil. His back throbbed and he was pretty sure he’d jammed a finger. Ensuring he had his phone, he stumbled back the way he’d come, holding his head down and shuffling toward the exit. When he was finally out into the night air, it was raining. The water soaked through his clothes and the wound on his shoulder he didn’t know was there before. Still, he didn’t stop. When he was behind the wheel of the car, he wasted no time speeding back toward where he was staying. The sun was barely up, but the adrenaline flowing through him was overwhelming.
He parked in the garage and headed into the house. The television was going so he was happy when no one seemed to have heard him enter. After ensuring the phone was fine, he plugged it in the charge and was heading to the bathroom to clean up when Zahrah stopped him. At first, she was calm until she saw the blood on his arm.
“Is that your blood?” She asked.
“Blood?” Ronin asked. “Let me see that.”
“I’m fine,” Cyclops said. “It’s a flesh wound.”
“Darius, I got this,” Zahrah said. “Give us a minute, okay?”
Darius didn’t seem impressed, but he nodded and backed off. Zahrah took Cyclops’ hand and led him down the bathroom. She pointed to the counter and he hopped up to sit. She rummaged through the closet until she came up with a first aid kid then opened beside him. She said nothing to him. Instead, she undid the buttons on his shirt, her hands trembling with each button to come free. He stared down at her face, watching the intensity she worked with.
Finally, she managed to get his shirt opened and pushed it off his shoulders. When it puddled behind him, Zahrah stopped. She stared at his chest until he snapped his fingers in front of her eyes.
“What’s the matter?” Cyclops asked.
“I never realized how sexy you are.”
Cyclops chuckled. “You find me sexy, Kitten?”
“What?” Zahrah shook her head. “I didn’t say…”
“Your words.”
She slapped his chest playfully and reached for a piece of cotton. Once she had it wet in antiseptic was and started treating his cuts and scrapes. The sting of it barely registered for he was busy watching her face and basking in the softness of her fingertips on his skin. Zahrah dragged her palm up his left arm and sighed.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Declan said.
“I’m thinking I’ve never been this close to a man before.”
“Are you a virgin?”
She chuckled, dropped the used cotton and grabbed another piece. “Not even close. There’s a difference between this kind of close and other kinds.”
“Kitten…”
“Look.” She sighed. “Can I just—I know it’s not appropriate…”
“Yes.”
She set the cotton away, placed a bandage around Cyclops’ arm then turned to face him. She straightened her spine and pressed both palms to his pecs. Gently, she caressed them.
“You’re so hard—so warm.”
Cyclops watched Zahrah’s face. The way she focused on caressing him, tracing paths down his chest to his abs then up again. When she reached his shoulders, Zahrah looked up into his eyes. There was something there, something that tugged at Cyclops’ heart and left him terrified with arousal. Either way, he remained still, fingers clutching the counter next to his thighs. His breathing quickened but he held his breath to hide it from her. She seemed like something she needed to do, and he didn’t want to make it about him and his cock.
“You’re perfect.” Zahrah whispered, making small circles at this throat. “I never thought you’d be this hard.”
“Years in the military.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Is it bad I love the way your skin feels?”
“I don’t think so.”
“And you won’t look at me differently?”
Cyclops smiled at her. “I won’t look at you differently. I prefer this than having you stare at me like I’m a stalker.”
“Declan Stone!” She smacked his chest. “You behave.”
“Do I have to?”
She blushed and pressed her face into his neck. Declan wrapped an arm around her hips and held her for a moment before kissing the side of her head and she stepped back. “Okay, your arm is bandaged but be careful with the others. They aren’t bad enough to require wrapping up.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
She crinkled her nose at him and started cleaning up. “As much as I hate to say this—put a shirt on, change the wet pants and I’ll have something cold for you to drink when you come out.”
Cyclops dropped a kiss to her forehead then hopped from the counter. He watched as she left the room, her shoulders hunched, her head down. It was almost as if she was defeated. He quickly changed and hurried out to find her. But Darius stopped him.
“What the hell happened?” Darius asked.
“Someone there knew who I was.” He replied. “He works at the hotel we were staying at. Where is Zahrah?”
“She is in her bedroom, but she left you a glass of lemonade.”
Cyclops found the glass, drank as much as he could then hurried to find her. He knocked on her bedroom door.
“Come in.”
Cyclops opened the door and stepped in with his eyes closed. “Is your hair covered?”
“Yes.” Her voice was soft.
“I wanted to check on you.” Cyclops opened his eyes. “I wasn’t sure you were okay after what happened in the bathroom.”
“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to basically sexually assaulted you.”
Cyclops bowed his head. “Did you hear my complaining?”
“No.”
“Then why do you think what happened between us in the bathroom is a bad thing?”
“You can’t mean that.”
“No?” He closed the door behind him and approached her. She was sitting on the windowsill, hugging a pillow. Cyclops sat across from her and cleared his throat. “You’re a woman, Kitten. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
“Not yes. What I mean is, you have wonderful curves, beautiful eyes, lips that are quite kissable…”
“Yet, you’ve never tried kissing me.”
He took her chin between a thumb and forefinger to lift her head. “It’s not a lack of want. After the conversation I had with you about you saving removing your scarf for your husband…I assumed you’re saving everything else for him too.”
She nodded and lifted her chin from his hold. She shrunk back from him and held the pillow tighter. “What if I wanted you to?”
He inhaled and exhaled loudly. “Then you’re going to have to prove to me it’s something you won’t regret later.”
“You think I’d regret kissing you?”
“Yes. You’d be giving away something to be reserved for someone else.” Cyclops swallowed. The pain rising in the pit of his heart at saying those words threatened to knock him out. “I wouldn’t want to take that. If we’re going to get involved like that, you’d have to belong to me.”
“You want to own me?” Her eyes widened, the anger palpable.
“Not what I meant.” He rose and headed for the door.
“Could there ever be a world where I would turn you on, Declan?” She called after him. “Where you would want me for more than just to protect me?”
Cyclops frowned and stalked back to her. He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her into his chest. Zahrah gasped and braced her palm to his chest. “I’m too old for games and flings. If we were ever going to get involved, every part of your delectable body would be mine. I’d want to do things to you I’m pretty sure you would damn me for, and I’d be too far gone to care.”
She gasped.
“Because I’d want your body—every beautiful part of it.” He dropped his mouth to her covered shoulder. “I would ruin you, Kitten, for every man to come after me. I would lick you in places you’d find vulgar and when I’m through, I’d leave you addicted for more.”
“Declan.” She whispered.
“And I can tell, Zahrah, you’re a good girl.” Cyclops backed away. “Let’s finish this and get you home. I have some recordings I need you to listen to with Darius and translate. I’m hoping it will give us something.”
Zahrah exhaled and dragged her palms against her thighs. “Just curious, Declan. Where would you lick me?”
Instead of replying, Cyclops smirked. “Chop, chop, kitten.”
Chapter 9
It took some gathering of strength for Zahrah to press play. It seemed every time they eavesdropped on these guys bad things happened. Still, she glanced over at Declan then at Darius, licked her lips and activated the play button.
The first found from the recorder was a dragging sound. Then nothing but static then voices. At first, she didn’t recognize the first voice asking about her. There was a strange flatness to the way he spoke—almost in one tone. The second voice send memories of that night flooding into her head.
“Whoa!” Darius called.
She blinked and realized she’d dropped the phone and he’d caught it.
“You okay there, Sunshine?” He asked.
Zahrah smiled at the brothers and took the phone back from Darius. Though she wanted to stop, to throw it as far away from her as possible, she bit her lip and pressed play again. “The first man is telling them that he’s lost sight of us.” She translated. “The second man think’s he’s a dumbass—that man is Gulzar Praveen. The third man is saying, the first man had one job and he is so incompetent, he couldn’t even do that right. He is Hadeel Jaroozi.”
“Wait.” Declan reached over and took the phone from her shaking hands. “Jaroozi—isn’t that you…”
“My brother.”
“Shit!” Darius murmured. “I’m sorry, Sunshine.”
“Because there is.”
“Okay…” Declan dragged a hand over his head. “What aren’t you telling me.”
“Gulzar…”
“Okay…” He paused but she said nothing else. “Who is Gulzar?”
Zahrah couldn’t handle the questions for she wasn’t sure she could stomach giving them the answer. She leaned forward to rest her forehead on the cool counter, praying for the floor to open and swallow her. Someone touched her back and she must have jumped a foot in the air. She looked around to see Darius and Declan staring at her, confusion in their brown gazes.
“I can only handle telling Declan about this right now.” Zahrah squeaked. “Darius could you…”
“I’ll go wandering around.” Darius reached into a black duffle, pulled out a gun and shoved it into the holster strapped around his chest. “I’ll be back.”
“You don’t have to leave…” Zahrah pleaded. “Just go to another room. This won’t take long.”
“It’s okay, Sunshine. It’s okay to admit you’ll miss me.” He smirked at her. “But don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”
“Is he always this big of an ass?” Zahrah chuckled.
“Pretty much.” Declan replied. “And I’ve known him forever.”
Darius winked at her and headed for the door.
“Watch your six, Ronin!” Declan called.
“Always.” Darius tossed over his shoulder.
“I mean it.” Declan hollered.
“I know, Cyclops. See you soon.”
Alone with Declan, Zahrah waited until after he’d poured them a drink and sat again before she dragged her palms against her thighs. She licked her lips and tried for a cleansing breath. IT didn’t nothing for the fear curling her insides, but she sipped from her drink and began. “My mother had just passed away. I was in America for studying. My father thought having an education from America would open more doors for me.” She paused, exhaled loudly, then continued. “I was doing well. My marks were great, I was making friends, I had even gained a few pounds on my bones. The mom died. I couldn’t fly home right away because it was right during my exams. My father insisted I stayed here because according to him, my mother would have wanted that. He sent a family friend to come and visit—his way of making sure I was okay. I thought he would have sent Fahad, my oldest brother.”
Defending Zahrah Page 8
