The Art of Retaliation (12 page)

 
Mara took another glass
of champagne from the tray and watched Maxine and the other couples elegantly
dancing to a waltz in front of her.
 
Her mind drifted back to happier times, a time when she was sure of Ryan’s
love, to a New Years Eve ball where he had proposed.

“Penny for them.”

Mara looked up towards the source of the rich voice to find a
handsome Arabian Englishman bending over her.

“May I sit down,” he asked without hesitation.
 
“Have you been sitting here alone?
 
I can’t bear to see a beautiful woman
on her own
.
 
Abdul
Hasseem
.”

He held out his hand.
 
With a smile Mara reciprocated but found
hr
hand turned over and brushed with a kiss.
 
Her smile widened.

“Yes I know exactly who you are.
 
Mara Logan.”

So
Stephane
Garreau
knew Abdul
Hasseem
, the much revered and feared
entrepreneur in the business world and her nemesis.
 
The man who had physically threatened
her safety and killed the witness she had convinced to come forward to help her
case when a Crown Prosecutor.

“Finally we meet
Ms
Logan and in the
strangest of places,’ he smiled glancing out at the couples dancing.
 
“I’ve heard so much about you.”

“I do hope it was all good but I doubt it,” she told him playing the
game a little further feeling her heat beat fast.

“On the contrary you are quite a formidable opponent and quite
relentless.”

“When I want something I usually get it,” she challenged taking
another sip of champagne.

She gave him a sweet smile and observed a crinkle in the corners of
his mouth that were trying hard to maintain the fixed smile.

“Really you sound very confident for a woman who is being held
hostage and isn’t in a position to do anything.”

It was his turn to triumph and watch the light across her features
fade.

“How do you know about that?”

“I make it my business to know everything about my enemies and I’ve
been tracking your movements since you left London.
 
It is a shame you haven’t been able to
meet up with Raymond Matisse yet and I would like to keep it that way.
 
You won’t win.
 
So you might as well give up trying to
put me behind bars.
 
That, I assure
you, pretty lady will never happen.”

“Nothing is going to stop me,’ she was on the verge of loosing her
cool and took a deep breath to maintain her equilibrium.
 
“Both Raymond Matisse and myself have
evidence about your money laundering and I
willnot
rest until you are brought to justice over the murder.
 
Not even your break in at my office, the
threatening phone-calls and the stalking by your men wills top me.”

‘You are laundering money through Matisse with bogus accounts.
 
We have concrete proof and are ready to
go to the French police.”

“You’ll be dead before you get to them, you little bitch,’ he
grabbed her wrist and twisted it cruelly in his hand.

Mara fought her fear to control her breathing.
 
She’d waited too long for everything to
fall apart now.
 
She couldn’t help
feeling disappointed that
Stepahane
Garreau
associated with the criminal.

“Face it, you are finished.
 
There are a lot of debts for you to pay back Abdul. You are wanted in
five different countries under various names for fraud, money laundering,
insider dealing, terrorist funding and that small matter of murder in
England.
 
I’ve also been tracking
your movements since then and I know every thing about you.
 
I even know about that secret scam you
are running regarding that new airline company you’ve started and how you have
a partner who is stumping up most of the money . .
.
 
Who
the hell is the fool who . .
.”

And then it hit her.

Abdul smiled and turned his head to the crowd to seek out his
victim.
 
Mara followed his eyes
until they rested on
Stephane
Garreau
innocently chatting with a female guest.

“No, no you can’t you’ll ruin him,” the sudden instinct to protect
Stephane
in her own way was primitive and its strength
shocked her.

Mara squirmed to release Abdul’s grip but it only tightened and he
pulled her close to him until his face almost touched hers.

“I know from my sources in this house there appears to be some sort
of attraction between you both but if you tell him about this your precious
brother will disappear and end up a case of accidental death.
 
One of my men ran into him yesterday,
just a little car crash.
 
He was lucky
it could have been worse.
 
Drop your
pursuit and I may allow you and Raymond Matisse to live.”

Mara cried out.

“Leave my brother out of this.
 
If you hurt him . . .”

“You’ll what?
 
You appear
to be trapped on all sides
Ms
Logan and there isn’t
anything you can do.
 
Give it up,”
he whispered menacingly brushing his lips against her neck.

Disgusted she moved her head away.
 
She shook her head violently.

“You aren’t going to do anything.
 
I’m not going to let you.”

He pulled her up from the seat.

“I see you need further persuading.
 
Maybe Alfonse over there can make you
see sense.”

Abdul pulled her around the side of the party out of the French
doors leading to the grounds, a man following closely behind him.
 
Out the corner of her eye Mara could see
Stephane
dancing with a woman, his important visitor
who he had turned around so that he could observe Mara over her shoulder.
 
He appeared alarmed at the tight grip
Abdul had on her wrist and immediately let go of the woman to walk hurriedly
past her as though she was invisible.
 
He reached out and grabbed Mara’s free hand and tugged her protectively
towards him.

“Abdul what is going on here?”

Abdul relaxed the tension in his face immediately.

“Mara and I were just going to dance.”

“Really that’s not what it looked like.”

“Yes, we were going to dance,” Mara interrupted giving Abdul a
conspiratorial glance.
 
Their fight
was private.

“I don’t believe you both for a moment.
 
Something is going on here,”
Stephane
wasn’t letting it go.

“There isn’t.
 
I think
Stephane
is a little jealous that we were going to dance,”
Abdul smiled.
 
“I know when I am
beaten.
 
Maybe later,
Ms
Logan.”

Abdul let go of her arm and nodding respectively to
Stephane
before walking off into the grounds.

The billionaire gripped Mara’s wrist watching Abdul disappear and
began to lead her further out onto the terrace to sit her down on one of the
stone seats by the moat.

“What the hell is going on?
 
I have never heard such a ridiculous excuse. Something is going on.”

He towered over her interrogating her with vigor.

“I’ve told you nothing.
 
He just got a bit excited.
 
I
think he had a little too much to drink and got carried away when I refused to
dance with him.”

“Really I’ve never known Abdul ever be out of control.
 
So why was his bodyguard following you.”

“I didn’t know that he was,” she lied.

“Abdul
Hasseem
is a very dangerous man,
Mara.
 
He is used to getting what he
wants.”

“Yes I know.
 
I know
exactly what he is capable of in business alone.
 
Makes me wonder why you are in business
with him.”

Stephane
ignored
her comment as though it was never spoken.

“I want you to keep away from him.”
 
Then he softened his tone.
 
“Did he frighten you?’ he asked
gently.
 

“Oh so you care about me.
 
I am touched but it’s a bit late for all that, isn’t it.
 
Men are all the same you act like
Neanderthals.
 
He uses physical
force and you use words.
 
I am more
than capable of looking after myself and will see who I choose,’ she hoped she
sounded confident when all she wanted to do was cry and think about how she was
going to get out of this mess to help her brother and
Stephane
.

Her captor gave her an incredulous look and began cursing in French
turning away from her placing his hands untidily in his tuxedo trouser pockets,
a habit he appeared to have when he was frustrated or at a loss about what to
do.
 
It was endearing but his French
cursing was annoying.

“No don’t do that.
 
Speak
to me in English.
 
If you are going
to call me at least have the decency to say it in English so I can understand,”
her voice was rising and was shaky.

He ignored her and continued.

She had to try and think fast or she and others would lose their
lives.
 
She suddenly felt alone,
very alone.
 
Tears threatened to
spill from her eyes as she replayed the scene with Abdul over and over
again.
 
Stephane
didn’t stop until one of the Maids came out and informed him he was wanted
inside.

“I want you to stay here, Mara.
 
I won’t be long.
 
Stay well
away from Abdul.
 
I forbid you to
talk to him.”

Mara straightened her back and tightened her frame on the curved
stone seat.

“I beg your pardon.
 
Did
I hear you correctly?’ she said haughtily in a crisp English tone.
 
“You forbid me?” she laughed.
 
It was almost hysterical.

“Yes I do,” he commanded leaning over her.

“Who the hell do you think you are?
 
How dare you speak to me like that.
”

She was off her seat heading for the door.
 
He took her arm and guided her back to
the seat.

“It is for your own good.
 
I want you to be safe.
 
You
don’t look well again.
 
I will take
you to your room when I return.
 
Now
sit down until I come back, please.”

“Who the hell do you think you are,” she snapped shaking his arm
away.

His patience ran out and he took hold of her arm once more forcing her
back down on the seat.

“I am the man who kidnapped you and brought you here and therefore I
have control of whom you see and what you do and there isn’t a dam thing you
can do about it.
 
Now sit tight and
stop causing a scene.
 
Do not move
or I’ll lock you in your room and not let you out again.
 
Am I understood?’ he said with calm
menace that to her dismay only made his firmness with her unruly behavior
sexy.
 
“Remember who is in charge
here.”