The Sheikh's Kidnapped Bride (The Sharqi Sheikhs Series Book 3) (6 page)

Carolyn came awake slowly, her body tender in places that let her know being with Mahil hadn’t merely been a dream.

She sat up in the hammock carefully, wrapping the towel around her body as she stood up and surveyed the paradise pool area. It had been aptly named in her opinion, but when her stomach growled, she was reminded of her dinner date with him in just a few hours.

She gathered up her clothing, making sure the towel was wrapped around her naked torso and headed inside. As she climbed the winding staircase, it occurred to her that Mahil hadn’t said how she was supposed to dress. It wasn’t like she had many options, and while her diner uniform had been returned to her, clean, pressed, and starched, she really didn’t want to have dinner with Mahil dressed like a cheap waitress.

She checked in the first two rooms, but Mahil was nowhere to be found. She approached the room she’d decided had to be his personal bedroom and knocked, but there was no answer. Thinking that maybe he was sleeping, or in the shower, she tried the handle and smiled when it turned and the door swung open.

“Mahil?” she called out, slowly entering the room and taking in the masculine décor. A massive bed took up the far wall, and the heavy and very ornate furniture should have dwarfed the room, but instead it imbued the room with a masculine presence that was all Mahil.

She saw the door leading to the bathroom and approached it cautiously, but she had nothing to fear, as it was empty. She sat down on the edge of his massive bed, letting her hand trail across the satin and velvet comforter.

She was about to head back to her own rooms when she caught sight of the open armoire on the opposite wall. Thinking that maybe she could borrow one of his button shirts and turn it into a dress of some sort, she opened the doors fully and then gasped as she spied her phone, her shoes, and her apron.

She sank down to the floor and powered on her phone, nearly crying in relief when the battery showed it still had just under ten percent of the battery left. She immediately called Kerri, trying to ignore how expensive this call was going to be.

“Hello?”

“Kerri? It’s Carolyn.”

“Car! How are you? I didn’t expect to hear from you again so soon.”

“You won’t believe what’s happened to me.”

“How is your hot guy?”

Carolyn tried to contain her surprise and asked, “You mean Sheik Mahil?”

“Yes. It was so sweet the way he carried you out of here a few nights ago. You were dead to the world and…”

“Kerri, how could you let a stranger walk out the door with me in his arms?!” Carolyn cried.

There was a slight pause and then Kerri asked in a whisper, “Tell me you’re okay. Please, tell me I didn’t make a mistake and that he really is one of the good guys?”

Carolyn felt bad for scaring her friend and hurried to assure her, “I’m okay. I’m on the other side of the world, but other than that, I’m just peachy.”

“Other side of the world? I don’t understand.”

“He took me back to Al-Sarid with him.”

“He took you…Oh gosh, Car. But, is it fabulous? I mean, I’ve seen pictures and it looks absolutely fabulous.”

“Kerri, did you hear what I said? He kidnapped me…”

“Oh, don’t think of it like that. He took you on a fabulous vacation and you needed the rest.”

Carolyn started to comment but suddenly she realized that Mahil had acted, not in his best interest, but he’d thought he was acting on hers!

“So, is Ken really mad?” Carolyn asked, wondering just how much of a mess her life had become since she’d been gone.

“Ken knows what I told him. That you had been working too much and needed at least a week off. He tried to get all upset, but I was able to get his mind onto other, more important things rather quickly.”

“What things?” Carolyn inquired.

“The health inspector called the morning after you left. He’s coming next week and wanted to make sure Ken knew what he would be checking. Everything. Oh, I forgot to mention that Ken is having the bathrooms fixed.” Kerri started laughing and soon Carolyn had joined her.

“I knew he could afford to do it, he was just being stingy and stubborn,” Carolyn commented.

“Yeah, he’s also pouting. But I’m enjoying watching things around here finally get fixed. So…talk to me about you.”

Carolyn sighed, “I don’t know what to say. He keeps trying to pry into my life.”

“And let me guess…you’re stonewalling him and refusing to say a thing?”

“Something like that.”

“Car, take some advice from me. It’s time to relax and stop trying to do everything for yourself. And by yourself. This man is in a unique position to help you like no other man you know. He certainly has your best interest at heart. What could it hurt to let him in and share with him what’s been going on with you?”

Letting people in is how you get hurt!
“I don’t need any help,” she tried to insist, hearing Kerri huff in disagreement.

“Yeah? Then who is the big guy who keeps coming around here looking for you? He doesn’t seem like a colleague from school, or a family member. He gives me the creeps.”

Salvatore had been coming by the diner again?
Carolyn tried not to let that fact bother her and asked, “What guy are we talking about here?”

“You know what guy I’m talking about. What’s he want?”

“To see me. I have something for him, and with any luck I’ll be back in the States in the next few days.”
I won’t have it all, but maybe I can get an extension….

“What do you want me to tell him?” Kerri asked.

“Nothing! Stay away from him, Kerri. I mean it, Salvatore is bad news. Just stay far away from him and let Ken deal with him.”

“Car, what’s going on?”

“Nothing I don’t already have under control.” Carolyn got up and began pacing towards the armoire, her vision taking in the contents and then stopping when she spied a shoebox pushed to the back. “Hey, my phone’s going to die and I don’t have a charger with me. I’ll try and call you again once I know when I’ll be back.”

“Okay. Please listen to my advice and try to relax. Asking for, and accepting, help isn’t the end of the world. It doesn’t make you less of a person, it just makes you smart.”

“Yes, mom. I’ll think about what you’ve said. I promise.”

“Good. And Car?”

“Yes?”

“Have some fun. You deserve it.”

Carolyn ended the call and was about to leave when she turned back around to look at the shoebox. It looked old. Curiosity got the best of her and she reached for the box on the bottom shelf. Sitting down on the floor, she opened the lid carefully. Sitting on top was a black and white picture of two children. They were happy and smiling, the little boy with his arm wrapped around the shoulders of what appeared to be his much younger sister.

Underneath it was a scruffy teddy bear and a child’s blanket. She pulled them both out, wondering why Mahil would have such things in his bedroom.
What secrets was he hiding from her? He wanted her to spill her life in all its ugliness, but he hadn’t shared anything about his own life with her. Were the items in the shoebox just memories from his childhood? What was going on?

Mahil was currently in the large garages at the side of the property, having gone there after leaving Carolyn in the pool area. Making love to her had been one of the most amazing experiences of his life, but had only served to fuel his need to take care of her problems for her.

“Ahmed?” he called out as he entered the large barn like structure. In addition to housing a variety of vehicles, the garage also housed a small helicopter that was often used when Mahil needed to get from one place to another and driving was out of the question.

This part of Al-Sarid was a dichotomy of landscapes. The actual village was situated in what had once been a lovely oasis in the middle of the desert. Many centuries ago, the spring feeding the pools had been dug out and a small settlement had begun to take shape.

The Sharqi family had owned and controlled the general area for more than a millenia now, and their claim to everything for hundreds of miles was undisputed. The nomadic peoples of Al-Sarid knew they were welcome to travel across the land, making use of the various watering holes that dotted the desert landscape, as long as they didn’t abuse either the land or the people they encountered.

“Sir?” Ahmed asked, coming from the rear of the helicopter with a greasy rag in his hands.

“What is wrong?” Mahil asked, raising an eyebrow at Ahmed’s hands.

“Nothing. I was just making sure everything was in proper working order. You came looking for me?”

Mahil nodded his head, “I did. What have you been able to find out about our guest’s problem?”

Ahmed met his gaze and asked, “Are you sure you want to know?”

Mahil nodded, “Yes. Tell me.”

Ahmed tossed the rag onto a rolling workbench and then pulled a folded group of papers from a drawer. He handed them to Mahil and then explained, “The man there, that is the same one that approached her in the diner?”

Mahil looked at the picture and nodded, “Yes. Who is he?”

“His name’s Salvatore Gomez. He’s a small-time drug lord and loan shark.”

Mahil looked up sharply, “What?!”

“It’s true. And he’s good, good enough that the local authorities have been after him for years but can never prove he’s been involved in whatever crime they’re trying to pin on him.”

Mahil looked at the man and wondered how Carolyn had come to be mixed up with such an individual. “She doesn’t use drugs.” He made it a statement and not a question because there was no way he was wrong about her character.

Ahmed nodded his head, “You are correct. She actually isn’t the one who got mixed up with that individual. Her father was.”

“I don’t understand. Why is this man bothering Carolyn if it is her father who has business with him?”

“That’s where it gets tricky. Miss Michael’s father is a drunk and a heavy stakes gambler. Over the years, he’s managed to lose a lot of money and now he owes this Salvatore person more than a hundred grand!”

Mahil blinked at the amount and then tried to reconcile the fact with what he knew about Carolyn, “She’s trying to pay off her father’s debt.”

“It would seem so. According to one of Salvatore’s underlings, she’s been making payments for the last several years and is only one more payment away from having her father’s debt cleared.”

“When?” Mahil asked, wanting to make sure she had no more dealings with this individual.

“She has to come up with the last twenty thousand by the end of the month or the original negotiation he made with her is null and void.”

“What happens then?” Mahil asked, needing to know exactly what kind of mess she was in.

“Salvatore agreed to stop charging her interest provided she paid him the remaining twenty thousand. If she doesn’t make the payment on time, all of the interest will be added back in and he’s threatened to take the house her mother used to live in.”

“Used to live in?” Mahil asked.

“Her mother was diagnosed with cancer four years ago and is now dead. It was about this time that Carolyn became aware of her father’s gambling problem.”

Mahil clenched his teeth and then asked, “How much has the father managed to pay back?”

Ahmed made a circle with his middle finger and thumb, “Zero. He’s still gambling, but recently has been on a small winning streak which is the only reason he hasn’t run up more debt.”

“This needs to end now.”

“It would be in her best interest, but what is in yours?”

Mahil looked at his friend and employee and sighed, “What is it you’re really asking me?”

“Why are you doing this? Helping this woman you barely know?”

“Because I can and I want to. She is an amazing woman and doesn’t deserve this.”

Ahmed shook his head, “You can’t even be honest with yourself about your reasons! Listen, helping Carolyn won’t bring Lyla back!”

“I am aware of that fact!” Mahil answered back, his voice rising to a near yell. “Nothing I can do will ever erase the fact that she died on my watch.”

Ahmed looked at his friend and boss and softened his voice, “Do you care for this American woman?”

Mahil took a deep breath and then nodded his head, “Yes. I find her…intriguing.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. You’re falling for her.”

Mahil shook his head, “That’s ridiculous. We get along together well enough and there is a certain chemistry between us, but that is all.”

“Sir, we’ve known each other quite a while, and I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. You’re falling in love with her and if you don’t find a way to forgive yourself for what happened with Lyla first, you’ll lose Carolyn.”

Falling in love with her? No!
“I don’t know what you think you have seen, but in a few days this problem of hers will be resolved and she will fly home. That will be the end of it.”

Ahmed looked at him and then patted him on the shoulder, “I feel sorry for you. Carolyn could be the woman you need to start living in the present, but you would rather hold onto the past, and the heartaches there.”

“I thought you didn’t like her.” Shaking his head, “What I didn’t like was your methods, which for a man
not
in love, is a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

“I did what was necessary for her own good.”

“What happened with Lyla wasn’t your fault!”

“That is where you will always be wrong, my friend,” Mahil told him sadly. “What happened with Lyla was only my fault. I’m the one who let her down. Who left her alone to… die. No one else. I did that and I will forever have to live with the knowledge that while I am here on this planet, she is not.”

“Sir, she died. I know you think you could have saved her, but you couldn’t have and it’s time you faced those facts. You were only a boy when your sister became sick and you were both living on the streets. How could you be expected to help her when chances were medicine couldn’t?”

Mahil shook his head and turned to leave the garage, “I will need the helicopter serviceable by this evening. I am taking Carolyn to the southern oasis for dinner.”

Ahmed watched his retreating back and then called out, “Think about what I’ve said. Please. It’s time to let the past be in the past.”