Unfinished Business (22 page)

She looked up at Hajji. “The view outside the window is beautiful. Is this place completely surrounded by water?” she asked innocently, fishing for information.

The woman shook her head and smiled. “No, not completely. There is land on the other side of the woods, as well as the cleared path down the hill to the main road, which is the way we go into town.”

Christy nodded. She hadn’t been sure if she’d been brought to a small island or something. It was good to know that part of the place she was being held was connected to land. Now all she needed to do was find a way to get out of here and make it to town. Once there she would find the local police and tell them everything.

“Sheik Valdemon would like you to join him for dinner.”

Hajji’s words interrupted Christy’s thoughts. She frowned. “Tell him thanks but no thanks. I prefer eating alone in my room.”

The woman nodded and then quickly left, closing the door behind her. Christy moved over to the door and tried it and she wasn’t surprised to find it locked.

She sighed deeply. No matter what, she was determined to leave this place. She glanced over to the bed and gazed at the outfit Hajji had left and hoped she wouldn’t have to wear that when she did so.

Her gaze moved to look out the window. It was getting dark and she knew night would be the best time to make her move.

Alex, dressed completely in black, hid behind a huge boulder. He rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble there. He was past having a shave, but that was the least of his problems, he thought, looking at the wrought-iron gate that surrounded the villa. There was no doubt in his mind that this place was highly secured and there were probably security cameras on the ground.

He glanced at the backpack he had placed by his feet. It contained a small arsenal of firearms as well as the tools he would need to go in and get Christy. No matter where you were, you could always depend on finding out where to purchase illegal goods if you asked the right questions and were willing to pay the right price.

As soon as it had gotten dark, he had carefully prowled around the outskirts of the property, and to his surprise he hadn’t seen any guards lurking around. Evidently this sheik felt pretty safe behind a strong gate and security cameras.

Before leaving the hotel Alex had been able to pull up the structural design of the villa on his computer. He had viewed a number of high-quality photographs of nearly every room in the house that had been displayed during the time the villa had been up for sale.

He knew that the best angle to penetrate this villa was by crossing over the seawall on the eastern side of the house. That meant becoming a rock climber, which was pretty risky business at night, and the only light he would have was the illumination from the moon and stars.

But when it involved the woman he loved, a man had to do what a man had to do.

As Christy had requested, dinner was brought to her room, and she had eaten alone. She had expected the sheik to show up and insist upon eating with her, and she was glad that he hadn’t.

Thankfully Hajji had brought Christy’s carry-on. She hadn’t wasted any time changing out of the
I Dream of Jeannie
outfit into a pair of jeans and a top.

She knew since she couldn’t just march down the stairs and out of the front door, that in order to escape she would have to create some type of diversion when Hajji returned. With all the attention the woman had been giving her, Christy knew she would probably return in a few hours to check on her.

That meant that she had to come up with a plan, and a darn good one.

Grateful for his unique night vision, Alex glanced around. When he was certain that all was silent he came out of hiding and glanced around the beach. He had taken time to smear his face with camouflage paint. Usually he wore gloves, but this time he needed his bare hands for climbing. Once he reached the top of the cliff he would use his gloves. Fingerprints were the last thing he wanted to leave behind.

Moving with the fluid ease of a man well skilled in this type of clandestine activity, he pulled out the rope, then went about anchoring it to a nearby tree. Moments later he was ready for the climb and hoped he hadn’t miscalculated and the sheik’s men would be able to spot him.

Although it had been strenuous, definitely no easy task, he’d scaled the seawall, and an hour or so later he had found himself at the top of the cliff, right on the sheik’s property. With the patience of a man who knew the pitfalls of being overanxious, he glanced around. He was surprised at the lack of security at the east side of the house, and the only reason Alex could come up for it was that a mistake had been made by the owner in assuming no one in his right mind would attempt to invade the property by risking a climb over the seawall.

Adrenaline was pumping through Alex’s veins as he circled around the servants’ quarters while making his way to the main house. He was desperate to get in and find Christy but knew he had to channel his desperation, since desperate people made mistakes and at this point any wrong move might cost Christy’s life.

Upon reaching the house he checked the back door and was surprised to find it unlocked. A sense of unease suddenly knotted his gut. Either the sheik was extremely lax in security or it was a setup and someone was expecting him.

Tightening his hold on the gun he held in his hand, he slowly opened the door, thinking this was not the time for him to become paranoid. He eased inside the house knowing a step in the wrong direction might trigger an alarm. He sank back into the shadows when a big hulk of a man crossed the hall ahead of him after he came down the stairs to go into a room and close the door behind him.

A few moments later, with silent efficiency, Alex eased out of the shadows and slowly made his way up the stairs. Other than the man he’d just seen, there was no sign of anyone in the house. When Alex reached the second floor he noted all the room doors were closed. He knew the one Christy was probably in was the one that he would find locked.

Christy crouched behind the dresser in the room, waiting for Hajji to come check on her for the night. She had made up the bed to appear like a body was lying in it, all covered up. It was her hope that when the woman came and saw she was asleep she would leave quietly, but that would be only after Christy had slipped out of the opened door.

Her breath caught when she heard the sound of someone toying with the lock on her bedroom door. She wondered if it was the sheik or, worse yet, the big, mean man who had brought her here.

She watched as the door eased open, and felt a prickling at the base of her neck. From the brevity of the sunlight that poured into the room, she could tell that the shadowy figure was not Hajji. It was a man, and she watched as he softly pushed the door shut behind him before slowly moving toward the bed.

Deciding she wasn’t about to wait around for an introduction, when he passed her she made her way out of her hiding place and inched quietly to the door. Suddenly the intruder turned in her direction and a big strong hand reached out and grabbed her. Before she could let out a scream, a hand clamped over her mouth and she was snatched to a hard, muscled body.

“Don’t fight, baby. It’s me,” a deep, husky voice said in a mere whisper close to her ear.

Upon recognizing the voice, Christy sagged against him. Tears filled her eyes. Alex had come for her.

“I’m going to remove my hand, but I need you to remain quiet until I can get us out of here. Understand?”

She nodded. Then, driven with a need to let him know how glad she was to see him, when he removed his hand from over her mouth she turned in his arms and, dismissing the danger surrounding them, unerringly found his lips. Fire swept through her veins the moment their mouths connected, and the way he was kissing her back indicated he was as glad to see her as she was to see him.

One minute Alex’s mind had been on the best route to get the two of them out of here alive and the next he was kissing Christy like they had all the time in the world. Now was not the time and definitely not the place, but there was no way he could not take a part in this. A part of him wanted to say,
Damn the danger
, and sweep her up into his arms and take her over to the bed. The way she was kissing him was steadily stoking flames through his entire body.

Suddenly the room was filled with a bright light. Alex broke the kiss and pushed Christy behind him as he raised his gun.

“Welcome, Alex. You’re earlier than I expected.”

Alex’s gaze collided with the man who strolled past an armed guard as he entered the room. Alex lifted a dark surprised brow. “Rasheed?”

 
“So as you can see, Ms. Madaris, there was no way I could tell you that being kept here was for your safety without explaining everything. And at the time I couldn’t do that.”

Christy nodded. She and Alex were sitting in Sheik Valdemon’s study and had listened while he told them everything. She had thought their lives had come to an end when the light came on and she and Alex stood in the middle of the room caught like deer in a headlight. Even now she had a hard time believing that Alex and the sheik knew each other and not only that, but the man also was very familiar with her entire family.

She could see Alex out of the corner of her eye. He was conversing openly and freely with the sheik but hadn’t said a whole lot to her. Although Alex might have been glad to see her—his kiss had certainly shown that—it didn’t take much to tell that it didn’t erase the fact that he was pretty pissed with her.

“Well, I for one will be glad to leave here and return to the United States and will do so after I find out what happened to all those girls who arrived on that ship last night,” she said.

Alex leaned forward and pinned Christy with a fierce glare. “Did you not hear everything Rasheed said? A summit of the Kantar Cartel will take place on this island in less than twenty-four hours, at which time all hell is going to break loose when the FBI storms in and makes arrests. It’s over, Christy; I’m sure the federal government will release information to the families on all the young women who were abducted.”

Christy breathed deeply, in and out, as she tried to hold on to her temper. She stared him straight in the eye. “I heard what Rasheed said, Alex, but I’m a reporter and I happen to be in an excellent position to be the first to get the story. Surely you don’t think that I’m leaving here now.”

He leaned closer to where his nose was just mere inches from hers. “I don’t think it, sweetheart; I know it.”

Christy glared right back. “Then I hate to inform you, but you’re wrong.”

“Excuse me, Ms. Madaris, but there’s something else you might not know about this island,” Rasheed said, interrupting the two.

Christy’s head snapped around. “What?”

“A woman may enter this country single, but she can’t leave here unless she’s married. So in order for you to leave here you and Alex must get married.”

Christy frowned. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Yes, that may be true,” Rasheed was saying, “but it’s a fact, an ingrained custom, and is part of the care, custody, and control policy these islanders live by. The only single women who can move around freely are nuns; otherwise unmarried women are considered fair game. That’s why Senator Harris’s man could abduct you in broad daylight and nothing was done. Even if you had made it to the local authorities they would have returned you to the person who’d abducted you.”

“And it’s the reason I had to tell anyone I questioned that you were my wife,” Alex tacked on. “Otherwise, no one would have given me any information about your abduction.”

“And,” Rasheed decided to add upon seeing how the color was draining from Christy’s face; he needed her to understand just how serious her position as a single woman in this country was; “even if the authorities would have gotten you back, any one of the senior officers could take you as his wife or mistress, regardless of how you felt about it. Beautiful American women in these parts are trophies to some. Even with you married to Alex we still have to be careful that you don’t catch the eye of anyone who may decide to get rid of him to have free and clear access to you.”

Christy was aghast. “That’s barbaric, simply crazy.”

“That might be true but that’s the way it is. Americans aren’t popular here. I suggest the two of you leave as soon as possible, and if getting a story is that important to you, then I’ll be glad to give you . . . how they say it in your country . . .
the inside scoop, an exclusive
. . . when everything is over. But we’ve come too far for anything to go wrong now, and if you remain and start asking questions, it can place many lives, including my own, at risk. And I strongly suggest the two of you avoid the airport. As you recall I’m supposed to be holding you as hostage for my harem. We can’t take the chance of someone seeing you leave and reporting that information back to the cartel.”

“What other way do we have to leave if not by air?” Alex asked Rasheed.

“By sea. Once you reach an island called Kiribati, adjacent to the port there’s a private airfield where I keep a plane. You can use it to fly out from there to Hawaii. Then you’ll be home free. But even in Kiribati you’ll need to be careful. It’s a republic that’s headed by a president about to be ousted, so there might be a bit of unrest and tension there.”

Rasheed leaned back in his chair and continued. “I have a mini-yacht you can use to get to Kiribati, and it’s fairly easy to operate. It’s my understanding that very few people are stopped by the sea border patrol between here and Kiribati. However, since there’s a possibility that you might be, the two of you will need to have papers showing you’re married. Otherwise, if you’re stopped they can take Ms. Madaris and there won’t be anything that Alex can do.”

Christy stood. “Marrying Alex just to leave this country is out of the question. I refuse to be forced into marriage by anyone.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Alex said through clenched teeth. “We can get the marriage annulled as soon as we hit the States, but for now we need to do whatever is necessary to get the hell out of here.” He turned to Rasheed. “The last thing we want to do is place you at risk with the cartel.”

Rasheed smiled. “Thanks.”

Christy glared at both men. “I don’t like it.”

Alex stood. He didn’t particularly like it, either; especially when it was apparent that she still didn’t love him. Although he wanted to marry Christy, he wanted her to come to him of her own free will and not because she was forced to do it. “Whether you like it or not, Christy, that’s the way it’s going to be.”

He watched her raise furious brows before she angrily walked out of the room. He then turned to Rasheed. “Do you know of anyone who can perform a quick ceremony?”

Rasheed nodded. “Yes. There’s an English church in town. I’ll have one of my men bring the priest right away.”

“Thank you for coming, Father,” Alex said to the Englishman who he’d learned had been a missionary in Vanuatu for a number of years.

The priest nodded. He glanced across the room to where Christy was sitting on the sofa. With a pout on her lips a mile long, it was apparent to everyone that she wanted no part of what was about to take place.

When the priest met Alex’s gaze again, he knew exactly what the man was thinking and spoke up, saying, “I agree that we need counseling, but there isn’t time. We have to leave here as soon as arrangements are made.”

The priest nodded again. “Are you ready for the ceremony to begin?”

Alex rubbed a hand down his face and said, “Yes, as ready as I’ll ever be.”