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He rested his eyes on her, a slight smile playing around his mouth. “I’m far to lenient with you.”
She laughed, rolling her eyes, and I shifted my attention to the river in an attempt to ignore the twinge somewhere below my ribs. How I wished my family could be safe once more and Duran could saunter through the door and flash his infuriating smile at me. I swallowed the lump rising in my throat.
The night was fitful and almost devoid of any sleep. I spent most of it with a cup of hot lemon tea, curled up in the chair on the balcony. It soothed my anxiety to let the warm winds swirl around me as I watched the faint sparkle of the river through the dark.
The next few days stretched on for an eternity. I woke up late in the morning and spent the afternoons with Adriana while Ahmed left the compound for business or worked on his computer in the office. We didn’t try to do anything useful, after all there was nothing to cook or clean with a housekeeper who came every day and left the house sparkling every night. Instead we sipped cocktails by the pool, floated in the crystal water, and laid under umbrellas and read. It would have been an ideal vacation if it weren’t for the heavy knot of worry in my chest that never went away.
Early in the morning on the fourth day, I woke to a knock on my door. I vaulted to my feet and ran to the door in my nightgown, pulling it ajar. Ahmed stood there, dressed in a suit and tie and carrying a messenger bag over his shoulder.
“We need to go,” he said. “Pack what you need for today. I’ll have someone else gather the rest, as well as Duran’s things, and send them.”
“What’s wrong?” I sputtered, frantically.
“Nothing, but Duran sent for you so I’m bringing you home.”
“Did he say anything about my family?”
Ahmed shook his head. “I’m sorry, no.”
I did as I was told, gathering everything I’d need for the next few days in an overnight bag. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I pulled on the same pair of jeans I’d arrived in, a loose blouse, and wrapped a scarf loosely around my head. Then I practically ran through the compound, my bag slung over my shoulder and my heart fluttering against my ribs.
Ahmed and Adriana were already waiting by the car when I slipped out of the front doors. The morning was clear and the sun was just beginning to crest the hills, a pale orange pooling over the distant horizon. There was a pang in my chest as I realized I’d been here a week and hadn’t gotten the chance to explore any of Egypt’s beauty beyond the compound. Perhaps, if all went well, Duran would bring me back here again under better circumstances.
Adriana slept most of the plane ride and Ahmed worked on his computer and stared moodily out the window. I’d interrogated him a little more on the drive over, but Duran, true to his fashion, hadn’t told him a word. I would have to wait until we landed in America again to hear any news of my family or Duran. The suspense was killing me.
The fence surrounding the mansion was heavily guarded when we pulled through the gate. Ahmed rolled down the window and let the guard hold a scanner up to his eyes to verify his identity and Adriana and I handed over our passports. We sat in awkward silence as the guards looked them over and consulted among themselves, one of them making a quick phone call before handing them back. Then they stepped aside and waved us through, the gate clanging shut behind us.
Ahmed and Adriana were staying in the guesthouse so we split off at the bottom of the front stairs. There was a nervous flutter in my stomach as I stood alone and watched them disappear around the back of the mansion. Then I gathered my bag and climbed the steps slowly, unsure what to expect when I stepped through the doors. Would Duran be home or would I be forced to suffer another day or two of agonizing waiting?
The front hallway was deserted and my footsteps echoed loudly as I walked in. I leaned into the living room and found it empty; the kitchen was also abandoned. I set my overnight bag on the floor and ascended the stairs slowly, my ears pricked for any sound of movement. A miserable hollow formed in my stomach and chest at the thought that Duran wasn’t here at all. I wanted to see him…no, I needed to see him. I needed to know the security of his embrace again and let the sight, scent, and feel of his body envelope my senses.
I tiptoed up the stairs, my whole body tense. The hallway was deserted and I padded down it on the sides of my feet. I’d never been to Duran’s room, but I knew it was at the end of the hall.
I pushed open the door to the right and found an empty room with the sheets folded at the end of the unmade bed. The dresser was covered in a sheet and the windows were shuttered. I backed up and crossed the hall and opened the opposite door and stepped inside.
This was definitely Duran’s room, although it was the last thing I’d expected. The bed was made and there was a pair of his shoes on the floor by the nightstand. His overnight bag sat in the corner by the bathroom and there was a towel hanging on the doorknob. On the walls were several large paintings of Egypt, one of the view of the river from the compound. The thigh holster for his pistol hung over the chair in the corner by the closed balcony doors.
I blinked rapidly, tears welling up in my eyes, although I wasn’t sure why. I sank down on the end of the bed and pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. He wasn’t here and I missed him with a consuming ache that threatened to take over my entire body.
I finally accepted that there was no one in the house. Fighting through the disappointment, I searched through Duran’s room, looking for the cellphone he’d taken from me at the resort and found nothing. I had no way of contacting anyone and I was too anxious and miserable to talk to Ahmed or Adriana.
The rest of the day stretched on seemingly forever. I ate a turkey sandwich for dinner and dug up a bottle of wine and took it outside to watch the sunset. I’d only been out to the garden once, but never at this time of the evening. The stars were just beginning to come out and the ground was misted with dew. The air smelled fresh and cool, a light breeze sweeping through and fluttering my hair against my throat. The moon was almost full and cast a glitter across the surface of the water.
I’d already dressed down to my short nightgown for the night, covering it with a silk dressing gown. My feet were bare and the dew soaked them in minutes, grass sticking to my toes as I walked out toward the shoreline.
I stood on the edge of the water and watched it lap at the rocks, dark and placid beneath the moon. After a while, the back of my neck prickled and the sensation of being watched crept up my spine. I clenched the bottle in my hand, flipping it over in case I needed to use it as a weapon. Then I turned around slowly and there, standing at the edge of the yard, was Duran.
He wore a t-shirt and jeans and his left arm was bandaged up to the elbow. When he met my eyes, he reached up and brushed his hair out of his face, revealing a dark purple bruise across his cheekbone. My heart skipped a beat and my breath caught at the sight of him, pure joy flooding me and sending me running toward him, the bottle discarded at the water’s edge.
He caught me in his arms, stumbling back a little, and took my face in his good hand. For a moment our eyes locked and then he bent and kissed me, his mouth consuming me with familiar sensations. Drowning in his presence, I clung to the front of his shirt, pulling him harder against me and letting him kiss me until I wasn’t sure where I ended and he began. When he pulled back, we were both panting, at a loss for words.
“Your family is safe,” he said finally. “The Russians had your father, but Lucien and I broke him free and he’s back home safe with your mother.”
“Oh, thank God,” I breathed. “What happened to you?”
“Got my ass kicked,” he said, shrugging. “Turns out it isn’t easy to break someone out of a warehouse full of armed Russians.”
“Why did they take him?”
