Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
The lorry bounced on the unpaved road, and Noah squinted in the darkness. In the seat beside him, Jahi squirmed, his hands and feet bound. Sweat shone on his forehead, and a bruise darkened the side of his face from where Noah had struck him with the chair earlier in the day.
Lord Helton was to meet them at a crossroads up ahead. Without Jahi to depend on to make the delivery alone, Lord Helton had been forced to drive the lorry from the meeting place north to Zeitoun, where they were to leave the arms.
Noah would then follow at a distance on horseback, to watch the arms be collected.
Passing the hamlet of impoverished huts that were near the crossroads, Noah pulled the lorry over.
Jahi gave a pitiful whimper. He knew he’d been fortunate to spend the afternoon with Noah, getting the weapons.
Lord Helton had gone to question Fisher.
That had given Jahi a momentary respite from what lay before him.
But Noah would have to turn him over to Helton now—who wasn’t likely to be in a merciful mood after dealing with Fisher.
Noah was relieved that Lord Helton hadn’t demanded he participate in Jahi’s questioning.
The spring before, Jahi had been tasked with the unfortunate job of delivering Ginger to Fisher.
Though Lord Helton had commanded it, Noah still hadn’t forgotten Jahi’s role in the matter. If Ginger hadn’t escaped …
Noah’s jaw set angrily.
That betrayal had changed everything for him. Helton had delivered Ginger to Stephen without an ounce of concern of how it might affect her or Noah. Lord Helton had said earlier today that Noah’s loyalty to him wasn’t what it had once been. And that was why.
Helton had proven that everything and everyone was expendable as long as his objectives were achieved. Except Victoria—which was why Stephen must have targeted her. Noah’s eyes flicked toward the back of the lorry.
He should have refused to get the arms for Lord Helton to give to the nationalists.
Gone to his friends in the CID, Lord Helton’s instructions be damned.
Now it was Noah’s name on the register. He was responsible for these weapons, even if Lord Helton had given the order.
If the army investigated why a lorry of weapons went missing, they’d know Noah had taken them.
The knot in his stomach tightened further.
He’d told himself he could worry later about the fallout from giving arms to the enemy. But what if something happened in the meantime?
Still, the thought of Victoria in the hands of those men made him go cold.
He hadn’t allowed himself to think of the worst of the possibilities.
While they’d pretended to be engaged, it had been easy to lose himself to the ruse.
Victoria wasn’t like other women and she hadn’t been afraid to express what she felt for him.
Jack had told him it was foolish to let her think something might develop from their flirtations, but Noah had cared for her. He’d just never been in love with her.
A flash of movement caught his attention. Lord Helton approached on horseback. He looked a far cry from the proper English gentleman now, dressed in casual clothing and sandals, with an accompanying brown fedora on his head.
Lord Helton brought the brown stallion to a trot, then stopped. Noah opened the door to the lorry as Lord Helton dismounted. He handed Noah the reins. “And Fisher?” Noah asked, raising a brow.
“I’ve dealt with him.” Lord Helton’s eyes were guarded. “Did you have any trouble?”
Noah slipped his foot into the stirrup, then hoisted himself onto the horse. “No, sir. Not that I expected any. It’s all there.” He checked the glowing dial of his wristwatch. “Have you planned anything if they don’t bring her?”
“I plan to call on Masry’s law office tomorrow if they don’t bring her to me today. Put him on short notice before I go to the authorities.” Lord Helton’s eyes glittered in the moonlight. “You’ve done good work, Benson. I owe you more than you know.” His voice was raw with emotion.
It was the closest to a compliment Helton would come. Words failed Noah as silence engulfed them. Noah snapped the reins, spurring the horse forward. He took it to a canter and circled around behind the lorry.
The door to the lorry slammed shut. Noah watched as the lorry pulled back onto the road, the wheels spinning dust into the air. He could follow the vehicle from the dust trail alone.
He stayed at a distance, thankful for the night ride.
The smooth rhythm of the horse in the desert sands was a preferable form of transportation anyway.
Something about traveling in the golden surrounds of desert and dusty ground at night felt freeing to his soul.
The encampments of the Australian and New Zealand forces were tented silhouettes in the distance.
Men who were tired and ready to go on with their lives back at home.
And here he was providing arms to their enemies.
His throat thickened, and he swallowed the guilt.
When he’d been younger, he’d been more na?ve, more convinced of the blacks and the whites of morality.
Like the night that surrounded him, so much of that had turned to shades of grey.
He stayed back as the lorry rolled to a stop, then pulled a pair of binoculars from his bag. He turned the dial, focusing on the lorry, then scanned the surrounding area. Lord Helton emerged from the vehicle and stood in front of it, but Jahi didn’t.
Within minutes, a wagon pulled by two horses approached. Four men climbed down from the wagon. Masry wasn’t among them. They were too far for Noah to hear the exchange but he didn’t see Victoria anywhere.
Lord Helton removed a torch from the lorry, then shone it into the cab, toward Jahi.
Was he attempting to use him as an exchange for Victoria?
If so, Noah doubted the move would be effective.
Jahi’s position was likely to be only important to the Aleaqrab while he’d been undercover.
Now that Lord Helton had found him out, he would cease to be useful to them.
The exchange between Lord Helton and the men appeared to be calm. Noah swatted a horse fly circling near his head. The fly moved toward the beast beneath him instead, and its ears flicked. The men began to unload the weapons from the back of the lorry and carry them to the wagon.
A man from the Aleaqrab went to the front of the wagon. Without an ounce of gentility, he yanked a bedraggled figure from the seat of the wagon. Noah’s heart lurched.
Victoria.
She was bareheaded, wearing a skirt and blouse that appeared ragged and unkempt. Her long dark hair was loose, streaming over her shoulders. And her hands were bound. The man who’d brought her down held her at gunpoint.
The sound of horses’ hooves caught his attention.
Noah scanned the horizon, the sound preceding any visible movement.
Then he saw it: a patrol of five British soldiers heading toward the lorry and the wagon. Of all the rotten luck. Lord Helton and the Aleaqrab hadn’t noticed them yet.
Noah swore, his pulse speeding as he spurred the horse into action. The horse tore off across the open plain, and Noah pushed the horse harder, bringing it to a full gallop. The Aleaqrab would likely think Lord Helton had betrayed them.
Gunfire crackled, splitting the cool Egyptian night.
The shots appeared to have been warnings—from the British troops—but they were met by return fire from the nationalists. British troops were about to find Lord Helton in the middle of a dubious exchange.
Noah tried to keep his eyes on Victoria, but they’d already started to whisk her away, pushing her back onto the wagon. The nationalists abandoned their work, taking only what they’d loaded as they continued to exchange gunfire with the British troops.
When Noah was still twenty feet away, one of them pointed a gun toward Helton. A gunshot ripped the air, and Lord Helton tumbled toward the ground. Victoria screamed and tore away from the man holding her, diving toward her father.
Noah reached the lorry, then jumped from the horse. “Victoria!”
She lifted her head, dazed, searching for him. Her dark eyes found his, and she gave a cry. Bullets whizzed past them, bouncing from the side of the lorry. The British troops would be upon them within a minute or less.
Lord Helton was still alive, groaning in pain, though Noah couldn’t tell from his vantage point where he’d been shot.
“Go!” Helton pushed Victoria forward, toward Noah.
She crossed the space toward him as two of the nationalists reached Helton.
With Victoria further away, the men grabbed Helton and hauled him to his feet.
They dragged him toward the wagon, then threw him onto the back as they climbed in and took off.
Noah caught Victoria in his arms. She shook as he guided her to the horse. “Get on,” he said. Through the open door to the lorry, Noah caught a glance of Jahi. He lay slumped against the window, dead. A bullet hole punctured the window beside him, a spiderweb of bloodied cracked glass around it.
There wasn’t time to spare. Some troops chased after the nationalists. With the nationalists continuing to engage with the troops, Noah and Victoria would likely be shot before they could explain themselves.
Noah climbed up behind Victoria and reared the horse, then took off into the desert, galloping away from the gunfire, away from the lorry.
He pushed the horse even faster than he had before and was thankful that Lord Helton had been the one to provide the stallion.
The horse was likely faster than anything the ANZAC soldiers rode, even with the extra weight of Victoria on it.
But the horse would also tire faster. Thankfully, the patrol appeared to have trained their attention on the wagon. He continued at a gallop for another few minutes, then slowed the horse as they approached the hamlet where he’d met Lord Helton.
The villagers seemed shut up in their huts for the night. All that greeted them was a few beggars and howling dogs. Noah brought the horse to a trot. Victoria was breathing hard, her body trembling.
As he stopped, Victoria drew her legs up on one side of the horse, then turned her body into his.
She slid her arms around his neck, sobbing, tears streaking her face as she trembled.
Aware of the curious gaze of villagers who had opened their doors a crack to stare at them, Noah pushed the horse further forward, swallowing hard as he held her firmly with one arm.
“You’re safe now.” The pressure in his chest was unusually tight. His relief at her being with him was strong, but overpowered by the thoughts that buzzed through his mind. The lorry would be recovered by the British. It wouldn’t take long for them to learn who had taken the vehicle.
And then what?
Lord Helton was now the one missing. This situation was beyond him now. He had to go to the CID, on the offensive.
“Noah—oh, Noah.” She covered her eyes with her fingertips. “My father! You must go after him.”
Tears spilled onto his shirtfront, then Victoria drew back. Holding his neck, she leaned toward him and kissed him, her lips soft and warm and salty with her tears.
Ginger’s face flashed in his mind, and he pulled away.
Her hands remained on his neck and she ducked her chin, her jaw tightening.
“Did you see where they shot him?” Noah’s voice was soft.
He didn’t want to remind her of what had just unfolded.
But, for all he knew, Lord Helton could die from his injuries.
“I don’t know. I didn’t have time to see.” Victoria cleared her throat, then pushed the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.
“I promise you, wherever he is—I’m certain he’s glad it’s him that’s there rather than you.” Noah pushed aside his guilt. She’d been a friend to him at the worst of times, and, despite her feelings for him, she deserved his comfort and friendship now. “Let’s get you back to Cairo.”
Victoria shook her head. “I don’t want to go home. I can’t go back there. I don’t want to be alone, Noah.”
Her fears weren’t unfounded. Jahi had probably taken her from her home. And who knew what she’d been through since then. Noah swallowed the lump in his throat. “You won’t be alone.”