Chapter 5 #2
Sweeping away the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her, Julia walked onto the dock with Finn close behind.
They passed delicious-smelling roasted nuts, handmade Nubian dolls, Sudanese swords—well, that’s what Finn said they were—and then she paused by one vendor selling miniature statues of ancient Egyptian gods. “Isis.”
Finn looked left and right, his hand going to his waistband as if ready to draw fire. Did he have a gun on him? “What, where?”
“Sorry,” she quickly sputtered. “Not that ISIS.” She forgot for a minute who she was talking to.
He relaxed and followed her finger to the little carved statues on the blanket.
“Goddess of the moon. Protector of children. Healer of the sick.” Julia smiled as she explained the significance of the winged Egyptian figure with a red moon above her head.
“Ah. You want her?” He started to crouch, but she set a hand underneath his arm, motioning for him to stand. “No, thank you.” But this woman had a baby tucked safely in the crook of her arm, and Julia wanted to help her. She reached for the small purse she’d slung over her shoulder and unzipped it.
Julia lowered before the woman and offered her two hundred dollars. The woman shook her head and spoke in what she assumed was Arabic.
“She doesn’t want pity money,” Finn translated. “My Arabic isn’t so hot these days, but roughly translated, she said she’ll only take the money if you also take something. It would only be fair, she said.”
“Oh, tell her I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.” She motioned to the figurine of one of the Egyptian gods, and the woman’s face tightened.
Instead of releasing hold of the statue when Julia accepted it from her, the woman placed her other hand on Julia’s wrist, closed her eyes, and began speaking again.
Not wanting to be rude, Julia didn’t move a muscle until the woman finished what sounded like a lecture, released Julia’s wrist, and accepted the money.
“What’d she say?” Julia asked as soon as they walked away.
“She, um.” Finn paused, and his throat moved with a swallow. “She said Osiris is the god of the underworld, and she said if you pursue the path you’re on without Osiris’s blessing, you’ll get caught in the storm without oars or something like that. And . . .”
“And what?”
“Nothing.”
“What did she say, Finn?”
“Let it go. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“Roughly translated, huh?” Julia’s stomach clenched. It felt an awful lot like a threat, or a bad omen, so she attempted to shake it off with humor. “Sounds like she was trying to tell me I’m about to be up the creek without a paddle, Egyptian-style.”
Finn didn’t seem to find that the least bit funny.
“Like I said, my Arabic might be off. It was never great to begin with.” He motioned toward the direction of the hotel. “We should get back.”
Cradling the statue under her arm, she wondered if she ought to give it away or if that would only bring bad luck.
As they walked in silence, she couldn’t help but think about the woman’s words. And it reminded her that Mya had said something about a storm, too. But Mya wasn’t prophetic, and surely this woman wasn’t either.
Let it go.
When they neared the hotel entrance, Finn suddenly stopped walking and reached for the camera she’d forgotten lay around his neck. He removed the cap from the lens, and as if a switch had been flipped, he was suddenly in operator mode.
What or who was he looking at?
She followed his line of sight but didn’t see anything unusual or suspicious.
He lowered the camera from his eyes. “I need it to look like I’m taking photos of you. Can you walk about ten feet away and pose?”
“Okay. I’m not usually the one in front of the lens, but sure.” She did as he asked, then added, “Watch those angles, though.”
Not even a hint of a smile. He was in full stealth mode or whatever former military guys called it. Former military? Nah. Technically, he may be retired, but this man would be a SEAL forever. It was in his DNA now, she could tell.
He began snapping photos, and she did her best to act like a tourist, holding the statue up and smiling. But that just gave her eerie vibes, so she lowered it and twirled so her back was to him.
It was then Julia spied a beautiful blonde woman standing alongside a man in a suit. And at that moment, she knew who held Finn’s attention. At least she thought so, but when she faced him again, his attention seemed locked on to her instead.
Click.
Click.
He snapped more photos of her.
“We done?” Julia strode toward him, the heat really starting to get to her. She was sweating so much that she definitely needed another shower.
“Yeah.” He capped the lens but kept his eyes on the couple as they entered the hotel where Julia and Finn were staying.
“Who is that?”
“Someone I wasn’t expecting to see,” Finn quickly answered while adjusting the Nikon camera strap around his neck. “I need to talk to Harper and the others.” He set a hand to her back and urged her to get a move on.
Her back was hot and sticky, and no doubt her dress now clung to her curves showing more of her “angles,” but his hand on her still felt oddly normal. A little comforting, even.
As they entered the hotel lobby, it was Julia who stopped in her tracks this time.
Standing amid the ornate architecture of what was once a Victorian palace was Giorgio Ferrari, Lorenzo by his side. And they were talking to the couple Finn had been taking photos of outside.
What in the hell was going on?
“Julia,” Finn hissed.
The urgency in his voice had her tearing her eyes away from the group to see Finn yank off his sunglasses.
And the next thing she knew, he was backing her against the nearest wall, which happened to be next to the hall leading to the restrooms.
“Don’t let him see me, okay?” she whispered, knowing he’d spotted Lorenzo.
One of Finn’s large hands went to the wall over her shoulder, and he must have assumed people would figure they were a newlywed couple stealing a hot moment together.
She removed her shades and positioned her eyes on the dominating force caging her with his broad frame.
With a dark look in his eyes, he leaned in and placed his lips against her ear, which sent goose bumps scattering across her skin.
She shut her eyes, surprised by the sudden arousal between her legs, and released a shaky exhale.
“Julia,” he repeated, this time on a breathy exhale that caressed the shell of her ear. “Why is your date talking to a man who finances terrorists?”