Chapter 8 #2
“This way,” Rayan said and started walking.
“I came to find you and deliver the itinerary for the trip. You will need to be prepared so you can keep Nouri on schedule to meet trains, flights, and vehicles. I trust you are able to do this, even though you could not remember when to come in from the garden.” He gave them both a disapproving look as he led them to an elevator, stepped in, and indicated for them to do the same.
When the doors closed, Rayan huffed. “You will both have to be much better behaved, or you, Mr. Apollo, will be removed from her security detail. If that happens, we cannot promise Nouri’s safety.”
It took everything in Owen not to react to the not-so-subtle threat.
“As it is,” the prince continued, “several have already made threats against her, thus the reason King Faruq put you in this position. Get along or get out, Mr. Apollo.”
As if timed to his words, the elevator dinged and the doors opened.
Prince Rayan exited, ever moving in authority and confidence.
Jaw tight, Owen motioned for Leighton to go ahead of him. Her gaze met his for the briefest of moments and he saw both an apology and frustration. Maybe exasperation.
He couldn’t blame her—he felt all of those and much more right now. Falling in step behind her, he realized they weren’t in the same wing. Or the same level for that matter. They were up one. “Where…?”
“You have been relocated to a suite,” Rayan said without preamble.
“It has two bedchambers, since you made such a spectacle of yourself this morning, Mr. Apollo. Windows and the shared bath are smaller, but I would advise you not to complain. The king was angry when he heard of the incident.” He flung open the door and stepped aside. “In.”
Leighton slipped in, head down.
Rayan produced the room key. “Remember to keep it locked at all times.”
They had armed gunmen on the roof and perimeter walls. How far did they think someone would get?
“Clothes are in the dressing room,” he said, then handed Owen a folio. “All the details. Zayna has already packed a trunk for Nouri and for you.”
That was a little weird, having someone pack clothes and gear for him…clothes and gear that weren’t his. “Thanks,” he made himself say.
Rayan caught the shoulder fabric of Owen’s kaftan and yanked him over. “Keep her in line, or you will not like what happens.” He thrust him back, then released a taut breath, dark eyes telegraphing a warning. “Out there… Be. Careful.”
Dude totally just gave him Silence of the Lambs vibes right there. Half expected him to call him Clarice.
Owen felt the thrumming nerves and anger from Leighton too. “Understood.” He deliberately put more room between him and the prince, trying to send the message he could leave. No idea what was going on, but there was too much to unpack with him in the room.
He looked over his shoulder and found Leighton down the hall.
“Get her under control,” Rayan warned. “Maaz and Nasir will be on the safari as well, and they are not known for their patience.”
Alarm speared Owen. He eyed the prince.
“They will silence her if you do not.”
There were not many days when Leighton beat the sunrise.
The humiliating command the prince had given Apollo to “get her under control” was infuriating to the point of tears.
Unwilling to let either of them see her cry, she had fled to one of the bedrooms in the suite and stayed there for the rest of the day.
Hadn’t been able to sleep at the thought of fourteen days on a safari, far from anything she knew, far from hope and any semblance of control.
They rode in a Mercedes van to the airstrip where the royal jet waited.
The monstrous thing was unlike anything she’d ever seen, complete with a movie theater, lounge with recliners, and cabins.
She and Apollo had been ordered into a small, private area at the back that had a couch, table, and chairs.
“Do you know where we’re headed?” she asked.
“Nairobi first,” he said. As the plane took off, he flipped a black folio toward her on the table. “There’s the itinerary. Would’ve shown it to you last night…”
Yeah, nice way to rub in that she’d given him the cold shoulder.
Already regretting talking to him, she glanced at the folder and opened it.
Definitely did not want to know when he planned to mess up everything.
As she thumbed through it, she could not help but gape.
“Nairobi, the Serengeti, Masai Mara in Kenya…” She breathed a laugh. “Is this even real?”
“It’s extravagant. Guessing cost is upward of fifteen or twenty grand,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Per person.”
Shocked, Leighton faltered, letting her gaze drift over the royals and their entourage at the front of the jet. “Seriously? But there’s like twenty people on this plane!”
“Eighteen.” He shrugged. “When money’s no object…”
“Not how I would spend money for a bachelorette party.” She drew her legs up onto the couch and crisscrossed them.
Watching as he reclined, slouching and resting his head on the back of the chair, she wondered how he’d slept last night.
Had to have been better than the floor he used the previous night. Did he hate her?
She didn’t care. Not true. She did care… He resented her, no doubt, because of her refusal to let him mess everything up. But she wasn’t going to go quietly.
Right, she could just see that—him trying to get her out and she wrecks it. And someone would get hurt or killed.
Of course, there was a great way to avoid that—not trying to escape in the first place. Which was her preference.
No…not her preference—her need. I want to go home.
But…Ummi… Was it possible Ummi really was safe? If she believed him and he was wrong or had lied to her…the consequences—it’d be her fault. And what if he tried to get them out and failed? They’d get caught and Faruq would be enraged. Feral.
Elbows on her knees, she braced her head in her hands. She had no idea what was the right thing to do. She’d always followed Dad’s instructions. He always had good explanations as to why she should do this or that. And always with love. “Did you see my dad before you came?”
Apollo opened his eyes and rolled his head in her direction. “Your dad?” He seemed to be shaking the dregs of sleep off. “You mean Na—”
“No. He is not my dad.” Leighton recalled the hug Dad had given her when she’d flown out. “It wasn’t until I’d finished my sophomore year at Carnegie Mellon that I decided it was time to meet Ummi in person. My parents made all the arrangements. They were really cool about it, but…”
“You feel guilty.”
“Maybe a little, especially now. But I’m worried about them.” She shook her head. “All my life, I’ve lived in fear of this bad king”—she bounced her gaze to the royals to be sure nobody was close enough to hear her—“coming after us. Now, he has…and I wonder how my parents are doing.”
“Sorry, I haven’t communicated with them.” He shifted, leaning forward in his chair as he threaded his fingers. “Your bio dad brought me and my dad into this.”
Though Leighton wanted to ask what Navas was like, she wasn’t really sure she wanted to know. Dad once let it slip that Navas was a mercenary. Not much else she needed to know beyond the fact he killed people for money. Yet his blood pumped in her veins, so…
“Look, I think our best course of action on this safari is to simply keep our distance from the royals. Heads down, mouths closed. Don’t draw attention. Enjoy the trip, but—”
“Don’t die doing it.”
One side of his mouth quirked up. “Not dying is my MO.”
She tried to smile. “This plan is because of what Prince Rayan said to you last night…”
His expression changed, morphed into something dark. “You heard…” He nodded. “It wasn’t just about your behavior at Omnia but the threat that exists to your person—though he did not use those words specifically. Easy to read between the scowls.”
Though she felt the words as if they’d been struck with a sledgehammer, she remained still.
“So, let’s fly under the radar as much as possible, yeah?”
Four hours of a turbulence-free flight delivered them to the thriving metropolis of Kenya, where they climbed into vehicles and made the drive out of the city.
The quaint safari lodge that would be their home for the next few days sat on a working farm perfectly situated against the forested slopes in a conservation area.
“Mercy,” she murmured as they entered the ultra-modern facility with a coffee shop. “God does love me.”
“I could’ve told you that,” Apollo muttered.
“How?”
He shrugged. “He sent me, didn’t He?”
It took everything in her not to laugh. “So, ego and arrogance.”
“Didn’t want one to feel left out.”
This time she did roll her eyes, then took in the chic and classy area. Way more amenities than she’d expected on a safari, but she would not complain.
When she noticed the party slowing to enter the building, Leighton hung back, Apollo’s warning ringing in her ears. She noticed Hassan hovering close to Princess Daria, who had forgone a headscarf, her naturally curly hair frizzing in the humid air.
Though Leighton considered forgoing hers, she guessed it would not be acceptable, despite the princess’s example.
When Apollo’s presence pressed in, she drew up her courage and followed the royals.
They snaked inside, and the guide called out names, assigning rooms. Nasir and Rayan would bunk together.
Maaz would share a room with Hassan. Daria and Aliyah were splitting a room.
“Not again,” Apollo muttered even as the guide turned to them, the last two standing in the hall.
Only then did she understand they were being forced together. “Maybe there’s a bunk.”
“Don’t bet on it,” he huffed as they were let into their room.
One bed.
“Called it,” he grumbled.
She swallowed and heard the door click behind them.
The walls were mostly glass with generous portions of steel.
Not as luxurious as the palace but light-years beyond the tents or open ground she’d expected to camp on.
Saw their luggage already at the foot of the bed.
There was no couch or cushions for him to make his own bed. “I’ll sleep on the floor,” she offered.
“Over my rotten corpse.” He walked the room, checking the closet and bathroom.
“Your rib is cracked,” she reminded him.
“Like your head, if you think I’m letting you sleep on the floor while I crash on the bed.”
“You do not have to be heroic about this. I—”
“You think I’m heroic?” He swung those blue eyes toward her with a crooked grin.
She sighed loudly. “Let’s get an early dinner and fight over where to sleep later. I’m beat.”
“Your wish…” he said, motioning to the door.
They headed down the hall and banked toward the main foyer. Doors on the left stood open to a high-ceilinged café. They made their way to the counter and ordered. Armed with burgers and fries a few minutes later, they sat at one of the small window tables.
“After that mushy, snotty stuff you forced me to eat,” Apollo teased, “I can’t wait to dig in.”
“You are uncivilized.”
“Thank you.” He polished off the burger quickly, then munched his fries while she finished hers. He glanced out the window. “Look!”
When Leighton turned, she spotted the source of his excitement—down by the riverbank, three elephants and a baby were splashing into the waters. One trumpeted water over itself, cooling off. “That’s so amazing,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “I love elephants. Always have.”
“African or Asian?”
“Yes.” Then she laughed and shrugged. “I don’t know, I think the African is a tad more majestic, but that’s absurd. Majestic is majestic. Beautiful is beautiful.”
Arms on the table, he watched her for a long minute, his baby blues tracking over her face. “Yeah…”
Her stomach squeezed at the way he watched her, making her swallow as he returned his gaze to the herd.
And though she did the same, she let her gaze stray back to him.
Sure to keep her head still so she wasn’t caught.
She couldn’t help but admire the blond hair beneath the silly bleached strands.
Bet with that dye gone, he’d be handsome.
Well, he already was, dyed hair or not. And young… “How old are you?”
Surprise winged up his eyebrows, but he stayed focused on the wildlife. “How old do you think I am?”
“By your actions, thirtysomething, but that peach fuzz—”
“Peach fuzz?” he balked, sitting straight and ramming those blues into her. “That’s rude.”
“But true.”
He glowered, then again watched the elephants. “I graduated early, got my dad to sign off on me entering the Army at seventeen. Qualified Ranger. Graduated Special Forces school.”
She drew in a breath. “Wait, so you’re Special Forces?”
Lips pursed, he drew back and folded his arms. “Spent five years chasing that dream but never got selected, so I got out.”
“I guess I don’t understand how that works, but it seems harsh that you graduated yet weren’t picked.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Nouri.”
At the commanding, intruding voice of Prince Rayan from a dozen paces away, she stiffened and looked down at their plates. “Yes?”
He came to their table. “We are going to the national park in the morning. Be in the courtyard at six.”
She inclined her head.
Once Rayan moved away, Apollo leaned in. “I hate that.”
She frowned. “What?”
“How you look down when they’re around.”
“It’s better than getting backhanded,” she quipped, cringing as her own words rang against her ears.
“But really, Prince Rayan has been kind to me.” She winced.
“Well, the kindest of those here.” How this had become her life, being a girl bowing at the feet of men who lorded over women and treated them worse than most people treated their dogs, she did not know.
But for Ummi… I do this for Ummi.
Apollo grunted. “I can’t wait to get you out of here.”
Skewering him with a warning look that said she did not want to fight, she wished he’d give up the idea of escape. “It’s too dangerous.”
His gaze locked on to hers, and somehow, despite her very obvious words, his blue eyes brightened. What on earth? Did he not understand English?
Oh, he definitely understood. Problem was, this guy took them as a personal challenge. He was going to be the death of her.