Chapter 12
Janet opened her eyes when she heard a knock on her door. She checked the time; it was only 8 a.m. Who was looking for her at 8 a.m. on a Sunday? she wondered. If it were important, they’d call her. Before she could decide on answering or ignoring, the door opened slowly, and a small head poked through.
“Sanaa!” Janet cried out. She was shocked to see her coming to her room at such an early time. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I just woke up.” Sanaa rubbed her eyes. She was still wearing her nightgown. She walked over to Janet and climbed into bed with her.
“What’s happening right now?” Janet laughed. Sanaa lay down next to her and looked at her.
“The party was so fun yesterday! I’ve never been to a carnival before.”
“Really? Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“This is the first birthday without mama.”
“Aww, sweetheart.” Janet stroked Sanaa’s hair.
“We were going for lunch at some fancy hotel on Sunday, we had a reversation or something. ”
“A reservation?” Janet smiled. Sanaa was so adorable.
“Yeah. Daddy couldn’t make it, so only me and mama went,” she replied. Janet wasn’t sure what Sanaa was talking about, but since it was about her mother, she wasn’t going to interrupt. “A truck just hit us.” Sanaa’s lip started quivering.
“You don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready.” Janet stroked Sanaa’s cheeks.
“I want you to tell you.” Sanaa wiped a tear from her eye. “Our car fell, and mama hit her head. So much glass poked her. There was blood everywhere.” Sanaa started crying. Janet comforted her. She had lost her father years ago, but she was fortunate not to see him die the way Sanaa saw her mother die.
“There was a man, in the truck, he got out of the truck and came to us. He was wearing black stuff. Mama called out to him for help, I think he wanted to help, he pulled the glass from mama’s neck, but she only bled more,” said Sanaa.
“There was someone?” Janet jerked up and looked at Sanaa.
“He said to me if I ever tell anyone that I saw him, he would kill me.” Sanaa looked at Janet with her watery eyes. “What if he knows I told you? Janet, I’m scared. ”
“It’s okay; he won’t know you told me.” Janet felt her stomach knot up. Was it a coincidence that Sanaa and her mother were hit by a truck on a Sunday or not? “Did you see his face?” Janet asked. Sanaa nodded.
“He looked scary; he had a scar on his cheek.”
“What?” Janet’s lip started quivering. She felt like she was going to be sick. Tears rolled down her face as she pulled Sanaa into her arms. She couldn’t believe the coincidence. She sobbed quietly and squeezed Sanaa tightly. Sanaa was also crying.
Sanaa stopped crying and just fell asleep. Janet slowly climbed out of bed and headed out of the room. Still in her pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt, she rushed upstairs, walked through the kitchen and into the dining room. The maids looked at her as though she had gone crazy, but she didn’t care. Janet walked up the stairs, her legs shaking like jelly and fists squeezed tightly. She knocked on the sheikh’s bedroom door.
“What?” he called out. Janet stood at the door, shaking like a leaf, but she needed to talk to him. The door opened, and Janet looked up at the sheikh. He was wearing a pair of silk pajama bottoms without a shirt on.
“Janet?” He raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here? At this time, not dressed properly?”
“I need to talk to you.” Her voice shook .
“Can’t it wait?”
“No.” Janet walked into his bedroom. It was her first time in there. It was large, much larger than Sanaa’s. His king-sized bed was unmade; he had probably gotten straight out of bed to answer the door.
“Um,” Janet cleared her throat. The sheikh narrowed his gaze at her.
“You caused so much fuss already; you might as well say whatever you have to say.”
Janet took a deep breath. “You asked me what I did before I started working here,” she said.
“You worked at a shipping company.” The sheikh crossed his arms over his chest.
“I didn’t quite tell you everything.”
“Okay?”
“I worked for a cartel,” she said. She looked up at the sheikh. “I didn’t know at first, but then when I found out, it was too late. I couldn’t quit. The only way I could leave was in a body bag.”
“I see,” the sheikh replied.
“One day, I overheard my boss talking to his right-hand man, talking about Sunday and a family. I didn’t know what he was talking about at first, but then when he asked me to buy a truck for him, it clicked. I wanted to say no, but he was adamant. He wanted it as soon as possible. ”
“Why are you telling me this?” Janet’s eyes welled up. The sheikh raised his eyebrows. “Why are you crying?” He looked so concerned; it broke Janet’s heart.
“I ran away af...after that. I…I...never went back to work and moved away from Corpus Christi.” Janet’s voice trembled as she spoke. Tears flowed down her cheeks. The sheikh moved closer to her and held her shoulders.
“You did the right thing,” he said to her. Janet shook her head.
“This morning, Sanaa crawled into my bed.”
“She did?” The sheikh raised an eyebrow. “She never sleeps with anyone, not even me.”
“She told me about the day…her mother…died.” Janet was struggling to say the words out loud, but she knew that she had to.
“She did?”
Janet nodded. “A truck hit their car,” she said.
“I know that.”
Janet took a few steps back from the sheikh. She didn’t deserve his kindness. After what she had done, he shouldn’t have been the one to comfort her. She wiped her tears and took a deep breath.
“Sanaa stopped talking was because the truck driver told her that he’d kill her if she told anyone that she saw him,” said Janet. The sheikh crossed his eyebrows, and the veins in his neck became apparent.
“What?” he said. His voice got deeper.
“She described him to me,” Janet paused. “He works for the cartel, and he’s the right-hand man of the boss.”
“What are you saying right now?”
“The cartel killed your wife, I’m so sorry.” Janet burst into tears. “I’m so sorry.” Janet covered her face with her hands and sobbed. She felt so horrible. She felt like it was all her fault that Sanaa’s mother had died, and because of her Sanaa could have been killed too.
“I’ll pack my things and go. I understand if you never want to see me again,” she said.
“No,” said the sheikh.
“What do you mean?”
“Do they know you’re here?”
Janet shook her head. “I don’t think so, but I can’t risk it. I have already done something unforgivable.”
“Stay, if you leave then who will look after Sanaa? She can’t lose someone else she loves.”
“Sanaa,” Janet whispered. More tears rolled down her face. The poor little girl didn’t deserve any of that. Janet closed her eyes and ran her hands through her hair. “I love her, too; I can’t believe I’m the cause of her pain.”
“What’s the name of this cartel?” he asked her.
“Jimenez cartel.”
“Damn,” the sheikh swore under his breath.
“I’m sorry.” Janet ran out of his room. She felt so bad; she couldn’t even look at him.