“Have you gone mad?” he said through gritted teeth.
Leila opened and closed her mouth. How could she explain? Amir was standing there, listening to everything they said.
The metal gate rattled open. The widening slit revealed a long dirt road lined with palm trees that ran across an open wheat field.
Run. Just run.
Someone placed a hand gently on her shoulder, and Leila looked to her side. Aisha stared ahead, her face solemn, some unspoken purpose in her eyes. Leila followed her gaze to Xander. He returned Aisha’s fixed stare with a slight nod.
Then his eyes snapped toward Leila again. She frowned at him, unsure what to make of their exchange. Had she imagined it?
“If you tell him where the tomb is, you’ll regret it,” Xander growled. “I’ll make sure of that.”
Then Leila understood. Though his voice was angry, his eyes were not. He had read into her plans perfectly. She shrugged away from Aisha and marched up to him.
Now that she was close enough to get a good look at him, she studied cuts and bruises at various stages of healing covering his face. Her heart twisted. What had Amir done?
“You jerk. Is that a threat?” she said, hoping she sounded irritated enough.
The gates came to a stop with a clang.
“Are you leaving or not?” Amir asked, gesturing toward the opening. Xander ignored him, keeping his eyes on Leila.
“Three days,” she whispered.
He tugged her forward. All the way. Until his lips captured hers. Her eyes shut, leaving Amir and the crowd of onlookers all but forgotten. Somehow it didn’t matter. Her heart had sprouted wings and taken flight.
Coarse whiskers scratched her chin and cheeks. His fingers dug into her hair, holding the back of her head.
What was she thinking? She lifted a hand with half a mind to stop him but rested on his upper arm. She didn’t want the flight to end.
She was still soaring when she was pushed aside. Her eyes flew open, just as Xander spun around and punched Amir in the face. A confusion of swinging fists ensued. As Amir’s thugs rushed forward, Xander broke away. He ran for the gate and fled into the twilight.
And once again, Leila found herself on the wrong side of the fence.
Amir rounded on her, wiping blood from his nose. “Well, wasn’t that sweet?” he sneered. “Fallen for that degenerate? I thought you would have higher standards.”
“Like you would know anything about high standards.” Leila scowled, her voice shaking. What had just happened?
A black SUV came to a halt behind Amir and idled as a few of the thugs climbed inside. One handed a gun to Amir. He carried the weapon around to the other side of the vehicle.
Realization hit Leila like a ton of bricks. She followed after Amir, her heart racing. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He opened the passenger door and paused before climbing in, giving her a priggish sneer. “Just off on a little hunting trip.”
Leila gasped and latched onto his arm. “You can’t do this.”
“We never agreed on what would happen to him after he was released, now did we?” Amir yanked his arm out of her grip then turned to get into the SUV.
Desperate, she gripped his shirt and yanked. The butt of Amir’s gun met her face. Her knees buckled and her vision swam. She didn’t even feel herself fall, but she could hear the crunch of gravel as the SUV drove off.
Her sight gradually returned, although the ringing lingered in her ears. Her head spun as she sat up, so she held her head as she remained sitting and tried to process everything that happened. Aisha was already beside her.
“Are you all right? Let me help you to your room. I’ll get you cleaned up.”
Leila couldn’t bring herself to answer. This was all wrong. She had given Xander a death sentence, not freedom.
“What do I do?” Leila cried, not making any effort to stand.
Aisha put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s just go inside first.”
Leila slowly got to her feet. Her mother led her back to her room and made her sit on the chaise lounge while she went to gather supplies. She came back with water and bandages. Soon, the blood had been washed off and gauze taped to her forehead.
“So what are you and Xander up to?” Leila asked as Aisha placed her things back in her first aid kit.
Aisha paused and checked the doorway then opened her mouth. “I told him—”
“You’re needed downstairs,” Salma’s gentle yet firm voice came from the doorway.
“Coming,” Aisha said, snapping the lid to the first aid kit shut.
Once Salma had left, Aisha whispered, “Don’t trust her. She is her father’s eyes and ears when he is away. Somehow nothing gets past her.”
“She seems dedicated,” Leila said dryly.
At this, Aisha let out a sigh. “She is a sweet girl. Always has been. She’s extremely loyal to Faris and her brother, but she’s trying to get back on their good side. She married against Faris’ wishes. He had a Saudi businessman in mind for her, so it was quite a blow.”
Leila frowned. That didn’t seem fair for Salma at all. But why should she be surprised? The Al-Rashid men seemed to have a thing for locking women up. Even though Salma did what she was told, she never smiled. If they treated their own family this way, what would they do to her? She suppressed a shudder. She couldn’t stay here.
