A shrug from a castle insider. Nobody knows. He was seen sitting on his throne moments before the Army burst into the great hall. But that is the last report anyone has of him.
Fool, the leader bit out. Nonetheless, he must be found. Sharaf must not be allowed to kill him. All our hopes rest with a Ramsey staying in power. Sharaf will strip away every right women have ever had under the Ramseys.
One of the others spoke hesitantly. I heard General Nagheb phone someone he called InterAid this morning. He asked them to come monitor prisoners in Baraq. If Sharaf allows them in, perhaps we can make contact with them. Get them to assist us in searching for Nikolas Ramsey.
The leader shrugged. Perhaps. We can try. But most of those groups choose to remain neutral. In the meantime, we must look to our own resources to find the king and extract him from the clutches of the Army. All of us must make this our one and only goal for now. Understood?
Nods all around.
Very well, then. Go and be safe. And rememberwe must find the king before Sharaf does. Our futures and our daughters futures depend on it.
The twelve women rose silently to their feet and slipped one by one out into the frightened, waiting city.
Nikolas Ramsey? Katy exclaimed.
Good Lord, woman, keep your voice down! You just swore not to get me killed!
Nikolas Ramsey? she repeated in a shocked whisper.
He shrugged. In the flesh.
What in the world are you doing here? Although, as soon as she asked the question, the answer was obvious. He was hiding from Sharaf. But in prison? Why here?
There was nowhere else to go. We were surrounded and the palace was overrun. It was this or die. Although, I think death is probably inevitable for me, dont you?
He asked that last bit conversationally. As if they were talking about the weather. Death is inevitable for all of us, Katy retorted wryly. The question is when.
Sooner rather than later for me, I should think, he said dryly. As soon as my face heals enough for me to be recognized.
She examined it critically. Youre pretty messed up. Honestly you look like Quasimodo.
He looked pained for a moment, then said lightly, Thank God for small favors.
That wont protect you forever, she said quietly.
He met her gaze briefly and then his slid away. No, it wont.
She got the impression he wanted to say more, but he didnt. Sympathy washed over her. What a rotten way to spend your final dayswaiting and watching the clock tick until your body betrays you and your captors recognize and kill you.
She said, If theres anything I can do to make you more comfortable, let me know. Ill see what I can do.
He laughed briefly without humor. How about a hacksaw and a helicopter?
She smiled gently and reached out to put her hand on his. Electricity shot up her arm, startling her into jerking her hand away. To cover up her reaction to him, she asked hastily, Is there any chance the Army would let you live if they found out who you were?
He shook his head sharply. Not a chance. They have to kill me to solidify their hold on power. As long as Im alive, Ramsey loyalists will continue to fight.
She replied, The way I hear it, the fightings pretty much over and the Armys in control of the country.
He shrugged, causing all those gorgeous muscles to ripple across his chest. The first battle may be finished, but the war is far from over.
Lovely. And here she was, smack-dab in the middle of it.
She jumped when he grabbed her hand and held it tightly. Listen. Whatever you do, you cant tell the Army who I am. Theyll kill me the second they know.
I understand. The zinging energy of the man was shooting through her again, but this time she was ready for it. Truly. I swear they wont find out from me.
For just a second desperation glistened in his eyes. He let go of her fingers reluctantly, like a drowning man slipping into the abyss. He whispered, Please. Help me.
She thought fast. Tell you what. Ill look into the legalities of it. There might be something we can do. You are a head of state, after all. There might be some special rule of prisoner treatment we can invoke in your case. Tonight Ill take a look at the Geneva Conventions and see what I can find.
Dont talk to your boss about me. Dont talk to anyone. Trust no one.
Why the heck not? Aloud she said, InterAid is not in the business of getting anyone killed. My boss will keep your secret.
He surged to his feet, looming over her. Swear to me you will not tell anyone who I am. It must remain our secret. My life depends on it.
She stared up at him for several seconds. He knew something he wasnt telling her. Currents of intrigue flowed all around this place, this man. One thing she knew to be trueNick was really worried about being double-crossed. Although that was probably part and parcel of being a prince his whole life. A rich, handsome, eligible one.
I said I wont tell anyone and I wont.
Thank you.
His simple words were a caress. A reverent touch gliding across her skin. And she was losing her mind. The guy was bruised and battered and filthy, and she was panting after him like a dog in a sauna.
But then he did touch her. And it was a hundred times more seductive in the flesh. His fingertips brushed the back of her hand lightly. Beseechingly. Desperately.
Be careful. The very fact that you know who I am places you in grave jeopardy, as well.
She blinked, alarmed. How? Im just a random relief worker.
This is Baraq. Nothing is simple here. There are plots within plots everywhere. Layers within layers to every plot. If I am killed, you could bear witness to the fact that I was murdered by the Army well after the coup itself was over. They cant afford to have that information become public. The Baraqi people and world opinion will not tolerate a bunch of murderers ruling this country. That is why theyll kill you, too.
She absorbed his words in silence. Damned if what he said didnt make perfect sense. Foreboding clutched at her throat like a cold, bony hand.
He murmured urgently, Im not exaggerating. Trust no one. Both of our lives depend on it.
His golden gaze bored into her in uncomfortably intense entreaty. He certainly believed his warnings to her, at any rate. Should she?
He exhaled a long, slow breath and said beseechingly, Please. My life is in your hands.
He didnt sound as though he used the word please often. And that was the second time hed used it with her. Despite his breezy charm, this guy was scared stiff. And she couldnt blame him. Sharafs men hadnt exactly made the worlds friendliest first impression on her.
Saying please was probably a big concession for him. The guy was a king, after all. At least hed sounded sincere when hed said it. Maybe she was wrong to protect this guy. Maybe she should ignore his advice and tell her boss who he was after all
His voice interrupted her troubled thoughts. I believe you were going to put a bandage on my nose?
Right, she mumbled. Bandage. The bigger, the better.
Exactly. His relieved smile lit up the room like a floodlight. He added under his breath, Thank you.
Exactly. His relieved smile lit up the room like a floodlight. He added under his breath, Thank you.
She got the distinct feeling shed just stepped over some sort of invisible line. And, once crossed, there was no going back.
Katy stumbled through the rest of the days work in a daze, mechanically treating prisoners and recording their condition on her clipboard. Alive! The king of Baraq was alive! And she was the only person who knew it. Was her life really in danger? Or was Nikolas Ramsey just trying to scare her into silence? Should she ignore his warning and tell someone of her discovery or was discretion the better part of valor? One thing he was right about: palpable currents of intrigue flowed around her as she made her way through the palace toward the exit a few hours later.
Unseen eyes glared at her, and she caught the furtive looks and snide comments the Army soldiers cast at her when they thought she wasnt looking or listening. It was one advantage of the veil over most of her face. Nobody could see her reaction to their jabs, uttered mostly in Arabic they thought she wouldnt understand. Shed studied the language for four years in college, and it was coming back to her rapidly. She got the distinct feeling her well-being might rest on her secret comprehension of the tongue. Nope, not gonna let on that I understand them just yet.
The Army didnt deign to provide the aid workers transportation to their hotel, so Katy, Larry and two other team members, whod been treating the more seriously wounded prisoners housed in the palace proper, convened at the main drawbridge at dusk to walk to their lodgings. Soldiers all but pushed them out a man-sized postern gate within the larger drawbridge. The good news was the walk was steeply downhill into the crowded city streets. The bad news was the hike back up the hill tomorrow morning was going to be a bear.
When they arrived at the hotel, Katy was segregated from the men and given a room on a floor allotted only to women. Her room was sparse and in need of a good cleaning, not to mention stuffy with the remnants of the days warmth. There was one toilet for the entire floor of twelve rooms and one bathroom with an old claw-foot bathtub. At least it was clean and in good working order.
She sat down on her bed and winced at the sag in the mattress. But, hey, it was better than the stone ledges the prisoners were sleeping on. She stripped off her abaya, considering whether it would be dry by morning if she washed it right then. She opened her suitcase, which had magically appeared in her room. And stopped cold. Someone had searched it. The clothes werent folded right, and her things werent in the same places shed put them when shed left home.
She went next door and knocked on Hazels door. The older woman stuck her head around the jamb. Oh, its you. Come on in.
Katy stepped inside and grinned at Hazels shorts and halter top. No wonder the woman had hidden behind the door. Shed be arrested if any Baraqi Army type saw her in such lascivious garb. Was your suitcase searched, Hazel?
The older woman looked up at her quickly. No. Was yours?
For some reason, a twinge of foreboding made her reticent to tell anyone about it. Maybe it was Nikolas Ramseys warning. Or maybe it was a gut instinct. Her brothers swore by them. She shrugged. I guess Im just getting paranoid after the way the Armys treating us women.
Again Hazel shot her a strange look. Theyve been exceedingly polite to me and Phyllis. Did you do something to make them mad?
Katy blinked. Not that I know of. On yet another hunch, she asked, Do you speak Arabic?
Hazel nodded. Fluent in it. I can argue politics and cuss out a cab driver with the best of them.
And there havent been any nasty comments or innuendos flying around you from the soldiers?
Nope. Hazel looked at her closely. You going to be able to hack it in this country?
Katy drew herself up straight. Of course. Why in the world was she being singled out for harassment by the Army? Surely they didnt know or give a flip for who her brothers were!
The older woman nodded. Paused. Told her sagely, Dont go out by yourself. Eat in the hotel or go with a group into the bazaar to buy food. And dont touch any of the meat from the street vendors. Itll give you a case of Montezumas revenge youll never forget.
Katy smiled at the small overture of friendly advice. Thanks.
Hazel nodded briskly.
Thoughtfully Katy wandered downstairs to snag a couple pieces of fruit and returned to her own room. She unlocked the door and let herself in. Night had fallen while shed been gone, and she had to cross her room to reach the lamp in the corner. The white gauze curtains billowed in the breeze, and again she stopped cold.
She hadnt left her window open.
She turned around slowly, scanning the dark corners and shadows dancing in her room. Nothing there. She was alone. She let out a slow breath. Still in the dark, she moved over to the floor-to-ceiling casement windows and shut them. She made a special point of locking them, as well. Only then did she move over to the lamp and switch it on. It bathed the room in soft yellow light.
She looked around again. And froze. There was something on her pillow. A note. She moved over to it and looked at it without touching it. It was a single sheet of beige linen stationery folded in half. In cramped cursive were the letters M-l-l-e, the French abbreviation for Mademoiselle. Gingerly Katy picked it up. Unfolded it. More of the cramped cursive.
She translated the French quickly in her head.
King Nikolas is not dead, and we desperately need your assistance in finding him. Please help us in this vital endeavor, mademoiselle. We shall wait with utmost urgency until you succeed. We will contact you soon. Be warnedthere are those within the lion who would use you to gain their own ends.
Within the lion? Of course. Il Leone. The palace. So, rumors were already floating around that King Nikolas lived, were they? That didnt bode well for the man shed met earlier. Of course, the warning in this note didnt bode well for him, either. If his enemies were already watching her, then shed have to be extremely careful not to lead them to the hidden king.
And then there was the direct threat to her. Someone in the palace wanted to use her for some reason, eh? Why was that just not a surprise? Who could this note be warning her of? Major Moubayed and the Army? Nikolas himself?
The more relevant question at the moment was who had gotten into her room to leave this cryptic little message? And how? She was sure the door had locked shut behind her when shed gone next door to talk to Hazel. And there was no way shed left the window open. She even remembered thinking the room was too warm and closed it before she went out. Surely nobody had climbed up the face of a five-story building to sneak in her window and deliver this note! Someone on the hotel staff with a master key, then?
She picked up the phone. A female operator answered in English. Now how did she know to do that? She must have a list of the room numbers the Americans were staying in. Katy asked, May I please speak to the manager?
Regarding what, Miss McMann?
Katy replied, Someone has broken into my room. I need to report it to the manager and the police.
The operator answered without any noticeable surprise, I will report it to the manager right away, maam.
That was weird. Shouldnt a break-in alarm a hotel employee at least a little bit? And the woman didnt ask if anything was stolen or if Katy was okay. Katy replied, I really would prefer to speak to the manager myself.