The Karawi Sheikhs Series: The Complete Series

by North, Leslie

  5

  “That’s all the orphanages, Sheikh. What do you want to do now?” Gadi asked Bahir. The guard shifted the rifle he bore and glanced around with shrewd eyes.

  Bahir set his jaw and leaned against the car. It had been a long week of searching for his daughter, and they’d come up with absolutely nothing.

  Still, something bothered him about that last place they’d visited. Why was that woman so familiar? “Gadi, did you notice something odd about that American we talked to?”

  “Her disrespect?” Gadi spat.

  “There was that,” Bahir admitted. “But there was something else. She was very specific when she spoke, but she never once said that she didn’t know who I was looking for.”

  Gadi nodded. “I see,” he said and cocked his head. “But you looked at the children.”

  “I saw the children in the classroom, but there are other rooms in that orphanage. Why would a Haamas orphanage have an American woman working for them?” Bahir tapped his finger on the car. The whole situation didn’t make sense.

  “You think she’s working for the rebels?”

  “How would they know about my daughter? I’ve only known about her myself since….” He shook his head before standing up and swearing. “Of course, the aquarium! Dammit, she is there. My daughter is there. I’ve seen her!”

  “Where did you see her, Your Highness?” Gadi asked, carefully hiding his surprise at the outburst.

  Slapping Gadi on the back, Bahir laughed before he turned to get in the car. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll go back tonight and search every crevice of that orphanage until we find my daughter. We’ll take her to a safe house. If we have to, we’ll dismantle the rebellion right now. I don’t want anyone harming a hair on my child’s head.”

  “Yes, Highness.”

  While Gadi rounded up the rest of the guards, Bahir rested his hands on the roof of the car and stared absently at the sun setting over the horizon. By nightfall, he’d have his daughter in his arms. He felt it in his bones, and then he’d do whatever it took to make up for the past seven years of her life.

  * * *

  They returned at midnight with their headlights off and their fingers on their triggers. Bahir had made it clear that while no children were to be harmed, he wanted his daughter. As they exited the car, the guards fanned out, prepared to surround the house and block the exits as he strode toward the entrance.

  It turned out that they didn’t need to storm the orphanage after all.

  Sudden candlelight flickering in the window of the small building behind the orphanage caught his attention, and he froze, staring intently. Could it really be that easy?

  Bahir snapped his fingers to get the guards’ attention and smiled as he motioned toward the back of the property. His feisty little American was hiding. Beckoning to his men, he silently skirted the orphanage. Reaching the door, without hesitation, Bahir kicked it hard, slamming it against the wall, and stormed in.

  The sight before him forced him to stop short and halt his men before they could follow him in. The woman was sitting on the side of the bed, her hand on the forehead of a young girl. The child stirred and opened her eyes, and Bahir found himself staring into the most beautiful set of blue eyes he’d ever beheld.

  It was the same child from the aquarium.

  His daughter.

  “What are you doing here?” the woman demanded. She immediately shielded the child from them. “I will call the authorities!”

  Bahir was about to tear into her when he heard the child moan. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair was damp against her forehead. “What’s wrong with her?” he demanded loudly.

  “You’re scaring her,” the woman hissed. “You need to calm down.”

  “What is wrong with her?”

  “If the doctor had shown up today like he was supposed to, maybe I could tell you, but apparently an orphanage that can’t pay his usual fee isn’t high on his priority list. We think it’s rotavirus, but her dehydration is getting worse, and I’m having trouble keeping the fever down.” Her voice trembled slightly, but she held her ground.

  “Let me see her stomach,” Bahir demanded. He needed to know for sure.

  The woman hesitated before she shook her head. “That’s not necessary. She’s already scared enough. Aisha is the girl you’re looking for.”

  Aisha. His daughter’s name was Aisha. “Do you know who I am? Why would you keep my daughter from me?” he hissed. Anger blazed inside, but he could see the fear in his daughter’s wide eyes and he struggled to hold on to his temper.

  “Look, I’m not from here. I didn’t recognize you at first, but Natasha did, and she reminded me that we’d already met at the aquarium when you were with that bi…blonde.” She shook her head, seeming to clear her thoughts. “Natasha reminded me who you were after you left, but all I saw was men with guns.” She blinked. “And you weren’t the first to come looking for her.” Aisha’s eyes had closed again, and the woman, noticing, dropped her voice. “Two days ago, your guards came, asking the same questions. What was I supposed to think?” she whispered.

  Bahir’s blood ran cold. “My guards have been with me the whole time. Two days ago, we were on the other side of the kingdom.”

  “Then I don’t know who they were, but we didn’t give Aisha to them then, and I’m not giving her to you now.”

  If the rebels knew about his daughter, she wasn’t safe staying here, nor would this woman be safe if she tried to stand up to them. Bahir wasn’t about to waste time arguing with some stranger. He didn’t trust the woman, but then again, he didn’t know what to do with a sick child. “What is your name?” he demanded.

  The American blinked and stared at him. “What?”

  “Your name,” he repeated impatiently. “What is it?”

  “Amy. My name is Amy Mathewson.”

  “Pack a bag, Amy Mathewson. We’re leaving right now,” he ordered.

  “I’m sorry, did you not hear me? You’re not taking her!”

  “She is in more danger staying here than she will be if I take her with me. She is my daughter, and I will protect her. Especially if the rebels are looking for her. You’re coming with us, and you’ll take care of her.”

  Rising slowly to her feet, Amy put her hand out as if to stop his flow of words and shook her head. “I don’t think you understand. Aisha can’t go anywhere until she sees a doctor. If it turns out that this is a bacterial infection, then she needs medicine or she’s going to get worse. You’re not taking her anywhere.”

  “We will take her to the doctor when it is safe. Pack your things now, or you’ll be doing it at gunpoint.”

  “Amy?” Aisha murmured as she opened her eyes and struggled to sit up. “Who is that man?”

  Plastering a smile on her face, the woman turned and bent down to kiss the girl’s sweat-beaded brow. “That is one of the Crown Sheikhs, and he is going to take us on a trip. Would you like that?”

  “Can Kedar come?” Aisha asked as she turned to study Bahir.

  He wanted desperately to tell her that he was her father, but time was of the essence.

  The American was speaking again, her tone artificially bright. “Of course, Kedar can come. He would never sit out an adventure like this! I’m going to pack a bag and talk to Shatha. Do you think you can come with me?”

  Amy obviously didn’t want to leave Aisha alone with him. While he applauded her protective nature, Bahir wanted to make something clear. “She will stay here with me,” he growled. “She is safe with me.”

  “No offense, your Royal Highness or whatever I’m supposed to call you, but I don’t know you, and I’m not leaving this child alone with you,” Amy retorted in a low voice.

  Annoyed, Bahir strode across the room, pulled the blankets down, and slowly lifted the girl in his arms.

  Aisha giggled. “You’re strong.”

  “And you don’t weigh any more than a feather,” he said gruffly before he turned to Amy. “Shall we go?�
�

  Annoyance flashed over Amy’s face, but she nodded and reached for a bag in the corner. “We quarantine kids when they get sick in hopes that it won’t spread to the rest of the orphanage, so all her things are here.” Unzipping the bag, she grabbed the pill bottles from the bedside table and packed them. “I’ve been spending my nights here, but the rest of my stuff is in the main house. It’ll only take me a few minutes to grab my things, but I’ll need to talk to the woman in charge so she doesn’t call the authorities. I’ll let you explain the situation to her.”

  “Whatever it takes to get out of here,” Bahir murmured. He smiled down at his daughter. His memory of Amalia was hazy, but as he gazed down at his daughter, he could see his former lover in Aisha’s face. The same small button nose. The same crystal blue eyes. But the shape of her lips, the line of her jaw, that was all him. He couldn’t believe he was actually holding her, and at the same time, he had no idea what to do with her.

  Suddenly, he realized that Amy was clearing her throat. He had no idea how long he’d been standing there, holding Aisha. “I thought you were in a hurry.”

  Glaring, he followed her out of the one-room house, his three guards parting to allow them passage and then falling in to either side and behind him, peering into the darkness, their guns in their hands. His heart ached at the thought of his daughter being trapped here. “Gadi,” he said softly aside to the man walking at his right. “Take the girl’s bag and start the car. We’ll be leaving in a few minutes.”

  He thought Amy resisted a little as the guard tried to take Aisha’s bag from her, but after a small tug-of-war, she gave it up, and Gadi disappeared into the darkness.

  When the American opened the door to the orphanage, an older woman was standing there, waiting for them.

  Amy bowed her head. “Shatha, this is….”

  “I know,” Shatha said tersely. “I assume he’s taking Aisha?”

  “I am,” Bahir interrupted, keeping his voice low. “And the American.”

  “Amy. My name is Amy,” the woman snapped.

  “Go pack your things,” Shatha ordered quietly. “Let me speak to His Royal Highness privately.”

  Bahir noted an obvious level of respect between the two women. As Amy hurried away down the hall, he found himself facing the displeasure of the older woman. Lifting his chin in defiance, his arms tightening around the child he held, he said obliquely, “She belongs to me.” He didn’t want Aisha to know that he was her father until she was more comfortable with him.

  “You knew of her birthmark but not her name?”

  “I didn’t even know of her existence until last week. I discovered a letter that never reached me. It described her features, but her name had been washed away.” By tears, no doubt.

  “She is a special girl,” Shatha said in a low voice. “She is very loved here, and if she were not in danger, I would not allow her to leave here without a fight.” She fixed him with a keen gaze and added, “Why are you taking Amy?”

  “I need someone to care for Aisha while she isn’t feeling well.” Curious, he cocked his head. “Why is she working for you?”

  “That’s something that you’ll have to ask Amy.” Shatha leaned over and smoothed a stray wisp of hair out of Aisha’s face. “Are you scared, darling?”

  “No,” Aisha said innocently. “But my tummy hurts.”

  The woman took a step back. “Your Royal Highness, I believe you should put Aisha down, now.”

  “What? Why?” No sooner had he asked the question than the pretty little thing in his arms turned her head and proceeded to vomit all over the both of them.

  “That’s why,” Shatha chuckled. “Let me get her cleaned up.”

  Stunned, Bahir reluctantly put the girl down. Aisha immediately started to cry, and that was the scene that Amy walked back in on.

  As Shatha led Aisha away, the American smirked. “Welcome to fatherhood.”

  6

  Amy leaned back against the seat, arms crossed. She frowned as she watched the car eat up the miles. When the sheikh had said they were going to a safe house, she didn’t think he meant a different country. How long had they been traveling?

  When the car finally slowed down and turned onto what she assumed was an entrance road to their destination, she breathed a sigh of relief.

  Short-lived relief, as it turned out, ending when they exited the car. They were in the middle of nowhere. How was this supposed to help Aisha? She stared up at the two-story mud-brick building hidden behind several large dunes and sporting a large underground panic room, or so the sheikh informed her.

  “You will take care of her and ensure that she survives her illness,” Bahir ordered as he exited the car.

  “I am not a nurse,” Amy snapped. “I suggest that you send for a doctor. If she’s your daughter, I would think that you would spare no expense when it comes to her. She shouldn’t still be throwing up, and her fever isn’t under control. She needs additional fluids to keep her hydrated.”

  The sheikh waved his hand impatiently. “Write down whatever you need. I’ll send a guard to get it.”

  “We’re hours away from civilization,” she grumbled, but she softened as she watched him lift the sleeping child from the car. Despite the fact that his expensive clothes were stained from the last time he’d carried Aisha, he didn’t seem put off. She had to give him some credit. He already seemed to have some affection for the girl.

  “Then perhaps you should have thought of that when we left,” Bahir said in a low voice.

  “Perhaps you should have told me how long we’d be driving,” she retorted, stretching. Exhaustion was setting in, and she was feeling downright punchy. From the not-so-furtive looks the guards exchanged, she could tell that they disapproved of her attitude toward the sheikh, but given the situation, he hadn’t exactly earned her respect.

  Bahir grunted in reply and carried Aisha into the safe house. Amy followed.

  The inside was lavishly decorated with beautiful, vibrant murals and tapestries and equally gorgeous rugs. Bold blues, greens, and reds attracted the eye, and Amy had a hard time fixing on any one thing. The decorations alone were worth enough to feed the orphans for months.

  It was hard to hold onto her anger, though. Huge divisions in wealth were an issue all over, and at least Aisha would grow up in the lap of luxury.

  “She’ll sleep here,” the sheikh commanded as he laid his daughter gently down on the bed. “Your room will be next door.”

  “I’ll stay here with Aisha where I can keep an eye on her,” Amy objected.

  “No,” Bahir said coldly. “You’ll stay with me where I can keep an eye on you.”

  With that one sentence, he’d managed to suck all the air out of the room. Amy struggled to hide her reaction, even though deep down, she wasn’t sure what she was feeling. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she felt intimidated by him. Attracted to him. Curious about him, but she’d never expected to be intimate with him. Sleeping in the same room with him, someone she didn’t know from Adam, heightened the temptation to give in and do something wild and dangerous.

  This sheikh certainly seemed wild and dangerous.

  Her logical side kicked in, and she drew herself up to her full height. “I understand that you don’t have your usual women to service you, but I hope you don’t expect me to step into that role.”

  “My usual women?” he said in a deceptively mild tone, eyebrows rising.

  Flapping her hand in the air, she answered, “You know. That blonde.” At his quizzical look, she added, “From the aquarium.”

  The corners of his mouth twitched. “You’re not going to be in my room to service me, American. You’ll be in my room until I know that you’re not working for the rebels. Until I know that my daughter is no longer in danger.”

  “First of all, my name is Amy. Second of all, where do you think I’m going to go? I’d die of dehydration before I made it halfway back to town,” she grumbled. She could steal one of the
cars, but even then, she wasn’t sure she’d know how to get back. Besides, she couldn’t leave Aisha behind, and until the girl was better, it might be dangerous for her to travel.

  “It’s not up for debate. You either room with me, or you can take your chances in the desert.”

  He looked pointedly at the door as if he expected her to leave, but Amy stood her ground. “She’s a child. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, and there’s a good chance that she will since she’s sick, she’s going to be in a foreign place and alone. She’s going to be scared. The least you can do is let me spend tonight with her.”

  An angry look crossed his face, but he nodded, a short, sharp gesture. Amy hurried to Aisha’s side before Bahir could change his mind, and he left the room without another word.

  Putting a hand to the child’s forehead, she grimaced. The fever was getting worse. Digging in her bag, she pulled out some children’s aspirin and the container of water she’d packed.

  “Hey, baby girl,” she cooed gently.

  Aisha whimpered and opened her eyes. “Don’t feel good,” the little girl said sleepily.

  Amy stroked the sweat-dampened hair. “I know, darling. Can you take your medicine?”

  The brave child nodded and sat up. As she swallowed her pills, she looked around and yawned. “Where are we?”

  “Do you remember Sheikh Bahir? The man who visited you?”

  Aisha’s eyes immediately widened. “He’s a sheikh?” She scrunched up her nose in dismay, managing to look adorable. “I accidentally got sick all over him.”

  “Yes, you did,” Amy chuckled. She refrained from telling the child that it had been a proud moment. “This is one of his homes. He’s going to keep you here until you feel better. You’ll sleep here tonight, and then in the morning, we’ll explore! How does that sound?”

  Settling back in the pillows, the girl nodded. “Okay. Where will you be?”

  “I’m going to be right here.”