Desert Jewels & Rising Stars

by Sharon Kendrick

  Not one for minding his own business, was he?

  Her initial instinct was to protest, but she hadn’t had an ultrasound yet. Her first was scheduled for the week after her planned return to the States. She desperately wanted to see her baby. And she was no longer sure when exactly she would be back in Baltimore. Or if she could afford even the most basic medical care.

  She did have that fall. And despite feeling fine, she did worry. And it wasn’t as if he was going to give her a choice about going. “Fine. But don’t think you’re coming with me. Absolutely not.”

  “And I looked into testing,” he said. “There’s something called amniocentesis that can be done during pregnancy. They can obtain DNA and determine paternity.”

  She didn’t know how she felt about that. The test would prove that the father was Aziz. That would bind her even tighter to Karim, an outcome she wanted to avoid at all cost. Could she refuse? What would that gain her? Time.

  She turned from him and marched out with the half-eaten banana in her hand, calling a “Go to hell” over her shoulder on principle.

  As she sped her steps, the banana under her top dislodged and fell to the floor. She picked it up, glad he didn’t see her. But a glance back at his bedroom door revealed that, in fact, he had.

  He’d come after her and was leaning against the door frame, watching her with a superior smirk on his face. “You may take the whole fruit bowl if you’d like.”

  THE RADIOLOGIST asked him no questions, one of the privileges of being sheik. Karim stared at the staticky-looking black-and-white screen, at the blurry outline of what seemed like a head and part of the abdomen. He kept his gaze studiously on the screen, ignoring the creamy expanse of skin in his peripheral vision.

  He had come in with her because despite the blood test, he still half believed there might not even be a baby. Tests could be wrong. Tests could be altered for the right amount of money. She could have had it all set up at the hospital.

  And if she were pregnant, he had half hoped that the ultrasound would reveal that she was lying about the child being Aziz’s. The time of conception could have been wrong. Or the kid could have had stark red hair and looked obviously Irish, or whatever. What did he know? He’d never seen an ultrasound before.

  But the date of conception was right on the money, during the time that Aziz had been in Baltimore. And, although the gray blob on the screen bore no resemblance to Aziz, Karim could hardly hold that against it. It barely looked human.

  But here was the funny part, the thing he hadn’t seen coming: the longer he looked at the kid, the more he wanted to believe the woman who lay on the hospital bed with her eyes glued to the screen and tears misting her fine eyes.

  “Nice, strong heartbeat. See that?” the radiologist asked him.

  And he could. The heart pulsed rapidly in the middle of the screen. The image was mesmerizing. He didn’t like the softening it brought out in him.

  Most likely, the woman was a money-hungry scammer.

  The report he had received on her last night certainly pointed in that direction. Her family had been anything but upstanding and responsible. Her father left early on. Her mother dumped her and her siblings into the foster-care system. Julia floundered around for a while after that, then went to college on some sort of government program. Ended up with a nonprofit organization where she seemed tolerably successful.

  He considered her alluring beauty, the crown of hair that to his disappointment she wore up today, that light in her eyes as she stared at the screen.

  Hell, who wouldn’t have fallen for that? Maybe she’d done so well because she could flirt successful businessmen into large donations. But her track record hadn’t been enough. Her organization was downsizing and she was let go a month ago.

  Pregnant and without any income. That had to be the definition of desperate for a woman.

  Last night when he’d gotten the report, he’d been certain she was lying about the baby belonging to Aziz and was impatient for that DNA test. He wanted her to be gone.

  Then she had come to his room, and in a moment of insanity, he just plain wanted her. He had wanted her to offer herself to him, and not only to prove him right about her character.

  But now, looking at the child, the rapidly beating heart on the screen, suddenly he wanted there to be a baby from Aziz, someone left behind by his brother. He wanted the feisty, auburn-haired beauty to be true and not a conscienceless liar. He wanted her and her baby to belong to him.

  Because of Aziz. He would take care of them for Aziz. There was so infuriatingly little he could do for his dead brother otherwise. Finding his killer was about it, which he would do even if he had to put his own life at risk in the process.

  “Looks like you are just entering the second trimester. Everything looks well,” the radiologist said. She was a petite, modest woman who wore a veil that covered most of her head and a large part of her hospital uniform. “The baby seems healthy.”

  “I called Dr. Jinan last night. She said something about the possibility of an amniocentesis,” he said.

  “That would be done sometime between week sixteen and week twenty of the pregnancy. Is there a concern about genetic problems?” The technician looked up.

  “An issue with paternity,” Karim growled, trying not to care that Julia flushed red with embarrassment.

  “We don’t normally do it for that purpose.” The woman bowed her head.

  “But it could provide confirmation?”

  She nodded. “There are risks.”

  “What risks?” Julia asked.

  “In a small percentage of the cases, the procedure can cause miscarriage. But if you absolutely have to—”

  “No,” he said at the same time as Julia, and hated the surprised look she gave him. Did it really stun her that much that he wouldn’t put the baby’s life at risk? “The procedure is not that necessary.”

  She would just have to stay around until the baby was born and they could do a no-risk DNA test. He would have to find a way to get her to agree. Despite his threats, he couldn’t really hold her that long against her will, not in the current political climate. The country was trying hard to build strong diplomatic relations with the West, to prove that the place was safe for tourists and the culture prosperous and civilized. A rogue sheik kidnapping an American woman would definitely create damaging publicity.

  She had come for money, he was pretty sure about that. All he needed was to figure out the price of her cooperation. They would discuss it over dinner tonight. He wasn’t buying her burning need to leave, anyhow. Could be she was just being coy.

  The prospect of her prolonged stay and the continued annoyance it was sure to bring should have bothered him but, oddly, it didn’t. “So the child is healthy?”

  “All looks as it should.”

  Dr. Jinan walked in and greeted them warmly, looked at the screen over the technician’s head. “Everything is in order?”

  “Perfect.”

  “Since you did have a fall, I’d recommend another day of rest. No work, no exercise, no sexual relations,” Dr. Jinan was saying to Julia. “But if you continue to feel fine, you can resume all normal activity the day after tomorrow. If you have any problems, please don’t hesitate to call.” She gave Julia an encouraging smile.

  Karim felt his shoulders relax, then tense again when his cell phone beeped. His chief of security. He turned off the ringer. He’d call the man back later. He didn’t want to miss anything.

  Never in a million years would he have expected to find himself in a place like this. He was resigned not to marry and have children of his own. He’d tried back in his early twenties. But he’d seen the look in the girls’ eyes at the introductory meetings. The fathers were all willing. But he scared the women. And he didn’t want to take a wife who would be repulsed by the sight of him, would cringe every time she looked at him for the rest of their lives.

  Julia Gardner was scared of him, which didn’t keep her from sta
nding up to him, but she never once cringed.

  “Can you tell if it’s a boy or a girl?” The question was barely audible, her voice filled with wonder. Her face was radiant. A deep joy shone through her skin, joy that could not be faked.

  He could not remember when he’d felt such unrestrained, undiminished happiness, if ever. She was about glowing with it, her beauty intensified until he could barely look away from her. Maybe a veil for her, too, wouldn’t be a bad idea while she was in this country, although he didn’t plan on letting her wander around without him being close behind.

  “Not yet.” The radiologist smiled. “Maybe in another month or so.”

  “Oh.”

  The child moved, looked like it was waving. Cute little bugger. Karim couldn’t help a smile, but schooled his features back into place before Julia could notice.

  If she realized that he was softening, who knew what outrageous demands she could make. If the child was Aziz’s, Karim would take care of it, no question. If it wasn’t… He looked at the woman who was still staring at the screen, teary-eyed. Something flipped over in his chest at the sight.

  She was in a desperate situation. Had to be, to go into a far-flung scheme like this and try to pass her child off on a man who wasn’t the father. He glanced at the screen again. If the DNA test came back proving Aziz had nothing to do with this, he could still see that she was able to raise the baby. Hell, he could afford it.

  “Would you like some pictures?” the radiologist asked.

  “I’m not sure.” She glanced down. “I can’t really pay for this.”

  “We’ll take the pictures,” Karim said.

  “We can also make a copy of the video—”

  “Send it to my palace.”

  She wouldn’t look at him as the radiologist wiped off her flat belly, which he’d been trying to avoid taking notice of. Sure didn’t look like new life was growing there. Maybe she wasn’t eating enough. Something he would have to pay extra attention to.

  She didn’t talk to him until they were out of the examination room and going down the stairs. “Thank you. I don’t have to thank you, because you kidnapped me and bullied me into this whole visit, but it was a moment, and…otherwise I would have been alone. Which probably would have been a step up from going with a kidnapper. But if I consider that you’ll be my baby’s uncle—”

  “You’re welcome.” Did she always babble on when she was emotional?

  She gave him a dirty look. “One more thing.”

  He drew up an eyebrow. Here we go. She was about to make her first demand.

  “Please don’t humiliate me in front of people like that again.” Her words were issued softly.

  Damned if he knew why he was feeling like a heartless bastard all of a sudden. His jaw muscles pulled tight. “Sorry.” He didn’t know which one of them was more surprised when the word was out.

  “Wow, that sounded like it hurt. Was it your first time?” She grinned.

  He glared back.

  “You could just let me go,” she said when they were in the car, the air conditioner going.

  “Too cold?” he asked as he pulled into traffic.

  “Are you kidding? I have a furnace inside. I could be standing on the snowfields of Siberia and be hot. Pregnant bodies produce lots of energy.”

  He hadn’t considered that. “I can’t let you go.” He turned down the boulevard.

  “You’re a sheik. You can do anything you want.”

  She had an answer for everything, didn’t she? Fine.

  “I don’t want to let you go,” he said.

  “Don’t you ever watch international TV? Your views on life and responsibility are pretty archaic. You don’t have to take care of me. I don’t belong to you.” As she said the last sentence, she enunciated each world deliberately.

  “I don’t have time for TV.” He didn’t bother addressing her wild notion of her not belonging to him. “I want you to write me a list of what you need. Both for you and the baby. And you need to eat more,” he said just as a dark sedan cut off the car following them to get directly behind him. “I can bring a nutritionist on staff while you’re with us.”

  He kept his attention on the sedan, his warning senses perking up. The car was moving with too much purpose, the driver unnecessarily aggressive.

  “I don’t need a nutritionist. I eat healthy and I eat as much as I need. I won’t be staying that long anyway.”

  She clearly resented his interference. And right now wasn’t the time to discuss just how far he was willing to go to make sure her pregnancy went as smoothly as possible.

  He looked at the rearview mirror again. “Listen, we might—” Too late, he saw the gun. He swerved. “Watch out!” He pushed her down just as the rear window exploded.

  He heard the shards hit leather, but his seat and headrest protected him. A glance confirmed the same for Julia. He stepped on the gas and the car lurched around the minivan in front of them. But his attackers—two men, their faces obstructed by tribal-style headdresses—followed.

  He swore under his breath. Should have brought his security along. But he didn’t want anyone in his family or at the company to know about Julia Gardner and her claims yet. Didn’t want to deal with the questions about him going to a women’s clinic. If her story were untrue, he didn’t want to unnecessarily tarnish Aziz’s memory and bring his honor into question.

  The car in front of him was slower than slow. For a moment, he swerved into upcoming traffic to get ahead, expecting Julia to scream at him. She didn’t, but horns beeped all around them. He chanced a glance at her when he’d returned to the right side. She sat pale-faced, hanging on to her seat with a white-knuckled grip.

  He snapped his attention back to the road in front of him. “We can handle them.”

  “We can’t handle them. Oh, my God. Call the police!” She squeaked the last word.

  “I’m a little busy.” He growled under his breath, not at her, but at the men. By the time the police found them, this could be long over. Either he shook their attackers, and shook them fast, or one of their bullets would find its aim and end the chase.

  He swore under his breath again. More stress was the last thing Julia needed in her condition. Not that he knew anything about her condition. But he would learn. For Aziz’s child. If—Damn, but the uncertainty drove him crazy. He wasn’t a patient man on his best day.

  When they got out of here, he was going to get her to agree to stay in the country, then lock her up safely in his palace and not let her go until the baby was born. Maybe he would move to Aziz’s place for the next six months. Living under the same roof with Julia might be more than he could handle. Especially if she kept sneaking into his bedroom. He was concerned about that as much as he wished for it.

  “Hang on.”

  He was a good driver and put all his skills to use. For a moment or two, it seemed he might be able to put enough distance between his car and the assassins behind them.

  Then a bicyclist, of all things, pulled in front of him, oblivious to danger. And he swerved, running the car up the cement rails of the shoulder, the right two tires leaving the ground. If they were to flip… He grabbed the steering wheel and maneuvered as best he could. He had to get the car back on the road. After an endless moment, he did manage.

  “Are you all right?” He didn’t dare take his eye off the road to look at Julia.

  “I’m not all right. People are trying to kill me!” She sounded shaken. “What is it with everyone? Is everybody completely nuts around here? What are they thinking? Just go!”

  He did, and for a moment was sure that they would make it. But the second bullet was more accurate than the first. The force of it slamming into his flesh smacked him against the steering wheel.

  They were out in the open. The bullets kept coming. He had a woman and an unborn child to protect. Pain spread through him. He’d been hit. He couldn’t tell how badly, and it was information he needed. All their lives depended on it. />
  Chapter Three

  All his life he wanted to be a holy man. He had even changed his name to Mustafa, which meant chosen. And he indeed knew that Allah had chosen him when the only god trusted this most important task to him.

  Old evil had returned into this world—old evil that offended the faith of his people and threatened their souls. He had sworn to destroy it and all who had come in contact with it, all who had been contaminated.

  And the One God had been gracious and had given him followers, a tight sect of righteousness and light. They were all happy to die for the cause.

  But so far, their work had been blessed and it had been Aziz Abdullah who had died. Mustafa smiled as he looked out over his garden. That first task had been done right. But they had much longer to go it seemed.

  The evil objects had not been recovered. The world and his faith had not yet been saved. The idols had been passed on and contaminated yet another man: Karim Abdullah. But Karim, perhaps in his ignorance or already too tight in the grasp of the evil, did not realize that he needed to be purified.

  It couldn’t be helped. Mustafa stroked his beard and closed his eyes against the strengthening sun. His free hand held his cell phone. The call would come soon. Karim, the guardian of evil, would be dead.

  Then, without a powerful guardian, the idols would be found. Yes. He smiled into the sun. He and his faithful followers would most certainly triumph.

  “HOLD ON TO THE steering wheel,” Karim said, pressing a hand to his wound, then pulling it away and looking at it, probably checking how badly he was bleeding.

  Pretty badly. Then again, when it came to gunshot wounds, she wasn’t sure there was such a thing as “good.”

  “The steering wheel,” he said more urgently.

  Julia stared at him. Was he crazy? Apparently, because he was letting go already, just expecting her to grab on as he pulled a gun—a gun—from under his suit jacket with his still-functioning right hand.

  She had no idea that he’d been armed. She hadn’t run around with armed men all that much before, smart girl that she’d been. Past tense, definitely. Everything that had been normal in her life had changed the second she’d set foot in Beharrain, and she was losing hope of being able to reclaim her old, sane life anytime soon.