Maliyah’s fingers caressed the smooth, deep burgundy fabric of the cocktail dress she’d laid out on the bed. Its soft, sexy silhouette would hug each and every one of her curves perfectly. The scoop neckline and immodest slit up the side seemed almost too tempting. She yearned to wear it, if only to spy the look of sheer disapproval she would be sure to elicit from their dinner guests. Ramses, most of all. She knew, however, that her fashion statement lacked a certain amount of practicality. Staking out the hideout of her father’s murderer in an evening gown didn’t make much sense.
Next to the wine-colored frock, a pair of sleek, black leather pants and a matching silk chemise lie draped over one of the bed pillows. While Ramses was preoccupied in the bathroom with a shower and shave, Maliyah took the liberty of removing her robe and slipping into the more sensible two-piece ensemble.
A few minutes later, Ramses sauntered out, naked excerpt for a scant cotton towel that sat low on his hips. Maliyah’s breath hitched momentarily, robbing precious air from her lungs. The man possessed one hell of an impressive physique. Broad shoulders and bulging muscles hinged atop a pair of powerful thighs. Maliyah had dreamt of those legs wrapped around her slender waist, delivering a multitude of pleasurable sensations to her neglected libido.
Smack dab in the middle of her reverie, Ramses cleared his throat. Maliyah jumped slightly, extricated from the short-lived fantasy by Mr. Talk, Dark, and Handsome himself. An impish, half-hearted smile was plastered across his face. The egotistical son of a bitch had caught her staring and he had the nerve to gloat about it.
“I can see you need your privacy. I’ll just head into the parlor to apply my make-up,” Maliyah said, her cheeks already flushed.
After about ten minutes, Ramses came out of the bedroom looking like a model on the cover of GQ Magazine. Donning a pair of luxurious gabardine slacks and a gray v-neck sweater, his shoulder-length locks had been combed back and tied with a thin leather strap at the nape. He slipped on his Italian loafers and brushed past her, smelling of fragrant musk and masculinity.
Before they left, Ramses dropped another bombshell. The couple they were about to meet, the ones that were supposed to help find Anat and her father’s killer, were different from most. Like Ramses, Andreas was a vampire - the leader of the New York City coven, a location with one of the largest concentrations of immortal bloodsuckers on the planet.
Eva, on the other hand, was human. However, she battled supernatural beings on a daily basis as a huntress. Her job was to hunt down and kill vampires. From what Ramses told her, Eva had been tasked with shutting down the vast network of businesses associated with AK Oil International, and sending Andreas, its CEO, to the afterlife. Fortunately, fate stepped in and played its own card, forcing the long-standing enemies to accept one another as soul mates.
“Shall we go meet them? Our dinner reservation is at nine.”
“I’m still not sure about this…” Maliyah started to mutter the same lame excuse, but her companion whisked them passed the threshold of the door. Before she could finish the thought, Ramses grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers.
“You may not trust me with your heart just yet. But I’m a vampire, remember? One thing I can do is keep you safe. So relax and be your usual charming self.”
As the couple walked down the corridor to the elevator, Maliyah felt his fingers caress the inside of her wrist. Desire gnawed its way through her belly; but so did anger. How could she let him affect her so completely? Maybe it was because this man could turn her to mush in a matter of minutes. Either way, Maliyah would not be undone.
Too proud to admit he was right, Maliyah squared her shoulders and jerked her hand out of his grasp. She walked two steps ahead of him, which she knew to be an insult. In the Egyptian culture, men ruled the roost. By striding into the dining hall before him, her rebellious nature screamed in the face of tradition.
Although soon Maliyah realized that she didn’t know exactly whom they were meeting for dinner. She’d seen a picture of Andreas Kristopolous with his ailing father, but she wasn’t one hundred percent certain she’d be able to pick him out in a room full of strangers. She stopped short just past the maître de’s station, where a man in a tuxedo with a French filigree moustache stared her up and down. He appeared clean and well-manicured. Yet his gaze emanated an eerie mix of lust and disapproval. It reminded her of the men they’d encountered in the marketplace in Aswan who appeared to be searching a lot of heifers for the perfect one to be put to slaughter.
Maliyah rolled her eyes at him. She’d been in her father’s homeland for less than a month, and already she’d grown tired of the chauvinistic standards of behavior men displayed when it came to the opposite sex. She scanned the crowd, searching the room for their dinner companions. Before she could spot them, Ramses came up behind her. His hot breath skirted over the bare skin exposed by the straps of her chemise, causing her to shiver.
“This way, habibti.” Ramses said as they brushed passed the podium where the maître de was still perched. Ramses turned his head to the left and snarled under his breath. The other man sneered back at him as if the duo had suddenly been thrust into a territorial battle of wits. Then, Ramses snatched Maliyah by the wrist and dragged her from sight.
“Mine,” he whispered into her ear as they meandered through the crowded restaurant. Was he jealous?
Fuck! Over the last few hours, they’d worked one other into a covetous stupor - something Maliyah wasn’t accustomed to. Truth be told, the situation frustrated the hell out of her. Not only were her hormones going haywire, fury had been unleashed as well. She hated feeling so out of control.
As Ramses yanked her through the maze of tables toward a dim lit corner of the room, he must have sensed her inability to regulate emotion. He, too, appeared to suffer from a similar lack of composure. Abruptly, Ramses stopped before they reached their destination. He blinked a few times and squeezed her hand tight. Then, he turned her in his arms. He strategically placed her palm over his beating heart, forcing her to gaze into his eyes. Maliyah watched his irises narrow until they were nothing more than two tiny slits. For a moment, she felt light-headed. Almost dizzy. Eventually, the strange sensation subsided.
“You must remain calm,” his serene voice crooned as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Brooding will only serve to fuel the uncontrollable emotions we seem to share.” With his words, every ounce of hostility she’d harbored had vanished. For the second, Ramses had soothed her, stilled her rage. He’d done the same thing on the barge from Aswan to Elephantine. The vampire’s gift had certainly come in handy. If nothing else, it had saved them from a very embarrassing exchange in front of their newfound friends.
“Thank you,” she mouthed silently as they approached the table.
Ramses shook hands with Andreas. Then he embraced the woman at his side, his wife, Eva. She was spunky and beautiful with a pixie haircut, a pair of wide-set dimples, and sparkling sea-green eyes. Ramses stepped away and eventually, the woman’s profile came into view. Maliyah gasped softly. Eva was also pregnant – in her second trimester if she judged correctly by the size and shape of her round belly.
“Oh my! I don’t mean to stare. Please forgive me.”
“It’s quite alright,” Eva replied, reaching out to pat Maliyah’s shoulder reassuringly. “I’ve been getting similar looks since the moment I started to show. So you know who and what Ramses and Andreas are? I wasn’t sure.”
Maliyah glanced sheepishly at the other female, not prepared to let her guard down just yet. Still, she was eager to share her insecurities with someone who could relate to the surreal nightmare thrust upon her in the last twenty-four hours. “Yes, I’ve just recently been enlightened. I’m slowly acclimating myself to the idea.”
“I understand your apprehension. It isn’t easy to accept the notion, but things that go bump in the night really do exist. You’d be surprised!”
After everyone had been introduced, the two couples
sat down to dinner. Every few minutes, the waiter brought a scrumptious new dish for them to devour. Shrimp, lobster, and steak tartar was accompanied by a plethora of garden fresh vegetables and a bed of fragrant saffron rice that had been expertly seasoned with rosemary and thyme. A pang of hunger erupted inside Maliyah like a volcano from the deep recesses of her stomach. Her palate was ready to explode—an orgasm of delicious, flavor-infused morsels.
At first, the conversation remained lighthearted. The men discussed business and the state of the global economy as they dined. The women gossiped about fashion trends and the latest starlet to suffer a nervous breakdown.
To Maliyah’s surprise, the two newlyweds seemed quite ordinary. They were certainly happy and in love; their genuine affection for one another was evident in each fervent glance and gentle stroke of skin against skin. It somehow put Maliyah at ease. They held hands during dinner and whispered softly in each other’s ear every so often. Seeing the couple together forced Maliyah’s mind to venture to places she refused to go before. Could she and Ramses overcome their differences and let their mutual feelings blossom into something more? He seemed eager to try. It was Maliyah who held back, rife with the fear of the unknown.
Once all the plates on the table had been cleared, Andreas crossed her arms over his chest and exhaled deeply. “Are you ready to get to the good stuff?”
“Dessert?” Maliyah asked. “Are you kidding me? I couldn’t eat another bite!”
“No, habibti,” Ramses said, his eyes peered left to right as if to decipher the underlying meaning of their dinner guest’s request. “Andreas was asking whether or not we were ready to begin the task of finding Anwar’s killer?”
“Let’s do this.” The two women answered in unison.
I think I just found my new best friend, Maliyah chuckled to herself.
Ramses paid the check and soon the foursome was headed toward the beach in the blacked out Chevy Yukon he’d rented when they’d disembarked on the island. Its dark-tinted windows and silver-flecked paint reflected the backdrop of the night sky. There was a full moon and for a moment, Maliyah let her body relax into the cushioned leather seat.
As they turned onto the two-lane highway that ran north to south along the coast, Eva filled the others in on the reconnaissance she’d been able to complete thus far. She proved to be a tactical genius. From everything Ramses had told her, this was what the huntress did best. She tracked prey and hunted it down until the only thing left to do was beg for death to be swift and merciful. To think that Andreas could have suffered the same fate had the two of them not found a way into each other’s hearts. The thought unnerved Maliyah for some reason. They seemed like they were meant for each other.
“The house sits near the edge of a bluff overlooking the Nile River on the Eastern side of the island,” Eva said, pointing to a small red dot she must have drawn on the map. “There are a series of sandbars that have been etched into the landscape by erosion. We’ll park our vehicle here and let the guys go in and scope the place out.”
“What about us?” Maliyah cocked her head sideways, peering skeptically at the other female. “Surely we can be of some assistance to the men. These psychos murdered my father and almost got me killed. I’m not about to sit here and twiddle my thumbs.”
Suddenly, Ramses’s head jerked around toward the rear of the car, his intense stare boring into her. “Maliyah. Don’t. Even. Think. About. It.” He uttered the warning through clenched teeth. She could have sworn she saw his eye color begin to shift once more. His body language and tone of voice seemed almost feral, like a wild animal poised for attack.
Maliyah bit down on her bottom lip to keep a sarcastic retort from escaping her lips. Then, she arched her back, and pressed the base of her skull against the leather headrest.
“Fine!”
Chapter Fourteen
The Reconnaissance
Before Ramses and Andreas made a move toward the house, they both changed into camouflaged fatigues and rugged hiking boots. For even greater anonymity, a dark-colored beanie covered Ramses’ head, partially shielding his face. He slung a holster low over his hips and a pistol was anchored to his side, cocked and loaded.
“You take the back. I’ll go around front and make sure no one surprises us.” Andreas said, pulling his gun out. As Ramses started to do the same, the other man placed his hand on his shoulder, halting any movement. “Remember, we’re only here to case the house out. Maybe pilfer a set of fingerprints. Don’t get cocky.”
Ramses shrugged his shoulders, then drew his weapon and headed for the rear of the building. Based on Eva’s Intel, they knew three people occupied the shack. The infrared images she’d captured appeared to show two men and a woman, at least from the height and build of their silhouettes.
The plan was to slip inside the residence, yet remain virtually undetected. The three occupants sat huddled together in the living room watching television. If everything went as planned, they’d never know the premises had been infiltrated. Ramses would sneak in through a sliding glass door that opened up into the backyard, while Andreas would make sure they didn’t get caught.
Ramses gently tugged on the sliding glass door and found it unlatched. He let out a sigh of relief, thankful he didn’t have to waste time trying to jimmy the lock. Slowly, he opened the door, leaving it ajar to make for an easy retreat.
There by the bed, sat a nightstand made of rich mahogany. A man’s watch lie draped on its edge. Next to it, a half-filled glass of water left a ring on top of the wood. Near the far corner of the mattress, lay a woman’s nightgown, a crumpled swath of silken fabric. Surely the negligee belonged to Anat. That must mean the objects on the nightstand adjacent to it belonged to her accomplice.
Eager to flush Anwar’s killer, Ramses yanked a handkerchief out his pocket. He wrapped it around the glass, then stuffed it back into his fatigues. From the other pocket, he pulled a tiny circular object that had wires poking out of one side. It looked like a speaker attached to the end of a fishhook. But the device was much more sophisticated than it appeared. The bug would help them stay one step ahead of their enemies. With it, they’d be able to hear everything that went on inside the house.
As Ramses slid out of the small crack he’d left in the sliding glass door, he heard a series of loud noises, followed by a flash of light in the distance.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Ramses’ gaze traced the line on the horizon toward the location of the noise. There on the cliffs about eight hundred feet away, a luxury hotel sat above the house he’d just escaped. During their reconnaissance, they had taken note of its proximity, but ruled out any chance that Anat’s accomplice would post a sharp shooter nearby waiting to take aim at them.
With his highly acute vision, he could see the outline of the gunman as he hurried away from the balcony, then disappeared back inside the building. It was too late to go after the bastard. Most likely, he was just hired muscle. He needed to courier the contents of the glass to Boris, the private investigator he’d hired. The sooner, the better. Hopefully, they’d find a clear set of fingerprints to help them identify the mastermind behind the attacks on Maliyah’s family.
As Ramses turned the corner to make his way back to the SUV, Andreas came running from the front side of the house. His eyes shot open in surprise. “Jesus Christ, man. You’ve been hit. I heard gunshots. What the hell happened?”
Ramses looked down at himself, his attention drawn to the red splotch that crept across his right shoulder, expanding quickly over his chest. How could he not have felt the bullets penetrate his skin? His adrenaline must have kicked in something fierce for that to happen without even an inkling of pain or discomfort.
“No time to explain. We need to get the fuck out of here!”
Once back in the car, Ramses started to feel a bit woozy. Everything around him seemed to spin. While wounds like the ones he’d sustained wouldn’t kill an ancient vampire such as himself, the loss of blood could send his body
into shock. If that occurred, he’d no doubt fall into a coma-like state.
Ramses knew he needed sustenance. In fact, he could hear the life-giving elixir pumping through Eva and Maliyah’s veins, tempting him. He tried not to inhale the intoxicating scent as his eyes fluttered shut. The image of his lover’s face was the last thing Ramses remembered. She looked worried. Her brow was furrowed. The tip of one long, manicured fingernail teetered on the cusp of her lower lip.
***
“Look what your stupidity has caused!” the man screamed at Anat as he tossed a handful of clothing into a leather duffle bag. “Your carelessness has put us both at risk.”
“I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.” Anat begged as she lowered herself to the floor. She wrapped her arms around the man’s ankles and sobbed into the linen cloak he wore. “I only did as instructed. There was no way for me to know that Anwar’s business partner would come to his daughter’s aid before the poison could take full effect.”
“You should have used a more potent dosage. Now our anonymity has been compromised. We’re forced to leave the sanctity of the home that took me years to procure.”
He’d spend decades planning and preparing. Years of depravity and sacrifice spent moving from city to city, a virtual ghost with no true identity. Under the guise of various aliases, he lived the life of a vagabond. Anwar al Aziz, once one of his staunchest defenders, had forced him to relinquish all he’d worked so hard to attain. He lost everything – his wealth, his home, even his wife and children. For more than a quarter of a century, he’d waited for the right moment to enact his revenge and now that the time had come, he refused to let anyone alter his course.
Anat had been his best chance of infiltrating Anwar’s inner circle. The import/export guru rarely let outsiders get close to him, and it took a great deal of finesse to convince the maid to do his bidding. He knew she’d always held a soft spot in her heart for him. Still, the servant proved exceptionally loyal to Anwar, challenging his cunning skills of seduction until she finally capitulated.
Blood of the Nile Page 8