by Lara Earlman
“Does she have a man in her life?” Dice asked, and then quickly recanted with, “I mean, does she like men, at all?”
“That, I can’t help you with, my friend. It’s been almost two decades since I knew her.”
“The answer would be: no and yes,” came a disembodied voice from their earbuds. Dane chuckled at the embarrassed groan emanating from beside him.
“How are things going, Greig?” he asked, stepping in to ease the big guy’s discomfort.
“Everything’s still a go,” Carsten answered. “The rest seem to be having a great time at the party, apparently the pit-fired lamb is a big hit.”
Dane’s stomach growled. “Thanks for that bit of informative news,” he said wryly, hearing a responding chuckle from the earpiece.
“You should have the palace grounds in your sights, very soon. The infrared shows the area closest to your approach to be free of activity. Actually, it seems that the outside grounds are quiet tonight. There should be no problem getting in without being spotted, that’s barring any surveillance cameras, of course.”
Greig had called it right; within minutes they could see the lights from the palace. Dice led them to a dark area near the stables. Rash told them he thought he’d seen women near an outdoor pool a short span from where the horses were corralled. He pointed out a high cement wall, and steered the horses in that direction. Climbing off his mount, he motioned for Dane to do the same.
“The horses should be fine to leave here while we search,” he said. The steeds were trained to stay where the reins were grounded. They followed the wall to where it ended, peered around it and spotted a swimming pool.
“It appears lady luck may be on our side,” Dane observed.
Keeping close to the wall, they crept closer to the patio doors. They could hear voices coming from inside, unmistakably female. Without warning the door slid open; Dane and Dice froze in their tracks. Two beautiful women strolled out, closing the door behind them while continuing their conversation. One was dark-skinned and the other a blonde. Their conversation switched from Arabic to English, and then abruptly halted as they spotted the strangers. Dane held his finger to his mouth, hoping to keep them from calling out.
“Please, we’re here to find an American girl named Lexi,” he said. “Do you know where she is?” The tall blonde motioned them to a corner and stood blocking them from the window.
“She was here,” she informed them in Australian accented English. “But, she disappeared a couple of weeks ago.”
“The night after she was missing, I heard a scream coming from behind the stables,” the other girl explained. This one spoke with a French lilt. “We think she is dead!” Her eyes filled with tears.
“Are you sure?” Dane asked, grabbing the girl’s arm. His stomach took a dive, no – it can’t be true! The blonde stepped between them, gently releasing Dane’s grasp from her friend.
“No, we have no proof,” she said. “Cadie has been troubled since the night she heard the scream. There’s been no word about Lexi. Perhaps she was sold; we know that the crown prince was not pleased with her.”
“Negative – keep calm, it seems she’s still on the property,” Greig’s voice spoke from Dane’s earbud. “Hold on, I’m listening to Fani’s conversation with the sheikh’s daughter.”
“Cadie, go back inside and make sure no one comes out. You know what kind of trouble we could get into if the sheikh finds out we talked with these strangers.” Cadie scurried through the sliding door, all too eager to get away from them. The blonde led the men to the edge of the wall, while still blocking them from sight.
“Guys, she was thrown into a ground pit as punishment for being caught on the sheiks telephone. The princess has been sneaking out to see her and provide her with water and food, but she’s been unable to for days now. She seems extremely concerned.”
“A ground pit?” Dane repeated aloud to the blonde.
She shook her head. “I don’t know where it is. We’re not allowed to explore the outer grounds.”
“Behind the horse stables,” Greig quickly filled in. “English, it sounds like you’d better hurry, she was in there during the sandstorm!” There was a pause. “The sheikh is getting suspicious of Fani’s conversation with the princess, we might have problem if he figures out something’s up – hurry, bro!”
Dane turned to the blonde, “Thank you…uh…”
“Clare,” she filled in. “Lexi was my friend; just find her and get her home.”
Dane gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Here, if you ever need help, call me.” He handed her a card with his information. Dice was pulling him away.
“We’ll take one of the horses,” he told Dane. “The others can stay here and we’ll pick them up on our way back.” He grabbed the closest rein and led the horse toward the side of the stables. “Can you spot anyone near us, Greig?” he asked.
“No activity,” he answered. “Good luck, guys; we’re praying for her.”
Dane sent God a word of thanks that the night sky was clear. It was easy to find their way around in the moonlight, and they found the dry pit right away. There was a heavy iron grid covering the wide hole in the ground. Dane ran to look inside; he could hear a faint coughing.
“Lexi?” There was no answer, but there was someone down there, and she was having a difficult time breathing. Thank God she’s alive! He turned to find Dice readying a strong rope. He kept one end free to tie to the horse and made a sling out of an old blanket for the other end. Dane tried to move the grid, but it stubbornly clanked back in place. Dice grabbed the opposite side and together they made an opening large enough to fit through. They pulled the rope through the grid to keep Dane from banging on the side of the pit once he retrieved Lexi. After assuring the rope was tied securely to the saddle, Dane grabbed the sling and swung into the hole.
The deeper he went, the darker it got. He hadn’t forgotten a flashlight; he just figured it would be kinder not to shine a bright light in Lexi’s face. Besides, it was possible the light would draw unwanted attention to their task. Dane’s eyes became accustomed to the dark and he could see a bundle near the middle of the floor. He touched down and shuffled over to the wheezing figure lying in a fetal position. Oh, God Pips – what the hell have they done to you?
“I’ve found her,” he announced to Dice. “She won’t be able to help us.” Dane pulled her into his arms, but she tried to brush him away.
“No Willie – stop it!” she croaked out, sparking another fit of coughing.
“Shh,” he hushed her, “It’s Dane, liebling. I’ve come to take you home.” His words seemed to sooth her. She stopped resisting, allowing him to wrap the blanket around her, securing them both in. “Okay, Dice – bring us up.”
“Guys, Stefan’s getting bad vibes,” Greig said. “The sheikh’s been pow-wowing with his men. He thinks he’s suspicious – can you hasten things up a little?”
“On it,” Dice replied.
They made it back to the horses just in time to hear Clare calling out to someone.
“Hey, you guys what ya doing out here?” They heard other voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. “Nope, I’ve been out here all night and it’s been deader than dead, if you know what I mean. When’s the sheikh getting back? Oh, that late? I guess he won’t be wanting any company, then.” She sounded disappointed.
They grabbed the horses and got out while she kept the guards distracted. They made it safely onto the doctor’s property and transferred to the ATV’s. Dane had Dice tie Lexi to him so he could share his body heat with her and still keep his hands free. He tried to feed her some water but just succeeded in starting up another bout of coughing.
They made it to the airstrip and headed toward the ramp leading into the bay of the plane. Greig had been keeping tabs on their progress and the rest of the team was in place to leave. Gretchen had the engines started, Stefan waited in the bay, and Stefani and Rash were making polite goodbyes, trying not to a
ttract attention. Suddenly a squad of armed men stepped out to block their way, guns pointed at their heads. As Dane and Dice slowed down, they closed in around them, forcing them to stop.
“I believe you have something which belongs to me,” Sheikh Saleh shouted over the engines.
Dane stepped out of the vehicle, still cradling Lexi. He walked toward the ruler of Hejd, knowing that the guards would follow him. He turned to see Stefan taking his place in the ATV and, since they were no longer blocked, the two men drove the vehicles onto the plane. The ramp closed.
“This woman is a free citizen of The United States of America,” he said. “She is not a possession to be owned.”
“Your laws have no jurisdiction here. However, we do have severe punishments for stealing. Hand it over to my men, and I will overlook your ignorance of our rules.”
“What good is she to you, dead?” Dane wanted to punch the arrogance off of the asshole’s face, but then he would have to put Lexi down, and he had no intention of letting go of her. “I found her in a hole, thrown away as if she were garbage!”
A small crowd was forming behind the sheikh. Dane motioned for Stefani and Rash to get onto the plane. After a brief hesitation, an anxious Fani allowed Rash to escort her to the boarding ramp. Lexi remained oblivious to her surroundings, only the gentle wheezing as she took in breath alerted Dane to the fact that she was still alive – but, for how long? Sheikh Saleh turned to a young man beside him.
“Is this the way I taught you to take care of your property?” he asked. The young man shrugged.
“It is just a female,” his son answered.
“Are you willing to have the government of the US as an enemy?” Dane interrupted. He didn’t have time to wait through a father-son learning session.
Ahmad stepped forward. “I grow weary of her obstinacy. I will sell her to you for say… 300,000?” His father glared at him.
“Done,” Dane agreed.
Dr. Badr came hurrying out of the house with his bag in hand. “I heard about your friend’s injuries. I shall come with you and attend to her until you can get her to the hospital.”
“Thank you, doctor. Would you mind taking her onboard while I finish my business with the sheikh?” Dane asked, reluctantly handing her over to the doctor’s waiting arms.
“No-no-no-no, no-no-no,” delirious, Lexi chanted as if reciting a nursery rhyme. Again, Dane’s emotions twisted into a painful knot. He loathed letting go of her, but she was in need of the doctor’s care.
Dane pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped into his online bank account. Holding it out to the young prince, he told him to enter the number for the account in which he’d like the funds transferred. The crown prince pulled out his own phone, researched the information and copied it onto Dane’s. Handing it back to him, Ahmad sauntered back into the house, announcing to anyone interested, that he’d earned himself a drink. The deal was made and they were free to leave. It took superhuman restraint not to knock the self-important sheikh onto his pompous ass.
“You will keep what you have heard to yourself,” Dane told Greig, as he marched onto the waiting plane.
“Agreed.”
»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«
Chapter Twelve
Lexi first became aware of being cradled protectively against a solid, familiar chest. She could hear the calm rhythmic beating of a heart beneath her head, and a comfortable musky scent recalled pleasurable memories. With a cushion beneath, and a warm blanket covering her, Lexi wondered whether she was in heaven. She felt safe, but her last memories belayed that assumption. She’d known she was going to die in that cold dank pit. Still, she hesitated to open her eyes. Were her parents here? Was it her father’s arms which embraced her? Somehow it didn’t seem quite right.
“Daddy?” her unused voice croaked out.
“Nein, ein bisschen; open your eyes, you are safe here with Oma.”
“Oma?” Lexi opened her eyes, blinking against the dim light. Oma Brighton was standing next to the bed. “I’m back in Deutschland?”
“Yes, as soon as they learned you were missing, Daney and the Carsten twins teamed up to find you,” she explained.
“Why?” Lexi realized she was lying on someone’s chest and pulled away – Dane? But, the Carstens, why would they want to rescue Aly?
“Because Alexiah Alberton, we will always be your family.” The distinguished gray-headed woman pulled her shoulders back as if readying for battle, and then her eyes softened. “I was so worried about you, ein bisschen.”
Dane, awakened by their voices, slowly slid off of the hospital bed and stepped back, allowing his grandmother to demonstrate her affection with a kiss to Lexi’s forehead. Lexi felt adrift, cut off from his embrace. She gave herself an inward slap to bring back her sense – this was the man who took her virginity, her love, and then tossed her back into the human trafficking cesspool! Oma perceived the change in her.
“What is it ein bisschen?”
“I need to go home,” Lexi answered. She wasn’t about to tell the sweet elderly woman that she couldn’t bear to be around her beloved grandson – couldn’t maintain the inward battle that was a constant whenever she thought of him.
“We will take you home as soon as the doctor releases you,” Oma assured her. “I suspect Bruna and Frieda are planning a welcome home party for you.”
“I’m sorry; I meant that I must get back to America.” Lexi’s eyes slid a cautious glance at Dane – he looked bedraggled. Perhaps he was afraid she would tell Oma the truth about her so called disappearance! He need not worry; she loved the kind woman too much to hurt her. Even so, his face revealed anger at her words, and she realized that Oma was saddened by her announcement.
“There is the business to think about,” she hastened to explain. “I’ve been gone from it for too long.” Lexi let out a sigh, seeing that Oma understood.
“You may recover fully in my home and then Daney can take you back to your house in the states,” the elderly woman decided. It didn’t go unnoticed by Lexi the emphasis she put on her home and Lexi’s house. Oma was wise, if not subtle.
A doctor entered the room and immediately checked a machine at the side of the bed. Lexi hadn’t realized that she was hooked up to some kind of a monitor.
“I’m pleased to see you awake,” he said. “How are you feeling? Any discomfort, in your chest perhaps?”
Lexi shook her head and shrugged. She hadn’t really thought about it. “I feel happy to be warm,” she said, ending the sentence with a cough. It figured her lungs would choose that moment to display distress. The doctor had his stethoscope on her chest before she could blink.
“There are still some foreign particles hanging around in there,” he said lightly. “I understand you rode out a nasty sandstorm. It might take some time to rid your lungs of all the dust they inhaled. I’d like you to take in as much warm fluid as you can handle, then we can see about getting rid of this.” He gestured to the IV connected to her arm. “If you do a good enough job of it, and we’re satisfied with the health of your lungs, we can let you finish recuperating at home. How does that sound?”
Lexi gave him a positive nod of her head, accentuated by another light hack. Now that he pointed it out, her chest felt like a heavy boulder had taken up residence on it. The weight seemed to lighten, though, when she noticed that Dane had vanished.
As the doctor exited, like a revolving door, three more people entered. Lexi recognized Stefani and Greig Carsten, but the large man accompanying them was a stranger. She let out an inward sigh; she was truly grateful for her rescue, but she just wanted to be left alone. Too many emotions vied to claim her attention, and she needed some time to elbow her way through them. Nevertheless, Lexi’s parents had brought their daughter up with manners, so she put on her “socially acceptable” persona and offered them a warm greeting.
Greig was quiet, permitting his chatterbox sister to take over. Lexi watched him masterfully maneuver the crutches to do his bidding.
It was no different than witnessing a conductor produce harmony from an orchestra with the wave of his wand. It was easy to forget that the apparatuses were more than just an accessory, allowing the man to take front stage, instead of his disability – if you could even call it that. Lexi was impressed, and her respect for him grew.
Fani hadn’t changed much; it had only been a few years since they’d stopped skyping. The girls had been best friends for most of their lives. Now there was an underlying awkwardness to their reunion. Lexi could feel the guilt laced with each word her friend spoke. Normally empathy would have had her reassuring the girl and pouring out a comforting joke or two, instead she found herself listening politely as Stefani dramatically wove details of the rescue. Lexi felt a twinge of regret at the disappointment on her friend’s face when the two Carstens departed offering Oma a ride back to the apartment, and leaving her alone with the big quiet man they’d introduced as Dice Fuller.
“As your friends mentioned, I’d like to find out everything you know about the people who abducted you,” he said. “I understand if you don’t feel up to it today, but I’m anxious to return to my team.”
“Well, when you put it that way…” Lexi teased with a smile, “how could I dare let you down, Mr. Fuller?” She found it freeing when everyone she knew was gone. This stranger hadn’t let her down, hadn’t hurt her.
“Please call me Dice,” he said.
“Dice,” Lexi repeated emphatically, “I’d like to thank you for literally pulling me out of that hellhole.”
“It was my pleasure, ma’am. Did you ever see the people who put you on the market?”
“Call me Lexi,” she requested. “I can describe the three I saw, but wouldn’t my uncle, or Dane and his friend be of more help? I’m sure they can give you all of the details.”
“Your uncle?” Dice repeated.
“Yes, I’m certain he handed me over to them. They took me from his office, and he witnessed it. Wouldn’t he have done something to stop them?” The big man stared at her a moment.