KILTED DESIRE - Sands of Betrayal

by A. B. McKINLEY

  The trip to the airport was relatively uneventful. He passed a couple of places where it looked like a roadside bomb was recently detonated. Wreckage and craters were visible, as well as the local police. He arrived at the airport about half an hour before her flight was due to land. Her name was all he and Tom knew, Britney Parnell. No one knew any more about her. He was given information just before he set out from the office. Tom said it was quite normal getting just a name and that was all you needed. A small private plane would be coming in so there would not be too many people on board. She should be fairly easy to spot. She was instructed to wait just inside the airport near the security checkpoint and her guard would meet her there. Scott was thinking about her name, Britney. Like Katie, he was expecting an older businesswoman, but the name threw him. He didn’t know any older women named Britney, which was a relatively new and modern name. Scott made his way into the airport and waited near the security area. He sat down on a very uncomfortable plastic airport chair and waited for her to arrive.

  About half an hour later, a handful of people came through the security check point, Scott stood up and walked to where they were entering. After a few Middle Eastern men came through and walked past him, a woman appeared pulling a small suitcase on wheels. She was dressed in an all-black pant suit and had long, straight, striking red hair. She was taller than Katie, maybe 5’8” or 5’9” he thought, and was wearing make-up, but not a lot. She was an attractive, classy-looking woman and young, maybe late twenties. It must be her; it did not take a rocket scientist to work it out. He thought it was not going to be easy keeping her unnoticed. Scott approached her and introduced himself. She was well-spoken and appeared very self-confident; not at all worried that she just stepped off a plane into a war zone. Scott briefly explained a few things, and instructed her to wait near the main door of the airport while he went to get the car. He assured her it was safer if she waited there with police and security personnel inside the airport since it was about a ten minute walk to get to the car. He would pull the car right up to the door and get out so she could see him. Everything went smoothly and about fifteen minutes later, they were on their way to the hotel.

  The Baghdad Sheraton was to be their home for the next six months. It was situated inside Baghdad’s supposedly safe Green Zone right along-side the Tigris River. Located near the center of the city, the Green Zone was a heavily fortified area housing government buildings and the majority of top hotels. Entry in and out was controlled by various check points. It was once manned by U.S. troops, but was now the responsibility of the Iraqi army. Although the hotel wore the name ‘Sheraton’ and claimed to be luxury accommodations, Britney would be in for a shock. It was not part of the Sheraton chain anymore and had not been for a number of years. The new owners refused to change the name.

  “Are you serious?” Britney complained, as they entered the suite.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “This is a luxury suite over here?” she questioned him.

  “Hey, yer company booked it fer yer. It’s supposed tae be one of the best. There’s nae anything I can do aboot it anyway, I’m just here tae make sure yer stay in one piece. It looks fine tae me.”

  Britney exhaled loudly and shook her head, then walked into one of the bedrooms. The suite was not that bad. It was far from luxury hotel standards in the U.S., but it was clean and a decent size. Scott thought the last time he was in this city for an extended period of time, he had slept in far worse places. The suite was on the top floor of the hotel. The main room had a couch, table, telephone, refrigerator and a television. There were two bedrooms and a bathroom, also clean, but far from luxurious. All the walls were painted white and very plain. No pictures or decorations of any sort were present. The brown drapes matched the worn carpet and there was a distinct odor in the room which neither of them could identify, not particularly bad, just different! The window in the main room gave Scott a good vantage point of the surrounding area and the parking lot, something that was important. He was not too happy with the location of the hotel as he felt they were trapped by the river on the one side, so if they were under attack and needed to get away there was only one escape route.

  “This bed is too hard.” Britney was moaning again.

  Scott sighed, but did not say anything.

  “So am I allowed to talk to you now?” Britney said, sarcastically, as she reappeared from her bedroom. Scott thought they had only been together for a couple of hours and already she was starting to annoy him. On the way to the hotel, he made her sit in the back seat of the car and told her not to talk to him when he was driving; he needed his full concentration on what he was doing.

  “Of course yer are. Yer just have tae understand that when I’m driving in this city, I’m nae only watching oot fer other cars, but I’m also looking fer bombs and people with guns, as well as craters in the road and the fact that nae many driving rules are enforced. People just drive where they want tae and they dinnae particularly stay on the side of the road that they are supposed tae. It’s nae easy.”

  “Okay, I guess I understand. Actually I’m glad I don’t have to drive myself, I thought you were just being a macho jerk, but I really do understand.”

  Scott felt a little relieved. He was beginning to wonder what he let himself in for, but now she seemed to be more reasonable.

  “We need tae talk later aboot exactly what I need yer tae do while yer here. It’s quite important we go over some things, having some emergency and contingency plans in place.”

  “Okay, shoot,” she replied.

  “Later. Go get yer cases unpacked and have a rest, I know yer must be a wee bit jet-lagged because I was when I got here. We’ll talk later when yer rested up.”

  “That’s probably a good idea,” she said, walking back towards her bedroom, “I do feel tired, I’ll see you later.”

  She entered her room and closed the door behind her. Scott looked out the window. All seemed quiet. He hoped every day was quiet like this. He missed Katie and ached to be with her. He missed her touch, her soft kisses and the way she made him smile. Unfortunately, he was not going to see her for a while, so he better get used to it.

  He went to his room and started unpacking his backpack, hoping that if he could keep busy the time would go quicker.

  It was early evening when Britney woke up. She entered the main room and saw Scott looking out of the window with his binoculars.

  “What are you looking for?” she asked.

  “Nae anything, just checking oot the view.” Scott did not want to alarm her, but he heard the sound of distant machine-gun fire and was looking to see if he could locate where it was coming from. It was something she would have to get used to though, but not the first day. He would explain everything when they talked. He would try to make her understand just what type of place they were in and what she should expect.

  “Do yer want tae go doon tae the dinner buffet,” he asked her.

  “I’m not really hungry,” she said, “I think I’m going to relax and take a bath.”

  “Okay, well, I’m going doon tae get something tae eat, I’ll bring a couple of plates back tae the room, I’m sure they’ll have some sandwiches or something yer could eat later.”

  “Sounds good,” she said, as she walked into the bathroom.

  The hotel food was average at best. It was very bland looking and tasting. This was going to be one of hardest things for them both to deal with. Scott found a few things to eat, but did not stay in the restaurant for long. The hotel did not seem to have many guests, very few people eating, or even around. Even so, he decided it would probably be better to eat in the room every day. He was determined to keep her as much a secret as possible. There were obviously people who would realize she was staying there, including hotel workers and people at her workplace, but the fewer people, the better. It was difficult to know who to trust, so he was going to be extra cautious.

  After returning from the buffet, it was time
to talk, to let her know what to expect and to find out more about her and her business there. They introduced themselves to each other at the airport, but it was brief. Scott sat on the couch and waited for Britney to get dressed after her bath. She appeared wearing grey sweat pants and a white t-shirt. She had nothing on her feet and her red painted toenails reminded him of Katie. She sat down on the couch next to him.

  “So, first, tell me about you,” she said, taking control of the conversation.

  “I want to know everything about the man who is going to protect me.”

  Scott was not expecting this. He thought he was going to be asking the questions and explaining a few things. However, she was right; it was only fair that he give her some details about credentials and his plans to keep her safe.

  “Well, I served in the S.A.S. fer over ten years.”

  “What does that mean?” she interrupted.

  “It stands fer Special Air Service, a Special Forces regiment of the British Army. We completed many missions in Iraq and Afghanistan a few years ago so I know this area quite well, I’m highly trained in the art of warfare, guns, knives, hand-tae-hand combat, etc.”

  “So, I’m pretty safe as long as I’m with you?” she asked.

  “Aye, yer do as I tell yer and yer will be fine.”

  “That’s good. My mom is very worried about me being here. I told her that I’d have specialist protection, but it didn’t really make her feel any better.”

  “Yer can tell yer mom yer in guid hands.”

  “That’s good. Now tell me about this place. What have I got to do to help you?”

  “First of all, yer must remember tae always trust me, even if yer dinnae understand why. If I tell yer tae do anything, there is going tae be a reason fer it and I will nae always have time tae explain.”

  “I can do that, go on,” she said.

  “I know yer nae used tae being in a place like this, but yer going tae have tae get used tae hearing explosions and gunfire. Yer will probably see things when we travel that will upset yer. Roadside bombs are commonplace here. If we pass close by tae where one has recently gone off, then yer will see injured people, probably even dead bodies. It really is nae pleasant, but I’d rather warn yer aboot it than have yer get taken by surprise and be shocked if it happens. There are people here intent on causing trouble. Yer know that. I’m sure yer watch the news. There are groups of people here that would love tae kidnap yer. I’m nae saying this tae scare yer, but yer have tae understand. They would try and get a ransom from your company and these people believe they can get more money fer a woman.”

  He paused, waiting to see if she was going to respond.

  “Okay, I understand, so what do we have to do?” Her voice was a little shaky, but she seemed to be coping quite well.

  “First of all, I want tae hide the fact that yer a woman. I know it will nae be easy, but anytime we travel, I want yer tae wear a baseball cap or a scarf on yer head and try tae tuck yer hair inside it, wear loose fitting jeans or trousers and tennis shoes. And starting tomorrow, anytime we go anywhere, yer wear a bulletproof vest. I know this will nae work if anyone sees yer close up, but if there are any undesirable people who see us from a distance, maybe we can avoid trouble.”

  “Makes sense, I can do that.” Scott was impressed with her attitude, He thought he was going to have a problem when she was whining and complaining so much earlier, but maybe she was just tired. Now, she seemed to be listening and willing to do as he asked. He was curious about something though and needed to ask.

  “Yer have tae tell me something. Why? Why are yer here? Yer obviously an intelligent, attractive, young woman. Why would yer want tae come tae a place like this?”

  She smiled at him, pleased that he complimented her.

  “I was offered a huge promotion if I would come here and start up the business. They knew I was the best person for the job. My job is very important to me. I’m very good and I love it. Plus, I just got out of a bad relationship and I wanted to get away for a while. It’s all very complicated.”

  “Okay, none of my business, I just wondered. What is it exactly that yer do?”

  “I’m in charge of the entire cell phone division back home and that’s the part they want to develop and expand here.”

  “Reet, sounds important.”

  “It is. Another thing is, I like adventure. The whole idea sounded very exciting and challenging and I know there are very few women in the world who could do this or would want to do this so that makes it even more attractive to me.”

  “Okay, fair enough.” Scott didn’t really get it. He thought she really had no idea just how dangerous this place could be, but it was her life and she was entitled to do whatever she wanted to do.

  “How about you, why are you here? Aren’t you going to miss your wife?” she countered.

  “I’m nae married,” said Scott. Looking down at the wedding band on his finger, he knew why she asked the question.

  “This is a present from my girlfriend. Where we live, anytime I go anywhere without her I seem tae attract the attention of women when I talk. This is just tae let them know I’m nae available, and I kind of like it. He laughed to himself. “I’m here because the money is very guid and I can buy us a nice house when I get haem.”

  “Ah, I see, British accents are cool, especially Scottish ones,” she said.

  He laughed again and she smiled at him. She was feeling a little nervous about some of the things he told her, but he did make her feel safe.

  “How long will the drive take to get to work?” she asked.

  “It depends on which way we go, the traffic and whether there’s any trouble that day. I would say we could do it in forty minutes, depending on the situation. But, it could take an hour, sometimes longer.”

  The place they needed to go was in the north of the city. It was a straightforward trip, but Scott knew it was not that simple. He decided he would take a slightly different route each day and leave at varying times just to try to ensure they were not being followed.

  “I have a lot of work to do and will be doing work on my laptop when we’re in the suite too, but what else can we do here? I know it’s not a place where we’re going to be going out to bars or nightclubs, but is there anything to do?” she asked.

  “It’s going tae get pretty dull. Yer either going tae be at work or here. We do have internet access, so I guess yer can be on yer laptop or maybe read some books if yer like doing that, but apart from that, nae anything.”

  It was the reply she expected. They both knew that it was going to be a long six months, but they each had personal reasons for being there.

  Later that night after Britney went to sleep, Scott called Katie. She knew he was picking up his client today and she would have many, many questions for him.

  “Hey babe,” he said, when she answered.

  “Hi baby, how are you? How did your day go?”

  “Nae too bad. We’re both at the hotel now, nae problems, we’re both fine.”

  “So is she pretty?”

  Wow, that did not take her long, he thought.

  “She’s an attractive, young woman, but yer know I only have eyes fer yer.”

  “Good answer, so tell me about her.” Katie was intrigued. She wanted to know more about the woman who was going to be living with her man for the next six months.

  “Her name is Britney, late 20’s maybe, very posh, slim, pretty, long red hair. I thought she was going tae be a reet pain in the arse fer a while, but we had a talk and she does nae seem too bad. I think it will be fine.”

  “So what has she already done to annoy you?” she giggled, inquisitively.

  “She was just doing a lot of moaning when we got tae the hotel. I think she expected a wee bit more luxury than she got. I get the impression this lass is nae used tae roughing it.”

  Katie laughed.

  “The hotel isn’t that bad, is it?”

  “Nae, it’s fine. It’s a decent size
and it’s clean, but it’s nae five-star if yer know what I mean.”

  She laughed again. She was expecting this woman to be older, but she was not worried. She tried to remember why he was there and what he was doing for them. She trusted him.

  “It sounds like you’re going to have your hands full. You’ve left behind one princess and now you’ve got another.”

  Scott smiled and laughed, he really liked it when she made him laugh.

  “I miss yer baby, I can’t talk fer long tonight though because I’ve had a long day and I’m tired.”

  “Okay, go and get some sleep. Call me tomorrow.”

  “Will do, gorgeous, I love yer. Guid night.”

  “Night baby, sleep well. Love you more.”

  This time, it was her turn to hang up the phone before he could object. He smiled as he lay down. I’ll give you this one, he thought as he closed his eyes.

  Chapter 6

  It was Friday evening in Baghdad, and Scott and Britney had just arrived back at the suite. He wanted to take a shower, and she was going to lie down for a short time. She was thinking about dressing down and trying not to look feminine. This was hard for her. She knew she was a beautiful, shapely woman, but she understood why it was necessary. She was also adventurous, and very intelligent. She completed her Master’s Degree in Business Management by the age of 22, and moved directly into an executive position for an electronics company. She was well aware that she had received the position because her parents were close friends with the CEO, but she didn’t care. She wanted “that” job. She was the only child of very wealthy parents and had grown up very privileged. She grew up living in a beachfront house in an exclusive area of San Diego. Everything she wanted, she was given, and was very used to that. After having received many promotions, she became the Sales and Marketing Director for the entire North American cell line division before reaching 28. She had been romantically involved with one of the company’s, vice-presidents. He was married and their affair recently was made public. It had become messy, and she was asked to take the Baghdad position largely because she was the ideal person but also, to get her out of the limelight until things settled down. The company didn’t want to lose a valuable employee and this was an ideal situation. She needed to get away for a while, since she knew her lover’s wife and things were uncomfortable. Plus, she enjoyed a challenge. Some years back, she wanted to join the Army, but her parents talked her out of it. These days, she thought it was probably a good thing. Some of the things she had seen over the last few days made her realize that she was not cut out for that kind of life.