by Kalia Lewis
Hearing those words caused a vast hole to open up inside of her, revealing a stark agonising pain which had been lying dormant in the pit of her stomach. The pain rippled through the hole and rushed out, clawing at her veins for entry. Seeing red, she swung her aching arms in front of her and angrily pushed him backwards, not caring if he fell against the seat behind him. "My father died twenty-two years ago." Her voice wobbled, revealing the hurt underneath.
"No he didn’t Katarina, he lives."
Chaffed skin had formed pink circles around her wrists and she was now furiously rubbing at them. A desperate, raw longing for her father was charging through her and she didn't know if she could speak without strangling her captor. "I watched him die, you bastard! How dare you manipulate me and lie to me just to get what you want!" Right now he was lucky her legs were still bound by ropes, otherwise she would have kicked him where it hurt.
Tariq bounced back from the hard shove and took her head in the palm of his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. The anguish he saw there nearly made him forget his plans and take her straight to her father, but he'd seen that same look on the wives of those dead men. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. "He lives, Katarina and once we have proof of my brother and Amira’s treachery, I will bring him to you."
A sob burned in her throat. "If you’re lying to me, Tariq, I swear, I will kill you." To say such things just so she would dance to his tune, only to find out at the end that it wasn't true, was more than she could ever bear.
"If we’re going to do this together, Katarina, daughter of Sheikh Allah Turan and Sheikha Lorraine Turan, then I promise you this. I will never lie to you. I’m willing to give up a normal married life, even to sacrifice having an heir, all to stop people from dying. I will never betray you or bring another woman into the marriage. This is my solemn vow."
A moment of silence ensued as she frantically searched the depth of his eyes and into the light of his soul. What she found there was a profound integrity and a wealth of compassion. Slowly, she nodded her head. "I will do it on one condition."
Relief flooded across his face and he dropped his forehead onto hers. "You name it and I will do anything." He watched a slight smile form at the corners of her lips.
"There'll be no funny business between us," she declared in a firm voice.
The temptation to kiss her was rising. "Funny business?" he repeated, shaking his head slightly at her words. "What is funny business?"
"It means no sex."
"Ah,’ he laughed, "I promise you this. I will not make a move on you. In fact, you are the leader, so when you want to have some funny business, you just let me know, okay?" He secretly wondered how long her resistance would last with this growing intensity of sexual awareness between them, but he would allow her the space to make the first move, as long as she didn't take too long. Otherwise, he might just have to push a few buttons to speed her up.
A cough behind them caused him to drop his hands. A man was standing there in full Islamic regalia.
"You brought the imam?" she asked in disbelief.
Tariq bent over to untie her ankles. "Yes, we have to be married before we land. I have sent a message to my father to say I am bringing my new wife home. Normally, you would need a member of your family present, but I can provide the two witnesses, Rob, my security manager, who you called Mr. Pump Iron Bodyguard and my personal aide, Murad." He pointed to someone behind Katie.
She turned to find a small thickset man pop his head out of the doorway at the back and wave cautiously at her. She nodded in response. "Am I allowed to clean up before we begin?"
Tariq smiled in earnest. "Yes, of course. I know this has come as a shock and at such short notice, but my parents will insist on a full ceremony when we arrive, so the imam will recite the religious vows now and we'll sign the certificate. We'll do a full family wedding in Socotra."
Katie looked down at her gold maid of honour dress that she was still wearing. It was now severely rumpled. "I suppose this will have to do."
Following Rob to the bedroom at the back of the jet, she tided herself up in the adjoining bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror, she realised how pale and drawn she looked. Actually, she looked downright shell-shocked. Yesterday was Saturday and she'd been a single woman, sighing about her non-existent love life. Now it was Sunday and she was about to marry a stranger. There would be no fanfare, no planning and no family or close friends present. Not even her dear aunt and uncle would know about it until after the event. Even Annabelle, who was possibly on her way to her own honeymoon, wouldn't be here to hold her hand. For the second time in her life she felt completely alone. Inwardly, she reprimanded herself for drinking the pink champagne. How many times had she told herself never to allow a stranger to buy her or bring her a drink?
Quickly, she cleansed her face, brushed her teeth with a spare toothbrush that she found in a drawer and pinched some colour into her cheeks.
Knowing that you can only hide behind a bathroom door for so long, she took a deep breath and went to turn the door handle. Panic gnawed at her. Everything was moving so fast. What if she went out there and told Tariq it was off? Would he allow her the freedom to change her mind? She wasn’t sure. The only carrot at the end of the rope was the promise of seeing her father again. It wasn't fair of Tariq to hold back information and allow her to see him only when his part of the deal had been completed. Over the years she’d relived that last moment with her parents a thousand times. For Tariq to tell her that he was still alive was almost too much to take in. Trusting that Tariq was telling the truth was a gamble and she was about to take the biggest risk of her life.
At the age of six she'd been brought to England from Turkey to live with her English mother’s sister and her husband, but those first six years of her life had been spent in a close-knit Muslim environment. Her roots meant that once she signed the certificate today, she would be bound by its faith and its laws. Tariq knew this. It scared the hell out of her. That way of living was a long time ago and she'd had to let it go for the sake of her sanity. It would have been harder to heal the pain had she kept her old identity. None of her friends, not even Annabelle knew about her life before living with her aunt and uncle. How could they, she was so young when she arrived in their little village of Edingthorpe. The only thing that Annabelle knew was that her parents had died in a tragic accident.
The two identities of Katarina and Katie were about as similar as the Earth and the Moon. They were two completely different worlds. Tariq was about to take her back into the world of Katarina, and after twenty-two years of being Katie, she didn't think the ride was going to be a smooth one. Her mind as a woman was too liberal and western in its thinking, and in its demand for equality, to go back to her Turkish roots. On the other hand, Tariq's world was rich in respect, family and culture, and those were the things she'd sorely missed.
Breathing out her panic to calm her nerves, she opened the door. There were so many unanswered questions and time was short. The urge to go out there and demand that Tariq answer some of her queries about her father before she was legally bound to him was so strong. Had her father remarried? Was he well? Was he happy? Did she have any siblings? Walking towards a waiting Tariq, she knew by the shake of his head as she approached him that he would not give her any information until he'd put his own demons to rest.
He held out his hand.
This was it. There would be no going back after this was done. No future marriage, no children. A little sob caught in her throat as she put her cold hand into his warm one. All those dreams of creating her own happy family ended here, but she would have her father back and that was worth more than life itself.
Chapter Three
The jet landed on the runway of the private airstrip, but Katie hadn’t noticed the azure ocean, white sands, long stretches of desert or the lush green of the mountains as they'd come into land. She was too numb. The ceremony had taken as little as fifteen minutes and one
signature later, she was now Sheikha Katarina Turan el-Tayeb. It was all so surreal and matter-of-fact. There were no tears of joy or whopping great happiness, just a huge diamond ring that weighed heavily on her finger and a peck on the cheek from Tariq. Was it only twenty-four hours ago when she had been standing in beautiful autumn scenery watching a wedding filled with love take place?
Warm fingers entwined with her stiff ones on the armrest. It took her a moment to lift up her head and look into two concerned brown eyes. They looked so edible that she could have plucked them out and let their chocolate gooeyness melt in her mouth. This was exactly what her problem was. Tariq was so mind-bogglingly yummy, that she wondered if she'd been duped. It took her back to a memory of buying an Easter egg, which had looked so colourful against the others, but one bite and you were spitting out dud, sickly chocolate.
His eyes crinkled slightly at the corners as he smiled. "It will be okay, little moheet."
Katie raised her eyebrows at his use of the Arabic word for ocean. "Just so you know, I can still speak fluent Arabic."
A look of pride flashed in his eyes. "I know. Your aunt kept her promise to your father and allowed you to continue learning the spoken side of the language."
Eagerness and a thirst for more information on her father nearly spurted out of her, but she was cautious about pushing him, so she enquired in a cool voice, "Is there anything you don’t know about me?"
He gave her a small, seductive smile. "Oh, I think perhaps there is much to learn about you."
Heat pooled in her belly at his double meaning and she quickly turned away. Yum, she thought, as a picture of a tiered chocolate mousse popped into her mind, I bet there are many layers of you to uncover. The image soon dissolved when she realised that this wasn't a fantasy, it was real. She was now a married woman. How was she going to live for the next forty plus years without sex when she couldn't even last five minutes without turning him into some sort of chocolate every time she looked at him? The thought of living a life without intimacy was completely overwhelming. Tariq had promised her she’d be the only woman in his life. That meant exclusive rights, right? She shivered at that thought and pulled her hand away from underneath his. Remember Katie, she chided, too much chocolate isn't good for you.
The jet came to a stop and they moved to disembark. A black limo was waiting for them on the runway. Tariq caught her elbow at the top of the stairs. "I have asked for privacy on arrival and for this evening, so that you and I can dine alone, but tomorrow evening there'll be a family dinner in our honour. I know all about you, but you know nothing of me, so it’s only fair that you have this time to get prepared to meet the family."
Katie nodded at his thoughtfulness. The thought of being in a room alone with him made her heart skip a beat. Feeling the need to remind him of their deal, she replied, "But no funny business during this dinner, okay?"
Tariq put back his head laughed. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"
A pink flush climbed up her neck and into her cheeks. Huffing at him, she turned and descended the stairs and climbed into the waiting limo.
The road through the desert was full of sharp bends. Out of the window, Katie could see glimpses of turquoise waters over the flat parts of the land. "When you mentioned Socotra, I’d never heard of it before. I wish I had my camera as it’s so breathtakingly beautiful."
"Yes, it’s a relatively unknown island with only a few towns. My family live mainly in the north in the capital city of Hadiboh, but I have a private home in the south at Aomak Beach. Most of the ships dock on the west at Qalansiyah."
She quickly glanced at him and then turned back to the window. "I don't think I've seen this kind of contrast before between the ocean, white desert and green mountainous ranges. They're so conflicting, yet they live in perfect harmony. They would make rare images for my photo collection."
Tariq felt relaxed for the first time in months. Leaning back, he took in the full profile of his new wife. Childish awe was currently infusing her delicate facial features and her ample chest was rising and falling in time with her excitement. The second he'd signed the certificate, he'd breathed out a sigh of relief. All he needed now was a plan of action. He knew she was worried about her new role as his wife. The diamond ring he’d purchased just last week glittered on her finger. Over the last hour he’d caught her looking at it numerous times and nervously twisting it around. Taking his eyes from her he looked out of the window and pointed to a passing tree. "Do you see that tree over there?" he asked her.
"Yes," she answered.
"It’s called the dragon blood tree and you won’t find it anywhere else in the world. As a matter of fact, one third of the species on this island can be found nowhere else."
"That's incredible," she whispered, as she looked over at his animated face. Suddenly, a thought dawned on her. "I’ve just realised that I have none of my belongings with me, not even my mobile phone or my passport!"
"Don’t worry." He smiled lazily at her. "I had Rob pick up your passport from your room." He patted his breast pocket. "And I’ve requested everything for you, from shoes, clothes, toiletries, even your own photographic equipment and processing lab."
She immediately saw red on hearing his words. "How long?" she asked him in an icy tone.
Confused, he replied, "How long what?"
"Just exactly how long have you been planning this abduction?" The scenery was now forgotten as she crossed her arms and looked pointedly at him.
For the first time in as long as he could remember he actually blushed. "Since mid-June," he answered truthfully.
"So basically, you've been researching me and planning all this out for four months?" Clearly, the man was either desperate or obsessed.
He nodded.
"How confident were you that I'd do it?" Now that they'd started down this track, she wanted the whole truth.
"Well, I approached you at the wedding and asked you for your help and when you said no, I acted on option two, so either way..." he trailed off as he saw sheer anger pass over her face.
"And here I was thinking that I had a choice, but the truth is I didn't, did I? You planned all of this months ago. There I was living in oblivion while some nutcase was having wardrobes kitted out with clothes for me, ready for when I was kidnapped."
What could he say? Everything she'd said was true, but he couldn't let the hijackings of his ships go on any longer. The Somali government weren't interested. The open waters belonged to no-one and the police on Socotra were handling as much as they could at their end. Who was he going to turn to? He'd thought about doubling his men, but without guns they still wouldn't be able to protect themselves. Firearms were against the law on flammable tankers.
Sometimes he did stop to think about what he was doing bringing in a woman to get him the proof, but his family were a closed unit to outsiders. The only way was to bring in someone whom they'd consider as family, and Katie fitted the bill. At the time it seemed perfectly logical to him. It still did, and he was reminded of it when he met the dead men's families. He sighed heavily into the interior of the car. "This decision has not been made lightly, Katarina. I know what I stand to lose."
"I sincerely hope you do, because planning a kidnapping is a cold and calculated move to make."
He opened his mouth to reply, but she put a hand up to stop him. "Don't, just don't speak. I need some time to assimilate everything."
Silence descended upon them and Katie turned back to the window, choosing instead to feast her artistic delight on the passing scenery.
Before long, dwellings began to appear at the side of the road and soon they entered a small city. They drove past a huge mosque and a football stadium before turning right down a long road, which led to a dead end with double gates. The driver punched in a code on the security key-pad and the gates opened to reveal a tree-lined avenue with green parkland on either side. Driving down the avenue, the limo finally came to a stop in a circular driveway and an eno
rmous domed building presented itself. Two white columns flanked the double arched front doors. Matching arched windows over the two floors complemented the look and on either side of the domed building sat two angled wings, which gave the whole ensemble a slight V in shape. Further columns ran along the ground floor of the wings, creating undercover walkways, lined by glass doors. On the first floor, stone arches with beautifully carved lattice frames decorated the recessed private balconies. It was an architect's dream.
A long forgotten memory darted across her mind of another house, similar to this one. Happy memories bubbled to the surface of smells and laughter, of feeling secure as she wrapped herself in her mother's skirts. Shaking off the sentimental feelings, she came back to the present with the approach of a man from the entrance. African in descent, he was tall and strong looking.
The car door was opened for them by the man and she could hear Tariq greeting him.
"Katie, this is Thebes our head butler."
The man nodded to her as she climbed out of the car. "At your service Sheikha el-Tayeb," he said pleasantly while giving her a wide, friendly grin.
Tariq took hold of her hand in his and she was grateful for the warmth of his fingers as they threaded through hers. The shock of the last twenty-four hours was now catching up with her and she was feeling very off-kilter.
Walking through the huge doors, they entered a grand foyer. Katie's breath caught at its magnificence. A white marble floor elegantly displayed an insignia inlay of a golden rose with pink tips along its petals. This led to a double staircase, which was flanked by gold ornate banisters. The entrance hall also had sets of enormous double lattice doors, which ran down either side of the foyer, leading off into other rooms and the first floor had a viewing balcony all the way around. Dropping her head back, she looked straight up at the domed roof. The light from the stained glass windows rained down a myriad of colours that bounced off the walls and marble floor, giving it a mystical feel.