“Now get some sleep,” Aaron said curtly and stalked away, leaving her to stare after him, speculating about why he seemed so on edge.
Chapter 5
Aaron walked into the garage the next morning and gave a careful look around. The Range Rover was packed to the gills with food and water. Tanks of extra gasoline were strapped to the top. Extra tires were fastened to the front and back.
He stood back and gave the whole thing a sardonic look. He’d be driving a rolling flamethrower but he had no choice. The desert where he’d be going wasn’t exactly overflowing with petrol stations. He’d have to make every drop count and hope he didn’t have to venture too far into the desert to find Jennifer and her companions.
With measured tread, he walked around the vehicle, checking everything that he’d checked last night. It was part and parcel of being a pilot. He did preflight checks and predrive checks. Satisfied that he had everything, he pulled the keys from his pocket and gave them a toss into the air, catching them cockily, then whirled around when he heard the door into the house open behind him.
“Nice touch, Aaron,” Becca said, scurrying out and shutting the door behind her. She was dressed and ready in cargo pants, a blue camp shirt with sleeves that could be rolled up, and sturdy boots.
She shot him an annoyed look. “I knew you’d do this. Try to ditch me by leaving at five instead of six. Fortunately, I’m on to your tricks.” She jerked the back door open, jammed her bag into the last few inches of space, and then jumped into the front. Grabbing the seatbelt, she snapped it into place, then leaned forward and looked at his surprised face. “Well, are we going, or not?”
She grabbed the rearview mirror and twisted it around so she could see herself. With flying fingers, she braided her hair and twisted a stretchy band onto the end.
He couldn’t think of a thing to say. She might be too skinny, emotionally raw from worry about her father and sister, but she was tough and unstoppable. He couldn’t help the grin that slid over his lips. One way or another, this was going to be an interesting, even entertaining, trip.
“There’s a mirror right there,” he said tersely, pointing to the sun visor over her head.
“I know, but I knew using the rearview mirror would irritate you. Are we going or not?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows in a questioning manner that must annoy her students as much as it did him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tube of lip gloss, using it to bring her lips to shiny perfection. He could think of much better things for her to be doing with that mouth of hers.
He had tried to leave her behind for her own good. Their visit to the Isbaharian consulate yesterday had worried him more than he’d let on. There was something odd going on. His contacts in intelligence had confirmed his suspicions though they didn’t yet know what was happening.
He was reluctant to take Rebecca into possible danger so he’d tried to trick her. He shouldn’t have wasted his time. For reasons he couldn’t begin to understand, he was glad she had called his bluff.
And who was he trying to kid? He wanted her along. Two days of food and rest had done wonders for her. She looked better, stronger, ready for anything. He hoped she was ready for him.
“Do you think you have everything you need?” he asked, climbing in beside her and fastening his own seatbelt.
“I was a camp counselor for years, remember? I know how to do with very little and how to improvise.”
“Let’s see how well you do in the Sahel.”
She smirked at him, making him grin. Yes, he thought, an interesting and entertaining trip.
Côte de Diamant City was barely waking as they rolled through. “This is my fourth trip through the city,” she said. “On the first two, I looked at the scenery, but didn’t really focus on it. I was too worried about finding Jenny.”
“And the third trip?”
She glanced away from him, as he’d known she would, and said, “It was certainly . . . educational.”
He chuckled. That was an understatement. He wondered if she’d spent the night dreaming the kinds of erotic dreams that had bedeviled him – all of them featuring her and the spectacularly agile poses on the walls of the temple.
He should probably feel ashamed about letting her see that place. In fact, he should feel ashamed of the way he had dragged her to his house, but he didn’t. If he hadn’t done that, she wouldn’t be sitting beside him right now but would have gone off on her own to find her sister and, no doubt, landed herself in a pit of trouble.
She looked around eagerly at the construction going on everywhere – massive walls of concrete block climbing into the sky, recently stuccoed buildings looking clean and fresh, at least until the red dust of the desert put its mark on. Flamboyant trees bloomed with their spectacular red-orange blossoms, the wide branches spreading over the street.
When the sun rose and its first rays hit the walls, the effect was blinding. “It’s beautiful, Aaron,” she said, slipping on her sunglasses. “Prosperous and . . . .” she paused, looking for the right word. “Important.”
“We’re trying to make it that way.” He felt unaccountably proud that she was admiring his city, the hard work of his people. “Once the government stabilized in Isbahar, things got better for us.”
“Oh? How?”
“Not so many of our best and brightest being pulled into military service.”
She nodded, sat back, and watched the life of the city roll by. “It must have been so hard, living in a nation constantly under threat from its neighbors.”
“It was. Ten years ago, when Isbahar decided they wanted the water from our river and declared war, the city was constantly under threat.”
She frowned. “Which is why you had to come back, to fly air support.”
He slid her a glance. “It was my job. Still is if there’s a threat.”
She nodded and fell into silence and he knew that she was probably thinking about the possible threat to her sister.
~*~
The traffic lessened as they left the city on a two-lane road that ran through fields of crops ready for harvest and huge groves of mango trees. Aaron stopped at a roadside vendor to buy some of the ripe fruit. He handed her the bag and said, “These don’t have as many calories as you need, but they’re delicious.”
“I’ve never met a man so obsessed with my weight,” Becca said lightly, even though she knew that wasn’t quite true.
“Put on a few pounds and I’ll quit nagging you.”
She made a face at him, causing him to laugh.
Aaron stretched his arm behind him and rummaged around until he found a roll of paper towels which he handed to her. He then reached down into his boot and pulled out a knife with a four inch blade. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and provide a snack?”
Becca took the wicked-looking weapon and did as he asked, peeling and slicing the ripe fruit and handing him pieces while trying to keep the juice off of both of them and his beautiful leather seats. It seemed like such a companionable and domestic thing to do. Strangely, as they were riding along, sharing the fruit, she felt as if something had clicked into place inside her, something she hadn’t known she was missing.
She wanted to explore that feeling some more, think about it and decide what it was, but the early morning hour and her lingering exhaustion caught up with her. Her sleep had also been disturbed by recurring erotic dreams involving her and Aaron indulging in some of the physically-challenging sexual positions they’d seen in the temple. She had awakened more than once, hot and aching for him. She’d never had an erotic dream before in her life. Sliding a sideways glance at him, she wondered if he’d heard her, up three times in the night to take a cold shower. She wondered if he’d had the dreams, or the showers.
Sitting back, she was soon lulled into relaxation by the smoothness of the road and the comfortable interior of the car. She drifted off to sleep. The slowing of the vehicle awakened her. She sat up, stretched and looked around. The black and whit
e-striped guard houses and the barrier arm down across the road told her they were at the border.
The Côte de Diamantian border guards were very young men. Becca thought they didn’t look much older than the boys she taught back home, but they were obviously proud of their spiffy uniforms and important job. She knew they would probably be the country’s first line of defense if matters did go badly between them and their neighbor.
They were nothing short of obsequious with Aaron. They gave only a cursory inspection of his passport and the passes they had Aaron had obtained from the consulate. Barely more attention was paid to her papers. The men bowed, then saluted, then bowed again.
“I guess it pays to travel with the minister of tourism,” she marveled, as the men stood at attention until Aaron finally saluted them back.
“That won’t get us far in Isbahar, though. Look,” he said, nodding at a second guard house only a few yards in front of them. Grim-faced officials walked out to meet them as the Range Rover crept the short distance to them.
A self-important young man, automatic rifle held firmly at the ready, marched toward them. He held up his other hand, palm out, in a stop motion as if they had been hurtling toward them at breakneck speed instead of at a turtle’s pace.
Becca gasped at sight of the gun and Aaron reached over to cover his hand with hers. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, Rebecca.”
She knew that was true, but somehow his simple gesture had tears spurting into her eyes. She couldn’t even recall the last time anyone had been so protective of her. She had been working so hard and so long to deal with everything that had happened to her in the past two years, of always being in charge, being responsible. Because of the rift in her family, she hadn’t been able to talk to her parents about anything important. Although she knew it had made her grow up fast, she was tired of making all the necessary decisions. Aaron’s simple gesture of thoughtfulness touched her. She barely knew how to behave when someone else looked after her.
Aaron shot her a questioning glance, but then had to deal with the guard, so he turned away and handed over both of their passports and the papers they’d obtained the day before at the consulate.
The guard examined their documents as if there was a good chance they were forgeries, had them step out of the car and stand in the sunlight so he could compare their passport photos to the real thing. He examined the travel documents Aaron had obtained, questioned him, then examined them again. He compared the signatures on both documents.
“Is it always like this?” Becca wanted to know.
“Not in the past ten years.”
Becca’s gaze shot to Aaron’s passive face. Not since the last war with Isbahar was his unspoken message.
“Do you think he’s going to take our fingerprints, compare them to a list of known criminals?” she asked Aaron in an undertone even as she kept a who-me?-I’m-perfectly-innocent smile on her face. “Swab them for DNA?”
“Rebecca, I think maybe you spend too much time watching police procedurals on television,” Aaron responded, keeping his own smile in place.
“This guy takes his job way too seriously.”
“Either he’s been trained that way, or he’s new on the job and afraid of making a mistake.”
Becca looked down at the man’s shiny new boots. “I’m guessing new on the job.”
She glanced behind them to see that the Côte de Diamantian guards, now with their own automatic rifles poised and ready, were watching the proceedings very carefully. She wondered what on earth they were expecting to happen. Concerned for Aaron, she turned back to him. Over the head of the man who was grilling him, Aaron sent her a wink.
At last the guard stamped all their documents and had a lengthy conversation with Aaron that ended with him pointing off in various directions. Aaron nodded in response, waved to the guards from his own country to indicate that everything was all right, then stepped back into the vehicle.
“What was that all about?” Becca asked once they were on their way again.
“I questioned him about the group of archaeologists that had been at Wadi Akbar or at Sik Ru. He said there’s no one at Wadi Akbar.”
“Do you think he’s telling the truth?”
“I think so, and it agrees with what I learned from my contacts in the ministry of defense. They checked the satellite images of Wadi Akbar for me, and there were no indications of occupation.”
Becca’s heart sank. Where was Jenny? “And Sik Ru?”
“He says the archaeologists had left there to go to another site, but he didn’t know where.” He paused, seemingly lost in thought.
“What?”
“I got the impression that the group had been escorted away from Sik Ru, or were about to be.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know unless they’re being extra cautious,” he answered. “That guard said that ordinarily they would send a guide with us, but they have none to spare right now because of other security issues. He’s trusting us to obey the laws of this country.”
“Security issues? What kind?”
“That’s exactly what I’m wondering.” Aaron glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure they were out of sight of the guard station, then pulled off the road and reached for his satellite phone.
He punched in the number and waited, then had a short conversation with whoever answered. Becca suspected it was a member of his own country’s military, maybe even his old friend Ferran. When he hung up, Aaron was frowning as he replaced the phone.
“Still no concrete news of problems over here, but maybe they’re just keeping them quiet – for once. We’ll have to be careful.”
“That was my plan,” she assured him on a gulp.
He lifted an eyebrow at her. “Remember, you’re the one who wanted to come along.”
“Remember, you’re the one who said you’d protect me.”
“And I will.”
She drew in a breath. “I know.”
He looked at her for a long moment, his green eyes darkening, then he reached out to cup her head with his hand. Pulling her forward, he settled his lips over hers. Warm, sweet, and delicious, his taste washed through her. His other hand came up, he twisted in his seat, and he put his hands on both sides of her head so that he could feast on her mouth. His tongue, tender, wanting, seeking, parried with hers, exploring the recesses of her mouth, pulling her essence into himself even as he gave her all of his.
The swelling joy she experienced every time he touched her filled her chest, washed through her, pooled in her core that begged for his touch. She had been thinking about that wonderful, sensuous mouth of his since yesterday, since he’d kissed her. Having it on hers was long-awaited yet fresh and new. Again, she felt that odd sensation as if something had clicked into place, bringing her one step closer to being whole.
Too soon, he pulled away, and looked down at her with heated concentration. “You distract me,” he said in mild complaint.
She smiled, a warm sweet smile that was full of the desire that bloomed whenever he touched her. “You taste of mangoes. I’m going to get turned on every time I eat a mango from now on.”
“Just make sure you don’t eat them with anyone else.” He pulled away, then sent her a knowing grin. “And Rebecca? We’ll be passing through those mango groves again on the way home.”
He started the car again and returned to the road. He had told her that the trip to Sik Ru would take all day. They would arrive late and probably have to spend the night there. However, it was where they would have the best chance of picking up the trail of Jenny and her group.
The thought of being alone with him sent shivers through her. She was safe with him. She knew that. The question was how safe would she be with her, with her own feelings, and the desires that flowered whenever he kissed her, touched her, or even breathed in the same room with her?
And then there was that other strange sensation she had experienced twice this morning, the one she couldn’t iden
tify, but that seemed to grow whenever he shared a little of himself with her, whether it was a smile or a kiss – or a mango. It was confusing and somehow familiar. The name of it tantalized just out of reach, frustrating her. She tried to push it out of her mind and focus on the task at hand, which was finding Jenny. She refused to think beyond that.
~*~
The shadows were growing long by the time they reached Sik Ru. The ancient civilization, carved into the hills and rocky outcroppings and spreading into the few areas of lush vegetation, and into the desert was once again being brought back to life by the armies of archaeologists and researchers who had come there over the years. Trenches ran in all directions, some fenced off for protections, others open so that anyone walking through would be at risk of falling in and breaking a leg.
They pulled up to a large tent and stopped. Aaron switched off the engine and they sat, looking around.
The quiet was eerie, waiting.
“Odd,” he said. “I knew Jennifer’s group had moved on, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone else here at all. I’ve never heard of that happening since this is such a popular site.”
He glanced over at Becca’s dismayed face. His heart ached for her. Her hands rested helplessly in her lap so he reached over and covered one with his own hand.
“You knew she was gone from here, Rebecca.”
“Yes, but I hoped the reports were wrong. That we’d drive up and she’d come running out to meet me, hug me, so I’d know she was alive.” Her throat seemed to clog. She cleared her throat and gave him a shaky smile. “In truth, it’s been years since Jenny has hugged me, or anyone in our family, for that matter, or shared anything more than a perfunctory conversation.”
Aaron felt a surge of pity for her. He wasn’t close to his own sister, but Jaida was ten years older than him and had married young, moving into her husband’s house when Aaron was only ten. But it hadn’t been that way with Rebecca and Jennifer. Since they were only two years apart, they’d had many of the same interests and shared friends. He recalled sitting in the Sanger’s back yard, pretending to be participating in the discussion of jet maintenance, all the while looking into the kitchen where the two girls had helped their mother clean up, laughing and talking, bumping hips against each other, taking a few dance steps in that free and easy, got-the-world-by-its-tail manner that American girls shared.
Book Boyfriends Cafe Summer Lovin' Anthology 2015 Page 65