The explosions seemed to have stopped for the moment, but she could see the flash of gunfire on the streets below. A military force was making its way through the city like a tidal wave, destroying everything in its path. She walked carefully toward the window, trying to get a better view, but as she approached, she heard a voice in the hallways. The internal PA system.
“Attention hotel guests,” The voice said. “Sian Island is experiencing a slight military incursion, hotel guests are advised to remain in their rooms until the incident is resolved.” As the PA system cut out, Nika could hear the thud of bootsteps rushing down the hallway outside her room.
“Attention,” A thick, African accent in the hallways bellowed. “I am Commander Aasim, and this hotel has been occupied. You will be questioned one at a time over the course of the evening. Until you are called, remain in your hotel room. Any who step outside their rooms will be treated as hostile and may be shot depending on my mood.”
It was interesting considering there were only four rooms on the penthouse floor of the hotel, Nika thought to herself. Standing in place, she reached into her purse to remove her cellular phone. She activated the screen and started to access the address book when she realized there was absolutely no reception.
In vain, she walked about the hotel room, raising her phone toward the ceiling in an effort to gain at least a bar of signal, but she eventually realized that there must be some sort of cellular jamming device in place outside the hotel. The occupying forces had resolved to block all incoming and outgoing communication, and she confirmed this by trying the landline.
All thoughts relating to her appearance had left her mind, and she was left sitting on the edge of a bed meant for two. In that moment, it crossed her mind that yet another attempt at happiness had been foiled. In her hometown, she was known, and she was considered to be unattainable. This status (which she had worked for, she had to admit) had most certainly gotten in the way of her happiness.
It occurred to her that even a trip to the other side of the world had not proven fruitful on the romance front. After all, if her ridiculous status were not there to stop her, then a small army certainly would be. Looking back, Nika would realize how silly she was being. After all, there was a military coup taking place right outside her hotel room!
In this moment, however, all she could concern herself with was her lost chance at love.
She did not have to sit on the bed long before there was an abrupt knock at the door. They had come for her, hadn’t they? She hesitated for a moment, realizing that answering the door could easily mean her death, but there was no other way out of the hotel room. It was amazing that so much effort had been put into the creation of this room, but absolutely no effort had been made to create a decent fire escape!
The knock became louder, and Nika forced herself to begin walking toward the door. Most people would have cowered in the corner, waiting for the door to be broken down, but Nika was always one interested in seeing the end of a situation. The faster she dealt with this, the faster it would be over with. With that in mind, she proceeded to walk toward the door as the knocking became louder and more intense. As she passed the end of the bed, she picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder, understanding that she may never return to this hotel room.
She pulled open the door to see four masked soldiers standing in the hall. They were armed with assault rifles and wore the standard camouflage fatigues, and they couldn’t look any more imposing if they tried.
“Miss, we need you to come with us,” One of the masked men stated matter of factly.
Without a word, Nika stepped into the hallway and immediately noticed the body of military man, shot through the forehead and slumped against the wall across from her room.
“Wait, what’s goin--” Nika began to ask as duct tape was expertly placed over her mouth, her hands pulled behind her and restrained with steel cuffs.
“My apologies,” One of them said. “We have no time for questions.”
Nika let out a muffled “Mmph!” As two of them men dragged her by the arms through the hallway and toward the stairwell. As they moved forward she saw more soldiers, dead, left in various contorted positions. What had happened here? Who were these men? What were they going to do with her? At some point she would have to escape, but there was no point in making a break for it at the top floor of the hotel.
With Nika in tow, the men entered the stairwell carefully, making sure it was safe in all directions. They proceeded down the stairs, their rubber bootsteps echoing quietly in the brick and concrete structure. As they proceeded downward they passed the doors for each floor. These doors, and a few horrified screams from various floors were the only things Nika was truly aware of as they descended. She counted the numbers each time they passed a new door, knowing that when they reached the bottom of the stairwell, she would be forced to take flight.
20
18
16
14
10
…
She counted down the numbers until they reached 1, but to her surprise they continued. After two more flights of stairs, they burst through a basement door and emerged into an interior that was nothing like the rest of the hotel. A service tunnel. The tunnel itself was extremely complex, they made a number of twists and turns, eventually causing Nika to believe that they were simply going in circles.
At some point, the tunnel became pitch black and she thought she heard one of the soldiers say something about the power being cut. Despite the darkness, they managed to navigate the tunnel as if nothing had happened, and they did so until they came to an open air section of the tunnel which led to a small beach. As they led her onto the beach they came onto a small motorboat with an outboard motor. At the back of the boat sat the taxi driver from earlier in the day. She looked at him curiously.
“I drive the boats too,” He explained as he recognized her. “Do not judge me, it is impossible to find work at my age.”
As he said this, Nika felt a pinch in the back of her neck and the world descended into darkness.
Chapter 3
Island Getaway
Nika awoke on a king size bed. As she opened her eyes she became aware that the room she was in was huge, but it was not contemporary by any stretch of the imagination. In addition to that it did not resemble any of the Arabic styled structures on Sian Island. There was no trace of anything remotely related to Islam here. Instead, the room was strangely western and open. For the most part the room was comprised of glass walls, or windows if you wanted to call them that. The transparent walls revealed a beautiful view of the ocean, and it was apparent to Nika that this building was situated on a cliff high above the ocean.
“Beautiful,” A thick middle-eastern accent said from behind. She spun around to face the man that she’d seen standing in the hotel lobby earlier in the day. “Your dress, that is. A beautiful dress, for a beautiful lady...but...where are your shoes?”
Nika looked down and realized that she had indeed never put on a pair of shoes. “I think I should ask the questions,” She said defiantly. “Why am I here? Why have I been abducted?”
The man looked her up and down carefully. “I am Onur Aslan, and you are on my island. That said, I will ask the questions.”
Nika brushed her hair over her shoulder and looked straight at Onur. He was just as she remembered him from the hotel, and if possible, he had grown even more gorgeous. She refused to allow this fact to detract from her anger in the moment. She had been taken from her hotel room, handcuffed, and dragged to a completely different island!
“What am I doing here? If you think you’re going to have your way with m--”
Onur held his hand up, and she instinctively ceased speaking.
“As we speak, I am arranging your transport away from this island and back to the mainland. I can grant you passage to India, and from there you may travel to any port you wish. In the meantime you will have dinner with me in exactly one hour.”
What should have sounded like a request was more of a demand. Though she was still quite angry, Nika recognized that this man had the power and the connections to get her back to the mainland. Onur Aslan was a name that even she had heard. If Nika remembered correctly, he was a business tycoon...but what business was he in?
“Fine,” Nika said, but as she was lost in thought, Onur had already left the room. She was alone with her thoughts, but she was not locked in. Onur had left the door standing wide open, so she took the liberty of exiting the room. The hallways outside the room matched the western style and was brightly lit with skylights.
Directly across from her room was a slim glass table, and on it sat a pair of three inch platform heels. She examined them and realized that they were precisely her size. Onur had done his research. He knew who she was, he knew where she had come from, and he even knew her shoe size. Against the cold stone floor, her feet were freezing, but she put the heels back on the table and walked away.
Over the course of the next forty-five minutes she explored a small section of the house and even managed to find an exterior door. Though she did not manage to circle the entire perimeter, she did establish that this was in fact a completely different island from the one she had originated from. She had in fact lost track of time standing on a rocky beach, staring at the horizon, wondering when or even if she might return home. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear the young security guard approaching her from behind.
“Miss Kitaev,” the guard said. She turned around to meet his gaze. “Mr. Onur is waiting for you. It would be in both of our best interests that we don’t keep him waiting longer than we have to.”
Nika silently followed the guard for a moment before speaking up. “You’re American, aren’t you?” She said, her eyes lighting up a little.
“West Seattle, born and raised,” He replied.
“Can you tell me what happened on Sian Island?”
“Men came with guns and you woke up here.”
“Funny.”
Momentarily, they were standing in a large dining area which was, like the rest of the house, quite modern. The ceiling was once again composed of sky lights, but at this point night had descended, and the room was lit by square lamps lining the walls. In the center of the room stood a long glass table, lined with metal chairs, and at the end of the table stood Onur Aslan.
“Welcome,” He said. “To my dining room.”
“We’ll be eating in here?” Nika asked curiously.
“Of course not, this table,” He gestured to the monstrosity in the center of the room. “Much too large. We need not yell at each other during dinner.”
Nika briskly walked toward Onur, taking in his new attire. He had changed into a new outfit which simply consisted of a black button up shirt, the top two buttons open, and a pair of gray slacks.
“Maybe,” Nika said to him as she approached. “It would be better this way, maybe I don’t want to hear what you have to say.”
“This may be true indeed, but on my island, your choices are limited, Dominika Kaitev.”
He was right of course, he held the key to her future, here on this little island. While she was here, she decided to ask the one question that had been bugging her since she arrived on the island.
“What happened on Sian Island?”
He motioned for her to follow him and as they reached a door, he opened it to reveal a large swimming area with a poolside table. The table was already set for two with the customary candle burning at the center.
Onur walked to the left side of the small rounded table and slid the chair out. “Sit, please.” Once again his words were more of a command though phrased as a request. She sat down immediately and pulled the chair in. Onur sat at the other side of the table.
“Despite the peaceful aesthetics, Sian Island has a bit of a hand in the drug trade.” Onur explained. “It seems that some of the nations in East Africa are tired of their citizens being exposed. Naturally if they were simply importing marijuana no one would have said a word, but when the drugs get a bit harder, people tend to get angry. Politics.”
Nika shifted in her chair and looked straight at Onur. “Why am I here?”
“I told you, I have arranged for your passage back to the mainland.”
“Why me?”
“Can you think of a good reason why not you?”
“If you think I’m going to sleep with you just because you brought me here--”
“Is that not what you want?”
“Excuse me?”
Onur, contrary to expectation, did not bat an eye. “You are a travel agent, you arrange romantic excursions for others, yet you are not married yourself. Could it be that you are living vicariously through your clients?”
Nika had known Onur for less than twelve hours, and he already knew her better than she knew herself. For the first time since she was seventeen, she was feeling vulnerable and exposed.
“Tell me something,” Onur said to her as a waiter brought two plates of food to the table. “That I do not know about you.”
Nika thought for a moment and then said, “Every week, since I was born, my father made a video recording of my face until I was eighteen. He made a time lapse video and put it on the internet.”
“That...is intriguing...” Onur said.
“What is this?” Nika indicated the plate of food that had been delivered to her.
“Iskender kebap.” The rest of the poolside dinner was eaten in silence as the evening turned to night time. Finally, Onur wiped his hands on a cloth napkin and said, “Come, we will swim.”
Chapter 4
The Swim
Contrary to what she had expected, Onur had provided Nika with a simple, most, one piece bathing suit. Though they had resolved to go for a swim, there was not much of that going on. Rather they found themselves sitting on the concrete pool steps at the shallow end, up to their chests in clear blue water. Nika had expected Onur to make an advance of some sort, but instead he kept his distance, carefully watching her. He had made suggestions, naturally, but it almost seemed as if she would be forced to make the first move -- if she ever did.
“Are you not tired of living vicariously?” Onur inquired. “Is it not time that you...indulged in your own fantasy?”
Nika laughed, almost mockingly. “And what do you think my fantasy is?” She asked, still laughing.
“You tell me.”
“My ‘fantasy’ certainly doesn’t involve anyone that would...would kidnap me!” She nearly spit the words out, much to Onur’s amusement. “Why did you have me drugged?”
Onur shrugged. “It would have been inconvenient for my men to have a hysterical woman on their boat. Imagine if you had capsized it.”
“I never would have done that!”
Onur looked at her with a sideways glance.
“Okay, I might have done that, but I was hysterical! What about those soldiers your men killed?”
Onur shrugged once again. “Those men killed countless innocents when they made land. In this game, no one is truly innocent, not even myself. But, you are alive, are you not?”
“I suppose I should be grateful.”
“If you like.”
In the few moments that they remained silent, Nika realized just how loud the silence in a pool area could actually be. Every movement, every clearing of the throat, and every splash echoed ten times over. Even talking in this place seemed like a public affair, even though the room was clearly closed off from the rest of the house.
“What is it that you do, Mr. Aslan?” Nika asked him. At this point she was genuinely interested.
“Quite simply Miss Kitaev, I do business.”
“Amusing.”
“Contrary to what you might have believed of those in my position, we do not all conduct...shall we say...illegal activities. I, whether you choose to believe it or not, fought my way to this position. While I did things that might be considered immoral, I did not step outside t
he boundaries of any law, save for transactions completed on foreign soil.”
“And your empire,” Nika said. “Built with family funding?”
Onur shook his head. “While I was born to a wealthy woman, she conceived with a...less than desirable man. Love counts for little when lineage is at stake, as my father found out. My mother was...disgraced, and I was placed in an orphanage. What I have here, I have built with my own two hands, and should I bear children, I will not dictate who it is that they can love. Love is, without a doubt, the building blocks on which our existence is settled. Without love, we are nothing.”
These words from Onur Aslan seemed to be sincere. The noise of the pool seemed to resign itself to the utter silence that fell across the room. Nika, though she had been kidnapped and drugged, began to understand this man, Onur Aslan. He was not a cold, corporate shark, he was a man, and a man who had been forced to work for his position.
This gave him a unique advantage and perspective on life. Instead of being told what he should expect and who he should include in his life, he had been given the chance to form his own opinions, which was something that many in his position would never have the chance to experience. All at once, Nika felt the walls coming down. It was an amazing and rapid change, but with this man, she felt as if she could be herself, and she felt herself moving closer to him. As she moved toward him in the pool, she would have expected him to do the same, but he stared intently at her, waiting for her to make the first move.
“Why am I doing this?” She said aloud.
“In two days,” Onur said. “You will be gone from this place. You will be on a plane to Agatti and the to Mumbai. In two days, this place will be a distant memory. So, for two days, why not live your dream with someone who loves the same way you do?”
Onur was right, and Nika recognized it. She had too long been sitting on the sidelines, watching others fall in love and experience the romance that she could only dream of. Here she was, in this place, with this man, and as she thought about it more and more, she realized that the was here, in the position she’d dreamed of all her life.
Love in Paradise Page 2