‘Hopefully you will sleep better tonight.’
‘Yes.’ Alexa turned to look at him. ‘Thank you. I know I said I didn’t want a bodyguard, but I never would have managed this journey without you. I can see that now.’ She sensed his immediate withdrawal.
‘You are my responsibility.’
In other words he was just doing the job he was being paid to do, and he didn’t want her to forget that. Unreasonably disappointed by his reaction, she climbed down from the vehicle and followed him into the tent.
‘Well, I envy your stamina. I don’t think I have the energy to eat. I’ll just go straight to bed, and—’ She broke off with a gasp of shock as she walked into the tent and saw the bed. ‘Oh my goodness! It’s like something out of an Arabian fantasy.’
‘Indeed.’ Karim opened a bottle of water and handed her a drink. ‘The tourists like it. It is the honeymoon suite, I believe.’
Alexa stared at the huge bed draped in jewel-coloured silk and velvet cushions, and felt the colour heat her cheeks. Arabian antiques and elaborate rugs gave the tent a warm, intimate feel. It was clearly a place for lovers. ‘Won’t we be conspicuous staying here?’
‘No one will be looking for you in the honeymoon suite. You’re not married yet.’
The yet hung between them, and she gazed at him for a moment, noting the sudden tension in his broad shoulders.
It was ridiculous, she thought frantically, to be so sexually aware of a man when she was about to marry another. She had to stop thinking about Karim in that way. Just because he’d been kind, didn’t mean that he was thinking …
‘We should eat.’ His voice sounded unnaturally harsh, and the fact that he turned away from her made her wonder if he’d somehow sensed the way she was feeling.
Was he shocked? Embarrassed? Probably, because she certainly was.
‘I’m not really hungry.’
‘Sit down, Alexa.’ He sounded tired, and he rubbed the tips of his bronzed fingers over his forehead as if to relieve the tension. ‘You must eat. We have almost two days of travel ahead of us, and you ate virtually nothing today.’
‘All right. Just something small.’
She wasn’t aware that he’d communicated with anyone, and yet moments later several staff entered the tent, bearing a selection of dishes which they placed on the rug. Once they were alone again, Alexa knelt down. ‘So this place is actually a hotel?’
‘Zangrar is proving a surprisingly popular tourist destination.’ Karim picked up a dish and transferred several delicacies to her plate. ‘These desert encampments appeal to the romantic nature of tourists. They have a chance to swim, go dune driving, ride a camel and spend a night in the desert under the stars.’
‘Tourism was the Sultan’s idea?’
‘He has driven much of the commercial development, yes. It is important to look forward to the time when our natural resources run out.’
‘It’s wonderful that he cares so much about the future of Zangrar.’ Alexa stared at the food on her plate without touching it. ‘My father was the same. He was passionate about Rovina—’ She stopped suddenly, horrified with herself. Why was she talking about her father?
‘His death must have been a great loss to the country.’
‘I miss him every day.’ Her hand shook, and Karim reached out and gently removed the plate that she was holding.
‘Much of the security of childhood comes from parental love. You were deprived of that.’ His astute observation surprised her.
‘Yes, it was hard.’
‘At least you had your uncle to care for you.’
Alexa felt herself hovering on the brink of unfamiliar territory. This was the point where she should tell him the truth. She wanted to tell him the truth. But trusting anyone was so alien that she just couldn’t persuade her mouth to form the words. She just couldn’t take that final plunge. So she stayed silent, and was just about to change the subject altogether when she heard the sound of a vehicle outside.
She turned her head swiftly towards the doorway of the tent. ‘Did you hear something?’
‘A car. Probably late arrivals.’
But her sense of danger was so finely tuned that she just knew, and she stood up so quickly that she tipped several of the dishes onto the floor. ‘They’ve found us.’
Karim’s eyes narrowed, but he rose to his feet. ‘They will simply be tourists. Wait here. I will investigate.’
‘No!’ Forcing herself to think clearly, she grabbed his arm. ‘Don’t do that. Is there another exit? We need to get out of here before they find us.’
‘Calm down.’ Clearly believing that her reaction was wildly exaggerated, he gently removed his arm from her grip and strolled out of the tent.
Alexa didn’t waste a moment in contemplation.
Her hands and knees shaking, she stuffed her hair under a hat and grabbed her knife. Hoping that the Sultan would agree to pay for the damage, she cut a hole in the back of the opulent tent and slipped out into the night.
She wasn’t waiting to see who the visitors were. She already knew.
And she ran. As quickly as she could in unfamiliar terrain she ran, past a swimming pool, between the sloping palm-trees and out towards the desert. She didn’t know where she was going, but she hoped she’d be able to find somewhere to hide. Her heart was pounding, her mouth was dry and she stumbled twice as she ran in the darkness.
There were shouts from beyond the tents and then an explosion of gunfire behind her, and Alexa froze. She’d left Karim to handle them alone.
She looked over her shoulder, torn by indecision. He hadn’t believed her and that wasn’t all his fault. She hadn’t told him everything, had she? And now, because of her, he was in danger.
Cursing herself for not forcing him to leave with her, she turned back towards the tents, but then she heard the roar of a car engine and headlights came towards her.
Her heart pounded and a feeling of helpless despair swamped her.
They’d found her. And out here, trapped in unfamiliar terrain, she could do little to defend herself.
It was all over.
Unable to run, she stood staring at those headlights—stood waiting to die.
‘Alexa! Move!’ Karim’s harsh tone penetrated her haze of fear, but she was shaking so much she couldn’t do anything. He opened the door, jumped down from the vehicle and swung her bodily into his arms. ‘Now is not the time to stand still.’ Behaving as if she weighed nothing, he virtually threw her into the passenger seat, and was back behind the wheel and stamping hard on the accelerator before she’d even had time to catch her breath.
‘Do your seat belt up,’ he bit out sharply. ‘In the dark I can’t be sure I’ll avoid the holes in the ground.’
Her hands shaking, she did as she instructed and then gasped as she saw the stain spreading on his sleeve. ‘You’re hurt.’
‘It’s just a scratch.’
‘It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have let you come with me—’
‘Are they behind us?’
Alexa glanced over her shoulder and saw lights. ‘Yes. They’re following.’