Chapter 3
“Are you okay?”
Arianna looked up at Rhys’ face, the hard lines gentled by his concern.
Was she okay? She was about to step out to the last place her father had been seen, the place where the security guards had basically ejected her. And he was asking her if she was okay?
No, that wasn’t the adjective she would use to describe how she was feeling at this particular moment. But she could fake it. She could pretend to be fine, pulled together, and determined, just as she’d been doing ever since she’d stopped hearing from her father. She’d fake it until he was found, safe and sound.
“Yes. I’m fine,” she lied.
Rhys reached out, his fingers tucking her hair behind her ear. “No. You’re not okay.” He paused, looking at her and she tried to brighten her expression, to force her features into some sort of relaxed expression which could convey that she was fine. “You’re trying to hide your feelings, but you’re not okay.” He took her hand, lifting her fingers to his lips. “I’ll help you get through this, okay?”
At that particular moment, the coldness that had stabbed through her heart when she’d stopped getting messages from her father eased slightly. It wasn’t gone. Arianna doubted that anything could completely dissipate that frigid feeling. But…for some reason, she could breathe just a bit easier now. His hand warmed her fingers, some of the tension in her shoulders eased up as well.
“I’ll be fine,” she repeated. And in that moment, for the first time in a long time, she knew that she really would be fine.
He looked into her eyes for another long moment and nodded. Opening the door, he stepped out of the SUV and looked around, sliding a pair of sunglasses on. She had no idea what he was doing, but one of his guards nodded, and he turned to extend his hand to her.
Arianna stared at that hand. It was dangerous to take it, to put her hand into his. The symbolism was profound. She felt as if putting her hand into his, accepting his help, meant that she trusted him.
She didn’t! There was no way she could trust this man again! She’d trusted him months ago and it had taken a long time to mentally reenergize her confidence.
But nor could she completely ignore the gesture. Toughening her resolve, she took the offered hand, ignoring any sort of false symbolism it might represent and stepped out of the vehicle.
Once again, the intense heat shocked her. Every time, Arianna was surprised by how heavy the desert sun could feel on her skin. It was almost as if a wave was pressing down on her, making it hard to walk. Forcing her feet to move, she took a deep breath, and immediately regretted it. Breathing deeply only pulled the one hundred and thirty degree air into her lungs, making her feel roasted from the inside too.
“You get used to it,” Rhys assured her with a soft chuckle.
Releasing his hand, she stepped back from him, nodding as if she believed him. Arianna knew that he was lying. There was absolutely no way she would get used to this kind of heat. She was from Virginia and it got hot and muggy there during July and August. Walking out into that kind of humidity was akin to trying to walk through a wet blanket. She’d lived there for years but never…not a single time, did she ever “get used to it” as Rhys had so kindly told her.
“I doubt it,” she finally replied.
The steel-toed boots were heavy, weighing her down even more than the heat. And she wasn’t used to the rough material of the cargo pants. They felt…odd against her skin. She preferred silks and linen, but after working with Hayden in the garden sales office, she’d learned to wear jeans. Heels and business suits weren’t practical when working around dirt and compost.
He laughed, pulling her closer. “Trust me, the heat starts to become a way of life.”
“In what way?” she asked, sliding her own sunglasses higher on her nose.
He held her hand as he led her around several areas that seemed to be construction storage areas. “Residents know to run errands during the early morning hours when it is cooler. There’s a chill in the air overnight which lasts until about nine o’clock most mornings.”
“I’m not sure that’s long enough for me to accomplish everything.”
“On the upside,” he said, then startled her when he lifted her by the waist to keep her from having to walk over a stack of metal parts, “there aren’t any mosquitos. I’ve been to your Virginia,” he shook his head and cringed. “That place was a swamp before and it should have remained a swamp!”
She laughed, unable to stop herself. “Virginia is gorgeous!”
“Yes, during certain times of the year. But during your summers, the swarm of mosquitos is horrendous!”
Arianna couldn’t argue with him there. “Yeah, mosquitoes are a problem and they get me pretty badly every summer, but at least we don’t have scorpions.”
He said something to a guard and a moment later, a reusable bottle of water was handed to her. “Here. Drink. Always keep hydrated.”
Arianna gratefully took the bottle and flipped the top. Downing a great deal of the cold water helped and she smiled up at him. “Thank you,” she replied, feeling like she needed to say something. It was a kind gesture, especially since she’d forgotten everything she’d learned, which included keeping a full water bottle handy at all times. “I researched tips for surviving in the desert before coming here. But…” she shrugged slightly, “I haven’t been using those tips, I guess.”
“It is a way of life. If you aren’t born in a desert environment, it is hard to get into the mindset of how to deal with the heat. Many tourists come here and have problems.”
“Your Highness!” a man shouted, obviously excited by the presence of someone so illustrious on the rig site. Immediately, Rhys’ guards stopped the man from rushing forward. The man looked to the guards, then to Rhys and back again, not understanding why he couldn’t move forward. “But…”
“Let him come,” Rhys called out.
The guards allowed the man to come closer, but two of them held his arms, more than ready to handle any sort of threat.
For the first time in his life, Rhys was distracted from his mission and it was all due to this beauty by his side. As the rig engineer approached, Arianna’s nervousness increased. He could feel her tension, but the most obvious sign was how she moved closer to him. Not touching, but close enough that if he shifted, their arms would touch.
Rhys understood her movement, even if she were still trying to deny it. She trusted him. She might not want to trust him. Once they’d found her father, he would figure out how to get her to acknowledge what was going on between them, and figure out why she’d left so abruptly several months ago. He’d been completely infatuated with her and thought she was feeling it too. What the hell had happened?
He’d find out. They’d talk. Soon.
If he could hold out that long, he thought.
Which only made him more determined to find out exactly what had happened to her father. He couldn’t let this go. The issue was too important. Looking down at her pretty features lit up by the heat of the sun, he corrected himself, Arianna was too important.
The engineer bowed and Rhys almost laughed at Arianna’s startled look. He turned, his eyes glancing down at her and he lifted an eyebrow, silently telling her, “Yes, this is how others address me.” The engineer’s subservience was in direct contrast to how she treated him. And yet, even with his silent admonition, he still heard her soft chuckle.
No respect, he thought. And for some reason, her lack of respect didn’t bother him. In fact…
With a sigh, Rhys turned back to the engineer who was practically groveling at his feet. The man’s face was dirty and he was perhaps fifty pounds overweight. There was nothing in the daily reports to indicate that this man was a problem. But immediately, Rhys didn’t trust him.
“How are things on the rig today?” Rhys asked, trying to put the man at ease. It was always easier to get information from someone who felt to be part of a team.
The engineer smiled, furtively glancing between Rhys and Arianna. For some reason, Rhys didn’t want the rotund man’s eyes on Arianna. There was something…skeevy about the man. He thought back to the various reports, the daily production levels, the evaluations, and such that he’d read, trying to determine what it was about the suspiciously nervous engineer that he didn’t like.
Rhys and Arianna followed as the engineer took everyone on a tour of the area. The shorter man seemed to know his stuff, Rhys thought, acting as if all the equipment and the operational terms were new to him. “So, all of this equipment is to be replaced by the parts back there?” Rhys asked, pointing his thumb towards the pile of parts that he’d lifted Arianna over just moments before.
The man’s eyes darted to the disorganized pile. “Yes, Your Highness. There have been several breaks in the coupling over the past several months.” Once again, his eyes darted to Arianna and Rhys felt like punching the guy. “We have to maintain the safety of the rig.” The engineer rubbed one hand against his elbow. “The men who work on the rig are good men, Your Highness,” he explained. “I don’t want any accidents.” Another rub. The man’s pudgy hands seemed to be sweating, which was abnormal in the desert. It was too dry out here, the heat evaporated moisture before it could form.
Rhys moved forward, looking towards the messy site where broken and boxed equipment was piled up. The boxed equipment was new and should be stacked neatly on shelves and inventoried monthly. Not mixed into the pile of dirty, obviously broken or worn out equipment. He took it all in, making mental notes and trying to bite his tongue before he snapped at the stupid man for his obvious ineptitude.
Arianna listened, trying to understand everything. Her father had been the engineer in the family, loving the science behind the stress tests of metals and how the steel interacts with solvents versus other factors, including sand and heat. Being the engineer on an oilrig was a dream job for him. Arianna had never understood his love of being on a rig, but he’d held off on going after this particular job until after she’d left for college.
So she understood some of the issues the two men were discussing because she’d listened to her father’s excited conversations about rigs and finding oil, extracting the oil, and all of the steps in between. Oddly, some of the numbers the engineer spouted didn’t make sense with what she’d heard her father discussing over the phone with her. She wished she’d paid more attention to what he had said, but she’d been distracted, starting her new job with Hayden and eager to see her father, not talk to him over the phone.
The two men were using terms such as “drill string”, “guy-lines”, torque, tubing, casing and pull-rods. She’d heard her father using these terms, but….
Looking around, she realized that something was odd, but kept her mouth shut, wanting to listen and learn. She’d come to this site before, but no one had been willing to talk to her. In fact, she’d been told to get off the rig and go home, but in not as nice terms.
Rhys had quite a bit more clout and she was perfectly happy to have him throw it around.
“Sounds good. Thank you for your time,” he said, shaking the engineer’s hand. “Send the Rig Manager over. I'd like to speak with him as well.”
Arianna watched, amazed as the project manager for the rig approached. He looked exactly as she’d pictured him after speaking with him over the phone. The man was almost bald, but had that comb-over thing going, and the ends didn’t quite reach the other side of his head, so he’d used some sort of oily pomade to slick it down. The shirt he was wearing was a button down, but that’s about the only indicator that this man was a professional. He should have been wearing the same overalls as the other rig workers. But the man obviously thought he was above the muck and dirt of a rig. Arianna knew from talking with her father that rig work was messy and sweaty, hard work that took a toll on professional clothing. This man appeared to be an imbecile because he wore stained khakis instead of appropriate coveralls. And shockingly, those pants defied the laws of gravity since his belly protruded about five inches over his belt. Even the buttons on his shirt strained to keep all of that girth inside. Whereas the engineer was about fifty pounds overweight, this man was somehow carrying an extra hundred pounds. And not well!
“What can I do for you, Your Highness?” he asked, sauntering up to Rhys as if he were in charge, an arrogance that didn’t bode well. Technically, he was the boss of the rig. But not when the owner of the rig was around. Arianna could tell that Rhys was disgusted with the sauntering, smug man, even though his expression didn’t change in any way.
Arianna listened carefully and realized that Rhys was asking almost the same questions to the project manager as he had to the engineer. But at least the engineer knew what was going on and had ready answers, even if the answers didn’t make much sense. This man seemed to have no clue how to run a pumping rig. Even she could tell that he was using the wrong terminology.
But Rhys only nodded easily as if everything the man said made sense.
Arianna stood back, her temper firing up as she listened to the idiot spew seemingly random terminology. Some of his statements even contradicted something he’d explained a moment before, but the idiot had no clue what he was saying!
“Thank you very much for your time,” Rhys said, ending the conversation and shaking the man’s hand as if something new and amazing had just been conveyed.
Arianna stood there, fuming as the two men shook hands, acting as if they’d been good buddies for years. She started to open her mouth to say something, to point out the contradicting statements, but Rhys flashed a warning look in her direction, silently telling her to remain silent.
Swinging around, she didn’t wait for him to catch up with her. She simply walked ahead of him, assuming that he was finished with his investigation and was heading back to his cozy palace where he would be finished with her.
Arianna ducked into the back of the SUV, once again fully prepared to do this all on her own. So when he got in behind her and the driver slammed the door shut, she was shocked when Rhys exclaimed in disgust, “What a crock of shit!”
Turning, unaware of her mouth falling open in surprise, she stared at him. “Excuse me?” she asked not sure if she understood what he meant.
He waved his hand towards the rig site, shaking his head. “That idiot didn’t know the first thing about running a rig. First of all, he kept referring to the site as a drilling rig. Anyone who has worked on a rig for even a week knows the difference between a drilling rig and a production rig. That idiot…oomph!”
Arianna had heard the first part of his sentence, and launched herself across the seat towards him, landing in his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Thank you!” she sighed, hugging him and kissing his neck. Her exuberance was just…natural to her. She and her father had been very affectionate people but the swerving of the SUV caught her attention and she swung around. Thankfully, Rhys’ arms held her close when, suddenly, she realized that the bodyguards had swerved off of the road and were ready to tackle her out of the car, thinking that she’d just attacked their ruler.
“Kl shay' ealaa ma yuram,” he called out, assuring his guards that he wasn’t in danger.
“Oh!” Arianna gasped, trying to slide off of his lap, realizing that she’d caused the stir within the vehicle. But Rhys held her in place. With a wave of his hand, the guards turned around and resumed the drive, but their look loudly demonstrated their reluctance to continue, thinking she was still a threat.
“Um…” she tried once again to slide off his lap, but his hands were holding her in place.
“You recognized that he was talking gibberish, yes?” he asked her.
She tried to focus on what he was saying, but those large hands were still touching her, holding her on his lap. She tried to wiggle away, but he gave her a look that told her to remain still.
“I shouldn’t...”
“Tell me what you heard,” he commanded.
Arianna glanced out the window briefly, but his hand slid along her thigh and she gasped, grabbing his wrist. Looking at him, she felt the heat, the sizzling desire low in her belly and tried to ignore it. But she’d never felt this way before and it was hard. Harder still to hide her reaction.
“Talk to me, Arianna,” he said softly, his fingers tightening slightly on her thigh. She gasped, sitting up a bit straighter and licked her lips.
Arianna understood that he wasn’t going to relent until she explained her concerns about the manager and engineer. Her fingers tightened on his wrist, lifting his hand. Only then could she take a breath and focus. “He didn’t know what depth the drill had already gone, what kind of torque or pressure was building on the rig, how many gallons were pumping…” his hands moved higher and she stared at him, unable to form words any longer. She could feel his warm hands through the canvas of her pants, her nipples tightening as awareness hit her hard and fast.
“I just…” she couldn’t breathe as she looked at him, then her eyes lowered to his lips. Involuntarily. Her lungs were burning but time stood still. All she could see, all she could feel, was Rhys and the way he was looking right back at her.
A popping sound caught her attention and broke the spell. Looking around, Arianna wasn’t sure what was going on. “Is something wrong?” she asked, wondering why the vehicle was speeding up.
Rhys lifted her off his lap and back to the seat next to him. “Put your seatbelt on!” he told her forcefully, as he peered through the rear window. Even as she watched, another popping sound echoed through the SUV. That wasn’t…it couldn’t be…!
“Get your head down!” he ordered, but didn’t wait for her to follow this order. His hand wrapped around her neck and he pulled her down so that her head was resting against his hard, muscular thigh. The popping noises…those were bullets!
“Is someone shooting at us?” she gasped, her fingers curling around his leg.
“Yes,” he replied grimly. “Keep down.” A moment later, he pulled two guns out from under the seat. Arianna gasped at the sight of him holding the vicious looking machine gun in one hand and a pistol in the other. He snapped orders to his men, both of whom also had weapons in their hands.
“This isn’t happening,” she whispered to herself, lowering herself so that she was flat against the seat and trying hard to stay out of the way of the guards and Rhys as they fired their weapons through slightly opened windows. Unfortunately, they couldn’t see who was shooting at them. They only knew which direction the bullets were coming from.
The road turned bumpy but Rhys wouldn’t let her lift her head to see where they were going. When the car stopped, Rhys literally hauled her out. “Come with me,” he ordered as he set her down on the ground.
Arianna wasn’t sure what was going on, all she knew was that they’d been driving fast, the guards shooting as they maneuvered along the highway and now they weren’t. This was a more wooded area and she realized that they’d driven to the mountains, where there was more cover from the vegetation and massive rocks. One of the guards was calling on a phone, but then he cursed and threw down his phone.
There was a smattering of conversation, which was too fast for her to understand. “This way,” Rhys ordered and pulled her along an uphill pathway. She raced alongside him, ignoring the burning pain in her side as her lungs struggled to get enough air. She wouldn’t slow down, because then Rhys would slow down to help her, and that would put him in more danger. Not stopping, she told herself firmly.
“In here,” Rhys called out and they were suddenly plunged into darkness, the wide mouth of a cave blocked slightly by a large boulder that they each climbed over, then crouched behind, trying to determine who was shooting at them.
Arianna stepped further into the cave, trying to stay out of their way and not hinder their efforts. But inside, she was trembling harder than she ever had in her life! She knelt down against a wall, pretending not to cower but, in reality, she was cowering, cringing, fearful for both her life and the lives of the men who were shooting at what seemed like nothing.
Then… quiet! The shooting stopped. The silence that followed was eerie and none of the guards relaxed their careful vigil. But after several moments, the man who seemed to be in charge, turned around and issued orders to the men.
“I’m coming with you,” Rhys stated firmly, then pulled back the slide on his pistol to make sure a bullet was chambered, ready to fire. He pointed to two of the men. “Stay here and guard Arianna. Don’t let anyone past you!”
The guard leader opened his mouth as if he might argue with the order but, after a pointed look from Rhys, the grim man kept quiet, although she knew from his compressed lips that he didn’t like the situation. The glare in her direction told her that the guard blamed her for this situation.
And he wasn’t completely wrong. If she hadn’t come here to Triar, then none of this would have happened. She’d put Rhys in danger and he was heading out of the cave without any protection and only the back up of three guards because he’d ordered two of them to stay behind to watch out for her.
“Rhys, please don’t…” she began, but he only moved to her side, lifted her up with one arm around her waist and kissed her. It was just a brief kiss, a barely-there kiss. But she felt it all the way down to her toes! The heat, the intensity, the churning that she’d tried to ignore months before…it was still there in that fraction-of-a-second kiss.
“Stay here,” he told her after setting her back down on her feet. She was still getting used to the steel-toed boots and he kept his muscular arm wrapped around her waist until she was steady on her feet. But Arianna looked up into his eyes, wondering if she would ever be steady again. This man was putting his life in danger to protect her. It was a humbling realization.
“Please be safe,” she whispered up to him. He paused only long enough to wink at her. “I’ll be back. You can count on that. And once we’re alone tonight, we’re going to explore that kiss in a bit more detail.”
A moment later, he was gone, disappearing behind a boulder and some of the vegetation that had hidden the entrance to the cave.
Oh my! Arianna’s fingers lifted, delicately touching her lips as her mind whirled with the excitement Rhys had left in his wake. When she lifted her eyes, she realized that both guards were glaring at her, obviously furious with her for tempting their ruler, and worse, for putting him in danger with her search for a man they considered unimportant.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, then turned, unable to maintain eye contact with them. She looked around at the cave, desperately trying to find a place to sit down and keep out of the way so that they could do their job and, hopefully, continue to look out for their leader.
But as the minutes ticked by and Rhys didn’t return, her worry increased. Sitting down wasn’t an option any longer. Arianna kept glancing at her watch, wondering when Rhys was going to come back. She didn’t like being here alone with her imagination, which was creating horrifying scenes in her head. Scenes where the people shooting at them caught up with Rhys, captured him, and did horrible things in order to gain secret knowledge of the government.
Who were these people that were brazen enough to attack the ruler of the country?! That was what scared her the most. Whoever was out there shooting at them must be incredibly desperate if they were scared enough to shoot at them. This was just crazy! Shooting at the Sheik of Triar? Why? What kind of maniac could be that nuts?
The answer came to her quickly, her stomach tightening with dread. Who was that crazy? The people who had her father.
“Do you think…” she began, but suddenly, bullets were once again flying. One of the men was guarding the entrance to the cave was hit and fell forward onto the top boulder. She looked at him for perhaps half a second before she sprang into action. The man was draped over the rock, a target asking for someone to aim and fire.
While the other guard returned fire, Arianna hurried over to the wounded man. It took a huge amount of effort, but she finally was able to heft the man off the boulder until both of his arms were draped over her shoulders. She then knelt down to her knees, ignoring the shooting pains as the pebbles dug into her skin through the canvas of her cargo pants. Inch by inch, she dragged the unconscious man deeper into the cave. When she couldn’t go any further because it was too narrow, she carefully tilted her body to the side, and shifted until the man slid off of her back.
Looking at the man, she realized that he’d been shot in the arm and was losing a great deal of blood. In the few minutes it had taken her to drag him this far, the blood had already soaked his shirt and was dripping onto the ground by his side.
“Stop the bleeding,” she told herself, looking around for something to use as a tourniquet. “This!” she snapped to herself as she spotted his belt, knowing that it was the best tool to stop the blood. Quickly, she tugged it free, and wrapped it around his arm, tightening the leather until the bleeding slowed down. Taking his canteen, she wet the bottom of her shirt, tearing off a piece until she could wipe his brow. “You’re going to be okay. Got it?” she assured the man, even though his eyes were still closed. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard a groan. Even if it was still her imagination, she was going with it, assuming that the man had heard her and was trying to recover.
With that, she reached for his side arm, pulling it out of the holster, then grabbed the machine gun that he’d had strapped around his neck. Looking at the levers, she had no clue what all of them did, but she’d watched enough action movies to know that the trigger was the main thing. With her finger resting safely away from the trigger, she made her way back out to the entrance. The second guard did a double take when Arianna appeared by his side. “Get back there!” he snapped at her, but then more bullets came flying towards them and he turned his focus on trying to hold off whoever was out there. Arianna knew that he wanted to yell at her but he needed to concentrate.
She took advantage of his distraction and poked her head above the boulder. Adrenaline was shooting through her body, but she tried to steady her hands and figure out where the other guard was shooting. When she saw something off to the right, she focused all of her attention there. Once again, she saw movement, but it was shifting.
“That’s not a bird,” she murmured out loud but it was more just talking to herself. She lifted the automatic rifle to her shoulder, slotted her finger on the trigger, and….
The shot knocked her backwards, the recoil stronger than she’d thought possible. But undeterred, she stood up, made sure that the other guard was okay, then aimed again. This time she was prepared for the recoil and compensated, shifting forward ever so slightly as she pulled the trigger. She snapped off two bullets then stopped, looking around. Still more movement so she let lose, pulling the trigger harder. A slew of bullets fired this time and she blinked when the movement she’d spotted a moment earlier dropped to the ground. A guy in brown clothes fell onto the rocks, staring up at the sky. She realized that she’d just shot a man and prayed that he wasn’t dead.
But the bullets were still coming so she looked around, determined to keep the wounded guard safe. As she scanned the area in front of the cave, she saw another suspicious movement and narrowed her eyes. Brown uniform. Rhys and his guards were wearing black, like she was. So she fired. Another man down.
And then silence!
Arianna wasn’t sure if the silence was worse than the shooting. At least when people were shooting at her, she knew where they were. This was…it was horrible!
Then more shots were fired, this time from off to the left. A person in black appeared through the vegetation and both she and the guard ceased fire. Thankfully, they hadn’t acted too crazy because this was another of the bodyguards, but not the one that had been with them originally. This was a new man and he was heavily armed. Off in the distance, she heard a sweet sound! It was the thumping of a helicopter as it flew in from the south, coming up on the cave. This was good news, she thought.
Sure enough, as soon as she heard the whipping sound of the blades, men in black uniforms literally dropped from the sky. They were dropping from ropes attached to the helicopter as they fired on the men in brown uniforms.
Arianna didn’t waste any more time. She dropped the weapon and hurried back to the man who had been wounded. Taking his hand, she felt the warmth in his fingers, and breathed a sigh of relief. “Your other men are here. Everything is going to be okay. Can you squeeze my hand if you can hear me?” she asked.
There was a small squeeze, enough so she knew that he was still with her. She looked down and realized that his wound was still oozing blood, so using the knife that was in his ankle holder, she tore off another strip of shirt. Wadding it up, she stuffed the fabric up underneath the belt loop, trying to apply more pressure. “Okay, that should help stop the bleeding, but you’re going to have to do your part, okay?” she told the man.
Someone came in through another opening, one she hadn’t seen before. He just appeared out of nowhere, coming in from the left. This wasn’t a man in a black uniform, and he looked mean and ugly. The first guard spun around, apparently hearing her cry of fear and alerted to a new threat. But he was guarding the front of the cave, helping the men who had been flown in via helicopter. He was too far away, and the walls were too narrow in this part of the cave for him to fight effectively. Arianna was smaller, shorter and she was angry enough to do some damage. Standing up, she swung around with her elbow out, just like she’d seen in the movies, knocking the guy off to the side. Unfortunately, he wasn’t down, not yet. So, instead of moving away like she probably should have, she followed up that first knock with another, this time with her knee directly to his groin. The man stood still for a long moment, stunned horror coming into his eyes before he dropped his weapon and stumbled, both of his hands covering his groin as he slid to the floor of the cave. She would have sworn that the man went cross-eyed only moments before he tumbled to the ground.
After that, she grabbed the intruder’s pistol, kicked his automatic rifle off to the other guard, then hunkered down in front of the wounded guard, protecting him with her body. The first guard stared at her as if she’d grown a second head, but Arianna wasn’t taking that lack of focus. “Go get them! There are more out there!”
The guard hesitated for a fraction of a second, but when Arianna turned the pistol to the side, checking to make sure the safety was off, he realized that she was going to be okay. Hurrying out, he stood to the front of the entrance to the cave. Moments later, several other guards took over sentry duty, all of them standing ready for just about anything that might come their way.
From a distance, she heard her name being called and knew that it was Rhys. “Hurry! Go protect him,” she called to the guards. None of them budged and she wanted to scream at them, but then he was there, standing in the entrance, and she hurried over to him, throwing herself into his arms. “You’re okay!” she whispered, feeling a surge of relief stronger than anything she’d ever felt in her life.
And in that moment, she burst into tears.
Rhys almost laughed as Arianna buried her face in his neck, her tears soaking his tee shirt but he smothered the amusement. Nor did any of the guards show their own laughter as they hustled the brown uniformed assailants through the pathway and down to the helicopter, each of them with their hands tied behind them with those plastic ties.
She pulled back and smacked his arm, still sobbing as she tried to form words. “You left! You stupid jerk, you put yourself in danger! Don’t you ever do that again, do you hear me? Nothing is worth it if it puts your life in danger! So, don’t be a stupid jerk and run out into danger ever again!”
Rhys just held her, enjoying her attention and relieved that she wasn’t hurt. When he and his men had heard the rounds of bullets that were coming from the cave, he’d been in a panic to get back to her. Now she was here, she was whole, and she was in his arms.
And yet, she was crying!
“Are you okay?” he asked, putting her down and pulling away so that he could see her, survey her figure, and check to make certain she wasn’t hurt. “Honey, where’s the rest of your shirt?” he asked, realizing that more than half of her shirt was missing.
“Oh!” She looked down, realized that she was a mess, and pulled on his hand. “Your guard! He’s hurt! You have to help him!”
She turned around, but the guard was already being lifted out on a stretcher that his fellow guards were carrying. One of the men glanced over at her and nodded, almost as if he accepted her and was nodding his appreciation.
“He’s going to be okay,” she told Rhys, taking his hand and pressing it to her chest.
Rhys looked at his guard, then down at his hand as it rested against the soft fullness of her breasts. It took a great deal of concentration to keep himself from turning his hand around so that he could feel her, explore the weight of each of those beautiful mounds in his hands. But this was not the time, he reminded himself. Soon! He would definitely know her breasts, and all of her body, intimately.
“Honey, we have to get out of here.” Even as he spoke, one of his guards was waving him towards the helicopter. “Come with me,” he urged, tugging her hand and pulling her towards the helicopter. The pilot waited only long enough for Rhys and Arianna to climb onboard before he lifted off again. Even then, several guards jumped onto the landing strips, hanging off the edge with one hand holding onto the interior straps while they held their weapons ready with their other.
Arianna leaned her head against his shoulder, her mind finally accepting that he was safe. His guards weren’t going to take any chances this time around. Everyone wanted Rhys back to the safety of the palace.
The helicopter flew quickly over the city and she heard sirens in the distance, but didn’t know what was going on. All she needed to know was that Rhys had his arm around her and he was safe. Solid, safe, and with no bullet holes.
When they landed, everyone hurried from the rooftop helipad into the palace, Rhys holding her hand the whole way.
Once inside the air-conditioned comfort of the palace, she looked around. Everyone seemed to be galvanized, but she didn’t understand what was going on. It was crazy, but apparently, all of his aides wanted to see that he was unharmed.
Pulling her hand out of his, she stopped him before he started to walk down the hallway. As he lost his grip on her hand, Rhys looked in her direction, his eyes hard and determined. “Rhys, I’m sorry, I know you have a million things to do, not the least of which is to reassure everyone that you’re unharmed, but I need to speak with you for a moment, if possible.”
He looked at her curiously, but took her hand and led her into a private room, closing off the chaos that had surrounded both of them moments before.
At that moment, she wasn’t sure exactly how to start, what to say. But in the end, it didn’t matter. Rhys was walking towards her, backing her into the back of a chair and she gasped when he lifted her up. “Don’t you ever step into danger again, Arianna,” he told her moments before he sat down with her on his lap. Just like before, he didn’t give her a chance to speak before his mouth covered hers. But unlike the other time, this kiss wasn’t short. And it wasn’t gentle. It was passionate and heated and took over her synapses as she held onto him.
When his hands lifted her higher, she had no choice but to open her legs, his knees pressing between her own and she arched into his body, needing the contact, needing more pressure, and as she straddled his hips, she was in a perfect position to get that pressure.
Then his hips shifted and she gasped, her body lighting up with the flames of pleasure. Unfortunately, that pleasure was short lived and she needed more. “You put yourself in danger as well,” she gasped when he moved his mouth from hers to her neck.
“Arianna, shut up,” and then he was kissing her again. His hands were everywhere, touching her and moving material out of the way. He lifted her up again, swinging her around as he lifted her onto the desk. She had no idea that her butt was now on top of secret plans for border security. But she was very aware of Rhys’ hands lifting what was left of her tee shirt up and over her head, tossing it onto the desk beside her.
“Aellena!” he groaned. “You are beautiful!” Shaking his head, he watched as his fingers drifted over her breast, his forefinger circling her nipple as it strained against the black silk. “I thoroughly approve of your lingerie choices, my dear.”
Arianna would have laughed, but the sensations hitting her were hard and unfamiliar. She’d had sex before, but nothing had ever felt this intense! “You can’t…I don’t know how to handle this,” she stammered and grabbed his wrist, pulling his fingers away.
With her words, he pulled back, sighing and making a visible effort to gain control. “Too fast.” He shifted again and she gasped when his erection pressed against her core, causing more of those flames of pleasure to hit her.
With a deep, husky chuckle, he pulled his hips away from hers, but it was obviously painful for both of them. “We will wait.” He stepped back, but didn’t allow her to close her legs.
He held her for several minutes, both of them getting their breath back under control. Neither moved because movement caused friction and Arianna wasn’t sure she could take much more.
Leaning against his desk, he kept her perched right there. “You were so brave today.”
“I wasn’t brave,” she admitted, thinking of the terror she’d felt when that guard had been shot. “I thought the man might have died and it would have been all my fault.”
His surprised look caught her off guard. “Why in the world would you think this was your fault?”
She looked down, ashamed of how selfish her motives had been. “If I hadn’t mentioned my father’s disappearance to you, then you wouldn’t be investigating anything. You would have been here, safe within the palace walls, and you wouldn’t have been shot at today. Your man wouldn’t have been wounded and everything would be fine. It’s my fault. I’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest and now you’re being targeted for it.”
He stared at her for a long moment, and shook his head while keeping his hands on her hips. “Arianna, a few things. We don’t know if the reason for the attack this afternoon was due to the questions I asked earlier while we visited the rig site. The men who attacked my convoy could have been bandits that had been waiting for a chance to catch me and my men off guard for months, years even. As a leader of this country, a leader of any country, we all know that we are targets. Our policies might be favorable to the broader population, but no matter what we say, we create enemies. Sometimes, just doing the right thing will create an enemy who is trying to stir things up.”
She stared at him for a long moment, absorbing his words. “That’s horrible!” she gasped. “How do you put up with that kind of ridiculous targeting?”
He laughed, thinking she was precious. “It’s just the way of life for someone in my position. It is why I always travel with guards.”
Arianna’s eyes went wide with horror. “You mean, this has happened before?”
He took her hands. “Arianna, threats on my life are a daily occurrence. Normally, my guards are more prepared, have a bit of advance warning, and are able to stop the attacks before they occur.”
She shuddered, wondering what kind of a life this man must lead. “I’m sorry that people try to do this to you,” she said and laid her cheek against his chest.
He lifted a hand, running a finger over her cheek. “You’ll get used to it.” Before she could ask him what he meant by that, he lifted her by the waist and set her feet back down on the floor. “Now,” he began as he took her ripped tee shirt, dumped it over her head and helped her find the arm holes, “I need to appear in front of the cameras, to show my people that I am unharmed, and I need you by my side. Do you think you can convince the world that you aren’t as shaken up as you look right at this moment?”
Arianna laughed, pulling her hair out of the tee-shirt material and tossing it behind her. “No,” she told him honestly. “Between what you just…did to me here on this desk,” she admitted, “plus the events of this afternoon, I think I need to just slip into a warm bubble bath with a glass of wine and hibernate for the rest of the…week.”
He laughed, but chucked her under her chin. “If I hold your hand, think you can handle the crowds?”
She blinked, understanding finally that he was serious. “You want me to go in front of the crowds with you? But…why?”
“Because you are being hailed as a hero,” he told her. “You saved two of my guards this afternoon. One because of your quick thinking in putting pressure on his bullet wound. You staunched the flow of blood and most likely saved the man’s life. And the other one told me how you figured out how to shoot a gun and just started firing at the assassins. That was amazingly brave of you!”
She stood up and backed away, already shaking her head. “I wasn’t brave, Rhys. I was terrified.”
He stood up as well and took both of her hands in his. “That’s courage, honey. Doing the scary thing even when it terrifies you.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m so proud of you.”
There was a commotion outside in the hallway and a sharp knock.
Rhys looked at the door sharply, then down at her. “We’re not finished with this conversation,” he told her.
Arianna watched with growing unease as he walked over to the door. A rapid conversation followed and she had a bit of trouble following the words. But she heard “father” and “dumped”. Immediately, her stomach clenched in horror and fear.
“What’s wrong?” she demanded, walking over to the doorway. “What’s happened?”
Rhys turned around, his hands holding her upper arms. “Your father has been found,” he told her. “But he’s…”
She covered her mouth as she cried out, shaking her head. “No!”
“No,” he told her, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. “No. He isn’t dead, Arianna. But he’s hurt.” He pulled back and looked at her. “I’ll take you to him.”
She started moving towards the doorway, eager to see her father, no matter what condition he was in. But she pulled back and stopped. “You can’t go,” she told him firmly.
He looked at her as if she’d gone nuts. “Honey, I’m escorting you to the hospital to be with your father.”
She pulled back. “No, Rhys. You can’t go. Just…let me go by myself.”
He shook his head. “Your father is badly hurt. He was beaten. You’re going to need me.”
She closed her eyes briefly with that news, but then opened them and looked up at him. Placing a hand in the middle of his chest, she pleaded with him. “Rhys, you just survived one attack. Please, let me go alone to be with my father. If he’s hurt, then I’ll need to be with him. And I won’t be able to focus all of my attention on him if I’m worried about you.” She waited, watching the emotions cross his handsome features. She knew the moment that she’d won, and her heart melted even more for this man.
“Fine. But I’m sending guards with you. You’re not to be alone for any reason.”
She didn’t care about that, thinking that the threat this afternoon had been focused on him. “Guards would help speed my way there,” she told him, thinking the guards would leave once she’d seen her father and knew that he was okay.
“And you come back here tonight.”
“Tonight,” she promised. If she’d thought about her next move, she would have stopped herself from doing it. But she didn’t think. She simply stood on her toes and kissed him briefly. “Thank you! I’m sure it was your questions today that scared the people doing this into releasing my father. Thank you!”
She hugged him, feeling his strong arms wrap around her for a moment. But as soon as she pulled away, he let her go. “Thank you!” she repeated, then hurried out of the room, following the man waiting to guide her to a waiting car. Two guards were in the front seat and another team of guards followed the SUV behind her as they raced through the streets to the hospital.
Once there, a doctor was waiting for her at the door. “Ms. Callas?” he asked, extending his hand to greet her.
“Yes. How is my father?” she asked.
“This way. I’ll explain on the way to his room.” They walked quickly through the long corridors as Arianna listened to the doctor explain how her father had lacerations and deep tissue bruising, but no internal bleeding, three broken ribs, a concussion, and a broken finger.
Before she stepped into the room, the doctor put a hand to her arm, stopping her. “He looks much worse than he is. He’s been beaten over a period of days, so there are old bruises that are yellowed and newer bruises that clash. But he’s going to fully recover. He’s fine.”
Arianna’s chest ached for what her father had endured, but with the doctor’s assurance, she felt better. “Thank you,” she smiled and meant it sincerely.
When she pushed open her father’s door, she was glad for the doctor’s warning. Her father’s face was almost completely purple and badly swollen. One eye was swollen completely shut while the other looked to be recovering from the same treatment. His hand was in a cast and there were so many monitors beeping and blinking, it was amazing that the doctor had such faith that he would survive.
“Dad?” she whispered. His “good” eye opened and she sensed a smile, but wasn’t sure. Rushing over to the side of the bed, she gently took his undamaged hand in hers, running her fingers over his arm. “I’m here, Dad. The doctors are taking good care of you.”
“Rhys,” he whispered through swollen, cracked lips. “Help him.”
She nodded. “Yes. I went to him yesterday. He’s been helping me to find you. His security team is looking into everything.”
With that, he seemed to relax, his eye closing once again and Arianna knew that he’d fallen back to sleep.
She sat by his bed, holding his hand for the rest of the afternoon. Her phone rang and she saw Hayden’s name come up on her screen. “Hey there,” she greeted her friend.
“Where are you?” Hayden demanded. “You’ve been gone for over a week and we haven’t heard from you!”
Arianna sighed, her thumb rubbing back and forth over her father’s fingers. “I’m in Triar. My father disappeared and I came to look for him.”
There was a long silence as Hayden took in this information. Then Arianna heard Hayden repeat her words to someone else. “I’m going to put you on speaker,” she informed Arianna.
A moment later, Katia and Natalie were both asking questions at the same time.
Arianna laughed, feeling almost light-headed with relief and happiness now that her father was back. He was safe and, even looking at his bruised features, the doctor’s words kept ringing in her ears.
She explained what had gone on over the past several days, ending with, “Rhys helped and my father is now in the hospital.”
Another long silence and Arianna suspected that she’d said something wrong.
“Rhys?” one of them asked. Arianna suspected it was Katia since she was probably the first to figure things out. “You’re on a first name basis with the guy that you claimed to hate several months ago?”
It was Arianna’s turn for silence. But her friends understood and all three of them started laughing. Darn them! “Well…”
Natalie chuckled again. “Don’t worry honey. We completely understand. But are you okay now?”
Arianna wondered about that. “I’m not physically in danger.” She thought about the guards outside of her father’s hospital room. “At least, not that I know of.”
“Do we need to come out there? Do you need support?”
She laughed this time. “You mean, do you need to bring out cases of wine and have an excuse to drink?”
All three of then chuckled. “You know we don’t need any particular excuse, but…yeah. Do you need wine?”
Arianna’s heart warmed. “No. I’m fine, but thank you for the offer to sacrifice wine in order to help me.”
They chatted for several more minutes and Arianna laughed, relaxing with the knowledge that her father was safe and recovering and her friends had her back. She knew now that she should have told them where she was going, but she didn’t have the mental capacity at the moment to castigate herself for that omission.
They rang off, each of them demanding regular updates.
Over the next several days, she spent her time at the hospital, talking with her father, trying to make sense of what had happened to him. Thankfully, every day, her father got a little better. But since he was tired as his body healed, Arianna had a great deal of time to think. And she thought about that kiss. The way she’d thrown herself at Rhys that last time. Several times, actually.
What did it mean? Thinking back to their kiss months ago, she couldn’t figure out her current feelings versus the past.
Because she was so confused, she stayed at the hospital late and returned as early in the morning as possible. The guards never left her side though. In a way, they were a comfort after the scare the other day. But in other ways, they were a bit frightening. There were too many issues she didn’t understand.