Desert Sheikhs: The Complete Series by North Leslie

Author:North, Leslie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Salari jolted awake as the Jeep hit a pothole. She blinked rapidly, squinting against the brilliant, early morning sunlight flooding the vehicle.

All around them were desert mountains, jagged, brown, and sandy. When she’d fallen asleep, they’d been on a desolate road heading toward the mountains in the thick of night. Now, they were buried so far in the mountains she couldn’t tell if they were already halfway to Oman.

“Oh my God. How long was I out?”

Kalif smiled warmly at her, reaching over the center console to squeeze her knee. “Long enough to get us there.”

“Oh shit. We’re there?” She straightened in the seat, peering through the dusty windshield. Up ahead, on the narrow, curving mountain road, was a clearing.

“Your father built this hideout,” Kalif explained. Slowly, a building came into view, something halfway between a forest cabin and a military fortress. “No one knows where it is. Not even the other guards. He made the construction crews come here blindfolded, he told me. I brought him here only once before he died.”

“So how did you remember how to get here?” She reached for the door handle after the Jeep came to a stop. This high up in the mountains, a few tall, skinny trees grew, but the place was mostly bushes and brush.

“Lots of wrong turns,” he said with a soft laugh. And that’s when she noticed the tiredness in his face. The man had been running nonstop since the attack in the hedge maze. All in the name of protecting her. Keeping her alive.

“You need to sleep,” she said, squeezing his arm. “That’s the first order of business.”

He didn’t argue. They exited the car, and he locked it as they walked up to the hideout. The walls looked thick, cut from sandstone maybe, conveniently camouflaged in the same color as the ground. Thick stones carved a pathway up to the front door, a solid, impossible piece of metal.

“Welcome home,” Kalif said, separating an enormous key from his keyring. He jiggled the key for a moment until the door unlocked with a loud snap.

The door swung open into a small foyer, where another door of equal solidity greeted them. Once the first door was shut, he fished a different key off the ring.

“Double entry,” he explained, probably spotting her confusion. “Different locks, and the second one doesn’t open unless the first one has been shut. Plus, they’re impossible to pick.”

“So there’s no chance of breaking in here, huh?”

“Not without bombs that only a few countries in the world possess. And I don’t think whoever is after you is playing that game.”

The second door whooshed open, giving way to a sprawling living area. Low couches dotted a wooden floor. Toward the back, a gleaming, industrial-chic kitchen. This hideout was everything the palace was not.

“Wow.” Salari dragged a finger over the top of a black leather couch. A few windows allowed in sunlight, but even those had glass a foot thick. “This place feels safe. And a little bit like my father’s lost bachelor pad.

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