Blood of the Nile (5 page)

Maliyah’s back was
turned to him as he approached the table. Regardless, he’d recognize her a mile
away. Her golden-brown hair was swept on top of her head; a series of spiraled
ringlets cascaded down her neck and shoulders. No man could resist the temptation
of her luminous olive-toned skin and feminine curves. The slender shape of her
spine, visible through the low-cut, midnight blue cocktail dress she wore, made
Ramses drool. Instantly, his shaft sprang to life.

For fuck’s sake! What the hell is she trying to prove in that dress?

Ramses headed for
the table, his gait bold and self-assured. He had every intention of dragging
Maliyah out of the restaurant by the skin of her teeth before some sex-starved
son of a bitch got his hands on her. But it was too late. As Ramses got closer,
he noticed Omar Hussein, the corporate lawyer in charge of Anwar’s estate lean
in; the sleeve of his Armani sport coat brushed against the skin of Maliyah’s
bare forearm. Though in his early fifties, the man still looked good for his
age. With short, dark hair and expensive taste in just about everything, Omar
had the ability to attract a woman or two. Ramses watched him as he licked his
lips and took a sip of wine, staring down at his female companion with hungry eyes.
It was obvious Omar’s intentions went far beyond your typical attorney-client
relationship. Maliyah’s reckless behavior wasn’t any less conspicuous. No doubt
aware of her tablemate’s carnal interest, she turned to face him. She batted
her eyelashes and covered her mouth, laughing at whatever silly nonsense the
bastard spouted off. All the while, her cousin Husani sat there without a clue
of what was happening right under his nose.

A few feet from
the table, Ramses’ self-control started to wane. He wanted to yank Maliyah out
of there, but first he needed to leash the beast raging inside him. He did an
about-face and paced toward the men’s restroom. His fangs had already extended,
which forced him to bite down on the inside of his cheeks. The metallic flavor
of blood flooded his mouth. He fisted his hands as sharp, elongated claws dug
into his palms. Maliyah wasn’t the sole focus of his anger. On the contrary, he
had an overwhelming desire to lunge at Omar, and rip out his fluttering heart.
Why was he so enraged? Had the stress of having lost his business partner and
best friend set him off? Or was it the thought Maliyah flirting shamelessly
with a man nearly twice her age?

Ramses kicked open
the bathroom door, headed for the sink. He splashed cold water on his face and
shook the tension out of his shoulders. Closing his eyes, he counted backwards
from ten to one in an effort to tamp down his fury. After a few minutes, his
human countenance re-emerged. He exited the bathroom and made his way back to
his dinner guests. This time, Husani spotted him and waved him over.

“Mr.
Shakir
.
So nice to see you again.
I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it this evening,” Husani said, shaking
his hand. “Of course, you know my uncle’s solicitor, Omar Hussein.”

“Yes, Mr. Hussein
and I are well-acquainted.” Ramses bowed his head slightly, but refused to
accept the man’s outstretched hand. Regardless of his motives with Anwar’s
daughter, Ramses didn’t trust the scoundrel. In his experience, lawyers were
the scum of the earth, scrounging off of other people’s weakness and
misfortune. With his best friend dead, what did his attorney have to gain?
Ramses wasn’t certain, but he’d sure as hell find out.

***

Maliyah felt her
body react to the sound of Ramses’ sensual voice, a smooth rumble that flowed as
slowly as warm molasses across exposed flesh. Heat seeped down her spinal
column and through the crevice that separated her plump rear, before it crashed
against the ridge of her throbbing clitoris. Maliyah arched her back and her aching
bosom scraped against the fabric of the silk halter dress she wore.

While Maliyah
tried to rein in her hormones, the three men exchanged pleasantries without
uttering a single word in her direction. After a few minutes of being ignored,
she began to lose her patience. She glared at Ramses as he took a seat in a
vacant chair across the table. She cleared her throat and prepared to let her
caustic temper loose on him. But the look in his eyes stilled her. His piercing
stare warned her to keep her trap shut. She knew that sometimes, her American
upbringing got her into trouble. Much to her chagrin, free speech and women’s
rights were frowned upon in the Middle East. That was a lesson she had yet to
learn.

Husani looked back
and forth between them. He must have sensed the unspoken hostility in the room.
He sighed,
then
crossed his arms across his chest. “You
two look like you just got caught with your hands in a cookie jar. What the
hell is going on here?”

“Husani, Ramses
and I—” Maliyah started to explain.

“Ramses?
I didn’t realize you were on a first-name basis with your father’s
business partner. When did this happen?” Maliyah saw the vein in her cousin’s
neck pulsate erratically. He lifted his chin in defiance, and then shot Ramses
a menacing sneer.

Ramses’ eyes
narrowed into nearly invisible slits before he ground out a reply. “It seems
your family has a way of soliciting trouble. You might want to remind your
cousin not to parade around the streets of Cairo dressed in immodest, western
garb. If it wasn’t for me, she’d probably have been bait for a group of
self-righteous extremists.”

“Is this true,
Maliyah?” Husani shook his head in disbelief.
“When?”

Maliyah bit down
on her bottom lip. She rubbed the back of her neck with her palm before she
spoke. “Last night. It was just a short walk along the river. I know it was
dangerous, but I couldn’t sleep after what we discussed.”

“Are you insane?”
Husani asked, jumping up from his chair before he grabbed her by the arm and
pulled her to her feet. “I’m sorry gentlemen, this meeting is over. Maliyah and
I are leaving.
Now.”

“Good idea. Get
her home and put some clothes on her,” Ramses said with notable sarcasm as he came
to Maliyah’s side and draped his coat over her bare shoulders.

 
“But what about the details of Mr. Aziz’s
will?” Omar placed a hand on
Husani’s
shoulder, as if
urging him to take his seat again. “The sooner we hash out the details, the
sooner I can settle your uncle’s estate.”

Husani growled out
loud, clearly furious. “Have the documents sent by courier to my uncle’s
residence. We’ll review them and be in touch.” He pulled Maliyah close and
guided her to the exit, leaving the solicitor to pay the tab.

Over her shoulder,
Maliyah could see Ramses following close behind them. As the restaurant door
closed, she heard something whiz past her ear, but before she could turn to see
what it was, Ramses rushed forward, pushing both her and Husani to the ground.
She landed with a thud on the sandy bank. A split-second later, a tiny round
object lodged itself into the glass of a nearby window. Instantly, the glass
splintered, taking on the appearance of an intricate spider web.

Oh my god!
A bullet.

“Is that what I
think it is?” Husani asked, brushing sand off his trousers as he stood up.

“Fuck! I knew you
were a magnet for trouble,” Ramses rolled his eyes at Maliyah before turning
his attention to her cousin. “Where’s your car? We need to get her out of
here.”

“We’re not going
anywhere with you. How can I be sure the attempt on her life wasn’t
your
doing?
You’ve got a lot to gain if she’s out of the picture.”

Maliyah saw Ramses
rise up to his full, intimidating height. She could have sworn the color of his
eyes flickered black, then red and back again. He stalked toward Husani as if
ready to rip off his head. Thinking fast, she stepped in front of his menacing
frame, stopping him in his tracks.

“
It’s
okay, Husani. If Ramses wanted to hurt me, he could have
done so last night. We’ve got to trust him. He’s willing to help us find out
what really happened to my father.”

Chapter Six

The Guard Dog

“No
freakin
’ way!” Maliyah shouted, wagging her long, delicate
finger in front of Ramses’ face. “I’ve already got one guard dog in the house.
I’ll be damned if I let another one run amuck.”

Ramses shook his
head in disapproval. “This is not up for discussion, Maliyah. Husani and I have
come to an understanding. We have to keep you safe and the only way to do that
is for both of us to stay close. I’m moving my belongings into the room
adjacent to yours. End of discussion.”

Maliyah glanced at
Husani, trying to gauge his reaction. But he remained silent.
Stoic.
It was obvious that whatever bullshit Ramses fed
him,
he’d bought it hook, line, and sinker.
 

“Fine!”
With her hands on her hips, Maliyah turned her back on them and
stomped up the stairs to her suite. She slammed the door so
hard,
the windows shook inside their frames.
“Un-fucking-believable.”

Maliyah plopped on
the bed, stretching out over the cool, luxurious Egyptian cotton bedding. Her
stiff muscles sank into the mattress, its cushiony softness relieving the
tension in her body. The men’s preposterous behavior had set her nerves on
edge. She’d had enough in one night to decimate her otherwise active libido and
sour her tastes where the opposite sex was concerned.

So far, her trip
home hadn’t turned out as she’d expected. So much had gone awry. Mourning her
father’s passing had evolved into a
quasi murder
investigation. Her childhood crush on Ramses
Shakir
had
come back in full force too, knocking the wind out of her sails. But it was the
sexist macho bravado of the men in her life, including her cousin Husani, which
had truly done her in. Chauvinism wasn’t something she’d remembered from her
childhood pilgrimage to Egypt. It came as a bit of a shock to Maliyah’s
civilized American sensibilities.

As Maliyah slipped
out of her halter dress into her pajamas, she heard a slight knock at the door.
A moment later,
Anat
crossed the threshold, carrying
a tray of scones and a steeping pot of tea. She set the tray down on the end
table and turned her attention to Maliyah.

“I thought you
could use some chamomile tea to help you sleep. Husani told me you were still
suffering from jet lag.” The old woman’s warm, genuine smile helped soothe
Maliyah’s foul mood.

She sighed, then
took a seat in the chair next to the bed and accepted the teacup from the
maid’s wrinkled hand.

“Thank you, Anat.”

“You’re welcome,”
she said. “How are you holding up?”

“Not so good,”
Maliyah admitted, taking a sip of her tea. “I feel a bit out of sorts.”

“That’s
understandable. You’re still grieving.”

Maliyah cocked her
head to the side and stared, wondering whether or not she could confide in
Anat. Ramses and Husani didn’t seem to trust anyone. But Maliyah’s gut told her
that she could rely on the maid for discretion. If nothing else, the old woman
had insight into her father’s final days.

“Grieving is the
least of my worries. Someone shot at me tonight as we were leaving the
restaurant,” Maliyah confessed, rubbing her suddenly pounding temples. “Do you
know if my father had enemies? Someone who may have wanted to hurt him or our
family?”

Anat
shook her head,
then
stood to move to the foot of the bed and turn down the
sheets. Her fingers trembled as she fidgeted with the thin cotton material. “Anwar
was a well-respected man. He didn’t have any adversaries that I’m aware of,”
she replied, her focus still on her work.

“You’ve spent
years in this house. If anyone would have observed anything suspicious, it
would have been you,” Maliyah sighed as she settled down under the covers.
Using two pillows, she propped herself up against the headboard and took another
sip of tea.

Anat
came around again to the side of
the bed and placed a gentle kiss to Maliyah’s forehead. “Get some rest, my
dear. You’ve had a rough day.”

***

Ramses stood on
the balcony that connected his suite to Maliyah’s. His biceps bulged as his
fingers gripped the iron rails. Fireflies flickered past, yet the rest of the
sky remained bleak, shrouded in darkness. This time, the blinds in Maliyah’s
room had been drawn shut, and even with his enhanced vision, he couldn’t see
much. However, Ramses’ keen sense of hearing picked up on the sound of her deep,
even breathing. She had no doubt fallen fast asleep after the traumatic events
they’d experienced earlier in the night.

Ramses’ pale
fingers squeezed the balcony’s filigreed edge. He clenched his fists until his
knuckles turned white. On the outside, he tried to remain calm. Inside, he
seethed with a deadly mixture of anger and frustration. Yet, all Ramses could
do was watch and wait for their enemy to spring from the proverbial shadows.
Maliyah was right. He was nothing more than a guard dog and she, the bait. Ramses
hated putting Anwar’s daughter in danger, but unfortunately, that seemed like
their best bet if they wanted to call the killer’s bluff.