Murphy's Law (11 page)

She didn’t correct his misunderstanding. “Then what’s your excuse?”

“I don’t need one. I’m in charge.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re pretty sure of that, aren’t you?”

“Lilly,” he said, casting her a smug grin. “I could bet on it.”

He’d raised the art of conceit to new heights. And maybe that was half the attraction. He possessed a confidence that she lacked. He believed he pulled all the strings. In some ways he did, but no one, not even Jack, would ever treat her like a puppet again. If she followed his orders it would be because she considered them to be in her best interests.

“Why don’t you get some rest before dinner?” Jack said.

“All right,” she agreed, but only because she needed to be alone for a while to regroup. Her body ached with unfamiliar need. A relationship with Jack would be an unqualified disaster for her heart and perhaps a fitting way to end this disastrous Chapter in her life.

* * * *

Lilly stared at her watch, unable to believe her eyes. How had she slept through the entire night? Jack wasn’t with her. Why hadn’t he woken her?

She listened to the soft padding of footsteps coming from the dining room and Hanan singing an unfamiliar song. She must be doing her daily chores. Feeling guilty and very lazy, Lilly scooted off the bed to help.

“Good morning, Lilly,” Hanna’s cheery voice greeted her as she entered the room. She stacked the breakfast dishes into a pile to take to the kitchen.

“Let me,” Lilly said, lifting the stack of dirty dishes. “I’m sorry. You must think me very rude. I don’t know what happened.”

“You were exhausted. I sleep for two days every time I get off the ship, myself.”

 
“Where’s Jack?”

“Down at the docks with Mustafa. They should be back about two for lunch.”

“Good. That gives me some time to go to the store before they return.”

Hanan dropped the plate in her hand, and only Lilly’s quick reflexes saved it from being shattered. “No! You can’t go out. It’s too dangerous.”

Too dangerous. Hanan borrowed Jack’s broken record. Everyone treated her like a child. “I’ll wear the veil. I just need a few things. I’ll be quick.”

“Let Jack get them when he returns.”

Lilly shook her head and handed Hanan another clean plate to dry. “No. They’re personal things. He would make more of a scene buying them than I would.”

“Then I’ll go.”

“You have a new baby. It will only take a minute. I saw a drug store down the block next to the phone company. If you could just exchange some money for me, I wouldn’t even have to open my mouth.”

“I’m against this,” Hanan said.

Lilly smiled, understanding her reservations. “Your objection is noted, and I will back you up if Jack finds out. But he won’t.” She didn’t plan to tell him.

When the dishes were finished and she had a piece of fresh baked bread in her churning stomach, Lilly dressed. She left the apartment under Hanna’s second protest, but with a wallet full of Moroccan Dirham.

She adapted quickly to making her way down the streets with no more than slits in the veil to see through. Unlike some of the other European countries she’d been in, no man made a pass at her in her outfit. She walked quickly to her destination and purchased the items that never occurred to Jack in his earlier shopping spree.

She meant to return immediately, but she couldn’t resist the opportunity to do a few minutes of window-shopping on her way back. She stayed along the main street, keeping the apartment building in sight at all times. For the first time she could enjoy the exotic scenery without worrying about bumping into Jack.

Chapter Eight

“What do you mean, she went out?” Jack thundered, waking up the sleeping baby in Hanan’s arms. He winced and lifted his shoulders apologetically. “Sorry.” As she rocked the infant back to sleep, he tried to keep his voice lower than the volume of anger he felt. “I told you to keep her here.”

“Did you want me to tie her up, Jack? She’s more stubborn than you.”

He knew she was stubborn, but he had hoped that she possessed some common sense. “How long has she been gone?”

“Five minutes. I’m surprised you didn’t pass her on the street.”

“I wasn’t looking for her, but I’ll have to now. I don’t suppose you know where she went?”

“To the store. She needed some things, and I think she felt embarrassed to ask you for them. She didn’t want you to know.”

He swallowed hard to keep his temper under control. “What store?”

“The pharmacy next to the phone company.”

“Does she know it’s next to the phone company?” he grumbled, fearing the worst. He thought she understood how stupid it would be to try to contact her family.

Hanan blinked and let out a moan. “Yes. I didn’t think about it when she said it, Jack, or I would have found a way to stop her.”

“I have to find her, hopefully before she places a call.”

He ran from the apartment, taking the steps two at a time. He should have known better than to trust her. She wanted to contact her family, and nothing else entered her mind. The spoiled brat deserved a thrashing, and he had half a mind to give her one when he found her.

First he had to find her. All the women looked the same from the back with the long black dresses. He passed each one and, in an extreme breach of decorum, he had to gaze up, hoping to find a pair of baby blues looking back. Some women were shocked, and one even assaulted him with her handbag.

That’s keeping a low profile
. At this rate he’d get arrested before he found her.

He spoke to the manager at the phone company, but couldn’t get a positive answer, since
 
two operators had finished their shift just moments earlier. Defeated, he walked back out to the street. He could only wait for her to come back on her own, if she planned to.

The African sun beating down on his head added to his rising temper. He wouldn’t risk his neck to save hers. If she were suicidal, he wouldn’t let it upset him. Only, he didn’t believe his own lies. He cared about Lilly, and that made the danger greater for both of them.

A light touch on his arm stopped him from turning the corner. His body tensed, and he spun around. A moment’s relief was quickly replaced by fury. He didn’t need to see below the veil to recognize the woman. Her blue eyes stuck out like a neon sign that read “foreigner”.

* * * *

“Trick or treat.” Lilly saw his stony features and groaned. She should have left him alone and waited for the explosion back at the apartment. “I guess you’re mad at me again. No supper for me tonight.”

“You think it’s funny?” He snorted, and she would have sworn fire came out of his nose. He clamped his fingers around arm and pulled her towards the apartment building. The long gown tangled around her feet as she stumbled behind him. She grabbed onto his arm to avoid falling to the ground.

“You’re hurting me, Jack,” she cried out when the pressure on her arm became unbearable.

“Shut up,” he snapped back but loosened his grip.

The wrought iron door swung open from the force of his kick, and he shoved her inside the foyer. As the gate clicked shut behind them, she felt like a prisoner being locked in a cell. He had condemned and sentenced her without benefit of a trial.

Jack glanced around to make sure they were alone before pulling the veil from her head. He dropped it on the floor and moved her backwards until he had her pinned to the wall by the weight of his body. Without one ounce of tenderness, he closed his fingers around her chin and forced her to look up at him.

“You just had to do it, didn’t you?”

She tried to turn her head. “Stop it. That hurts.”

His laugh frightened her. She remained completely still, and he lowered his hand. “Good. At least I’m sure I have your undivided attention. Is this your idea of getting even because you didn’t like the way I told you I was in charge?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I told you not to call your family.”

 
“I didn’t,” she denied quickly.

“Don’t lie to me, Lilly. I have no intention of ending up dead because of you.” The accusation that she lied hadn’t stung nearly as much as the fact that he thought her spiteful and petty. “And you think that I would risk the lives of my family to get back at you? Is that right?”

He stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. “You tell me. Why did you tell Hanan you were going to the phone company?”

She smoothed the front of her dress back into place and took a deep breath. “I told her I was going to the store next to the phone company. I wanted her to understand that I knew where I was going and wouldn’t get lost.”

“Why couldn’t you wait for me to get back? Don’t you realize the danger you put Mustafa and Hanan in if someone recognized you?”

“I wore the veil over my face. I didn’t say a word to anyone. I just took what I wanted and handed the man the money.”

He obviously wasn’t impressed that she’d gone to such lengths. His lip twitched nervously, and his hands clenched into fists, baring white knuckles. “And just how many blue-eyed Arabs do you think there are, Lilly?”

“Thank you again for crediting me with no brains. I wore sunglasses. I only removed them when I saw you in front of me.”

“I told you to wait for me. I thought we’d come to an understanding yesterday about who was in charge.”

He couldn’t have hurt her more if he had used his fist to hit her. How could she be so blind? Nothing had changed between them. He used her attraction to him as leverage to keep her in line. “I agreed to return to the States with you, but I wasn’t aware that I was under arrest. I thought I had some rights, one of which was to go out on my own.”

“What was so important that it couldn’t wait?”

“None of your business.” She clutched her purse tightly against her body. She didn’t want him to know just how stupid she’d been.

“I think it is. I’d like to know what it is that you would rather die for than do without.” He grabbed the purse and wrenched it out of her hands.

 
“Don’t you dare,” she warned coldly.

He stepped out of her reach and opened the leather purse, removing the paper bag inside. “Let’s see.” He held up a souvenir doll she had purchased impulsively for her younger sister. “Oh, a doll. How important! Toothpaste. I can see where it might embarrass you if I purchased that.”

He tossed them on the floor and continued rooting through the feminine hygiene products she had purchased, oblivious to the humiliation he caused her. Every time she reached for the bag, he turned away, refusing to stop. She wiped away a solitary tear and drew strength from the passionate fury Jack was so apt at inspiring in her.

He removed a box of condoms from the bag and stared at it in stunned disbelief. “What’s this?”

She squared her shoulders and sent him the coldest glare she could raise. “I assume you took sex-education in high school.”

He drew his brows together in confusion. “What is it for?”

“I planned to fill them with water and throw them off the top of the building.” She dropped to her knees and gathered the items he’d tossed so indifferently on the floor. He tried to help her up, but she swatted away his hand.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, looking only slightly less foolish than she felt. He held the box out to her. “Here.”

“Keep it. I suddenly find I don’t need it anymore.” She hiked up the bottom of her caftan and ran up the stairs.

On the second floor landing, she paused for a breath and shot a quick glance towards Jack. He stood perfectly still, staring at the box of condoms like he couldn’t quite figure it out.

Hanan, apparently worried about them, hovered at the door when she reached the fourth floor. “Is everything all right?”

“Peachy,” Lilly sniped and then felt guilty. “I’m sorry. He may be like a brother to you, but to me he’s nothing more than a hemorrhoid. An irritating pain in the rear.”

Hanan patted her back, leading her into the living room. “You don’t mean that.”

“Yes I do.”

“I know he has a temper, but that’s only because he was worried. He cares about you.”

Lilly shook her head. Someone who cared wouldn’t humiliate the object of his affection. If he had asked instead of accusing, she would have explained it to him.

Four more days! She only had to survive four more days of his insufferable company and her ordeal would be over. Unless they hit another roadblock. Then it could be longer. The thought made her ill.

She sat down as the front door opened. Seeing Jack, she changed her mind.

“Excuse me,” she said to Hanan and bolted from the chair.

Jack took a step into the room. “Lilly. Please wait.”