The Sheikh's Island (Sheikh's Wedding Bet Series Book 4) (10 page)

H
aris stared at them
. "I thought you said nothing was going on here," he said, his face contorted into an ugly expression.

Rameez immediately stepped between them, but Wynifred pushed him aside. "We don't have time for this," she said grimly. "We need to find a way to get back to the mainland."

"I fell in love with you, and this whole time, you were sleeping with him?” Haris growled.

"You did what?!" Rameez demanded.

"Stop!" Wynifred put her hands up and glared at them. "This is ridiculous. Haris, you don't love me. I'm simply a prize to you. Something to win. That's not love. And you!" She turned her head to stare at Rameez. Her heart broke, but she swallowed hard and said what she should have said a long time ago. "Love doesn't mean anything to you unless it fits in neatly with your life."

"Wynifred," he whispered. Before he could say anything else, a scream pierced the air.

"Qaura," Haris breathed. "Qaura!"

Turning, he ran from the cave. Rameez and Wynifred were right on his heels but Qaura broke into the clearing and ran straight into Haris’ arms. "He's here!' she panted.

"Damn it," Rameez swore. "We need to get to the beach. Come on!"

He grabbed Wynifred’s hand and forced her to run towards the beach. Panic overtook her, and she struggled to keep up with him. They were going to die.

She was going to die, and she still hadn't told Rameez how she felt about him.

The angry skies finally opened up and drenched them, but Rameez didn't stop. The loud sound of a helicopter caught her attention, but rather than running away from it, Rameez kept running toward it.

"Rameez," she screamed over the noise. "Rameez, what are you doing?"

"Getting us the hell off the island."

Digging her feet into the ground, she forced him to stop. "We're running straight towards him."

He reached out and ran a finger down her cheek. "I told you that I would keep you safe, and I meant that. You may not love me, Wynifred, but I still won't let anything happen to you. You have to trust me."

Trust him? She opened her mouth to argue with him, but he grabbed her hand and dragged her closer to the helicopter.

"Where are we going?" Haris shouted.

They broke through the woods, and Wynifred stopped suddenly. The helicopter landing on the beach didn't belong to Anton. It belonged to the authorities.

"You called them," she whispered. "How?"

Rameez didn't answer her. Instead, he helped her and Qaura board the helicopter before hopping in himself. Turning, he held a hand out to Haris. Wynifred held her breath, but Haris accepted it and pulled himself on board.

No one said anything as the helicopter rose and took off. Rameez pulled a few blankets out and wrapped them around her. Wet and freezing, she pulled it closer and stared at him. A slow smile spread across his face, and he pulled something out from his pocket.

A cell phone.

“You have two phones?” she asked incredulously.

“One for business and one for personal use. It’s not often that I mix the two,” he said in a low voice. She couldn’t even yell at him since he’d just saved their lives.

Glancing out the window, she watched as the island grew smaller and smaller. Rameez and Haris had finally found some common ground. It wouldn't take long now to finish her business and head back home.

The thought only sank her deeper into her depression.

* * *

A
fter answering
questions from the police, Qaura asked one of the officers to take her to her hotel rather than ride with the cousins. Giving Wynifred a hug, she wished her luck before glaring at the men. As Haris was about to go to his car, Rameez growled at him, “We need to talk. My place.”

Nodding in agreement, Haris followed Rameez and Wynfifred back to his house. With confusion etched on her face, she stared out the window. "You aren't taking me to my hotel?"

"With that murderous bastard still out there?" he growled. "Not a chance."

"Rameez."

"You need to sleep, Wynifred," he cut her off before she could protest. "I also need to sleep, and that's never going to happen if I don't know that you're out of danger."

She must have seen the determination on his face because she fell silent. "You can take a shower. I'll get the guest bedroom made up for you."

Alone with Haris, he finally turned to face his cousin. "You're an idiot," he muttered, but there was no anger in his voice.

"I know. I knew that Anton was dangerous, but I had no idea that things would play out like that."

"Not Anton," Rameez snapped. "Wynifred. You don't love her. We both know that. There was only one woman on that island that had your attention, and it wasn't Wynifred."

Haris opened his mouth before snapping it shut. "Qaura," he said softly. "I didn't even think…It doesn't matter. She's never going to forgive me for what I did."

Snorting, Rameez rolled his eyes. "You are such an idiot. She loves you. She loved you when we were dating. It was the reason that we broke up. It was the reason that she moved away. She has always belonged to you."

Slack-jawed, Haris stared at him. "You never told me."

"Of course I never told you! My girlfriend was breaking up with me because she was in love with my cousin. You won! That was not something that I wanted to tell you."

The truth was finally out there, and Rameez saw the truth in Wynifred’s words. Haris had won Qaura like Rameez's father won Shifa. Without even realizing it, their fathers hatred had poisoned them. So much of this could have been avoided if he’d been honest. "I should have told you," Rameez said finally. "I was angry and bitter, but it wasn't because I was hurt. I thought I loved Qaura, but I didn't feel all that differently when she walked away. I simply didn’t want you to win."

"Not like you're going to feel if you let Wynifred walk away," Haris said in a low voice.

Startled, Rameez stared at his cousin. Haris was right. Wynifred hadn't even left yet, but she had one foot out the door, and Rameez's heart was already breaking.

"We can't let Anton get away," he muttered. "He's lost. He'll run for the hills, disappear, and if we're not careful, we'll lose him. I need you on board with this."

Haris nodded, and Rameez couldn't help but smile a little. Haris had nearly gotten them all killed, but in the end, his actions would finally help end the bitterness between them. They had a common enemy, and Rameez wouldn't stop until Anton was finished.

With Haris by his side, they'd catch him. Rameez had no doubt about that.

He needed to know that Wynifred could live her life without looking over her shoulder all the time. He owed her at least that much.

* * *

T
he feud was over
. She could finally go home. Feeling like her feet were made of bricks, she trudged behind the driver as he put her bags in the trunk. "Straight to the airport?" he asked crisply.

"I have one stop that I need to make," she said as she swallowed hard. Since everything had happened, she had yet to check on Shifa. It was important that Wynifred make sure the woman was okay before she left.

Thankful that she didn't see Rameez's car anywhere in sight, she asked the driver to wait and hurried to the door. Before she could knock, it swung open. Shifa stood on the other side with a big smile on her face. "Oh, my sweet girl! I was afraid that you would leave before I could say goodbye!"

Wynifred found herself ushered into the house and enveloped in a big hug. Shifa's strength was remarkable, and Wynifred breathed a sigh of relief. "You're okay," she murmured.

"I am now. Haris has been here twice already to talk with Rameez. It's so lovely to see them together even if the reason they’re bonding is horrible. I hope you aren't too hard on Haris. He meant well, and I'm sure he didn't know how everything would play out."

"Your nephew is a troublemaker, but he's an easy man to forgive."

"And my son?"

Her words hung in the air, and Wynifred cleared her throat. "Have you spoken to them about their fathers?"

Shifa narrowed her eyes, but she didn't acknowledge that Wynifred was changing the subject. "It's so strange. I should have seen what was going on, but I guess I didn’t want to admit that I was the reason two brothers hated each other. My ignorance has poisoned this family long enough."

Wynifred shook her head. "Shifa, it’s not your fault. If they had talked about it, maybe they could have worked things out. Instead, they waited until Rameez and Haris were old enough to understand before letting their hatred be known. I can only imagine how hard it was for Rameez and Haris to learn why their fathers hated each other. It was obviously traumatic enough for both of them to block it out."

"I'm happy that we can put this whole mess behind us. Dear, the taxi is still waiting out front. Are you going somewhere?"

Swallowing hard, Wynifred tried to force a smile. "The airport, actually. My job here is done, and my publisher is threatening bodily harm if I don't make it to my speaking engagements next week. Still, this has been good for me. For a moment, I doubted my abilities, but it's been nice to get back to basics."

"What do you mean doubted your abilities?"

Slowly, Wynifred trailed her finger over the kitchen counter. "Love isn't enough," she whispered. If it were, she'd be in Rameez's arms rather than running from him. "But it's a start, and I need to remember that."

Shifa suddenly smiled and focused her attention behind Wynifred. Before turning around, Wynifred knew that he was in the room. "For a mediator, you aren't very good at working out your own problems, are you?" Rameez asked in a low voice.

"Rameez, I'm glad I got the chance to tell you goodbye. I'm on my way to the airport," she said as she forced a smile. Her voice pitched too high, and she winced at how fake it sounded.

"No. You're not."

Startled, she frowned. "I am. My taxi is waiting for me."

"Your taxi just pulled out. Don't worry; I got your bags out."

"What!" Outraged, she ran to the window to see that the taxi was indeed gone, and her bags were sitting in the middle of the driveway. "How dare you!"

"If it makes you feel any better, I had to pay an outrageous amount of money to get the driver to leave," he said in an amused voice. "You're not going anywhere until we talk."

Shifa walked forward and took her hand. "I'll leave you two alone. Wynifred, don't give up just yet."

Don't give up? What was she talking about? Trying to reign in her temper, she turned to face the man she loved. "You don't have to worry about me. Anton is a killer, but he's not stupid. He's not going to waste his time on me when he can't possibly get what he wants."

"That's not what we need to talk about." His eyes darkened as they searched her face. "Do you really not know how I feel about you?"

Her heart fluttered, and she took a deep breath. "Rameez, I know how you feel about love. You don't have to explain yourself."

"Damn it, Wynifred." Before she could say anything, he'd gathered her in his arms and leaned down for a searing kiss. It was the kind of kiss that left her absolutely breathless, and when he finally pulled back, she swayed. If his arms weren't around her, she would have fallen. "A few weeks ago, I would have told you that love wasn't worth the effort, but then you walked into my life. Wynifred, I love you. I lost ten years of my life on that island thinking that you were in danger. I can't even begin to imagine a future without you, and if that means that I have to fight for you, then I will."

Her stomach flipped, and she put a trembling hand on his chest. "You seemed so sure that you had no room in your life for love," she whispered.

"That's because I hadn't met anyone worth fighting for. Love is a whimsical idea until you're actually in love. Then it's every breath, every heartbeat. My actions have been as bad as Haris, and I would understand if you're done with this whole family, but I couldn't let you go until you knew how serious I was about you. About us."

Relief and joy swept through her, and she sagged against him. "You're not the only one to blame here," she said with a slow smile. "I always thought love would be easy, but it's ridiculous to think that something so powerful wouldn't take at least some effort. I do love you."