Iris Johansen: A Summer Smile

“It matters.” His tone was granite-harsh. His finger rose to brush her lower lip with a gossamer touch.

Zilah felt a sudden sensation that was like nothing she had ever experienced before. It must be pain, she thought in bewilderment. But somehow it didn’t feel like pain. It was more like a hot tingle of pleasure. Daniel Seifert’s navy blue eyes were holding her own with mesmerizing power.

“It matters very much.” His voice had softened to dark richness. Then he shifted so that his bulk was between her and the men in the front of the plane. “I’ll take care of Hassan soon. It will be a pleasure I’ll look forward to.” His voice was a mere whisper. “We haven’t much time. Be ready.”

Zilah’s brow knotted in puzzlement. “Ready for what?”

“There will be intense pain.” Daniel was speaking rapidly, his eyes on her face. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t think of any other way. I knew I’d be searched, so I couldn’t bring anything along to protect you. Will you trust me?”

“You’re going to-”

“Trust me,” he said again. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Just hold on to me until hell freezes over. You won’t be sorry.”

She met his worried gaze. Gentleness, regret, and some other emotion she couldn’t define were conflicting in that brutally powerful face. She smiled. “I’ll hold on to you until hell freezes over. I promise.” He returned her smile. How odd that warm gentle smile looked in the rough-hewn boldness of his warrior face.

“Good. I’ll damn well remind you of that promise if you forget. We’re in this together, Zilah.”

She nodded. “Toge-” The word was shattered as an explosion rocked the plane. “What!”

Within seconds of each other there was a chain of explosions that appeared to encircle the plane. After that the action was so lightning-fast that she perceived it only as a blur.

Daniel reached into his back pocket and brought out a pristine white handkerchief. “Cover your nose and mouth and keep your eyes closed. Try to hold your breath.”

Then he tore off his left ear!

A false ear, she realized almost immediately as he balled it up in his palm.

The explosions were still going on outside the plane. Hassan was shouting something to the other man, who was peering through the window to try to sight their attackers.

Confusion became sheer madness as Daniel threw the object in his hand into their midst. Cerise smoke suddenly filled the plane.

Zilah’s mouth was agape with astonishment. The spell was broken as Daniel gave her an exasperated glance. “Dammit, cover your face!”

She heard a scream of agony from Hakim somewhere in that thick red mist ahead. She quickly covered her mouth and nose with the handkerchief.

“Come on.” Daniel was on his feet. “Grab on to my belt. I may have to have my hands free.”

She heard another scream. Hassan?

She closed her eyes as they entered the thick mist by the door but not before she caught a shadowy glimpse of Hassan. He was doubled over, his hands over his eyes, and clutching desperately at his face. His rifle was on the floor beside him.

Pain struck her!

Her face was a fiery agony. The cloth of the handkerchief was offering almost no protection against the heavy fumes by the door. She halted, stunned by the sheer intensity of the pain. She heard a muttered imprecation from Daniel, and then his arm was around her, pushing her through the door, down the stairs, and out into the sunlight. The desert heat enveloped her, suffocating her. They were running toward the jeep, she realized. Another round of explosions was going off, shaking the earth beneath her feet and causing puffs of fire and smoke to appear like lethal blossoms on the starkness of the dunes.

Daniel’s hands were encircling her waist, lifting, almost throwing her into the jeep. He jumped into the driver’s seat and put the jeep into gear. The windshield in front of them exploded in a cobweb of splinters with a neat hole in the center. A bullet hole! She glanced back to see Hassan a few yards from the plane aiming again with the rifle. Hakim was stumbling down the steps of the plane, still reeling with pain.

“Get down!” Daniel’s roar was so harsh, she obeyed instantly. “Dammit, I was hoping the gas would give us a few more minutes.” His foot jammed down on the accelerator and the jeep leaped forward. Another bullet whistled past her head and ricocheted off the frame of the windshield. Daniel began to zigzag across the sands. Other shots followed, hitting somewhere in the rear of the jeep. Daniel was fumbling underneath the seat and bringing out a small black metal box.

“What’s that?” Zilah had to shout to be heard over the roar of the motor and the hail of bullets.

“I was going to wait until we were farther away, but I think we need the distraction more than the distance.” Daniel pressed the red button on the box.

The earth heaved as an explosion four times as strong as the previous ones rocked the desert. She glanced back over her shoulder to see that the Learjet was now nothing but a blazing inferno. “You blew up the plane!”

“I told you we needed a distraction.” He looked back over his shoulder. Hakim, who had been close to the plane, had been knocked off his feet and was crawling with desperate swiftness away from the flaming wreckage. Another rifle shot sounded. “Hassan doesn’t appear to have been stopped, but I think we’re out of range now.”

“You blew up the plane,” she repeated, dazed.

“Ben Raschid wants them,” Daniel said calmly. “I didn’t want to chance them turning chicken and flying out of here. I also wanted to make them mad enough to come after us across the border.”

“You planned for them to follow us?”

“You’re damn right.” His grin took on a touch of ferocity as he shot a sideways glance at her. His gaze lingered on her swollen lip. “I’ve decided that I want them too.”

She was wiping her streaming eyes with the handkerchief. “Well, I don’t think there’s any question you succeeded in making them mad enough. When the other two men return with the jeep, they’ll probably be hot on our trail.”

“Probably. But by that time we’ll be out of this desert and halfway through the hills. You’ll be across the border and safe at my friend’s compound before they reach Sedikhan.” His lips tightened grimly. “And then I’ll go on a little hunting trip.”

A shiver ran through her. The ferocity was no longer a touch but glittering sharp as a dagger in his face. Daniel Seifert was obviously a very dangerous man. For an instant she felt almost sorry for Hassan and his men. Then she realized just how ridiculous that thought was. He was only one man, for heaven’s sake. Clearly an extraordinary man, judging from his actions in the past half hour, but not invulnerable. “No,” she said quietly. “I’ve caused enough trouble. I don’t want you to put yourself in any more danger because of me.”

“My choice,” he said tersely. “You don’t have anything to say about it. I want them.”

“I do have something to say about it.” Her green eyes were suddenly sparking. “I’m very grateful for your help, but I won’t accept any more from you. I’ll handle everything from now on.”

“We’ll see about that,” Daniel muttered.

The glance she threw at him was exasperated. She felt as if she were beating her head against a stone wall. “I mean it, you know.”

He patted her knee affectionately. “I know you do.” His smile was so warm and gentle, she could almost forget the harshness that had been there before. “You seem to think you can handle the whole damn world.”

She lifted her chin. “I can.”

He chuckled, his dark blue eyes twinkling. “Maybe you can at that. It will be fun to stick around and at least see you try.”