Jane Godman - One Night With The Valkyrie

The problem was it felt too final. He had come here to find Danny and he was going home without him. Coming to Syria had been a long shot. It was a country with a unique set of problems. Communicating, traveling, finding information about his brother...they had all proven every bit as difficult as he had anticipated. Faced with a choice between doing nothing and making an attempt to find Danny, Adam had felt obliged to try. The realist in him told him this was always the likeliest outcome, that he would leave—if he got away at all—without any information. That stubborn streak he had? It was telling him the search wasn’t over.

Adam was exhausted, running on adrenaline and determination. The strength of will that got him through the toughest deals was about all that was keeping him upright. He knew what his rivals said of him. Arrogant. Obstinate. Inflexible. Those were among the more generous labels he had heard applied to himself. As long as he got his way, Adam didn’t care what they called him.

Now, his shoulder was in agony and the strong, reliable body that he pushed so hard in his day-to-day life was sending him insistent messages that it needed rest. This trip wasn’t like the usual demands he made on himself. This wasn’t like a fourteen-hour-day at work, followed by a sleepless night. Shock, blood loss, disappointment, and exhaustion had all taken their toll. If he didn’t get to safety soon, he would collapse.

But there was something other than his own willpower keeping him going. He cast a sidelong glance at Maja. The evening sunlight lent a golden tint to her skin and the breeze blew tendrils of hair that had escaped from her braid about her face. She raised a hand to brush them away, and even that simple gesture caught him full force. She was stunning and he could watch her forever. Every movement and expression held him spellbound.

Maja’s presence was energizing him. Not only because she had come to his rescue so many times during this adventure. He wasn’t sure he’d have survived without her, but there was more to it than the way she had rescued him from physical harm. Her allure was keeping his waning strength going. It wasn’t macho posturing around an attractive woman. Adam had never succumbed to that sort of display of virility. And without being vain, he knew he didn’t need it now. The attraction between them was mutual. He had the memory of the most explosive sex of his life as proof. But he also felt it in the highly charged atmosphere. Maja was too inexperienced to hide her feelings. Even so, he wasn’t sure subterfuge was an option for either of them. The magnetism was overpowering. Despite the danger they faced, Maja was uppermost in his mind. Pushing out all other thoughts, she was spurring him on.

“He said you can’t afford his price.” Tarek’s voice intruded into his thoughts.

Reluctantly, Adam withdrew his gaze from Maja. Reaching into the concealed pocket in his jacket, he withdrew the wad of hundred dollar bills. “Tell him this is a deposit.”

Adam was prepared to do whatever it took to get them to Cyprus, where his credit card would be good again and his cell phone would work. Somehow, having been to Syria, he felt closer to Danny. He understood Danny’s motives. Adam wasn’t giving up on his younger brother. He never would. I should have stopped him. Even though Adam had tried to talk Danny out of coming to this part of the world, he couldn’t shake the feelings of guilt. The sense that he could have done more, then and now. Tried harder to talk Danny out of it. Been more persuasive. Traveled to more of those sorry, ruined towns. Spoken to more sad-eyed people.

Ali’s attitude changed dramatically at the sight of the cash. Along with a new enthusiasm came an ability to speak English. Casting a quick glance around, he beckoned Adam closer. “Not here. Meet me at the Masa Bar. Ten minutes.” He gestured to one of the beach bars before turning back to his nets.

The Masa Bar was already filling up, but Adam found a table overlooking the beach. Ordering beer for himself and Ali, and soda for Tarek and Maja, he sank back in the comfortable chair.

“I may never get up again,” he sighed. Leo, obviously approving of this plan, curled up on his feet.

It soon became clear why Ali had chosen to meet here. The thumping beat of the music and the constant chatter of the noisy customers meant that, although their conversation had to be conducted in a shout, no one could overhear what they were saying. When Ali joined them, he drained half his beer appreciatively before he spoke.

“I can take you to Cyprus, but it is not easy.”

Adam patted his jacket pocket. “I’ll pay.”

Ali shook his head. “Go to Turkey instead. Much easier.”

“No.” Adam wasn’t budging on this.

Ali sighed and gestured for a waiter to bring him another beer. “You are a US citizen, yes? Why not call your embassy? They will get you out of here.”

“The boy is Syrian.” It explained everything. Syrian refugees were an international problem. Desperate to escape their own land, they had exhausted all the escape routes into neighboring countries.

“Ah.” Ali turned to Maja. “And you?”

She seemed confused, so Adam came to her rescue. “It’s complicated.”

Ali accepted the explanation without comment, appearing lost in thought as he drained his second beer. “Okay. The weather will be good tonight. We leave at midnight.”

* * *

In the hours between meeting Ali at the Masa Bar and joining him on the boat, they attempted to get some sleep in the car. Tarek dozed, but Maja stayed awake and worried about Adam. He looked increasingly weary. His face was pale and the fine lines about his eyes appeared more pronounced. Although he closed his eyes and leaned back in the driver’s seat, she got the feeling he didn’t sleep. When the time came, they abandoned Edith’s car in a side street and joined Ali at the harbor.

Maja was surprised when Ali led them to a dinghy instead of to the fishing boat they had seen earlier.

“Faster,” he explained as she climbed carefully into the small craft. “I am using my brother’s speedboat. We can reach Cyprus in under two hours this way.”

Maja didn’t like water. It was a fact she had decided not to mention to Adam. He had enough worries to contend with without introducing her phobias into the situation. Besides, they were getting to Cyprus by boat; they weren’t swimming.

The sea was mirror-still as the motor-powered dinghy skimmed across the water and Batroun disappeared in the moonlight. Within minutes, the dinghy bumped the side of the speedboat. Ali secured it to the stern of the larger vessel.

Even though there was no light except that thrown out by the full moon, Ali sprang nimbly from the dinghy onto the rear of the speedboat. Holding out a hand, he helped each of them in turn onto the deck. Handing out life jackets, he explained that they should remain seated during the journey. He also gave Tarek a length of rope and instructed him to keep Leo leashed the whole time.

“I am not turning back if your dog goes overboard.”

Within minutes the boat had chugged to life and they were gliding over the dark waters. Tarek soon became engrossed in the technicalities of what Ali was doing, and their conversation switched to Arabic. Ali seemed content to answer the questions the boy fired at him, and Maja turned to look at Adam, who was leaning back in one of the cushioned seats that lined the deck.

“You have pushed yourself hard,” she said.

“What choice is there?” Adam nodded in Tarek’s direction. “What happens to him if I crumble?”

Although she understood what he was saying, she was confused by the depth of his commitment to Tarek, a child he had only just met. Maja shared the same determination to ensure the boy was safe and well, but she had an advantage over Adam. She was invincible, while he was hurting, driving himself to his physical limits.