Erin Yorke - Desert Rogue

Pandemonium was the order of the hour. Many of the escaping slaves had upended the tables along the perimeter of the square while the shopkeepers bellowed and tried to douse the small fires threatening their livelihood. Busily grabbing what goods they could carry off to start their new lives, fleeing captives shouted obscenities at those who would stop them and shoved their way to freedom. Then another ominous rumble sounded, the ground seemed to vibrate and a dark powdery haze drifted quickly over the slave quarter, providing temporary obscurity.

“This way, woman. Quickly, now, hurry,” Jed urged his companion forward as a blue gallabiya caught his eye and he swept it up in passing. The guards would be searching especially hard for the two European prisoners who would stand out readily in inner Khartoum. He and Victoria would be far safer if he could disguise her.

With a sudden jerk on her elbow, Jed pulled her into a narrow twist of the alley and whispered urgently, “Here, put this on.”

“Make up your mind. Put this on—or go quickly? Which is it?” cried Victoria angrily. Her eyes smarted from the soot in the air, her feet hurt from the stones that pierced her dainty slippers, and she still feared for her life. But, most of all, her heart ached with the possibility, however unlikely, that Hayden had placed her safety in the hands of this uncouth hooligan. How could her fiancé claim to love her and permit this scoundrel to come after her? “I am not moving another inch until you explain yourself.”

“Your hair and pale face will serve as a beacon for anyone searching for us,” he argued impatiently. By all the saints above, he was trying to save the woman’s hide, why was she squawking? “In this outfit, there is a chance you might be overlooked.”

“And you?”

“I’m brown enough from the sun to pass at a glance, and if they look closer than that, the game will be over, anyway.” Refusing to await her cooperation, he bunched up the flowing garment and dropped it over her head, thankfully muffling her complaints for the moment. “It’s rather long, but it’ll hide your skirts and those trim ankles I noticed earlier.”

“As if you haven’t better things to worry about,” muttered the blonde. “Never mind, give me your belt.”

“What?”

“If you expect me to move without tripping over my feet every few inches, I have to secure this somehow.”

Shouts sounded behind them in the alley, and rather than pursue their debate, Jed removed the leather strap and tied it about her waist, hiking the shapeless gown up and pulling the hood over her hair. An instant later he had grabbed her hand and they were running toward the city gates.

Dodging around the rubble in their path, he led Victoria forward, confident their route was the right one, if a little longer than he had remembered. It seemed to him they should have been at the gates by now, then he discarded the notion. It was just nerves that made him question himself.

Another roar sounded behind them somewhere as Jed pulled her along, but soon the voices of pursuit dropped away. Then, when Victoria doubted her ability to run another step, the gates were before them, and at last they were outside the city of Khartoum.

“Now what?” she gasped, leaning against the trunk of a mustard tree to catch her breath. “Where are the British troops?”

“What?” Jed couldn’t believe his ears. She continued to expect the army to rescue her.

“I’ll admit you got me out of the slave pens, and even out of the city, not that I couldn’t have escaped myself—”

“You do have an inflated opinion of yourself, Vicky, don’t you,” said the American, chuckling, impressed by her stamina. Most of the women he knew would have been weeping copiously, but her tongue was as venomous as ever. Did nothing shake her?

“I told you the name is Victoria, although you have yet to introduce yourself. For all I know you could be stealing me from Zobeir so your master can claim the fortune I would bring.”

“I am a man who serves no master but myself, unlike your pencil-pushing Hayden Reed.”

“He has a very responsible position, I’ll have you know. In fact, Hayden expects to receive a title in the near future,” bragged Victoria. Why it mattered, she didn’t know, but she could not tolerate this impudent male’s criticism of her fiancé. Hayden had a sound future ahead of him. Given his manner, this blowhard would undoubtedly end up in a jail cell, despite his physical charms, if he continued his explosive bent.

“A title to coincide with your marriage?” guessed Jed with a smirk. “Then I suppose Hayden will have it all. Too bad none of it can make him a man, willing to risk his life for the woman he loves.”

“That’s not true.”

“Vicky, I was with your dear Hayden when he received the kidnapper’s demands. First he protested that he couldn’t raise the ransom. Then, when he learned your mother had pledged the sum, his excuse was that he couldn’t be spared from his office—”

“But you don’t understand, Hayden is an important diplomat. He couldn’t risk—” Even as the words escaped her lips, Victoria realized that, in her heart, she didn’t really believe them. She should have been first in Hayden’s mind, not the money or his career. She should have been worth risking his own life, not that of some man for hire. Damn Hayden! Now she owed her life to this uncouth cad so ill-mannered he had yet to tell her his name. Well, damn him, too, she would not inquire what it was.

“I never asked you to save me. If you prefer to abandon me, go right ahead. I am certain I can get back to Cairo on my own.”

“As much as I would like to do just that, it isn’t in the cards. Hayden, for whatever his reasons, wants you back, and I will deliver you,” grumbled Jed, moving toward the Nile. “I must admit, though, having met you, I don’t understand why he would want you at all. It can’t be a love match—”

“And what would you know about love? With your lack of manners no woman could ever be attracted to you,” retorted Victoria. However, the words she spoke were not entirely true, she had to admit to herself as the stranger took her arm and urged her forward, ignoring her insults. Whether it was the danger of their situation or the uncommon comfort of masculine competence, she couldn’t decide, but for all his faults, her rescuer’s touch was definitely reassuring. That did not mean, however, she need speak to him!

Jed was so preoccupied with hurrying his charge through the ornate gardens surrounding the city that he took no notice of her sudden reticence. Thus far, things had proceeded well enough. All that was left was to rendezvous with the Egyptian, steal a falucca and sail off to freedom. Suddenly there beyond the monkey bread trees was the Nile. This would be the riskiest part of the trip. Jed pulled Victoria under the canopy of the obliging leaves.

“Shh!” he warned, covering her mouth with his large hand as she started to balk. “Once we’ve set sail, you can harangue me all you want, but now I need you quiet and cooperative or we’ll be back in those slave pens faster than you can cry Hayden Reed. ”

For one brief, irrational moment, Victoria longed to do nothing other than bite down hard on his oppressive hand and bring her knee up with equal force into his groin. Who was he to order her about in such an infuriating manner? Hayden had never treated her so rudely. Then logic interfered and she realized that the arrogant male with her was the only one on whom she could rely, however uneasily. Leashing her anger, the weary blonde gave a quick nod of her head and he obligingly released her.

“Short of sleeping with you, I will do whatever you say to escape from here and eventually from you,” Victoria continued, her eyes sparkling angrily.