Erin Yorke - Desert Rogue

“Believe me, lady, the feeling is mutual, but until then you will have to watch my back while I cover yours. Understood?”

“I already said yes. What more do you want of me?”

Under other circumstances there might have been other responses, but now Jed merely gritted his teeth at her impertinence and scanned the almost deserted area in front of the river gates to the city. Spotting Ali, he felt a sudden surge of confidence as well as relief that the Cairene had escaped, too. His plan would succeed, despite their quarry’s lack of faith in him.

“See the tall Egyptian over there by the right gateway? That is Ali Sharouk, the other half of your rescue party,” Jed explained.

“I would not have thought you needed help,” she retorted, “or rather that you would admit you did.”

“He was not my idea, but since Ali was responsible for setting off those explosions that freed you, I wouldn’t question his presence or his efficiency,” rebuked Jed. “He and I will liberate a falucca while you wait here.”

“I will come with you now.”

“A woman down at the water will rouse attention we don’t want—”

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone here, and besides, in this getup, who would even know I’m a woman?” she protested.

“Don’t underestimate your charms, Vicky,” Jed advised dryly. “No Sudanese I’ve seen has a chest like yours, let alone the curvaceous wiggle in your walk.”

“You are disgusting to notice that at a time like this—”

“I never claimed to be a gentleman, honey.” Noting that Ali had left the gates and was headed for the open area where the faluccas were beached, Jed abandoned the argument.

“Follow me in three minutes,” he ordered as he started off, trusting she was clever enough to obey despite her complaints.

Left alone, Victoria stole a furtive glance around, pleased there was no one in the area to take an interest in her. Perhaps the explosions had drawn whoever might ordinarily linger along the river into the city to see what had occurred. Feeling a bit more reassured, Victoria started after her rescuers just as the muezzin sounded the call for midday prayers.

Seeing Ali begin to make the obligatory gesture of devotion, she was surprised when Jed did not follow suit. Wouldn’t he alert everyone to his foreign origins and criminal intentions? As she watched his movements, Victoria saw him stealthily approach the lone watchman prostrate in prayer.

Minutes later, the guard was still on the ground, but now unconscious and gagged as Ali and Jed lifted a falucca ’s sail from the sand and righted the craft. They slid the boat far enough into the water to maintain its balance, still held in place by the anchor that rested ashore.

“Here, Vicky, hurry,” called her savior while Ali moved away and began slicing through the canvas sheeting of the other nearby faluccas. “It won’t be long before the call to prayer is over.”

“But the boat is in the water and there’s no dock—”

“Lift your skirts and wade out to the bow. You’ll only get wet to your calves,” he coaxed, fighting the temptation to drag her into the boat by her hair. “Come on, now. We haven’t much time.”

“Isn’t there another way?”

Then, from up above, near the gates, shots rang out. Victoria dove into the falucca as though propelled by some of Ali’s charges. Jed couldn’t help but chuckle as he ducked his own head to hack at the anchor ropes holding the craft near to the shore.

“Halt, you there! Leave my boat alone or I’ll have the soldier kill you with the next round,” threatened the angry voice.

Raising his head just enough to look over the side, Jed felt a sudden tightening in his gut. He and Victoria were not the ones being threatened with extinction; Ali was. A well-fed merchant stood on the upper path near the river gates, a soldier beside him with his rifle trained on the Egyptian huddled behind a falucca fifty yards away down the beach.

“Ali, make a run for it,” urged Jed in English, confident the Sudanese wouldn’t understand. The falucca was all set, and if he could angle it around, it might block the soldier’s view—

Crracck!

Ali had followed his advice too late, damn it! The Egyptian was facedown in the sand, thirty yards from the boat, and the Sudanese was already scrambling down the path toward him. For a moment Jed hesitated, weighing his responsibilities. The river was straining at the falucca, ready to start Victoria on her homebound journey, and she was his primary concern. Once he released the anchoring rope, they would be off with the current in minutes, safely away from here. Still...

“Here, take hold of this line and don’t let go,” he barked at her, leaping overboard.

Before she could argue, he was splashing through the water as the soldier raised his rifle to take aim at this new mark. Heart in her mouth, Victoria watched as her supposed protector dodged left and right then left again, running bent over to afford as small a target as possible. Reaching Ali’s unmoving body, he knelt briefly beside him while bullets spotted the sand around them.

“Damn that man!” she complained as the drag of the boat against the current increased. Her hands were raw from the effort to keep the falucca where it was, and she wasn’t certain she was doing all she could to protect herself. What if they began shooting at her?

While it was undoubtedly true she would be in jeopardy traveling alone on the Nile, would it be any more dangerous than lingering here? The temptation to release the rope grew stronger as her palms smarted all the more. It was not that she begrudged the Egyptian help, but what was taking so long? Any minute and she’d lose her grip on the hemp even if she wanted to hold on to it.

Lifting her head slightly, Victoria looked toward the city, panicking at the people crowding to watch the excitement. The shooting soldier was nowhere to be seen. Might he be sneaking up on her even now? Before she decided to abandon the line, there was a heavy thump forward and she turned anxiously, only to see Ali’s body dumped aboard and Jed pulling himself in after it.

“Let go of the rope and hand me the long pole,” he ordered, swinging the sail about. “Here, hold the canvas while I get us farther out into the current.”

Although she resented his lordly manner, she obeyed without complaint, permitting herself but a brief glance at the angry mob growing on the beach.

“Won’t they follow us?”

“Not if Ali did his job properly,” he answered curtly, propelling the falucca far enough from the beach that the occasional rifle shot was no longer a threat. “I’ll take the sail. Stow the pole and check on Ali. The bullet will have to stay in until we get ashore again, but see if the bleeding has stopped. Otherwise, find something to staunch the blood.”

Would this nightmare never end? wondered Victoria, making her way hesitantly to Ali’s side. As much as she hated the sight of blood, she couldn’t refuse to care for the man. The back of his shirt was already sticky with crimson, but there didn’t seem to be any more oozing. Quickly she rinsed her hand and dripped water on his forehead, but he didn’t waken.

Sighing at the unfairness of it all, the blonde looked back at the other man, the one who had been in the pens with her. As unmannered as he was, he had gone back for his partner. Could he be as bad as she had presumed him to be? She still didn’t know his name or his story. It was time for some answers, she decided abruptly, abandoning Ali to his continued unconsciousness.

“Look, your friend has passed out cold.”

“Passed out? Why?”