Blink of an Eye Page 13

  “I think you’re repeating yourself.”

  “But I’ve just seen more than one actual future. I didn’t just see one. I saw many, and I know for a fact that they were all possible. Therefore, there can’t be a god who knows only one. Yet a god, by definition, would know the one.” Seth looked at the horizon. “Unless there is no God. I do believe I’ve just proven atheism.”

  “This makes no sense,” Miriam said. “I understand your logic, but it all falls apart when you bring more than logic to bear. Have you considered the fact that you only seem to see these futures when you are with me?”

  He stared at her. Obviously not.

  “Except for the first two, you’re right. That’s true. So maybe you affect me somehow.” He looked at her and smiled. “You make my mind . . . I don’t know . . . crazy.”

  “Perhaps it’s women. They do that to you.”

  “Women?”

  “Yes. Your exceptional understanding of women and love, remember? It’s evolved to the point where when you’re with one, you can actually know what they are going to wear and say before they do. You’re nothing less than the supreme male.”

  He blushed. As he would say, she’d scored, but she hardly felt satisfied by it. The fact was, despite his spiritual misguidance, she felt safe with him. He was true to the bone. Genuine.

  “The woman has a brain after all,” she said, smirking in spite of herself.

  “Not bad, princess. Not bad at all.”

  “And this woman with this brain thinks your logic, though arguably sound, is still somehow flawed.”

  “An oxymoron,” he said.

  “Nevertheless, my heart tells me that what I’m saying is true. Do you trust my heart?”

  He had not expected that, she thought. They were sparring—he with his mind, she with her heart. No, not with her heart, because her heart belonged to Samir. Both with their minds, then.

  “I’ll have to think about it,” Seth said.

  “Then think with your heart,” she said.

  “Do all Muslims think with their hearts?”

  “No. Do all Christians?”

  “No.”

  They drove for over an hour, switching freeways several times, slowly closing in on their destination. Although Saudi Arabia covered as much territory as the western United States, her population was no larger than this one city. Los Angeles. Seth made passing remarks about the massive metropolis, but for the most part they were cynical and hard to grasp. Miriam felt alien in this crowded land. Lonely again.

  Samir, Samir, my dearest Samir. Where are you, my love?

  A knot rose into her throat. She could have planned to flee with Samir, but they had no time. Perhaps once the Americans gave her safe harbor, she could contact Samir.

  She had left most of her money at Hillary’s house. Maybe Sheik AlAsamm would send money with Samir. But what would the sheik do? He was in his own bid for power. He’d sold her into the king’s house for power in the first place. He wanted her to marry Omar! How could she ever trust him? No, she would have to make contact directly with Samir. Maybe through Sultana.

  “Okay. Here we are,” Seth said. “That gray building across the street. See it?”

  “Yes.”

  Seth pulled into a parking spot, muttering that the vacancy was a miracle. She was tempted to ask him how miracles could exist without a God, but she knew he’d used the word only as a figure of speech. He turned the engine off and sat staring at the building.

  “What if they aren’t friendly?” Miriam asked.

  “I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be. You’re seeking political asylum—they can’t just pull out their guns and shoot you.”

  “You could choose better words.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I’m not worried about being shot. But being sent back to Saudi Arabia and that pig Omar would be worse than being shot.”

  “I won’t let that happen,” he said. “At least if you go back, Omar’s behavior will be exposed.”

  “And why should I trust you?”

  He looked at her, dumbstruck. “Because I’ve saved you twice already. Or maybe because I actually care about what happens to you.”

  “Do you?”

  Apparently he hadn’t expected the comeback.

  “Yes.”

  She looked at the doors across the street. “Then I’ll trust you, Seth Border.” She opened her door and stepped out.

  They walked in, an inconspicuous couple, she thought. Seth was just another American citizen, dressed in his corduroys, black canvas shoes, and orange T-shirt. His slightly disheveled hair was not so uncommon, she’d noticed, at least in California. She felt at ease in the blue jeans and white blouse, not because she was accustomed to wearing them, but because they made her feel like a woman. A woman free of that beast, Omar, walking into a public building with an unmarried man.

  They stopped inside the swinging doors and gazed across a large lobby crowded with people of all races. Seth took her arm and guided her toward a desk under a large sign that read Information.

  She was aware of his warm hand on her elbow, only the second man ever to touch her skin. She wondered what he thought of her bare arms. You’re being silly, Miriam. You’ve been tied up in the black sack so long that you don’t know what it means to be touched innocently by a man.

  A woman with black-framed glasses who wore her hair in a bun eyed them from the information counter. Three security guards stood behind her, legs spread and arms folded, at ease.

  Her mind returned to Seth’s hand. Here she was, about to entrust herself to the Americans, and her mind was distracted by the touch of a man. Juvenile, but true.

  The first time Samir had touched her was in Madrid, in a park—she couldn’t remember the name. His fingers lightly brushed her right cheek, and a gentle wave of warmth spread down her spine. She threw her arms around him and wept.

  They sat trembling in each other’s arms for an hour. She learned then that love was like a drug. Although they didn’t find another opportunity to be alone on that trip, the intoxication of that one hour melted the two remaining days into a dizzying, forbidden pool from which she thought she would never emerge.

  Feeling Seth’s fingers on her elbow now was like putting her toes back in that pool.

  What has gotten into you, Miriam! You may be a woman on the outside, but you’re a foolish girl—

  Seth’s grip on her elbow tightened.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  His eyes were wide, fixed on the guards. They blinked.

  “What? Seth?”

  He turned toward her and forced her around. “Just walk out. Don’t look back, just walk.”

  The urgency in his voice said enough. She walked. Stride for stride with him, tense from head to toe now.

  “What—”

  “Don’t speak.”

  She swallowed.

  At the door, a guard she hadn’t noticed lifted his radio and spoke into it. His eyes met hers. The guard walked toward the door to cut them off.

  Seth stopped. His hand released her elbow.

  “You’re frightening me,” she said. “There’s a problem?”

  “We have to get out of here!”

  “I thought—”

  “Don’t move! Don’t speak, don’t breathe.”

  “Please—”

  “I’ll be right back. Please, Miriam, don’t move. If you want to live out the day, do not move.”

  Seth left her side, stepping toward one side of the atrium. The guard saw him and stopped. Miriam’s heart beat steadily. She glanced back—two of the guards from behind the counter walked toward her. Don’t move? She should be running!

  She turned back to him. “Seth?”

  Seth had reached the wall. She saw the red box on the wall and knew it was a fire alarm before he pulled it.

  A shrill bell clanged to life. For a long moment the bustle of the room seemed to freeze. Seth spun around and yelled above the bell. “T
here’s a bomb in the building set to go off in thirty seconds. Please exit immediately in an orderly fashion!”

  Contradicting his own advice, Seth ran. “Out! Everyone out!”

  Bedlam broke out. Seth raced for her, and a broken dam of people rushed for the door, set in motion by Seth’s sprint. Screams joined the bell and Miriam fought the impulse to join them.

  Seth reached her. “Hurry. Follow me!”

  They ran for a side door with Fire stamped on its surface. The guards cut across the room, hampered by the flood of running bodies. Seth and Miriam reached the side door well ahead of the closest guard.

  A gunshot sounded over their heads. “Freeze! Stop where you are!”

  Whether the guard addressed the entire mob or her, Miriam didn’t know. Whatever the case, the action refreshed the crowd’s panic. New screams broke out, and the rush for the door became a stampede.

  Seth and Miriam crashed through the fire door. Seth took five long steps toward the front of the building and slid to a stop. The street filled with people.

  “Run!” Miriam panted.

  He grabbed her hand. “This way!” They sprinted to an alley and then behind the building, where a couple dozen cars sat parked. Seth pulled up just around the corner, panting.

  “What about your car?” Miriam asked.

  He released her hand and bolted from car to car, grabbing at door handles and muttering through clenched teeth. “Come on! Come on!”

  A male voice yelled around the corner, and Miriam stole a quick glance. A guard had exited the building and was running toward the alley.

  “They’re coming!”

  “Try the cars! Find an unlocked car!”

  This was his plan? “An unlocked car?”

  “Unlocked!”

  He ran to another car and yanked on the latch. Locked. He ran to another. “Come on. Help me!”

  Miriam ran for a blue Mercury Sable and pulled on the handle. The door sprang open. She turned to tell him, but he was already racing for her.

  “Get in!” He was whispering now. “On the floor.”

  She clambered in and flattened herself on the front seat. She didn’t know how he expected her to get on the floor—the steering wheel was in the way and . . .

  A knee or a hand pushed into her back and she grunted.

  “Sh!”

  He was climbing over her. His full weight crushed her and she nearly yelled at him. But she quickly decided that he would never climb over her unless it was his only option. She gasped for air.

  He eased the door closed. Silence smothered her. She pushed up on her elbows to give her lungs room to breathe. His body was dead weight.

  “Don’t move!” he whispered.

  “You’re crushing me!”

  He was silent for a moment, as if considering this information.

  “The guard’s in the parking lot,” he whispered. “He’ll see me if I get up.”

  “You’re . . . suffocating me.”

  Another silence. Imagine: She wouldn’t die by drowning at the hands of the mutawa, but by suffocating under the body of an American.

  “Should I move?” he asked.

  “Y-yes. Off my back.”

  “What if he sees me?”

  If he didn’t move, she would die for sure. She swung her elbow back in self-defense. It landed in his ribs and he grunted.

  Now he moved. His weight shifted from her back to her legs and she nearly cried out from the pain. At least she could breathe. His knees found the seat between her legs, and then his weight eased.

  They remained motionless for a long minute, breathing hard. Then his body began to tremble, and it occurred to her that the poor man must be supporting himself in a strenuous position.

  “Should I look?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  He eased himself up.

  “I think we’re clear,” he finally said. He reached forward, shoved the passenger door open, and scrambled out over her, all elbows and knees again, apologizing with her every grunt.

  He spilled out onto the gravel, sprang to his feet, and gave her a half smile as she struggled to sit. He scanned the lot and then ran back around to the driver’s side. He climbed in and shut the door.

  “Sorry. You okay?”

  “No.”

  He grinned sheepishly. “But you’re alive.”

  “Barely. There’s no key.”

  “Who needs keys?”

  Evidently not Seth. It took him less than a minute to pull out three wires and press two together to start the car. Thirty seconds later they eased out of the alley and pulled onto the street. Behind them, lights from a number of fire trucks and police cars flashed. The Cougar was blocked in by two cars.

  Seth sped down the street, smirking, leaving the chaos behind.

  “Boy, that was close,” he said.

  “Thanks to you.”

  They drove a block in silence, Seth checking the mirrors every two seconds.

  “Are you going to tell me why we ran?”

  “They were going to turn you over to Hilal.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Pretty sure. Yes, I’m sure.”

  “You saw that in the building, but you saw no way of escape once we got to the alley. So your gift has its limits.”

  “It’s sporadic. But I think it’s gaining strength. I’m seeing more and I’m seeing longer.”

  They turned onto a side street and then onto another. Still no sign of pursuit. Miriam began to relax.

  “Now what?” she asked.

  He looked at her for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time and then faced forward, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

  “Now we run, princess. Now we really run.”

  chapter 16

  hilal eyed the diplomats around the conference table, thinking that debating protocol while the woman and the American fled was a waste of time. The State Department’s cooperation was critical now, but not at the expense of Miriam’s disappearance. The fact that she had escaped him once infuriated him enough.

  He closed his eyes. Seth Border had handed him an insult. The man’s words ran circles through his head still. Stupid, flippant words that he should ignore. But he couldn’t. Dealing with Seth Border was in some ways as important to him now as dealing with the sheik’s daughter.

  “. . . if it makes any difference to you, Mr. Sahban.”

  Hilal looked at the man who addressed him. Peter Smaley, deputy to the secretary of state, was fortunately available, having been in Los Angeles with Iona Bergren on unrelated business. Bob Lord, the undersecretary for State Department affairs, sat beside them, waiting for his response. The only other person in the small conference room was Clive Masters, from their National Security Agency. Within a minute of the meeting’s commencement, Hilal had judged them accurately. Smaley was here to administer the meeting and ensure that Saudi-American relations were not threatened by this event. Lord was here to play the antagonist—the individual-rights activist who would rather see a hundred Arabs die than one American. Iona, the woman, was the most knowledgeable of the Middle East’s sensitivities, despite her gender. And Clive Masters was the killer here. Of them all, he was the only one who gave Hilal some pause.

  “Forgive me, my mind was elsewhere,” he said. “Could you restate the question?”

  “Bob has suggested that we withdraw and let them surface under a false sense of security,” Smaley said.

  “I’m afraid this matter is too urgent for such tactics,” Hilal said. “I’m not sure you appreciate the difficulty this evasion puts my government in. You do not sit back and let a coup surface.”

  Iona cleared her throat and leaned forward. She looked to be of Mediterranean descent, pretty, with olive skin and a rather large nose. He wouldn’t mind making her acquaintance.

  “You are saying that the princess confessed to being an integral component of a planned coup? Why would she confess this?”

  “I believe she thought it would
dissuade me from taking her home.”

  “And you believe her?”

  “I have no doubt.”

  “Seems rather assuming,” Bob Lord said. “But if you know about the coup, I can’t see why you need her to deal with it. Arrest the parties involved. We certainly don’t need to bring in gunslingers to hunt down a couple of people who’ve done nothing more than run for their lives.”

  “She has broken our laws, Mr. Lord. And your assumption that we can simply arrest the suspected parties in Saudi Arabia shows your ignorance of our society. Even if we did know who was behind the coup—”

  “You said Sheik Abu Ali al-Asamm was behind it.”

  “He is surely an accessory. But the coup would not come from him,” Hilal explained. “If arresting the sheik made any political sense, we would have done it twenty years ago. He’s too powerful to arrest. We need his allegiance, not his head. We must expose the man among our own, and I am convinced the woman knows his identity.”

  They were silent for a moment.

  “You’ll take the princess back and torture her for this information,” Lord said.

  “Our government is at stake, Mr. Lord. We will do what we must. And if she can’t be returned, then she must be . . . dealt with here.”

  Lord just stared at him.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t understand how anything beyond her apprehension’s in our interest,” Smaley said.

  “It’s in our interest because it effectively squashes this coup attempt,” Iona interjected, “even if it doesn’t expose the parties involved.”

  Hilal gave her a soft smile. “Precisely. It also gives my government leverage with Sheik Abu Ali al-Asamm.”

  At the far end of the table, the NSA operative chuckled. He stared at Hilal with pale blue eyes and nodded. Clive Masters was no idiot. His hair was a sandy red and his skin was unusually fair—a strange sight with his gray-blue eyes. Disturbing, even. He would have to watch this man.

  “Please explain,” Smaley said.

  Hilal turned from Clive Masters. “The sheik will be distressed to learn that his daughter has been killed. Naturally, so will Prince Salman, her adopted father. We will approach the sheik and explain our suspicions that she was killed by the man whose marriage she fled. It may be in the sheik’s interest to reveal that man’s identity and look for favor with King Abdullah, which we will be pleased to extend.”