A Summer Smile

4

It was still dark when Zilah opened her eyes. Daniel’s arms were no longer around her, and she saw the dark blur of his large bulk looming over her.

“Is it time to get up?” she asked, yawning. “It’s still pitch dark.”

“Not for long. By the time we pack up and wash the sleep away it will be light enough to travel.” Daniel was swiftly pulling on his sleeveless undershirt. “It will take over two hours to reach Sheikh El Kabbar’s compound and I want to get there before the sun is high. Once we leave the hills we’ll be in desert country again.” He tossed the penlight onto her lap. “Why don’t you go down to the creek while I repack the backpack?”

She stretched lazily. “I’ll do that.” She got to her feet, flinching as she felt the stiffness of her cramped muscles. “It may take a while to get my legs working. I’d better start right away.” She turned on the flashlight, catching Daniel in its pool of light. As usual, his sheer size was a shock. His red hair was tousled and the low-necked sleeveless undershirt revealed a wisp of the auburn hair on his chest. Despite the explosive vitality that exuded from him, his face showed fatigue, especially in the deep lines at the corners of his eyes. “Didn’t you sleep at all?”

He shook his head. “You’re a very nice armful,” he said lightly. “I decided I was enjoying myself too much to waste time sleeping.” He inclined his head in a mocking bow. “I hope you’ll forgive me for not obeying your orders, oh, lallah.”

“Much you care.” She tried to smother a smile as she turned and started down the hill toward the tamarisk grove. She glanced back over her shoulder. “You’re definitely not a team player, Daniel.”

“Clancy would never have sent a team player on a mission like this,” he drawled, his eyes twinkling. “And if he hadn’t sent me, think of all we would have missed.”

She chuckled. “Bombs exploding, being shot at, pursuit by terrorists. I have to admit it hasn’t been dull. Life may seem a bit tame when this is over.”

“Then I’ll have to think of something to liven things up a bit.” He leered at her. “I have a few ideas in mind that might suffice. You forgot about the Roman candles.”

She smiled softly. “No, I didn’t. I have to admit your fireworks are pretty unforgettable, Daniel.”

There was still a smile lingering on her lips when she reached the creek and knelt down on the flat rocks that bordered it. She seemed to have been smiling a great deal since Daniel had appeared in her life. How many years had it been since she’d known joie de vivre rising within her? She had thought that welling spring had been stilled forever by the experience that had changed everything for her. Contentment had seemed prize enough.

She used the handkerchief to wash her face and throat, thinking wistfully of thick terry-cloth towels and toothbrushes and hot showers…

She screamed in agony.

The pain was so blinding, so overwhelming, that for an instant she didn’t know where it was coming from. It was everywhere. It was wracking her entire body. She found herself sobbing helplessly.

“Zilah, for God’s sake, what’s happened?” Daniel was kneeling beside her. He grabbed the lantern and swung it in a wide arc around the grove, the M-1 ready in his other hand.

“I don’t know.” The tears were running down her face. “Pain!”

“Where?”

She tried to pierce the haze that was enveloping her and identify its source. “My ankle, the right one, I think.” She clutched at his shoulders, her nails biting into his flesh. “Oh, I don’t know! It hurts, Daniel.”

“I know. I know. Shhh. I know.” He was shifting the lantern, playing the light down her leg to her feet.

“Oh, God!”

“What is it?” His voice was so shocked that she fought the dizziness to look over his shoulder. Ugliness. She had never seen anything so ugly as the creature crawling up her jean-clad calf.

Then Daniel was using the barrel of the M-1 to brush the creature away. He ground it into the stones with the butt of the gun. He stood up, slung the rifle on his shoulder, and picked her up. He climbed swiftly up the hill toward the cave.

“It was a scorpion, wasn’t it?” she whispered, closing her eyes. “He stung me.”

“It was a scorpion,” he conceded grimly. “They don’t usually like to be so close to water. It must have crawled out from under one of those rocks.”

“They’re very poisonous, aren’t they?” she asked, moistening her lips. “Am I going to die, Daniel?”

“No! God, no, sweetheart. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

“Don’t look now, but I think it’s already happened.” She felt light-headed, floating on waves of pain. “He was ugly.”

“What?”

“The scorpion. He was so ugly.”

“Shut up, Zilah,” he said huskily. “You’re going to be fine. Don’t think about it.” He set her down with her back to the wall of the cliff and knelt beside her. He rolled up the cuff of the jeans on her right leg and inhaled sharply. Her ankle was already swollen to almost twice its normal size. He quickly pulled off her tennis shoe and stripped off her white sock.

“Where is that handkerchief?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he spied it still clenched in her hand and took it from her. “I’m going to have to make a tourniquet to keep the poison from spreading. Not very tight, just enough to slow the circulation a little. We’ll keep a close watch on it and loosen it every so often.” He was wrapping and tying the handkerchief directly above her ankle as he spoke. “The important thing is to keep the venom from spreading before we can get you to a doctor. The initial pain will ebb soon, but sometimes a fever follows. Don’t be frightened if it does.”

“You seem to know quite a bit about scorpion stings,” Zilah said faintly. “Is that required instruction for Clancy’s agents?”

“I learned this particular knowledge on my own,” Daniel said as he rolled down the cuff of her jeans. “One of the favorite amusements of those bastards who held me in that shack was to throw a scorpion or snake into the room with me and watch me scramble to cope with it. After I got out I made it my business to know everything there was to know about poisonous vermin of all types. I never wanted to be that helpless again.”

Poor Daniel. How horrible that experience must have been for him. And how many other experiences had he gone through that were equally hair-raising and potentially tragic? He had led a hard life and he was a hard man, yet there was kindness in him and humor and sensitivity… She was finding it hard to concentrate through the haze of pain surrounding her. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

He glanced up in surprise. “Why?”

He actually didn’t know, she realized. When he went through a hellish experience he just tried to make himself better prepared for the next one. It was a way of life to him. “The pain and the sadness and…” She shook her head helplessly. “I’m just sorry.”

Daniel’s throat tightened. She was the one who was hurting and still she was worrying about him. He touched her cheek with one gentle finger. “Are you?” he asked softly. “Don’t be. I survived it.” His finger moved down to trace her upper lip. “Did I ever tell you I love to see you smile? It reminds me of warmth and summer and all the good things of life. I haven’t seen you laugh yet, but I’m looking forward to it.” He bent forward to brush her temple with his lips. “I survived and you’re going to survive too, Zilah. Count on it.”

“What are you doing?” she asked as he slung the canteen and the M-1 on one shoulder and reached down to gather her in his arms.

“It’s generally called a fireman’s carry,” he said as he slung her facedown over his shoulder. “I want to move fast and this is the easiest way for me to carry you over the kind of terrain we’ll be crossing. I’ll have to leave the backpack behind. Once we’re out of the foothills I’ll try to switch your position so that you’ll be more comfortable.”

“But you can’t carry me all that distance,” she protested. “Let me try to walk.”

He gave her derriere a little slap. “Hush! I can do anything I damn well want to do. It’s my decision, and we’ve already agreed that I’m not a team player. If I let you walk, that poison is going to pour into your bloodstream. Now, be quiet and think good thoughts. That’s as far as you’re going to be allowed to participate in this little project.”

“I think we’re going to need all the good thoughts we can beg, borrow, or steal,” Zilah murmured hazily. “And even that may not be enough.”

“It will be enough.” Daniel’s voice was grim. “I’ll make damn sure it’s enough.”

“I hope that you…” Whatever she had been about to say drifted away as consciousness fled.

Turquoise eyes. They shone cool and glittering in the dark hard face of the stranger. Cool. Zilah’s gaze clung to them with desperation. The world was on fire but here was coolness. His voice was cool as well and tinged with dry amusement. “Really, Daniel, I realize the woman is ill but did you have to react so violently? My overseer objected most volubly to being shot at.”

“I wasn’t shooting at him,” Daniel said grimly. She was being carried down an interminably long hall of mosaic tile, passing white-fretted windows whose intermittent glare hurt her eyes. “He wouldn’t have been able to object at all if I had been. I just shattered the exterior mirror on his jeep. The stupid bastard wasn’t going to stop when I hailed him down.”

“Well, you must admit you do look a bit of a wild man at the moment. Abdul isn’t the most courageous man under the best of circumstances. He probably thought you were a bandit.”

“Bandits aren’t usually wandering around the countryside burdened with an unconscious woman,” Daniel growled. “The man is a fool.”

“Perhaps,” the man with the turquoise eyes drawled. “But he’s an excellent overseer. One can’t have everything.”

“Don’t try to give me that bull, Philip,” Daniel said. “You know damn well that you’ll have everything your own way or blow up the whole world trying.”

“I do find life far more convenient that way.” Zilah saw again the flint of those turquoise eyes as he glanced down at her dispassionately. “Your Miss Dabala seems quite ill. Was she shot in the escape?”

“Scorpion sting,” Daniel said tersely. “She’s been in intense pain and drifting in and out of consciousness for the last few hours. She’s burning up with fever. As soon as I can get her to bed I want a doctor to see her.”

“I’ve already sent for him. I told Raoul to phone for Dr. Madchen when he informed me that you’d roared into my courtyard with an unconscious woman in the jeep. He should be here shortly.”

“She’ll need antivenom.”

“We keep some here in the first aid room. I’ll have Raoul check to be sure it’s still fresh. If not, I’ll send a courier to pick up some at Dr. Madchen’s dispensary.”

“Good.” She was being placed on a bed whose cool, silken sheets felt like a blessed balm to her hot flesh. Daniel’s eyes were narrowed in concern on her face. “Hold on, Zilah, we’ve almost got it made.”

Zilah tried to smile but it hurt too much. Everything hurt too much. She closed her eyes wearily to block out the light that was burning her eyes. She heard Daniel mutter something violent beneath his breath. She paid no attention to it. She had gotten accustomed to that fierce murmur beneath her ear in the last few hours. Now it brought only a feeling of comfort and protection like the growl of a grizzly to her cub.

“You called her Miss Dabala and mentioned the escape,” Daniel was saying somewhere above her head in the darkness. “Who told you about Zilah?”

“Your old friend Clancy Donahue became concerned when you failed to contact him last night as arranged. He flew in to be on the spot in case you needed him. He filled me in on the details of your little adventure. It sounded quite entertaining. Just the sort of thing that would amuse you.”

“Oh, yes, very amusing,” Daniel said caustically. “Next time I must remember to invite you along for the ride.” She felt Daniel’s hands unbuttoning the collar of her shirt. Strange that she recognized that touch even with her eyes closed. “Where the hell is that doctor?”

“Patience isn’t one of your major virtues, Daniel. It’s been less than ten minutes since I called him.”

“And it’s been over two hours since the scorpion stung her. She should have had an antidote at once.”

“The doctor’s right behind me. I ran into him in the foyer.” It was a new voice, deep, authoritative, and vaguely familiar. “He stopped to place a phone call to Karim Ben Raschid’s palace to check on her medical history with Zilah’s mother when I informed them her records would be there. How is she? I told you to get her out, not get her shot, Daniel.”

“Dammit, Clancy, I did get her out,” Daniel said harshly. “It was a scorpion, not a bullet. Now, get that doctor in here, or I’ll do it myself with a hell of a lot less diplomacy.”

Clancy. It must be Clancy Donahue. He had been very kind to her in the past and she wanted to open her eyes and greet him. Yet when she did she could make out only three surreal figures standing before her. Dark, looming, and somehow menacing. Something stirred deep in her memory and started panic coursing wildly through her. Why had she thought she was safe? She was never safe. She would never be safe from them. “Daniel! Daniel!”

One of the shadows bent swiftly. “It’s all right, Zilah. I’m here.”

“No! Don’t touch me. Please don’t touch me.” Suddenly an agonizing new pain struck her and she clutched at her stomach with a moan.

“What the devil?” The man had Daniel’s voice but how did she know they weren’t deceiving her again? It had happened before. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I would say the venom is causing severe stomach cramps.” Another voice, this one with a slight German accent. “It’s not unusual.” This shadow was shorter, with a silhouette that was almost rotund. “Your servant informed me that it’s a scorpion sting on her right ankle?”

“Don’t just stand there looking at her as if she’s some kind of bug under a microscope. Get rid of that blasted pain!”

He sounded so concerned. But then, they were always like that, so sleek and smooth, with their soft, mocking voices. She mustn’t be fooled into thinking them friends. They didn’t care about her pain. It was a weapon they used to make her do what they wanted.

The man with the German accent shrugged. “I was going to give her the antivenom serum first, but it doesn’t matter.” He was gone from her vision for a moment and when he returned he was much closer and there was something in his hand. The needle, shining and deadly and evil. The needle!

She screamed.

She scrambled to her knees. Dear heaven, she was so weak. They must have given her some-thing before that she didn’t remember. Sometimes she didn’t remember. She could feel the headboard pressing into her back as she cowered like an animal. “No! I don’t want it. Please!”

“Zilah, for God’s sake. It’s only morphine,” the man who was pretending to be Daniel said. “It will take away the pain.”

She shook her head wildly. “No shots! I won’t let you. It’s bad. It’s all bad. You’re going to let them hurt me again.”

“Oh, my God,” Clancy breathed. “My God!”

But it wasn’t Clancy. She had to remember that. He was one of them.

“Is that all you’ve got to say?” Daniel’s voice was shaking. “I can’t take this. Why the hell is she so frightened of us?”

“She’s remembering that other time,” Clancy answered hoarsely. “And I’m not standing up so well under it myself.”

“You will have to hold her,” Dr. Madchen said briskly. “She’s delirious and will fight the needle. I might hurt her.”

“I’ll hold her.” Turquoise eyes. “Daniel, you hold her other arm.”

They closed on her with lightning swiftness and she was helpless. She struggled wildly, panting with fear. “No, don’t hurt me. I won’t do it. Let me go.” The tears were pouring down her cheeks. “Why are you doing this to me? I want to go home.”

“Shh. It’s all right.” Daniel’s voice was broken. “No one’s going to hurt you. Will you give her the shot, dammit?”

The familiar hot pain in her arm. It was happening again. Despair welled up in her. She stopped struggling. Then the needle was gone and she felt the soft, swooping mist begin to enfold her. The tears continued to rain down her cheeks and she made no attempt to halt them.

Daniel’s expression clearly revealed his agonized concern for her. How had they managed to find someone who looked so much like Daniel? For it couldn’t have been Daniel. He wouldn’t have betrayed her like this. He was easing her stiff body into a reclining position on the bed and releasing her arms. He knew she wouldn’t be able to fight him now. They always knew.

“Please. Stop crying. It’s tearing me apart.”

She shook her head slowly. She closed her eyes so that she could no longer see the face of betrayal. “I just want to go home,” she whispered. “Please let me go home.”

Her breathing became deep and even. “She’s unconscious,” Dr. Madchen said. “I’ll give her the serum now.” He raised a brow at Daniel. “With your permission.”

Daniel nodded jerkily. “Give it to her. Is she going to be all right?”

“You’ve scarcely given me a chance to examine her,” Dr. Madchen said caustically as he prepared the syringe. “How would I know?”

Daniel took a step closer, his hand flashing out and closing on the man’s throat. “I’m not in the mood for sarcasm at the moment,” he said with menacing softness. “I’ll ask you again. Is she going to be all right?”

Dr. Madchen’s lips tightened. “I see no reason why she shouldn’t. There are very few deaths these days from scorpion stings. She should be a bit weak for a few days. However, if I’m allowed to treat her, she should recover in a short time.”

Philip El Kabbar was frowning. “Let him go, Daniel. I apologize, Dr. Madchen. Daniel is terribly upset at the moment.” His blue-green eyes were suddenly twinkling. “Though I suppose you should be grateful he didn’t shoot at you as he did at Abdul. He has a tendency to become a bit violent on occasion.”

Daniel’s hand slowly released the doctor’s throat. He stepped back. “You might keep that in mind while you’re taking care of her. I want her well.” His eyes were blazing fiercely in his white face. “Do you hear me? I want her well.”

“Then leave the room and let me do my job.” Dr. Madchen turned away. “I would appreciate it if you would get this man out of my way, Sheikh El Kabbar. I don’t work well under intimidation.”

“Daniel.” Clancy’s tone was surprisingly gentle. “Come on. You need a drink. She’ll be better off without you prowling around getting in the doctor’s way.” His lips curved in a slightly rueful smile. “I think I could use one myself. I wasn’t expecting this to be quite so grueling.”

“Grueling.” Daniel’s nostrils flared. “Hell yes, it was grueling. I feel as if I’ve been put through a meat grinder. Why the hell would she react like that? She should know that I would never hurt her.” His hands clenched at his sides. “My God, she should know that.”

“She was delirious,” Philip said. “Surely that was reason enough.”

Daniel shook his head. “There’s more to it than that.” His gaze narrowed on Clancy. “And I think you know what was going on in her head all that time.”

“I’m afraid I do,” Clancy said wearily. “I wish to God I didn’t. It makes me a little sick.”

Daniel turned away abruptly. “We need to talk,” he said tersely. “I think a drink would be an excellent idea.” He was striding toward the door. He glanced back over his shoulder. “Philip?”

Philip El Kabbar shook his head. “I’ll join you later.” His sudden smile lent a rare warmth to his dark, cynical face. “I’ll watch over your little charge, Daniel. I won’t permit anything to happen to her.”

“I know you won’t,” Daniel said gruffly. “We’ll be in the study.”

Clancy’s lips pursed in a low whistle as he strolled beside Daniel down the hall. “I never thought I’d see a ferocious panther like El Kabbar meekly playing nursemaid.”

“I’ve heard the big cats make magnificent guardians for their young,” Daniel said. “And Philip isn’t all panther. He’s been a good friend to me.”

“Like to like,” Clancy suggested dryly. “Neither one of you can be termed exactly tame.”

“And neither can you.” Daniel threw open the intricately carved double doors of the study. “Or you wouldn’t be in the business you’re in. You ought to understand Philip very well.”

Clancy shrugged as he watched Daniel cross the room to the small cellarette, his dusty boots sinking into the exquisite Persian carpet. “I understand that side of him well enough. I’m just a little wary of all that power he wields. He could be a very dangerous enemy for Alex to have to deal with if he chose to exert it.”

“He won’t choose,” Daniel said. “As long as Alex doesn’t interfere with Philip’s territorial rights, he has nothing to worry about.” He reached for the cut glass decanter in the cellarette. “Bourbon?”

Clancy nodded. “He wasn’t pleased to see me last night. He was even less pleased when I told him about your mission. You’re right. He’s very protective of those he cares about. I’ll have to remember that.”

“That’s right, file it away in the computer bank you call a memory.” Daniel had poured his own brandy and was coming back to stand before Clancy. He handed him the bourbon. “And while you’re at it, make a note that there’s no way I’ll let you use me to hurt him, Clancy.” His gaze met Clancy’s steadily. “I let you use me this time, but not again.” He took a long swallow of his brandy. “Have you heard anything of Hassan and his boys?”

“No sign of them yet.” Clancy frowned. “Did you have to blow up the plane?”

“It was the simplest way to get them to follow me into Sedikhan.”

“And did they?”

Daniel nodded grimly. “I made sure they’d be mad enough to follow us to hell and back. They’ll surface soon. You can bet on it. You just be on the spot to grab them when they do. I don’t want them to get near Zilah again. That’s why I chose Philip’s compound rather than my own-his security is far better than mine.”

“How did you manage to-”

“I’ll give you a full report later,” Daniel interrupted. “Right now, I want some answers myself.” He gestured to the high-backed leather chair in front of the Sheraton desk. “You might as well make yourself comfortable. You’re not leaving here until I find out what you know.”

“Why don’t you sit down yourself,” Clancy suggested as he dropped down into the chair and stretched his legs out in front of him. “You look like you need a bed, not a chair. Was it a rough caper?”

“We’ve both been through worse.” Daniel made a face as he looked down at his dust-grimed khakis and the sweat-darkened undershirt clinging to his chest. “And I don’t think Philip would appreciate my lolling in his antique chairs in my present condition.” He half sat, half leaned against the edge of the desk. “I can rest later. Talk to me.”

“Zilah?”

“Who else?” Daniel’s hand tightened on his glass. “You know why she looked at me as if I were her executioner.”

Clancy lowered his gaze to the amber liquid in his glass. “I told you I wasn’t at liberty to discuss Zilah with strangers. David would have my head in a handbasket if I did.”

“Dammit, I’m not a stranger,” Daniel burst out with savage violence. “Can’t you see that I need to know?”

“Yes, I think I can see that,” Clancy said thoughtfully. “Experiences like what the two of you have shared together have a way of melding two people together, but it’s something more than that, isn’t it?”

Daniel inhaled raggedly. “It’s something more,” he said tightly. “I’m not asking to know anything about her relationship with Bradford. I just need to know what made her look at me the way she did.” The pain of that moment was still like a raw wound within him. It had been doubled because he had felt the pain and despair in Zilah as if it were his own.

“But her relationship with David is part of what you saw in that bedroom this morning. You can’t separate the two.” Clancy shook his head. “You’re not going to like it. It’s not going to be comfortable to live with. Not if you care for her.”

“Tell me.”

“When she was thirteen years old Zilah was living with her grandmother in Marasef while her mother acted as housekeeper for Karim Ben Raschid. She was a bright, pretty little girl, always bubbling with enthusiasm and laughter. One day she disappeared. She just never came home from school. Her mother was frantic. She went to the police, searched the streets herself, and did everything she could think of doing. Then she asked David Bradford to help. Six months had passed by that time and the trail was cold, but he and Alex finally located her.” He paused. “She was in a bordello called the House of the Yellow Door. She had been taken by a vice ring that specialized in kidnapping young girls, drugging them with heroin until they were hopelessly addicted, and using them as prostitutes.” He ignored the exclamation Daniel made. “I don’t have to tell you what kind of shape she was in when David brought her back to Zalandan. It took her almost eight months to lick the heroin addiction.” His lips curved in a bitter smile. “After that there was only the psychological damage of the experience itself to contend with. A real piece of cake.”

“Thirteen,” Daniel said jerkily. “She was just a child.” He covered his eyes with his hand. “My God, I feel sick.”

“David sent her to live with his parents in Texas and she hasn’t been back to Sedikhan until now. She’s been under psychiatric care all these years and has made a remarkable recovery.” He frowned. “But judging from what I saw today, it obviously wasn’t a total recovery.”

“How the hell could it be?” Daniel’s voice was muffled. “I don’t know how she even survived it.”

“She survived it because she’s an exceptionally strong personality,” Clancy said. “It was her choice to come back to Sedikhan for this visit. She thought she could handle it.”

“She thinks she can handle everything in the whole damn world.”

“Does she?” A slight smile touched Clancy’s lips. “That’s good to know.” He took a sip of his bourbon. “So there’s the story. Is there anything else you want to know?”

“Just one thing.” Daniel’s hand dropped from his face, revealing eyes that were cold as death. “Did you get rid of them?”

Clancy nodded. “The vice ring was smashed and the head of it was taken care of in a very permanent manner.”

“I almost wish he hadn’t been,” Daniel said tautly. “I need to kill him. I need to do something to help her.” He closed his eyes. “I feel so damned helpless, I think I’m going to explode.”

There was a flicker of sympathy in Clancy’s hard face. “We all felt the same way when it happened. You were lucky not to have been around to see her right after we found her. It was enough to tear your heart out.”

“I don’t think I was lucky. Bradford was there to help her and I wasn’t,” Daniel said harshly. “If I had been there, she would never have looked at me as if I were some kind of monster. She would have known she could trust me.”

“She was burning up with fever. She didn’t know what was happening. She obviously thought she was back in that bordello.”

“Oh, yes, I realize all that.” Daniel’s mirthless laugh had a touch of desperation in it. “I also realize that after an experience like that she’s going to have a hell of a time trusting or responding to any man.” Dear Lord, that was putting it mildly. He had been so confident last night that he could ease friendship into a commitment. He had been almost brutal when he had taken Zilah. It was a wonder that she hadn’t run away from him screaming instead of yielding so sweetly. She couldn’t have enjoyed it. Gratitude or pity? It didn’t matter. He just hoped he hadn’t done any permanent damage by lovemaking that must have appeared closer to rape to Zilah. He had to make sure that she knew it wouldn’t always be like that. That he was capable of treating her with the gentleness and care her fragility demanded.

“Surely you aren’t thinking about getting involved with her?” Clancy asked. “May I point out that you’ve known the woman only one day?”

“I’m already involved.” Daniel tossed the rest of his brandy down his throat and set his glass on the desk with barely restrained violence. “I didn’t ask for it, but there it is. She’s mine now, problems or no problems.”

Clancy stiffened. “I hope you’re not speaking in the carnal sense. According to the last psychiatrist’s report Zilah still isn’t able to respond sexually to any man. I sure as hell didn’t send you out there to seduce the girl. I’m not sure David would tolerate that kind of action on your part.”

“God!” Daniel’s stomach muscles clenched as if someone had knocked the breath out of him. It was even worse than he had imagined. She was still scarred, still hurting, and he hadn’t even been particularly gentle with her in the first experience she’d had since that nightmare. Yet she had responded. At least he had thought she had responded at the time. How could he be sure with the swirling darkness and the earthquake of passion that had shaken him? Perhaps she had only submitted. Dear heaven, he hoped that hadn’t been the case. If it was, then it was no wonder she had mistaken him for one of those monsters from her childhood.

He was trembling, he realized with disgust. This wasn’t the time to give in to weakness. He still had Clancy to deal with, and that was never easy. “Too damn bad,” Daniel said coolly. “You can tell Bradford she’s no longer his concern.”

“And what about Zilah? Doesn’t she have any say in this?”

“Do you think I’m going to lock her in a room and rape her?” Daniel’s expression was a mask of pain. “She’s never going to know fear or pain again as long as she lives. I’ll see to that. But I’m not letting her go, Clancy. I can’t run the risk of her shying away from me as she did this afternoon. Evidently it wouldn’t take much to trigger that panic again. That rules out any type of normal courtship.”

“What are you suggesting then?”

“I’m not suggesting anything, Clancy,” Daniel said quietly. “I’m telling you I need time and that you’re going to get it for me.”

“Time?”

Daniel nodded. “Zilah stays here for two weeks alone with me. I don’t want any interference from Bradford or her mother or anyone else. Not even you, Clancy. I’m going to have enough problems without trying to fight my way through a battery of protective guardians.”

“You’re out of line, Daniel,” Clancy said crisply. “You know I can’t arrange that.”

“I know you’re going to have to do your damnedest,” Daniel said with a cool little smile. “Or else you’re going to have to face just the awkward diplomatic confrontation you’ve been trying to avoid between Alex and Philip.”

Clancy’s eyes narrowed to ice blue slits. “You’d bring El Kabbar into it?”

“If I have to,” Daniel said. “That’s up to you. You know Philip wouldn’t bat an eye to closing his borders and refusing to let Zilah leave or anyone to come in after her. He’d probably enjoy testing his power against the Ben Raschid regime.”

“I wouldn’t doubt that for a minute,” Clancy growled. “Dammit, Daniel, I won’t be manipulated this way. You’re bluffing.”

“Then call my bluff.” Daniel’s eyes were gleaming recklessly. “And take the consequences. Or give me my two weeks and then I’ll bring her to Zalandan myself.” He paused. “If she still wants to go.”

“And just how do you propose I accomplish this hiatus?” Clancy’s tone was heavy with sarcasm.

“That’s up to you. We both know you have guile to spare when you choose to exert it. If it will help, I’ll get Philip to have the doctor issue orders that she’s not to be moved for that length of time.”

“And I only have to keep the homefront from finding out she’s being held by a man who’d like nothing better than to tumble Zilah into his bed. Considering her circumstances, that particular knowledge would alarm the hell out of everyone.” Clancy scowled. “I don’t suppose you’d like to give me your assurance that that won’t happen?”

Daniel shook his head. “I want her more than I’ve ever wanted any woman before, so I can’t promise anything.” His expression was grim. “But I want her trust as well. That means I can’t have both. Not right now.”

“Well, that’s something at least.” Clancy stood up. “You have your two weeks. You leave me very little choice.” He placed his glass on the desk with careful precision. “I don’t like to be put in that position,” he said softly. “Remember that, Daniel. You’re walking on thin ice.”

“I know.” Daniel grinned suddenly. “That should prove how serious I am about this. You always did scare the hell out of me, Clancy.”

A reluctant smile tugged at Clancy’s lips. He uttered an obscenity that was explicit. “Two weeks. After that I’m coming in to get her and to hell with diplomacy.” His smile took on a silky ferocity. “And I’ll nail your ass to the wall of the Tower of Tears at Marasef.”

“We’ll see.” Daniel slanted an engimatic smile at him as he straightened. “You’ve only played the game with me, Clancy. Never against me. You might be in for a surprise. Now that we’ve reached an agreement, I want to get back to Zilah.” He strode briskly toward the door. “Let me know if you get any word on Hassan.”

“Daniel.”

Daniel looked back over his shoulder inquiringly.

“This must mean a hell of a lot to you,” Clancy said slowly. “But are you sure it’s worth the possibility of having to go up against Alex?”

“It’s worth it.” Daniel’s smile was bittersweet. “I feel as if I’ve found something I’ve been searching for all my life. I should have known it wouldn’t come without a barb or two attached.” He opened the door. “But, hell yes, it’s worth it.”

When Zilah opened her eyes, she saw Daniel. It was obviously night, for it was dark in the room, but there was a lamp burning on the bedside table and Daniel was sitting in a wing chair drawn close to the side of the bed. There was a frown on his face as he gazed abstractedly into the distance.

“Daniel?” she murmured drowsily to bring him back to her. She shifted in the bed, turning to face him. She was naked beneath the satin sheet that covered her, she noticed absently.

He straightened and leaned forward. “I’m here. Go back to sleep, babe. You’re safe now.”

“I know.” She was always safe with Daniel. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine and you will be too. Dr. Madchen said that you’d be weak and lethargic for a few days, but after that you’ll be on the mend.”

“Dr. Madchen?”

He went still. “You don’t remember the doctor?”

She shook her head. “It’s all pretty much of a blur. I remember you carrying me into a foyer that looked like something out of an Arabian Nights palace. After that, it was all downhill.” She frowned. “No, I remember something else.”

There was a flicker of wariness in Daniel’s eyes. “Really?”

“A man with strange-colored eyes. Almost turquoise. Was that the doctor?”

Daniel chuckled. “No, that was your host, Philip El Kabbar. He’ll be flattered to know that he made such an impression even while you were in the throes of fever. It will give his ego an enormous boost. Not that he needs it.”

“It’s very kind of him to let us impose on him like this. I’d like to thank him.”

“You’ll get plenty of opportunity to do that.” Daniel reached out and took her hand in his. “The doctor doesn’t want you traveling on to Zalandan for a week or so. He wants to be sure you don’t develop complications.”

Her eyes widened. “Why should he think I’d have complications?”

He looked down at her hand and idly began to stroke the pulse point at her wrist with his thumb. “Complications have a habit of popping up when you least expect them,” he said evasively. “We’re going to be very careful of you, Zilah.” He glanced up, his eyes twinkling. “After all the trouble I took to get you away from Hassan, I refuse to lose you to a scorpion.”

His gentle massaging thumb was sending sparks of heat up her arm, and Zilah felt a tiny sensuous stirring in the pit of her stomach. “I wouldn’t think of having all your efforts in my behalf come to nothing,” she said lightly. “It would be most ungrateful of me.” She couldn’t seem to pull her gaze away from its entanglement with Daniel’s. “I’ll be dutiful in making a complete recovery. Has anyone notified my mother and David that I’m safe?”

“We phoned Zalandan as soon as the doctor said you were out of danger. Clancy Donahue flew back there tonight and will give them a more personal report. You’ll be able to phone your mother tomorrow yourself if you like.”

“Of course.” Her forehead wrinkled in a frown. “Clancy Donahue was here too? The fever must have really caused me to draw a blank. What else did I miss?”

“Nothing of importance.” He gave her hand an affectionate squeeze before releasing it. “Do you think you can go back to sleep now that you’ve had some of your questions answered?”

“But I don’t have all my questions answered.” She was scanning his face with a troubled expression. There were lines of strain around Daniel’s eyes and the flesh was drawn taut over his cheekbones. “Haven’t you slept at all?”

He chuckled. “I don’t need much sleep. I was fine after I showered and had something to eat.”

“I don’t think you slept last night either. And I don’t see how you possibly could have slept the night before, planting all those bombs and whatevers.”

He grinned. “Yes, planting whatevers can be very exhausting.”

“Don’t joke. You know perfectly well what I mean. Go to bed, Daniel.”

“Now, if you’d said come instead of go, I might be more amiable about the suggestion,” Daniel drawled.

She felt the heat in her stomach flutter and then begin to spread. “Then, come,” she said breathlessly.

The smile was abruptly gone from his face. He had a sudden heated memory of her nails digging into his hips while she murmured the word that had broken his restraint into a million pieces. “You mean it?”

“We’ve slept together before.” She moistened her lips nervously. “You need the rest.”

The flame that had leaped fitfully in his eyes disappeared suddenly. “I appreciate your concern, but the situation is a little different now.”

Zilah glanced around the luxurious room, with its gleaming mosaic-tiled floors covered with richly patterned area rugs. “Externally, perhaps.” Her eyes met his uncertainly. “But we’re the same people we were last night in that cave, aren’t we?”

He stood up. “We’re still the same people.” He smiled gently. “Clancy said that danger had a way of bringing two people close in a hurry. I think he’s right. I couldn’t feel closer to you, old friend.”

Old friend. Last night when he had murmured that phrase in her ear it had brought her only warm contentment. Now, for some reason, it made her feel a little uneasy. She was probably just being stupidly imaginative to think there was an odd tension in Daniel’s attitude. “I feel very close to you too, Daniel,” she said softly. “And very grateful.”

His eyes, which had been carefully guarded, suddenly flared to life. “I thought we’d already discussed how I regard gratitude. You can save that for Bradford. I’ll have none of it.” Then, when he saw the startled confusion in her expression, he took a deep breath and tried to smile reassuringly. “Sorry. You should know by now what a rough bastard I am. Maybe you’re right about my being tired. Forget it. Okay?”

“Okay,” she said, still puzzled.

“That’s my girl.” He tousled her hair affectionately. “You go back to sleep. I promise I’ll work at being halfway civilized the next time I see you.”

“Don’t work too hard. I like you pretty well just the way you are.” Her eyes were wide and uncertain, looking up at him. “You will be here when I wake up, won’t you?” She smiled shakily. “I mean, you don’t have any other terrorists to catch or planes to blow up or anything?”

“I’ll be here.” He kept his tone deliberately offhand. “I thought I’d stick around until you were well and then escort you to Zalandan myself. After all, you’re still technically my responsibility. I always like to tie up all the loose ends on any mission I undertake.”

She felt a little ripple of pain mixing with the joy that news brought her. Responsibility. She was sure he hadn’t meant to hurt her. He couldn’t know just how bone-weary she was of being a responsibility to everyone. She smiled with an effort. “That sounds like fun. It will be interesting to see what kind of pyrotechnics you can instigate on a more conventional journey.”

He bent forward and brushed a fairy-light kiss on her forehead. “I’ll try to see what I can do to keep you amused.” He straightened and reached for the switch on the lamp. He suddenly hesitated. “Would you rather I left the light on?”

“Why should I?” she asked curiously. “I’m not a child afraid of the dark.”

“No, of course you’re not. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight.” The light flicked off, plunging the room into darkness. “Good night, Zilah.”

“Good night, Daniel.” She felt bereft as she watched his massive shadow stride toward the door on the far side of the room.

“Daniel?”

He paused as he opened the door. The dim light from the hall haloed his auburn head with flame, but left the rest of him in silhouette. “Yes?”

“I have one more question. Who undressed me?”

There was a short silence before he answered. “I did. I undressed you and bathed you myself. Philip has no women servants. I thought you’d rather have me do it than a stranger.”

She felt a sultry tingle of awareness sweep through her. Good heavens, she was supposed to be ill and yet even the thought of Daniel’s hands and eyes on her naked body sent a wrenching stab of desire for him through her. From frigidity to nymphomania in one experience, she thought ruefully. No, not nymphomania. It was only Daniel that she wanted. Only Daniel. “You were right,” she said huskily. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He hesitated, and when he spoke again the words came jerkily. “You’re a very beautiful woman, Zilah. A very special woman. I hope…” His words trailed off. “Good night.” The door closed softly behind him.

There was a tiny frown creasing Zilah’s forehead as she turned on her side and settled her cheek on the satin pillow. Her uneasiness was growing by the minute. Why had Daniel been so reserved, almost cool with her? It couldn’t have been entirely her imagination. In the brief time they had known each other she had learned to read him too well to mistake the signs of his withdrawal.

Perhaps he was having second thoughts about the so-called obsession he had formed for her. The thought sent a chill of depression through her and she drew the sheet up to her chin with a little shiver. Well, what if he had? He was probably right to be wary of a relationship that had started so precipitously and had exploded with such wild force. Perhaps he had satisfied his desire for her and no longer wanted her in that way anymore. What did she know about how long it took for men to tire of women? She should be equally sensible and offer Daniel the platonic friendship he appeared to want now. She knew that friendship lasted. If that was what he wanted. Oh, she just didn’t know. Last night everything had seemed so beautifully certain and now she was miserably unsure.

Then she determinedly cleared her mind of doubts and closed her eyes. The man was completely exhausted. She was foolish to try to analyze his actions when she couldn’t possibly expect him to behave in a normal manner. For that matter, how did she know what his normal behavior was? They still had to get to know the more obscure facets of each other’s personalities. All that would come in time. She wasn’t going to lose the precious gift Daniel had given her. Not now that she knew what they could have together. It would hurt too much. She didn’t think she would be able to stand it.

What was she thinking? Of course she would be able to stand it. She was strong. She could stand anything. She closed her eyes and tried to let the serenity of that knowledge flow into her. It surrounded her, whirling doubts and fear away, but beneath it was a barely discernible chorus that sang her a wistful siren’s song.

I will be strong. I will survive. But, please, just this one time, let me not have to use that strength. Let me have Daniel. Please. Let me have Daniel.