KILTED DESIRE - Sands of Betrayal (10 page)

There were no other guests in the hotel’s lobby and the man
behind the desk recognized them. Although he did not speak or understand
English, he was always polite and friendly enough to both of them over the last
few weeks. The man smiled and waved as they went by. They entered the elevator
and the door closed behind them.

“Told yer we’d be fine,” he said, smiling and relieved to
have her safe at the hotel.

“Yes, you did, I trusted you, Scott,” she said, sounding
exhausted. She was bending over, placing her hands on her knees.

“Just a few more steps and we’ll be in the room so yer can get
some sleep. Britney, yer did great.”

“Thanks. I need to sleep,” she replied, standing up straight
and putting her hands on her hips.

As the elevator door opened, she sighed and tilted her head
to one side holding out her hand to him. Scott smiled at her, grabbed her hand
and led her down the corridor to the room. Once inside, she turned to him and
wrapped her arms around him giving him a huge hug. She nestled her head into his
chest and pushed her body into his, gripping him tightly. This took him by
surprise! He didn’t reciprocate the hug the way she was hugging him. He gave
her a comforting hug and just patted her on the back. He could feel her
heartbeat had slowed down considerably. Her body now seemed to be relaxed. The
shaking and general nervousness was gone. He tried to chalk up her actions to being
relieved and being back safe and in the room. But to her, it was more. She felt
safe in his arms. She wanted to feel him wrap his arms around her.

“Thank you for protecting me, Scott,” she said, looking up
at him.

“Nae problem, it’s my job, Now go get some sleep,” he said,
pulling away from her.

She reluctantly released her grip. Britney walked wearily to
the fridge to get some water. As much as she wanted to hold on and continue the
hug, as well as take it further, she knew she was way too tired. She also knew
she didn’t look her best after their adventure and would want to look the part
when she finally had him.

“I really need a shower, but I’m too tired. I’ll take one
when I wake up. Goodnight.”

“I have tae make a couple of calls, but I’ll be going tae
bed soon too. Night.”

Scott grabbed a bottle of water and drank more than half of
it. He sat down on the couch and dialed Tom’s number, completely, unsure of the
reaction he would get.

“Hey, Tom, it’s Scott.”

“Where are you? What happened?”

“We’re safe and back at the hotel. It’s been a long day,” he
said, as he stretched out on the couch.

“I’m glad to hear you’re okay. Tell me the details.”

“Just as we were aboot tae leave, a rocket exploded in the
street ootside the office. It caused a lot of damage. I rushed tae Britney’s
office, worried there could be another explosion. She was unhurt and I knew
with the intensity of the blast, I needed tae get her oot of there quickly. I
must have dropped my phone when I ran to her office. On the way back tae the
hotel, the car broke doon. I know where it is, so we can get it tomorrow. We
had nae way tae contact yer, so we walked back tae the hotel. I waited fer
cover of darkness and used a lot of back streets and alleys tae avoid contact
with anyone.”

“That’s pretty much what we suspected and we already found
the car. What happened to Britney’s phone?”

“She thinks it’s still on her desk charging. We left so fast,
I did nae think aboot it and I had nae idea I’d dropped mine.”

“Right. It all makes sense, Scott. I can completely understand
how the phone situation happened and the car breaking down was just bad luck.
It’s just typical that it would happen when you didn’t have a phone.”

“Aye. That’s fer sure.”

“Did you have any trouble while you were on foot?”

“Nae. We moved slowly, and tried tae make sure as few people
as possible saw us.”

“Excellent. You did everything by the book. Plus, you got
her back safely. You did a good job, Scott.”

Wow, Scott thought, he was pretty sure he had done the right
thing, but it was good to hear praise from his boss.

“Thanks, Tom. What do we do aboot the car? And did yer call
Katie and let her know what happened?”

“Don’t worry about the car. I’ll take care of it. I will get
another car to you later. And yes, I did call Katie. I tried to let her know
that we thought you were fine, but I don’t think I was very convincing. She sounded
worried, so call her as quickly as you can.”

“Will do, Tom. Thanks.”

“Make sure you get some rest and well done. I’m glad you’re
on our team.”

“Thanks again, Bye Tom.”

Scott dialed Katie’s number. He was calling from the hotel
phone. Any international calls would show up on Britney’s company bill, so it would
have to be a quick call, but he knew he must call her before he went to sleep.

“Hello,” she answered, sounding very nervous.

“Hi, baby. I’m so sorry yer were worried, but I’m fine.”

“Are you okay? What happened?”

Scott could tell she was starting to cry a little, when she
heard his voice, but could sense she was trying to hold it together.

“I’m fine baby. Just a wee bit of car and phone trouble so
had tae take a long walk. I cannae talk fer long as this is the hotel phone. Hopefully,
I’ll get my cell back tomorrow and I can explain everything then.”

“What happened to the car?”

“It just broke doon. I think it was the fuel pump and we had
no cell phones tae call anyone. It was nae big deal. We’re both fine.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so scared.”

“I’m sorry, I really am. Baby, I do have tae go now, but
I’ll call yer tomorrow and we’ll talk properly. I love yer.”

“Call me as soon as you can. I love you too.”

“Guid night, Katie.”

“Sleep well.”

Scott went into his room. He was upset Katie had gone
through this. He was determined that it would never happen again.

Later that morning, it was Britney who was up first, which
was unusual. They were both very tired from the previous days’ frightening
adventure, so they slept in quite late. There was nothing they could do until
they obtained another car, so there was no rush. As Scott appeared from his room,
she was leaving the bathroom after taking her ‘much-needed’ shower.

“Morning, Scott.”

“Morning. How are yer feeling today?”

“I’m good. I feel much better now having slept and taking a
shower.”

“That’s guid. I’ll be hitting the shower soon, too.”

She walked over to the couch and sat down. She was wearing grey
shorts, a t-shirt and a towel wrapped around her hair. Scott walked across the
room and sat next to her on the couch.

“Britney, I was thinking last night before I went tae sleep.
Have yer any plans tae take a break from here? Maybe head haem fer a long
weekend or something like that. We’ve been here fer a month and I think we both
really need a break from this place occasionally.”

“I agree. I was actually just thinking about maybe taking a
long weekend, but I don’t want to fly all the way home. I spent some time in
Dubai a few years ago with my parent’s. I really loved it. I’m going to look
into spending a few days there in a luxury hotel.”

“Sounds guid. I think it will be guid fer us both tae get
away. Let me know if yer manage tae book anything. Then, I can try tae make
some arrangements too.”

“If I find something, would you like to join me in Dubai for
a few days? My treat.”

Scott was shocked. He thought she understood why he was asking.
He wanted to go home to see Katie.

“That’s very generous of yer, but I miss Katie. So, any
chances I have tae get away, I’ll be going back tae see her.”

“Why don’t you ask her to fly here and we could all go
together. I’d like to meet her.”

He did not know how to respond. Why did she want to spend
time with them both? Surely, she must realize he wanted to be alone with Katie.

“I will ask her. But, I doubt if she will want tae leave the
girls. Thanks fer the offer, though.”

“Okay. Well, see what she says and let me know.”

“Aye, will do,” Scott said, as he stood up and walked into
the bathroom to shower.

When Scott finished, he returned to the main room and looked
out the window. He spotted two men walking across the parking lot and was
pretty sure one of them was Tom. He headed downstairs to meet him. Britney was
still lounging on the couch looking up luxury hotels in Dubai on her laptop. After
a few minutes, Scott returned with the keys for the new car. It was another
Toyota, about the same age as the one that let them down yesterday. Surely it
was a freak incident. They could not be that unlucky again. It was just after 1:00
p.m. and Scott asked if she wanted to go to work for a few hours. She said she did,
so they both got ready. It was about a forty minute journey from the hotel to
the office parking lot. It was a quiet and drama-free drive. It was fairly
quiet in the street. But the previous days’ violence was very evident, with the
huge crater in the road. Scott walked Britney to her office. Sure enough, her
phone was sitting on her desk, still charging. He left her to get on with her
work and moved into the corridor that led to the rec room, where he was sure he
must have dropped his phone. He scanned the floor as walked, but it was not
there. When he entered the rec room, his phone was lying on the coffee table. Someone
must have found it lying on the floor and put it there. He started to wonder
who would have done this, but quickly realized there were more important things
to worry about. All that mattered was he located it. He knew it was very early back
in the States, but he wanted to talk to Katie.

“Hello,” said a sleepy voice.

“Hey, babe. I’m sorry fer waking yer up, but I wanted tae
talk tae yer,” Scott said softly.

“It’s okay, you didn’t wake me,” she said, still sounding of
a deep sleep.”

He laughed. He knew she was lying, so he did not feel bad
for waking her up.

“What are you laughing at?” she asked, starting to liven up
a little.

“Yer funny! I know I just woke yer up, but I have some guid
news and wanted tae call yer reet away.”

“Okay, you got me. What’s the news?”

“I spoke tae Britney earlier aboot her taking a few days off,
and she seemed pretty keen tae do it. So if she does arrange something, then I
can come haem fer a few days.”

“That would be great. When will you know?”

“Hopefully, later today. She did ask if we wanted tae go
with her tae some posh resort in Dubai and I said I’d ask yer, but tae be
honest, I dinnae really know what tae think aboot that. I just want tae spend
time with yer alone. I miss yer, babe.”

“Did she ask you to go on your own?”

“Aye, she did at first, but I said if I was having any time
off, then I’d be coming tae see yer. Then she said we should all go. I did make
an excuse aboot yer nae wanting tae leave the girls. She was trying tae be
polite, but I think she’ll just go on her own. Even when I told her yer would
probably nae want tae come here, she still wanted me tae ask yer.”

“I just want you to come home, even if it’s only a few days.
I really don’t like her asking you to go with her. I know it’s not your fault.
I’m just a little insecure right now.”

“Yer know I’d never have gone. I love yer Katie, I just want
tae come and see yer. I’ll keep asking her if she’s booked a trip. As soon as
she does, I’ll book my flights tae come haem tae be with yer. I cannae wait tae
hold yer.”

He was doing his best to reassure her. He knew how difficult
this must be. If he was in her position, he would be worried too. He knew what
it was like to lose the one person in your life to another. He would never give
her any reason to doubt him or his love.

“I can’t wait to see you,” she said, sounding excited.

“Me too, babe and I’m sorry aboot yesterday. We have another
car now and found our phones.”

“Yeah, what happened with your phones?” She’d be thinking
about that for hours, before she went to sleep.

“There was a rocket attack on the street here at her office.
We left in such a big hurry. Her phone was charging and I dropped mine in the
rush. I just found mine and called yer.”

“How close was the rocket? Was anybody hurt?”

“I dinnae want tae worry yer anymore than yer already are,
but I did promise yer tae always tell yer the truth. The rocket landed only a
few hundred yards away and broke many windows in this building. There are a
couple of other buildings that were a wee bit closer and do have much more
damage. And aye, there were people hurt, but we are fine.”

“Oh wow, I don’t like this.”

“It’s okay. Please try nae tae worry baby. I’ll be fine, I promise
yer. I know what I’m doing.”

“I know you do, but it’s hard.”

“Just try tae concentrate on that. I may be coming haem soon
fer a visit. That’s what I’m trying tae think aboot and it makes me smile. I
cannae wait tae hold yer, Katie.”

“Me too. I’m excited.” Katie replied. “Call me as soon as
you know for sure.”

“Will do. Try tae go back tae sleep fer a while. Hopefully,
I’ll have some guid news later.”

“Okay babe, I love you.”

“Love yer too. Bye, gorgeous.”

Scott was trying to focus, but the thought of going home and
seeing Katie was just too appealing. He returned to Britney’s office and
explained that Katie couldn’t come to Dubai, and she should plan to go on her
own. He asked her to let him know when she had her hotel details. He would then
make arrangements with his office, to get her on a flight out of Baghdad. She
seemed disappointed. He couldn’t figure out why she was hoping Katie would come
over and meet her. Scott knew Britney needed a break. She continued through the
day to look for a luxury hotel. Later that night, back at the hotel, everything
was arranged to spend a long weekend in Dubai in a manner to which she was
accustomed. It was the same hotel she stayed at a few years earlier, with her
parent’s. She was very excited. She would leave the following Thursday evening,
and be back in Baghdad Monday evening. So in a week she’d have a break in five-star
comfort. Scott arranged his flight to coincide with Britney’s out of Baghdad
and would accompany her to Kuwait, where she would catch a short flight to
Dubai. He would leave Kuwait for London, and then catch a flight to Columbus
via New York. It was a long trip and he’d have less than two days with Katie.
That didn’t matter; he needed to see her. He hadn’t considered how much he
would miss her when he took this assignment. He finalized everything and was
looking forward to hearing her reaction when he gave her the news.