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And what about you? Did they care what Arif would do to you?
Yusef barely looked at the dead men. “I deeply regret that they tried to cheat you out of what was rightfully yours, Sheikh Arif.”
Arif sighed heavily and crossed his arms as he focused on Yusef. “It really is hard to find good help these days.” He nodded toward the bodies. “See that you bury them in the dunes.”
“I don’t have anything to dig—“
“You have hands do you not?” Arif smiled. “A shallow burial will be fine, enough so that they are concealed from human eyes for the next few days. The predators will eventually dig up their remains anyway until nothing but bones are scattered far across the desert.”
Yusef bowed consent. “Then it will be done, Sheikh Arif.”
Arif’s smile widened. “Take the rings as a gesture of goodwill, and do with them what you like. It matters little to me.” He looked at Yasmine. “I have all I want right here.”
Yusef immediately retrieved the rings and put them in his pocket, and Yasmine’s lip curled. He was no better than the men who’d died for a bit of extra cash. No, he was worse! Not only had he sacrificed two lives to save his own, he’d gladly accepted the bonus of her rings. She only hoped his selfishness and greed would be his undoing.
Arif casually pointed his gun at Yasmine. “Now that is all settled, we’re going for a ride. Ididentertain the thought of having you dragged behind one of the camels, but I thought better of it and instead brought a camel for you to ride.” His smile gave her no warmth. “I have other plans for you.”
She shivered. She didn’t want to think about what those plans might be. Instead she asked, “What of my father and my husband—“
Slap.
She hadn’t even seen Arif’s hand move. She hadn’t seen it coming at all. But her ears rang and warmth trickled from one nostril. She didn’t cry or tremble in front of him. She simply waited while he gathered his composure back around him like a cloak.
“You will never speak to me of their names again. They betrayed me. And nowyouwill be the one to pay the price.”
As far as Arif was concerned, she was a lowly woman, not in charge of her own destiny. Which mean it hadn’t been her decision to marry Jamal instead of Arif. That choice had been entirely up to her father and husband.
Arif stepped behind her and shoved her roughly toward the camels. “Get on.”
She blinked at the lone camel kneeling behind the rest of the herd. Even its saddle was old and worn. That Arif expected her to ride a camel in a sundress didn’t surprise her. He’d delight in the fact she had nothing to cover her skin from chafing or sunburn, along with no hat, not even a hijab to protect her face.
But she didn’t argue, that would be a foolhardy and pointless exercise. She walked stiffly toward the camel, all too aware of the other robed men’s stares that gleamed with hostility.
Her throat dried even as the sun pulsed down. What she’d do for a drink of water. She managed to climb awkwardly onto the saddle, the men guffawing and the camel bellowing rejection.
She’d probably flashed them in her dress. She lifted her chin. Let them laugh. She was certain she’d be humiliated a whole lot worse in the coming days.
If you survive that long.
Chapter Twenty
Yasmine had given up trying to keep the sun off her face. She must have sat on the camel now for three or four hours at least, the heat blistering her skin and cracking her lips, while the men laughed and joked as they drank from their water skins and never once offered her a sip.
Jamal had been right. Riding a camel really was nothing short of torture. The jerky, rocking motion had surely taken off half the skin on the inside of her thighs, while her back ached unforgivably as she grew more and more tense the closer they got to their destination.
What was Arif planning for her? A merciless death would be better than whatever slow and torturous scheme he had in mind. She looked down from the height of the camel. Was it high enough to end it all fast if she fell headfirst? No. The chances of dying from a broken neck were slim to none, and her punishment would no doubt escalate for daring to even consider it.
She blinked her gritty eyes, though one was pretty much swollen shut from where Arif had hit her, her top lip sore and puffy, too.
Huh.She hurt all over. But she’d bet it’d be a picnic compared to whatever was in store for her. She held back a sob about the same time they crested a sand dune and a spread of colorful tents was laid out below them.
Arif turned to her. “Welcome to your new home, Sheikha Yasmine.” He said her name with a curled lip. “How does it feel knowing we are still in Ishmat—yourhome soil now—and yet you’re as far away from your husband as you’re ever likely to be?”
She managed to shrug. “Jamal will find me.”
Arif’s eyes burned through her. “What did I say about you ever speaking his name again?”
“You’re going to kill me anyway, so what do I care?” she said, her dry, raspy voice barely legible.
