He caught me in his arms and held me by my waist. The contact with his hard body calmed the brewing storm of fear in my chest. Through the thin fabric of my nightgown, his large palms burned my skin.
“I was so worried,” I whispered in the crook of his neck.
“I’m all right.” He drew slow circles over my back.
When I stopped quivering, I disentangled myself from him, avoiding gazing at him. “The man?”
“Gone. I tried to keep up with him, but I lost him.” A mirthless chuckle left him. “This bloody ship is a maze of ladders and narrow corridors with a lot of steam and loud noises.”
I licked my dry lips. “Will the thing you have to do in Cairo help catch that man?”
He gently brushed a lock of my hair from my cheek. “Yes.”
“Then I’ll do whatever you ask me.”
A beam brightened his face. “You should say that more often.”
YES, I’D PROMISED Rennie I would have done everything he said, but as we walked along the pavement of Al-Muizz Street in Cairo, I really wanted to take my time and wander through the beautiful city.
The cobbled street was simply magical, full of colours, singing people, and vendors who sold all sorts of goods, from deliciously smelling food to turquoise pendants. Women in long dresses embroidered with gold and silver strolled around, their silk scarves fluttering behind them. I glanced down at my dark-red skirt with a matching jacket and hat. I envied those women’s dresses. They flowed beautifully over the women’s legs, showing the tips of their sandalled feet. And the elaborate, stained-glass windows were works of art. I could watch them all day. Not to mention the aristocratic palaces that?—
“Don’t even think about it,” Rennie said.
“Think what?”
“To go around and play tourist. We’re here for another reason.”
I pouted. “I simply know we’re here to do something that is somehow connected to our pursuit of the elusive man who attacked us for some reason. That’s quite vague.”
“You said you were going to do whatever I asked you to do. So don’t wander around.”
“But this place is magnificent!” I spread my arms. “So alive and colourful. I’d like to try one of those bowls of rice and lentils, or take a look at that dress shop, and can you smell the bread?”
“Not now.” He took my elbow and steered me away from a vendor smiling at me.
It was a good thing Rennie was leading me because I kept getting distracted by the buildings towering over the street and the stone arches soaring above us to watch where we were going. In fact, I was so distracted I didn’t notice Rennie ushering me towards a quiet alleyway.
“It’s time,” he said, searching his pocket.
“For what?” I craned my neck to take a look at the bazaar. “Blazes, is that a camel? I think it’s beautiful. Look at the cute muzzle and the way it chews.”
“I have to blindfold you.” Those few words caused my mood to plummet all the way to China.
“Do you really have to?”
“’Fraid so.” He gave me a pointed look. “Please?”
I sighed and mourned the loss of the magnificent colours of Cairo as he wrapped a black cloth around my head.
“You trust me, don’t you?” he asked, tying the piece of fabric behind my head.
“Absolutely not,” I quipped.
“Excellent.” Amusement laced his voice. He took my hand and guided me somewhere.
A bell chimed. We must have entered a shop because cool air hit my cheeks and the scent of thousands of spices teased my nostrils. He exchanged a few words with a man in Arabic.
“Since when do you speak Arabic?” I asked, trying to discreetly touch around.
