Page 36 of Midnight Shadows

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“I have to go. It will be daylight soon,” she replied.

“Stay,” he requested.

His fingers tightened around her wrist when she shook her head.

Fear twisted his gut. He might never see her again. He thought of his plan to knock her out and abscond with her to his desert residence in Jawahir. He had abandoned the part where he knocked her out. Her trust was too precious to lose. Now he wondered if it might be worth chancing.

“I can’t. I have… responsibilities,” she confessed.

“What responsibilities? To people you don’t know, who wouldn’t care if you died?”

She shook her head. “No. I have someone who needs me.”

“Ineed you,habibi,” he murmured.

He brought her hand to his lips. Her breath caught as he brushed his lips back and forth across her knuckles.

“I can come back… tonight,” she whispered.

“I have to return to Jawahir,” he said.

Her eyes flew to his. “When? For how long?” she asked with dismay.

“Later tonight,” he said.

Her expression shuttered.

“Have dinner with me before I leave,” he requested.

"Where? Here?” she asked.

He shook his head. “On my plane. It's private… and I can have you as dessert to give us both something to remember until I return,” he said with a suggestive expression.

She met his eyes with a small smile, leaned into him and lightly kissed his lips. “Ok. What time and where?” she asked.

“Eight. I’ll have Issa bring you to me,” he said.

“I’ll be ready,” she promised.

He reached for her when she turned. She looked back at him with a questioning expression. He tugged on her hand and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against his body. He breathed in her fresh, clean scent.

“Be there,” he said before releasing her and stepping back.

Her gentle smile tore through him. He clenched his fists to keep from hauling her back into his bed. She silently exited the room.

Reaching for his cell phone, he called Yahya.

“Follow her. Keep her safe,” he ordered.

He hung up. Striding to the bathroom, he ran through his plans. He would double-check with Ashar to make sure everything he had requested was in order. If luck was with him, by this time tomorrow, he would have Midnight in Jawahir and away from the dangerous streets of New York.

A puzzled frown creased his brow when he remembered her telling him that someone needed her here. She had never mentioned a living parent, and he knew she didn’t have a child or another man in her life. Whatever obstacle was before him, he would figure it out. Nothing would stand between them.

* * *

The streets were quiet at this time of the morning. It would be another hour before the early delivery trucks began their daily grind. Even the subways were subdued since most of the lines weren’t running.

Midnight slipped down the stairwell into the belly of New York. She knew that Yahya was following her. It didn’t bother her. She would lose him soon enough in the darkness of the tunnels.


Tags: S.E. Smith Romance