Undercover Sheik

Undercover Sheik
Dana Marton

POWERFUL SHEIK PROTECTS GORGEOUS DOCTOR IN THE DESERT HEATShe'd been stranded in the desert and held captive by a band of kidnappers. Then Sheik Nasir ibn Ahmad, one of the most menacing men she'd ever seen, promised to lead her to safety–Dr. Sadie Kaufman had little choice but to follow. Before long the sheik's promises of protection played a vital role. For once they arrived at his palace it seemed someone beyond the walls still wanted her dead. The sheik insisted on keeping her close or Sadie would become another bandit's bargaining chip. But could this sexy and indomitable man really be as good as he seemed…?

“I wouldn’t recommend running away.”

Nasir sat to block the tent’s opening, his rifle laid across his knees. “It’s safer here. Nobody will hurt you now.”

“Why?” Sadie asked cautiously.

“Because you’re mine.” The words fell from Nasir’s lips slowly, distinctly. “I claimed you in front of the others.”

“No.” She squared her body toward him, prepared to fight. If she could disable him, maybe she could stay hidden in his tent until nightfall, then take off.

“It’ll buy you time to find a safe way out. I’m here for some information. As soon as I have it, I’ll take you to the nearest village.”

Was he lying so he could catch her off guard later? She watched him and weighed his words. He hadn’t hurt her, not once. “Are you an undercover policeman or something?”

“Hardly. But you are safe in my tent.”

Undercover Sheik

Dana Marton

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

With many thanks to Allison Lyons and Maggie Scillia.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dana Marton lives near Wilmington, Delaware. She has been an avid reader since childhood and has a master’s degree in writing popular fiction. When not writing, she can be found either in her garden or her home library. For more information on the author and her other novels, please visit her Web site at www.danamarton.com.

She would love to hear from her readers via e-mail: DanaMarton@yahoo.com.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Nasir ibn Ahmad—The brother of the king of Beharrain, Sheik Nasir is determined to keep Majid from starting a civil war and killing his family to regain the throne. But when he goes undercover among bandits, he finds more than clues to Majid’s whereabouts.

Sadie Kauffman, M.D.—Sadie was kidnapped by bandits from a field hospital in Yemen. Can she trust the most dangerous among them, Nasir, to save her life?

Majid—He swears to regain the king’s throne and kill anyone who stands in his way.

Umman—He is the leader of a group of conscienceless bandits and one of Majid’s supporters.

Saeed ibn Ahmad—Beharrain’s rightful king and Nasir’s brother.

Dara Alexander—The American woman who made headlines around the world by marrying Beharrain’s king.

Ali—He works for the royal stables. Is he involved in something sinister or is he just at the wrong place at the wrong time?

Abbas—A clerk at the royal palace. He owes much to the king, but maybe he’s motivated more by greed than gratitude.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter One

Dr. Sadie Kauffman had been always skeptical of people who, as their death sentence neared, claimed to have changed and reformed. Now she believed it. Time made all the difference, being locked up with nothing to do but think. She’d had forty long days and nights to mull over what her life had been so far—a mad race for things that in hindsight didn’t matter. She would live differently. She rubbed her fingertips together. They tingled from nerves. Today was the day of her execution.

She watched one of the bandits as he plodded toward her makeshift prison, his rifle slung across his shoulder, his face wrapped in the trailing end of his headdress to protect him from the blowing sand. He opened the low door that had been nailed together from pieces of scrap wood, and swore at her as she stumbled out awkwardly, her legs numb from her cramped quarters.

“Move it,” the man said, and although she was limping forward as fast as she could, it wasn’t quick enough for him. He shoved his rifle barrel between her ribs to make her go faster.

She blinked toward the desert horizon. The sun had barely breached it. Her last sunrise. No, she wouldn’t think like that. She had to have hope. If the desert bandits killed her, what would they gain? They had to keep her alive to collect the ransom. She’d spent the night working out different ways to convince Umman, the camp’s leader, to extend the deadline.

It’ll work. They need the money.

She ran her fingers over her black headscarf and attached veil to make sure they exposed nothing but her eyes. The man kept shoving her at every few steps, toward the tents instead of the cooking fires as he would have on any other day.

“It’s as fast as I can go,” she snapped without heat. Did he even understand her? Other than Umman, the rest spoke no more English than the few words they used to order her around.

Her sandals sunk into the hot sand with each step. She still hadn’t learned to balance her weight just right, angle her feet so she could walk the terrain with ease like the men whose tents sprawled like giant, unworldly beasts on the sand ahead. Most had their flaps open—giant, yawning mouths getting ready to swallow their prey whole. She shivered despite the heat that had to be nearing a hundred degrees already.

She halted at the entrance of the largest tent, looked inside with quick, darting glances and kept her head down to make sure her gaze wouldn’t directly meet anyone else’s. Most of the bandits were in there, lounging on worn carpets and sipping spiced coffee.

“So your country cares not if you live or die.” The contemptuous voice was Umman’s.

As far as desert bandits went, they looked the part—Ali Baba and all that—missing teeth, savage faces, murderous weapons. They smelled the part, too.