Sheikh's Rescue

“You didn’t have time,” he interrupted. “You were handling a potential assassin, which, by the way, was exceptional work.”

“He got away.”

“He didn’t kill Stanley,” he said. “That was your doing.” He paused and scanned the street, which was empty, deserted as if the storm had confined everyone to their homes. “Was there a reason for anyone to try to take you out?” He was pretty sure of the answer to that even as he asked it, but he needed her to verify it.

“None,” she said. “The shots stopped soon after I got Stanley out of sight.”

“The threat was assessed wrong from the beginning,” he said with a scowl, hating to admit any of that. He was on his phone punching numbers even as he talked. But that was how he ran things. His siblings joked about his ability to take multitasking to the next level.

“I’ve already called the rental agency,” she said. “I mean, if that’s what you’re doing.” Aggravation was thick in her voice. “They’re activating the location device on the vehicle so that I’ll have access.”

Another sign that none of the glowing praise of her abilities had been wrong. The client had slipped away, but he was sure from the evidence presented, and what he knew of Jade, that it was through no fault of hers. His gut told him that nothing short of tying him down could have prevented it. But instead of telling her that, he scowled at her. Then he asked in a voice that would have suited any interrogation room, “You’re sure he’s planning to leave town?”

She nodded. “He’s seriously into photography. As we knew from the file. But what we didn’t know is how passionate he is. I don’t think anything would stop him from taking the landscape pictures he came for. He’s already made that clear. Add to the fact that he had a frightening experience, and that experience was in the city.” She paused. “I suppose terrifying for someone unused to guns. He’s comfortable in the countryside. He spends a lot of time there in Morocco.”

She frowned.

“What is it?”

“You know, on the way here he asked me where the nearest international airport was. I told him that Casper was the largest and closest airport but you required a transfer for anything international. I didn’t even get a chance to explain how limited the flight choice was. The whole topic was dropped because of the elk on the road. I managed to miss it and then we moved on to other topics.”

“You think that’s where he might be headed, Casper?” he said.

“No, at least not to hop a flight.” She shook her head. “Despite the fact that someone tried to kill him, I don’t think it was enough to have him heading home, at least not yet. For all his gaucheness, he has a stubbornness about him. Plus, he loves the States. He told me that this was the trip of a lifetime for him. I don’t think he’s apt to give up so soon. No, I think it’s the opposite. Because of the extreme nature of the experience, he now thinks it’s over. He thinks that he’s safe. They tried and failed.” She looked at him, her eyes seeming to graze his face with the passion of her commitment to this case. “Is that crazy?”

“Nothing at this point is crazy,” he replied. “We’ve got to hit all angles, as you know.”

“He mentioned Casper on more than one occasion as a drive he might like to take while he’s here. There’s some great photography between here and there.”

“You don’t...”

“I think—” she cut him off “—that he’s taking that drive just a little earlier than planned.” She shook her head. “I hope he’s licensed and doesn’t hurt himself in these conditions.”

“We’ll find him before that happens,” Zafir said with gravel in his voice.

“I hope so,” she said as she glanced at her phone messages. Her brow furrowed as her right hand ran through her hair. “The rental agency is having trouble with the app,” she said. She put the phone down. “It could be anywhere from a few minutes to an hour before they get it working.” She frowned. “At least that’s what the tech guesstimated in his message. In the meantime, they’ve pinpointed his last location, so that’s hopeful.”

There was something in the way that she looked at him that held some sort of warning. Yet his attention was fixated on her lips.