Page 40 of Company of Thieves
Yussuf immediately rode to my side. I was about to ask him where Ajay was when Az, the behemoth who I knew was devoted to Alan, moved up to my other side. I shot him a grateful glance, which he acknowledged with a little nod.
We were the last to arrive in the camp. I assumed Alan and his father were already in the big tent, and so took myself off to our temporary home, figuring I’d be sent for if I was wanted.
Alan came into the tent about an hour later. I was curled up in a chair reading one of the few books his sister had in English, amazed that even though this world’s society had evolved differently than mine, the literature was very similar, but set it down at his furious scowl. He ripped off his tunic and threw it onto the rug that covered the ground, snarling something in Kazakh while pouring water into the big washbowl, and splashing much of it on his chest and face.
I rose and picked up his tunic, shaking it out and folding it before putting it on a chest. “That bad, was it?”
He swore in French.
“I take it you had no idea your dad was joining forces with Etienne?”
“No.” He stood for a moment with his hands on the water bowl, looking at the mirror he used to shave, his gaze locked on mine. “I have to get you out of here.”
I froze. “Did he recognize me?”
“No, I don’t think so. At least, he made no mention of it.”
“Oh, good.” I relaxed a little. “If it’s not because of Etienne, then it must be your dad. Was he so overcome with my charms that he demanded you hand me over on a silver platter?”
“Yes,” he said, surprising me.
I slid my arms around him, pressing myself against his bare back, reveling in the feeling of all that warm flesh. I pressed a kiss to one of his shoulders. “Sweetie, there’s no way in hell I’m going to sleep with anyone but you. I meant what I said, you know. You’ve gotten to me the way no one else has, not that I want to talk about that now. I just want to reassure you that I’m here for you, and no one else.”
He sighed, then turned around, pulling me against his damp chest, burying his face in my neck. “And I thank god for that. Hallie—what you said—”
“No,” I interrupted, putting two fingers on his lips. He gently bit them. “Let’s leave the relationship talk for another time, OK? Everything is still so new and, honestly, kind of confusing, and I feel a bit self-conscious even talking with you about it.”
“There are times when you drive me almost to insanity with your ideas, and then there are times when I want to praise your wisdom to the skies,” he said, kissing my fingers.
“Uh-huh. Men are always happy to avoid talking about relationships, so don’t give me that crap.” I smiled to take the sting out of my words. “Now, the important stuff: what does your dad want you to do that has you so irate?”
“Too much to talk about now. The feast is ready to start, and I must be in attendance. If I were to ask you to take theNightwingto your brother, would you do it?”
I thought about that for a good fifteen seconds. “Do you really think I’m in danger if Etienne doesn’t realize it was me in El Kef? With Az and Yussuf and Ajay guarding me?”
He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. “I don’t know. In this, my father is the least of my worries. He will not like me refusing to let him use your body, but he knows he can’t force me to do so. But Etienne ...”
“Is an asshat, but I doubt if he’s the kind of person who’d keep quiet if he recognized me,” I said, nodding. “The answer is pretty clear, then. No, I won’t go to Jack and Octavia. If all you’re really worried about is Etienne, then I’ll just stay here, and will become besties with Az, Ajay, and Yussuf. I promise that I won’t so much as use the latrine without having at least one of them with me, all right?”
He hesitated, his breath warm on my neck. I hugged him as tightly as I could and added, “I’ve got a warrior boob, remember? And I know how to use a sword, and daggers, even if I’m not super awesome with them, and maybe I’ll have my threesome teach me to shoot a disruptor while you are doing things with your daddy and Mr. Nasty.”
He laughed, kissed me hard and fast, and then set me from him so he could don a fresh tunic. “The last thing that’s going to convince me to let you stay here are your credentials with weapons, little dove. But I will trust that you will not place yourself in any situation where you’re at risk.”
“Cross my heart,” I promised, suiting action to word. “Am I to come to this feast?”
“Yes.” His voice was grim. “I want you in my sight as much as possible.”
“Oooh, that sounds promising,” I said, then hurried over to the chest that contained my new clothes, and pulled out a modified version of Leila’s dress that I’d had made in a pretty shade of moss and gold. Alan was outside the tent when I had put it on, brushed my hair, and, after a moment’s thought, rubbed one of Leila’s sachets over my dress in hopes of giving me a little aromatherapy boost.
The tables that Alan’s men ate at had been pushed together and supplemented by the one from his tent. Since only a few of his men were actually at the table, I gathered that this event was for the imperator’s entourage. Aurangzeb himself sat at the head of the table, sitting in a massive throne-like chair that must have been hauled out from his airship. He was already seated when we approached, with Etienne sitting on his right. He gestured toward the chair to the left. Alan pulled out the chair next to it, seating me first before taking his own.
“You say your woman is American?” the imperator asked, giving me another oily look that left me feeling soiled. “Have you made sure she has no ties to William? I have heard that he uses many women, and when he is done with them, he sends them out to his enemies to act as spies. Have you tortured her sufficiently to know she can be trusted?”
I looked at him in shock for a moment, and then did the unthinkable. I burst into laughter.
Alan sighed, and I immediately apologized. “I’m sorry, I really am. It’s just that it was so funny the way he said ... never mind.” I was aware of the fulminating looks of everyone around me. I cleared my throat and addressed myself to the food put in front of me, biting my lip to keep from laughing more.
“Your woman thinks I am funny?” the imperator said, working himself up to an outraged state. “She would dare mock me! You will strip her bare and flog her before us, one stripe on her back for every second of her reprehensible actions.”
