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She tried to shake the ht noould shred what little control she had left over the hysteria bubbling inside her

She had to clear her head She had to be able to think and find a way out of this

She had to find a way out She had found a way out the last tiain She didn’t think her sanity could survive otherwise

The door was locked The shutters on the ere locked Her eways in this room

She couldn’t find her clothes There were no dressers and the four ar materials There were no clothes

Her breath felt trapped in her lungs Her heart was racing out of control and panic was beginning to close in

She would go crazy in this place

Abram sat back in the comfortable leather of the modified Land Rover as Tariq drove into the fortress co around in the outer yards The women were covered from head to toe in the required burka, while the ues or combat-ready pants and shirts

The face of the Mustafa province was changing and he hadn’t been able to stop it during the years when stopping it had ret

Once, this land had thrived, if not from oil then from the small mines outside of tohere precious ore was eeked out and sold to the government It had been a minimal income, but when added to the funds the monarchy had once sent, the lands andprecious water fro

The province had held a s area of trade due to those crops and the ore Soreed and murderous inclinations

"Look who showed up" Tariq nodded toward the fortress castle where a lone figure stood at the top of the stone steps against the stone wall

The tall double doors were his backdrop, e the slender, muscular form, his dark hair pulled back from a lean, Arabic face

Thethe Mustafa fortress even before the deaths of Ayid and Aht over the years, still, Jafar Mustafa--along with Ayid and Aman--had facilitated the steady introduction of men Abram was certain were no more than soldiers to the terrorist cell Ayid and Aman had commanded A cell Jafar was now rumored to command

First cousin to both Abraest of the three Mustafa brothers who had inherited differing sections of the province froest brothers had died under highly suspicious circumstances Abram had always suspected Azir had had his brothers killed, but he had never been able to prove it

"He can’t want anything good," Abram assured him as Tariq drew the Land Rover to a stop before the castle Stepping from the vehicle Abram allowed Tariq to move in behind him and cover his back They mounted the steps and moved up to the entrance where Jafar awaited theance in the otherAbra fro to create a heavy, barely civil atreen eyes was a clue to the fact that he wasn’t going to like whatever the other man had to say Fortunately, there was at least a shred of inforames he played and the fact that Abra to stop the steady infiltration of the terroristsin

Like Abram and Tariq, Jafar’s mother had been American But unlike them, Jafar had actually inherited some of his mother’s traits His hair was a deep, dark brown, rather than black, and the celadon green of his eyes was da in a land of mostly dark eyes

The men of Mustafa seemed to have a particular fondness for pale-haired or redheaded women Jafar’s mother had been a Scandinavian blonde and like Abraht from her ancestors

It was a fondness their sons seeht

"What the hell do you want, Jafar?" he growled as he topped the stone stairs and faced his cousin

Jafar chuckled, the aaze flicked between Abraood afternoon, cousin After all, it’s been a while since we’ve visited Don’t tell me you haven’t missed me"

"I haven’tlift of his lip "Is that all you wanted?"

The smirk on Jafar’s lips assured hiravitated to opposing ends of their own beliefs There had been a time when he and Jafar had been close When they had both spoken of the dream of a far different future than the ones they had e, tense , but when he didn’t, Abrarunted "Letoff"

Jafar’s eyes narrowed at the deliberate vulgarity He and his cousin had been in e or Jafar’s deliberate disrespect Many tireements had al thrown

"Tell me, Abram, do you believe your friendship with the son of a prince will save you forever? Or the fact that the unpaid funds owed to the land of Mustafa can only return at your inheritance assures your safety from those who suspect your depravities?"

His depravities What a daood whiskey, a beautiful wo his lover beco sensual feast for not just him, but a third as well

Those were his depravities

"Friendships rarely stand when you need them to, Jafar I believe we’re both aware of that" He stared back at his cousinof Lessa’s crimes, nor did I know of the plans to punish her" It wasn’t the first tie, and it wasn’t the last time Abram would accuse him of it Because he knew his cousin had to have at least suspected

"Nevertheless, I vowed I would never again have to depend upon those I call friends to aid me," Abram informed him "That is a commodity that only a fool can expect"

Better Jafar believe to the bone that Abraious police decide to actually take action against hiovern over the Mustafa lands and focusing their attention on Paige Galbraithe