Page 69 of Mistaken

The elder’s smile remained in place. “It was not that difficult to put the pieces together, especially after Zahrias al-Harith contacted us with concerns brought forth by the survivors in Los Alamos, who were missing one of their own. When we heard she had disappeared somewhere near Ghost Ranch, we knew you must be involved somehow. I will admit, though, that we feared you might have disposed of her outright for trespassing on your lands. However, we were able to detect a human presence here, so we knew she was still alive.”

Abdul did not like hearing any of this, although he realized the elders’ powers extended even beyond his, and he knew they could hear and see things that no ordinary djinn would ever be able to sense.

“How kind of you to stand back and not interfere,” he replied, knowing there was an edge to his voice he could not quite conceal.

“It was not our place to interfere.”

He returned, “Are you not interfering now?”

“No,” Idris said. “I cannot prevent you from continuing on your current course of action. All I can do is counsel you to be wise in what you do. If you truly love this woman — ”

“I do,” Abdul cut in as he crossed his arms. “I love her in ways you cannot possibly begin to imagine.”

The elder did not rise to the challenge in his voice, and instead replied in the same mild tone he’d already been using, “Does it surprise you for me to say that I am glad to hear it? All the same, it is also necessary for you to be honest with her. You must not conceal what you have done.”

“What I did,” Abdul said, voice more of a rasp than ever, “was in service to the djinn, and you know that as well as anyone.”

“True,” Idris allowed. “Still, it would not do for you to keep her ignorant of your past.”

How self-righteous he looked standing there, so confident that the only way Abdul could have possibly earned Sarah’s love was by lying to her!

Well, he was about to let Idris know that elders were most certainly not omniscient, especially in matters of the heart.

“She knows everything,” he said flatly. “I did not hide anything from her, for that would not be fair, or wise. Does this surprise you?”

Judging by the way Idris’s eyebrows had lifted at that confession, he was very much surprised, indeed. However, he responded in the same calm tone, “I would be lying if I said it did not. On the other hand, I know you are not one to prevaricate. However, even if this woman is here of her own free will and loves you despite everything, it would not do to forget that she has people who fear the worst has happened to her. Would you really have her stay here without letting them know she is safe? For while I and the other elders have forbidden them to come near this place, that will not stop them from worrying about her fate.”

This was not something Abdul had given a great deal of thought to. Yes, the people of Los Alamos had mounted that ill-considered attempt to come in search of Sarah, and yet he had not thought there was any real attachment there. Surely she had never gone into depth about any friends or other people she cared about in the little mountain town.

But he had to admit she might have withheld such information in order to protect them, especially in her early days here when she had no reason at all to trust him.

“This is possible,” he said. “And I will discuss it with Sarah when she awakes.” He paused there, eyes narrowing, for he realized that he and Idris had been speaking in normal enough tones, and even though the house was large, their conversation still might have been sufficiently loud to rouse her.

“She will not wake,” Idris said, and his eyes glinted in the darkness, as though he had guessed at what Abdul was thinking. “I have ensured that she will sleep deeply until morning. This was not a conversation I wished to have interrupted.”

“Apparently,” Abdul responded, his tone now dry. While he did not much appreciate the elder meddling in such a way, he could see why Idris might have believed such measures were necessary. “But since I have already told you that I will bring this up with her, I do not see any reason for you to press the issue further.”

A brief silence, and then Idris inclined his head. “I will not. And although you might not believe me, I wish only the best for you and the woman who has gifted you her heart. Take care, Abdul.”

The elder vanished then, and Abdul remained alone in the kitchen for a moment longer, staring at the spot where the other man had just stood. He had given his word, and that meant he would speak with Sarah in the morning.

All the same, he was not much looking forward to that conversation.

A resigned breath, and then he went to fetch himself a glass of water.

Sarah couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept this deeply, or for so long.

Must be all that glorious sex,she thought with an inner grin, and turned over to see Abdul watching her, his expression much more serious than she thought the situation warranted.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, sitting up. She’d fallen asleep naked, and her loose hair mostly covered her naked breasts.

Mostly.

His gaze flicked to them, and even though she thought she detected a certain warmth in his eyes, he still looked almost stern as he said, “Everything is fine. But there are certain matters we need to discuss. Go ahead and shower, and then we can meet in the kitchen.”

Somewhat mystified, she reached over the side of the bed so she could locate her blouse and panties from the day before and put them on, although she decided it wasn’t worth the effort to put on her bra and jeans, not when she was only going to the other side of the house so she could get cleaned up.

As she went, she wondered what in the world could have happened to make Abdul look so grim this morning. He didn’t seem angry, though, so she didn’t think it was anything she had done.

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