“Is Emmeline France here as well?”
“Who are you,” he demanded.
“I should have introduced myself first. I’m Alicia Broadmore from the American Embassy. I have your and Ms. France’s passports.”
Jordan opened the door farther and the woman entered the suite. She stopped just inside the door and waited for Jordan to close it.
Emme stood and walked around the end of the couch. Dressed in a tan suit and low brown heels, she presented the epitome of professional woman.
“Ms. France?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Alicia stepped forward, with her hand outstretched. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m glad to see you are, in fact, safe. We’ve seen the news that you were rescued, of course, but with no one having heard from you in person, there’s been speculation that the reports were false.”
Emme shook her hand. “No, they’re true.”
“I figured that when I was told the passport request came through Titan.”
Jordan stood by Emme and rested his hand on her lower back. “You know Titan?”
Alicia’s eyes flickered to Jordan’s hand. “Only by reputation.” She reached into her bag and pulled out two passports and a pen. “If you’ll sign the passports, I’ll be out of your hair.”
She flipped open one of the passports before handing it to Jordan and handed the other one to Emme without opening it.
“What about visa’s?” Emme asked, taking the passport.
“They’ve already been stamped, showing you entered a week ago,” Alicia said.
Emme raised her eyebrows and looked at Alicia, her question evident.
Alicia smiled. “Titan has a lot of connections in Abu Dhabi.”
“No kidding,” Emme said. Getting back-dated visa stamps was no little accomplishment. Even after everything, she didn’t know whether to be impressed or scared. Maybe impressively scared.
She and Jordan signed the passports and handed the pen back to Alicia. Taking it she said, “Mr. Westin asked that you call him before you make flight arrangements to return to the U.S.” She handed Emme a business card. “Feel free to call if you need anything in the interim.”
She took the offered card. “Thank you.”
Alicia hesitated a moment, then stepped forward and hugged Emme. “I’m very glad to know you’re safe.”
At a loss for words, Emme stood there while Alicia released her. “Uh. Thank you?”
“Sorry. I probably should have asked first.” She rubbed Emme’s arm awkwardly. “Well, I’ll leave you alone. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Abu Dhabi.”
She let herself out of the suite and Jordan made sure the door was closed.
Emme stared down at her new passport. “Do we have to stay here?”
“What do you mean?”
Her stomach fluttered, unsure whether she should ask the next question. “Can we leave Abu Dhabi?”
He shoved his hands into his pants pockets and hunched his shoulders. “You mean go back to the States?”
“No, not yet.” She looked at her passport briefly. “Can we go somewhere else? There’s not a lot to do here other than the souq and the Grand Mosque and we’ve already done that.”
“Where were you thinking?”
