Sana shook her head. “It was nothing compared to what I’ve endured. I’m indebted to you. Thank you.”
“Thank me when you’re safely out of the country.”
“I’m scared. What if he catches me? What if I can’t get past this?”
Lach watched Gina calm Sana.
“You’re going to be fine. Just keep moving forward and don’t look back. Ever.”
Sana nodded and smiled. “I can do this.”
Gina smiled back. “You can.” She motioned to Sana’s robes. “Now, I need those.”
Sana nodded—the instructions had been on the info Gina passed to her. She shrugged out of her robe and hijab and gave them to Gina, who’d been ready with a different robe just in case, but luckily, Sana was wearing a dress underneath. Gina put on the princess’s clothes while Lachlan dressed in the guard’s ghutra and iqal. He was already wearing a throbe identical to the guard’s. When he was finished, he jumped into the passenger’s seat while Gina got into the back.
Lachlan watched Huck, Banjo, and Silas escort Sana to the armored car. She’d be safe in there in case their ruse didn’t work and there was a firefight on the way to the port where a ship waited to take Sana to safety. Heath had already disappeared once he was sure the princess was transferred. He was also responsible for making the guard disappear along with him.
Not Lach’s problem. He and Gina had their own escape to think about.
The Hilux pulled out of the alley and headed back into the city, looking for all the world like any other armored car transferring money from businesses to banks. Lachlan eyed Faheem before telling him in Arabic, “All right. Get us through the checkpoint and you’ll be free soon.”
Faheem’s face was pale; he was obviously shaken from the extraction. Lach shared a look with Gina in the rearview mirror. She looked uneasy as well. She darted her eyes toward Faheem. At least she and Lach were on the same page.
As they drove out of the alley and back to routes that were monitored by cameras, Gina made sure not to look directly out the window. So did Lachlan. The cameras didn't need to pick up their faces, They just needed to register that the Princess, her guard, and her driver were still on their way out of the city. Heath’s intel said that the cameras would be monitoring them all along the route and that the crown prince would be informed if anything was amiss. By posing as Sana and the guard, they were giving the real princess time to escape. If they could make it all the way out into the desert undetected, Lachlan's team was unlikely to encounter any trouble, and that was the most important part to him. Of course, he knew the most important part to Gina was that Sana got away unharmed.
The miles ticked by slowly. The minutes seemed to turn into hours. An uneasy feeling crept up Lach’s spine. So much depended on getting clear of the city. One false move and Faheem would call down hell on them. Lach realized he was worried but not for himself. All his worry focused on Gina. Gina, for her part, looked perfectly calm. Was she putting on a brave face? She was a diplomat’s daughter after all, schooled in hiding her true emotions. Or, was she naïve as to the level of danger they were in? He didn’t think so. In the short time he’d gotten to know Gina, she’d been nothing but clever and alert, ready to troubleshoot any and all possible scenarios, so she understood the risks. So was she truly confident that the mission would go as planned? Was she putting all her faith in Lachlan having her back if things went sideways? Heat bloomed in his belly at that thought.
Pull it together, man. You can’t be thinking like a schoolboy with his first crush right now.
Faheem gripped the wheel until his knuckles turned white, bringing Lachlan back to reality. Lach still wasn't sure about the man and he really hated the fact that they had placed their safety into his hands. After what felt like an eternity, the checkpoint came into view up ahead. The wind had picked up and sand was blowing in the air. They were going to cut it really close if they wanted to get to the escape car and get back into town ahead of the sandstorm.
That was Lachlan’s biggest fear at this point—getting caught in the storm. Sandstorms could be completely unpredictable but one thing was for sure, you didn't want to drive in one. People who have driven in heavy fog or snow storms might think they know what a sandstorm is like, but the reality was far different. It wasn't just foggy or snowy. The day could turn pitch black, making it impossible to navigate. Flying sand could strip a car of its paint and do far worse to bare skin. Their only hope was to make like a bat out of hell once clear of the city and reach the escape vehicle before it was too late. Lachlan ran a hand over his watch. It was the latest technology—a GPS-guided beacon that would take them straight to the SUV.
Faheem slowed the vehicle down as he approached the checkpoint, just as he was supposed to. Guards dressed in desert camo, their faces covered by scarves to keep out the deadly sand, stepped out in front of the vehicle. One man came to the driver's side as Faheem rolled down the window. Lachlan wasn't sure if they were simply blocking the road or if they knew about the Princess. He had a feeling they did, as he spotted cameras above a guardhouse.
The guard greeted Faheem and looked into the SUV. Lachlan glanced in the rearview window at Gina. She hung her head low, her hijab blocking the guard’s view of her face, her arms behind her back as if zip tied. Lachlan also was also careful to look away though he made sure the guards saw his weapon. Faheem began to explain that they were transferring Princess Sana to a safer location away from the city, where she could pray in peace.
So far, so good, Lachlan thought.Keep it up, Faheem. The guard nodded as if he knew what the plan was. He stepped back away from the driver side and began to motion for them to roll through as the other guards stopped blocking the SUV’s path.
But instead of rolling forward, Fahim suddenly opened his car door and jumped out.
“They are traitors!” he shouted. This is not the princess or her guard. This is?—”
Faster than the guards—faster even than Lachlan—Gina sprang into action. She jumped into the front seat, got behind the wheel, threw it into drive, and took off.
“Dear God, woman! Give a man a warning or you'll give him a heart attack.”
Gina grinned fiercely. “I saw the way Faheem was gripping the wheel so I got ready.” Lachlan rolled down his window as men shouted and bullets hit the back of the armor-plated SUV. He shot back more as a deterrent than anything else. He couldn’t hope to aim in the wind or with Gina doing evasive maneuvers. As soon as he saw an SUV in full pursuit, he rolled the window back up and hoped the storm would stop them. No luck—a second SUV joined the chase.
The sky grew darker and darker as they drove toward the brown clouds full of dust and debris picked up from the war-torn landscape of Jordan and fueled by hundreds of miles of desert sand.
“How far are we from our escape SUV?” Gina asked. “I need you to navigate.”
“I’m afraid we might be too far away, lass.” Lachlan looked at the GPS on his watch face and double-checked the odometer. He’d noted the mileage at the checkpoint. The second SUV was ten-point-two miles from the checkpoint and off the road, hidden under camouflage netting behind an outcropping of boulders.
The blowing sand made the road as slippery as if they were driving on a sheet of ice. The sky was growing darker by the second. They still had two miles to go—two miles that might as well be two hundred if the storm came down on them full-force. Other cars going both directions were already pulling over.
“Just tell me how far,” Gina demanded as she sped up. They started to fishtail but she quickly turned into the swerve and pulled them back out of it.
