The Sheikh's Lost Princess. Linda Conrad

his breath.

      Finally, he said, “This is crazy talk. No one in their right mind would trust you to carry out a rescue mission for their child. Why didn’t the mother hire a professional to help if the police refused?”

      “She didn’t have any money and …” When he started to interrupt, Nikki waved him off. “And no friends or family, either. She had only me. I couldn’t very well say no.”

      Her whole story was way beyond nuts. Shakir paced around the water well a few times, trying to process what she’d told him.

      “All right, where is this supposed child being held?”

      “This quite real little boy was brought to Zabbarán by a middle-aged couple who said they wanted the son they could never have. I was told … that is … the mother was told the couple lives in the small town of Kuh Friez.”

      “Kuh Friez? But that’s nearly fifty miles away. It’s high on the mountain slopes.”

      “Oh, well, I didn’t know about the mountains. But fifty miles isn’t so much.”

      Needing another moment, Shakir took a sip from his water skin and then proceeded to refill it at the well. When that chore was complete, he was somewhat calmer.

      “Let’s discuss this.” He stretched out his hand to offer her a seat on the one flat-surfaced rock. She refused and folded her arms over her chest, glaring at him.

      “All right then, I’ll discuss it. In the first place, fifty miles in the desert while climbing rock-strewn mountain slopes could take you about ten nights’ travel time. Even if you can find enough water during the trip, what do you propose to eat?”

      She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes but didn’t open her mouth.

      “In addition to that,” he went on, “how do you plan on convincing the couple to give up the boy if you do finally arrive at Kuh Friez? If they’re kidnappers, they could be dangerous. And thinking beyond that potential problem, how did you intend to get the child out of the country?”

      Her shoulders slumped and she looked like he’d punched her in the gut. “I hadn’t planned ahead that far. I didn’t know Zabbarán and the Taj Zabbar were so … so …”

      “Backward and dangerous?”

      She nodded and covered her face with her hands. “I thought there would be police. Someone of authority who would help me.”

      He couldn’t stand seeing her defeated. He hadn’t realized how much he had begun to respect her unfamiliar and yet much stronger attitude. The new version of Nikki fascinated him.

      “How about if we make a deal?”

      She looked over at him with cautious hope in her eyes.

      “You give me all the information about the child,” he began in his most convincing tone. “And then let me take you across the border tonight. I promise that my brothers and I will come back for the boy after we’ve had a chance to make a decent rescue plan.”