Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
The dogs were always her best excuse for anything. Her friends had companion dogs and saw to their needs. They understood the dogs would want to run.
Zahra snuggled the ball of fluff in her lap. “This one wants to run all the time.” She gave an exaggerated sigh. “You know how much I detest running.”
Shabina found herself laughing with the others. Zahra might sound like she was complaining, but she loved that bundle of fluff.
“Raine, I may as well take Daisy with me when I take the little monster out. I can swing by and pick her up.”
Raine’s Jack Russell was very active and loved to run along the canal three times a day. Raine’s shattered leg was healing slowly, preventing her from going for the long runs she would normally take with her dog. She walked, but it was still very painful for her, and Daisy tended to stay close to her rather than run like she needed to.
Raine’s face lit up. “Zahra, you really wouldn’t mind? I try to take her for walks, but Daisy won’t leave me when we go out. You know how she is; she needs tons of exercise.”
Zahra waved her hand. “I have to take this naughty one out anyway. And it will be good for them to become friends.”
Chapter Two
“I did have something I wanted to run by all of you,” Shabina said. She kept her voice carefully controlled, but her friends instantly fell silent, waiting, as if they knew this wasn’t as casual as she was trying to make it sound.
She couldn’t help laughing. She was so lucky. “You women. I can’t get anything past you. You knew all along I wanted to talk about something important.”
“It’s been obvious you’re upset about something, Shabina,” Stella said, her voice gentle.
“Your dogs are on edge,” Harlow pointed out. “Whether they’re picking up your mood or there really is something wrong, it’s apparent something is out of sync. We’ve just been waiting for you to share.”
Shabina took a deep breath. Now that she was going to articulate her fears, they seemed silly. What evidence did she have that anything was wrong? She found herself hesitating. If it got out that she was worried, her parents would insist she come home. They’d keep her locked in their house, surrounded by security. She wouldn’t be able to move or breathe without permission or having half a dozen guards around her. All the things she loved doing wouldn’t matter.
“I’m not exactly sure how to start. Now that I’m going to say it out loud to someone, I feel a little ridiculous,” she admitted.
“Shabina.” Raine sounded more than gentle. “Take your time. We’re your friends. You don’t have to worry about how you sound. Just tell us what’s bothering you.”
Shabina sank to the floor so she wouldn’t be tempted to pace. She’d worked hard to appear relaxed and calm at all times. The moment she sat on one of the cushions scattered on the floor, Malik lay down on one side of her and Sharif on the other. They pressed against her thighs, crowding close, feeling her inner agitation. She had to keep reminding herself these were her friends and they had her best interests at heart.
“You know my father puts out oil fires all over the world, that he’s considered the best in the business, right?” She knew they were aware of her rather famous father, but she had to start somewhere. “I told you that when I was fifteen, he took my mother and me to Saudi Arabia to put out fires there and I was kidnapped. It was a strange time. Quite a few kidnappings had taken place, and my mother and I were coached on how to behave if it should ever happen to us. We were told ransom would be demanded. It would be paid, and we would be freed. We were instructed not to resist. Not to try to escape. Not to agitate our kidnappers in any way. We were told repeatedly that sometimes negotiations broke down but not to worry, they always resumed.”
“How strange that would be,” Vienna said. “Having to worry all the time about being kidnapped, so much so that you’re given instructions on how to respond.”
Harlow exchanged a long look with Shabina before she admitted to the others that she’d also been given strict instructions. “I grew up with a father in politics. We had security around us all the time, but obviously, my training wasn’t as intense as Shabina’s.”
Shabina sent her a small smile, thankful someone understood the pressures of having to be constantly on alert for danger. “My mother and I went shopping at this little market. It wasn’t like we weren’t heavily guarded; we were. The next thing I know there was shouting and jostling and guns waving at us. My mother was grabbed by our security guards and they made a run for the armored vehicle. I was on the other side of the table of a fruit seller’s stand. I remember looking at the oranges exploding all around me and then at my mother’s back as the men shoved her into the SUV. My guards threw me to the ground, and we rolled under the table with all the fruit.”