Blood of the Nile (17 page)

“No,
cousin.
These were my father’s last wishes. We must
respect them.” Maliyah replied before turning her attention to Anwar’s
solicitor. She couldn’t wait to get rid of him. The old bastard gave her the
creeps. He’d pawed her like a hungry lion the night they’d gone to dinner with
Ramses and Husani. “Thank you for coming all this way, Mr. Hussein. We’ll make
sure these documents are notarized, and sent via courier to your office in the
morning.”

“Are you certain
about this, Maliyah?” Salma asked.

“Yes,
quite certain.”

Maliyah could only
hope that the warm and fuzzy feelings continued to flow after she told her
cousin’s that their father was alive and kicking, responsible for Anwar’s
death. Would their loyalty prevail once she spelled out her plan to give away
Anwar’s millions and enact revenge against Shahad?

Chapter Eighteen

The Confession

“
Maliyah, Shahad was
merely a sperm donor. Salma was an infant and I was barely two-years-old when
our father abandoned us.” Husani pounded his fist on the dining room table,
clearly enraged.

“Still he’s your
father. You must feel something for him?” Maliyah simply couldn’t fathom the
idea that her cousins shared no emotional connection to the man who helped
bring them into the world. Though her relationship with Anwar had been somewhat
strained over the years, she couldn’t imagine never having known him. In truth,
she loved him wholeheartedly and it made no sense that her uncle’s children
wouldn’t harbor the same unconditional affection for their own father.
Husani, especially, because he had shared a home with the man for
the first two years of his life.

“I never knew
Shahad. How could I love him? He killed Uncle Anwar,” Salma interjected,
slamming her eyes shut as if a slew of bad memories had suddenly assailed her.
“Maliyah, you are the only family we have left. If you think this plan of yours
will work, Husani and I will support it one hundred percent. Besides, neither
of us expected Uncle Anwar to be quite so lavish with our inheritance.”

“My sister speaks
the truth. We’ll contribute half of the money Uncle Anwar gifted us in order to
establish the endowments.” Picking up a paper and pen, Husani started to jot
something down. “We’ll even put it in writing, if that will ease your mind.”

“That won’t be
necessary. Thank you.” Maliyah reached out and clasped hands with both cousins.
A wealth of emotion flooded her. The love and acceptance she felt was worth
more than any amount of money.

Out of the corner
of her eye, she saw Ramses lounging nonchalantly against a nearby windowpane,
his arms crossed over his broad chest. Throughout the entire conversation, he
remained mum. He was wise enough to let her handle the situation on her own.
But once the hard part was out of the way, and her cousins had retired for the
night, Maliyah sat in the dim light room, staring up at the vampire. She needed
him.
Now more than ever.

Before better judgment
got the best of her, Maliyah ran into her lover’s arms. Even though his skin
was cool to the touch, his embrace felt warm and comforting. She let her cheek
rest against his shoulder,
then
inhaled deeply, taking
in his familiar scent. “Thank you for everything, Ramses. I can’t imagine what
I’d do if you weren’t by my side. I’d probably be dead by now,” Maliyah said as
the vampire’s fingers smooth down a few stray strands of her hair.

“
Shh
. Don’t
think
like that. I told
you, I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

This time, Maliyah
believed him without any lingering misconceptions. The man was a force to be
reckoned with. From the moment she saw him standing along the shores of the
Nile River a month ago, she knew Ramses would turn her world upside down. In
addition to the off the charts chemistry that had sparked between them, she’d
come to respect him, too. He was a man of many talents. Besides being a
freakishly scary vampire, he was smart and resourceful. He befriended
influential people from every walk of life and earned a reputation as a shrewd
businessman. He’d no doubt used his skills repeatedly over the years in order
to keep his vast empire flourishing.

Ramses led her back
to the dining table,
then
disappeared into the
kitchen. A few minutes later, he returned with a
Dallah
and two tiny ceramic cups. The smell of rich Arabica beans produced a cloud of
white steam as he poured the dark liquid from the pot, filling both cups with
the caffeinated brew. Afterwards, he settled down beside her. Maliyah smiled,
pleased that her lover had thought to make coffee. While
he
certainly didn’t need it to stay awake through the night, Maliyah
did. They still had so much work to do.

With Ramses’ help,
she finished preparing her speech. By that time, the editor of the Egyptian
Daily News had emailed Ramses with an advance copy of the article that the
newspaper intended to print the next morning. The official press conference had
been scheduled for six o’clock tomorrow evening Cairo time. An attorney from
New York that Andreas recommended had drawn up the legal documents to ensure
the two trust accounts were established according to the letter of the law. It
was the same corporate solicitor that his father used to set up an endowment in
the name of his wife, the late Christine
Kristopolous
.
A monetary gift, along with her rare collection of paintings had been used to
establish a new Picasso wing at the MET.

Ramses also showed
her the route he mapped out for them to take to and from the Egyptian Modern
Art Museum. Maliyah knew that it had to be planned out carefully, because
Shahad would undoubtedly track them along the entire course. One mistake, just
one misstep, could be life threatening.

In addition to
Ramses, they decided that it would be best for Husani to accompany her to the
press conference. His blessing would prove crucial. As the sole male heir of
the Aziz family, tradition dictated his presence. On the same note, local
customs demanded that Salma remain home, out of the view of society’s prying
eye. Respect for the Egyptian way of life had to be on display if they expected
the male-dominated society to accept the magnanimous gift from the likes of a
female heiress. Besides that, an extra set of eyes on the
look
out
for Shahad wouldn’t hurt.

Once they had gone
over the tactical details of Maliyah’s ploy, Ramses excused himself from the
table. Maliyah yawned as she glanced up at the clock and realized that early
morning quickly approached. “I think I’ll go up to my room, take a shower,
then
call it a night. It’s probably best that we sleep in
separate beds. Wouldn’t want Husani to get himself
killed
trying to defend his cousin’s honor.”

“That’s probably a
wise decision. I’m exhausted anyway,” Maliyah said as she gathered up the
dishes and cleared the table.

“Good night,
habibti
. See you in a few hours.” Ramses leaned in and
placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, then pivoted on his feet and hurried up the
staircase out of sight.

As soon as the
kitchen was cleaned, Maliyah followed him up. Passing Salma’s room, she noticed
that the lights were on. Could her cousin still be awake at such an ungodly
hour? Hesitantly, Maliyah knocked and within seconds, Salma popped her head out
through a small crack in the door. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks streaked
with tears.

Maliyah frowned.
Her heart melted at the thought of what her cousin must be going through. She’d
lost both of her parents at such a young age, certainly a gut-wrenching
experience in its own right.
Hearing the news that her biological
father was still alive and responsible for Anwar’s death, had to feel like
someone had twisted the knife and inflicted an even deeper laceration.

“No
rest for the weary, eh?”
Initially, Maliyah
frowned, before letting her lower lip form into a full-fledged pout. “Mind if I
come in?”

“Of course not,”
Salma said, stepping back to let the other woman into her suite. They sat
together cross-legged on the bed and stared at one another. For the first few
minutes, Maliyah had no clue what to say. She wanted to relieve her cousin’s
obvious pain, but how?

“What can I do to
make it better?”

Salma pulled a
tissue from the box on the nightstand and dried off the remaining moisture from
her face. “Find the son of a bitch! He deserves to suffer.
For
you, for my brother, for all of us.”

“We will. Ramses
will make sure of it,” Maliyah promised her cousin. Early on, Husani had his
suspicions about her father’s business partner, but she hoped that Ramses’
unwavering cooperation had proven his trustworthiness to the rest of the Aziz
family. “The
man lost his best friend, and believe
me
when I tell you, he won’t rest until Shahad is behind bars.”

“Behind
bars?
The bastard deserves to die! It should
have happened years ago.” While Maliyah tended to agree, it nonetheless came as
a surprise to learn that
Shahad’s
own daughter wanted
his corpse buried six-feet under. After the pain and heartache he’d caused
their family, it could only be considered karma.

“This must be so
difficult to talk about. Shall we change the subject? Thinking about something
else might help you sleep.”

“Sure. Girl talk
always bores me to pieces.” Salma said sarcastically, grinning from ear to ear.
“Tell me what’s going on between you and Ramses. I saw the way he looked at you
tonight.”

“What do you mean?”
Maliyah tried not to show any emotion, but she could feel her face begin to
burn hot. No doubt, she’d turned red as a
beet
.

“Don’t play coy
with me, cousin. Spill it!”

Maliyah sighed,
then reached out to grab a pillow by the headboard and plopped down belly-first
on the mattress. “Is it that obvious? Do you think Husani noticed?”

“Oh I’m sure my
brother can see there’s a mutual attraction.” Salma cocked her head to one
side, and then stared into her cousin’s eyes as if trying to read her thoughts.
“But it’s more than simple infatuation, isn’t it?”

“It is. At least
for me,” Maliyah said as she rested her chin on her hands atop the pillow. She
kept her gaze lowered, afraid to look the other woman in the eye. “Just not
sure Ramses’ feelings are quite as strong.”

“Oh
my God, Maliyah.
You’re in love with him, aren’t
you?”

Biting her
fingernails between her teeth, Maliyah tried to bide her time. But soon, the
truth would have to come out. She’d have to tell him. The first step was
admitting it to
herself
. “Yes. I love him. So much it
hurts.”

Without warning, the
women’s roles had been reversed and Salma was the one forced to provide
comfort. They hugged each other as Maliyah let a few errant tears fall. They glistened
like diamonds on the tips of her eyelashes, obstructing her vision. Her eyes
stung almost as bad as her lover’s inevitable rejection. She wanted to tell her
cousin everything. Explain why she and Ramses had absolutely no chance of a future
together. But she couldn’t. Not only would Salma freak at the thought of
Maliyah shacking up with a vampire, she didn’t want to betray her lover’s
trust. It was his secret to share.

“Aw,
sweetie.
Things will work themselves out.” Salma
hugged her cousin even tighter. “That man loves you. Any fool can see that!”

“I hope you’re
right.”

Chapter Nineteen

The Bait

Ramses watched Maliyah
step up to the podium with Husani glued to her side. She looked stunning. Her
hair had been swept into a neat
updo
, and soft wavy
curls outlined her face. She opted to dress modestly in a pale blue pants suit
and navy blue pumps that were perfect for the occasion. That morning she took
great care in choosing her attire. She wanted to ensure that the museum’s
conservative board of trustees, as well as the rest of the Egyptian community,
would be amenable to her proposition.
 

Ramses leaned
against a wall at the back of the room. For the next hour, he stayed on high
alert, his gaze constantly scanning the interior of the building for anything that
appeared out of the ordinary. He’d checked and double-checked the two exits,
one on the left side and the other at the rear of the conference room, to ensure
that no one suspicious came in or out. There was an armed security guard posted
at each door too.

As his lover read
the speech they had prepared together, Ramses’ heart nearly burst with pride. Not
only beautiful, Maliyah was inspirational. While she spoke about the importance
of giving back, those in attendance appeared mesmerized, captivated by her every
word. Her infectious ardor spread like wildfire through the crowd that had
gathered to listen to the press conference, and he knew that everyone in the
room stood in awe of her poise and generosity.