The Treasure_ A Novel - Iris Johansen [9]
Was there a woman with him? He never brought his lemans to the castle, but the ship . . .
Rage seared through her and she quickly blocked the thought. No use to torture herself with imaginings. She had found out the reason Kadar held her at bay, and she had found out something about herself as well.
So what if she was wary and lacking in trust? What did he expect? She and Thea had been born slaves in Nicholas’s House of Silk in Constantinople. They had spent most of their childhood in the house of women, laboring from dawn to dusk at the looms. The only trust they had learned at Nicholas’s was to trust that the lash would fall if they failed in their tasks or tried to escape captivity. Why could Kadar not accept that in her? She couldn’t give what she didn’t have.
But if she didn’t give him what he wanted, she might lose him. He might tire of waiting and go to some other—
She was doing it again. Trust. Why could she not trust that he would not leave her?
Because it would mean lowering her guard and letting herself become vulnerable. Yielding that part of her that she had fiercely protected all her life.
How could she be more vulnerable than she was to Kadar right now? She could think of nothing else but the stupid man.
Her eyes were stinging again. She would not cry. She was not one to weep and moan when she could take action to find a solution.
But, dear God, the solution to this problem was agonizingly hard. She was not sure if she even knew how to go about it.
“You understand the message?” Ali Balkir asked.
Kadar nodded. “It’s what I expected.”
“You promised Sinan you’d come and do whatever task he set you. He’s summoning you now. You will obey, of course.”
“Will I?” Kadar smiled. “I’ll have to think about it.”
Panic tore through Balkir. It was what he had feared when Nasim had given him this mission. As a boy, Kadar had walked his own path, and he had even defied Nasim by leaving him. “You’ve got to come.”
Kadar’s smile faded. “I said I’ll think about it.”
“Don’t be a fool. It’s Sinan who sends for you.”
“I’ll let you know my decision in three days.”
“We leave tomorrow. Sinan wants you at once.”
“Then he’ll have to wait.” Kadar moved toward the gangplank. “And have your men stay on board the ship. I want no raping or violence here at Montdhu.”
“Then you’d best make the right decision.”
Kadar glanced at him over his shoulder and said softly, “I have no liking for threats, Balkir.”
Balkir suppressed a shiver as he met Kadar’s gaze. The overwhelming menace was almost as strong as what he felt when he had confronted Nasim. “It is Sinan’s threat, not mine. You must come with me.”
“Three days.” He turned and went down the gangplank.
Balkir’s hand tightened on the rail as he watched him leave. By Allah, he had known there would be trouble. What would he do if Kadar decided not to obey the command? Terror iced through him. He had been given a mission, and one did not fail a mission given by Nasim.
Yet if he attacked the castle, he would risk injuring Kadar, and Nasim would regard that as a failure also. He would have to find another means to assure Kadar’s compliance.
“Murad,” he called over his shoulder. “Follow him. Make sure he goes nowhere but Montdhu. I want to know whom he sees, what he does. Don’t let him out of your sight.”
Murad scurried across the deck and ran down the gangplank.
“Why didn’t you tell me last night, Kadar?” Ware demanded harshly. “It’s only one ship. We can mount an attack.”
“And, if they survive, then they’ll mount their own attack and damage your fine new castle,” Kadar said lightly. “Stop thinking like a warrior, Ware. No battle is necessary here.”
“I am a warrior.” Ware scowled. “And you’re an idiot if you think I’ll permit you to go and do that bastard’s bidding.”
“I made a promise.”
“Promises to assassins should not be kept.”
Kadar chuckled. “Speaks a man who never breaks his word.”
“I’ve never given my word to a devil like Sinan.”
“We all have our own devils. Mine just happens to be a true demon. Or so his men claim.