The alarm bell was ringing loudly through the hotel.
Sara fumbled with the emergency door with one arm, struggling to get it open before finally turning and ramming it open with her butt.
A door slammed to her right and she could hear excited voices.
The fire exit opened and a rush of cool air seemed to sweep around her. Compared to the opulence elsewhere, the cement and steel almost made her stop. Almost. They had to get out of here. Within a floor she was joined by others. People kept streaming in and the flow slowed with each addition. Soon she was caught in a wave of panicked people who were now moving at a crawl. Caught in the middle of the pack, she was out of sight. Everett was silently sucking his thumb. His eyes were wide, fascinated or frightened, she wasn’t sure. It seemed he was more shocked than she.
She couldn’t believe this was happening again. It had been a mistake to come here, to come to Morocco at all. She’d thought that she’d run away from trouble and now she only was finding herself caught in something far worse.
She shifted Everett in her arms and marveled at the fact that he was still quiet. It was the only bit of luck that was coming her way. It was up to her to keep him safe. How had she thought that it would be any other way? It had always been about her and Everett. Her son was not a responsibility she could ask anyone else to share, even Talib.
“Mama,” Everett said.
“Shh.” She pressed a finger to his lips.
She concentrated on keeping her footing in the crowd and putting distance between them and the intruder, and what was clearly danger targeted at her and her son. A twinge of guilt ran through her at the thought that by pulling the alarm bell she had involved not only other people, but also a whole hotel.
She’d begun the evacuation of a hotel, pulled the fire alarm when no fire existed. Behind her a woman’s bag pushed into the back of her legs. She stumbled, caught her balance and reached for the railing. Her heart was pounding and her mouth was dry.
The cool stairwell was beginning to heat up from the waves of people joining at each level. Finally, they were on the main floor and bursting into the flooded lobby, where hotel staff were organizing people as they emerged. Rather than the chaos of the first hotel, this one was calm and orchestrated. No one looked anything more than slightly flustered or, in one case, put out.
She had to admit what she’d done, stop what she’d unintentionally put into motion.
She hurried over to a man with the telltale gold braid, but whose uniform indicated he might be security. He was directing people as they emerged from the stairwell. “Someone has broken into my room,” she said in a hurried breath.
“We’ll send someone up.”
“He may be armed.”
“Just a moment, madam,” he said as he moved toward the desk.
“No, wait.” She didn’t need anyone hurt, but she needed the emergency crews called off. “I pulled the fire alarm. There is no fire.”
“No fire.” His eyes darkened and he picked up a phone. “You?”
“Yes,” she said firmly and swallowed a ball of fear.
She was in deep trouble. She couldn’t imagine what the penalty might be for a tourist falsely claiming an emergency. But there was still the threat, somewhere here in this hotel. She needed to get Everett out.
“Remain here. For the authorities.” He turned to the desk and spoke rapidly, words that she didn’t understand.
A voice came over the intercom, asking for calm, stating it had only been a practice run. That there was no emergency. Excited voices swirled around her.
“Don’t move,” the man behind the desk instructed her.
She pulled out her phone and called Talib.
No answer.
Within minutes an intercom again repeated that it had been a false alarm and promised refreshments for those remaining in the lobby. A form of compensation, she supposed. She put down Everett, never letting her hand leave his. She tried Talib again with no success. Five minutes went by and around her, the rush of the crowd was nothing like it had been in the first hotel. Instead, hotel patrons milled about chatting and laughing. Staff moved among them, offering the promised cocktails and other refreshments.
She could see a pair of men in suits. They looked big, almost bulky and definitely intimidating as they huddled together in a closed discussion. One looked up and glanced over at her.
She moved away, out of their line of vision, and sat in an overstuffed chair in the midst of a group of older, well-dressed men and women. They were chatting, enjoying their drinks and not paying much attention to her. She hoped that their numbers and loud voices might, for a minute or two, shield her.
Her eyes shifted around.
Someone had been in her room, had come after her and was more than likely still looking for her. The danger wasn’t gone, at least not for her, and more importantly, not for Everett. Was the intruder connected with the hotel? He’d worn a similar jacket to hotel personnel. But there was something different in the way he had looked at her, the way he had acted. Plus, he’d worn a T-shirt beneath the jacket. That alone screamed fraud. She wasn’t sure who to trust. She needed Talib desperately and she needed him now.
She remembered Talib telling her that if she sensed trouble and she couldn’t, for any reason, get a hold of him, to contact his oldest brother, Emir. She had yet to follow that advice, but she hadn’t been in a situation such as this. She pulled out her phone and the card he’d given her.
Emir answered with worry evident in his voice.
She frowned. That was odd. The worry was almost an omen, for it was so unlike the man she’d met, or the stories of him that Talib had told her. Something was going on but she was in no position to ask what.
“Where’s Talib?” she asked shortly.
“Sara, what’s wrong?” he asked instead of answering her question. His voice sounded rather stressed and there was a rush of traffic noise, a car honking in the background.
She didn’t ask about any of it. She only explained what was happening.
“You were right to call me, Sara. I’ll be there in five minutes. I’m actually just a few blocks away. Never mind, I’ll talk to you when I get there. Stay where you are, where security can see you. And no worries, I’ll handle that situation, as well.”
She almost smiled at that, if smiling was even a possibility considering the circumstances. Security wasn’t detaining her but she could feel their unsmiling looks burning into her. They weren’t about to let her out of their sight and although it was for a different reason, that fact was oddly comforting. She put her phone into her pocket. Then she pulled out a toy car for Everett out of her other pocket. She could see two brawny security men now moving in her direction. They were well-dressed but their broad shoulders and unforgiving faces told her clearly who and what they were. But before they could reach her, the elevator doors opened and Andre rushed out.
“Madam,” he said. It was the title he’d always referred to her as and it had always seemed like he was giving her the respect offered an older woman. But at twenty-five, it had seemed odd. Hearing it now was comforting. Seeing a familiar face was a relief.
“You’re all right?”
“I think so. The security...”
“Won’t touch you,” he said. He turned to Everett and took the chubby face in his big hands and then pretended to take his nose, making the boy laugh. His dark eyes met hers. “You left the room,” he said in an accusing voice.
She nodded. “There was a man leaving my room. We ran and I pulled the alarm.” She didn’t bother to mention her earlier infraction, the one that put them in the hallway to begin with. He didn’t push the issue. She imagined with Talib she wouldn’t be so lucky. But that was later.
Where was he? She picked up Everett. “Mama,” he whined, struggling to get down.
She held him tighter as she turned her attention back to Andre, realizing that he was still speaking and she’d missed what he’d said. “I’m sorry. I was distracted and didn’t hear what you said.”
“It’s all right,” he replied. “I was saying that I suspected something like that when I saw you were missing. I’ve had the hotel locked down,” he said gravely. He glanced behind them. “They know you pulled the alarm?”
She nodded.
“I’ll handle it.” It was a man’s voice behind her. The voice was distinctive and one she’d heard only recently. She turned to see Emir and felt relief, while at the same time her heart sank. The arrival of Talib’s brother only made his absence so much more noticeable. Where was Talib?
“Stay there,” Emir said as he motioned to Sara. “Andre, come with me,” he said in a voice that was easy and yet commanding at the same time.
Everett poked her lip with his finger and squirmed to get onto the ground. Her arms still ached from carrying him down the stairs. If Talib had been here, he’d take him from her. In such a short time, she’d gotten used to that small act of chivalry. She’d gotten used to a lot of things. She was here under the name Al-Nassar, under Talib’s name, his protection, and she needed him desperately.
What would she do if she couldn’t find him?