Passage to Queen Mesentia Page 9

  “Fine,” Lilly said and took money from her purse and handed it to the man. She grabbed one of the bags he held, pulling it over her head so it hung from one shoulder and wore it like a satchel.

  “You’re shopping?” Wade whispered as he put his attention back on Schelsteder, whose pace had quickened. Wade felt a wave of relief when he realized his sights were set in front of him, most likely to the far street Lilly had wanted to run to. As soon as Schelsteder walked passed them, Wade grabbed Lilly’s hand and they ran to the abandoned cab. They opened the door, got in, and locked it.

  “Drive,” Wade said.

  Schelsteder was at the car door immediately, trying to open it. Wade could see his other hand on a small pistol tucked inside his pants, normally hid by his jacket. The taxi screeched out onto the road, headed in the direction of the museum, leaving Schelsteder amidst exhaust.

  Wade exhaled heavily as he melted back onto the seat. “That was close.”

  “Where do we go?” Lilly asked excitedly. “What do we do now? I can’t believe he was chasing us. We can’t go back to the hotel. Did you see his gun? Oh my goodness, what are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know about you, but all this Indiana Jones stuff has me famished.”

  Chapter 13

  Lilly had told the cab driver to take them to the Ali Baba Café on Khaled Ibn El Walid, which was behind the Luxor Temple and close to the ferry. Since the restaurant was located upstairs, it had an excellent view of the street. But Lilly couldn’t take her eyes off of Wade. He sat across from her, unshaven, dirty, and with hat-hair, shoving his spaghetti bolognaise inside his mouth. If it would’ve been a couple of days earlier, she would have been embarrassed by his caveman-like manners. This thought made her feel a bit foolish with the way she had treated him because all she felt at that moment, was safe. She felt safe, even though they were being chased down the street in a foreign land by a lunatic. She knew she wouldn’t have felt safer nor did she want to be with any other person—man—at that moment.

  She had been asking herself over the past weeks, ‘Why?’ Why did I choose him over my parents?

  Lilly moved her vegetables around on her plate thinking about the first time she had met Wade. She and Grant had stopped by Starbucks on their way to a movie.

  Grant had stood in front of her in line and asked what she wanted. She’d told him, “a tall vanilla latte.” He had order her a tall decaf vanilla latte with skim milk.

  Someone behind her had cleared their throat, loudly. She ignored it, not thinking much about it. However, after she and Grant had found a seat outside and had begun to talk about their wedding plans, two guys sat down at the table next to theirs. Again, she didn’t think much about it, until the wind started blowing, sending the scent of gasoline in her direction. She glanced over at the two filthy guys in matching dirty, blue work shirts.

  Grant was saying, “I think we should let Aunt C make our cake.”

  “Wait a minute. We already discussed this. I have our appointment set up for—”

  “Don’t interrupt me,” he’d said sharply and this had been the second time he’d been short with her since they’d sat down. She didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to start a public argument.

  So she had let him talk and plan their wedding. After about 15 minutes, he glanced at his watch and told her he had to leave.

  “Where are you going? Are you going to meet me at the theatre?”

  “Oh, didn’t I tell you? I can’t make it tonight. We’ll catch one later this weekend. You understand.” He kissed her on the forehead and walked out to the parking lot. In shock and annoyance, she watched him open his car door and get in and drive away.

  “Okay,” she said to herself. She sat there for a few minutes considering calling a friend to go watch the movie with her when she heard the guy next to her say, “Don’t interrupt me,” mockingly.

  She turned her head to listen, wondering if this stranger was actually making fun of her. The very idea!

  And then she heard, “You understand,” in an insultingly deep voice. Grant’s voice was deeper than average so she knew this time that this person was being extremely rude. She turned all the way around so she could see the men sitting at the other table.

  The guy who faced her shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as if to say, “It wasn’t me,” and nodded towards the other guy.

  “What? Is she looking at me?”

  The guy nodded and smiled widely.

  The rude guy turned slowly, and that was the first time Lilly had ever seen Wade’s piercing blue eyes; they were wow. He was suntanned and had straight blonde hair and he was filthy and rude. She hated that there was an undeniable and immediate attraction that caused her to escape eye contact.

  “Did your dad leave?”

  “Excuse me?” Her eyes automatically shot back to his face.

  “Your pops, he finally took a hike.”

  “He’s not my dad! He’s my fiancé!”

  “Well, the way he ordered for you and then—”

  “Not that it is any of your business, but he was treating me like a lady. Something, I’m sure, you know nothing about.”

  “Maybe not. But I do know the difference between treating someone like a lady and treating them like a child.” At that, he turned back to who she now knew was Wade’s brother, Colt.

  Lilly’s face was hot with embarrassment and exasperation at this stranger’s gall. “Didn’t your mother teach you any manners? You are extremely rude.”

  He turned back around taking his time to really examine her, making her feel a little vulnerable and flattered at the same time. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude to you. Your fiancé is a jerk and shouldn’t have treated someone like you, like that. When you’re my fiancée, you’ll understand what being treated like a lady really means.”

  She had caught it: the “when” instead of “if” in his comment, and she knew for sure that her face was the color of a big fat apple. She had no words, only chills and tingles. She did wish he would turn around already and stop staring at her. Her glance, that was dancing around everywhere but eye contact, landed on his shirt pocket that had the words, “Wade Roberts Kits Auto Shop,” and it burned into her brain. “I don’t …” she had nothing to say and couldn’t sit there any longer feeling so awkward. She grabbed her purse and walked to her car.

  She fumbled with the key and the door until it finally opened, and then she quickly got in. As she put her key in the ignition, she tried not to look at him… but did. They made eye contact as she put the car in gear. He smiled at her. His eyes were gentle, almost sad, like he was watching a long lost friend leave his life forever. After she pulled out of the parking lot onto the street, she couldn’t get him out her mind.

  Lilly went on to the movies with a girlfriend that night but now couldn’t even remember which movie they had watched, because she didn’t watch it. All of her thoughts had been about the arrogant, attractive man she’d talked to at Starbucks. How had he made her feel so sexy just by looking at her? Guilt slid into her thoughts every once in awhile because she also imagined things that hadn’t happened. And then she actually did the unimaginable the next day.

  “What am I doing? What am I doing?” she’d asked herself as she pulled into Kit’s Auto Shop. Her heart pounded. She had never done anything so bold before. But she hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. She had to see him one more time. Because there was a powerful pull there. Something she had never felt before. Not even with Grant. Nobody.

  She walked inside the little office beside the garage. There was an older man at the counter who asked if he could help her.

  “Umm, I think I might need an oil change.”

  “It’ll be a few minutes. Can you wait?”

  “Sure,” she said, glancing outside to see if she could see Wade through the glass walls of the office. She didn’t see him and wasn’t sure if she felt relieved or upset. At least she would be able to get her
oil changed, if nothing else. The problem was, she knew she wouldn’t be able to let it go. She would have to come back, or ask about him. She sat down in one of the grungy plastic chairs trying to figure out what the next reason would be to bring in her brand new Mercedes when he walked in.

  Wade’s initial expression was of shock and disbelief which slowly turned into a devilish grin; the confident smirk that she had come to recognize as “I’m so clever” but also caused his blue eyes to sparkle and made her melt.

  Regret washed over her, and she wished she could disappear. They both knew why she was there. “You work here?” she asked quietly.

  “That’s right. Says so, right here on my shirt.”

  “I need my oil changed. My car is the white one.”

  “I remember,” he said, losing the grin. “That’s why I came in here. I was hoping it was you.”

  Chills.

  Wade walked closer, wiping his hands with a red rag that appeared filthier than his hands. In fact, she thought he was even dirtier than he had been the day before; he even had grease smudged on his face.

  “Do you have plans for the night?” he asked.

  “That’s a long time to change oil.”

  “That’s not what I mean.” Wade’s gaze was so serious it made her lose her breath for a second. “I want to see you again. Are you busy, tonight?”

  Within her mind she was arguing, going over all the reasons why she should say yes and take a chance for once in her life. All the reasons she should say no. She should definitely say no. She couldn’t go on a date when she was engaged. It was crazy. Stupid. What was she doing here? She should leave that very instant. She shook her head as she stood up. “I uhh—”

  “It’s not a date,” he said as if reading her mind. “I’m going to a car show at the stadium with some friends… just friends. I can… we can meet you there.”

  Friends. Okay. She was going to go hangout with new friends… that she knew nothing about. But they were new. Nobody knew anything about new friends. “Okay,” she blurted and walked as quickly past him as possible while maintaining her composure until she reached the door.

  “Can I have your number?”

  She stopped with her hand on the door and turned. “What?”

  “I’ve been kicking myself ever since you left yesterday because I didn’t ask for your number…. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”

  She had given him her number, telling herself she was only giving it to him in case something came up and he and his friends couldn’t make it. She told herself the reason she didn’t tell Grant she was going out with new friends was because he would be worried about her and that it was a onetime thing. One little bitty lie before she got married. Because she was going to marry Grant. She was. They had practically been engaged since birth.

  After she’d arrived at Reliant Stadium, it had taken her a minute to recognize the guy in tight blue-jeans, shiny belt buckle, boots, and hat as Wade. She should have guessed he was a cowboy.

  “Are you ready to go in?” he asked.

  “What about your friends?”

  He grinned and raised one of his eyebrows. “Yeah right. Then I would’ve had to share you.”

  Lilly was a little taken aback by the way he threw his arm around her, pulling her close to him, and began walking toward the entrance, like she belonged to him—but that was the very second she knew she did.

  But she’d never given herself completely to him. Had she? He had asked her to marry him twice and both times she had said no. She wondered now if it was because of the way he’d asked or if that had only been excuses. Was she scared to say yes because of the way she had ditched Grant? Was that guilt still there? Or had it been because of her parents? Either way, it wasn’t fair to Wade.

  As she sat there now, she thought it all ironic. If she had never met Wade, she would have never been able to shut him out the way she’d been doing the last couple of weeks. The person who had taught her to stand up for herself and to be independent was now in the line of fire.

  Things began to clear in her head, and she knew why she’d stayed with Wade. She’d stayed in Houston, with him, because he made her feel comfortable in her own skin. He never expected her to be more than what she was. He had a way of making her feel like she was the most important person in the world. She had stayed with Wade Roberts because she didn’t want to live without him. She really really loved him… and he loved her.

  At least, he had before everything happened. What had she done?

  “You were saying something about The Valley of the Kings when we were at the museum?” Wade checked the busy street, like he had been doing every couple of minutes in-between bites and then looked back at her.

  She’d heard the question and nodded but was having a difficult time shaking the dread and guilt she felt at that moment.

  “You okay?”

  She nodded again but didn’t look at him.

  “Lilly, it’s okay. We lost him.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “About… you know.”

  “Yeah, that’s what you said,” Wade spit out quickly. “Now what were you saying about the Valley of the Kings?”

  She closed her eyes for a second, trying to compose herself because she knew she deserved his aloofness. “Right.” She took a sip of her tea and then said, “The sign on the funeral boats said they were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, which is in the Valley of the Kings.”

  “So you think your parents hid the statue in King Tut’s tomb?”

  “No, but they rented office space close to it for whenever they came to town to do work around here.”

  “Okay, well that makes sense. Where is it exactly?”

  “On the West bank, across the Nile. We can ride the ferry across.” She was afraid to ask the question that was on her mind so she spoke softly. “Do you think we should call Ben?”

  “Yeah, I do,” he said as he glanced up at her. He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “We should warn him about Schelsteder. He may have followed us from the hotel. And if so, he’s probably casing the place or even searching for us there. We should probably plan to meet at another hotel or something this evening.”

  “There are a lot of hotels on the other side. We can have Ben meet us there. Did you want to call him?”

  “No, you can.”

  Their eyes met, and she nodded her head. “Okay.”

  “And before we go I want to get some supplies. I want a map and a weapon. I feel naked without my knife.”

  An hour later they were on their way across the Nile on a white ferry decorated with colorful flags. They stood by the railing, the hot mid-day sun feeling warmer over the open water. Wade had his newly acquired map open. Lilly knew he must have hated feeling totally lost here. He was so used to knowing his way around Houston and San Antonio with his eyes shut.

  “Where is it?” he asked flipping the map the other way around.

  “Here,” she pointed about an inch away from the Nile. “It’s a travel agency. My parents rented from them yearly, so most likely it hasn’t been rented to anyone else. I also remember reading something about it in one of Mom’s recent journals. I used to come here with them when I was little, but I don’t remember much about the office. It was really boring, so I would hang out at the Flats of Luxor Hotel while they worked. Since that was the only hotel I could remember off the top of my head, that’s the one I told Ben to meet us at tonight whenever he was able to travel.”

  “Did you tell him about Schelsteder and to watch for a tail?”

  “Yeah, I told him. He said not to worry.”

  Wade folded the map back up clumsily, fitting it into his back pocket and put his hat down a little on his forehead. “Don’t worry, huh? He’s all napping in the A.C. while we’re out in this heat being chased by a psycho. It better be in that office. If it’s not, I don’t know what our next move will be.”

  “Well, maybe if we can’t find it, Schelsteder won’t be able to either.”


  “True. That was the whole point, anyway. To make sure Schelsteder didn’t get his hands on it.”

  She nodded and felt a little light headed. It had been a very long day. The guilt over hurting him gnawed at her stomach, and she wished she could have the last couple of days back.

  “Are you okay?” Wade asked.

  “No, not really. We need to talk about this. About us and about what happened. You have to know that I have no feelings for Ben.”

  “Right.” He clicked the side of his cheek and looked out onto the water instead of at her.

  “I know I messed up. I’ve never regretted anything more in my life than that… kiss. I was in the moment, I guess. I’ve been so confused and sick after my mom and dad’s deaths and maybe… maybe, I did blame you.”

  “No kidding.”

  “Now I see I was wrong. I was so wrong to blame you for that. The really messed up thing is that I had realized that even before the train. I’m really confused as to why I let that happen.”

  “Yeah, me, too.”

  “I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t forgive me—”

  “Good,” he said and walked away.

  She squeezed her eyes together as her stomach sank. She was so tired and yawned even as she began to cry silent tears.

  Chapter 14

  Wade stood with his back against the ferry cabin, glaring at Lilly who still stood by the railing, her back to him. He didn’t know what the hell to think or what the hell she thought she was doing to him? Did she enjoy having him on a string like a yoyo? Come here… go away… come here… He refused to take it any longer. The only reason he could come up with as to why she had begun craw-fishing was because he had finally given up on her. The thrill of the unattainable again.

  And did she really think that was an apology? I was in the moment. However, maybe that statement did explain a lot about what was going on. Because he knew that as soon as Benny-boy showed his kingly self again, Lilly would be all goo-goo eyed. “Oh, I couldn’t help myself…” she would say. There was no way he could let his heart be stomped on again! He couldn’t take it. Sweat ran out from under his hat and everywhere else; he just knew it was because his blood was boiling.