Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

J asmine hadn't thought she'd be able to sleep. The conversation with Derrick had been frustrating—and confusing. Derrick had been angry, but not for long. He'd returned to the kind man he'd always been.

In telling him her terrible secret, had she put some of her burden on him? Because, when she was finished, and when he'd touched her so gently and called her sweetheart, she'd felt unburdened in a way she hadn't in months. Perhaps years.

Nothing had changed, of course. She was still the wife of Khalid Qasim, still carrying his heir. But now that Derrick knew the secret, she could tell the rest of his family.

Derrick hadn't rejected her. He still wanted her, though it seemed impossible. And she found that nobody else's opinion mattered to her at all, not compared to his.

With the pillow beneath her head and the warm blanket Derrick had tucked around her, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"Hey, bud. You okay?"

Derrick's words, spoken softly beside her, pulled her back to consciousness .

"I need to go to the bathroom," Rabie said.

They'd been driving a long time, and Jasmine needed to stop as well.

"Okay," Derrick said. "We'll find you one."

The faint dings told her Rabie was playing on his video game.

She sat up and stretched, glancing at the clock. It was after midnight, meaning she'd slept for over an hour.

Derrick ignored an exit that seemed it would have been a good place. She spied many gas stations and restaurants right off the highway.

"Would there not have been bathrooms there?" she asked, twisting to look as they zoomed past.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Did you get a good nap?"

She yawned. "I can drive, if you wish. But I also need to use the restroom, please."

"I need to find someplace a little less crowded."

It was another few minutes before he exited the highway and parked on the side of a small, remote gas station. "You two stay here. I need to see if they sell baseball caps, just in case there are cameras."

"But I need to go!" Rabie whined in the backseat.

"Rabie," she snapped. "Do not argue. You can wait." She met Derrick's eyes and let a little pleading fill her voice. "You will hurry, I'm sure."

"I promise." Leaving the car running, Derrick jogged inside.

Rabie returned his focus to his game, and Jasmine closed her eyes. She ought to help Derrick with the driving so he could sleep, but she felt sluggish and drowsy. Perhaps she should ask him to buy her something caffeinated. She rarely indulged in drinks with…

A door jerked opened. Derrick, already?

But Rabie gasped .

She spun in time to see his legs yanked out of the car, his feet kicking furiously.

"Rabie!" She reached for him as if she could pull him back. But he was gone.

Her door flew open.

A hand clamped on her mouth, and a man leaned in, his thick arm wrapping around her waist. He pulled her from the car.

She grabbed the door handle and hung on, kicking behind her, aiming for something, anything to make the man loosen his hold. She whipped her head back and forth, desperate to free her mouth. To breathe. To scream.

"Let go!" He spoke Arabic, his words a growl in her ear. "Yasamin! Let it go."

Her name in his mouth only made her hold onto the car tighter.

His hand loosened from her mouth.

She gasped.

But a sharp jab to her midsection cut off her scream.

Her grip slipped, and the man dragged her away.