Anything He Wants: Castaway #2 (Anything He Wants 7) by Sara Fawkes Read Free Book Online Page A

people away from the bar itself, which made moving through the crowd easier. When I saw the woman again, I relaxed as I saw the big smile on her face. The bustle of a nearby kitchen grew louder, and as I neared Amyrah she jerked sideways suddenly, disappearing from my view.
    I stopped, surprised. Craning my neck around a man who’d moved in front of me, I found I couldn’t see Amyrah anymore. My skin prickled and, shoving the man aside, I ignored his angry yell as I moved quickly to the last spot where I’d seen the Muslim girl. When I’d gotten to the spot near the kitchen door where I’d last seen her, I looked all around but saw no other white headscarves, only the flowing hair of the Western female guests.
    There was a crash in the kitchen, and my head jerked sideways. I gave a moment’s pause, biting my lip as I realized I could get into real trouble if I was wrong, then barged into the kitchen. The sound of cutlery and fire rose up around me, but I could have sworn I heard a woman’s cry from my left. The kitchen staff were agitated, several of the men waving their arms in the air and shouting in Arabic, but I ignored them and took off after the cry. Several were incensed that I’d entered but I danced away from them, following what I hoped was the right lead.
    I heard another angry woman’s cry and, rounding the corner, saw a man carrying a robed figure in his arms. The figure was putting up a fight, and I recognized the now-dislodged white scarf still half-covering dark hair. I passed a tray holding an empty champagne bottle and grabbed it up as a weapon. Amyrah struggled in the man’s arms, and I knew the moment she saw me because her dark eyes widened. The last of my indecision melted away and I took the last few steps necessary and brought the bottle hard against the man’s head.
    He staggered, dropping Amyrah to the floor. When he turned back toward me I was already swinging the bottle a second time. This time it clipped him on the temple and he went down, sprawling across the ground as if dead. Dropping the bottle through limp fingers, I stared at the figure at my feet in horror. He was wearing hotel employee colors, and blood trickled down a gash to the right of his forehead.
    Ahead of me, Amyrah struggled to stand, and I stepped over the prone man to help the girl to her feet. She was staring down at her assailant, babbling in Arabic and clearly scared out of her wits. I said her name, then repeated it before she finally raised her eyes to me. “We need to go.”
    My words took a moment to register but she nodded. I grabbed her hand and pulled her after me, already lost in the maze of corridors. This looked more like the servants’ entrances than anything a hotel guest was meant to see. The walls were a pale utilitarian cream, nowhere near as decadent as the rest of the building. I pulled us through several twists and turns, then stopped and faced Amyrah. “We should get to a public area. Do you know your way out of here?”
    Having something to do snapped the girl out of her shock. “The shopping area is this way,” she said, turning down yet another of the hallways. I followed close behind, wishing now that I’d kept ahold of that glass bottle. The halls in this section were mostly empty, but I knew when we grew closer to the shopping district because I could hear the hum of voices grow louder.
    The door Amyrah pushed through led us out into another hallway that was different than the ones behind us. This one had mosaics on the wall and tiled floors, and I realized we were somewhere that guests would normally see. Sure enough, we spilled out directly into the main shopping area. I breathed a sigh of relief the moment I knew we were in public. Most of the people walking past ignored us, but at least I knew they were there to see if we needed help.
    I nudged Amyrah. “Which way to the lobby?” All I could think about was finding Jeremiah or Lucas. They’d know what to do with this