The Sheik's Mysterious Mistress Page 0,9
opposite sides. Thankfully, she had been training for just such an event and didn’t hesitate. At the last moment, just as one of them reached out intending to swing at her, she ducked, then swung up with her arm in perfect form, catching one with her elbow just under the rib cage and the other man she smacked with her fist into his nose. Both men roared backwards, obviously unprepared for her to react like that. As she looked around, she realized that one had a bloody nose and the other was clenching his oversized gut. And both were furious with her.
She didn’t wait around for introductions but swung her leg out, tripping one man and forcing him sideways. The other had enough time to realize what she was doing and jumped at the last second. So Dana spun around and kicked with all her might, throwing him off balance. And then, without compassion, she kicked upwards, aiming for and hitting a man’s most sensitive area. The big man doubled over in pain which gave her enough time to focus on the other man who was now getting up from his tumble of moments before.
They glared at each other, both assessing the other’s next move. Dana knew that it was never good to wait. With one hand, she reached out and grabbed the apples that were in the basket behind her. As missiles, they were ineffective. As distractions, they were perfect. The man was too busy dodging the apples to attack, which gave Dana the ability to get into position. With his bleeding nose still gushing, she aimed one more apple at his head which caused both his hands to go up, protecting his face. That gave her just enough time and she swung around for momentum, slamming her elbow into his kidney with as much strength as possible.
With both men doubled over in pain, she turned and was shocked to see a crowd of people standing there staring at her. No time to wait around and explain, she dug into her purse and put some money on the vendor’s table, then dashed out of the market as fast as she could.
When she reached her car, she slammed it into gear and headed for the palace, trying to calm down enough to get through security. By the time she reached the gates, she was able to at least present a calm façade even though her heart was racing overtime.
As she parked her car in the normal spot, she looked over at her passenger seat and had to laugh. She’d at least gotten through the marketplace with her groceries!
Biting her lip, she looked at the employee entrance and tried to figure out what she could do. She was here, inside the palace gates so she was safe at least for the moment. The men obviously didn’t know where she lived since they’d attacked her in the busy market instead of at her apartment so that was a plus. She’d just have to be extra careful about getting to and from work for a while until she could figure out what to do and where to go next. She’d have to give notice to Hassan, she thought and her heart cried out against that plan. She couldn’t imagine going the rest of her life without seeing his stern expression or hear his chuckle when someone said something funny or ridiculous. Even if that comment was from her because he disagreed with her politics. She didn’t mind his amusement since every once in a while she was able to change his mind.
He would never admit that she’d done so though. She took a deep, shaky breath and focused on her current problem, pushing Hassan and his humor out of the way so she could figure out her next move.
Even though she didn’t want to, leaving really was her only option. She had to do it regardless of her feelings for the man himself. He already had enough danger in his life, he didn’t need her problems added onto them. Besides, she was fully capable of hiding from those men and she couldn’t hide in the palace forever. Pretty soon, they were going to find out where she lived. If it meant running for the rest of her life, at least she’d be alive to run. It wasn’t much, but things could be worse. At least this way, she’d have a chance to see the world and experience more adventures. However much she loved