Mona was held down by the other soldier and was screaming hysterically. It broke Saja's heart to see Mona like that. She had been dragged into all of this because of her. Saja's last few days were tolerable because Mona was with her. How was she going to go on now without her? The soldier threw Saja into the car.
El-Tamar's remaining soldiers arrived. They reported that there was nothing suspicious at the house. They covered their tracks and made sure no one followed. El-Tamar nodded his head. Just as they were about to leave, they heard loud noises.
“What is that?” Akeem asked. He searched in the direction of the noise.
“Horses,” Guadalupe said.
They could hear the sound of horses beating hard on the desert floor. The sound got louder and louder. They could not even run because they would not make it. Cars were too slow on those roads. The man who was holding Mona down let her go and ran to the rest of the soldiers. They all started loading their guns. Mona got up and limped towards Saja.
Saja jumped out of the jeep and hugged Mona. The men on horseback quickly approached. They surrounded them. Saja gasped when she saw them. Tears flowed down her face. She could not believe her eyes. She blinked a couple of times to make sure that he wasn’t a mirage.
“Basil,” Saja breathed. He had come for her. At last, he was here. It felt like she had not seen him in decades. She locked eyes with him. He looked at her and what he saw broke his heart. She had a few bruises and cuts. Her top was torn at the bottom and there were bloodstains on it. He jumped off the horse. Saja wanted to go to him but Guadalupe held her back. He grabbed her and pointed the gun at her head.
“Are you sure you want to point that gun at my wife?” Basil asked him. Guadalupe looked at El-Tamar to wait for his okay. Abia shook her head “If you value your life, you will let her go this instance,” Basil added as he stepped towards them.
“Do not try anything,” Guadalupe said to Basil. Saja was growing tired of being a hostage. She bit into Guadalupe's hand really hard. He cried out in pain. Mona punched him in the head a few times. It gave Basil enough time to run there. He punched Guadalupe. Mona and Saja jumped out of the way. El-Tamar's men started shooting at Basil's soldiers.
Guadalupe could not even fight back. Basil was blocking all of his punches. He
punched him a few times with his left hand. He kneed him in the stomach, grabbed his head and hit it against the car a few times. Then he threw one last punch with his right hand, which knocked him unconscious. Guadalupe fell to the ground.
Basil grabbed Saja. He searched her eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked her. She smiled and nodded. He ushered her and Mona to the safety of the jeep.
Basil looked at El-Tamar and started walking towards him. He administered fatal blows to anyone who stood in his way. One man on the ground grabbed his leg to stop him from getting to El-Tamar. He dislocated the man's shoulder and kneed him in the face. He carried on walking. El-Tamar quickly picked up a gun and pointed it at the Prince. Basil did not even flinch. “I dare you,” Basil said to him and kept walking towards him.
“If you keep coming towards me, I will shoot,” El-Tamar screamed at the Prince.
“Then shoot,” Basil said.
El-Tamar's hand was shaking. He knew that if he shot the gun, there was no coming back from that. He could hear his wife screaming at him to shoot. Before he could even pull the trigger, the Prince was in front of him. Basil grabbed the gun from him and hit him in the face with it.
“Have mercy,” El-Tamar called out.
“You kidnapped my wife, your daughter. Why should I?” Basil barked. He started throwing punches at El-Tamar. Abia was screaming for the Prince to stop but he was not listening to her. He was so angry. All he could see was red. Akeem was hiding behind one of the cars crying. He knew it was a bad idea from the start.
“He came for you,” Mona said to Saja. They were watching all the action unfold from the jeep. Sounds of loud cries and gunshots filled the air. They noticed a man looking at Basil. He reached in his pocket for a gun. Saja jumped out of the jeep and picked up a rock. She squinted her eyes as she focused on him. She threw the stone at his head. He flinched in pain.
“Basil watch out!” Saja called out. Another man was pointing a gun at him. In a swift movement, Basil grabbed a small knife from his pocket and threw it at the man's thigh. He fell on one knee. One of Basil's men hit him in the back of the head a few times and knocked him unconscious.
The King and his men approached moments later further surrounding everyone. El-Tamar spat out blood. He was surprised to see the King. He hadn't expected Basil to come. It was even more shocking to see the King. “Lower your weapons,” he called out to his men. There was no point in fighting any longer. They were outnumbered from the start. Now that the King was here with his soldiers, they were even more outnumbered. Fighting the King was treason. Even their grandchildren would be punished for it.
El-Tamar's men dropped their guns and surrendered. Saja ran to Basil and jumped on him. She wrapped her arms around him. It was finally over. The nightmare had gone on for too long. Saja held Basil's face in her hands as she kissed him. “You came for me,” she said to him.
“Of course I did,” he said to her and kissed her. Basil put Saja down. The King got off his horse and walked towards them. He nodded at his brother. Saja took a step towards him and hugged him. She was so pleased to see him.
“They hurt you,” the King said to Saja. She was covered in bruises and had a few cuts.
“I am okay,” she said and smiled at him.
She did not look okay to him. He looked at El-Tamar. “I am surprised he's still alive,” the King said. He didn't expect his brother to let him live. He kicked him in the head. “Bastard,” he said calmly. He dared to put hands on Saja. He did not deserve to live.
* * * * *
It had been days since they found the two women and Saja was almost back to her old self. The bruising had disappeared and the cuts were almost gone. They had been staying at the King's palace. It was closer to Noor City than Quabeca and the King insisted, as he wanted his doctor to examine both Saja and Mona to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong with either of them.
Saja smiled as she woke to Basil staring at her. “What would I do without you?” he said to her. She reached out and touched his cheek.
“It is I who can't live without you,” she said to him.