There was another blast. The air was filled with smoke and the screams of delegates. Everywhere Zaid looked, there were people running, most of them delegates headed for the coach that had brought them here.
Zaid took off running too, searching for Rebecca and Calum. He had just caught sight of a flash of red hair at the rear of the crowd running toward the parking area when the third blast hit, and the front of the building erupted into flames. The sound was deafening and the Sheikh ducked as debris blasted around him. He heard Rebecca scream. The two security guards who’d been following him fell silent, as if they’d been swallowed by the dust that choked the air. He didn’t hear Calum either. He feared the worst. He’d just met his son for the first time. He couldn’t lose him now. Not like this. Not this soon.
“Calum?” he shouted. “Calum!” There was no answer. “Calum!” he shouted again, peering desperately through the settling dust to find his son. After what felt like an eternity but could only have been a matter of seconds, he saw a man walking away leading Calum by the hand. Relieved to see that Calum appeared okay, he rushed toward them, still unable to hear properly. Grabbing Calum’s free hand, he scooped the little boy into his arms, nodding briefly to the man before turning to look for Rebecca.
Calling out her name, he looked down to reassure his son and saw blood running down his cheek. “Oh shit,” Zaid muttered as he held him tightly in his arms.
“Rebecca,” he called out, again.
“Zaid?” he heard her calling for him. She sounded scared and panicked in the dead silence following the blast.
They ran into each other in the gray dust, and she screamed when she saw Calum. “What are we going to do?” she cried out to Zaid as soon as she saw the blood. “What did they do to my son?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Zaid told her. “But we’re going to get him to a hospital. Now.”
When they got back to the cars, Zaid could see that the guests were climbing into the coach, frazzled but mostly fine. “If anyone needs a doctor,” he shouted, “follow us. We’re heading to the hospital.”
He flung open the back door of the Mercedes and waited for Rebecca to slide in before handing her Calum. Looking around for the driver, he didn’t see him anywhere. Swearing, he slammed the door shut before shifting around to the front and climbing into the driver’s seat. Starting the car, he threw it in gear and made a hard turn, shooting sand and dirt up behind them as he hit the gas pedal too hard before heading for the road.
A million frantic thoughts rushed through his mind as he drove. Where were his security guards? Where was Alacabak? Who did this? Why did they do it? Was the palace okay?
Oh God, was anyone inside hurt? Or worse?
Was Calum going to be okay?
What about Rebecca?
“Hold on,” he yelled, as he drove. Looking in the rearview mirror, he watched Rebecca cuddle Calum against her.
Assuming that any member of his security detail was able, news of the blast will have reached his father and brothers by now. At the very least, emergency services will be able to treat the wounded. His first priority, however, was making sure Calum and Rebecca were okay, and he wouldn’t have that answer until after they were seen at the hospital. Looking in his side mirror, he caught sight of the coach rapidly catching up with them.
Good, at least he’d keep everyone together.
In the back seat, Rebecca murmured over and over, “You’re going to be fine, Calum. You’re going to be just fine.”
“Are you okay back there?” he called to Rebecca, trying to meet her eyes in the rear view mirror.
“We’re okay for now. I’m putting pressure on the cut, but there seems to be a lot of blood, Zaid.”
The panic in her voice pushed him to drive faster to the hospital, even as he said, “Head wounds always bleed a lot, even the small ones.”
In the distance, he heard the sirens of emergency personnel rushing to the factory. He stepped on the gas. If he didn’t hurry, they’d be surrounded by the vehicles clogging the road trying to get to the factory.
“What the hell was that, Zaid?” Rebecca asked.
“I don’t know. Nothing like that has ever happened in my lifetime here. I just don’t know.”
13
Rebecca cradled Calum in her arms and rubbed his back to soothe his crying while she listened to the doctor.
“While this is a minor cut,” the doctor explained, “it will heal better, be less likely to scar with stitches, but there’s nothing to worry about. And the stitches will come out before you know it.”
“Okay,” Rebecca said shakily. “Is there anything else I need to do?”
“Just make sure that he doesn’t scratch at them. Keep the area clean, watch for redness, tenderness, signs of infection. You know, the usual. The stitches will come out on their own when they’re ready.” The doctor patted her on her shoulder on his way out of the room.
Rebecca looked over at Zaid. He stood in the far corner of the room, watching with a guarded look on his face. You told me it was safe! You told me we’d be safe! she wanted to yell at him. You brought your son to this god-forsaken country against my wishes! If she hadn’t been crowded around a hospital bed, she would have shouted all this and worse, maybe pummeled him with her fists.