The Sheik's Reluctant Hostage (The Quabeca Sheiks 2)

“Who?” Akeem snapped.

“Not you.”

“I'm fine,” Anwar replied quietly.

Moments later Anwar nodded off at the wheel for a few seconds losing control of the car. Mona and Saja both screamed out. The roads were too bumpy. He was not able to regain control and they flipped over and over a few times. When the car stopped, they all remained still, too shocked to move.

El-Tamar heard the noise and looked in the rear-view mirror. His eyes flew open and he stopped immediately when he realised it was their car. He got out of the car and ran to them with his wife and Aman following closely behind. Guadalupe had been driving behind them. He quickly pulled up when the car flipped over.

Saja opened her eyes. She looked around and realised what had just happened. “Are you okay?” she asked Mona.

Nodding, “Are you okay?” Mona asked her.

“I am.” Saja unbuckled her seatbelt. She tried to open the door but it was jammed. She had to crawl out the window. She reached her hands in to help Mona out. El-Tamar and Guadalupe had already pulled out Anwar and Akeem. They had not even bothered to check on the others.

“Anwar! Speak to me,” Abia cried out her. His eyes were blinking as he was drifting in and out of conscious. After a few seconds, he passed out. Akeem was unharmed. He stood with his family, trying to wake up Anwar. Mona and Saja helped the creepy man out of the car. No one had even bothered to see if he was ok. He had a cut in his side. Saja ripped his shirt and used it as a bandage. “Press hard on the wound to stop the bleeding,” she said to Mona. She nodded and did what she was told.

“Son, wake up!” El-Tamar called out. Saja walked over to see what was happening. Abia pushed her away.

“This is your fault,” Abia said.

Saja was not even paying attention to her. She crouched down next to his body. She placed her fingers on his neck to check his pulse. “He has a pulse, but it’s weak,” Saja said.

“You can get away from him now,” Aman said to her. She ignored him and carried on inspecting his body. He was not badly injured from the accident. He had a shallow cut on his arm. She paused for a moment as she remembered his earlier symptoms.

“Was he sick? Does he have a condition?” Saja asked.

“He had a slight cough that's all, why?” Akeem replied.

“He did not look so well when he was driving, and earlier today, he seemed pale.”

“It's not like there is anything you can do. Just get…” Abia said. Before she finished speaking, Saja cut her off.

“I am a doctor, now shut up if you do not have anything useful to say,” Saja snapped. Abia really got under her skin and she couldn’t focus with her blabbering.

“You're lucky she is not letting him die,” Mona called out. After everything they had done to her, she was still trying to help them. Anwar regained consciousness for a few seconds and then started seizing. Saja quickly held his head to stop him from hitting it against the ground. “Is there a first aid kit?” she shouted out. Guadalupe's three men were standing at a distance watching.

Guadalupe scrambled to his car. He had brought a few medical supplies. He returned with them and placed them next to Saja. El-Tamar and his sons were startled to see Anwar seizing. They had never seen him like that. He passed out again after the seizure. Saja opened the bag of supplies and looked through it. She grabbed the sphygmomanometer and took his blood pressure. It was very high. She checked his pulse once more, it was irregular.

She took a moment to think what was wrong with him. Her eyes flew open. “Does anyone have a knife?” Saja asked. Her tone had changed. She sounded panicked. Guadalupe reached in his pocket and pulled out a pocketknife. He handed it to her.

“What is that for?” Abia screamed out and held Saja's hand.

“I think he has a raised intracranial pressure and I need to reduce it now,” Saja replied.

“You think or you know? I do not believe you!”

“It's either I drain out the CSF or he dies. Your call.”

“What is CSF?” El-Tamar asked.

“Cerebrospinal fluid,” Saja replied. They all looked at her questioningly. “There is no time for that!” she screamed out and yanked her hand away from Abia. She held Anwar's head. She started feeling his temples with her fingers. She moved her fingers slightly towards his forehead. She had to get the right place otherwise, things would get worse.

“What are you doing?” Akeem asked her. He was getting impatient. She was taking too long.

“If I cut the wrong place, he might haemorrhage,” Saja said. Her eyes widened when she found the place

she needed. “I need a tube or something like it,” she called out. Everyone was looking at her nervously. They did not understand what she was doing. Mona asked the creepy man to keep pressure on his wound. She got up and ran to assist Saja.