Read Online Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker - Free Book Online Page A

right. Dear God, have mercy on them both, Sultana was right.
    Miriam looked back at the shops. A woman draped in black faced them. “You’re right.” She faced Sultana. “You’re right.”
    â€œThere’s only one thing you can do,” her friend said.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œRun.”
    The possibility stunned Miriam into a momentary silence.
    â€œYou can’t be serious.”
    â€œYes, I am! You have to run. If you stay, you will either be beaten into submission or end up dead like Sita.”
    â€œRun?” Miriam’s heart began to pound. A long silence stretched between them. Two years earlier, on a girlish whim, they had drawn up a detailed plan to run away to the United States and convinced each other the idea would work. Not that they ever intended to use it. “Those were childish plans. They would never work.”
    â€œDoes Salman still keep the same safe?”
    â€œYes. I think so. What if I get caught?”
    â€œThen they’ll force you to marry Omar anyway. That’s why this is the right time to run. They need you, don’t you see? They can’t just kill you.”
    Her friend had a point. “They may not kill me, but I’d pay a high price.”
    â€œThe price of not trying could be higher.”
    Miriam could not decide. Most women she knew had a hard enough time getting out of the house, much less getting out of the country. Who was she to think she could run?
    â€œWhat about Samir? I can’t just leave him.”
    â€œLeave him? You will leave him no matter what you choose. You think Omar will allow you to keep this secret love of yours?”
    Sita floated to the top of Miriam’s mind. She faced the wall. “How will I ever make it? When I went to America to study, I was under guard the whole time. I had servants . Now you expect me to just fly there and strike up a life on my own? This isn’t like deciding to go on a shopping trip.”
    â€œNo, of course it’s not. But a shopping trip can’t buy you freedom.
    Freedom, Miriam!”
    â€œWhat if they come after me?”
    â€œIf? They will. But America’s a big country. I’m telling you, Miriam, you have to run. Tomorrow.”
    Miriam closed her eyes. The prospect of marrying Omar wasn’t unlike swallowing acid. Samir . . . dear Samir!
    â€œI’m not sure I can leave Samir.”
    Sultana grunted her frustration.
    They had planned their escapade down to the last detail: the permission to travel required of all women, the passport, the money, the destination—everything. Actually doing it would be like jumping off a cliff, but Miriam was in a free fall already. Yes, marrying Omar might be worse than death.
    â€œCould you get me to Jidda on one of your husband’s Learjets?”
    â€œOf course. I travel there regularly—the pilot wouldn’t suspect a thing. But why to Jidda? I thought—”
    â€œBeing collected for a marriage wasn’t part of our plan. The sheik will come for me tomorrow, but if I convinced Samir that I have to go to Jidda for an urgent shopping trip, they would be forced to wait until my return. It will buy us time. And send them in the wrong direction.”
    â€œSamir knows about the wedding?” They were talking quickly, in hushed tones now.
    â€œNo.”
    The wedding —it sounded strange. Horrible. “I would double back to Riyadh for a flight to Paris and then go on. If I’m doing this, I have to do it right.”
    Miriam saw the faint outlines of a smile through Sultana’s veil. “That’s the Miriam I know.”
    They talked for another twenty minutes, reviewing the plan with care. Sultana finally took her arm and steered her back toward the shops. “We have to be careful. Is Salman due back tomorrow?”
    â€œNot for three days.”
    â€œThen bring all the documents with the money and meet me at the airport tomorrow morning at nine