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Authors: Christine Pope
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me.
Certainly not Julia Innes, whom he had kidnapped to help further his sister’s twisted ends. True, Qadim had ended up assisting Julia and her friends, but at the time his motivations had been anything but pure. He’d only wished to escape the Council’s wrath. But, being the Council, they’d seen through him easily enough. And now he was here in Albuquerque.
Which had its own hidden treasures. He glanced upward, although even a djinn’s gaze couldn’t pierce through that many layers of concrete and steel to find the woman who slept nine floors above. Perhaps one day she would confide in him and tell him how she’d managed to survive more than a year all on her own, but he resolved not to prod her. If she wished to tell him, she would.
In the meantime, he had to hope that she would enjoy the dinner of chicken korma he’d prepared for her.
* * *
A delectable smell entered the room, and Madison’s eyes fluttered open. For just the barest second, she had a moment of panic, since she could tell those were the last dregs of sunset peeking around the blinds, and of course the bunker where she’d been living for the past year had no windows. But then memory returned, and she remembered that she was in the Hotel Andaluz, brought here by the djinn named Qadim.
And there he was, standing by the doorway, with the incongruous companion of a room service cart next to him. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did,” Madison replied, realizing with some surprise that she had. Only for a few hours, but that had been enough time for the ibuprofen to kick in and reduce the ache in her shoulder to a dull throb.
“And are you hungry now?”
“How could I not be, when you’ve brought up something that smells that good?”
His rather harsh features relaxed into a smile. “I am glad to hear that. This is chicken korma. Do you like Indian food?”
“Love it,” she said, which was only the truth. She and Jacob used to go out for Indian food several times a month. With a slight stab of surprise, she realized that was the first time she’d thought of her ex in months. Most of her time had been spent resolutely not thinking of anyone in her past, to avoid dwelling on the dreary fact that everyone she’d known and loved was now dead. Anyway, remembering Jacob only brought on a fresh round of self-recriminations. She wouldn’t go with him to Washington, and he didn’t want to stay in Albuquerque. Had he died alone? In the time they’d been apart, before the Heat struck, she hadn’t heard through the Facebook grapevine that he was dating anyone….
Qadim didn’t appear to note her distraction, and instead wheeled the room service cart into the suite so he could set it next to her bed. Forcing herself back to the present, Madison sat up a little straighter and pushed back against the pillows. Her shoulder twinged, but not as much as it had when she’d attempted a similar maneuver only a few hours ago. That couldn’t all be the ibuprofen. It felt as if the djinn had done a damn good job of resetting her shoulder.
To her surprise, she saw he’d brought up a bottle of chardonnay to go with the meal. “You’re sure that’s a good idea?” she asked, then worried that he might think she was asking about something besides basic drug interactions.
But he merely said, “You’ve only taken a low-level painkiller,” as he lifted the metal cover from one of the plates. “A bit of wine should not make a difference. In fact, it will probably help.”
“Muscle relaxant,” she commented, and he nodded.
“Precisely.”
She fell silent, watching as he finished prepping the meal. Apparently, he’d already removed the cork from the wine before he came up, because he poured it right away. Not too much, only an inch and a half or so in her glass.
“You can begin with that and see how you feel,” he told her.
Well, that seemed prudent enough. He’d placed the cart on her right side, so it wasn’t too awkward to reach over
Certainly not Julia Innes, whom he had kidnapped to help further his sister’s twisted ends. True, Qadim had ended up assisting Julia and her friends, but at the time his motivations had been anything but pure. He’d only wished to escape the Council’s wrath. But, being the Council, they’d seen through him easily enough. And now he was here in Albuquerque.
Which had its own hidden treasures. He glanced upward, although even a djinn’s gaze couldn’t pierce through that many layers of concrete and steel to find the woman who slept nine floors above. Perhaps one day she would confide in him and tell him how she’d managed to survive more than a year all on her own, but he resolved not to prod her. If she wished to tell him, she would.
In the meantime, he had to hope that she would enjoy the dinner of chicken korma he’d prepared for her.
* * *
A delectable smell entered the room, and Madison’s eyes fluttered open. For just the barest second, she had a moment of panic, since she could tell those were the last dregs of sunset peeking around the blinds, and of course the bunker where she’d been living for the past year had no windows. But then memory returned, and she remembered that she was in the Hotel Andaluz, brought here by the djinn named Qadim.
And there he was, standing by the doorway, with the incongruous companion of a room service cart next to him. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did,” Madison replied, realizing with some surprise that she had. Only for a few hours, but that had been enough time for the ibuprofen to kick in and reduce the ache in her shoulder to a dull throb.
“And are you hungry now?”
“How could I not be, when you’ve brought up something that smells that good?”
His rather harsh features relaxed into a smile. “I am glad to hear that. This is chicken korma. Do you like Indian food?”
“Love it,” she said, which was only the truth. She and Jacob used to go out for Indian food several times a month. With a slight stab of surprise, she realized that was the first time she’d thought of her ex in months. Most of her time had been spent resolutely not thinking of anyone in her past, to avoid dwelling on the dreary fact that everyone she’d known and loved was now dead. Anyway, remembering Jacob only brought on a fresh round of self-recriminations. She wouldn’t go with him to Washington, and he didn’t want to stay in Albuquerque. Had he died alone? In the time they’d been apart, before the Heat struck, she hadn’t heard through the Facebook grapevine that he was dating anyone….
Qadim didn’t appear to note her distraction, and instead wheeled the room service cart into the suite so he could set it next to her bed. Forcing herself back to the present, Madison sat up a little straighter and pushed back against the pillows. Her shoulder twinged, but not as much as it had when she’d attempted a similar maneuver only a few hours ago. That couldn’t all be the ibuprofen. It felt as if the djinn had done a damn good job of resetting her shoulder.
To her surprise, she saw he’d brought up a bottle of chardonnay to go with the meal. “You’re sure that’s a good idea?” she asked, then worried that he might think she was asking about something besides basic drug interactions.
But he merely said, “You’ve only taken a low-level painkiller,” as he lifted the metal cover from one of the plates. “A bit of wine should not make a difference. In fact, it will probably help.”
“Muscle relaxant,” she commented, and he nodded.
“Precisely.”
She fell silent, watching as he finished prepping the meal. Apparently, he’d already removed the cork from the wine before he came up, because he poured it right away. Not too much, only an inch and a half or so in her glass.
“You can begin with that and see how you feel,” he told her.
Well, that seemed prudent enough. He’d placed the cart on her right side, so it wasn’t too awkward to reach over
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