Set by Alessa Thorn

2

Doctor Ayla Neilos was trying to tackle her never-ending amount of paperwork and wished for the hundredth time that they could hire another medical administrator.

Only on days when it got out of control did Ayla miss the private practice she had worked at in Alexandria.

At least with Panacea, she felt like she was making a difference, and that was worth it. It didn’t matter if she was working out of demountable buildings, and tents with no air-conditioning. Even the moments of utter boredom felt more endurable.

Helping people who really needed it and seeing the good their work did was worth the painful paperwork and justification for every pound they spent.

Ayla put down her pen and rubbed at her tired eyes. She would need more tea if she was going to finish the stack of work before midnight.

Ayla had been working north of Aswan for the past month where a strange case of malaria had broken out at Nagaa Al Hajar. With any luck, she and her boss, Pierre Abras, would wrap up the inoculation project soon, and she would be able to go home to Alexandria for a few months.

Ayla hadn't had a break in years, and she was exhausted emotionally and physically. She had been avoiding going home since her mother had died of breast cancer.

The apartment felt too empty without her, and only when she was there, did Ayla feel truly lonely.

Can't run from it forever. Maybe not, but she had been doing a damn good job so far.

Outside, the sun was setting, staining the Nile River with red and gold streaks of light. Ayla stopped to admire it for a few moments, so she didn't see the man making his way to her through the small demountable buildings.

"Are you Ayla Neilos?" a voice asked behind her.

"Yes?" she said, turning around. She didn't have time to scream as she was struck in the face, and a black bag was put over her head. Rough hands pushed her to the dirt, pulling her hands together. Ayla wriggled until something cold was pressed to the back of her neck.

"Relax, little mouse. I really don't want to shoot you," a man said. Plastic ties were looped around her hands and zipped together. "Your father should have hidden you better."

Her father?"You have the wrong person. My father is dead!"

The man only laughed as someone grabbed her feet and arms. She was tossed into a van, more voices shouting outside as they drove away.

Ayla tried to keep her breathing steady under the hot hood, her cheek throbbing in agony.

She had some self-defense and weapons training; it had been a prerequisite for working in the war-torn places Panacea went to. She was someone whose presence would be missed, and if her attackers wanted a ransom, Panacea would pay it.

All Ayla had to do was stay calm and wait for an opportunity to get away. At least, that was what she told herself over and over.

The drive wasn't long. The sounds of traffic were loud, and the smell of the city coming through the open windows told her that she was probably in Aswan.

"If you make a sound, I'll put a bullet in you. Understand?" someone asked, nudging her in the ribs with a gun.

"Yes," she replied. He hauled her upright and out of the van. Night had fallen, and through the fabric of the hood, Ayla could make out the glare of streetlights. A door opened, and she was marched up a flight of stairs.

"So this is the lost princess?" a new voice sneered, and the bag was ripped off her head. A man stood in front of her, a scar curving along one black cheek and disappearing under a cap. A serpent had been tattooed on his neck in white ink. "Ah, it's going to be a shame to wreck such a pretty face."

"What do you want with me? I have money. My company will pay you. Just let me go," Ayla said, licking her dry lips.

"It's not about money. It's about the respect your father owes us."

"I'm telling you, my father is dead. Look, the locket around my neck." Ayla turned her head so they could see the silver chain. "There's a picture of my father in it. He died in a car accident when I was a baby."

The man tugged the necklace out, Ayla flinching when his fingers stroked against her breast to pull the locket free. He opened it and started to laugh.

"This is not your father, and you know it. Tell us how he is getting his cocaine into Cairo," he demanded.

"I'm not lying—" The man struck her hard and fast in the ribs and stomach, and Ayla dropped to the dirty floor wheezing.

"Lock her in the room." He stared down at her with pitiless eyes. "You have an hour, and then if you don't start talking, I'm going to get creative."

Ayla was dragged into a windowless room. The man who had snatched her hauled her up into a wooden chair and fastened her arms to it.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Doctor," he said, the door slamming behind him.

Ayla's eyes filled with tears as she wriggled and pulled against her bonds. She swallowed down her fear and tried to think.

Ayla knew little about her father, only that he had been a doctor and died when she was a baby. That's what her mother always used to tell her. She never remarried, and as Ayla got older, she stopped asking questions that only made her mother sad. If he was alive, which was impossible, why would her mother lie about it?

Ayla didn't know anything about the person that these men thought he was. She had to think about what else she could offer them to spare her because she didn't know about cocaine in Cairo.

You are so fucked, a small voice whispered, and Ayla began to panic.

* * *

An hour later,the door opened, and Ayla was dragged, chair and all, into the other room.

Five men were staring at her, heavily armed and marked with the same snake tattoo on their necks.

"You ready to talk yet, Doctor?" one asked. He pulled a knife from his belt, and Ayla jerked in her chair. Heavy hands pushed her shoulders down and pulled her head back.

"I'm telling you, I don't know anything about cocaine or the man you think is my father. I can't give you something that I don't have," she said. The cool flat of the blade was pressed to her cheek.

"Such a shame. This face is so pretty," the man hissed.

A heavy knock sounded at the door, and all five men tensed. Ayla let out a breath as the blade was taken away from her face.

"No one knows we are here, boss," one man said, looking nervously at the door.

"Check who it is."

The nervous man pulled out a gun and opened the door a crack. The weapon dropped from his hands as a knife was pressed under his chin. He backed up, and another man stepped through the door, kicking it closed behind him.

"Gentlemen, you have really fucked up tonight." The stranger was tall and powerfully built, with a neatly clipped beard and long hair tied back. Dressed in black and heavily armed, his golden gaze rested on Ayla, and the world went silent.

Power radiated from him, and Ayla suddenly knew that he was the true predator. The others were only playing.

The air seemed to suck out of the room as their gazes locked in a long, tense moment. The hair on the back of Ayla's neck rose as he took in the bruises on her face and frowned. He dragged his golden eyes from her to the man beside her.

"Do you idiots know who I am?" he asked in a deep growl.

"You're Set Akhom," a braver man answered. "I thought you were a myth." This seemed to amuse Set, who flashed a sharp smile.

"Good, so you know what I'm going to do to you if you don't give the doctor to me."

The leader of the group shifted behind Ayla and pressed his knife to her throat.

"Not going to happen, dog. I don't care who you think you are. Moussa will have his prize and take Cairo with it."

"Moussa is stupid to think he can win a war against Kader, and you know it."

Ayla went cold as the edge of the blade dug into her skin, and wetness dripped down her neck. Set's eyes glowed like those of a feral animal. A gun went off, and the knife fell away from her neck.

"Down!" Set shouted, and Ayla threw her body forcefully to the left, tipping the chair and hitting the floor hard. Hot blood that wasn't her own splashed down over her, and she screwed her eyes up tight.

Men were screaming, guns exploding. Then all went shockingly silent.

"It's over," Set said from beside her. He cut her hands free and lifted her to her feet.

Carnagewas the only word that crossed Ayla's mind as she took in what remained of her kidnappers. Bile rose in her throat, and strong fingers gripped her chin, pulling her gaze up to the blood-splattered man in front of her.

"Don't look. Can you walk?" Set asked. Ayla nodded numbly. "Good, we need to get you out of here before the others arrive."

"Who the fuck are you?" she demanded.

Again, that too sharp smile flashed on his dark face as he took her hand. "Isn't it obvious? I'm your knight in shining armor."