Welcome to Dubai (The Traveler) Read Free

tension.
    Jonah smiled. “Not at all. You know my dilemma with men. There are other things that are more important.”
    Gary grinned, marveling at how young and vibrant she continued to look. Dressed professionally in a black skirt suit with her hair done, she didn’t look a day over thirty.
    “Well, they never stop lining up for you,” he commented with softness in his eyes. Any man would line up for a woman as attractive, professional and confident as Jonah, if only they could handle her intimidation factor.
    Having been trained in the military’s Special Forces Unit, Jonah was no-nonsense. She had been sent to guard Gary by her employer, an affluent and mysterious international businessman—Gary’s father, in fact, who Gary knew only through Jonah.
    Gary had been raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where his over-achieving and beautiful young mother, Gabrielle Stevens, had pampered him alone, having never married Gary’s father. The all-American boy with no father grew to become a charmer who was super-smart, with movie star looks and natural athleticism. Gabrielle often viewed him as her overgrown puppy of a son.
    When Gary was in his twenties, his mother died, a victim of a carjacking, followed by the cold-blooded terrorist murder of his best friend, Taylor. Gary was forced to grow up quickly, and it became Jonah’s job to prepare him for the world, then safely usher him through it, with the perks of Gary’s father, who had financed his son’s military training and livelihood.
    At the bar, Gary took a seat next to Jonah. “Anyway, getting back to our business, because no one gets more attention than you do,” Jonah commented lightheartedly.
    “Tell me about it. I need to get away from one right now,” Gary hinted. “I’m thinking about taking a much-needed trip out of the country. It’s been a while.”
    That idea gave Jonah a moment of concern. The last time Gary was out of the country, he had lost his friend Taylor to murder at point-blank range.
    “Are you ready for that yet?” she asked.
    Gary sighed. “I told myself years ago that you have to face your fears to live the life that you ultimately want to live. So after spending the last five years of my life to finish school and complete military training, I need to figure out who I am and what I want out of life. What am I even here for, you know? I still haven’t answered those questions of myself … and I still haven’t met my father.”
    Jonah looked away momentarily, feeling some guilt. She said, “You’ve been great about that. You’ve really shown a lot of patience and maturity.”
    “Yeah, too bad I can’t say the same about the old man,” he jabbed.
    As the intermediary between a father and his estranged son, Jonah was leery of the waiting game as well. How much more did Gary have to prove to show that he was trustworthy enough to meet his father? Maybe Gary’s acceptance of the matter had only served to prolong the issue. Nevertheless, Jonah was the consummate professional who would continue to carry out the orders of the man who had hired her, no matter how close she had become to his son.
    As usual, Jonah quickly changed the subject. “So, where would you plan on going?” she asked him.
    Gary shrugged. “I’m thinking I’ll fly to Dubai,” he answered. “The place looks awesome, and I understand it’s the biggest tourist haven in the world now.”
    Jonah nodded and thought about it. Dubai was considered safe ground as an international tourist destination in the middle of the desert. The Middle East connected Africa, Europe and Asia.
    “Good choice,” she said, thinking of Gary’s safety. “Are you taking your lady friend from DC?”
    She took a sip of her drink, anticipating an interesting answer. She knew that Gary would have one. In the five years that she had watched over him, the young man had been as elusive with the opposite sex as she had been in her own personal life.
    Gary paused and grinned. “That’s where