Welcome to Dubai (The Traveler) Read Free Page A

the problem is,” he answered. “I really need to get away and find myself before I can really commit to anyone like that. I don’t think it would be fair to have a man who’s obviously still searching to find himself.”
    “I bet she wouldn’t agree with that, especially after you tell her you’re traveling there alone.”
    “Yeah, well, at least I’m going to a place where all of the women are covered in sheets,” he joked.
    Jonah chuckled. “Not all of the women. I’m sure they have enough tourists over there who are not in sheets.”
    “Well, that’s not what I’m going there to look for. I just need to clear my mind for a minute. And I haven’t done that in a while.”
    “You
sure
have the money to do it,” Jonah hinted with another sip of her drink. “Are you gonna stay at one of their seven-star hotels?”
    Gary was very fortunate, but he had barely touched any of the money he had inherited from his mother’s estate—she had done well as a political consultant for the local government in the state of Kentucky—let alone millions more that he would soon receive from his father. Money would never be an issue, and he never liked to talk about it. But Gary had definitely been spoiled by his parents’ wealth, and he knew it.
    He shrugged. “I may spend one or two nights at a fancy hotel just to see what it feels like, but for the rest of the time, I’ll just stay at a three- or four-star.”
    Jonah chuckled and joked, “Yeah, a Motel 6 in Dubai, right? As if that even exists over there.”
    Gary laughed along with her. He joked back, “Maybe they call theirs a Motel 16.”
    Jonah asked him, “Does this girl know how well-off you are?”
    Gary frowned. “Of course not! Look at how I’m dressed.”
    Jonah looked over his typically casual dress code and grinned.
    Gary was more embarrassed and apologetic of his windfall, especially in light of the recent economic struggles in America and around the world. He never once bragged about fortune, and he had contributed more than a million dollars to different foundations for charity. After the tragic deaths of his mother and his best friend, Gary thought constantly about ways to help others. His humility had been strengthened by his painful losses.
    Jonah said, “Well, whenever you want to buy a top-grade suit and shoes, you just go do it. That’s definitely how your father would want to see you.”
    “Yeah, when he finally agrees to meet me.”
    Jonah changed the subject again. “Okay, so let’s get to the hard part. Do you want to change your name for this trip? I can help you do that if it’ll make you feel safer.”
    After what happened to Gary and Taylor in Medellín, Colombia, Jonah was very cautious of his travel out of the country. But now that Gary had years of military training and instruction in mixed martial arts, he was more than able to protect himself.
    Gary joked and said, “What, you want me to become Jared Heath or something?”
    He laughed out loud at the idea.
    “If that’s the name you want,” Jonah responded seriously. “Of course, we would have to do a name search first to make sure there’s nothing crazy attached to it.”
    Gary frowned and said, “Yeah, but I’m not a spy or anything. That would be more of a hindrance than me using my own name. What if someone asked me some hard questions?”
    “I’m only trying to protect you,” Jonah said. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.” She paused then added, “It’s my job.”
    Her comment forced Gary to think back to his painful trip to Colombia five years ago. His exploration there had been a spur of the moment idea that was definitely ill-advised. Gary could still hear the Colombian man’s voice in his head,
Now you can travel alone in pain and fear,
followed by the blow of the single gunshot to his best friend’s head.
    Gary had often shot at targets during his military training with the Colombian terrorist in mind. His unfortunate torture in South