Captive In the Dark [antikvár]

PROLOGUE Revenge, Caleb reminded himself. That was the purpose of all this. Revenge, twelve years in the planning and only a few months away in its execution. As a slave trainer, he had trained at least a score of girls. Some were willing, offering themselves as pleasure slaves to escape destitution, sacrificing freedom for security. Others came to liim as the coerced daughters of impoverished farmers looking to off load their burden in exchange for a dowry. Some were the fourth or fifth wives of sheikhs and bankers sent by their husbands to learn to satisfy their distinct appetites. But this particular slave, the one he eyed from across the busy street—she was different. She was neither willing, nor coerced, nor sent to him. She was pure conquest. Caleb had tried to convince Rafiq he could train any one of the other types of girls. That they would best be prepared for such a serious, potentially dangerous task, but Raflq would not be moved. He too had waited a long time to achieve his revenge, and he refused to leave anything to chance. The girl had to be someone truly special. She had to be a gift so valuable she and her trainer aUke would be talked about by everyone. After years of being die sole apprentice to Muhammad Rafiq, Caleb's reputation had slowly built, establishing him as a man both efficient and single-minded in whatever tasks were entrusted to him. He'd never failed. And now, all those years had been spent preparing for this moment. Tlie time had come to prove his worth to a man he owed everything to as much as himself. There was only one obstacle remaining between him and vengeance. The last true test of his souUessness—^willfully stripping someone of their freedom. He'd trained so many he no longer remembered their names. He could train this one too, for Rafiq. The plan was a simple one. Caleb would return to America and seek out a candidate for the Y lower Sale, what the Arabs