CHAPTER SEVEN
Dressed in khaki trousers and a white shirt, Sami removed his shoes and followed Vaughn into a spacious air-conditioned room filled with colourful rugs. He had ditched the suit, a wise decision, he thought, noting the seating arrangement of long divans pushed against curtain-covered walls. A charcoal burner on a huge brass tray commanded the centre of the room.
Khalid greeted Sami and Vaughn and introduced them to his two teenage boys. Khalid gave Sami an appraising look before he gripped his hand in welcome. Sami steadied his gaze and returned a firm handshake. Good thing the room was laid out with not much furniture clutter. He could breathe with ease and remain calm. Before him stood Petra’s champion—a man older than him, a married man and a father, with enough weight in
