by Leslie North
Finally, he arrived at the hotel. After stopping by the front desk to make sure that Danielle hadn’t checked out, he took the elevator to her floor. At her door, he raised his hand to knock, but as his knuckles landed, the door opened.
He stiffened. Reaching for the gun holstered at his ankle, he nudged the door farther open. Barely breathing, he inched to the nearest corner and did a quick sweep of the room. It appeared to be empty.
Moving silently, he eased open the closet door. Also empty.
Dropping the flowers onto the dresser, he gently pushed open the bathroom door before exhaling in relief.
No intruders, but no Danielle, either. It was always possible that she’d headed downstairs to grab a bite to eat and hadn’t closed the door all the way. Backing out into the room, he turned to grab the flowers and froze.
A teddy bear sat on the bed, a note propped against it.
Sheikh Riyad. We have the mother of your unborn child. If you want to see her alive again, if you want to save your child, you’ll publicly denounce the rule of Crowned Sheikh Iman. You have forty-eight hours.
What the hell was this? Someone thought holding Danielle would be enough of a wedge for him to start a rebellion against his own brother?
And why would they think that she was pregnant?
None of it made any sense.
The logical thing to do was crumple up the note and walk away. Weighing the fate of a stranger against the bigger picture was one thing, but this was a woman he’d gotten to know intimately. The woman he’d licked only seconds after her orgasm so he could hear her scream again. The woman he’d buried himself inside, long after he’d sated himself, to feel her warmth around him.
He’d bought a fucking bouquet of flowers for this woman, something he’d never done for his own mother.
Picking up the teddy bear, he tugged at the blue ribbon around its neck. Something seemed familiar about it. Was this the same teddy bear he’d seen one of the vendors peddling in the bazaar?
Shoving the note in his pocket, he gripped the toy and headed back outside. Darkness would be falling soon, and the bazaar would be shutting down. If he wanted information, he’d need to get it now.
Sliding on his sunglasses, he headed to the bazaar and knew immediately that he was in the right spot. Authorities were already there, asking questions. Riyad kept to the shadows but moved closer in hopes of overhearing. He’d worked closely with several members of the police, not as a member of the agency but as a sheikh, and chances were good that they’d recognize him even behind his disguise.
“The poor thing,” an older woman was saying in distress, wringing her hands. “She’d just bought a teddy bear, and then three men jumped out of nowhere. She fought them, but she was no match for them. It was over so quickly! They grabbed her, drugged her, and threw her in the back of a van.” In answer to a growled question, she added, “White, no window, and I didn’t see any other identification on it.”
“And the men? Can you describe them?”
“No. They wore masks.” The woman shook her head. “Even worse, she’s pregnant. Two months pregnant, she said. Poor thing. You must find her.”
Two months pregnant? That was news to Riyad. Was she married? Engaged? Boyfriend? For all his philandering ways, Riyad did not condone cheating, and he was not happy to be part of it.
Looking up, he scanned the surrounding buildings until he spied a camera outside the bookstore across the street. It was pointed right at the bazaar. Musing, he walked across the street and checked the rest of the buildings that surrounded the market, noting the strategically positioned cameras. With any luck, he could track the van.
Walking into the bookstore, he flashed a fake police badge and stared down the young store clerk. The man visibly shook as he led Riyad to the manager’s office where he could watch the security footage. Their camera had caught the whole thing, and Riyad felt a quiet rage bloom inside him as he watched the abduction. Danielle had fought like hell, and for that he was proud, but she’d never stood a chance.
No doubt, it was all his fault. If he hadn’t touched her, she would never have been in this mess. It also meant that the rebellion was keeping tabs on him.
What were the chances they knew he was more than some womanizing sheikh?
Riyad shook his head, dismissing the idea. If they’d known his connections, they never would have taken someone he cared about.
Or, he mentally corrected, someone he knew. He didn’t know Danielle well enough to care about her.
Fast-forwarding through the footage from the different cameras located on the corners of the building, he followed the van as it drove around the block to the back road behind the bazaar. Stopping suddenly, he zoomed in, making the picture grainier. It didn’t matter. He focused on the hand hanging out the window and the tattoo on the man’s wrist.
Riyad nodded grimly in recognition. Abdallah was on his list of suspects in the inner circle of the rebellion. He didn’t have the kind of wealth needed to run the organization, but he had connections in the arms trade.
Was Atif right? Was Miksa Antar involved?
“One problem at a time,” he muttered to himself. If Abdallah was one of the kidnappers, Riyad had a feeling he knew where they’d taken Danielle. Though Abdallah resided in the inner city, his family had owned a warehouse that had been closed years ago. It was deserted now: the perfect place to hide a hostage.
He considered calling Atif to put a team together to rescue Danielle and raze the warehouse to the ground, but he couldn’t risk blowing his cover.
Not a problem. He could handle the rescue mission on his own. Besides, he could use the adrenaline rush.
The waning crescent moon gave off a faint glimmer of light, but the stars dazzled overhead. Riyad parked the SUV he’d stolen around the corner from his destination and killed the engine. He didn’t want it to be traced back to him.
Slinging his pack over his shoulder, he pulled a mask over his face. As always before a mission, his heart pounded in anticipation, and blood roared in his ears. It used to be that these few moments were the only time that he felt alive, but the feeling in Danielle’s arms had surpassed it.
Quietly creeping along through shadows, Riyad identified a single guard outside the door. Not wanting to call attention to himself, he scooped up some pebbles and tossed them at the wall. When the guard came over to investigate, he wrapped his arm around the man’s neck to cut off his air supply, his other hand over the guard’s mouth to give him no chance to cry out. After the man slumped, Riyad dragged him behind some wooden crates and dumped him.
He waited to see if another guard would round the corner, but either the rebellion’s numbers were suffering or they were feeling confident about their hideout.
Inching toward the window, he peeked inside.
Four men sat around a television, but he saw no sign of Danielle. Backing away, he tested the stability of some abandoned crates piled against the wall before climbing up to where he could grip the ledge. Hoisting himself up to the second level, he tried to look in that window but found it cracked and foggy. It was also locked.
It looked like he’d have to go the noisy route.
Pulling out his supplies, he held a flash bang in one hand and his gun in the other. Turning away, he slammed his elbow into the window and tossed the flashbang in. It went off in a blast of white light.
Shouts erupted inside, and a woman’s terrified shriek pierced through. Leaping in, he discovered two men guarding her. Without hesitation, he aimed and pulled the trigger as he made his way to Danielle. Blinded by the light, she screamed and fought when he grabbed her by one arm, and in the chaos, he couldn’t begin to comfort her.
Footsteps thundered up the stairs. Dragging her after him, he aimed the gun at the door as he hauled her to the window.
“You need to jump,” he said roughly. “I’m going first, and when I say jump, do it.”
“What?” She blinked in confusion and tried to focus on him.
“Do I know you?”
“Trust me.”
Before she could answer him, he leapt from the ledge and landed. Straightening swiftly, he engaged the safety on the gun, stuck it in his belt behind his back but within reach of a quick grab, and held his arms out. “Jump. Now.”
She hesitated and glanced behind her, and whatever she saw spurred her forward. With a shriek, she threw herself off the ledge with such force that he almost didn’t back up in time to catch her.
“I got you. Come on. Run!” Grabbing her hand, he pulled her after him, heading for the SUV, barely ahead of a spray of bullets that followed them. “Get in the car. Now.”
“You’ve got to be kidding! I don’t know you!” she hissed, managing to pull free. She turned to flee, and he grabbed her elbow again. Pulling off his mask, he faced her. Her eyes widened in surprise that was quickly replaced by anger. “You! Who the hell are you? And what the hell have you gotten me mixed up in!”
“Just get in the car,” he hissed. Rebel shouts were closing in, and she groaned, jerked open the door, and slid in. Angrily, he followed suit, pulling out his gun again, just in case.
So she was pissed that he’d lied to her. As he thought about the teddy bear, he knew they would both have some explaining to do.
5
Wordlessly, Danielle stared at the palace as the royal car pulled up. She didn’t know what to say. Riyad had driven back to the hotel, ordered her to collect her things, and called for the car. She’d heard the conversation all too clearly.
Sheikh Riyad Karawi.
Seriously? Her harmless one-night stand wasn’t only a sheikh but a royal one, as well? Could her luck get any more rotten?
The driver opened the door, and Riyad got out. He leaned down and stared at her, but she was frozen in place, though a part of her was aware of the driver walking around the car to open her door.
“Danielle,” Riyad prompted.
Somehow, she found her voice. “How about instead of going into that lovely palace of yours, we go to the airport instead, and I get the hell out of this place,” she said, taking irrational comfort from clutching her bag against her chest. The driver stood still as a statue outside the car, holding her door open, though he did lift his eyebrows.
Riyad growled, “Get out of the car, Danielle.”
Narrowing her eyes, she glared at him. “Seriously? A two-night stand gives you the right to boss me around? I’m not one of your subjects.”
“True, but I did rescue you and am trying to protect you. That gives me the right to order you around.”
Of all the arrogant nerve! “You were the whole reason I needed rescuing in the first place! If you had told me who you were up front, I never would have gotten involved with you!”
“You want to talk about keeping secrets?” He reached into the pocket behind the seat and tossed something her way. Letting her bag go at the last moment to catch it, she looked down, and her stomach lurched. Her teddy bear. “It seems there was something you declined to tell me as well.”
“It’s none of your business,” she snapped.
“So you weren’t planning on claiming that the child is mine when it’s born?”
Furious, she climbed out of the car. “Go to hell,” she hissed as she stalked across the circle toward the main entrance.
She heard a muttered oath behind her, and Riyad caught up to her and grabbed her elbow. “Wait a minute.”
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped as he whirled her around. “How dare you! You don’t know the first thing about me, and you assume that’s the kind of woman I am! And how do you even think that plan would work? There’s all kinds of DNA testing, and…and you are a despicable person!” She wanted to slap him, but she had a feeling the armed guards staring at her from the palace entrance would take a dim view.
Still, he sure as hell deserved it.
“Fine,” he hissed. “But you’re still not leaving.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Many reasons. The first being, you’re a target. They think the child you’re carrying is mine, and if they have the kind of financial backing I think they have, leaving the kingdom won’t save you. And second, even if you weren’t a target, you’re a witness. Think. You’re not just protecting yourself.” He looked pointedly at her stomach.
She bit her lower lip. Everything he’d said made sense, but she still didn’t want to go into that palace. If her experience with her boss had taught her anything, it was that men in power couldn’t be trusted.
“Danielle,” he said softly. “You’re in trouble because of me. Let me protect you.”
Tapping her toe on the stone driveway, she shook her head. The voice of doubt screamed inside. She swallowed hard and ventured, “So, you’re royalty, and Don Juan, and some ninja military man?”
Eyes flashing a warning, he glanced behind him. “Sort of, but we need to keep that third one a secret because my family doesn’t know, and that’s for their protection. Come inside the palace with me, Danielle. I can keep you safe.”
Stroking the fur of her teddy bear, Danielle hesitated. She wasn’t protecting her own life. She was protecting the life of her unborn child.
Looking up at him, she frowned. She couldn’t stand overconfident men; they were always so damn smug. “How long?”
“I’m working to dismantle the rebellion, so hopefully not long.” He smirked. “Already so eager to get away from me?”
“Away from the man who got me kidnapped and then accused me of trying to con him? Absolutely.” She glared at him, and then holding her head high, she marched across the driveway to the palace. Behind her, she could hear Riyad muttering under his breath, but she ignored him.
She was forced to stop and wait when the guards blocked the door until Riyad caught up with her. When the doors opened, two other men stepped forward to greet the arrivals. From the family resemblance and annoyed looks on their faces, Danielle could only assume these were Riyad’s brothers.
“We got a call from the guards saying there was a commotion out front,” one said, eyeing her curiously. “Apparently you were being assaulted by a woman.”
Riyad cleared his throat. “A simple misunderstanding. Brothers, this is Danielle Greenski. She’s a witness in a crime attributed to the rebellion. Danielle, these are the Crown Sheikh Iman and Sheikh Bahir.”
Bahir cocked his head as he studied her. “Why isn’t she at the police station?”
“She’s under my protection,” Riyad snapped back.
Danielle glanced at Riyad, wondering how he knew her last name, before turning back to the brothers. Not sure what to do, she dipped in an awkward curtsy. “Thank you for your hospitality,” she said self-consciously.
Iman immediately hissed, “You’re American?”
Wide-eyed, Danielle stumbled back. The Crown Sheikh wasn’t unhappy that she was American, was he? She’d heard that both he and Bahir had American wives.
His next words dispelled her unease, on that account, at least. “Was she attacked? Are they attacking tourists now? I thought we had this in hand!”
“We’ll discuss it later. I’m going to get her settled in the guest suite. It’s been a long night.” Riyad suddenly turned and gazed at Danielle with narrowed eyes. She saw him clench his jaw, and then he turned back to his brothers. “I also want the doctor to see her first thing in the morning.”
“That can be arranged. I’ll summon Tahira to show her to the guest quarters,” Bahir said and started to turn to carry out his intention, but Riyad stopped him with a hand on his arm and shook his head.
“No need to wake her. I’ll get our guest settled. We’ll talk more in the morning.” Before either of his brothers could say another word, he’d grabbed Danielle’s arm and was steering her up the grand set of stairs.
He was doing an awful lot of manhandling. “Didn’t want your brothers to know that you slept with me and made the rebels think I actually mean something to you?” she grumbled under her breath. It had been a
trying day, and she was tired. The longer this stretched out, the snarkier she felt.
After winding through the lushly decorated corridors, Riyad finally stopped and opened a door. Walking over the threshold took Danielle’s breath away. She’d made fairly decent money at her last job and had a nice apartment in the city, but that apartment could fit inside this suite twice over. The large windows provided a striking view of the clear night sky and the village below. The room was decorated in rich green and gorgeous shades of grey. “Wow,” she murmured.
“I didn’t ask, but I do need to know. Did they…” his voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat and clenched his fists. “Did they hurt you?”
“They were a little rough, but it’s nothing a day of rest won’t fix,” she said, putting on a brave smile. She had a feeling that she’d be covered in bruises in the morning, but given the alternative, she considered herself lucky.
“And, uh…” His gaze fell to her stomach. “I’ll have the doctor run all the tests necessary to make sure that everything is okay. Do you need to borrow a phone and contact your family?”
“Family?” she shrugged. “No, my parents have been gone for a while.”
“I meant…” he gestured to her stomach again. He seemed to be having a hard time acknowledging the child. “Your husband or boyfriend?”
Shaking her head, she let her breath out in a huff of annoyance and walked away from him. “First, I’m a con artist, and now I’m a cheater. You’re a real charmer, you know that?”
“What am I supposed to think when you never told me?” he demanded.
“Told you? All I was looking for was someone to help me forget about this whole thing.” She waved her hands in irritation. “I’m quite sure that telling you I was carrying someone else’s child would have ruined the mood. Besides, none of this was supposed to happen. It was a short-term affair, no strings attached, and don’t you dare judge me. Women can have flings, too!” She rolled her eyes at herself. She sounded ridiculous to her own ears.