“She’s not worth it, is she?” a voice asked.
A frisson of fear struck him and Mike turned around, surprised to find a stranger speaking to him, not in English but in the native dialect spoken in his Tular village. He was so surprised to hear his native language that it took him several moments to translate. “Excuse me?” he asked, slipping into the dialect in response.
The man looked out at the river, but he didn’t seem contemplative. The man seemed…dangerous. His next words confirmed Mike’s impression. “The princess. She’s not worth it.”
Mike stared at the man, not sure what was he meant by that. The words were mostly benign, but the tone seemed…threatening. Although, Mike couldn’t quite put his finger on exactly why. It was the look in the man’s eyes when he turned his head, looking directly at Mike for the first time.
There was also the issue of this stranger knowing Tamara’s royal status. That couldn’t be good, Mike thought with increasing dread.
“How do you now that she’s a princess?” he asked, thinking back to the conversation he’d had only two weeks ago, when Tamara had admitted that she was a royal princess of Nadir. It was a small country, so it hadn’t surprised him that he’d been unaware of the identities of the royal family. It had definitely surprised him to learn that his best friend and business partner was betrothed to the leader of Tular though!
He definitely didn’t like the way this man was talking about Tam, although a gut instinct warned Mike to play it cool.
The stranger shrugged as if dismissing the question. “We know a lot of things. Such as how good it would be for the world if Sheik Bin Casees were no longer around.”
As casually as possible, Mike shifted on the bench, turning slightly so that he was once again looking out at the river while his hands slipped into his coat pocket. He fumbled with the buttons on his phone, trying to be casual as he pressed the record button. “I’m from Tular and I don’t think I really care what happens with…”
“You should care!” the stranger hissed, a spray of spittle bursting from his mouth as he stiffened with outrage. “The bin Casees family has ruled Tular for too long!” he stopped, visibly forcing himself to calm down. “We don’t want to hurt anyone,” he told Mike, but the man’s cold eyes warned him that the man only appeared calm. “We just want a new leader for Tular.” His eyes moved over Mike, and there was a sneer on the man’s tight features. “We’re going to win. Do you want to be part of the solution or part of the problem?”
“What are you intending?” he asked, not feigning interest, but not dismissing the man either.
The man stood up, adjusting his coat. “We’ll be in touch with ways in which you can help. You seem like the loyal type of guy, but you’ll still have to prove yourself.” There was a dark, intense look and Mike wanted to back away.
A moment later, the man turned away and walked along the sidewalk, appearing to blend in with the other people making their way towards their destination as if he were just another Londoner.
Mike shivered as the fear hit him hard. He stopped the recording, but wasn’t sure what to do about it.
Mike had left his native country to attend college and had discovered his true self. He couldn’t go back, not wanting to hide in fear because of his sexual preferences. But he didn’t want anything to happen to his country either. Besides, Tular had thrived under the rule of Sheik Bin Casees.
Mike knew that he had to get the message to Sheik bin Casees, but how? Mike couldn’t travel to Tular, it was too dangerous for him, not just because of his sexual preferences, but also because he suspected that the stranger who had just walked away would be watching.
So no, he couldn’t travel to Tular. Not only could he not go back, but he doubted he could get close enough to deliver the recording to someone who might be able to do something about the threat to Sheik bin Casees.
But Tamara! She could do it! She could not only get into Tular, but she could get a message to Sheik Bin Casees! She could get this recording to him and…maybe stop whatever was going to happen!
How was he going to get the recording to her though? Looking out at the river, he replayed the conversation in his mind. The man had said something about…about an argument? This afternoon? Damn, was he being watched?
The possibility sent a shiver of fear down his spine. If someone was watching him, he couldn’t go directly to Tam with the recording. He had to get it to her…some other way. Not through their office computers either. If these people were watching him and Tamara, they’d most likely be monitoring his online activities.
“Willow!” he whispered. Now that she was in London to speak with that lawyer, perhaps he could talk to her, then Willow could pass along the recording to Tamara. It seemed like the obvious solution. Why would anyone think that Willow was a threat? She was a redheaded beauty with a vivacious love of life. “She can do it!”
Standing up, he kept his eyes on the river, pretending to be thinking. Perhaps that wasn’t a pretend issue, he thought. He was thinking. Frantically! He had to figure out how to get the recording to Tam! But how could he do it? Willow first. Back to his office, he’d call her and ask her if she wanted to hang out with him and Joe tonight. Willow did that all the time, so doing it again wouldn’t be an issue. Although, normally, Tam would be there with them as well.
Sighing, he thought about another plan. Coffee tomorrow morning. He couldn’t deviate from his normal routine, but if he sent a text message to Willow, letting her know that he was grabbing coffee, she’d show up and they’d have breakfast together.
Yes, that made sense.
He walked back to the office and pretended to work, but in his mind, he was frantically going through his plan over and over again. He couldn’t e-mail the recording to Willow either. They might be monitoring his e-mail.
By the following morning, he and Joe had a plan in place. Joe hugged Mike tightly as they left the apartment together at the same time they did every morning. They walked to the coffee shop and, sure enough, Willow was there already, putting in an order of coffee before she headed off to continue exploring her new house which, it turns out, was a crazy old Victorian that needed a lot of work. It was exactly what Willow needed, he thought. She smiled at them as they stepped into the café and, when they all had their coffee, the three of them sat down at a small table. They chatted for several minutes, then Mike stood up. “I gotta go,” he said and waved to both of them.
“Let’s go,” Joe told Willow abruptly. “I’ll walk you out.”
Willow smiled uncertainly, looking a bit confused since she wasn’t ready to leave quite yet. “Okay, but…that’s not really necessary.”
Joe threw an arm over her shoulder and, carefully, slipped the phone into her pocket. When they were outside, he whispered in her ear. “Get the phone to Tamara. Tell her there is a recording on the phone that Jurid needs to hear.” He chuckled and hugged her again. “Pretend this is a normal conversation.”
When he pulled back this time, Willow smiled up at him, then punched his shoulder. “Right. You’re just a big lug, Joe. See ya!” and she turned, waving as she waited at the corner to cross the street.
Joe watched her, worried that she hadn’t understood. But there wasn’t anything else he could do. He turned around and walked towards his gym, intending to work out in an effort to burn off some of this tension. He’d do anything to keep Mike safe, but was this right? He wasn’t sure, but for the next few days, Joe was going to watch Mike’s back.
Chapter 14
Willow stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat, pretending to shiver as her fingers wrapped around the cell phone. She didn’t react in any way as she walked towards her rental car, determined to head out of the city and do some more exploring around her grandmother’s beautiful house. There was a big desk in the small room that looked to be an office or library, maybe she would find some information about her grandmother among the shelves of books.
But her mind raced with worry
about the cell phone in her pocket. What in the world was going on? The fact that Mike had given his phone to Joe, who had mysteriously slipped it into her pocket with that hug…Joe wasn’t known to be a gregarious person, so affectionate gestures were extremely rare for him…which that told her that something bad was going on. But what?
And how in the world was she going to get this phone to Tamara? Not to mention, Tamara was being stubborn about contacting Jurid. They all knew that she was in love with Jurid. So, why was she holding back? Why not just get on a plane and….!
“That’s it!” she whispered, as an idea came to mind. Mike needed Tamara to get the phone to Jurid. “I understand,” she whispered to Mike, even if he couldn’t hear her at the moment.
She stepped into her rental car, slipping her sunglasses on even though the sunshine wasn’t particularly bright today. The sunglasses were simply a way for her to scan the area, to figure out if someone might be following her. She had an idea!
Tamara answered the phone, not bothering to look at the caller ID. “Roxbury Rentals,” she answered.
“Hey Tam. I need your help. Can you spare me an hour of your time?” Willow asked.
Tamara looked at the phone with a strange expression. “Um…sure. What’s up?’
“Meet me for lunch at that restaurant on Victoria. I know that it isn’t convenient to your office, but I have an idea for a video series and I need your expertise. When can you be here?”
Mike must have heard the conversation because he nodded. “Go ahead. I have things covered here. Nothing urgent is going on today.”
Tamara shrugged. “Okay, yeah, sure. I can be there in a few minutes.”
“Excellent! I’ll see you then.”
Tamara turned to Mike. “That was strange. Willow needs advice from me on a new segment.”
“She mentioned something about few videos on minimalism this morning over coffee. Maybe that’s it. We don’t allow clutter in our spaces. We’re pretty good at getting rid of junk.”
Tamara laughed and it felt good. She hadn’t laughed since Jurid left to go back to Tular. “Fine,” she said, noticing a strange preoccupation with whatever he was working on. “You’re acting weird,” she muttered.
Tamara grabbed her bag and coat. “I’ll head on over to the Hampshire property after talking with Willow. I know that the unit had some issues with the last renter. I’ll let you know what I find,” she said and headed out of the office.
Ten minutes later, she pulled into a parking space on Victoria and walked through the doors of the restaurant. Inside, there was controlled chaos with patrons ordering from the counter as well as table service. But she easily spotted Willow sitting at a window seat and waved, letting her friend know that she’d seen her. Weaving through the tables, Tamara thought that there was an odd sparkle to Willow’s eyes today. Tamara had been worried about Willow and this odd inheritance, but from the look on Willow’s beautiful face, her friend was taking life in stride, as usual. To a casual observer, one might think that nothing got under the gorgeous woman’s skin. But Tamara knew her friend well. Willow projected happiness and light to the rest of the world, but deep down inside, she was hurting. She didn’t let many people inside of her heart, too fearful of others finding her lacking and walking out of her life. So she didn’t let people into her life. Not her real life. Not into her heart.
Yeah, that stupid father of hers could sing a love story and sell millions of albums, but he didn’t truly understand what love meant. Love meant not abandoning one’s only daughter. It meant not pushing her out of the house because some bimbo was too insecure to share…!
Tamara stopped that mental rant. It didn’t help and she had to focus on the present. Obviously, Willow needed something and she was going to give it to her friend. No matter what she asked of her!
“What’s going on?” Tamara asked, walking up to the table where Willow was sitting, tapping her foot impatiently on the wood floors. “Oh, you ordered food al…!”
“Here,” Willow said as Tamara slid into the seat on the other side of the table. “Put it into your pocket fast,” she said, smiling and pretending as if Tamara was fully participating in the conversation. “Get this phone to Jurid. I have no idea what’s on it, but tell him that he needs this phone.”
Tamara’s heart stopped for a moment, then pounded rapidly in her chest. “What’s going on?”
Willow picked up her sandwich, then looked at Tamara with an overly bright smile. “I have absolutely no idea what’s going on. I met Mike and Joe for coffee this morning. Nothing unusual in that. And then Joe walked me out. As he hugged me,” Willow paused, letting that sink in for a moment before she continued, “he slipped this into my pocket and whispered in my ear, urging me to tell you that the phone needs to find its way to Tular. Place it in only Jurid’s hands. Other than that, I have no idea.” She smiled, and took a small bite of her sandwich. Looking back up at Tamara, she said, “It’s all very spy-book-like and a bit scary. But smile and pretend as if this is just a normal lunch with a friend. Then get your skinny butt to Tular! I think it’s urgent.”
“Right,” Tamara whispered, plastering a smile on her face until her cheeks hurt. Taking a bite of her own sandwich, she went over Willow’s words in her mind even as she surreptitiously slipped the phone in her pocket. For the next forty minutes, Tamara nibbled on her sandwich and chatted with Willow. After lunch, as she walked back to her car, she spotted her guards tailing her and wondered if they knew anything about the situation.
But should she even ask? Dare she? What if they were part of whatever was going on? Was Jurid’s life in danger?
The thought of someone hurting him made her stomach muscles tighten so badly that she couldn’t even think. “I need to get to him,” she whispered. “Now!”
After driving over to the rental property in Hampshire, Tamara stepped out of her car and looked around, spotting the guards parked by the curb two cars away. Still, she walked into the house and looked around, not really seeing anything. There might have been a bonfire in the middle of the living room and Tamara wouldn’t have noticed, her mind was working on a plan to get this cell phone to Jurid. Whatever was on it, everyone was freaked about it.
Including herself.
Pulling her own phone out, she started to dial the number he’d given her. But before she’ put in the last digit, she stopped and looked around. What if someone was listening at his end of the phone? Did he really have any privacy?
“Not really,” she whispered, looking out the window at the grey skies. “I need to get to him. I need to get to him now!”
Leaving the property, she scanned the street. The guards were still there. Still watching. In fact, something in her face must have warned them because they stepped out of the vehicle and moved towards her, both of them wary and on watch. “Your Highness?” one of them inquired.
“I need to see Jurid,” she announced, then worried that she sounded a bit frantic, she shook her head. “He told me to contact him when I was ready to talk. I’m ready. Can you guys take me to him?”
Both men seemed to relax and she thought that was an odd reaction, but she didn’t have time to analyze it just yet.
“Yes, Your Highness. We have a plane standing ready for you.”
She blinked, then smiled, feeling a thrill go through her. “Excellent. Then let’s go,” she told them.
One of them took her arm, leading her towards their vehicle. “We’ll have someone come and retrieve your car, Your Highness. This way.”
When she was tucked safely into the back of their vehicle, she looked out the window. She was worried. She was going to see Jurid again. Tamara had no idea what his reaction might be. There’d been silence between them for so long. But underneath the worry, Tamara knew she was also excited. And terrified.
What if he didn’t want her anymore? Was that why she hadn’t heard from him in over two weeks? Was he done with her? Maybe she’d pushed him away too many times. What if…?
Tamara stopped her mind from spinning out of control. She couldn’t let herself think like that. She had to remain positive.
Besides, if he didn’t want her there, then she still had the excuse of delivering the cell phone to him. Yes, that was a good reason. In fact, perhaps she should just wait about declaring her feelings for him until after he reacted to her being there. That sounded like a better plan, she decided.
Chapter 15
Sixteen hours later, Tamara had gone back and forth so many times about how to approach Jurid, she wasn’t sure what to think anymore. To announce her feelings and desire to go ahead with the wedding…or to wait and see how he reacted to her arrival? She wasn’t sure anymore. What had sounded like a good plan hours ago, the plan to just wait and evaluate his reaction, seemed cowardly now. And she’d never thought of herself as a coward.
But there was a huge difference between breaking away from one’s parents and country and starting a new business without their support or approval…and declaring her love for a man like Jurid. He was…handsome and amazing and…terrifying! What if he didn’t feel the same way?
She descended the steps of the plane and nodded her gratitude to the waiting limousine driver. There were several police cars as an escort as well and she wasn’t sure why. It seemed like overkill, but she fingered the cell phone in her pocket, which felt both benign and…somehow evil. Maybe it wasn’t overkill. Maybe there was something going on, something dangerous and she was here putting him in more danger.
She looked at the guards, all of whom had very serious expressions. As soon as they drove up to the underground entrance to the palace, the trembling started in earnest. What would he do? Would he be angry that she’d arrived, literally, on his doorstep without notice?
For the past two weeks, she’d been upset that he hadn’t called her. But it suddenly occurred to her that she hadn’t called him except for that one time when he’d been in a meeting. After that, she hadn’t bothered with even a text message. So he might be just as frustrated with her.
Awakened by the Passionate Sheik (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 2) Page 14