“Hey?” Ivy reached out and held Nor’s arm. “It’s okay. This bitch sounds like a real piece of work.”
“She was,” Nor agreed with an unexpected spark of anger. “One night she comes in here after we’d gone to bed and she... She cut my hair.”
London gasped. “She. Did. Not.”
“Oh, my God,” Ivy muttered.
“She cut my hair off.” Nor ran her fingers through the hair to a point around her shoulders and held it out. “Here’s some of the original length she left.”
London was at their side in an instant, examining the golden lengths. “That bitch.”
“That’s why half the harem got fired?” Ivy asked slowly.
“No. That was the beginning.” Nor smoothed a hand down her hair. “Esther and several others were angry. Said it wasn’t right. Then there was the other side who said whatever it took to get ahead was fair. A few of the women stayed out of it, but not many. Suddenly everyone was fighting. All the time.”
“That’s when you got the extensions?” London asked.
Nor shook her head. “Prince Jabir had lunch with me the next day and asked what I wanted. I just said I wanted my hair to look nice, so he sent me to have it tidied. I just got it evened up. When I got back it was worse, but the house staff ignored it. We started blocking the door with our nightstands.”
“I noticed there weren’t locks,” Ivy muttered.
London frowned. “Really?”
“None.”
“This went on for weeks. Girls would come back to their room to find their clothes ripped up. A few started carrying scissors with them. Prince Jabir had a trip coming up and I was hoping that travel would tone things down.” Nor cringed.
“It got worse?” Ivy asked, already horrified at the idea of so much vandalism with nothing being done about it.
“Yes. But I wasn’t thinking about it because Jabir was fine with my shoulder-length hair. He liked it. I got to stay with him two nights in a row.” Her cheeks flushed. “And then everything went wrong. I’m still not sure what happened during those two days I wasn’t around, but the third night he took everyone to a club in Dubai. I saw at least three girls throw drinks at each other. And then Esther screamed at a girl. Someone hit someone else. It just went crazy. And in all of that, the crazy bitch cut another handful of hair off the back of my head and slammed my face into the wall.”
Nor traced a place on her forehead and just over her eyebrow. Ivy could see a little discoloration if she squinted, but that wasn’t what was important.
This whole crazy situation was like something off TV. And Nor had lived it, while just trying to have a few happy moments for herself.
“That’s why you got extensions?” London stroked her fingers through Nor’s hair, examining it with a critical eye.
“Yes,” Nor whispered.
“I’m sorry that happened. Girls can be the worst to each other.” London let the hair go. “I’m glad Jabir made your hair right, at least.”
“Is he, is he okay?” Nor asked.
“He was fine when we saw him,” Ivy said slowly.
Nor nodded. “Okay. Good.”
“You haven’t seen him since then, have you?” London asked, catching on far quicker than Ivy.
Nor smiled, but it was tense. “When we aren’t at our best we don’t get to go out.”
London took a deep, steadying breath. “Okay, roommate promise, none of that is happening here. Agreed?”
“So agreed.” Ivy crossed her arms over her chest. “I got the feeling a lot of the women can be catty and cliquey. If the three of us look out for each other, it’ll be easier.”
Nor heaved a sigh of relief.
“And what’s better for you?” London gave Nor a sly smile. “Neither of us want to fall in love with him. So he’s all yours in my book.”
Nor ducked her head. “You think I’m silly.”
“I think we don’t get to judge who you fall in love with or why.” Even if Ivy thought it was foolish.
Nor was, what? Twenty? Twenty-two?
She was a kid.
Someone who’d been scooped out of a poor life and given everything by a man who made her feel like a princess.
Ivy didn’t get to judge her feelings. She just hoped that when things changed, Nor landed on her feet.
“Yeah, what the smart one said.” London winked at Nor.
Ivy smiled. “I think we’re going to get along. Now, what does a girl have to have on to get breakfast around here?”
“It’s going to be a quiet day,” Nor said. “Prince Jabir will sleep late, do work, and likely not call on us until tomorrow.”
Which translated to, people were going to mind their own business.
“I think I’m going to get dressed, get some food and look around,” Ivy announced.
London shook her head. “I don’t do anything until I’m unpacked.”
“Nor?” Ivy wasn’t sure if she wanted a wing-woman right now or not. Snooping around could prove difficult.
“I think I’ll stay in here,” Nor said slowly.
There was still residual drama. Her face said that much.
“Suit yourselves.” Ivy smiled, tugged off her headband and tossed it into the vanity drawer.
“There is a masseuse coming later today,” Nor said. “The new girls don’t know, but they come once a week. I could book us all for a slot at the same time?”
London grinned. “Now that I’m down for.”
“Me, too.” Ivy glanced in the mirror. Should she put make-up on?
The sooner she got out there, the sooner she could find something before the others were up and around. If nothing else, she’d get her bearings.
Ivy hauled her suitcase up onto the bed and pulled out a polyester sundress that wouldn’t hold a wrinkle to save its life. She slid on platform sandals in lieu of heels and headed for the door.
The women’s wing of the house was neatly sectioned off from the rest of the building. It was accessed through a single first floor entrance. At least for them. She’d glimpsed at least one entrance in the kitchen that served staff. The double doors were grand, opening up into a communal space that served as a lounge area with TVs, sofas and tables. Ivy and London had gotten a room on the second floor, but there were two more above them. There was one other entrance that joined the two kitchens serving both halves of the house and allowed for the staff to come and go as unobtrusively as possible. The two pairs of double doors leading out onto the pool and private courtyard didn’t really count as an entrance since the twenty foot tall walls had them blocked in. She suspected there was a gate somewhere in the hedges that allowed for things like lawn equipment to go back and forth, but she hadn’t found it yet.
Ivy had poked around enough to know the basic floor plan. Later she’d have to do a more thorough investigation, so she knew her options.
A few voices came from the dining hall, but no one was around to specifically tell her she couldn’t leave this wing of the house.
She had a feeling that rule was coming later.
Ivy let herself out into the main house, quickly shutting the doors behind her.
The wide hall gave her glimpses of the kitchen people got to see, but not where most of the food was cooked, the spacious formal dining room and finally the main chamber of the house. The floors gleamed with white marble. Gold gilding decorated light fixtures and most surfaces.
It was a strong theme.
Gold rocked.
She turned, strolling toward the doors that let out onto the patio party area and the real pool.
“Are you supposed to be out here?” A deep voice asked.
Ivy shivered before she could stop herself and sucked in a breath.
Just the sound of him had her body reacting to the memory of their kiss. Irritated she turned, crossing her arms under her breasts and stared up at Piers Killam. The last man she wanted to see.
6.
Sunday. Jabir al Saud’s Home. Riyadh, Sa
udi Arabia.
Killam stared down at Ivy, fresh faced with her hair still curled from last night. He hadn’t realized how much make-up she’d been wearing until now. The smoky eyes aged her. She looked younger and far more vulnerable right now. And most of all? She didn’t look like one of Jabby’s girls, and that was a problem.
He needed her to be off-limits.
She didn’t fit into a box. He couldn’t place her. She wasn’t an enemy, but he didn’t think she was a friend, either. No matter that they were on the same job.
“Are you supposed to be out here?” she asked.
He slid his hands into his pockets and leaned against the doorframe opposite of her with an appropriate amount of distance between them. Despite having gotten closer than was professional on the plane, Killam would have to be very careful how much he was seen with Ivy.
Jabby shared his women when and how he chose. Liberties were not to be taken. And considering that Jabby had been ready to eat her up in the driveway of his house before he’d seen the model contestant, Killam knew it was just a matter of time before the man came back around to her. He hoped they were done before that happened. Killam needed them to be done.
God, she was pretty. And capable. Things he needed to not think about.
Ivy rolled her eyes and leaned her shoulder against the doorframe, mimicking him.
“I thought I would have a look around before they told us to stay put,” she said.
Killam nodded.
It was smart.
Ask for forgiveness later.
They’d let her off the hook if she got caught, for now.
Killam glanced out onto the spacious patio, but his gaze went to the windows on the far wing of the house bordering the east side. The house was laid out in an F pattern, if seen from above. The main portion of the house was a horseshoe, with the harem’s wing jutting off the side.
Her gaze narrowed. “What are you doing?”
“Watching for signs Yousef is in his office.”
“Yousef? Why?” She edged closer.
Killam shook his head and she stayed where she was. “I can’t touch you or appear to be interested unless invited. Don’t get us both in trouble.”
She frowned and took a step back. “Yousef?”
He pointed to the western wing. “That’s Jabir’s wing, where some guest rooms are, but mostly that’s considered the family quarters. He has a second office there he only uses when dealing with family matters.”
Ivy’s gaze lit up.
“Don’t even think about it. You’ll never get in there. I’ve only glimpsed inside, and that was by dumb luck.” He peered around, but they were still alone. “This, where we are now, is the main part of the house. Most of the guest rooms are here. Entertaining spaces. Jabir’s main office. You’re familiar with the women’s wing of the house. And then there’s that wing.”
She turned to gaze at the western leg of the house. It was only two stories compared to the three and four stories the rest of the house boasted. It was a very oddly constructed house, but it served Jabby’s needs.
“That’s where the staff live and work. Laundry rooms. It’s where the security offices are. And Yousef’s office.”
“Why do we care about Yousef?” she asked. “And where in all of this would the servers be?”
“My guess? Somewhere in Jabir’s wing of the house or over there.” Did he tell her about yesterday? The odd meeting he’d glimpsed? “Yesterday I saw Yousef leaving a vacant office when he and Jabir should have been on the road already.”
Ivy frowned. “Who was he meeting with?”
“I don’t know. By the time I got there, the office was empty. I took a few pictures, but I didn’t want to risk hanging around.”
“Can we go back?”
Killam barked a laugh before he could help it.
Ivy kept staring at him.
“Hun, you can’t go anywhere in this country without him.” He gestured in the general direction of Jabby’s wing.
“Yousef took our passports, for our protection.” She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Such a load of shit. Moments like these, I just don’t understand how these girls can do it. But then I listen to them and it makes sense, and I don’t want it to.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I learned that, too.”
“I hate Jabir a little less for how he took care of one of the girls, though.”
“Which one.”
“Nor?”
Killam sighed. “That kid.”
“How many of them are in love with him, you think?”
“No idea.”
“Okay, is there anything else we should discuss?” she asked slowly.
Killam looked at her. Really looked at her.
If they’d met under other circumstances, he’d have hit on her. He wasn’t afraid to admit that to himself. But given their working arrangement, it made that attraction complicated.
“The kiss?” His words failed him. It was something they needed to talk about. Neither of them could afford to let a little chemistry fuck this up.
She tilted her head, completely composed. “What about it?”
If he hadn’t felt her pulse or heard her moan, he’d wonder if he’d imagined the whole moment. But he knew better. She’d been turned on by it. They’d both gotten lost in the moment.
“We should use it,” he said.
“Use...it?”
“Everyone in the cabin saw that kiss.”
“Everyone in that cabin saw many things.”
“Are you really going to play dumb?”
She merely quirked a brow at him.
“We have chemistry.” It was a fact, as much as he didn’t want it to be true. “The others saw that. Jabir actually asked me later about it and was genuinely surprised when I told him I sent you to the back cabin. I think that was a mistake now.”
Ivy’s lips parted and her eyes were wide. Did she realize her hold on her mask had slipped?
Well, good.
He liked knowing he could throw her off a little bit. She’d sure wrecked his dreams last night.
“I do not like you,” she insisted. She licked her lips and shook off her surprise. “How do we use that?”
Killam smiled. “We don’t have to like each other to throw sparks. In fact, it might be better if we don’t like each other.”
“Your plan?” she prompted, the serious demeanor returning.
“Jabir likes sharing his toys with his friends. Based on yesterday, he’s getting infatuated with that new girl.”
“London.”
“Sure. Wait. London? Really?”
“Her name’s London.”
“Okay.”
“You have room to talk, Piers.”
Killam glared at her.
“Like I said, Jabir’s going to be infatuated with London. If Nor’s feeling better, he’ll likely dote on her a bit. She’s not exactly a favorite, but he’s got a thing for the sweet, submissive type of woman.”
“And your plan is...?”
“If Jabir thinks I’m into you, he might leave you alone for a while. At least for now.”
“So, what? Jabir’s just supposed to give me to you?” she asked slowly.
Killam stared back at her. Was she still so naïve? “What do you think these girls do?”
“I guess I didn’t realize he handed women out like party favors.”
“You are entertainment, here to make him—and his friends—feel like they’re on top of the world. And how do you do that with most small-minded men?”
“Make them feel like sex gods. Great.” Ivy rolled her eyes. “So, you and me then? That’s our plan?”
“Don’t look so excited about it.”
“It’s hard to get excited about the idea of teaming up with a guy who gives off lone-wolf vibes. You aren’t a team player. You keep talking about ways to keep me safe while you do things, but totally forgetting that you were cast as my back-up. Not the other way around.”
Killam blink
ed at her.
She wasn’t entirely wrong.
But she still had no idea what she was really involved with.
However, he had a good feeling that pointing that out would only dig his hole deeper.
“You’re right, I was never good at group projects. I was always that guy. The one who wound up doing it all. Show me you can pull your weight, princess.”
She glared at him, and damn if it didn’t make her cuter.
“You’re an asshole,” she muttered.
He grinned right back. “But I’m your asshole.”
A door opened and shut somewhere in the house. Distant voices drifted toward them.
His smile vanished. “You need to go.”
For a moment he thought she’d protest the order.
“Do you have my phone number?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t trust your phone. We need a signal.”
Someone barked out a laugh from down the hall.
Far too close.
“Go.” He shooed her away. “Find me tomorrow at the pool party. We’ll figure it out then.”
She nodded and quicksteped it back toward her wing of the house.
They both needed to rest, because tomorrow the party started and Jabir knew how to keep it going for days. Somewhere in all of that they’d get their opening, if they were lucky.
If not, this job was going to be a whole lot more complicated.
SUNDAY. PHONE REPAIR Shop. New York City, New York.
Nasar wiped the counters down despite not having a single customer that morning thus far.
He really should consider closing the store on Sundays. Hardly anyone came in. But then he’d have to find something else to do with his time. Something that wasn’t waiting for the stars to align.
He placed both the microfiber rag and bottle of cleaner under the register. As he stood his gaze landed on the snapshot, he’d had copied a dozen or more times. It was the only remaining picture of his family. The rest of their things had gone up in the blaze that took them.
If it weren’t for this picture, he wondered if he’d still remember their faces.
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