Chapter 12—Sheiks IX by CJ

No, he hadn’t seen Shawna so distraught, not since he’d “returned from the dead” that is.  She collapsed into his arms, balled his shirt in her fists and cried against his chest.  Her body heaved with the sobs and for a moment, Rafee felt panicked.  Shawna was beyond upset, Kadeem was missing…Then he calmed himself with his legendary strength and refocused his mind.  He would tell Shawna everything was fine, he’d find Kadeem and then he’d ground the boy to his room for life!

“Shhhh,” he murmured against Shawna’s blonde hair.  “Everything will be fine, honey.”

She didn’t answer but to shake her head in the negative.

“Really, Shawna, we’ll find him,” he insisted.

She took several deep, shuddering breaths, then laid her cheek against his chest and released her hold on his shirt.  She wiped at her eyes, he helped, and then she confessed, “I’m sorry I overreacted.  You must think I’m an incredible wimp.”

“What I think,” Rafee said honestly, “is that though you and I may be right again, perhaps you and I as individuals still have a ways to go to feel normal.”

“Perhaps you’re right, Raf.”

“No perhaps about it,” he teased lightly.

She laughed.  “I know…you’re always right, huh?”

He kissed the top of her head, glad he had calmed her.  “Of course,” he responded with his classic arrogance. 

“I’m sorry I lost Kadeem,” she then added.

“You didn’t lose anyone,” Rafee insisted, feeling irritated again that the teen had walked off.  “Kadeem lost himself.  And, be assured, I will have a very long talk with that boy when we do find him.”

“I hope he’s okay, Rafee.  I mean, he may not like me much, but it doesn’t mean I’m not scared to death for him.  He is, after all, our child now.”

Rafee smiled tenderly at her and put his fingers under her chin.  “He is.”

They were interrupted then by Billy.  He had a very large grin on his face.

“Looks like you’re better now, sis,” he said to Shawna.

She gave him a hug.  “I’m better.  I just overreacted, that’s all.”

“It’s understandable.  But…good news is, a uniform is picking up Kadeem.”

Both Shawna and Rafee asked at the same time, “Where was he?”

“Found him down by the ferries to Alcatraz.  Turns out, the ticket taker there is from the Middle East.  He inquired after the boy, heard he was from Johar and was now related to the Armanjanis and thought it sounded odd.  He got it out of the boy that he was off by himself and called us.  Lucky break.”

“Very lucky,” Rafee drawled.

Five minutes later, a sullen looking Kadeem walked into the design studio with a uniformed police officer.  Rafee gritted his teeth and was about to stride over to Kadeem and give him a very large and loud piece of his mind when Shawna rushed past him and grabbed the boy up in a bear hug.

“You stupid boy!” Shawna chastised with affection.  “You scared me to death.  Don’t take off like that again.  Ever!  You understand?”

Kadeem appeared stunned and his thin arms hung loosely at his sides while Shawna hugged him.  Then, very slowly he hugged her back.  It wasn’t entirely affectionate, but it was a start. 

When Shawna released him, the boy came toward Rafee with head bowed.  Kadeem spoke in Arabic, and his voice was low and filled with regret.

“I am sorry, Rafee,” Kadeem confessed.  “I know it was wrong, but…but I thought Shawna didn’t care if I stayed or went.  I didn’t think…”

“You didn’t think she’d care?  Wrong, Kadeem.  Very, very wrong,” Rafee growled with less irritation than he was feeling.  His few years as a father had taught him to lessen his bark when dealing with children.  Otherwise, he was apt to frighten them more than they deserved.

“I see that now.  She is worried,” Kadeem confessed.

“Of course she is.  You are her son now,” Rafee told him, gentling his voice some. 

Those words seemed to stun Kadeem as much as Shawna’s hug had and the boy nodded glumly. 

“I miss my father,” Kadeem then confessed and it was the first Rafee had heard the boy say that since Ali had died.

“I know you do.  And you will miss him for the rest of your life.  But it will be a pain you will one day be able to deal with.  For now, trust that Shawna and I will care for you like you were of our blood.  And please, don’t ever run away again.”

“I won’t,” Kadeem insisted shaking his head.  Then he surprised Rafee by asking, “Could you take me shopping, please?  I…I want to buy a nice present for Jenny.  She’s been very good to me whenever I see her.”

Rafee chuckled and wrapped an arm around the boy.  “Very well.  We’ll take you shopping, we’ll let you go to the party, then we’ll talk about your punishment.”

The boy frowned with the typical gloom of a teen his age and nodded in resignation.  Being a father of a teenage boy was going to be trying, Rafee thought.  Very, very trying.

**

Rafee, Shawna and Kadeem left in a large SUV with Rafee behind the wheel.  Billy stood on the sidewalk, holding the keys to Shawna’s brand new convertible Mercedes.  It wasn’t the type of material thing his sister usually went for, but hell, Billy wasn’t about to complain about having to drive it.  The only trouble was, trying to figure out how he was going to get his unmarked car back to the station and then return here, across town, for the Mercedes.

“Nice ride,” Detective Will Barnes said as he walked up to Billy.

Billy nodded to the Missing Persons detective and replied, “Isn’t it though?  I get the keys for the day too.”

Will smiled.  “Don’t suppose you’d share?”

Billy laughed and looked his co-worker over.  “With the likes of you?  Hell no!”

Will smiled with mischief.  “Yeah, but you’re loaded now, right?  Related to that rich prince that just drove off.  Scary guy.  Where’d he get that scar?”

Fifty million questions all at once.  Just like Detective Barnes.

“First of all, it’s his money, not mine.  Second, he just returned from a war where I would assume he got that scar.  And third, you’re right, he is scary.”

Will returned his attention to the car and gave it a nice long once-over.  The men popped the hood, revved the engine and drooled.

“Damn, you won’t share?” Will practically begged.

Billy shook his head, thinking that though his Mustang was nice, this was a jewel and he’d pick his date up in it tonight.

“I have a date,” Billy then announced.  “I think I’ll drive.”

Will shook his head.  “Rumor is, you always have a date.  What hot tamale is it this time?”

Billy hesitated because he couldn’t honestly answer if his date tonight was a hot anything let alone a tamale.

“Uh…it’s Claire from Dispatch.”

Will seemed to mull that over for a moment, then ask, “Claire the hot Italian-Hispanic mix or Claire the little pixie that looks like my kid sister?”

“I have no idea.  Never seen her before,” Billy answered, hopeful that his Claire was the former and not the later.

Will shrugged.  “Well, you’ll either get a hot tamale or a kiddie ride.”

“Thanks,” Billy drawled sarcastically and watched as his fellow officer left.

“A kiddie ride,” he grumbled and once again looked at the car.  At least he’d have a hot ride, if nothing else.

**

The day had almost turned out to be a disaster.  Firstly, Nik had dragged Emir off on a ride.  That alone had scared Jenny witless.  Who knew what Nik would do once he got Emir alone.

Secondly, Nik had been knocked off his horse and smashed his head up.  Currently he was in the hospital, who knew what would happen there.  He could be seriously injured or just miss her party.

And thirdly, John Banes had arrived and though she adored him, she wondered if he would be yet another over-protective man in her life trying to warn her away from Emir.

He had shaken Emir’s hand and been polite enough when she’d introduced them.  But Jenny wasn’t stupid.  John was a politician, a very successful politician, and that meant he could cover his true feelings as well as Nik could pretend to actually be diplomatic.  Because he knew Nik so well, she could usually read him.  Since she had only seen John off and on during her childhood, she had no idea just what his agenda was.

Slowly people started arriving.  Shawna and Rafee had returned from the city with Kadeem.  Aria and her children were still present at Villa Serena and Abra and Omar were scurrying around, doing more work at keeping the catering company going and the guests happy than they were at enjoying the party.  Tara seemed worried and distracted and it wasn’t until she got a call that Dr. Chen was bringing Nik back that she finally relaxed.  Zak and Maria arrived with their brood of children and another man in tow.  Some tall, slim, sexy man on crutches.  Eventually word got around to her that it was Zak’s cousin on his mother’s side, Aadam al-Barak.  Before she had the chance to inquire more, or to greet any other guest that arrived from the neighborhood, John pulled her aside.

“I’m so glad I was able to make this party, Jenny,” he insisted with a warm smile.  “I know the bomb we dropped on you a few weeks back was big, but I’m glad you’re allowing me to play a role in your life.”

“John, you’ve always played a role in my life.  Why would that stop now?”

He shrugged.  “Just because you could be angry with me for what happened.”

“It doesn’t change who I am, does it?”

She was expecting him to just shake his head, but instead he became deathly silent. 

“It could,” he said gravely.  “If I win the presidency.”

**

“Hot tamale or a kiddie ride.”

Those words of Detective Barnes’s kept spiraling through Billy’s head as he finished up his work, showered and dressed for his night out with Claire.  He kept it casual with jeans and a long-sleeved maroon polo shirt.  But the Mercedes…well, that said anything but casual.

He threw his overnight bag in the small trunk and thought about how he should have scrounged for Claire’s home phone number to warn her that since he had his sister’s car, they more than likely would be spending the night at Villa Serena and that in the morning, a ride back to the city could easily be arranged.  It never fazed him, for it was often that his dates turned in to overnighters…one way or another.  And if this was the hot tamale Claire of Italian and Hispanic blood, well, he just knew he’d do everything in his power to talk her into making it a real fun sleep-over at Villa Serena.

He found the bar that Claire had insisted he pick her up at, just as the night was settling in.  It was a seedier part of town, but not completely dangerous.  And he didn’t need a neon sign to point out the woman he was picking up.  It certainly wasn’t the hot tamale Claire that Will had mentioned earlier; it was the Claire who looked like she belonged in Junior High.

“Great,” he grumbled under his breath as he halted the car in front of the bar.  “Just great.”

Claire was wearing baggy, torn jeans and a white tank-top.  Over her shirt was a beat-up leather jacket and two dark blonde braids were sticking out from under a pink striped beanie cap.  Her lipstick was dark, her eyes heavily made up, and when she slid into the car, the faint scent of smoke followed her.

“Detective Patrick?” she asked and as soon as he heard her smoky-sounding voice, he knew he had the right woman.  Her eyes were blue and they raked him up and down, assessing him as much as he was assessing her.

“Claire?” he asked back.

She hesitated for a moment, the car door still open as if she might need an escape route.  Then she reached back and tugged in a small tote bag.

“Don’t worry, I brought a change of clothes.  These smell like smoke from the bar and I’m sure are not worthy of your in-laws’ mansion.”

Billy nodded.  At least she was on the right track with that and he fitted her bag into the small storage area behind the seats.

“Nice ride,” she then said and as Billy pulled away from the curb he explained, “It’s my sister’s.  She’s married to a rich prince.”

“Sounds like an interesting family you have,” she said in reply and they drove in silence until the lights of the city left them behind.

If Claire was uncomfortable at all with the silence, she never mentioned as much.  She sat in a very relaxed posture, her eyes taking everything in as if it was her first ride in a Mercedes.  And finally, after a half-hour of silence she confessed, “I’m sorry to sound like a complete imbecile, but this is my first ride in a Mercedes.  I like it.”

Billy smiled.  At least she had spunk.  He supposed it was enough to help him make it through Jenny’s party.  Certainly a drop-dead gorgeous body would have made his evening much more enjoyable, but spunk would work for a platonic date.  And this date would remain platonic because as nice as Claire was as a dispatcher, nothing about her attracted him sexually.

“I’m glad you at least enjoy my ride,” he commented and had he been trying to seduce Claire, he would have made those words sound so much more suggestive.

She laughed and just like on the phone, she sounded very sexy.  But when he looked at her…well, she was cute, but not sexy.

“I heard you were a horrible flirt, detective.  You do know you have a reputation, don’t you?”

“It’s Billy,” he corrected, “and I’m proud to say that I do know about my reputation.  I worked very hard to create it.”

“That’s why I almost didn’t agree to come tonight,” she spoke up and that made Billy look away from the road to see if she was serious.  She was serious all right.  Nothing in those blue eyes told him she was joking.

“But you did,” Billy added, wondering now just why she had if his “reputation” had made him unattractive to her.

“Because you always sound like a nice guy on the phone.  And you’re always worried about your family.  That must mean you’re an okay person.  Those things are important to me too—family and all.  So it doesn’t matter what you look like or anything.”

It didn’t matter what he looked like?

Billy about lost control of the car when she said that.  Was she somehow insinuating that she didn’t find his looks attractive?  Was she insane?  Hot, sexy women all over the bay area found him attractive.  He knew he was attractive, but Claire had more or less said he wasn’t.

“So, I look like an ogre, huh?” he drawled and he heard Claire laugh.

“No, but you’re a prep.  An up-tight looking prep.”

He threw her a side-long glance; her words had been rather insulting.

“Yeah, well you’re a punk.  A twelve-year old looking punk,” he returned and a less secure woman would have screamed in horror at his insult but she could take what she gave and she only replied with a shrug and asked, “Wanna see my tattoo?”

She was sliding out of her leather jacket to reveal a ring of barbed wire tattooed around her upper arm.  Billy laughed.  Yeah, he was an up-tight prep because he thought tattoos looked trashy.  He told her and she said he probably needed to get one before he judged.

Their conversation continued as such until they pulled through the gates of Villa Serena.  The house was lit up in the distance and Claire gazed out the window and let out a small whistle.

“Wow, nice place,” she said.

“Yep, pretty nice.”  He halted the car by the stables as the drive-way looked full and explained, “We might be staying over tonight.  You mind?”

“Separate rooms?”

He chuckled, unable to remember the last time a woman had asked him that.

“Separate rooms,” he assured her.

“Okay.  Hey, can I change?”

He took her into the stables where the stable office was located and flipped on the light of the small room.  She went inside with her bag and Billy closed the door to wait.  She emerged five minutes later and Billy had to do a double-take.

Gone were the baggy jeans, leather jacket and braids.  In their place was a pair of nice fitting gray slacks, a soft knit pink shirt and cardigan sweater and dark blonde hair brushed out in soft waves.  The dark make-up had been taken off as well and replaced by soft shades of pink and blush.

“Looks good,” Billy said to her and she smiled shyly.  She certainly didn’t seem quite so confident and stubborn without her rocker attire.

“I don’t usually dress like this…except for work,” she replied.

“Well, I’d say it’s a definite improvement.  Now, you look at least legal,” he teased.

Her blue eyes raked him up and down as he stood leaning against a post.

“Yeah, well you still look like an up-tight prep.  Come on, I wanna see this house.”

**

Somehow, Nik had talked Dr. Chen into staying and Rafee had the feeling it was only the fact that her patient still looked rather beaten-up that she agreed to stay.  She looked rather out of place as she stood in the corner, nursing a can of soda.  She certainly wasn’t dressed for the occasion, but no one in his family minded.

He made his way over to her, wanting to thank her for coming to Nik’s rescue, and she frowned at him as he approached.

“It’s all your fault, you know,” she muttered.

“What is my fault?” he asked innocently.

“The fact that I’m stuck at this fancy party dressed like this,” she insisted and gestured to her battered jeans and ugly gray sweatshirt.

“I could find you more appropriate attire if you’d like.  Or, you could always leave.  But be assured, doctor, none of us mind your clothing.”

“I can’t leave, your brother has a concussion.  And unlike you, he at least brought home a doctor to monitor him since he wouldn’t stay in the hospital.”

“Yes, but my brother isn’t a mutant,” Rafee quipped and Dr. Chen shook her head.

“We never came to any such conclusion, Rafee.  All we know is that you’re above average in a lot of ways.  I’d be grateful if I were you, not sulky.”

“I do not sulk,” he defended.

“You do,” she argued back and it was then that Shawna joined them.

“He sulks,” Shawna agreed and smiled at the doctor. 

The women laughed and Rafee growled.

“And he is so easy to anger,” the doctor added until her eyes fell across the room on the only other injured person besides Nikash.  “Who’s the guy on crutches?”

“Aadam al-Barak.  My cousin’s cousin,” Rafee explained.

“Name sounds familiar.”

“International footballer.  You know, soccer.”

“Ah, and what did he do to his knee?”

Rafee gave and shrug.  “More than likely some pissed off husband broke it,” Rafee suggested and it was then that Shawna elbowed him.

“What?” he asked.  “It’s true.  Aadam’s reputation makes Zaki and Samad both look like angels.”  He turned to the doctor.  “And if you knew anything about my two womanizing cousins, you’d understand what that analogy meant.”

“Former womanizers,” Shawna insisted.  “Just like you, dear husband.”

“I never womanized like they did.  I never had the energy,” Rafee teased and he watched both Shawna and the doctor shaking their heads in disagreement.

“If you understood anything about the Kumar royal men, you’d get what we’re talking about,” Shawna said to Dr. Chen.  “Anyhow, I’ve never met the famous al-Barak soccer player, but I’ve heard he does have quite a reputation.”

“Scored more off the field than on,” Rafee drawled with sarcasm.  “And his on-field scoring percentage is one of the highest in Europe.”

“I get the picture,” Dr. Chen said with a laugh.  “But that wasn’t why I was inquiring.  I was curious about his knee.”

Rafee chuckled.  “I’m sure you’re the first woman to be interested in that particular body part on Aadam.”

Shawna elbowed him again.

“Just introduce her so she can talk about knees,” Shawna said and gestured toward the man in question.

Rafee relented, grabbed Dr. Chen’s arm and dragged her across the room.  With little ceremony he plunked her down in front of Aadam and said, “Aadam, Dr. Stacy Chen.  Dr. Chen, this is Aadam al-Barak.  No relation of mine.”

Then he left.

**

John Banes stood back in the wings of the dinning room as Jenny blew out the candles on her cake and opened the many gifts bought by family and friends.  She was the center of everyone’s attention tonight and John was happy for her.

Everyone loved Jenny.  She had that kind, endearing spirit that attracted people.  She was never mean, never argumentative.  It didn’t mean she was a push-over, but she was an easy person to like, an even easier person to love.

And speaking of love, John watched carefully as her Johar soldier boyfriend placed a beautifully hand-crafted silver necklace around her neck.  The charm was circular in design, with unique markings that Emir had explained were ancient symbols passed down by the tribes in the north.  A jewelry maker in his village had created this necklace just for Jenny.  It was one of a kind.

Jenny beamed at the young man and even Nik seemed at ease with Emir.  But John…well, John wasn’t so sure.  After seeing just how in love Jenny and the Johar soldier were, John felt his numbers at the polls dropping quickly.  Such a connection with a former terrorist state could be his ruin and he gritted his teeth and turned to his trusted aide who never left his side.

“I want that man’s name, Emir Sabet, put on our terrorist watch list.  If he ever tries to enter the country again, he’s to be detained…indefinitely,” John whispered.

“Shall I arrange to have him detained on his way out?” Andrew Curry inquired.

John’s eyes surveyed the room and caught sight of Prince Rafee Armanjani looking at him.  The man’s golden eyes glowed slightly—it must have been the light hitting them just so—and it seemed as if he could read John’s mind.  John shook his head, knowing it best not to try and pull a stunt like that in front of the rest of Jenny’s family.  Besides, he didn’t want the connection to him to be that obvious.

“No.  Let him leave.  But don’t ever let him come back,” John insisted.  No worthless soldier-boy was going to ruin his chance at becoming President.  Not ever.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Sheiks of Kumar IX: Family Reunion – Chapter 13