Chapter 13—Sheiks IX by CJ
The party had mostly ended. Zak and his brood had left. The caterers were gone. Omar had walked Abra home and Shawna and the kids were upstairs in bed. Dr. Chen had examined Nikash one more time, then sent him to sleep with some prescription drug for the pain. She had given strict instructions to come see her in the morning at the hospital.
Nikash, of course, would obey.
Emir, looking weary, had kissed Jenny good-night and disappeared down the back hallway. And Jenny was sitting in the living room talking with Senator Banes—her father.
Rafee paced the circumference of the pool. He hadn’t liked what he’d seen in the senator’s eyes during the party. Rafee didn’t know the man, but he knew when people were plotting. And Senator Banes who had plans to run for President and had recently revealed that Jenny was his biological daughter, had something up his sleeve. There had been that glint in his eye tonight, most pointedly when he’d looked at Emir. Rafee just knew something was up.
Then he heard the sound of feet shuffling around the side of the house. The hairs on the back of his neck tingled and a strange sense of danger and foreboding settled in his gut. With quiet stealth he skirted along the wall of the mansion, out of reach from the flood lights of the house, and slinked around the back corner.
He heard an unfamiliar voice speaking in low tones, talking about a terrorist watch list, and as he neared a figure with back turned, Rafee reacted rather than investigated and lashed out with a hard punch to the man’s face.
He could have blamed it on the after effects of the war or the unsettling realization that his “death” was still affecting his wife. He could even have said that the stress of having lost Kadeem for a while had turned him wary and ornery. But those were just excuses and the real reason he lashed out instead of taking the precaution that he may be hitting one of their workers or guests was because he wanted to make a statement that no one messed with his family.
And when he watched the phone tumble out of Senator Banes’s aide’s hand and the slim, shifty man collapsed to the ground, he smiled.
“Aaah,” the man moaned. “Don’t! Please, stop.”
Knowing perfectly well who he’d just hit, but playing dumb just the same, Rafee leaned over the man and growled, “Who the hell are you and why are you sneaking around the mansion?”
“I’m with…Senator….Banes,” the man choked out, groaning as he put a hand to his face and rolled from side to side in obvious pain.
Rafee pretended to take a closer look at the man and said, “I see, you are, indeed! Sorry. Bad luck, I suppose. But you need to be wary at night around here. We’ve had numerous kidnappings and assaults on our family. I keep a tight watch on Armanjani property.”
“So you do,” the man said, still in pain.
Rafee reached down and picked up the man, then his phone. With a hand wrapped tightly around the man’s elbow, he walked him around the house and into the kitchen. He continued to drag him into the living room, wanting to make sure the senator got a first hand view of his aide.
“My goodness, Andrew, what happened?” Senator Banes asked with anxiety as he jumped to his feet and helped his aide sit on the couch.
Jenny eyed Rafee with narrowed eyes and when he merely smiled, she stood saying, “I’ll get some ice.”
“He…hit me,” the man whined and when Senator Banes glanced with surprise at Rafee, Rafee smiled apologetically and explained, “I mistook him for an intruder. I am very sorry. But, like I explained outside, we have had safety concerns before. I take no chances.”
“I see,” Senator Banes replied with narrowed eyes and Rafee realized then this man was as good of a politician as Nikash. The senator knew a lie when he heard one, but he was wise enough not to always call it.
“I will, of course, take your man to the hospital if need be. Or, I can call Dr. Chen back over,” Rafee suggested.
The man was moving his jaw in a circular motion and testing his teeth. Everything looked to be working fine.
“I didn’t hit him that hard,” Rafee then insisted and the aide looked up incredulously.
“If that wasn’t hard, I would hate to fight you for real,” the man responded and Rafee chuckled with a sinister sound in his voice.
“Is that an offer to spar with me? I train every morning in the gym. Six AM sharp. Can I expect you there, sir?”
The man quickly shook his head and the senator spoke up, “Andrew isn’t a fighter, Prince Rafee. He’s an intellectual. He uses his brain, not his fists.”
“Pitty,” Rafee said back with a grin. “I’m always looking for new sparring partners. I go through them so quickly these days.” He patted the aide on the back, then announced, “Let me know if I can do anything else for you. And remember, we take our family security very, very serious here. Be more careful next time. Night, Senator.”
Rafee felt their eyes on his back the entire time he climbed the stairs. And when he reached the top and turned to glance down at them, they both looked away quickly. He smiled to himself. Let that send them a little message, he thought. It would only be the beginning of what he could do to them if they dared mess with anyone in his family, Emir included.
**
Claire stood by the opened French doors to the balcony of her room and watched the tall, dark and mysterious Armanjani Prince pace the pool. Then she saw him react to something and disappear around the side of the house. A moment later there was a scuffle and then a man was groaning in agony. When the prince returned, he had that Senator’s aide in tow and the man was obviously smarting from something.
She continued to dry her wet hair with a fluffy white towel and pulled the collar of the man’s shirt Billy had found for her tighter around her neck. The night was cool but the view and intrigue of the royal family too much to close the doors on just yet.
A soft knock sounded on her door and then Billy walked in. She turned and smiled and he strode to her side.
“What’s so interesting?” he inquired of her intense stare outside.
“I think that scary prince just clocked the Senator’s aide,” she explained.
Billy laughed. He had a nice laugh. Too bad he wasn’t her type nor she his. She liked him despite his preppy up-tight attitude.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did,” Billy answered. “Rafee enjoys hitting before anything else. And he packs a mean punch, I’m told.”
“Never experienced it yourself?”
He shook his head. “No, thank God.”
“Well, from the looks of Senator Banes’s aide, that man’s going to be hurting in the morning.”
She turned away from the night and ruffled her head one last time with the towel. Then she stretched, yawned and climbed up on the massive king sized bed with the puffy white bed spread and mountains of pillows. She giggled.
“What’s so funny?” Billy asked.
“I feel like a princess in this bed,” she explained. “Not that I’m the princess type, but still…”
“No one would call you a princess, Claire,” Billy assured her, then he began closing her doors.
“No, leave them open for a while. I enjoy the night and the view of the mountains outside. I never get to see this in the city. It’s always so lit up and so noisy outside. Listen, right now it’s just…silent.”
Billy stood by the door in his clothes that he’d had on all night at the party, obviously not ready for bed yet. She, on the other hand, had taken advantage of the luxurious shower and now was going to sink into the soft pillow-top mattress and sleep all night and all morning.
“It is nice out here,” he agreed. “Even with all the Armanjani family drama.”
He walked toward the bed as Claire began removing all the pillows and pulled back the bed sheets and comforter for her. She climbed in and he politely pulled the covers back up to her chin.
She laughed.
“You’re a good guy, Billy. I don’t understand why you have such a retched reputation with the ladies,” Claire insisted.
He smiled wickedly at her. His red-brown hair was slightly tousled and exhaustion was starting to show in the lines around his green eyes. He was worn, she noticed. Perhaps it was just a long day for him? She wasn’t sure why, but she had the strangest urge to reach out and gently rub those lines away.
It was an unusual feeling because usually she didn’t like the kind of guys who were into the hot, saucy women. And she knew Detective Billy Patrick’s reputation was such. Also, she never, ever, dated the kind of guy who actually shopped at major department stores and wore collars on all their shirts. She liked them lanky and brooding, not sturdy and handsome like Billy. She enjoyed a man who knew his way around a guitar, not a gun. And certainly there was the fact that she had only dated the boys that she’d met at her uncle’s bar where she played in a band whenever she could and hoped that one day they’d get a big break.
But she was realistic and knew the music was only a pipe dream. In the meantime, she worked part-time as a dispatcher to earn money and attended a performing arts college twice a week. She had goals and she had patience. She knew one day she’d have a job that included working with music and helping people both. For now, she helped the people of her city by sending police to their emergencies and played her music when she could.
Yet all her goals and patience eluded her as she looked at the rogue cop with the wickedly sexy smile and devious glint in his Irish eyes. He may not be her type, but it didn’t mean she didn’t find him attractive in the moonlight.
“Hang out with me enough, little girl, and you’ll see why,” he replied and she frowned.
“I’m not that young. I’m twenty-five if you must know.”
He gave a nod. “Good. I was worried perhaps I would have to charge your family a baby-sitting fee for the weekend.”
“Ha ha,” she retorted. Then she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Night. Thanks for bringing me here. I’ve had a blast.”
He stared at her strangely for a moment, then pushed back from the bed and left. He closed the bedroom door behind him and Claire fell asleep with the feel of his skin on her lips and the view of the night sky in her eyes.
**
Jenny was curled on his lap in the kitchen as they ate a light breakfast of sliced fruit left over from the party the night before. It was early still and no one was awake yet. Emir liked it that way. He liked it when he had Jenny all to himself. Since arriving in
“I love the necklace you had made for me,” she said as she nuzzled his neck, then looked down at the necklace she wore. “I’ll never take it off.”
He laughed and forced her to take a bite of fruit.
“I never insisted upon that,” he told her. “But I would be much honored.”
She fingered the gold charm he wore.
“Have you ever taken it off, Em?” she asked quietly.
“Never.”
“And have you thought about what we talked about? Have you thought about making our engagement official?”
He sighed, set down the fork and turned her on his lap. She took advantage of their positions to straddle him. It was way too provocative for his control, but he figured that out in the open of the kitchen, they could be well behaved.
“I have thought about it. And I think we should leave that for the next visit. At least allow ourselves both time to think about it,” he explained.
She smiled wickedly. “Don’t want to shell out the bucks for a ring? Don’t worry, I don’t like big diamonds,” she teased.
“I don’t mind any expense for you,” he told her, “but I have already pledged myself to you. I don’t need a ring, but obviously you do.”
“No, I don’t need one, but I think something more ‘official’ will finally allow you to relax a bit.” She moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Just think, all this could be yours any time you want. All you have to do is agree, Em.”
She kissed him seductively and rocked her body against his in a rhythm that was in no way indicative of a beginner. Oh, how he wanted her! How he had wanted her since he’d first laid eyes upon her. And now that she’d finally turned “legal” in her culture, she was certainly pushing his limits.
She took his hand and pulled it underneath her baggy pajama top. Guiding his hand to her bare breast, she blatantly forced him to touch her. Of course, he never objected, never resisted, and when her hand left his he eagerly kneaded the fleshy mound and heard her moan quietly. Then she fastened her mouth to his in a hot, open-mouthed kiss that had their tongues dueling for control. She tasted like sweet strawberries and he felt his body tighten in a heated response that nearly caused him to take her right there.
Jenny pulled her mouth away first and Emir was glad she had relieved his torture, but then she moved her mouth to his ear and hotly whispered, “I only want to make love with you, Emir. Only you. I’m not afraid and I’m not shy with you. I’m not even hesitant of your touch. I’m safe with you. I’ll always be safe with you.”
Emir sighed with frustration—that same frustration that he’d been feeling since he’d met Jenny—and pushed her gently away from him. He stood.
“Please, if you care for me at all, you won’t push me to such…frustrating heights,” he insisted.
“Em, come on. Why are you so uptight?”
He furrowed his brow at her. “Uptight?”
She explained its meaning and he frowned further. “I am only trying to prove to you how important you are to me by not…by not making you into every other woman I have ever been with.”
Jenny raised an inquisitive eyebrow at that. “And how many other women would that be?”
He smiled secretively. “I’d be a fool to say.” Then he dropped to his knees in front of her as she sat in a kitchen chair. “But don’t you see…you mean the world to me. And if we are meant to be together, then everything can wait. It can wait until…” he wasn’t going to say “until we’re married” again, for that may not be possible. But things between them could move slowly…they could.
“Until we can both agree its time?” Jenny finished for him and he nodded with a wide smile.
“Exactly,” he answered.
Jenny leaned down and kissed his mouth. “I love you, Emir. I always will.”
They were interrupted by a cough and Emir jumped to his feet as Jenny turned to gaze up at John. He was dressed in tailored sporting clothes and she found his presence at Villa Serena so early rather odd.
“John, what are you doing here?” Jenny asked and she noticed that John’s eyes took in a good, long look at Emir.
“I was told there would be some family happenings today, so my aide dropped me off on his way to the hospital,” John explained.
“Hospital?”
“Yes, Andrew had a…mishap last night. He’ll be fine. I hope you don’t mind the early arrival,” John said as he strode into the kitchen and fetched himself some coffee that Jenny had put on before everyone woke up.
“Of course I don’t mind. But how’d you…?”
“Abra let me in. She was on her way up to the house when we arrived. I believe she’s upstairs with Shawna’s children right now. I also saw Prince Rafee moving about upstairs. Tell me, is he always such a…grumpy looking fellow in the morning?”
“Not just in the mornings,” Jenny quipped and watched as Emir gave her a waning smile and left the kitchen.
“I didn’t mean to frighten him away,” John said as he sat in a chair opposite Jenny.
“Nothing scares, Emir,” Jenny defended. “I think he’s just shy sometimes.”
“Brave fellow, you say?”
“He fought in Johar. He defended me against King Jabbar. Yes, he’s very brave.”
“And you love him?” It was almost more a statement than a question.
“Yes, I do,” Jenny answered honestly. “I hope to marry him one day.”
“Not too soon, I hope. I mean, if I become president, things could become…sticky for you.”
Jenny furrowed her brow. “How so? You and I may be related by DNA, but I’m not really your daughter. I’m Walter’s daughter.”
“Walt’s dead, honey,” he stated. “And once I’m president, that DNA will mean an awful lot.” He set his coffee mug down on the table. “Do you realize what power that position holds? Do you realize what a liability you’ll become for me? If anyone got their hands on you, they could blackmail me, blackmail the country. Trust me, you will certainly be my daughter.”
His words had a dark tone to them and Jenny shivered.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” she said after a moment of silence. “I want my life to be my own now that I’ve finally started to find out who I really am and what I can really do.”
John reached across the table and settled his large hand upon hers. Jenny used to feel warmth in that touch, now she only felt possession.
“I’m sorry, honey, that’s just the way things might be.”
**
So much for being able to sleep in, Claire thought as the morning light awoke her. She yawned and snuggled back under the covers for warmth, as the outside air that was making its way into her room through the still open French doors was cold. But the light from the sunrise kept her awake and so she dashed out of the cocoon of her bed to close the doors.
Before she did, however, she caught sight of two figures out by the pool. Billy and Prince Rafee were returning from a run. Both men moved gracefully yet with intense power and Claire took a moment to admire their athleticism. As they jogged down the back hillside and halted by the pool, Billy whipped off his shirt and dried his face. Plumes of air were visible as he breathed heavily and his perfectly chiseled ab muscles contracted with the effort.
“Hot,” she mumbled to herself, insisting in her mind that admiring a good-looking man was okay even if he wasn’t in her social circle. And, she had to admit, the prince wasn’t bad to ogle either. Just…dark and scary in a way.
Billy looked up just as she was about to close the doors and caught her eye. He nodded in her direction, she gave a small wave, and then secured the doors behind her. Her heart was doing a little rumba in her chest but she fibbed to herself and insisted it was just the exertion of getting out of bed. Then, she dove back into the voluminous bed and snuggled down for more sleep.
**
“Cute girl,” Rafee said as the doors up on the balcony closed. “New girlfriend?”
Billy shook his head as they headed into the gym together. “Naw, just a…friend of sorts. Brought her along so you all wouldn’t think I’d lost my touch.”
Rafee chuckled and handed Billy a towel. They mopped the sweat from their faces and sat down on nearby weight benches. They were supposed to start lifting, but neither seemed inclined to begin.
“Now why on earth would we ever think that?” Rafee asked in jest. “Last time I saw you, you had that redhead wound around you like a snake.”
“Last time you saw me was almost a year ago, Rafee. There’s been plenty more redheads, brunettes and blondes since then. Just not in the past month or so.”
Billy frowned though Rafee looked impressed. Why did it suddenly sound like he was some sort of male gigolo to say that?
“So…what’s her name isn’t a conquest then?” Rafee inquired, pointing skyward to the floor of the mansion above them.
“Claire. And no, just a friend. Not my type.”
“Thought she was a bit too cute and innocent seeming for your tastes. Not much body hiding under those clothes either. But like I said, cute. And I liked her. Spunky.”
“Yep, spunky will work. She has a tattoo and plays in a punk band. Not exactly the kind of girl who looks good sitting next to me in my sports car, you know?”
Rafee shrugged. “Yes, but before Shawna all I had ever dated had been high-maintenance prissy ladies who knew the difference between Versace and Armani.”
“Really? ‘Cause I could have sworn that you only liked the tomboy type like Shawna. You both seem so…perfect together.”
Rafee stood and dropped his work-out towel in a nearby laundry basket. “We are perfect together. But she still wasn’t my type. I guess you never know exactly what your type is until you try something else.”
With that he left without even explaining why he was skipping his lifting. Billy didn’t care, he wasn’t feeling like working out after that hell of a run Rafee had put him through. Since returning from the war, the man had not only brought home a scar, but a wild, possessed air about him. It disappeared around Shawna and the kids, but when Rafee got angry or felt competitive, suddenly his eyes lit up like a demon’s and he worked like a man obsessed.
Billy was positive Joseph would have a more reasonable explanation for Rafee’s behavior of late, but Joseph was still in Kumar, taking care of security concerns while Rafee rebuilt his marriage and family. He missed his older brother and though all of his family besides Joseph was now in the bay area, he still wished for Joseph’s no-nonsense take on things.
He sighed and threw his own towel in the laundry basket and decided to call it quits on a work-out. It was, after all, his weekend off. He wanted to relax and just enjoy everyone’s company—Claire’s included. He had enjoyed talking with her last night. She was fun. Lots of lots of fun. Whether it had been an easy conversation with Shawna or a sarcastic barb about politics to the Senator, Billy had liked everything Claire had said. And that made him positive they would always be friends if nothing else.
He trudged up the stairs to the room next to Claire’s. It was more a closet than a room that he had taken. It used to be Jenny’s study room when she was in high school. It had a small daybed in the corner and when the mansion became full of family and friends, someone got relegated to the former study. Billy didn’t mind. A bed was a bed and usually he volunteered for it. Like last night, he had given Claire the large “Princess Room” as everyone referred to it, and she had obviously enjoyed it.
He gathered his things together for a shower, realized the hall bathroom was in use, the shower running, so he slipped quietly into Claire’s room, so as not to disturb her, and closed her bathroom door behind him.
Walled in light marble with a large glassed-in shower, Billy thought the room was a bit too fancy for his tastes. But, it was a shower and he didn’t care whether it was a girly shower or not, it served his purposes.
He tried to be quick yet when he heard the small gasp of surprise come from the area near the door, he knew he hadn’t been quick enough. Looking over his shoulder and completely aware that his bottom was fully exposed to a shocked Claire, he drawled, “I’ll be done in just a minute if you can wait that long. And if you can’t…feel free to join me.”
Her previously shocked pink face instantly changed and she narrowed her blue eyes at him, made a show of looking over his backside critically and then replied, “Naw, I don’t think so.”
She closed the door and he laughed. She was certainly fun!
**
Claire wasn’t ready for the effect of seeing Billy naked in her shower would have on her. She hadn’t even known he’d been in there when she’d awoken and groggily stumbled toward the door. And when she’d opened the door and caught sight of that firm, well-rounded backside of his, she’d suddenly been anything but groggy.
Admittedly he was a good-looking man. His face was chiseled with nicely shaped lips and a straight nose. And his brown-red hair was always styled to perfection. Perhaps he spent a little more time in front of the mirror for her tastes and was certainly from a different crowd than her world, but she would never lie and say he wasn’t a piece of work to ogle.
And…he’d asked her out!
He’d also called her a punk and a kid.
She frowned. Well, to be fair, she’d called him an uptight prep. She supposed they were even. Besides, she liked it when a man could handle her mouth and attitude. A weaker man would have dumped her out of that fancy Mercedes last night. But Billy had just chuckled and taken her mouth completely in stride. He wasn’t even above giving it back to her and that she could appreciate.
She could also appreciate his body as he walked out of her bathroom with a towel wrapped lowly upon his hips. He carried his dirty work-out clothes with him and had a sports bag slung over his shoulder. His hair was wet and tousled.
“I hurried,” he said with a flick of his head in the direction of the bathroom. “Sorry to have intruded.”
“I don’t mind,” she returned casually as she lay on the bed, her head propped by an arm and stared at him. “I do know how to share.”
He smiled. It was a wicked smile he possessed—arrogant, smug, sexy and slightly lop-sided. He took a step toward her and she quickly sat up, blurting out, “You’re not my type, Billy.”
He halted, smiled again and laughed with sarcasm. “Yeah, well you’re not mine either, babe.” Then he turned and left.
**
The children were down in the kitchen with Abra and Rafee didn’t see Shawna anywhere. He said a few words to each child, asked Abra if she was fine with the kids, grabbed a drink, and then bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time, to find Shawna.
He found her still in bed.
Frowning, thinking she must be ill, he moved to her side, touched her face and asked softly, “Shawna, are you all right?”
She wiped at her eyes. She’d been crying. She rolled away from him and pushed to a seated position, scrubbing at her hair as she did.
“Yeah, I’m…fine,” she answered, but her voice was weak.
Rafee sat down on the bed next to her but didn’t touch her. She was anything but fine and he knew it.
“Tell me what is wrong,” he demanded rather than asked calmly and he didn’t mean to sound so curt, but he just wanted to fix whatever was troubling her and get on with life.
She grumbled something unintelligible and climbed out of the other side of bed.
“Shawna,” he said to her in an apologetic voice but she was already slamming the bathroom door.
He cursed to himself in every language he knew, remembering the scene in the city yesterday. Shawna had been through so much in the past year, he had to continually remind himself of that. She needed patience and his gentle support, not his demanding commando persona. Yet he too had been through a lot, and sometimes…well, he was still trying to reacclimatize to life with his family.
Standing, he made his way into the bathroom which thankfully Shawna had not locked and discovered her in the shower. He waited, leaning against the counter. She was out quickly enough and drying off before she noticed him. When she did, she glared at him.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly, thinking he’d been saying those words too often lately. Yet he had a lot to make up for when it came to his family, so he would keep saying them.
Shawna shrugged and said with forced indifference, “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does,” he insisted. Then he stared at her critically and added, “You seemed fine last night. I mean, I know losing Kadeem hurt for a while, but I thought…I thought you were fine by the time we got home.”
“Yeah, well I’ve learned how to be a good actress,” Shawna drawled as she slipped into a blue terry-cloth robe.
Before she began combing out her hair, Rafee caught her arm and asked, “Did you act with Marcus?”
He watched as her eyes slid shut and she took in several deep breaths before answering. “Rafee…don’t. Please don’t ask anymore.”
“It still hurts…being away from him,” he said rather than phrasing it in a question. He knew. And no, he wasn’t jealous, but he knew they both needed more time and distance away from the man who had nearly become his children’s second father.
“He meant a lot to me when we thought you were dead,” Shawna admitted. “And sometimes…when things happen like yesterday with Kadeem, well, I briefly remember how hard he worked at keeping Kess and I happy. Sometimes…yeah, I miss him.” She turned quickly then and pointed the brush in her hand at his chest. “But don’t for a moment think I wish I had made any other decision about you! Got it?”
Of course he never doubted Shawna’s decision to be with him instead of Marcus. After all, he and Shawna were made in heaven for one another. But when it came to what had happened during the war…well, things were just complicated.
He smiled at her and leaned forward, kissing her on the nose. “I’d never think that, Shawna. But do me a favor. In the future, tell me whenever things hurt. Don’t cry in bed thinking of some other man.”
“I wasn’t thinking of Marcus exactly, I was thinking of how hurt I felt when you died. And I felt some of that yesterday when we lost the boy. And then…then I thought…will I feel like this always whenever something tragic or semi-tragic happens? ‘Cause if I do, then I really must be some kind of sissy.”
Rafee smiled at her and pulled her into his embrace. “You’re not a sissy, darling. You’re the strongest woman I know. And you will eventually feel more right than wrong. I promise.”
She nodded, sighed and then pushed him away. “I know. Now, take a shower. You smell like you ran ten miles.”
“No, just five today,” he laughed as he reached inside the glass doors to turn on the water. “And don’t go taking off. We have a family football match planned.”
“American football or European?”
“European. The last time we played American football, I couldn’t walk for a week.” And he slipped into the shower hoping that things would begin to settle more and more with each passing week. They had to, for Shawna’s sake. He wanted Marcus out of her head and out as quickly as possible.
**
The family game always started out friendly, but eventually Rafee would turn it ugly. It was just his way and currently he and Zaki were wrestling in the dirt of the horse paddock though the ball was now being kicked back toward Rafee’s goal.
“Does your brother ever play fair, Nik?” Senator Banes inquired as he strolled up next to the white fence Nik was leaning on and asked.
Nik didn’t smile at the Senator for his perceptive comment about Rafee for his face hurt too much. Dr. Stacy Chen was currently at the mansion and they had gone to the hospital for one more test which he passed. She’d brought him back and remained, talking with Zak’s cousin Aadam a few yards down. He wondered briefly about what they could possibly have in common, then he remembered Aadam’s knee. Stacy was certainly the kind of doctor who showed concerned for all those in need—no matter how immoral or reprehensible the person!
“Rafee?” Nik replied, returning his eyes to the Senator then looking out at the wrestling men. “He plays fair when he wants to. When it comes to soccer, he never plays fair.”
Senator Banes laughed, but he didn’t sound amused. Shawna and Maria broke the men apart and the game resumed.
“He also doesn’t play fair when he wants to make a point,” John added. “He punched my aide last night.”
Nik raised his eyebrows in concern. “Andrew Curry? Really. Why?”
“Said he thought Andrew was a prowler.”
“Well,” Nik said in defense of his brother, “Rafee did just return from war. A very hard fought war. I wouldn’t put it past him to assume just that.”
“Your brother doesn’t assume, Prince Nikash, he sends messages. Loud and clear messages.”
Nik didn’t like the tone of John’s voice. He furrowed his brow, wondering why John was suddenly sounding so defensive and asked, “What message would Rafee need to send you or your aide?”
“I don’t know. I thought perhaps you would. He doesn’t do your bidding, does he?”
“Not in this instance. I honestly have no idea why he would. We’ve had no conversation about you or your aide.”
John looked out at the game and Nik saw his eyes land on Rafee, then Jenny, then Emir.
“But, you’ve had conversations about Jenny and Emir, no doubt,” John said.
“Of course we have.”
“And your brother would defend his war buddy to the end. Tell me I’m right.” John’s gaze once again fell on Nik.
“You’re right. He thinks highly of…”
Before Nik could finish, John said coldly, “I don’t want that Johar soldier near my daughter. She’s too young, he lives too far away…”
It was Nik’s turn to interrupt as he added, “…he’d be bad for your political ambitions?”
John’s eyes narrowed slightly and that was when Nik knew not to trust everything the Senator had to say. He’d been blinded by the Senator’s generosity during the war, been apt to believe him because Tara did and had wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt because of his relationship with Jenny. But now, well, Nik wasn’t going to trust a thing the man said. He couldn’t.
“I’d be a stupid man to try and tell you otherwise, Nik. You understand politics. But tell me, does Rafee? Does he realize he has no power to intimidate me?”
“Do you think he cares? Senator, my brother is a man of his own mind. He came back from the dead. I seriously doubt you faze him in the least.”
“Because he danced with the devil and survived?” John asked with sarcasm. “Tell him to back off, Nik. I certainly won’t take any crap from a two-bit prince from Kumar who’s only claim to fame is surviving a little war in the desert.”
Nik stared, shocked by John’s venomous words, and was only glad Rafee was out of ear shot. Otherwise his brother would come apart at the seams.
“And,” John quickly added, “I suggest you too leave me to take care of what I need to take care of with Jenny. I want Emir gone. Do I have your assistance?”
Nik wanted to reach out and wrap his hands around John’s throat. Gone was the man who had been so kind and generous and he was replaced with a vile, despicable politician who Nik wouldn’t trust now to baby-sit his dog.
“No, you do not have my assistance,” Nik quickly snapped. “I happen to now think Emir has only the best intentions where Jenny is concerned. And I will certainly tell her your plans to interfere in her life. I won’t allow it.”
John then sneered with a very unattractive smile and Nik felt his stomach sink.
“Oh, but you will allow it, Nik, for you see, I know your secret. I know all about how you acquired your child and I plan to unleash that information to the world if you try and stop me,” John insisted and Nik was positive he’d get sick.
He quickly snapped his eyes away from the man next to him and watched as Rafee halted mid-stride, let the ball slip right past him, and stood, staring at the Senator as if he had heard every word. Yet Rafee couldn’t possibly have heard anything, he was too far away. But his eyes glowed with hate and Nik felt another wave of nausea for not only did he have to worry about Jenny, Emir and Nico, now he was positive he had to worry about Rafee too.
**
Something wasn’t right between Nikash and Senator Banes and Rafee felt it even before he watched his brother turn pale. He had a feeling he knew exactly what it was too. Senator Banes was warning Nik off because sooner or later Banes was going to do something to separate Jenny and Emir.
Emir ran up to Rafee and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Thanks for letting that one slip by,” Emir taunted, pointing toward the ball that was now being shot into their goal by Zaki.
Rafee pulled his eyes away from Nik and the Senator and looked at Emir. Emir immediately frowned.
“What is wrong, Rafee?” Emir asked seriously.
“Nothing…at the moment. Please, watch yourself around Jenny’s newly declared father, Emir. I do not trust him,” Rafee returned with clenched teeth.
“Sure,” Emir returned. “Care to tell me why exactly?”
“Not now. Just do as I ask.”
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The Sheiks of Kumar IX: Family Reunion – Chapter 14