Chapter 14—Sheiks IX by CJ
The game wound down after Rafee lost interest in it. Pulverizing the opposing team, his cousin Zaki especially, didn’t hold quite the same appeal for him after he had witnessed the expression on his brother’s face.
Damn that American Senator and damn the complicated situation his tie to Jenny had created!
People began leaving the paddock, filing off chatting, while Rafee remained behind. Shawna approached and smacked him on the bottom.
“Coming up to the house for the celebration party, hon?” she asked with a teasing grin. She was taunting because her side had won. Rafee was glad to see a smile on her face and the joy back in her eyes. Yet he was too concerned for his brother to express that happiness with much enthusiasm.
“In a minute. I’m going to check on something first,” he said vaguely.
When Shawna’s pretty face pulled a frown, Rafee quickly leaned down and kissed her mouth. “I need to have a word with Aadam. I didn’t like him talking to Dr. Chen all during the game.”
Shawna laughed, rolled her eyes, then trounced off with Kadeem. The boy began talking to her and he watched them for a moment. Then he turned his attention to Nikash. His brother, however, was now surrounded by Dr. Chen and Aadam. Rafee joined them, climbing the paddock fence and jumping down.
“So, you still feel well?” Stacy was inquiring of Nikash and Nikash was nodding saying he felt fine.
“Well, you look all right. So, rest for the next few days and come in to the hospital to see me on Wednesday. Got it?”
“Got it, doctor,” Nikash said with a forced smile and before Dr. Chen could walk off, Aadam said to her, “Please think about what I asked you, Dr. Chen.”
Stacy laughed with something that sounded rather sarcastic, shook her head, and walked away.
Quickly turning his anger on another target, Rafee snapped a hand out and wrapped his hand around Aadam’s throat.
“Leave the doctor alone, al-Barak, or I’ll kill you,” Rafee snarled in their native tongue.
“Rafee!” Nikash quickly chastised and tried to pull Rafee’s hand off Aadam’s throat.
The doctor came running back, having obviously seen the confrontation, and put her hand on Rafee’s and yanked it loose. She was only able to dislodge his hand because Rafee let her.
“Rafee, are you insane?” Stacy yelled at him. Turning to Aadam who was coughing and rubbing at the red finger marks on his neck she asked, “Aadam, are you hurt?”
“No,” Aadam insisted, glaring at Rafee.
Rafee said nothing, he just snarled and glared. The doctor was shaking her head at him and insisting, “I’m going to definitely speak with you later,” as she led Aadam off.
He had to give some credit to Aadam, for the man hadn’t flinched and he hadn’t whined. He’d taken it and Rafee was positive that if Aadam hadn’t been handicapped with a busted knee and crutches, that he certainly would have fought back. He wasn’t, after all, a coward, he was just a womanizer worse than any other Rafee had ever met.
“What did you do that for?” Nikash immediately asked and before he could answer his brother, Nikash added, “And why you’re at it, care to tell me why you punched out the Senator’s aide last night too?”
“Because I wanted the Senator to know not to mess with our family,” Rafee answered. “And as for al-Barak, he was available.”
“So you just decided to try and choke the man right in front of Dr. Chen?” Nikash shook his head. “Rafee, you’re incorrigible.”
“I’ve been called worse. Now, tell me what is the matter with you and just what exactly that two-bit politician threatened you with. I’ll kill him next if he tries anything, Nikash. I swear I will.”
**
Nik wanted to pace his study, but his pounding head was handicapping him to his leather chair. Rafee, however, was pacing, and Emir was seated on the couch, looking a bit disturbed by the news he had been given.
“So this American Senator is just going to interfere in Jenny’s life and there isn’t anything we can do about it?” he asked and Rafee let out an angry sounding growl.
Nik shook his head. “There is always something we can do, Emir. We just have to be patient and not lose our heads.” He was glaring at Rafee who finally halted his pacing.
“I hope you at least told the Senator to get the hell off our estate. No matter who he is, he has no right to trespass,” Rafee insisted.
“I believe he left right after his conversation with me. I do not anticipate his visiting us anytime soon. However…I wonder how much we should tell Jenny,” Nik said.
Immediately Emir spoke up. “We tell her nothing. Senator Banes is her father. We must not destroy his image in her eyes.”
Rafee literally gaped at the younger man, but Nik smiled with a show of respect. Emir was more grounded than he could ever imagine any man his age being. He had fought valiantly in Johar, he was helping to rebuild his country, he treated Jenny with nothing but respect and adoration and now he was even defending the man who was trying to keep the two young lovers apart. Very few men in the world would be so brave and so thoughtful of everyone involved.
“I say we find a quiet way to kill him and hide his body,” Rafee grumbled and Nik shook his head, ignoring his brother’s outrage.
“I find it admirable, Emir, that you could be so thoughtful when your own happiness is at stake,” Nik commented.
Emir shrugged. “My happiness is tied with Jenny’s. If she is saddened by anything that happens, then I am saddened. Given the fact that she just discovered who her real father is, I think she should have time to adjust before we bombard her with negativity about him. And perhaps after a little while, he’ll change his mind.” Emir smiled then. “You did, after all, Nikash.”
Nik slowly shook his head. “That is only because I was knocked senseless by a tree branch. Otherwise, I am positive I’d still fear you and your influence over Jenny.”
“And Nikash is no American politician,” Rafee added. “My brother has morals, few in
“Rafee,” Nik chastised. “I thought you had mellowed in your opinion of our adopted land?”
“I did…until I was forced to fight a war with but a handful of Americans for back-up. I do not hate
Nik couldn’t answer his brother for he was correct. Only Senator Banes had aided him in his quest to find assistance for the war his country was unjustly being forced to fight. The rest of the
“Yet Senator Banes was the only one to help us,” Nik threw out. Then he remembered the threat John had made just a few hours prior and he cringed. “Then again, he did threaten me personally just a little while ago.”
“Yes, what exactly did he threaten you with?” Rafee insisted rather than asked.
So far Nik had been able to avoid answering that question. Right after Rafee had assaulted Aadam by the horse paddock, he’d avoided telling his brother anything specific by feigning a headache and insisting they needed to speak with Emir first. That was an hour ago. Now Rafee was insisting and Nik knew he had to tell just what John had threatened.
“Nico,” Nik said and it was all he had to say to watch his brother’s eyes burn with the fire of hatred.
“Just say the word, Nikash, and he is a dead man,” Rafee growled and Nik shook his head again.
“No, brother, we will not fight like that. Not this war. This war we will wait out. I cannot risk my son. Surely you must know that.”
A Tiffany lamp was in Rafee’s hand and sailing across the room. It smashed through the French doors at the end, breaking glass and wood sills, and crashing in shards on the balcony. Then the study door was kicked open and the wood of the door frame splintered as Rafee stormed out, his disappearance creating a strange vacuum in the room.
Emir moved to follow, but Nik halted him with a word. “Leave him be, Emir,” Nik warned gently. “He is not the same man he was before the war. He is volatile and needs time to cool down. He will not hurt anyone, just destroy a bit more of my furniture, perhaps.”
Emir sunk back to the couch.
“I’m sorry about all of this, Prince Nikash. But I will not stop seeing Jenny. I can’t and I won’t,” Emir stated firmly.
Nik nodded. “I understand. But you have nothing to be sorry for. However, I must warn you that it would be best if you left
“What kind of consequences?” Emir asked.
Nik sighed. “Ever heard of a terrorist watch list? I have the feeling your name will quickly be placed on the top.”
**
His rage was all-consuming and by the time he had made the sprint down to the stables, little had changed.
Rafee hated this feeling of powerlessness. At least in the war he had been able to fight. He’d been out on the battlefield, physically defeating the enemy. It had lessened his internal pang over missing Shawna and his family. But now…well, he no longer missed his family, but he felt such an inability to fight this new beast that was emerging in
The off-road Jeep was just where he’d last left it. Muddy, slightly dented and parked under a car-cover next to the stable cottage. He whipped the cover off, jumped inside the doorless driver’s side and was just about to rev the engine when Dr. Chen’s voice reached him.
“I need to speak with you, Prince Rafee,” she insisted as she walked toward the back of the Jeep.
Rafee watched her in the rearview mirror and he ground his teeth in irritation. Great, just what he needed!
He revved the engine despite her approach and shouted over the noise, “Not right now, doctor.”
He was just about to back the Jeep out when Dr. Chen jumped into the passenger seat. Before he could say a word, she was buckling her seatbelt and holding it with both hands as if daring him to try and toss her out.
“Yes, now, Rafee. You tried to strangle a man right in front of me and that is just something I can’t let go,” she said and Rafee shook his head because attempting to strangle Aadam was the least of his sins in life.
He spun the tires on the gravel and the Jeep jerked back. Then he slammed the gearshift into drive and tore out down the road toward the house he was renovating. He had no interest in seeing the house, just in finding the rough trails that went on for miles behind it.
“If you want to talk, doctor, you’re gonna have to hang on for the ride,” Rafee told her and watched as she frowned at him. “And just so you know, it isn’t unusual in this family for one of us to try and strangle the other. In fact, my cousin Samad and I almost killed one another several years ago. Now, we’re the best of friends.”
“So I should expect to see you and Aadam being best of pals real soon?” she returned sarcastically.
“No,” Rafee drawled, “I’m not related by blood to him. Besides, he’s the worst of the worst when it comes to using women.” He turned and glanced her over. “I suggest you stay away from him. He’s bad news.”
“Yeah, about as bad as you are, I’d assume,” she insulted. “Can’t you drive at a normal pace?”
“You interrupted my drive, Chen, I didn’t invite you along,” Rafee reminded her. Then he nearly laughed she let out a small scream of surprise as they hit a bump in the road hard.
“Next time I won’t follow you,” she said, “but right now, I have to know what in the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing, everything. Take your pick.”
He drove further, leaving the vines of the estate behind and climbing the steep mountain foothills that were not part of Villa Serena. Rafee didn’t know who or what entity owned them, but he sure did enjoy flying along the narrow dirt road.
Doctor Chen, however, obviously did not enjoy it the same. She was clutching her seat and grimacing with discomfort. Not fear, just some worry and anxiety. He knew, however, that deep down she was frightened. She was just real good at masking her emotions.
He skidded the Jeep to a halt on top of a mountain-top and slid out. The sun was setting in the horizon, and he wished now that he had brought Shawna along. Yet he hadn’t even considered burdening her with his rage over Senator Banes. She had too much on her mind already.
“Tell me, Rafee,” Stacy spoke up from behind him, “do you normally pick fights at soccer matches, try and strangle injured men and drive your worries away on some God-forsaken road in the middle of nowhere? Or are you just having a bad day?”
Rafee chuckled. He had to hand it to the doctor, she was smart, intuitive and had a sharp tongue. He could admire that.
“If you ask anyone who knows me, they’ll tell you yes to all.”
“I suppose that’s a relief. Because I was wondering if you were seriously messed-up from the war.”
Quickly Rafee turned on Dr. Chen, but the woman stood her ground. His eyes narrowed on her face and he growled, “I’m not messed-up, doctor! I went through a lot, my family went through even more, but I’m not messed-up.”
Holding her hands up in a calming, defensive posture, Stacy said soothingly, “I didn’t mean for it to be an insult. I’m just trying to figure you out.”
“Well, figure this out—I’m always ornery, I love to fight and I enjoy war. What I don’t enjoy are American politicians who decide to threaten with my family and put me in a dangerous position. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t and that’s not a position I enjoy being in at all.”
“Because you have to have control,” Stacy surmised. “Doesn’t surprise me. And I suppose after what I’ve learned about you lately, I should know better than to be worried. You take care of yourself no matter what, don’t you?”
“No matter what,” he grumbled and turned back to the Jeep. “Coming, doctor? It’s a long walk home.”
**
Jenny remained up late with Emir, Billy, Claire, Zak’s hot cousin Aadam and Doctor Chen. The doctor had returned with Rafee, he’d stormed up to his room, and Aadam had persuaded her to stay and play cards. Aadam was slick that way, Jenny noticed. More slick than Zak had been and that was surprising.
But Jenny wasn’t paying any attention to the hot soccer player across the table from her who was teasing Doctor Chen, nor was she watching Billy and his friend Claire as they played a drinking game at the other end. She was only paying attention to Emir.
Their chairs were close together and as the card game wore down and the other couples went their separate ways—Billy hoisted Claire over his shoulder and carried her upstairs while Doctor Chen insisted she’d drive Aadam to Zak’s house—Emir took Jenny’s hand in his and kissed it.
He seemed somber and she realized then that he had been somber most of the night.
“What’s wrong?” Jenny asked him and he gave her a disarming smile, leaned forward and kissed her face.
“Nothing,” he insisted.
“Liar,” she replied and with a sigh he finally let go of her hand and said in his native language, “I must leave in the morning.”
Jenny gasped and immediately began to argue, “But you can’t! You said you’d be here a week and…and it’s barely been…but a few days.”
Tears flooded her eyes before she could halt them. Emir calmly and gently wiped them away.
“We will see one another soon in Kumar. Nikash has promised,” Emir told her with a smile.
Jenny hiccupped and blinked rapidly. The tears halted and she was finally able to nod and say, “I’m glad he sees our side now. But why must you leave? Is something wrong?”
“Something could be wrong. I…”
He never finished his explanation and Jenny just assumed it must have been Johar. “They need you back in Johar, don’t they? That’s why you’re leaving.”
Emir lifted a shoulder and without looking her in the eye stated, “They always need me back in Johar. Rebuilding a country after Kings Haddad & Jabbar is a trying task.”
Jenny sensed perhaps there was more, but she didn’t pursue it. Emir, like the Armanjani men she knew was stubborn at times, secretive when necessary, and insanely sure they could handle it all themselves. Well, Jenny wouldn’t ask this time, but she would the next. Give him some time and distance away from her and she had a feeling he’d be ready and willing to talk soon enough.
“Well, whatever the cause may be, Emir, know that I love you. I adore you. I cherish you. And the next time I see you, nothing will have changed in that regard,” Jenny said as she pressed her lips to his.
He smiled sweetly down at her. “You seem to know your mind so well, Jenny. I am glad. And when we meet in the near future, maybe, just maybe I will have that diamond you want so badly.”
Jenny smiled widely and replied, “It’s not the diamond I want, Emir, its what it symbolizes. It’s what it’ll mean for us. It’s how it will ease your mind.”
“Ease my mind?” he asked back with a crooked grin.
Jenny laughed and kissed him for a long, intimate moment. When she pulled back she explained, “Yes. How it will make it so much easier for you to decide to make love to me.”
**
Billy’s head was slightly fuzzy, but certainly not as fuzzy as Claire’s must be. She could barely walk. What a light-weight she had turned out to be! Surely he’d have to tease her in the morning when she grumbled about a hang-over and stayed under the covers until noon.
He gently set her down on the large bed in her room and would have made his way to his own, but her small hand caught his.
“Stay, Billy,” she mumbled. “You’re hot, you know.”
Billy chuckled, felt his mind quickly sobering and sat down on the bed next to Claire.
“Of course I know, princess,” he teased and she had the sense to giggle.
“I told you before, detective, I’m no princess.”
He felt like retorting, but held his tongue. Suddenly he was feeling awfully complimentary and silly. Perhaps it was the alcohol, more than likely it was the day he had spent with Claire.
She was smart, witty and fun. He liked her barbs, he enjoyed watching her tussle in the soccer match and he certainly loved her teasing. She had so much more substance than any of the bimbos he’d dated in the past ten years. So much more…
“Well, since you’re drunk and all, we’ll just pretend you are,” Billy replied and he watched as Claire smiled.
She lay on the bed, her arms stretched over her head, her dark blonde hair mussed on the coverlet around her. Her baggy jeans were low slung and showed the top of her pink panties. Her white tank-top stretched tightly across her small breasts. She certainly was no centerfold, but she was the most gorgeous woman in the world in that moment.
Unable to halt himself for whatever reason, Billy leaned over her and kissed her lips. She didn’t jerk away, she didn’t gasp, she simply reached out a hand and cupped his face, responding to him with genuine desire. That turned him on more than any kiss he had ever experienced and he quickly lowered himself on the bed next to her and gathered her close.
They kissed for a long moment, then he was pulling her tank-top over her head, unhooking the thin white lace thing she called a bra, and grazing fingers over well-hardened nipples and hearing a very heated, very real response.
As he moved his lips away from hers and kissed his way down her neck toward her chest, he heard her gasp, “For a man who’s nowhere near my type, you do that awfully well.”
“And for a girl who’s nowhere near my type, you feel awfully good,” Billy replied as he fastened his lips on her breasts.
They were small and round, but they were real. No silicone implants here. No fake tans. Just a real, beautiful girl who was enjoying him as much as he was enjoying her.
Then he remembered the booze. Way too much of it, that is, and he slowly halted. With a sigh of regret, Billy fell away from Claire and said, “We shouldn’t.”
She groaned in protest and declared, “Why? Because I’m not hot enough for you?”
Her words may have sounded cold, but there was no fight in them as she lay still, topless, on the bed covers.
“No. Because you’re drunk, I’m mostly drunk and you’re too damned special for it to happen like this, princess. Let’s sleep instead,” Billy said.
Claire climbed near him, kicked off her jeans, tugged her shirt back on and laid her head on his chest.
“Fine, Billy, we’ll do it your way. But just remember, I’m really going to hate your ass in the morning.”
**
Shawna was positive she had barely started to sleep when a rough hand slid under her shirt and fondled her without ceremony. Her eyes snapped open and there, staring at her with something very scary in his eyes was Rafee.
“Make love with me, Shawna,” he immediately demanded and his hands grazed her stomach, his thumbs pushing under the flannel pants of her pajamas.
“Raf, what’s wrong?” Shawna asked, startled by the angry, glowing look in his golden eyes. They were bright and shining more brilliantly than Shawna had ever remembered seeing before.
“No questions. Not now,” he whispered gruffly and pulled her pants down. “Just tell me yes.”
“Like you even have to ask, Rafee,” Shawna replied, liking the intensity of their love-making since their reunification.
He wasted no time in taking her. But, like always, no matter how eager he was, he always made sure her pleasure came first. Tonight it came quickly for both and intensely. Shawna muffled a cry of shear enjoyment against Rafee’s bare shoulder as his hips held her captive against the mattress and he released his own pleasure into her. They both lay together, still connected, and breathing heavily for several minutes.
Finally, Rafee moved, kissing her gently and touching her face, brushing her hair away. He slowly slid off her and rested his head against her shoulder as if needing comfort.
Wrapping her arm around him like he had always done for her so often, Shawna quietly asked, “What’s wrong, honey?”
“Senator Banes knows about Nico,” he explained and Shawna let out a small groan.
“No.”
“Yes. Tell me, did you ever let Marcus know the true story of Nico’s heritage?”
“Never. It wasn’t a topic that ever came up.”
“I have to do something, Shawna, Banes is threatening Emir and Nikash. I can’t allow that to happen.”
He lifted his head then and gazed down at her. Shawna could sense his need for her to understand and she knew exactly what she had to say to him.
“Of course you can’t allow that to happen, Rafee. Just don’t get yourself into any trouble. Please.”
**
Nik was restless. He knew he needed to sleep. His head pounded, the doctor had given him explicit orders…but he couldn’t sleep. Not when the welfare of his family was at stake.
He sat in the large white leather reading chair in their bedroom, watching Tara sleep. If she knew what Senator Banes had threatened, she’d be devastated. But he had to tell her. He couldn’t keep a secret like this from her.
She must have sensed his presence for she eventually opened her eyes, blinked in the night and sat up as if startled.
“Nik?” she asked.
“Yes, darling,” he replied quietly. “Sorry to disturb you.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. But you’re supposed to be sleeping. Dr. Chen said.”
“I know. But…we have to speak about something.”
His tone sounded grave for Tara quickly pulled her knees against her chest and hugged them tightly.
“What is it now, Nikash? Another war? Because this time, I’m not letting you go,” she said forcefully.
Nik smiled at her, moved from the chair to the bed and kissed her lightly.
“No, Tara darling, no war. At least, not like last time. This time…” He paused. “Tell me, when you were staying with John Banes, did you ever discuss Nico with him?”
“Of course we talked about Nico. How do you mean?”
“I mean…did you ever discuss the particulars of his heritage?”
Tara shook her head. “Never. I try not to think about it myself. Just in case...”
“Well, Tara, just in case has arrived. John knows about Nico. Somehow.”
She must have thought he didn’t believe her denial, for she quickly shook her head and declared, “Really, Nik, I never said anything. John commented on occasion that he didn’t see a resemblance in Nico with you or me. I simply told him Nico took after other family members, trying to deflect any suspicion. But I never, ever said…”
Nik calmed her with a hand to her shoulder and a chaste kiss to her temple.
“No, Tara, do not blame yourself. You did nothing wrong. But somehow he knows.”
“I’m sorry he knows. But surely he would never use that knowledge against us. Would he?”
“I think he would. He wants Emir out of Jenny’s life. And he’ll use us to do it too.”
Tears glimmered in Tara’s beautiful eyes and Nik cursed under his breath for all the pain John Banes had brought to Villa Serena tonight.
“Nik, you have to stop him,” Tara insisted. “Or…I’ll talk to him. I’ll explain everything. Surely for me…for Jenny…he wouldn’t…”
“Tara, hush,” Nik soothed. “He wants to become President. He wants to become the most powerful man in the world. Do you honestly think he would put your feelings before that opportunity? Few men would. So…we’ll solve this ourselves. And while we do, you and Nico will return to Kumar. You’ll be safe there. Safer than you are here.”
**
Marcus was trying to sleep in his tiny apartment, but like usual, trying didn’t get him very far. The only nights he had been able to sleep had been when he’d fallen into his routine of long, hard days of training, little food, and by working himself into exhaustion. Then he’d been able to fall asleep.
But since his trip to Europe…well, his schedule had gotten all messed up.
Of course it could be his conscious nagging at him again. He hated himself for what he had done for his uncle, but he had owed John. Besides, at the time, he had still been angry that Rafee Armanjani had won all the spoils of war—Shawna, Kess and Alexi.
He was no longer angry; he had finally accepted what fate had dealt him. He still missed Shawna and the kids, but he accepted their decision and was glad they were happily adjusting to life with Rafee again. And now that he had done his dirty deed for Uncle John, he could wash his hands of the entire Armanjani clan and move on with his life.
His cell phone rang from beside his bed and he happily answered it, thinking the distraction would be better than lying there trying to sleep. When he heard his uncle’s voice on the other end, however, he inwardly groaned. What did the man need now?
“Marcus, I need another favor,” John immediately said and Marcus did groan, outwardly, this time.
“What, John? What devil do you want me to sell my soul to now?” he asked.
“Rafee Armanjani.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Sheiks of Kumar IX: Family Reunion – Chapter 15