Page 43 of Dangerous Protocol

“Sir, wemustget you to the safe room immediately until we have assessed the situation.” His hardened tone meant he would not be dissuaded from his duties. “The queen and your children are being escorted there now.”

If he truly believed Nadim’s life was in jeopardy, the head of the Royal Guard had the authority to override the king’s orders and remove him to a safe place.

“Fine, I will go.” The guards flanked him, and Rahim led them away from the elevator. “I want Adnan Bashar found and brought to me immediately.”

Rahim unclipped a radio from his waistband and gave the appropriate orders.

They crossed the enormous rotunda inside the front doors. The guards protected him as they zigzagged around embassy personnel and household staff running about like chickens with their heads cut off, completely unaware their sovereign had just walked right past them.

Nadim was rarely in this part of the embassy, but he recognized the servants’ stairwell when they passed it. He had only been to the safe room once before, right after it was built—when he and his wife were given a tour of the seven-hundred-fifty-square-foot space.

Constructed of two-foot-thick concrete, it was located at the rear of the main embassy building, past the service elevator and servants’ stairwell. It had its own power source in the form of a large generator, self-contained air filtration system, communication equipment, and enough food, water, and other supplies necessary to survive for several weeks.

By the time they arrived at the safe room, his wife, Queen Aisha, and their three children were already inside, and the generator had powered on the lights. His ten-month-old daughter, Aaliyah, slept in her nanny’s arms, thumb in her mouth,unbothered by all of the tumult. Faruq, his ten-year-old son and the future King of Qadira, sat in a chair, his long bangs hanging in his face as he hunched over his handheld video game. His five-year-old daughter, Amira, ran to Nadim, wrapped her arms around his legs, and looked up at him with worried eyes.

“Papa, my baby is scared.” She held her dolly up for him to see.

What his little girl really meant was thatshe, herself, was scared. But lately, his sweet, empathetic daughter had taken to communicating her fears and concerns through her baby doll. A child specialist assured them their daughter was going through a very typical phase of childhood and would be fine.

He squatted down in front of her.

“You can tell your baby that everything is fine and that there is nothing to be afraid of.” He tapped the tip of her nose and stood.

Nadim would never admit it to another living soul, but Amira was his favorite of his three children. He loved all of them, but she held a special place in his heart. Perhaps it was because they’d almost lost her to childhood leukemia and she had proven to be a worthy adversary for the awful disease.

Nadim appreciated Amira’s fighting spirit.

“You see, baby,” she said to her doll, “Papa said everything is fine, and I believe him because he always tells thetruth.” She snuggled the doll close and smiled up at him. “Right, Papa?”

“That’s right, precious.” A twinge of guilt pulsed through his gut, but he quickly disregarded it.

The child would be shielded from ever knowing what nefarious deeds her father had committed in the past and would likely commit in the future.

“Commander.” The radio squawked in Rahim’s hand.

“Excuse me.” He stepped away and raised the radio to his mouth. “What is it?”

A staticky voice came through the small speaker. “We have an update on Mr. Bashar and the guards.”

The commander lowered the volume, held the radio to his ear, and turned so his back was to the room. He nodded, muttered something too low to hear, then clipped the radio back to his belt.

Nadim walked over to where he stood near the far corner. “What is it?”

Rahim cast a brief glance in Aisha’s direction.

“Do not worry about the queen.” She was preparing to read a book to Amira and her doll. “She is busy with the children.”

Aisha knew nothing about the Corbett situation. Not that the woman had murdered Zahir, not about the promise he’d made to his father, nor that Nadim had kidnapped the Corbett girl.

The less the queen knew, the better things would be for everyone, especially him.

“We have located Mr. Bashar.” His commander kept his voice low. “He was found unconscious in the girl’s room. The guards were also unconscious.” He looked over at the queen once more, then back at Nadim. “And the girl is gone, sir.”

“What do you mean she’s—”

At his outburst, Aisha and Amira looked over at him. Even Faruq paused his game to see what his father was upset about.

Nadim lowered his voice to a whisper. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”

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