Page 10 of The Sheik's Embrace

Chapter 10

“Tell me,” Zayed ordered as he walked along the hallway towards his private suite.

“She’s in your office, Your Highness,” Chaid explained, keeping up with Zayed’s longer stride through much practice.

Zayed stopped and looked at the shorter man. “In my office? She didn’t go back to her apartment?”

“No, Your Highness. And I sent over two men to watch her place. There has been no movement, so we’re not sure why she’s afraid to go home.”

Zayed contemplated the security chief’s words carefully. “She’s not a coward. And that message…did you ever discover where the sender was?”

He nodded. “Two burner phones, one of which received the message yesterday, were purchased five years ago by Kaia Treon. The message was sent from a small town in Kentucky. We’ve continued to monitor the communications and there hasn’t been any other messages transmitted today.” He huffed a bit. “The team of men I sent to Ms. Treon’s village should be landing in a few hours. They’ll start investigating immediately.”

“That’s good, I suppose,” Zayed replied, thinking through the problem. He looked up. “You say that Tara is in my office? Sleeping?”

“On your sofa, Your Highness.”

On impulse, Zayed changed course and headed for his office. It was late and he’d just finished his meeting with the British ambassador. He should head to bed, knowing that he had another day of meetings tomorrow. But he wanted to seeTara, just to check on her. He needed to ensure that she was safe and comfortable. Why hadn’t she asked for a private room?

He had a thought. Maybe he should order her to move into the palace. Would she accept that kind of order? And then another thought occurred to him. Wasn’t the suite beside his apartment empty? One of his sisters had lived in that apartment before she’d married. But when Zelda’s sister came to visit, she stayed in a different suite now, one that was larger so that her husband and kids would be more comfortable.

So the private apartment next to his was completely available! He liked the thought of Tara sleeping so close. He could protect her much more effectively if she was nearby.

He slipped silently through the door into his office. He moved over to the sofa. Sure enough, Tara was curled up in a ball, her hands tucked under her cheek. She was sound asleep, secure in the knowledge that whatever monsters were lurking outside of the palace walls couldn’t get to her here.

Warmth filled his chest. She was here, in his office, under his roof, and under his protection. Why hadn’t he thought of her moving into the palace before now? Some of the bodyguards lived in the palace. Those without families tended to prefer the rent-free lifestyle.

So why hadn’t he considered this option before now? Mentally, he chided himself because he knew the answer. It was because, whenever Tara was around, he couldn’t think clearly. It was also the reason why he didn’t mind Tara sitting against the wall during the meetings when she took notes. He preferred having her close by, and none of his previous assistants had sat in on meetings. He found comfort in looking over and seeing her as she listened.

And yet, he hadn’t realized the extra work he’d created by keeping her near him until today. Earlier, he’d ordered her to instruct human resources to hire three assistants to help her. He’d personally called the head of the HR department, knowing that Tara wouldn’t have bothered. He’d instructed the HR director to use Tara’s previous job description to find applicants and set up interviews. But he wanted someone else to prescreen the applicants for experience, then only the interviewees that had the appropriate knowledge and expertise would meet with Tara. No need to add yet another task onto her slender shoulders on top of everything else she had to weed through every day.

“I need a blanket,” he whispered to Chaid who was standing just in the door.

The man immediately left, leaving Zayed alone. He knelt down, watching Tara sleep. Her lashes fluttered as if she were dreaming about something. Was it a good dream? Or was she dreaming about her monsters? The ones lurking outside of the palace?

Chaid arrived with a soft blanket and Zayed didn’t bother to ask where it came from. Gently, he draped it over Tara’s curled up limbs, watching as she sighed with relief. She’d been cold, he realized and touched her hair. It was softer than it looked. He examined every part of her, including those freckles that he loved so much. She was so sweet and so…his!

Chapter 11

Zayed watched as Chaid moved down the hallway towards him. “You have news!” That wasn’t a question. He could see the truth on the other man’s face.

Chaid stopped in front of Zayed and nodded. “My men discovered three people have been living in Ms. Treon’s apartment, but we don’t yet know who they are. When my men knocked on the door, the woman who answered would only say that she was waiting for her daughter to return.”

“Tara told me that her parents died several years ago.”

Chaid nodded. “The men I sent to Kentucky to do the deep dive into Tara’s background confirmed that her mother passed away when Tara was five. She and her sister were raised by their father after that. But he passed away years ago. Tara and her sister left the village, but so far, my men haven’t been able to find out why, when, or where they went.”

Zayed nodded, but focused on the present issue. “So someone is squatting in Tara’s apartment? How did they get in?”

“My men spoke to the building manager who said they told him that they were waiting for his wife.”

Zayed’s blood went cold. “Tara ismarried?”

Chaid shook his head. “Not a chance. As soon as I heard that, I had my technical team go through every marriage registration in the state as well as the surrounding areas. There is no registration of a Tara Treon marrying anyone.”

Zayed's tension ebbed away, yet the enigma deepened. “Could she have changed her name at some point?”

“Nope,” Chaid replied. “Tara Treon was born twenty-five years ago. We have her birth certificate and confirmation through the United States passport agency that validates her identity.”

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