Page 13 of Hiding in the Sheik's Arms

But this time, she hadn’t been able to hold back. She’d just blurted out the words without thinking. Just as she’d done in the past. Before.

Several sets of eyes were now on her, watching her with stunned attention.

Tasha slowly turned, wanting to shrink back into the shadows, but…she knew that going to the site right now would be bad. Dangerous, even.

Khal turned to face her, his eyes furious. “Why not?” Khal demanded, gesturing an arm towards the images of destruction. “Those people are hurt and wounded. My father ignored these situations and never sent the appropriate resources.”

Tasha shifted uncomfortably, but she knew she was right. And after over a year of hiding, her old-self was dying to come out, to spread her wings, metaphorically speaking. The old Tasha had spent too much time in the shadows.

Pulling her eyes away from the screens, she straightened her shoulders and met Khal’s gaze directly. The horrific scenelooked miserable and chaotic. But she knew that there was an organized effort going on as the paramedics and fire fighters were getting the victims of the explosion out of the burning building and getting them to hospitals.

Taking a deep breath, Tasha calmly folded her hands in front of her, unaware of the way her eyes had shifted from blank unconcern to intelligent ferocity.

“I know that you want to be there, Your Highness, to show your support. And yes,” she asserted firmly, stopping him when he drew breath to argue with a lift of her hand. “I agree that, at the right moment, you should be there.” She turned, pointing at the screen. “But if you show up now, you’d need a helicopter, which would fan the flames of that fire higher, then you’ll be a distraction.” She waited a beat, letting her words sink in before she continued. “If you show up now, then everyone will be too distracted to do their jobs. They’ll be looking over their shoulder, either trying to get a glimpse of you, because I guarantee that the people living and working in that small village have never met royalty before. But also, they’ll be anxious about you judging their efforts.” She kept her eyes on Khal, praying that he would heed her advice. “Your Highness, you are an incredibly intimidating man. Your height alone is terrifying. But add in the fact that you literally hold the power of life or death over every person there,” she ignored his snort, “and you’ll distract everyone trying to help the victims.”

He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he glared at her, then allowed his eyes to return to the monitors showing the furiously scrambling emergency rescue workers. When he looked at her again, his voice was grim. “I need to show my support.”

Tasha’s shoulders relaxed slightly. He wasn’t rejecting her advice immediately.

“Yes, I agree,” she told him, quickly working through the strategic issues surrounding the explosion as well as the impact on everyone there. “Go tomorrow,” she urged. “Call today and speak with the person in charge. Offer that person any additional resources that they need.” She let those words sink in before she proceeded. “However, don’t visittoday. Wait twenty-four hours before visiting. By that point, the emergency crews will have cleared up the mess, the investigators will have gotten a few clues as to what caused the explosion, and everyone will have had a chance to settle down a bit.”

Tasha held her breath, waiting for him to respond. This was what she did, Tasha thought, remembering the thrill of working with…well, in the past. She’d loved analyzing the pros and cons of every piece of legislation, who the senator should speak with, and who he should avoid, as well as knowing why he should visibly support or ignore certain situations. The public’s perspective on important issues was ever-changing and a challenge to analyze. She’d had to know what was trending on social media as well as the news. Culture and information were a very dynamic trend that she’d loved trying to understand.

Now was a test. Would he heed her advice? Everyone in the security office waited, the air almost seeming to sparkle with anticipation as they all held their breath.

The tension immediately eased when Khal nodded in resignation and turned back to the monitors. “You’re right,” Khal finally snapped. He frowned thoughtfully down at her, his gaze narrowed and sharp. “How should I let them know that I’m aware of the situation and am sending the necessary resources?”

He moved closer and, for a brief moment, Tasha struggled to think clearly. The man’s proximity had a direct impact on her ability to concentrate. Her eyes dropped to his lips and the thought of kissing him popped into her mind.

What would it be like to be kissed by Khal? Would it be hard? Or soft? Sheik Khal was a hard, imposing, frightening man. Would his kiss mimic his personality? Or would his caress be the opposite?

Tasha’s heart sputtered at the possibilities.

Realizing that her mind had wandered down a dangerous path, Tasha forced herself to focus.

Turning her head away, Tasha watched the unfolding scene. When she spotted several civilian emergency vehicles carrying the wounded away from the scene, presumably taking them to the hospital, Tasha had a new idea.

“Talk to Joran,” she blurted out, then blinked as her tentative thought bloomed in her head.

“Joran?” Khal demanded. “Why?”

Tasha looked up at him, needing him to understand. “Joran works closely with the military. He’s basically their undeclared mascot.”

“I resent that description,” Joran interrupted, walking into the security office. He grinned at Tasha. “However, it’s probably true.” He stopped beside his brother, watching the chaos on the screens. “There’s a team of medical specialists that accompany the special forces teams when we go out.” He turned and met Khal’s eyes. “There are also transport vehicles that you could order out to the scene. The extra medical teams and transport vehicles could help alleviate the roadblocks and bring in more resources. Those people are going to need food, temporary shelters to assess the victims, then treat them until they can get to the hospitals. The teams are trained at immediate deployment. This might be a good way to assess their training, maybe find out where their training is lacking.”

Tasha understood where he was going and smiled, nodding her agreement. His plan was brilliant. “That will give the residents in the immediate area a sign that your attention is on the emergency, but it won’t disrupt the process.” She bit her lip before adding, “I’d recommend making sure that the military resources are under the command of the person already in charge out in the field. Unless that person wants to relinquish control.” She glanced over at the images again. “Men tend to want control of every situation, even if it would be better to just offer support.”

Khal’s expression shifted slightly. He stared at Tasha for a long moment, but finally he turned back to his brother. Nodding slowly, Tasha had a feeling that…had he already thought of that plan?

Looking at his brother, Khal asked, “Can you oversee the situation?”

Joran nodded sharply. “Absolutely,” he replied, then turned and hurried out of the security office with a new spring to his step.

Tasha held her breath, startled by Khal’s brilliance. Had he known that Joran was waiting for responsibility? For his oldest brother’s trust and respect?

Silently, Khal turned, moving closer to Tasha. His hands rested on the railing in front of them as they watched the large monitors. They were standing on an elevated platform in the security office and, in that moment, Tasha felt closer to him than she had in the entire year of working for him.

Granted, the past year she’d been mentally working through her last job’s horrors, hiding from a man who would gladly order her death and, afterwards, order another martini,never thinking about the fact that he’d just condemned someone to death.

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