Page 36 of Possessing the Prince

“Because the government cell I was working for was not ready to pull the trigger. We are working for the government, but also against it. And unlike you, I am not a billionaire who can hire my own army. I had to use covert methods to save lives. Half the villagers see this shrine as holy ground and would not hesitate to fight and die for it.”

“Brother!” I hear Adom yell. “I just called Kofi. He has intelligence to confirm his story. He is telling the truth.”

Edem exhales a breath that I am sure he’s been holding for the past five years. If anyone had found out what he has really been up to, he would have surely died. I’m sure that sicko David would not have hesitated to take him out. Senya’s shoulders slump. He hands Zayd his gun and extends his hand to Edem.

“Thank you for keeping my wife safe. I will get you wherever you need to go with whatever documentation you need. You will need a new alias, identification, and, sadly, a new country.”

Edem nods. “Thank you. But before we leave, may I do one last thing for you?”

Senya cocks his head and narrows his eyes. “What is that?”

Edem laughs. “Calm down, Prince. I only want to give you some advice. Go to Nima so you may meet your aunts, uncles, and cousins! You have many. Would you like that?”

Senya beams for the first time since he’s arrived to rescue me. “Yes. But is it safe right now?”

The priest shakes his head. “No, it’s not. You must leave immediately. But it will calm down in a few weeks. You should come back and meet your family then. If I didn’t have to leave immediately, I would take you myself. But my cover is already in jeopardy of being blown. They know of you and are very proud. Once you became Kofi’s right hand, they would try to catch glimpses of you in the press. To them, you will always be Afefa’s little one.”

I’ve never seen Senya stick his chest so far out in pride. It seems that Afefa’s little one is the title he is most proud of.

Renewal

Senya

When Abena and I are safely in the backseat of the Range , I look into her eyes and frown at the fatigue I see there. She has been through an ordeal—an ordeal that could have been prevented if I had been more diligent and more trusting of Abena. I knew the high level of threat she was under, especially with those men sneaking around our Accra home, but she did not. As much as I talk about wanting this marriage, I have to remember that my wife is my partner and not my ward. It’s just hard to partner with someone who is on the fence about being yours.

I also feel guilty. I should have saved her sooner. I should have just come alone with my explosives and ignored Kofi and his brand of diplomacy. But now that I am an official member of the Ashanti court, I have to calculate all my movements differently. However, one thing is for sure: As long as the foolish Apeagyeis are alive, I will have an A-list security team here in Ghana ready to go. I will start recruiting in the morning. I’m sure I can pay Zayd enough to relocate here from Dubai permanently and lead the team because I know eventually, I will have to kill every Apeagyei. Abena and her family are not safe until I do.

Abena was taken from our home. I do not know how she can even look at me. I failed her. But along with the fatigue, her eyes right now are filled with compassion. She has never left my side since I arrived to take her home. Somehow, she forgives me. I don’t deserve her forgiveness. But I am determined to be the man she deserves.

“Precious, are you OK?” I kiss the top of her forehead and release loose braids she quickly put on top of her head as we left. I know she’s self-conscious about the bald patch that cunt David created. When she finally told me how it got there, she had to stop me from storming back in the shrine to shoot his body full of even more holes.

I love when Abena’s long curly hair tumbles down around her shoulders. It has been a few days since she had an opportunity to blow it out, so I am taking advantage of its natural state. I bury my face into her soft hair and realize it still has the faint smell of citrus from the body wash I used to wash it before she was taken. For some reason, that is a comfort to me at this moment.

“I’m fine, Senya,” she whispers. “I’m just tired. I think I’m in shock. The Apeagyeis are a family that was present at my naming ceremony. Chief Apeagyei is the man I called godfather most of my life.” She shifts her body slightly to look into my eyes. Her soft hands cradle the side of my face and the emotion in her eyes is overwhelming. “To top it all off, I‘m married to an incredible man who is my real-life hero.”

I turn my face away. “I’m no hero, Abena. I’m a fool. I should have told you the kind of danger you were in. At least then you would have known the threat chasing you. I can only imagine your horror when you arrived at a religious shrine with kidnapped women and not the Apeagyei compound. The latter you would have hated, but at least you would’ve known what to expect. Instead I kept you in the dark, and you were thrust with no knowledge into dangerous religious liaisons.”

Abena shifts in her seat and I see a shadow of a wince cross her face. She’s more sore than she realizes.I hate that.“Senya, there is no guarantee that knowing would have changed the outcome. Do not blame yourself. However, I do wonder why you were so dead set against telling me.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. If I’m honest with myself, there are two reasons, and one of them is not noble.” I pause and take a deep breath. She might hate me after I say this.

“Honestly, Abena, I think part of me was scared that if you knew everything, you would leave. Since there was no insurmountable monetary debt to pay, you could have hired your own small army of security guards and just left. I ‘m not proud to admit how little trust I had in you, but that’s the truth.”

Abena releases a long, slow breath and sinks back in her seat. “That’s fucked up, Senya. But I understand. I haven’t given you much assurance about our…future.”

I shake my head. “No, you haven't. But that’s not an excuse; I should have trusted you. I’m the one pushing this as a real marriage. If that’s the case, trust should be at the center of it, whether the marriage lasts one year or fifty.”

“The second reason I didn’t tell you is because I thought you might fall on the sword for your father and family. They don’t deserve your sacrifice, and I wasn't going to let their peril ruin your life.” I’m yelling at the end of my statement and I’m surprised. I didn't intend to allow my anger to appear. Abena just smirks.

“I hate it when you’re right. But you are. If you would have told me the day we left my father’s house what the Apeagyeis were demanding and what was at stake, I would have wanted to go back and do anything to save him and Thomas’ sorry asses. I thought they only wanted money. I had no idea the demented jackals wanted me as atonement for an ancient religious debt. Thank you for taking care of me, Senya.”

I reach out and pull her into my lap. I kiss the side of her neck and bury myself in her scent. We are still for a moment before Abena shifts off my lap and looks up at me.

“What will the year hold for us, Senya? Is this really how you want to spend the next year…married to me and this charade? Tied to my crazy family feud? Because even if we don’t fulfill our marriage contract, I will stay as long as I can and continue to run public relations for you. I'm invested in your rightful reign. I did not want you to be installed as prince only to help me. Though that was the initial motivating factor, I also knew that Ghana needs you. It needs your leadership. You are the key to bringing the Ashanti and Ewe together once and for all. You are the finest example of ‘One Ghana.’”

I pull Abena’s head down and claim her mouth in a rough and all-consuming kiss. I want to stop any doubts flowing from her lips. I try to build confidence into her with every swipe of my tongue and nibble from my lips. I place my hands between her legs and feel the evidence of her arousal. A vibrating growl emanates from my chest and I stop short of pressing into her because not only are we are not alone; I think she needs to rest her mind and body. We catch our breath when I finally set her lips free.

“Abena. My feelings for you are not fake—they never were. So, this marriage is not a charade.” She opens her mouth to protest, but I place my finger over her lips. “No, I will not hear your protests tonight. I will bathe you, kiss your body from top to toe, and put you to sleep. You will close your eyes tonight knowing that you are completely loved by one man…me. I will never let anyone take you from me again. You are mine, and I always take care of mine.”

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