Page 29 of The Prince's Secret Daughter
“Tell me about your previous job,” he requested, which he considered to be a very non-sexual subject.
For the next half hour, they stayed like that, talking about their lives and her job, his job and his family. Helen didn’t have any family. Her father had died of cancer when she was inelementary school and her mother had passed away from a car accident about ten years ago.
Raj couldn’t imagine being so alone. His brothers had become such an integral part of his life. Now he had two sisters-in-law, plus Marianna, his half-sister, who was so damn smart, it was scary.
So, he started telling Helen about them. Slowly, at first. He didn’t want to scare her, but he wanted her to know them, know what they were like and their struggles before she met them in person. His oldest brother, Khal, could be intimidating when one first met him. He was a giant brute of a man who’d thought he needed to carry all of the responsibility of running the country on his shoulders.
Until five years ago. That had been a turning point in so many ways.
He held off on telling her about the reasons he’d disappeared five years ago. He wanted them to be dressed when he explained his error. Plus, he needed to be looking into Helen’s eyes as he explained.
Eventually, they fell asleep, still wrapped in each other’s arms. Every time she moved, Raj unconsciously pulled her closer, comforted by the feeling of her pressed against him in their sleep.
Chapter 27
“What the hell do you mean?” Paul bellowed, his voice loud and furious as he glared at Arnold, the guard who had just delivered the worst news he could imagine. “The case can’t be gone!” His hands trembled with anger, fists clenched at his sides as he tried to control the fury threatening to erupt.
Arnold cringed, visibly shrinking under Paul’s scorching gaze. His eyes darted nervously around the room, trying to find a way to make the situation better, but there was no escape. His throat tightened as he spoke, his words barely audible. “I’m sorry, sir. But I told you about the group of people that came here earlier in the day.”
“Yeah!” Paul snapped, his voice rising again, his face flushed with rage. “But you didn’t tell me they took the damn case!”
Arnold flinched back, almost shrinking into himself. He could feel the heat of Paul’s anger pressing down on him, suffocating him. He wanted to explain, to make things right, but every word he said seemed to dig him deeper into the hole. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to be in this position. The fear was palpable, gnawing at him as the realization sank in: his job, his sense of purpose, everything he had worked for—gone in an instant.
“I—I didn’t know they were after the case!” Arnold stammered, his voice trembling. “They had guns! You don’t give me a weapon, so I ran!” He winced as he spoke, his hands shaking as he desperately tried to justify his actions.
Paul’s rage boiled over, his face contorting with frustration. He wanted to punch Arnold, to release the building pressure of his anger, but he fought the urge. It would be a waste of time. His mind was racing, swirling with panic.The case was gone. The damn case.It was more than just a security breach—it was the key to everything. The weapons it contained weren’t just any weapons—they were tied to a criminal organization, tied to things Paul didn’t want to think about. He’d been trusted to hide them, to keep them safe, and now they were gone. If they fell into the wrong hands, everything could fall apart.
“You had one job!” Paul snarled, his voice harsh and unforgiving. “One job! To keep this area secure! As soon as the group of people arrived, you should have told them this was private property and that they needed to contact me. Why the hell didn’t you do that?”
Arnold’s stomach churned. He felt as though he were suffocating under the weight of Paul’s rage. His heart pounded in his chest as he tried to hold onto his composure, but it was slipping through his fingers like sand. His mind was spinning. What had he done? He’d hidden when those men showed up, tried to stay out of sight, praying they wouldn’t find him. He wasn’t equipped for this kind of danger. But now, the case—the case—was gone.
The guard’s voice was barely a whisper, tinged with desperation. “I didn’t see them leave with it, I swear. I didn’t hear anything, I was hiding...”
“Get a hold of yourself!” Paul snapped. The tension in the air was suffocating as the two men locked eyes, the silence that followed thick with unspoken consequences. Paul’s breath came in ragged bursts as his mind tried to piece together thewreckage of the situation. His hands shook slightly, but he clenched his fists to stop it, not wanting to show weakness. He couldn’t afford to crack now.
Arnold’s gaze dropped to the floor. He couldn’t meet Paul’s eyes anymore. The weight of the man’s anger was unbearable. He couldn’t even think straight. If he admitted he’d failed in protecting the case, Paul would fire him for sure. But if he kept quiet, what would happen when Paul found out the truth? There was no way out.
Paul’s thoughts were spiraling.How could this happen?His fingers twitched as his mind calculated the consequences.The case had to be in the wrong hands now. But who had taken it?His suspicion flared—he didn’t trust anyone outside of his immediate circle.
“Am I fired?” Arnold asked, his voice almost a whisper, his gaze still locked on the floor, unable to bear Paul’s wrath any longer.
The question hung in the air like a sword, sharp and unforgiving. Paul’s eyes narrowed as he regarded the guard. He wanted to lash out, to throw Arnold out of the building for his incompetence. But there was a problem—he needed someone to watch the site. No one else would be able to hold the fort.
“I can’t fire you yet, Arnold,” Paul said, his tone cold, calculated. “But if I don’t find that case, you should start packing your things.”
Arnold’s face turned white with fear, his mouth opening and closing as if he had something to say but couldn’t find the words. He nodded slowly, his heart still thundering in his chest.
Paul’s mind was already shifting to the next problem. He needed to fix this. He couldn’t afford to let his son’s deal fall through—he was still waiting to hear from Helen, but his spies had assured him she was still with Prince Al-Sintra. Good. He hoped she was keeping him distracted, keeping him away from the real work. Paul had other people to handle now, other moves to make. His next step was clear. He had to get the damn attorney and accountant on board, keep the deal moving forward, and somehow find the case of weapons before it was too late.
As he strode toward the exit, his mind barely registered the surroundings. Everything felt like it was spinning away from him.How could Nathan have missed the importance of the case?How had they let this happen?
Paul jerked open the driver’s side door, his fingers tight on the handle. Before he could climb into the car, he paused, looking around the lot. The site, despite everything, still looked deceptively presentable from this angle. Nathan had done a decent job of making it seem like it could be gentrified. A rough diamond in the making, Paul thought with some satisfaction. Butthis—the missing case, the breach in security—this was a massive flaw.
He ducked into the vehicle, slamming the door shut behind him. The smooth engine purred to life, and for a brief moment, Paul allowed himself to enjoy the sound. A high-end car, one he hadn’t had to pay for. But it didn’t ease the anxiety gnawing at him. The case. The damn case was gone, and the consequences were far from over.
Chapter 28
Anger washed over her as soon as Helen opened her eyes the next morning. She looked behind her and found Raj, still deeply asleep. He was so handsome! In sleep, with his eyes closed, she could examine his features in closer detail. When he was awake, those piercing dark eyes were the focal point. But now, she could see that he had ridiculously long lashes. And his mouth was soft. She wanted to reach out and touch his lips, to see if they felt as soft as they appeared. Normally, his mouth was either firm and commanding or smiling in that special way of his that made her stomach flip with desire.
