Page 8 of The Forbidden Sheik
Perhaps she should talk things over with Tasha or Tila. Marianna was even getting to know Helen, although she hadn’t known Raj’s wife for very long. She still felt more comfortable talking with Tasha, who had been at the palace when Marianna’s mother had passed away in Paris. Goodness, it had been a long time since that had happened. Marianna missed her mother, but the pain of loss had morphed over the years to fond memories. Right now, she could desperately use her mother’s loving, gentle advice. But Tasha was a good friend. Maybe her brother’s wife could give her some insight.
No, that would put Tasha into an awkward position. Tasha would have to tell Khal that Amit had kissed her last night. Although Khal was slowly coming to a more enlightened position regarding women’s need for equality in the world, he was still a bit of a Neanderthal when it came to his “baby” sister. The man still believed that women should be chaste until their wedding night, while men could go out and enjoy as many women as they desired. Thankfully, he was madly in love with Tasha so he had zero desire to stray.
And Marianna knew that Tasha would probably remove body parts if Khal ever strayed.
No, that wasn’t true. Tasha would never use violence. She would simply leave Khal and that would devastate him to his core. But they were too in love to harm each other.
That’s what Marianna wanted in a relationship. However, she was torn. She wanted to be more sexually liberal. She’d grown up in Paris and believed that men and women should treat sex as something healthy and vibrant. It shouldn’t be a taboo subject that was only enjoyed by men.
And yet, she’d never met a man who interested her sexually before. The men she’d met in her life so far had been…meh. None had been able to keep up with her intellectually. Plus, having spent the past several years surrounded by Khal, Raj, and Joran, she’d learned to appreciate men who took care of themselves physically. Her brothers loved to work out.
Amit was the first man who had challenged her intellectually and met her physical standards. Plus, after last night’s kiss, she accepted that she was incredibly attracted to him. There was no use denying it any longer.
There was just one little…major…problem: his offer eight years ago to trade for her. That had been one of the most insulting offers she’d ever heard. The awful man had reduced her to a piece of property. He hadn’t treated her like a person and that had hurt.
Lifting her chin, Marianna reached out and stroked Stella’s neck reassuringly. She knew horses could sense their rider’s moods and Stella’s ears were twitching. Apparently, Stella was extra sensitive today.
About halfway back to the stables, Marianna noticed Stella’s ears twitching more and the sweet lady picked up her pace. Because of the heat, Marianna urged her mare to slow down. She was already hot and sweaty. No need to court heat stroke. The mare had been one of the first presents Khal had given her, along with riding lessons, and the sweet lady had been the recipient of many of her diatribes about the unfairness of life when she’d moved to Lativa after her mother’s death. She wasn’t just a horse. Stella was her friend and closest confidant.
So, Marianna was understandably focused on Stella instead of paying attention to her surroundings. Which was why she didn’t hear the soft drone of the electric motorcycles coming up behind her. It was only when one of the drivers pulled up beside Stella, pointing a gun at the mare’s head that Marianna realized her danger.
Before Marianna could react, the man pulled her right off the mare. Marianna gasped at the pain in her shoulder when she hit the ground, stunned by the stones digging into her flesh. Before she could fight back, before she could react at all, the man taped her wrists and pulled a black bag over her head. For several precious moments, Marianna was too stunned and confused to do anything. She’d practiced self-defense moves over and over in the gym with her bodyguards and she’d thought she was prepared for something like this.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t. Before she could even think to fight back, her legs were taped up and she grunted as she was thrown over someone’s lap. A moment later, something sharp stabbed into her upper arm and…then, everything went black.
Chapter 9
Jadwat grinned as he ended the call, staring out through the window of his home. “It worked!” he whispered, unaware of how his eyes sparkled with excitement. “The woman is in our custody.”
Turning, he called out to his assistant. “Ashwan!” he bellowed. A moment later, the shorter man stepped into the room, waiting for instructions. “Call the team together. We should be safe to move our plans forward now.”
Ashwan nodded, then backed out of the room, prepared to make more phone calls.
Jadwat turned back to the window as he lifted his cell phone and dialed a number. With a grin, he waited until the call was answered. “She’s safely tucked away,” he announced without preamble. “We will have him under our control very soon.”
“Are you sure?” the other person demanded. “If we move forward with our plans, even the smallest problem could backfire on all of us.”
“She’s in my custody,” Jadwat affirmed, leaning back in his desk chair. He swiveled around, staring smugly out through the windows of his home office, nearly drooling over the power now within his grasp. “This plan will work. I’ll ensure that she remains silent until we are ready to make our move.”
“Good.” There was a rustling of papers through the lines, then the man said, “I’ll finalize the last few sales, then we’ll start the eviction process. We need to make sure that all of the eviction notices go out at the same time. My analysts have reviewed the attitudes in the neighborhoods and in the urban areas. He reaffirmed that there has to be a mass eviction so that there is a louder outcry among the people. We can trickle the eviction notices over several weeks, but we can’t extend the deadlines out over a longer time period. Otherwise, the people will find a new place to live before the next wave of renters are evicted.”
Jadwat gritted his teeth, fury suffusing his face with color. “I know the plan,” he snapped. “I’ll do my part. Just make sure you do yours! Get the eviction notices out. Between the four companies I set up for you, we own approximately ten percent of the rental market.”
“It will be over eleven percent once I finalize the sales of my newly acquired properties,” the caller claimed.
Jadwat relaxed slightly. He could nearly taste the money and power that would be coming to him very soon. “Even better. The more angry people, the better.”
Chapter 10
Angela lifted her head and looked around at the darkened room. She didn’t have a night-light anymore, so the corners of her room were a little scary. But she could hear raised voices.
Swinging her legs to the floor, she looked around. She and her cousins no longer had nannies that slept in their rooms, so that was one less obstacle for her to overcome. Her bodyguards were another issue. Plus, they were getting smarter lately. She didn’t understand this newest group of guards. They seemed to be laughing at her and her cousins. Angela didn’t like it, and she refused to allow them to keep her from finding out what was happening with her family.
She slipped silently from her bedroom and quietly made her way down the hall. She paused outside the big family room. They were still awake and Angela could hear the worry in their voices.
“When was she taken?” her daddy demanded.
Uncle Khal rubbed a hand over his face. “This afternoon. She was out riding and…” he sighed. “You know how fast Marianna likes to ride.”
