Page 19 of The Forbidden Sheik
He looked at her, noted that she was still waiting for an answer. “Now, you relax. Eat. Sleep. Do whatever research you need to, however, I would ask that you not post anything to your website until this is over. We want my cousin to think that you’re still tucked away somewhere. In fact, I’m going to have my cousin visit, just so I can question him.”
That startled her and she straightened in outrage. She glared up at him. “You’re going to have the man who had me drugged, kidnapped, and stuffed into a filthy trunk, come here, to your home?”
Amit nodded slowly, understanding her fears. “You won’t see him, Mari,” he assured her, his voice firm. “He won’t be allowed into this area of the palace. I never allow Jadwat to stay in the family wing when he visits. I will only call him to my office for a conversation.” He moved closer, gently wrapping his fingers around her upper arms. “I will ask him questions and watch for his non-verbal responses. I have to see him in person to find out if he’s really the one who orchestrated your capture, Mari.”
She stood there, stiff and angry. But slowly, he felt her relax. Then she nodded slowly. “Okay,” she said, shifting on her feet. “As long as he won’t come anywhere near me.”
“You’ll stay here? In my apartment?”
Marianna looked around, smiling at the shimmering pool. “Who could resist this level of luxury?”
Reluctantly, Amit dropped his hands, wishing that he had a reason to pull her into his arms, to feel her melt against him. But he didn’t have that right.
Not yet!
“I highly doubt that you’ve endured serious hardships at your brother’s palace,” he chided.
Marianna laughed softly. “I don’t have a private pool,” she pointed out. “Wait! What happened to Stella?”
“Stella?” he repeated, baffled by the sudden topic shift. “Who is Stella?”
“My horse.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe you should call your brother and find out?” His own phone buzzed at that moment. He glanced at the message and sighed. “I have to go.” He looked at her, questions in his eyes. “Will you be okay here? The servants are loyal to me. They will provide you with anything you need. Just ask.”
“I’ll be fine,” she told him, smiling and obviously relieved to have a phone so she could connect with the outside world.
Speaking of the outside world, he turned back, hesitating. “Mari, about the phone–” He started, not sure how to tell her not to call anyone else.
She lifted it in her hands and smiled, wanting to reassure him. “I remember. Only my brothers and no one else, right?”
He relaxed and nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
Her smile disappeared. “Amit, I do understand. If your cousin is behind this, then he kidnapped me in the hope of destabilizing the friendship between our countries. He’s trying to undermine your rule and that’s not good for Lativa or Uftar.”
Amit nodded, ignoring the pang of regret he felt at her words. She didn’t understand. This was personal because if his cousin was behind the kidnapping, then he had tried to steal someone precious to Amit. Jadwat had tried to hurt Marianna.
He was going to destroy Jadwat for this!
Chapter 21
Marianna stared at the computer screen, not sure where she wanted to start. Normally, she had a long list of topics, legislation, or controversial politicians that sparked her interest.
But she was too distracted to focus. She kept replaying the conversation between herself and Amit. His look of confusion when she’d asked him about the trading comment had her wondering what had actually happened. Had she misheard the suggestion eight years ago?
No, Marianna had a vivid memory of Amit offering to trade the twins, Laith and Rafi, as well as their mother, for her. Joran had snuck them out of Uftar, bringing them to the safety of the Lativa palace. At that point in time, Amit’s father was still in charge of Uftar and the political tension between their countries was intense. War loomed on the horizon, and a sincere, long-held hatred boiled between the two cultures.
Amit’s father had passed away a year later and Amit had risen to rule the country. Since then, Amit and Khal had worked hard to ease the tensions between their countries, as well as establish more diplomatic and economic ties between Uftar and Lativa.
It was working too. The countries were slowly starting to get along. Trade between Uftar and Lativa had quadrupled over the past several years. It was astonishing how easily the tensions eased once Amit called for peace. It was a testament to how much the people in Uftar respected and trusted him.
It didn’t hurt that he had created millions of jobs, brought several new industries to the country, and had funded six new universities. Health care was fully paid for by the government and people no longer had to worry about how to afford a doctor’s visit.
Marianna was aware that some governments created a boogieman, like starting wars or manufacturing a political problem to distract citizens from the real problems that politicians didn’t want to fix because it was financially beneficial to keep those problems alive.
That thought stopped her cold. Had Amit said something horrible that day so long ago to distract from a bigger issue?
Or was there…?
