Page 34 of Forty Days and One Knight
Sitting on her bed, she answered the call. “Hello, cousin! How are you?”
“Thank goodness! I’m so glad to hear your voice! I’m okay, I guess. Jumping at sudden noises, and having trouble sleeping, but hopefully that will pass. How are you?” Nala sounded much younger than she had before their abduction.
“Bruised. Achy. Exhausted. But I will be okay. How is Lahana?”
“Oh, Tahira, I don’t know. She is very ... angry, I guess I would say. I told her I would never reveal what that man did to her, and she yelled at me, said it didn’t matter. Her mother said she has barely come out of her bedroom. They have been letting her rest.”
She was worried about Lahana. She’d been raped and had her virginity stolen from her just as viciously as Tahira. “She needs to speak to a counselor. I will make certain one is arranged for her. For you too. Talking with a trained professional will help you both heal from this.”
“What about you?” Nala hesitated. “I mean, wh-what happened when ...”
While she trusted her cousin, Tahira couldn’t bring herself to confide in anyone else. Too many people already knew—Darius, Ian, Dr. Dunbar, and Dr. Moreau. In her mind, that was more than she was comfortable with, even though she knew her secret was safe with them. “I was rescued by Darius. He—he killed Secada before anything happened, then got me out of there.” She swallowed the bitter taste that lie left in her mouth. “He found us a cave to shelter in for hours during the storm before the rest of his team found us. I have some bruises, but other than that, I am fine.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I am so glad he got to you in time.”
If only that were true.
“I heard congratulations are in order too. I can’t believe you are marrying Darius! I mean, you never mentioned him other than that he was one of your bodyguards in the States.”
She hated the lie that fell from her lips. “Well, we talked a lot during the times we were together. Then after he rescued me, I knew he was my knight in shining armor, as they say.”
“It is just like a fairy tale,” Nala responded, her voice suddenly filled with wonder. “That is so romantic.”
Tahira didn’t want to discuss her impending, bogus marriage with anyone right now. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was a little after three p.m. That meant it was just after seven in the evening in Timasur. “I should try Lahana’s phone again. Maybe she will talk to me.”
“I hope so. Tell her I’m here for her if she needs anything.”
“I will, cousin. And before I forget to tell you, I want you to know I am proud of you. You were very brave.”
A sob came over the line. “No—no I wasn’t. All I did was—was cry and cower.”
Tahira wished she was in the same room with the younger woman, so she could comfort her. “That does not matter. We all cried and cowered. But you survived, and you will recover from this a much stronger person. Of that I am certain, cousin. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Nala responded through her tears.
“I will see you soon. Let me call Lahana and try to talk to her.”
After disconnecting the call, she hit a speed dial button. After three rings the voice mail picked up. Having already left two messages, Tahira didn’t bother leaving a third. Instead, she sent a text. “I am here for you. Please call me so I can hear that you are okay. I love you.”
Setting the phone on the nightstand, Tahira brought her legs up and relaxed back on the bed. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken a nap in the middle of the day before yesterday, but her ordeal had taken a toll on her body and psyche. Between her session with Dr. Dunbar, the walk on the treadmill, and her conversation with Nala, the energy had drained from Tahira, and she couldn’t stay awake any longer. Closing her eyes, she brought up an image of Darius in her mind, then floated off to sleep.
28
“My parents would like to know when they can meet your family.”
Darius swallowed the piece of bacon he’d been chewing and reached for his coffee, trying to put off responding for another moment. To help with the engagement pretense, Ian had assigned him to Tahira’s detail for the next few weeks. After being undercover in South America for months, Darius didn’t mind the easy assignment one bit. Aside from dodging the press to attend her therapy sessions, Tahira had opted to stay sheltered behind the walls of the Clearwater Beach estate, not wanting to appear in public until the bruise on her cheek was completely gone. The finger marks had faded, and the right style of clothing could hide the discoloration on her arms, shoulders, and legs. Every time Darius saw one of the contusions, he wanted to kill Secada all over again.
With permission from the palace, Darius was staying in one of the guest rooms in the main house, which helped keep him out of the media’s eye. It also meant he was spending a lot of time with Tahira—on and off duty. This morning, they were sharing breakfast on the patio, while two guards maintained their privacy from down on the dock.
As expected, after the formal engagement announcement last week, the press had done everything they could to find dirt on the man who’d reportedly won Princess Tahira’s heart and hand in marriage. Outside of his SEAL teammates, very few people knew Darius had been one too. Those that did could be trusted to remain quiet about the Trident he’d earned and worn proudly yet secretively. Most of the people in his hometown thought he’d been working on a submarine during his time in the Navy, and that was the way Darius wanted it. As for his teammates, former and current, they had been a given—none of them would ever speak to a reporter.
However, although his black-ops life was protected, thanks to Brody’s and Nathan’s bad-ass computer skills, his personal life was up for grabs. There was only so much they could hide in this day and age, and it hadn’t taken the media long before they’d descended on Brookford to harass its residents into telling everything they knew about Darius Knight. Levi had assigned an around-the-clock detail to sit outside their father’s trailer to make certain no reporters ambushed the man and ended up on the wrong end of a shotgun. Unfortunately, the tabloids were now running stories about how the Knight patriarch lived in squalor, while Darius was marrying a wealthy princess. Thankfully, Darius had already explained the situation to King Rajeemh during a telephone call the other night. It was Phillip Knight’s wish to reside where he did, and he resisted any attempt by his family to upgrade his living arrangements. Since he wasn’t a threat to himself, only anyone stupid enough to ignore the “Trespassers Will Be Shot - This Is Not a Joke” signs Levi had put up along the property lines, their dad remained where he was—peacefully, most of the time.
As if sensing his reluctance, Tahira added, “I mean, your brother and sister. They realize meeting your father might not be possible. My grandfather had dementia for years before he passed away, so we understand what you must be going through. My father suggested we could meet Levi and Barrie within driving distance of your hometown. He does not want to invade Brookford with the royal entourage that must always accompany them. What would be the nearest city that would be convenient for them?”
The more time he spent with Tahira, talking about anything and everything, the more she tunneled her way into his heart. He was attracted to her, there was no denying that. And they got along great. She was more fun to be around than he’d realized—at least when he wasn’t on bodyguard detail. Then, she seemed to disconnect from him, and that confused the hell out of him. But it also put him back in his place. He wasn’t royalty and never would be. He was a military man who’d seen things Tahira could never imagine—the worst of humanity. Yes, she’d suffered through her own barbaric assault, but the things Darius had seen and done, in the name of God, country, family, and the innocent, should never touch the beautiful woman sitting across the table from him. He wasn’t worthy of her. Despite the rape, she was still virtuous and naïve, and he would only sully that.
But, damn, he wanted her. Maybe it was because he shouldn’t. Or maybe it was because in any other lifetime, the princess wouldn’t be caught dead with such a lowly peasant. No, that wasn’t it—he suspected Tahira would be the same person even if she’d grown up poor—gorgeous, funny, sweet, caring, generous, and intelligent. Most of those traits he’d never noticed before, simply because he’d been a hired gun who only needed to be ready to take a bullet for her.
