Page 52 of Her Irresistible Sheik
Butsomethinghad shifted in Mikail.That much was clear.And now she was left to untangle the knots in her own chest without him beside her.
She needed clarity.And she knew exactly where to get it.
Zayn would know.Her brother would help her sort through this.He’d explain what Mikail might be feeling, or thinking, or assuming.And he’d tell her if she was being foolish—or if she needed to demand something more.
Resolved, Nahla stood, abandoning the book she’d been pretending to read.She’d find that mysterious office Mikail had mentioned.She’d seen hints of it in her explorations—a stone chamber with old brass fixtures and reinforced doors.
This fortress was a maze of old-world strength and new-world technology.The rooms were carved out of the desert stone, thick and cool and timeless.There were no cell signals in the rooms—too many layers of rock—but internet access was possible in designated rooms thanks to fiber lines drilled through the cliffs.
It was time to find that room.
And it was time to get answers.
Chapter 31
Leona hesitated before answering the call.The number on the screen confirmed it was Clyde—and every instinct screamed at her to ignore it.
But she couldn’t.
Not when he was one of her top-paying clients.Not when he’d referred other deep-pocketed clients her way over the years.So, with a sigh and a flash of resentment, she answered.
“Yeah?”she said, voice flat.
“I need you to find her for me,” Clyde snapped.
Leona blinked, confused.“I already gave you everything I had on her.Full schematics of the palace, backdoor access to their security system, camera placements—everything.I’m tapped out.”
“Shewasat the palace,” he growled.“Now she’s moved.No one knows where.I need her new location.”
Leona’s pulse skipped with relief and joy.That wasgoodnews.
Over the past few days, she’d been digging deeper than usual, out of habit more than obligation—and what she’d found surprised her.Princess Nahla was… good.Genuinely a kind-hearted person.Unlike Clyde’s usual targets—crooked CEOs, corrupt politicians, human traffickers—Nahla didn’t seem to have a dark side.The woman championed animal shelters, donated most of her income to charities, and actively worked on policies to support the homeless, not to mention helped other artists to earn a bigger share of the profits from their art.A wealthy woman, yes, but one who lived with integrity.
And Leona knew all this because she’d done what she always did: dug into everything.The princess’s digital footprint, financials, donation records, even her encrypted private messages.All clean.All sincere.
For the first time in years, Leona felt sick about the work she was doing.
She wasn’t going to help Clyde find Princess Nahla.But she couldn’ttellhim that, not directly.
“Hang on a sec,” she said, buying time.With a practiced flick of her fingers, she activated her custom-built caller-tracking system.Clyde used a cloaked phone, which made this trickier—but not impossible.She needed at least twenty seconds to break through the scrambling.
Returning to the call, she asked casually, “Where was the last place you saw her?”
A beat of silence stretched out, but finally, Clyde muttered, “The Tavista palace.”
Leona stiffened.If Clyde hadseenPrincess Nahla, then…
No.Wait.
If he was calling now, asking for the woman’s location, then he hadn’t succeeded.He hadn’t killed her.
That alone was bizarre.Clyde never failed.Never.
So why was Princess Nahla still alive?
Something wasn’t adding up.Her fingers flew across the keyboard, compiling metadata, analyzing patterns, looking for anomalies.Meanwhile, she kept the conversation moving.
“She hasn’t used her phone in over a week, Clyde.I’ve got nothin’ for ya,” she lied, watching as her system continued its work.
