Page 95 of Defenders of Jawhara

“Yeah, well, Erin’s a humanitarian at heart. She saw an injustice and sought to right it. The insurgents took advantage of her soft heart.”

Swirling her water, Keira shook her head. “The sheikh must have been furious—with her and with his own guards.”

“That’s an understatement. No guy wants to feel like he failed to look out for his girl. Anyway, that’s what led to PJ setting up the tracking pendants. The cousins both have theirs now.”

“Nice of Slade to brief me on that tech before I got here.”

“Don’t bother asking Slade anything about that. You know he’s not a detail man. The pendants are a Lawson special.”

“The surfer boys?” Keira asked. “I thought they were mostly here as eye candy and to take photos we might need later. I didn’t realize they were handling all the tech.”

Brock laughed. “That’s their best cover. They look like they ought to be the models on a photoshoot, not be the ones holding the cameras. Because of time constraints, most of the tech added to the palace was outsourced from a third party, but the brothers put their stamp of approval on everything before we installed it. Also, a word of caution. Stay close to the palace. Don’t go out without company. Tensions are high enough that, as an American, you might just become the next target.”

Keira frowned at him. “Slade briefed me. Have there been any overt negative reactions to the presence of the cousins?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary, but Slade wants everyone to be careful. PJ has been given the same warning.”

She stood. “Well, there’s nothing I can do about it for the moment. Think I’ll grab another swim and some sun before dinner.”

Brock stood. “Dinner? What about lunch?”

She glanced back at him and handed him her glass of water. “Honey, that water was my lunch.”

* * *

Time by the pool gave Keira a chance to check out the perimeter security during the day and without all the wedding guests wandering around. She also wondered how the guards would react to her as both a newcomer and Brock’s girlfriend. Young guys, all of them—gardeners as well as the more obvious guards—looked tense and alert, and from the ones who made eye contact with her, she got a bit of a head nod, which left her wondering if they thought she wasn’t a potential threat. On the plus side, they appeared ready for anything coming at them from the outside. What if the threat really was being orchestrated from within?

She left the pool after an hour, headed to her room, and changed into a light blue dress with long, sheer sleeves. She slipped on matching flats and checked the watch that Brock had given her. The damn thing kept terrible time, but it looked great, the diamonds flashing. She jiggled her wrist to make the diamonds flash again.

Before heading downstairs, she sent PJ a quick text. “Who’s my maid?” PJ would understand the code—Keira wanted a list of the staff who worked here. She’d gotten a guest list, and that had included about six royal cousins. Royal pains, she’d guess. The sheikh had a large family, and most of them seemed happy to hang around, not doing much of anything. She wanted to know about the ones who weren’t so happy. Meaning she needed to get in on the gossip.

She headed for the kitchen. Maela Bint-Jamal had been with the family for decades—she basically ran the palace, supervising everything. If anyone knew the scoop on all of the guests, it would be her.

Keira stepped into the cavernous kitchen and glanced around. Three chefs seemed to be working on dinner, with two more cutting and prepping the food. The place looked like a zoo—well, okay, more like a commercial kitchen, given all the stainless steel and Aga ovens. Keira stepped out again and headed for the dining room. She found an older woman who had to be Maela in a black server suit, directing three young men in black shirts and pants on how to set the table.

Putting on her best smile, Keira stopped in the doorway. “Wow, looks like twenty for dinner.”

Maela turned a dark-eyed stare on Keira. Her face tightened and for an instant, Keira had the feeling she’d already met this woman—and had made an enemy. She shivered. The older woman’s face relaxed, and Keira could almost believe she’d imagined that instant of enmity.

Smiling, Maela said something to the young men and walked over to face Keira. “Dinner won’t be until eight. You might want to take a walk in the gardens until then.” She turned away, and Keira knew she’d been dismissed. So much for striking up a friendship.

Keira deliberately made her way to the library—not the gardens. She spent her time on her smart phone, doing additional background research on the country and its customs, and paid particular attention to its uncertain relations with its Sumari neighbor. It was the sort of stuff anyone might look up. If anyone was tracking her smart phone, they’d think she was coming up with dinner conversation.

By the time a bell sounded to announce dinner, Keira’s stomach was growling, and she was regretting not having eaten lunch. She rose and stepped from the library in time to see Brock coming downstairs. He’d dressed in a suit and tie—and Keira almost forgot about food. Brock wore his suits like a second skin. His broad shoulders filled out the jacket. The dark blue of his suit set off his hair, which was looking more gold than red these days. A faint dusting of a beard glowed gold on his cheeks.

He came to her and offered his arm. “Regretting not eating that candy?” he asked.

“Maybe.”

He took her into dinner. PJ was already here, but Talib wasn’t. “Duty,” PJ muttered, rolling her eyes. The other guests drifted in, including Shira and Khalil, who looked every inch the happy newlyweds, Keira thought.

They also wouldn’t have noticed a threat if it came in riding a tiger. Keira decided she’d better double their security. The sheikh and Erin were the last to arrive. Scattered applause met them. Sheikh Kamal bowed, but it was Erin who just about glowed. Given how far along she was now, Keira tried to see if she was showing yet, but the flowing dress she wore effectively masked her torso.

Keira tucked in as if she wasn’t looking after her figure. A woman next to her watched her take thirds of something that smelled like lamb and mint, and Keira smiled. “I can always throw up later,” she said between bites. The woman turned away, looking horrified. Keira felt eyes on her and turned to see Brock smile and lift his water glass to her.

The food was better than great—some with spicy flavors Keira had never tasted before. She loved the lamb and chicken dishes, and she tried to figure out what some of the side dishes were. Most of them had vegetables—and fruits—chopped so finely it was impossible to tell what was in the mix. Some things had been blended or mashed. She tasted mint, garlic, and was that turmeric in one dish? She gave up trying to figure it out and just decided to stuff herself.

Casting a glance toward the cousins, she saw that Shira was equally enamored of the food, while Erin seemed to pick and choose her dishes. At one point, Maela had set what looked more like some sort of chicken soup in front of her, and Erin gave her a grateful smile.

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