Final Vow (2 page)

“I’m fine.” Ahmed gave her a nod and then slowly scooped his new son into his arms. “No middle name. It’s not done. Kedar will be his name. Now take him away while I rest.”

“Come on, Kedar. I will show you your new home.” Ahmed left the room and walked through the house with his son. He was a strong boy and Ahmed felt his heart swell with love. He may not have love in his marriage, but he would give his son all the love he wished his own father had given to him. “I will love you for the rest of my life and beyond, my son.”

Ahmed stole into the room where Paulina slept and quietly put his son in the bassinet. Kedar had fallen asleep and Ahmed gently kissed his child’s soft cheek before sneaking out of the room. If he hurried to the palace, he could tell his brother the good news and be back before Kedar woke from his nap.

Ahmed didn’t bother knock
ing on the door to his brother’s office. He was too excited to tell him that he was an uncle to even think about it. Two drawn faces looked up as Ahmed hurried in with a goofy grin on his face.

“Brother, Father. I have good news.”

“It will have to wait. I need you to grab your gear and find the princess. There is word that a rebel force led by the king’s cousin is approaching,” his father ordered.

“Are they in danger?”

“We all are. He will try to kill every last supporter of the king’s.”

“My child. My son was just born,” Ahmed was filled with dread. He had to reach Kedar.

“A son? Go get him. I will find Princess Baheera. We will meet you in the safe room. Hurry. They have passed the fishing village and will be here soon. We’re preparing our defenses now.”

Ahmed turned and ran out of the palace. Guards were taking up their posts as his father started shouting orders. Gunfire erupted from the far side of the palace so Ahmed
used a hidden door in the wall to reach the street.

People were screaming and running from the downtown offices. Some stood and stared at the palace
, and others hurried to their cars trying to escape the madness. His house was less than a kilometer away. He had walked to the palace earlier, something he now regretted as he saw a man turning up his front walk.

“Stop,” Ahmed yelled, but the man didn’t pay attention. In one quick movement
, he lifted his leg and kicked open the door. Ahmed ran as fast as he could. He jumped the bushes in his yard and rushed through the front door of his house.

The world stood still as Ahmed saw the tall man holding his wife in a tight embrace. Slowly the man stepped back and pulled the long knife from Paulina’s chest. As the man turned, he dropped Paulina, her body crumpling on the floor while blood bloomed across her chest.

“Who are you?” Ahmed asked, his son’s cries bringing him farther into the house.

“Look at you. You are a weakling,” the man spat, his voice thick with a Russian accent.

“You are not a rebel.” Ahmed looked up at the tall man and took in his appearance. He was young, not yet twenty. His black hair and black eyes gave an eerie appearance.

“Very astute. I follow the money. And right now the money is paying
me to overthrow this country.” The man stepped closer and Ahmed looked around for a weapon but could find none. He’d have to protect his family with his fists. It was his only choice.

“And what a surprise
! When I arrived here, I found this woman, who is supposed to be married to one of the famous Mueez sons, is, in fact, married to a pathetic little boy who doesn’t even have a weapon on him,” the man sneered.

Ahmed lunged toward the man. His fist crashed into the man’s face, causing him to stumble backward, slamming into the wall. Ahmed continued to punch him as hard as he could. With one final blow, Ahmed turned and sprinted for the back bedroom where Kedar was crying.

He was halfway there when he felt a hand grab his collar and yank him to the ground. “Going somewhere? Trying to save your son? You couldn't save your wife and you can’t save your country. Why do you even think you can save your son?”

Ahmed felt the breath leave his lungs as the man’s boot pressed hard onto his chest. He stared up into the eyes of evil as the man pulled out his knife and pointed it at him. He opened his mouth to beg for his son’s life, but the man pressed his boot harder and the words failed to come.

The man bent over and placed the blade on Ahmed’s chest. “You think about that while you die. And you’ll die knowing Sergei killed everything you love.”

Ahmed felt the blade enter his chest. It burned as it went slowly into his flesh. The man’s eyes flared and he smiled as he pulled out the bloodied blade. He got up and walked to the back of the house, following Kedar’s loud cries. Ahmed tried to move but only managed to crawl a couple inches as he tried to fight the darkness enveloping him. Just before he lost consciousness, the screams of his son stopped.

CHAPTER ONE

Keeneston, current day...

Cy Davies and his new wife, Gemma, were glowing as they danced at their wedding. Bridget Springer smiled at one of Cy’s fellow Hollywood stuntmen whom she was dancing with. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a shadow move in the trees off in the distance, but when she looked no one was there. She quietly chided herself for looking for Ahmed. It had been four months since she’d seen him or any of the royal family.

After the safe delivery of their twin boys, Mohtadi and Danielle Ali Rahman, or Mo and Dani as they were known in Keeneston, had left for the small country of Rahmi where Mo served as a prince.
Bridget had heard that they received a warm welcome at the palace and the people celebrated having another generation of heirs to the throne. The rumor was that succession of the throne in Rahmi would have flipped to the king’s cousin's line if there were no male heir to follow Mo and his brothers. And since Ahmed served as the head of security for Mo's family, he oversaw their protection in Rahmi.

Before he had left
, he and Bridget had had a standing date for hand-to-hand combat training three days a week. She’d learned so much from him and she was now bored without him. It didn’t really make sense. It’s not like he even talked to her other than to tell her how to perform a move or how to correct her technique. However, she felt his absence everyday.

Because she missed her time with Ahmed,
the past months had dragged on for Bridget. She had accepted a couple of small government jobs with her drug and bomb dog, Marko. Plus she had been partnered with Annie Davies at the sheriff’s office. They’d busted some teenagers, checked the school for drugs, and caught some speeders. Annie had taken her to the Keeneston High School football games and she’d enjoyed seeing Cade, Annie’s husband, and Will Ashton, a former NFL quarterback, coaching the boys she was getting to know on the school visits.

Will and his wife, McKenna, the new Keeneston prosecutor, were excited for the birth of their second child. After
a year off from coaching, Kenna, as her friends called her, told Will to get back to what he loved. Bridget had been sitting between the two coaches’ wives and had gotten hooked on high school football to take her mind off something she shouldn’t even be missing.

“Cy told me all about you. Your work for the government is fascinating. I started out in the Marines before I got the
bug,” Cy’s friend, Jayden, said, bringing her back to the present. She looked at the man she was dancing with and tried to remember what he’d just told her.

“The bug?” Bridget asked
, finally taking her eyes from the shadows and putting them back on Jayden. He was handsome and he definitely had stayed in Marine shape. His brown hair was cut short and his tuxedo fit snugly over his broad muscles.

“The adrenaline bug. Jumping out of planes, driving for your life
, hoping not to be ambushed . . . all got me hooked on that rush. Now I jump off buildings and drive in chase scenes.”

“It does sound fun. Parachuting was one of my favorite things to do in the Army
.” Bridget smiled. She had joined the ROTC in college and then went on to serve four years in the Army. It’s where she had fallen in love with training dogs.

Bridget felt a shiver run down her back as Jayden pulled her a little closer. The shiver wasn’t from the man dancing with her. It was a feeling as if she was being watched. Casually
, she looked around but didn’t see anything. Right as she was turning her attention back to Jayden, she thought she saw a shadow move again off in the darkness. Her mind automatically went to Ahmed, but when she turned her head and looked, there was no one there once again.

The song ended and Bridget let Jayden escort her off the dance floor. Annie waved her over and she excused herself to
go to her friend. She knew Cy had probably told Jayden about her, but there was no spark. She really needed to get over the thought hiding in the back of her head. The thought that had settled there and refused to be banished. The thought of Ahmed as something more than a sparring buddy.

“Hey
, who’s the hottie you’re dancing with?” Annie asked as Cade looked decidedly uncomfortable with the beginning of girl talk.

“He was a stuntman with Cy in Hollywood.” Bridget laughed as Annie wiggled her eyebrows. “Do
esn’t look too hopeful.”

“Hopeful for what
, dear?” Miss Lily Rae Rose asked as she and John Wolfe joined them. Using some kind of silent telepathy, within seconds Miss Lily’s two sisters, Miss Daisy Mae Rose and Miss Violet Fae Rose, made a beeline toward her from various sides of the reception. They were sharks who could smell gossip, and they were circling their prey.

“Bridget doesn’t think Mr. Hunka Hunka over there is anything special,” Annie informed them as Cade suddenly became very interested in some imaginary lint.

“Well, some men are blessed with brawn and some with brains. I’m sure once you get him undressed, it won’t really matter if he’s missing the brains,” Miss Violet said matter-of-factly. Bridget was pretty sure poor Jayden was now being mentally stripped, bless his heart, by Miss Violet.

“It’s not that. He’s fine. It’s just
. . .” Bridget started but was cut off by the high-pitched squeal of most the women at the reception.

Turning around
, Bridget felt like doing something other than squealing. Mo and Dani, or more formally, Mohtadi and Danielle Ali Rahman, Prince and Princess of Rahmi, had just arrived and each were holding an adorable baby boy. What Bridget was feeling was her heart speeding up. If Dani and Mo where here, Ahmed was here, too. So, she hadn’t been crazy when she saw the shadows moving. It had been Ahmed.

Bridget was swept along with the surging crowd as they encircled the happy new parents. The Rose sisters were cooing and the Davies women, along with Kenna, Dani’s best friend, were hugging the couple and welcoming them back home.

“I thought you all wouldn’t be back until next year
. What happened? Is everything all right?” Kenna asked as she scooped up one of the babies.

“We escaped
.” Dani laughed. “No, Rahmi is beautiful, but the king was rather smothering and y’all know how well I do with smothering.”

“Bless your heart, you said
y’all
. You really are one of us now.” Miss Daisy laughed as everyone else joined in.

“It’s true. While we both enjoyed being there, it is wonderful to be home. Besides, we want Zain and Gabriel to get to know their Keeneston family,” Mo told their friends.

“What happened that enabled you to come home?” Paige Davies Parker, the only daughter of the Davies clan, asked. Her husband, FBI Agent Cole Parker, stood next to her with his arm wrapped around her. Bridget looked around once again for Ahmed. Would he ever hold a woman like that?

“
Mo’s brother, Dirar, and his wife, Ameera, were told last Christmas by the doctors in Rahmi that they thought he was sterile. Ameera is a sweet woman and I felt so bad for her. She’d been raised since birth to be a queen and to raise a king. Instead she ended up married to a second son in the royal family and couldn’t even have a baby that would turn out to be the future king. It’s really sad. Mo’s oldest brother has all girls. During the last birth, there were complications and his wife can no longer have children. Ameera confided in me that she failed at everything she was raised to do: marry a king and have an heir. So, we may have whispered in the right ears that coming to the fertility clinic in New York City would be a good idea. Next thing you know, Ameera started acting like me too much,” Dani said, full of pride. Bridget wondered why Dani wanted Ameera, the wife of one of Mo’s older brothers, to conceive so badly since Mo and Dani’s sons were the ones to secure the line. Their oldest son, Zain, would be king one day.

“Oh dear,” Kenna said as she tried not to laugh. The king didn’t really approve of Dani’s desire to be out of the spotlight.

“You know how Ameera underwent fertility treatments? Well, so did Dirar and they found out they are going to have a baby. Ignoring tradition, she told the king to shove it and went to the doctor and insisted on not only having an ultrasound, but seeing it as well. The king couldn’t stand it and ended up joining her and turning into a complete mess when he saw the ultrasound of the healthy boy she’s carrying,” Dani told them with a kind smile on her face. For all the teasing, she and the king loved each other, even if they were complete opposites.

“So, your boys?” Miss Lily asked hesitantly.

“Are free to be raised as ‘the backups’ here in Keeneston,” Mo said with so much happiness in his voice, everyone smiled and cheered.

Bridget stepped slowly back from the crowd and searched the shadows for Ahmed. The music started up again and thoughts of dancing with him filled her head. Would he ask her? She saw him then. Standing alone, reading a piece of paper. As if feeling her gaze on him, he looked up from the paper and directly at her. Their eyes connected and Bridget knew why Jayden had not held any appeal. She was hopelessly wishing for Ahmed to notice her.

She gave him a little
smile and started to walk toward him. She’d heard all the gossip at the Blossom Café. Ahmed had never dated anyone from Keeneston, except Katelyn Jacks. She was not Katelyn Jacks anymore, but Katelyn Davies. The sweet ex-model-turned-veterinarian was married to Marshall Davies, the sheriff of Keeneston and her boss. Others had tried to get Ahmed’s attention but had all been politely ignored or turned down. And who could blame them? Ahmed was dangerously good-looking. He stood just less than six feet with dark black hair that was always cut to perfection. His brown eyes noticed everything, and Bridget heated up just at the thought of what those eyes would look like if he were making love to her. Then there was his face. Strong, masculine, and it always seemed that he had a five-o’clock shadow, which just added to his air of mystery.

Some dared to whisper he still had feelings for Katelyn, but Katelyn strongly protested those rumors. From the massive amount of time Bridget had spent with Ahmed, she tended to agree with Katelyn. While he held many secrets, a secret desire for Katelyn didn’t appear to be one of them. However, the trouble was she had nothing to prove it, just the hope that she could be the one for him. Taking a deep breath, Bridget put on a confident smile and stepped into the shadows.

Ahmed had been at the dance for the last half
-hour. He’d seen one of Cy’s groomsmen dancing with Bridget and hated it. Luckily Nabi, his mentee, had brought a Pakistani newspaper to him with a lead to Sergei. Sergei, the same man who had killed his son and whom Ahmed had let escape while helping Cy Davies save his bride, Gemma, from a mentally deranged terrorist. But he wasn’t going to let him go this time. No, he was going to track him down and kill him. It was the only way he could move on with his life.

It was then he felt her eyes on him. Ahmed always knew where she was and could feel her in his heart at times. He looked up and into the crowded reception
, meeting her gaze instantly. Bridget was unlike any woman he had met before. Sure, she was attractive. Her red hair streaked with blonde, blue eyes, athletic build, and the tiniest smattering of freckles made her irresistible to him.

He was all darkness to her light in more ways than
one. She was tough, but at the same time, soft and kind. She was compassionate and when the men in her field laughed at her ability to do her job, she just smiled and did her job. She didn’t even rub it in when she did better than they did. In turn, she was well respected by everyone he’d ever talked to. She deserved someone better than him. He’d done horrible things during his life and he couldn’t ruin her by being associated with him. Sure, governments tolerated him and some had even tried to hire him away. But a man who was ruthless with no emotion was not who Bridget deserved. She also didn’t deserve Sergei coming after her. And make no mistake—if Sergei found out Ahmed cared for her, he’d come after her with no mercy.

“Welcome home, Ahmed,” Bridget shyly said as she fidgeted with her beautiful light
-blue dress that matched her eyes.

“Thank you. Are you having a nice time?”
he asked. How he wanted to dance with her, how he wanted . . . well, it didn’t matter. Until Sergei was dead, there was no point to dream.

“I am now,” Bridget blushed
and desire raged inside her. It was obvious that, despite the fact she worked almost exclusively with men, she was not very experienced. “Does this mean we can restart our workouts?”

“I’m sorry, but no. I won’t be in Keeneston long. I have business elsewhere. Speaking of which, I must be going. Goodbye, Bridget.” Ahmed took a second to look her over one last time before turning away and disappearing into the night. He hated leaving her there with a look of confusion and hurt on her face, but it was for the best.

Ahmed unlocked the front door to his house and Zoticus, or Zoti
, as he called the massive pit bull he and Katelyn rescued, came bounding forward with his tail wagging.

“Glad to be back home, boy?” Ahmed asked as he scratched Zoti’s broad head. Zoti had not been fond of the lack of grass on Rahmi, nor the heat. The two
-story historic federal house that Ahmed called home was much more Zoti’s style. It was his style now, too. He had enjoyed spending time with his brother in Rahmi, but it had never been the same since that night almost eighteen years ago.