Forever Betrayed: Forever Bluegrass #3 (18 page)

There were no grumblings now. In fact, there was complete silence apart from one of the Rose sisters snorting. Zain came up and put his hand her shoulder, but Mila shoved it off. “And you knew this and didn’t tell me?” Mila rounded on Zain.

“I told him it wasn’t true. I told him I trusted you. I told him I loved you. I even fired Ahmed for running the background check on you.”

“Oh, Dad, you didn’t?” Abby shook her head at her father who didn’t look the least bit worried until he caught sight of the glare his wife was giving him.

“I don’t care who did it. I care who believed it!” Mila yelled and felt like hitting someone so she stabbed Mo in the chest again. “Like you.”

“Well, I don’t believe it,” Abby said as she moved to stand next to Mila.

“Us either,” Reagan and Riley said as they came to stand by her.

Mila felt her throat thicken as emotions overwhelmed her. All of the friends she had met during her short time in Keeneston came to stand beside her. “We’d join you, dearie, but that long walk from our house to the café to get a ride did us in,” Miss Violet said from across the room.

Nabi looked at them. “You know, we have that Ranger Crew ATV that seats six. You could use it during the warm weather.”

“Oh, that’s lovely. Thank you,” Miss Daisy smiled and patted Nabi’s hand. “But let’s finish this part about love so we can settle the books.”

Mo shook his head. “I’m sorry, my dear. I know my son loves you. I know you love him. But the coincidence—”

Mila poked her finger at him again. “It’s a confidential deal between Germany, the US, and Surman to manufacture parts for a cell phone. There, are you happy? Now, if you will excuse me, you can go fuc—” The room gasped and Mila stopped. “Fine. It’s clear I’m the only one in the room today who’s gotten fuc—”

“Dear!” Dani tried to say without laughing. “I don’t need to know about you and my son in that way. Well, unless you’re telling me you could be pregnant. December weddings are beautiful. That’s when this idiot and I got married,” Dani said as she sent a loving look to Mo.

“Mom!” Zain snapped out, but any lecture was lost in the flurry of bets the room was texting to the café.

“I don’t know whether to be furious or to just laugh,” Mila said, slightly stunned.

Zain turned her to face him and looked down at her. “I love you and that’s all that matters. I’m sorry about my father. I promise, normally he’s a great guy. But he can be a tad overprotective.”

Mila sighed. “They all seem a tad overprotective. But it’s clear they all love their children, so I guess I can’t be too upset. It’s just been a really bad day.”

Zain leaned forward and pressed his lips to her ear. “I know how to make it better.”

Mila flushed and more bets were made.

“So,” Miles said loudly, commanding attention of the room once again, “the question is, do I get to shoot someone or not?”

“Funny, I had the same question,” Annie grinned.

“So, now that we’ve established that Mila is innocent, she and Zain love each other, and she has good taste in books . . . what’s the game plan?” Gemma asked.

Mila smiled thankfully at Gemma as discussion ensued. Mila rested her head against Zain’s shoulder and listened to him talk. Sometimes parents discounted what children said, even when children were grownups. But not this group. Zain and the other grown kids contributed. While some of the parents were nervous about including their children in any plans, they kept those worries to themselves.

“Okay,” Zain said at last. “We have a plan for security. I only wish we had someone who could spy on Surman.”

“Um, I can,” Cassidy said, raising her hand. “I already speak Arabic and Rahmian. I’m sure I can keep up with their language. It’s all basically the same, right?”

“Pretty much,” Mila told her.

“So, what do I do?” Cassidy asked.

“They currently have a Rahmi maid helping them. We just need to replace her and send you in. Just pretend you can’t understand them and serve them their tea and bring them their meals. You will generally be hanging around, straightening their rooms, and stuff like that,” Dani told them. “I’ll take you and introduce you. Let’s go talk with their current help before lunch is over.”

Zain watched as Dani and Cassidy hurried from the room as the rest of the group broke up. The women would be assigned to each room in pairs as they made sure all of the diplomats had everything they needed. The men would pair up as well—some with Rahmi guards and some with each other. Lots of the fathers and sons teamed up, except for Cy and his boys. Cy graciously let Porter and Parker take the sniper positions high up in the trees.

Abby and Jackson would stick with Mila at all times. Dylan and Ahmed were with Zain. Ahmed hadn’t apologized, but Zain hadn’t expected him to either. For now, Miles and Ryan were watching his father, and Bridget and Annie were with his mother.

All Zain had wanted was to make the world a better place. The question was, was it worth his life? Worth the lives of those he loved? They all seemed to think so. They had eagerly agreed to help, and as they all drifted downstairs and outside together, they didn’t seem worried in the least. Even Greer, who was just twenty-one years old, was pulling out her rifle from the back of her truck and showing it to her mom, who was checking it. He really needed to Google his town.

“So,” Mila said softly from his side, which he had refused to let her leave. “Since I’m already fired and most everyone knows why, do we have to pretend to keep our relationship secret anymore?”

“I never wanted to keep it secret,” Zain told her as his hands framed her face. “And I can’t wait to tell the world how much I love you.” Zain lowered his lips and felt the wave of emotion that hit him every time he touched her. She was his—his to love, his to protect, his to cherish, and his to share his life. “And now I can do that whenever I want.”

Mila giggled and it was nice to see her smile. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wanted to make her laugh as much as possible. She was beautiful with her wavy hair glinting in the sunlight as she tossed back her head and laughed when he suggested what else they could do anytime they wanted now.

Zain looked up and his eyes widened. “This should be interesting.”

Mila turned to where he was looking and together they watched Nabi drive the Ranger Crew toward the Rose sisters and their husbands. It was a camo-covered all-terrain vehicle with two rows that fit six people. He slid it to a stop and their dentures just about fell out.

“Here you go. This will be a lot easier to drive than that town car of Anton’s,” Nabi said as he got out to show them how to use it.

“How fast does that go?” Mila asked a little worriedly.

“Around sixty miles per hour. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea . . .”

But Miss Lily was already behind the wheel and the look of glee on her face changed Zain’s mind. It wasn’t as if they would actually go that fast. They had cars and they only drove them at fifteen miles per hour.

Zain laced his fingers with Mila’s and gave her a little squeeze. “Come on. We have a conference to scandalize.”

Mila laughed again. “Yes, a prince and an interpreter. Definitely scandalous.”

“It is when the prince is thinking about stripping the interpreter naked and seeing how many different languages she can scream as he’s pleasuring her,” Zain whispered in her ear. Now it wouldn’t be just Zain thinking about it. He smiled to himself as the doors to the conference room opened and hand-in-hand with Mila, he walked inside.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Zain adjusted the earpiece as he listened to the debate around him. Jamal had returned and asked if he could participate in the afternoon’s session. Zain had heartily agreed and now listened to the security communication on the invisible earpiece Ahmed had given him. So far all was quiet.

He looked down the table at Mila as she whispered her interpretation into the chancellor’s ear. Zain was pretty sure Germany wouldn’t be supporting the nanotech lab. The chancellor had taken a remarkable exception to Zain falling for his interpreter. It could have something to do with the chancellor hoping to bring Mila to Germany to work for him. At least, that’s what Cassidy said she had overheard.

Mila caught his eye and sent him a wink. A change had overcome her since they walked in together three hours before. Her shoulders had gone back, her chin rose slightly, and she stared them all down as if she dared anyone in the room to say anything about their dating. It was glorious to watch. Mila had told him about her wild streak when she was younger. Well, when she winked at him and pointedly looked to the center of the large conference table, Zain was very glad she was letting that side come out more. Her growing confidence was so sexy he had to scoot his chair under the table to hide any potential erection.

When there was a short break in talks regarding shared emergency medical care, Zain rapped on the table with his knuckles to get everyone’s attention. “Wonderful discussion, ladies and gentlemen. I’m truly touched by the cooperation we have achieved here today. Let’s take a thirty-minute break and meet back for the final panel of the day.”

Zain wanted to take Mila to his office and do the things he’d been thinking about doing to her on his desk, but King Omar stopped him. “I have considered what you have asked.”

“Good, so we can announce tomorrow morning that Tahjad and Rahmi have a signed agreement to cease the pirating?” Zain asked as he tried to hold back the relief he felt.

“Not so fast. I want to hear what this doctor says and ask about this technology being applied to agriculture. If I like what she says, and if enough of the other countries support it, then
I
will announce that Tahjad has already agreed to partner with Rahmi and will provide safe passage of all ships heading to the laboratory.”

Zain gave up his idea of bending Mila over the desk and settled into trying to make the king agree to terms prior to the meetings tomorrow.

Mila stood in the hallway and stretched. The chancellor, along with most of the other diplomats, had gone to designated rooms to check email, make calls, and refresh themselves. Mila needed to calm herself. When Zain had taken her hand and walked her into that room, Mila had taken the first step away from the shadows. She also thought about the way his eyes darkened when she looked at the table.

The chancellor hadn’t been thrilled, but he had kept his mouth shut. They worked well together all afternoon and Mila was glad she hadn’t walked out on him. This was important. What they were discussing today would save so many lives.

Mila turned to Abby and took a deep breath. “I need to run to the restroom and get a quick snack.”

“I’ll run upstairs and get that for you. Unless you want to go hang out up there?” Jackson offered.

“That would be great. Thank you. An apple and a bottle of water will tide me over until dinner.”

“I’ll be right outside the door. Yell if you need anything,” Abby said as she stepped to the side of the bathroom door.

Mila turned the knob and walked into the beautifully appointed half bath. She locked the door and looked around. There was a white and gray marble vanity to the left of the door. Opposite the vanity was a large window with sheer gray curtains. Beyond the window was a nook for the toilet. She quickly finished her business and headed to the vanity to wash her hands.

Mila looked into the mirror over the vanity and sighed. Before those shadows under her eyes could go away, she needed eight hours of sleep after more mind-blowing sex with Zain. Until then . . . Mila pulled the concealer from her purse and dabbed some on her finger. The curtains fluttered in the soft summer breeze and Mila wondered why the window would be open with this heat outside. She shrugged it off and went back to dabbing the concealer under her eyes.

She put the concealer into her makeup bag and was looking for foundation powder when movement in the mirror caused her to look up. Mila didn’t have time to scream before the long sheer curtain from the window was wrapped around her neck. She managed to get one hand underneath the silken curtain as the man with the ski mask pulled against her windpipe.

The softness of the curtain turned hard as he wrapped it around his knuckles and pulled. The sleek fabric burned against her skin as Mila struggled against it. He pulled harder, and she remembered the makeup bag she had in her hand. Mila threw it as hard as she could against the mirror. It made a
thump
and some of the makeup went crashing onto the counter and the ground.

“Mila?” Abby asked from the other side of the door. “What was that noise?”

When Mila didn’t answer, she heard the doorknob turning. Dammit, she had locked it! Mila raised her pumps and scraped the sharp heel down the man’s shin. He grunted and loosened his grip.

“Help!” Mila yelled. The door reverberated as Abby kicked it. The man let go of the curtain and shoved Mila forward as hard as he could.

Fear shot through her as she tripped over her own feet and pitched forward. Her arms pinwheeled and Mila ducked her head, hoping to avoid smashing into the marble vanity. She fell to the ground short of the sharp marble edge and slid head first into the cabinet doors.

The door splintered and Abby stormed into the bathroom. Mila didn’t have time to warn Abby that her attacker was against the wall by the door.  When Abby rushed through with her gun drawn, he slammed his hand down on her wrist. The gun she had been holding went skittering to the ground and out of sight under the curtains. Mila opened her mouth to scream, but her breath was taken from her when the man kneed Abby in the stomach. It was as if Mila herself had been hit. Mila scrambled to her feet and grabbed her large tote bag. She swung for all she was worth and connected with the man’s head. He staggered back and Abby charged. Abby hit him around the middle and they both went flying backward. The man hit the partially open window and went crashing through it with Abby pushing him.

Mila hurried to the window and looked out. The man was on his back with Abby on top of him. Abby slammed her fist into his stomach and the man lashed out with an elbow. Mila screamed as it smashed Abby’s nose. Abby fell to the side and the man crab-walked backward until he was free of her. He jumped up at the same time Abby did and took off running. Mila looked at the broken door and then at Abby running after the man, yelling into her security comm.

Mila swung her feet out the window and jumped down the short distance to the grass. She kicked off her shoes and tore after them. A gunshot stopped her sprint toward them. She dove to the ground as another shot was fired. Mila looked around and realized they weren’t firing at her. She quickly rose and took off around the side of the house where she had last seen them.

Abby stood there cursing. “Dammit! We lost him.”

“What happened?” Mila called out as she ran toward a bleeding Abby and security from inside rushed out.

“I was closing in on him when Parker fired at him. He grabbed the wrought-iron chair and hit me with it. There was a bed sheet from the linen closet hanging out the window. Parker fired again, but the coverage from the magnolia tree made him miss. By the time I got to the bed sheet, he was already up there with the sheet cut from the window. He’s back in the house so that means he’s someone who can blend right in. Unfortunately, that’s all the Rahmi guards and half the staff from the house, not counting the staff the diplomats all brought.”

“Mila! Abby!” Jackson called as he ran toward them. “Damn, Abs. Are you okay?”

“Just another broken nose. He’s inside the house, Jackson,” Abby told him as Jackson gently cupped her face in his hands while he examined her injury.

“We’ll find him. I promise. Let’s get your nose fixed. Mila, are you hurt?” Jackson turned his silver gaze to her, and she knew the instant he found the red marks on her neck. “Shit. Zain’s going to be fit to be tied.”

“What happened?” Ahmed asked as he jogged over to them. Mila saw his face harden in anger at the sight of blood on his daughter’s face before turning uncharacteristically gentle. “Abigail, dear, another broken nose?”

“Yes, Dad,” Abby said with a weak tilt of her lips.

“Let me see it.” Ahmed used his thumbs to feel along her nose. “This is going to hurt me more than you. One. Two.”
Crunch
.

Mila grimaced and Ahmed looked like he was about to pass out as Abby let out a string of cuss words. Her eyes teared and she put her head back, taking in great gasps of air. “You need Dr. Emma to look at that and put some stabilizing tape on it. I think I got it back into place. Can you breathe easier?” Ahmed asked as Abby took deep breaths.

“Yes, but it hurts like a mother . . . oh hi, Zain,” Abby said quickly. Mila, Jackson, and Ahmed turned around to see Zain racing toward them. “Jackson has something to tell you.”

“Thanks a lot, Abby,” Jackson murmured under his breath.

“But you love me and will forgive me because I’m hurt,” Abby said in a singsong voice.

“What the hell is going on?” Zain asked when he joined them.

“About that,” Jackson said as calmly as possible. “Um, everyone’s fine.” He tried to reassure Zain whose eyes flew from Abby’s bloodied nose to Ahmed’s pale face and finally to the red marks across Mila’s neck.

Mila would have laughed if the horror in Zain’s eyes hadn’t been so real. His fingers brushed back her hair to get a better look. “What happened, love?” he asked quietly while his fingertips barely flitted against her bruised skin.

“Just a little incident in the bathroom. At least it wasn’t a snake in the toilet bowl. That was always my nightmare when I was a kid. This time it was just a man strangling me with a curtain.” Mila tried to sound casual. The anger in Zain’s eyes showed that it didn’t work. “But Abby was spectacular. She defended me and pushed him right out the window… well,
through
the window. He had to break her nose to get away from her.”

Zain didn’t say anything. He just pulled her against his chest and hugged her. He rested his chin on the top of Mila’s head, and she could feel him struggling to control his breathing. “Go see Dr. Emma. I’ll have someone take your place on Mila’s detail,” Zain said to Abby over Mila’s head. “Although I am liking the idea of locking Mila in the secret room with ten guards and a stockpile of weapons.”

Zain couldn’t let Mila go. He wanted to keep her there in his arms where he knew she would be safe.

“Zain! Mila! What happened?” Zain heard his mother as she ran across the green carpet of their garden.

“Mila was attacked. She’s all right, though. Just bruised around her throat,” Abby explained. “But the attacker got away. I’m sorry.”

Zain felt Mila shaking her head against his chest. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Abby. You saved my life. I don’t know how to thank you.”

Zain waited for his mother to freak out, but she didn’t. Instead, she nibbled on her lower lip as she looked around. “Hurry, all of you back inside. Ahmed, send Cy to cover for Abby while she gets her nose looked at. We must act as if nothing happened.”

Zain blinked at his mother. Instead of hysterics, she was angry and surprisingly calm. She reminded him of a general and decided tonight he was going to find out why she wasn’t more alarmed. He was going to Google his mother.

“We need a cover story. People must have heard the shots. I know I did,” Zain said.

“Duck,” his mom said. Zain covered Mila’s head with his hands and ducked down. His mother laughed. “No, silly. For dinner. We’ll say the cook just finished up a duck hunt. Have Parker fire off a couple more. I believe I heard Anton say we had four ducks for dinner tonight.”

Ahmed spoke into his comms and a couple seconds later two shots were fired off.

“Good idea, Mom. Now we will have to close off the bathroom window. Apparently Abby shoved the man through it. And it was a man, right?”

Abby nodded. “He wasn’t very big, though. But he is trained. He knew how to fight. So he’s military or some kind of guard.”

“But we don’t know whose guard,” Mila said as she pulled her head away from Zain’s protective embrace. “Every diplomat is here with guards.”

“I’ll see what I can find out,” Ahmed promised before walking away with Abby toward the massive garage.

Dani’s eyes narrowed as she took in Mila’s red neck. She unwound the flimsy ivory silk scarf decorated with a horseshoe pattern and handed it to Mila. Zain finally admitted he had to let her go. Mila stepped out of his arms and took the scarf.

“To cover your neck. Do you want me to knot it? I don’t want you to feel out of control again,” his mother explained.

“Thank you, Dani. Yes, please tie it. I never could get these to look right.”

Zain watched as his mother tied the scarf around Mila’s neck. He held her hand and felt her grip tighten when the scarf was tied.