Page 22 of Dangerous Protocol
She’d known what she was getting before marrying him. Her only requests had been that he give her children and that he be discreet and not bring her disrespect or shame. She’d also been adamant about never coming face-to-face with one of his paramours. Understandable demands that he’d easily agreed to.
What could he say? It was good to be the king.
“May I speak freely, Your Majesty?” Adnan asked.
“Of course.” Nadim could guess what his friend wanted to discuss.
“I am concerned about your plans for the girl.” Adnan sat forward, placed his cup on the tray, and rested his elbows on his knees. “What her mother did to Zahir was terrible, and I understand your need to punish her.” He threaded his fingers together. “But the child, she is innocent.”
“Yes, she is. Which is exactly why I had her taken.” Nothing motivated a mother more than having her child in imminent peril.
“She is rather small for her age, and the doctor is concerned about the amount of medication she has been given.” Adnan’s big heart would be his downfall one day.
“You must trust me, my friend.” Nadim set his cup on the tray and stood, a sign that this conversation was over.
Adnan hurried to his feet, and his posture stiffened.
“See to it the video camera is put in place.” He walked over to his desk.
“Yes, sir.” Adnan stared ahead, no longer making eye contact.
“You are dismissed.” Nadim waited until he was almost to the door. “Adnan.
His friend stopped and turned back to him.
“I want Saleem and Usman stationed outside the girl’sroom at all times.”
“You cannot be serious. Those two are savages.”
How dare he take such an insolent tone?
“I am very serious.” Nadim speared him with a look that reminded him he was now addressing his king, not his friend.
Saleem and Usman were brothers who didn’t share a full brain between them. However, what they lacked in intellect, they made up for in sheer brutality. They also had a deep dislike for Adnan, and the feeling was mutual. By assigning them to watch the girl, his friend now knew that the king questioned his loyalty where the child was concerned.
“Yes, sir.” Adnan’s tone had become remote, that of a servant following an order.
“Go.” Nadim watched him walk away and waited until the door closed to settle into his chair. “I really do not want to have to kill you, my friend.” But if Adnan proved to be a problem, he would not hesitate.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Maya stared out thecar window at the graying sky and looked upward at the clouds bulging with snow just waiting to dump once the temperature dropped a few degrees. Brake lights from cars driven by drone-like bureaucrats and other government workers flashed off and on, off and on down the interstate. Tall, leafless trees lined the side of the highway like skeletons, and muddy patches of slush had built up along the shoulder and in the brown grass bordering the asphalt.
Their dismal surroundings seemed to mimic her mood.
Deep in thought, Jeffrey hadn’t said much since he’d let his guard down and hugged her. He’d instructed Casey to monitor Isla’s Kids Chat account, then insisted they go to his house for a few hours so Maya could get some rest before contacting Nadim.
Sleep was the last thing on her mind, but her ravenous curiosity was starving to find out what kind of home a man like Jeffrey Burke would choose to live in. Would it be a high-rise condominium with sleek, modern furniture andfixtures? Or perhaps a large, more traditional brick home with a load of empty rooms, surrounded by property.
Based on his invitation, she assumed there was no wife waiting at home. Then again, there very well might be a strong, understanding woman at the door when they arrived—cocktail in hand, ready to help him leave behind the dirtiness of his job, at least for a few hours. Someone patient who understood how aspects of his career might seep over into their personal life. In this particular instance, in the form of a long-ago bedmate and mother of his child tagging along to his home.
Maya had an inexplicable, unwarranted dislike for the imaginary woman.
Her desire to fill the silence with questions was powerful, but she remained silent. As painful as it was to feel like an interloper, his life was really none of her business.
She snuck occasional glances at him from the corner of her eye.
His sharp blue gaze scanned the road, and his large hands confidently gripped the wheel as he weaved his way around the other vehicles. If possible, he was even more handsome than when she’d first met him, more powerful, certainly, and there was an inherent confidence about him that was so damned sexy. It simply didn’t seem fair how generous time had been to him.