His Stubborn Lover by Leslie North Read Free Book Online Page A

face him. The crystal bit into her finger—she loosened her hold. “No, we’re not going with them. PJ and Talib can keep an eye on Khalil and his gal. We’re going to stay on the sheikh and Erin.”
    Brock nodded. “If that’s how you want to play it. Might be a good idea. There’s a high probability the insurgents from Sumari will try to infiltrate the palace again.”
    “How do you know this?”
    “History repeating itself. Rebels have set a target—they don’t tend to back down from that.”
    Frowning, she came over to his side and sat down. “That’s not how they got Erin the first time.”
    “Ah—you read the report. They did infiltrate the guards—I’m worried about a repeat of that. But Erin was taken at a refugee camp that’s not far from the main city.”
    “So I read. What I’m wondering is what was she doing in the refugee camp? It’s the last place a woman like her should have been—way too much exposure, too many variables.”
    “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. Shira is being given one similar to Erin’s today.”
    “Nice of Slade to brief me on that tech.”
    “Don’t bother asking Slade about anything like that. He’s not a detail man. The pendants are a Lawson special.”
    “The surfer boys?” Keira asked. “Trent and Travis? I thought they were mostly here as eye-candy and to really take photos we might need later.”
    Brock laughed. “That’s their best cover. They look like they ought to be the models on a photo shoot, not be the ones holding the cameras. But don’t underestimate those two. Slade trained them both, and started them young. They’re all smiles until the fighting starts. Also, a word of caution. Stay close to the palace. Don’t go out without company. Tensions are high enough that you might just become the next target.”
    Keira frowned at him. “You really think I came down in last night’s rain, don’t you? Slade briefed me. The Sumari government has assured Sheikh Kamal that they dealt with the rebels…blah, blah, blah. Typical politicians. Plenty of double-speak, but there’s no way Sumari could have gotten all of the rebels. If they had, they’d be boasting about it, not trying to put a lid on things.” She stood. “Think I’ll grab a 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, I’m a model. That water was my lunch.”
    ***
    Time by the pool gave Keira a chance to check out the perimeter security. Young guys, all of them—gardeners as well as more obvious guards—looked tense and alert. They were ready for anything coming at them from the outside. What if the threat really was 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 jigged 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