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"Of course. " She smiled back at him innocently. "I'm on vacation, remember?"
Both men eyed her dubiously. As well they should, because once she was actually on the estate grounds, getting in was going to be child's play. What she would find after actually breaching those hallowed halls, she had no idea. But she was going to have fun finding out.
She sat silently as Abdul parked in the area Khalid directed him to, a securely lit, well-guarded area of the parking lot. If Ian Sinclair knew Khalid had her in the limo, then she had no doubt extra security guards were in place.
"Be good, precious," Khalid warned her again, as Shayne pushed the door open and stepped out.
Khalid surprised her as he leaned forward, his fingers curling around her neck to hold her in place for a brief, hard kiss. His fingertips stroked the back of her neck as he lingered only moments, then slid away as he moved from the vehicle.
She sat silently and watched as Khalid and Shayne disappeared through the entrance to the club that had managed to keep itself secret from the general public for more than two centuries. The very fact that its true purpose had never come to light was a bit surprising. The club was more secretive regarding its membership than the Secret Service was in protecting the president. And that was saying a lot.
Once the doors had closed and silence filled the night once again, she turned to where the window had been lowered between the driver and passenger areas.
Propping her arms on the back of the front seat, she smiled back at Abdul as he turned and watched her warily. He knew her, and he had known the moment he had been given his orders that he would be breaking them.
"I guess you're honor-bound to contact him if I leave," she stated to the bodyguard who had befriended her when she first began following Khalid.
Abdul was older, perhaps nearing fifty. Gray sprinkled his closely cropped black hair, and wrinkles were marring his dark face. He reminded her of a loving, benevolent grandfather, though she knew he had no wife, no children. He had pledged himself to the Mustafa family, and to Khalid, as a young man and had allowed nothing to come between himself and the task he had taken on to protect his charge.
Abdul stared back at her quietly for long moments, his expression reflective as he watched her. Abdul was what she liked to call a "thinker. " More than likely he had already considered this problem at some point in the past. He was a man who liked to think ahead while he was deliberating.
"He is like a son to me," he stated in his halting English, before sighing deeply.
"And he's like a thorn in my ass," she shot back in disgust, more to watch the incredulity that shot through his eyes than to simply be crude. Though there were times it was definitely the truth. But she did so love to shake Abdul's little world up.
Abdul was a friend, but one who could be rather prudish at times.
"You are a very naughty little girl," he laughed, after nearly choking on his shock. "In my country your tongue would be cut from your mouth. " And he was probably not joking.
"In your country I'd have already been stoned for my smart mouth," she informed him. "Be honest about it, Abdul. "
He shook his head as a lighter laugh passed his lips.
"You keep him on his toes; this is a good thing sometimes. Not many women give him the challenge he oftentimes needs. "
"Women are supposed to be a challenge?" She batted her lashes back at him. "I thought we were supposed to be submissive and properly trained. "
Abdul was an enigma to her sometimes. He could laugh at himself as well as at the many misunderstandings concerning his country and his religion. When it came to Khalid, though, he took his responsibility to watch over him very seriously.
"A woman is to know her place, no matter where that place is," he finally said, sighing. "Khalid never fit into the life his father would have given him. Had he done so, he would have been a leader that our people would have died for. "
There was no doubt in her mind. She would have followed that conversational line if she didn't know from experience that the answers she wanted wouldn't be given.
"So, as to my question. " She smiled sweetly, tilted her head, and gave him her best innocent look. "Are you going to tell on me for leaving the car?"
"Are you going to leave the car when you were warned to stay in place?" he asked in turn, giving her a mock frown of disapproval.
Was she?
"Pretty much," she answered as she pursed her lips and nodded firmly. "Come on, Abdul, it's too good an opportunity to pass up. You know that. "
Abdul sighed heavily, though she could see the grin he fought to hold back in the twitch of his lips.
"If you made the promise to me that you will not leave the car, then I would take my nap. " He yawned hugely, as though genuinely tired, before his white teeth flashed in his aged, sun-bronzed face. "Are you making that promise?"
She nodded quickly, all the while giving him a deceptively innocent grin. She really did love Abdul. The best thing about him was his willingness to conspire, in small ways, against his employer.
"Go to sleep, Abdul. I'm sure Khalid will be back soon. "
