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"Don't bet on it. " As she jerked the door open she threw him a hard, enraged look before turning and stepping back into the hall.
She was trembling with anger as she slammed the door closed and came face-to-face with Shayne.
His blue eyes were as cold as ice, his body tense with anger as he stared at her, then at the door.
"You heard?" she asked.
His jaw clenched. "It was hard not to. And you're damned lucky Khalid didn't. He would have killed the bastard for talking to you like that. "
As she moved away from the room, Marty glanced back at the door, wondering what Deerfield was doing inside.
Marty shook her head at the instability she had glimpsed in her former boss before drawing in a hard breath and asking, "Who is Lessa Hadad, Shayne?"
Silence met her question for long moments. "She was Abram's wife," he finally said. "If you have any other questions concerning her, then you should ask Khalid. "
"Khalid hasn't mentioned her yet," she pointed out stiffly. "What did she mean to him?"
He stopped her before they stepped back into the ballroom.
"Ask Khalid about this, Marty. Let him explain Lessa to you. But be very careful. Remember, Khalid is the way he is for a reason. Sometimes, once the darkness takes hold of you, you don't want to ever return to the memories that caused it. "
As Marty walked away from him, that statement stayed with her. There was definitely a darkness raging inside Khalid, one he battled often when it came to standing back rather than interfering in the career she had chosen for herself.
That would be hard for him, she admitted. A man like Khalid didn't just stand aside while his woman endangered herself. Yet, he had done exactly that more than once.
He was allowing her to be who she needed to be. No matter his disagreement with it, he was standing back. She could see the torment in his face when he did so, just as she had glimpsed his fear for her more than once.
As she moved across the ballroom, she caught sight of several familiar faces. Men she knew were members of the club had gathered around AT at the other side of the room. They were talking quietly among themselves, several of them nodding seriously.
AT was always plotting and planning.
Ian Sinclair was part of that group. He watched AT with narrow-eyed intent before he nodded carefully and glanced out over the room and saw her.
Amusement marked his expression. Evidently there were no hard feelings about the fact that she had managed to slip into his club.
She returned to where Khalid stood with her fathers and mother.
There was a sense of readiness that filled the three men. As Shayne joined them seconds later, that readiness intensified.
"Everything's in place. " Her godfather leaned close to her. "We've picked up two transmissions from here since you and Khalid arrived. They spoke with Ayid, who promised to be on a plane to D. C. ASAP, since the man he sent here couldn't seem to do the job right. We have assets moving in there to let us know when he moved. "
Staring out over the ballroom, Marty hoped the operation worked out quickly. She had a feeling that if it didn't, she and Khalid could be facing more danger than she had imagined. "Then he isn't here in the States yet?" she asked as she turned to Khalid.
He pulled her to his side, his fingers clasping her hips possessively. "Not yet. "
Marty nodded slowly. It wouldn't be long, she told herself. Ayid Mustafa would take whatever chance he had to destroy Khalid.
As she stood next to Khalid, she noticed something. The way he held her, close to his side. The way his body turned into hers. She had never seen him hold another woman in quite that fashion. Had never heard of him keeping one at his side.
He loved her.
She stared at him, admitting silently that she had loved him most of her life. She had loved him with a certainty, a confidence that the day would come when she would have at least a chance to steal his heart.
Had she managed that?
There were times she thought it possible. There were times she feared she still might have a ways to go.
Feeling his hand settle possessively at the small of her back once again, she turned to stare up at him with all the fears, all the needs that were becoming harder and harder to hold inside her.
