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Eight bodyguards immediately positioned themselves in a protective cordon around them. A lift she suspected had been held especially for him transported them swiftly to the ground floor.
They exited to a large, empty foyer with only a sleepy male receptionist stationed behind the desk. He straightened to attention, then bowed respectfully as they moved past him.
Sultan Zaid barely glanced at him, his focus on the revolving doors. And the small group of armed men walking through it.
Her heart leapt into her throat. Beside her, Zaid tensed, even though he didn’t break his stride.
‘Remain by my side and do not speak.’ The words were delivered in a low, even voice, but the stern command that pulsed through them was unmistakeable.
She nodded as the small group drew closer. Their posture and uniforms announced who they were before she read the insignia on their attire.
The leader, a small, rotund man, came forward and in unison they executed a bow, but she noted that although the chief of police paid his respects to his ruler, the act was delivered with reluctance and more than a hint of antagonism.
‘Your Highness, I am surprised to see you here at this time of night,’ he said, slowly tucking the cap he’d removed from his head under his arm. His black, beady eyes swung to the Sultan’s bodyguards protecting them before returning to Zaid.
‘Matters of state do not always wait for civilised hours to demand attention.’
The man’s gaze settled on her and Esme spied the distinct gleam of malevolence in the black depths. ‘And that is what is happening here? A matter of state?’
Zaid’s response was spoken in sharp, rapid-fire Arabic, his posture seething with unbridled authority. Esme watch the man shrink back slowly. The hostile expression in his eyes didn’t abate, and his gaze darted to her many times during the conversation but he didn’t attempt to arrest her.
Although only mere minutes passed, it felt like a lifetime before Zaid glanced her way.
‘We’re leaving now,’ he said.
Relief punched through her and she gave a swift nod as she hurried to match her steps to his.
The moment she slid into the car he climbed in after her. A second later, after she’d slotted in her seat belt, they were moving with the smoothness borne of military precision.
She took a deep, shaky breath, but the thousand questions that crowded Esme’s brain were momentarily suppressed when her senses were suffused with the very male scent of the man sitting next to her.
The man staring at her with silent, watchful intensity.
‘What...?’ She stopped and flicked her tongue over her dry lips. ‘Why was he coming to arrest me?’
‘Because he found out, like I did, that the allegations you made against his police force weren’t entirely accurate. Your interview has been televised every hour for the past twelve hours. There are those who called for your arrest the moment it was aired. It came to my attention that the police chief was beginning to gather his forces.’
Ice cascaded down her spine. ‘Oh, my God.’ The hand she lifted to push back a swathe of hair shook badly. Tightening it into a fist, she placed it in her lap. ‘What...what was he going to charge me with?’ Not that it mattered. Jail was jail. And prison in Ja’ahr wasn’t something she wanted to experience, even for a minute.
To her surprise, Zaid Al-Ameen’s lips pursed before his powerful shoulders moved in a shrug. ‘He would’ve found something.’
‘What? You mean he could’ve just made something up?’
‘It could’ve been something as simple as questioning you about what you said, or it could’ve been more. You supplied him with all the base he could have wanted. All he needed to do was capitalise on it.’
Her heart dropped to her stomach. ‘But isn’t that...illegal?’ she questioned carefully, unwilling to add further fuel to the fire it seemed she’d started.
In the semi-darkness of the vehicle she watched his jaw clench harshly, his expression turn grave. ‘The wheels of change are turning in Ja’ahr, but not fast enough,’ he said semi-cryptically. ‘True democracy comes at a cost. Not everyone is ready to pay that price yet.’
The bald statement left very little room for more questions after that. The convoy rolled swiftly along near deserted streets, silence reigning in the vehicle. Until Esme realise the familiar road they travelled on.
Her gaze swung from the elevated road and the familiar dome ahead to the man sitting next to her. He was staring at her, shrewd sharp eyes waiting. ‘You’re taking me—’
‘Back to the Royal Palace, yes,’ he confirmed.
Wild hysteria powered through her. ‘So I was right. You are kidnapping me after all.’
She’d meant the words half-jokingly, a way for her tumbling thoughts to grapple with the events of the last hour and the enormity of what might have happened to her.
