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Hearing the soft knock on his door, he called out for them to enter, struggling to contain his anger and present a calm façade to whoever had the courage to interrupt him now.
He looked towards the door, pleased to see Erin’s parents being escorted into the room by one of his ever-efficient household personnel. “You may go,” Kamal told the young girl as she bowed her head and backed from the room, closing the door behind her.
Turning to address Erin’s parents, he stepped towards them, shaking their hands in turn. “It is a pleasure to meet the two people responsible for raising my Erin. I only regret she cannot be here to greet you in person at this time.”
Tom Malone shook his hand and then asked, “We were surprised when she didn’t meet us when we arrived. Where is our daughter?”
Kamal felt his mouth go dry. Being the bearer of bad news was the one job he often wished he could delegate, but never did. He directed them to a sitting area. “Please, would you like to sit down? I will have refreshments brought in—” Before he could finish, Tom Malone wrapped his arm around his wife.
“It’s clear that you have bad news for us, so if you don’t mind, we’d appreciate it if you would tell us what’s happened.”
“As you wish.” Kamal clasped his hands in front of him and looked at both parents. “Your daughter disappeared from a refugee camp where she had been assisting with humanitarian efforts.” Mrs. Malone gasped, and her husband tightened his arm around her. “At this time, we do not have any other information, but I can assure you that everything possible is being done to locate Erin.”
“I think I’ll sit down now,” Patty Malone said quietly as she sank onto the sofa where her husband joined her. “Mr. El-Jawhara—” Patty Malone began, only for Kam to cut her off.
“Please, Mrs. Malone. Call me Kamal when we are in private.” Kamal went to join them, taking a chair across from them.
“And when we’re in public?” Patty asked.
“Your Majestywould be the correct form of address.” Kamal watched Erin’s parents as they digested everything he had just shared, pleased when they merely looked at each other and then nodded in his direction.
“I’ll try to remember that…Your Majesty,” Patty Malone replied with a small bow and a slight smile.
Kamal was charmed by her ability to adapt and carry on in the face of the news that her daughter had been kidnapped. Sobering, he gestured for the couple to join him in the large sitting room.
“Mr. and Mrs. Malone, I assure you, we will find Erin.”
“Please, call us Tom and Patty,” Tom told him. “After all, we are to be family soon.” As he said that, he reached out to squeeze his wife’s hand while she pinched at the bridge of her nose.
Kamal nodded in reply, giving Erin’s mother a moment to compose herself.
“Kamal, we know you’re doing everything you can to find our daughter.” Turning to address his wife, Tom added, “That girl has always been intent on helping others. Ever since she was six…”
Patty laid a hand over her husband’s lips, silencing him with a wink. “There’s no reason to go into all of that now.” Looking at Kamal, she smiled. “I’m sure he’s already aware of her propensity to want to jump in and assist where she is needed. I would love to hear how you met our daughter.”
Kamal smiled at Patty, very aware that she was doing her best to distract him from worrying about Erin. “I met your lovely daughter when Shira brought her to a celebration of my family’s oil company, Jewel Oil, signing a contract with Shira’s employer, the Addams Group.” Kamal paused, not quite sure how to navigate the rest of their history with her mother.
Patty saw him pause and spoke up. “If you’re trying to find a polite way to tell us Erin is carrying your child, let me spare you that task.”
Kamal wondered how she knew. Erin had wanted to wait to share the news. Patty smiled at him. “So it is true? When we got your first message, I had my suspicions, and seeing the answer in your eyes now, well, we couldn’t be happier.”
Kamal took a slow breath and then released it. “I wish I could say I am sorry that it happened so quickly, but in truth, I am not. Erin’s pregnancy simply gave me the added incentive to bring her to Jawhara sooner rather than later.”
“And how has she been feeling?” Tom asked. “Patty had terrible morning sickness around the clock for the entire nine and a half months.”
“I hope she isn’t feeling the same,” Patty added.
Kamal nodded, making a note to tell the physician about this new information. “She was quite ill initially, but so long as she eats carefully and takes the medications that have been prescribed for her, she feels much better. I worry how she will handle the sickness without those things. She has lost quite a bit of weight and…”
Patty reached across the sitting area and patted Kamal’s hand. “My Erin is strong. She will do whatever is needed to keep her baby safe.”
“I know,” Kamal replied with a grim look. “That is what worries me most.”
Before he could comment further, his cell phone rang. Talib. He quickly answered. “Tell me what is happening.” Kamal didn’t feel the need for niceties and knew that Talib would understand his abrupt response.
“Your Majesty, the camp had been searched when I arrived. Another more thorough search was undertaken after my arrival, but she had already been removed from the camp. We believe we’ve located her with a lone kidnapper, heading for the northern border and the mountains there.”
“You saw her?” Kamal asked.
