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And so was Keira.
She looked great in a skinny black dress that left him thinking about peeling it off her. He really didn’t need that distraction. He’d spent the day with Talib, talking over contingency plans. What if the rebels attacked? What if there was a spy in the household? He and Talib had gone over the staff list PJ had given Keira again, but he knew everyone was clear. Since Erin’s kidnapping, between Slade Security and Talib, everyone working at the palace had been thoroughly checked out and even the tiniest concern was resolved before any employee was allowed back into the palace.
Brock knew he should pull back a little from Keira. Between her public interactions with the cousins and the staff, and their own PDA, no one was questioning who she was or why she was there. But he couldn’t get his mind off her. She’d give a small laugh, and he’d wonder what had amused her. She’d glance at him from the corner of her eye, and he knew she was thinking about what they’d done earlier in the afternoon. She was under his skin, and God help him, he liked her there. He still worried. What if things went south on this op? He didn’t want her anywhere near any kind of crossfire—meaning he had to make sure he knew how to keep her safe. He also knew she’d be furious with him for having this thought. She was a qualified member of Slade Security, just like PJ. Except he wasn’t sleeping with PJ.
After dinner, they headed back to her room. He intended to kiss her good night and leave it at that. They could both use a little breathing space. But the kiss led to groping, which led to him finally getting her out of that little black dress. He stripped her bare and tried to kiss every inch of her.
He turned her over, trailed kisses and licks and bites down her spine, all the way to that pert ass of hers. He gave her a sharp smack, turned her over, and dove in as if he hadn’t just been there hours before. She fit herself to him like she’d been made for him, wrapping those sinful legs around him. He pulled her upright and she sat on his lap with him buried inside her, and she grinned.
His heart turned over.
God help him about that, too, because he loved that lopsided grin of hers.
When she’d pulled everything he had to give out of him, he curled up next to her, just a sheet over them. She fell asleep, but he lay there, playing with a strand of her corn silk hair, wondering what he was going to do when it came time to finish this job. He’d done what he’d sworn he wouldn’t do—he’d let a woman get close. But this wasn’t just any woman. This was Keira. It was his job to keep her safe. That was now his first priority.
* * *
Keira woke to a nagging beep—her phone’s messaging alert. She sat up. Brock was already on his feet. Alarms in the palace started blaring.
Brock pulled on his pants and shirt and grabbed his gun. Keira struggled out of the sheets, grabbed sweats and a T-shirt, and pulled out her gun, too. But she tucked it away and caught Brock’s arm. “If the guards are panicked and see guns, they might start shooting, no matter who we are.”
Brock nodded, shrugged into his shoulder holster, checked his safety, and tucked his gun safely away. Keira followed him out of the room.
“What’s the situation?” she asked.
“I haven’t gotten any details. We need to get to the ground floor and see what’s on the video feeds.”
The alarms silenced. That seemed more ominous to Keira than the noise. She knew the palace staff had all been trained to stay put if the alarms went off. No matter what was happening, they were to stay out of the corridors so security could do their jobs.
In the upper corridor, Keira spotted Trent. Brock went over to him. “What’s up?”
“Shira and Khalil’s transponders both activated. Travis and Talib are downstairs, but as far as we can tell, the alarms in the royal quarters were disabled. We’re doing a search now for what set things off.”
Keira nodded. If someone had shut off the alarms for Khalil, that meant the alarms in all of the royal quarters were disabled—they were all part of the same electrical circuit. That ought to have been corrected sooner. “Any movement on the video?”
Trent shook his head. “No one has come or gone from the palace in hours. Khalil and Shira went into the royal quarters shortly after the sheikh and Erin.”
Mouth tight, Keira spoke up. “An insider wouldn’t have been spotted on the outside cameras and might even know how to avoid the inside ones. Something about this seems wrong.”
“Agreed. Come on.” Brock led the way toward the royal quarters. He kept close to the walls and lowered his voice. “Until we know everyone’s safe, assume lives are in danger. When we get into the residence, your first priority is Shira. I’ll find Khalil and then we get them to safety.”
“What about Erin? She should be our first priority,” Keira said. Irritation danced over her skin. Brock was taking charge, but now was not the time to start an argument.
“Ordinarily, yes, but it was their alarms that were triggered.” Opening a door, he stepped into the royal quarters and paused. Most of the lights were off, and she could hear soft music playing from the patio. The bedroom was empty. Keira poked into the bathroom and saw no one. Brock checked the closets. Still no one.
Where the hell were Khalil and Shira?
She looked at Brock. He gave her a hand signal to advance on the private patio. Keira nodded and moved. When they reached the doors, she wished they had some idea of what they might be walking into, but the windowpanes gave a limited view.
Brock took the left door handle, Keira took the right. He gave a count with his fingers…one…two…three.
She flung open the door at the same time he did, stepping through and drawing her gun.
On the patio, Khalil and Shira crouched low in a hot tub, the steam swirling around them, making the air thick. Jasmine surrounded the private patio, screening it.
Khalil shielded his wife. “What is going on?”
Keira glanced at them. Shira’s pendant was hanging down into the water, and from the moisture dripping off of Khalil’s arms, his wristband had been in the water as well.
