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PJ nodded. “I received a text from Slade that he was in the country and headed this way.” She looked around as the teams disbursed. “She has to be here, somewhere. Two people cannot just have disappeared so easily.”
Talib thought about her words and then placed a call, making inquiries into the guard who was also missing. His phone pinged two minutes after he hung up. He checked the message and swore.
“From that grim expression on your face, all is not well back at the palace,” PJ said.
“The guard that was with her when she disappeared.”
“Yeah, what about him?” PJ demanded.
“I suspected he had something to do with Miss Malone’s disappearance, and I was correct. I had received his background check, but there was a delay running his prints, and then I was sent to retrieve Miss Malone’s parents. I now have his prints.”
“What did we miss?”
“He is not Amir Hamrin but Amir Bashai, the son of the former head of a conservative Islamic group based in Sumari. His father most recently served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs before the war broke out. He was killed when the rebels took over the palace.”
“So is this a revenge thing, then?”
“No. It is a holy war. The conservative group he belongs to abhors the new Western influences on their culture. They wish to practice Islam the way their fathers practiced it, and their fathers before them.”
“But that’s archaic! No civilization remains the same century after century!”
“They do not see it that way. They see it as protecting and maintaining the purity of their beliefs.”
“Fighting a holy war is much harder than fighting for democracy or justice.” At Talib’s nod, PJ swore. “The stakes are so much higher than we originally thought. It is imperative that we locate Erin.”
“Indeed,” Talib said, the gravity of the situation growing heavier. “The future of Jawhara hangs in the balance, as well as the peace that currently exists in the region.”
“And my day started out so nice. I will notify the others.” PJ walked away to make sure the American contractors with her knew the game had just changed.
Talib watched her walk away. He’d always had a fondness for blondes, ever since he accompanied Kale to Harvard. Women with blonde hair were not a normal occurrence in his part of the world, and he found the contrast between their coloring and his own striking.
He hoped that this situation could be resolved quickly. Kamal had already informed him that the American security team would be staying in country for a minimum of two months. Talib smiled to himself as he thought of all the things he could show the little American spitfire in that amount of time.
Bringing his thoughts back to the present, he headed in the opposite direction. He would plan the seduction of the American after Miss Malone was found. It would be his way of celebrating a job well done. He only hoped she could be encouraged to celebrate with him.
END OF THE SHEIKH’S TROUBLESOME BRIDE
THE JAWHARA SHEIKHS SERIES BOOK TWO
BLURB
The desert heats up with danger and desire…
When enemies kidnap Erin, Sheikh Kamal’s new bride, the powerful prince entrusts the Head of Palace Security, Talib, to get her back. And to ensure his wife’s safety, he orders Talib to work hand in hand with Erin’s personal bodyguard, the beautiful and capable PJ.
But PJ is already fighting an attraction to her partner. Talib is dangerously handsome, and when his hands touch her, she feels an unquenchable desire deep inside. But on a mission this dangerous, romance is a distraction she can’t afford. At least, that’s what she tells herself…
Talib has never met a woman like PJ. She’s a spitfire who delights in breaking the rules, and she refuses to obey his orders. But he soon finds her strength and determination rival any man’s. She is tough, smart and never backs down from a challenge. He wants her to surrender to him. But it may be him doing the surrendering…
With the temperature rising in every sense of the word, it’s a race against time to locate Erin and bring her back to Kamal. And every second her chances of survival grow slimmer…
1
ERIN
Erin Malone, future Sheikha of Jawhara, took another slow breath, trying to stave off her horrible nausea. The oppressive desert heat inside the tent had grown increasingly worse, and she was feeling dizzy and in desperate need of water.
When she had first discovered the refugee camp along Jawhara’s western border, she had been furious at the conditions. The people had been without adequate water or food, and both sanitation and medical care were nonexistent. At her insistence, humanitarian efforts were made, and thankfully, no one had died.
