Desert Rogues Part 2

“I know.” Everywhere she turned Cleo felt trapped. “I just can’t deal with this now. In the end I may have to marry Sadik against my will, but I’m going to fight it as long as I can.”

Sabrina gave her a brief hug, then rose. “Fair enough. I’m going to head back home. When you’re ready to plan the wedding, give me a call. I’ll drop everything and come here.”

Sabrina headed for the door. When she reached it, she glanced over her shoulder. “I know I’m not Zara, but if you need someone to talk to, I’m happy to be available.”

“I appreciate that. Thank you.”

Sabrina left. Cleo flopped back on the sofa. She supposed one of the perks of marrying Sadik was that both Zara and Sabrina would become legal relatives. They would be her sisters-in-law.

Like that was enough to get her to change her mind.

Shortly after three that afternoon, Cleo received a phone call telling her she had a visitor from the American Embassy waiting for her.

She didn’t understand what that could mean, but instead of arguing with the secretary on the phone, she quickly changed and made her way to the front of the palace. There she was shown into a spacious anteroom that held several leather sofas positioned around a low coffee table.

A tall man was waiting. He wore a navy suit and carried an expensive-looking briefcase. When he heard her enter, he turned and smiled, holding out his hand.

“Ms. Wilson, I’m Franklin Kudrow, attaché to the American Embassy.”

Cleo was tired from her night of tears. She offered her most cheerful smile, then spoke the truth. “While that’s a really impressive title, I have no idea who you are or why you’re here.”

“Yes. Of course.” He motioned to the sofas.

Cleo settled down into one, while Mr. Kudrow settled opposite her. Manners, she thought suddenly.

“Ah, would you like something to drink?” she asked the fifty-something career diplomat.

“No, thank you.” He smiled and set his briefcase on the floor. “Ms. Wilson—”

“Cleo,” she said. “Just call me Cleo.”

He nodded. “Cleo, we’ve been notified by the palace of your upcoming marriage to Prince Sadik.”

Old Frank kept talking, but Cleo was having trouble listening. Marriage to Sadik? Word sure had traveled fast.

Anger filled her. If Sadik couldn’t get her to agree the old-fashioned way, he was going to do his darnedest to manipulate her from all sides. He was a master at maneuvering his way through tricky financial markets. No doubt he thought she would be just as easy to get around.

She noticed that Mr. Kudrow was careful not to look at her stomach. His discretion was probably one of the reasons he’d risen in the State Department. Then she focused back in on what he was saying.

“Who told you I was marrying Sadik?”

Mr. Kudrow looked startled by the interruption. He bent down and retrieved his briefcase, which he set on the coffee table. After opening it, he drew out a piece of paper.

“We received a press release.”

She took the paper and scanned it. Sure enough, there on official royal Bahania letterhead was the announcement of Prince Sadik’s marriage to Cleo Wilson, an American citizen.

She couldn’t believe it. That he would go behind her back like this. Did he really think he could force her hand by going public?

“We’re all very excited,” Mr. Kudrow was saying. “When we found out that Zara Paxton was actually a member of the royal family, we saw an opportunity to continue to cement our relations with King Hassan. Now with you marrying into the royal family, we will have even better relations. I’m sure you’re aware of the proposed air force. The official position of the United States is that of neutrality, but I can tell you that privately the government is very supportive. Our government has long been an ally of the Bahanian government.”

He paused expectantly. Cleo had no clue as to what he expected her to say. She went with a noncommittal grunt.

“Of course, there is hope in the private sector that many of the military planes required will be purchased from American companies. There are already several dozen orders in. Perhaps, if you have the chance to mention the quality of the American fighter jets…”

His voice trailed off, but Cleo got the message. “Maybe I could ask for an F-14 for a wedding present,” she said sweetly, when all she wanted to do was throw something. Instead she clutched the press release tightly in her hand.

“May I keep this?” she asked.

“Of course.”

She rose, forcing the diplomat to do the same. “I understand what you’re trying to say,” she told the man. “I appreciate that my impending marriage could greatly benefit a lot of people. But here’s a news flash, Mr. Kudrow. I haven’t accepted the prince’s proposal. So I wouldn’t start counting your jet orders just yet. Thank you so much for visiting.”

She nodded once, then turned and left the room. She was furious. No. Furious didn’t begin to describe how she felt. She was enraged. Now she really wanted to take the king up on his offer of a flogging, but only if she would be the one wielding the whip. If she had a car handy, she would back it over Sadik. How dare he try to manipulate her this way?

She stalked toward the center of the palace, determined to hunt him down and tell him exactly what she thought of him. Unfortunately, he was in the business section of the palace and she’d never been there.

After a couple of false starts, she found herself amidst dozens of fax machines and computers. Figuring she had to be close, she found a male secretary and asked directions to Prince Sadik’s office.

Less than two minutes later she barged in on him.

He sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen. When she stalked into his office, he didn’t even have the grace to look surprised. Instead he rose, smiled pleasantly and spoke.

“Cleo! How nice of you to come see me.”

She narrowed her gaze as she slapped the press release on his desk. “Don’t you dare try polite conversation on me. You might be some high-and-mighty finance person for the royal family, but to me you’re nothing but a lying weasel dog. What is the meaning of this?”

He ignored her insult and glanced at the paper. “I would think it was obvious.”

“That’s right. It is. If you can’t get me to agree another way, you’re going to bully me into marrying you. Well, it’s not going to work. I won’t be manipulated. I don’t care that you’re Prince Sadik. I’m a person and I have rights.”

He motioned for her to take a chair. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of agreeing, but she was so mad, she was shaking. Her legs felt as if they were about to give way, and falling wouldn’t make her look very determined.

She sank into the leather chair. He followed suit, then placed his hands on his desk. “You’re making too much of this,” he said calmly. “Why deny the inevitable? We will be married.”

“No, we won’t. I don’t want to marry you. I have no interest in—”

He cut her off with a shake of his head. “You may protest all you like, but you cannot escape the truth. You carry my child, Cleo. You carry a royal prince. Your choices are to marry me or to have the baby and then leave Bahania.”

He spoke the words in a flat tone of voice. She heard them, absorbed them, then clutched the arms of her chair as the room began to spin. There it was. The bald truth at last.

Marry Sadik or lose her baby.

“You couldn’t do that,” she said between suddenly dry lips. “You’re not a monster. Why would you take my child away from me?”

He rose and came around the desk. He took the chair next to hers and pulled it close. “I have no wish for you to be apart from our child. I have told you, I want us to be married and live together as a family. You are the one who insists on making things difficult.”

Her chest tightened, and it became impossible to breathe. This couldn’t be happening.

She had to reason with him, make him see that what he was doing was crazy. Panic welled up inside of her, but she ignored it. Now was the time to keep a clear head.

“Why do you want to marry someone who is so determined not to be with you?” she asked, staring at him intently. “There are many other women who would be thrilled to be your wife. Can’t you marry one of them instead?”

“You are the mother of my son.”

“But don’t you want a wife who cares about you?”

He smiled. As she watched, his mouth turned up and he gazed at her as one would gaze at a precious child. She wanted to slap him.

“You care about me.” He took her hands in his. Her fingers felt like ice, while his were warm. The contrast burned her skin. “You would not have come to my bed if you didn’t care.”

He shook his head when she started to interrupt. “I understand what you said about your past. That time is finished. You are a different person now.”

She knew she was, but she hated that he knew it, too. It fed his argument rather than her own.

“We like each other,” he continued. “We have passion, we’ll have the baby. In time there will be more children. I believe we will have a long and happy marriage.”

Her heart died a little as he spoke. “You want convenience,” she said before she could stop herself. “You want to be sensible and do the right thing. But you don’t want to love me.”

The words hovered in the room like a mist. Sadik stiffened, then released her hands and leaned back in the chair.

“Is love so very necessary?”

He asked the question casually, but she would swear she heard pain in his voice. Her chest tightened.

“Yes. I don’t want an empty union.”

“Is it not enough I offer you the world?”

She didn’t want the world; she wanted him. Only him. She loved him, and it was clear he didn’t love her back.

“Sadik—”

He rose to his feet and walked to the window. Once there, he stood with his back to her. “I will tell you of love. I will tell you that it adds nothing and causes only pain.”

He was wrong, but she found it impossible to speak. Silence filled the room. Then he took a deep breath.

“My engagement to Kamra was arranged. I had met her a few times and had no objection to the union. She was attractive and from a good family. Her quiet nature soothed me. She had been raised to be the wife of an important man, and as such had not been out in the world very much.”

His words were daggers to her heart. Cleo doubted that she and the precious Kamra could be more opposite. But she didn’t stop him from speaking. She knew she had to hear everything.

“As she was very young and not used to the ways of the world, our engagement was to last a year. Over the months we spent much time together. I grew to admire her, then care about her. Eventually I fell in love with her.”

Cleo wanted to cover her ears and scream so she couldn’t hear him. Her eyes burned, but she refused to give in to tears.

He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his trousers. “We quarreled. I do not recall the reason. It was barely three weeks before the wedding and she was leaving for Paris with her mother. They were to do some last-minute shopping. Kamra left in tears.”

He paused for several seconds, then continued. “After a time I decided to go after her. I called ahead to delay the plane, then drove toward the airport. On the way I saw a car accident. The ambulance was already there. I slowed to give way, then recognized the car. Her mother escaped with only minor injuries, but Kamra was dead.”

He turned to look at Cleo. His eyes were bleak, his mouth a straight line. “My heart died at that moment, with Kamra. I will never love again.”

Chapter Nine

C leo didn’t remember leaving Sadik’s office. She didn’t remember anything until she found herself wandering the halls of the palace. Her whole body hurt, and she had the feeling that she would never feel whole again.

She stopped and rested on a small bench in an alcove. Misery filled her, but it was not the kind to be eased by tears. She hurt too much for that.

She forced herself to keep breathing and stay calm. For the sake of the baby, she told herself, touching her stomach. But nothing about her situation felt possible. How could her life have come to this? One of the palace cats strolled by. She tried to distract herself by petting it, but despite the feel of soft fur against her fingers, her tension didn’t ease.

Was she really to be forced into a marriage with a man who didn’t love her? Who wouldn’t love her because he’d already given his love away to a woman who had died? It didn’t seem possible. She wasn’t completely helpless. She had a brain and she wasn’t afraid of hard work. She could simply slip out of the palace and…

And what? Cleo turned the question over in her mind. Her savings back home were fairly meager and not enough to keep her going while she was on the run. She was already in her fifth month of pregnancy. How long would she be able to work? And even if she could find a well-paying job where no one asked any questions, what about when the baby came? Did she want to spend her life hiding out?

Cleo wasn’t sure of many things, but she was convinced that Sadik would come looking for the baby, if not for her. Should he find her, he would take the child from her. She doubted any American court would side with her once they found out that not only had Sadik offered to marry her, he’d promised to treat her like…well…like a princess.

No one would understand, she thought sadly. No one would get that it wasn’t about wealth and privilege, it was about finding love. She couldn’t marry a man who didn’t love her.

Cleo rubbed her temples, as if she could ease her pain. The worst part of it was that while Sadik was obviously capable of love, he wasn’t willing to love her. She wasn’t enough to bring him out of mourning for Kamra.

All her life she’d never been enough. Her mother hadn’t cared enough to stick around: drugs had been far more important than her child. Fiona had taken Cleo in but hadn’t bothered to adopt her. Ian had been willing to sleep with her but had never considered her more than a plaything. Sadik was at least willing to sleep with her and marry her. She supposed that was a step up. She should be grateful. She should think it was enough.

It wasn’t.

Cleo rose suddenly. There was only one last place of refuge for her dilemma. Only one person who could help her.

She hurried back to the business wing of the palace and found her way to the foyer of the king’s chambers. She announced herself to one of the three male secretaries sitting behind large desks and tried not to be intimidated by the armed guards standing at attention. Her name was given to another secretary in the inner sanctum. She was asked to wait.

King Hassan kept her cooling her heels less than ten minutes. She’d barely managed to control her hyperventilating when one of the huge double doors opened and she was escorted into the king’s private suite of offices.

As she followed a man in a perfectly tailored suit, Cleo tried to get a grasp of her situation. Here she was, in Bahania, about to have a one-on-one with a king. Her mind reeled at the thought. What twisted set of circumstances had brought her to this place? She was Cleo Wilson, night manager of a copy shop in Spokane. She did not hang out with kings.

Hassan was on the phone when she was shown into his office. He motioned for her to take a seat on the sofa in the corner. Cleo stumbled toward the leather and sank down. The office was massive, at least a hundred feet square. Huge windows looked out over a sculptured garden. There were paintings and tapestries on the walls.

The king hung up the phone, rose and joined her on the sofa.

“I was speaking with my son, Reyhan. He is back from the oil conference.” Hassan smiled. “My sons make my life easy. They take over many of my responsibilities, leaving me free to speak with beautiful women.” He leaned forward and took her hand in his. “How are you feeling, Cleo?”

“I’m, ah, fine.” She cleared her throat. “From what I can tell, the baby is healthy. However, I’m getting close to the time for my next checkup. I guess I’m going to have to find a doctor here and send for my records.”

The king nodded. “We have many wonderful medical facilities in Bahania. Of most interest to you, I suspect, is the International Hospital. It is only a few miles from the palace and is considered a world-class facility. I believe there are several women doctors on staff.”

Cleo hadn’t had a chance to think about the logistics of giving birth in Bahania, but should she be trapped here, the thought of a woman doctor eased her mind.

“That would be great,” she admitted, not telling him that her greatest hope was that it wouldn’t be an issue. Given a little luck, she would be back home in the next couple of days and could see her regular doctor.

“Your Highness,” she began, “there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

He released her hands, but continued to lean forward, as if showing he was attentive. “Of course, my child.” He smiled kindly. “Before you begin, I must tell you how pleased I am by how things have worked out. Perhaps it would have been better if my son had not given in to temptation.” He glanced at her stomach, then returned his gaze to her face. “However, I cannot complain about the outcome. Sadik is the first of my sons to provide me with a grandchild. To you that may not seem like such a great accomplishment, but I can tell you that as one grows older one becomes concerned about the future generations. I want to know that the royal succession will continue.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. While she appreciated the king’s concern, she wished he were just a little less interested in her baby.

“Yes, well, I understand that you want your sons to have children. Or even Sabrina or Zara.”

Hassan shrugged. “Sabrina’s firstborn son will be heir to the City of Thieves. As for Zara, Rafe is not a prince. So you see, Sadik is the first to give me my heart’s desire.”

Cleo pressed her hands together. “When I told you I was pregnant, how did you know that Sadik was the father? I found out you only told Zara and Sadik about the baby.”

Hassan smiled. “I told your sister because I knew she would be gone for a time on her honeymoon. I felt that things would occur while she was gone and that she needed some warning. Also, you needed a friend, and who better than a sister?”

She couldn’t complain about his logic. “Good point.”

“As for Sadik, I had seen the two of you together when you had been here before. There was something in the way you looked at each other that made me wonder what was occurring between you.”

Cleo sighed. She’d been falling in love, while Sadik had been enjoying her favors in bed. Not exactly a recipe for happiness.

“But I might have been a month or so along,” she reminded him. “The baby could have belonged to someone else.”

Hassan shrugged. “I had no way of knowing that. I told my son so that if the child was his, he could make provisions. If the child wasn’t his, then he needed to know not to get involved with another man’s woman.”

She wanted to ask what made him think that Sadik would want to get involved with her again, but what was the point? She was stalling because she was afraid to tell him why she’d come to see him.

She cleared her throat. “Your Highness, I mean no disrespect. I understand the honor bestowed on me by your son. He is Prince Sadik of Bahania and I’m…well, I’m no one.”

Hassan frowned. “Cleo. You are the daughter of my heart. You have great value.”

Apparently not enough value. After all, Sadik wasn’t willing to love her.

“I can’t marry him.”

She spoke forcefully, and when she finished, the words hung in the air. Hassan studied her face.

“Are you married to someone else?”

“What? Of course not. If I was married, I never would have slept with him in the first place.” She blushed slightly, thinking that one probably didn’t discuss sex with the king.

“Then I do not understand.”

Typical. Bahanian men seemed really slow on the uptake where her preferences were concerned.

“Sadik doesn’t love me. He’s made it very clear that he gave his heart to his late fiancée, and he has no intention of falling in love again.” She paused to gather her thoughts. “I know that sounds like a silly thing to you, but it’s very important to me. I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t care about me. It’s a horrible way to live a life.”

Hassan nodded. “My son can be stubborn and difficult.” He smiled slightly. “I believe he takes after me. But he will come around in time.”

“What if he doesn’t? You’re condemning me to marriage with a man who won’t care about me.”

“He cares. Sadik was most distraught when you left.”

She wanted to believe the king, but she had a feeling he was only saying things she wanted to hear. She decided to try a different argument.

“There are things in my past that make me unsuitable for all this. I’m afraid I would be an embarrassment to the royal family.”

“We will stand together against any adversity,” Hassan promised. “We will protect you.”

“I don’t want protection,” she announced. “I want to go home. Your Highness, please. Don’t make me do this. I won’t keep Sadik from seeing his child, but I don’t want to marry him, and I don’t want to stay here.”

Hassan straightened. His dark eyes seemed just a little less kind. Her stomach sank slightly. She wasn’t completely stupid—she already knew that she’d lost.

“Cleo, Bahanian law is very clear. A royal child cannot leave the country. He must be raised here.”

“But you could give special permission. You let Sabrina be raised elsewhere.”

The king winced. “I did that in a moment of great anger, and I have had cause to regret it these many years. Those were different times and different circumstances. I will not deprive Sadik of his child. Selfishly, I will not deprive myself, either. Besides, I would miss you if you were to leave.”

Cleo wasn’t surprised. In her heart she’d always known that it would come to this. She tried to find comfort in the fact that she’d done her best. But as she thanked the king and started to leave his office, she couldn’t help shuddering. Maybe it was crazy, but she would swear that she could hear a cage door slamming shut. Her days of freedom were over.

Sadik took several phone calls after Cleo left, but when he was finished he found himself unable to concentrate on his market predictions. Once again she’d invaded his brain and made him think of things he did not want to consider.

How could she speak of love? That was not to be part of their agreement. They would have passion and respect. They would raise their children together, although he knew that Cleo would resist his ideas, and instead expect him to bend to her will. They would argue, she would defy him, and in the night they would make up with sweet lovemaking.

Why did she insist on bringing love into the mix? He had loved once. Kamra had been all he’d ever wanted in a wife—gentle, silent, deferential. She had honored his wishes, understood the ways of Bahania and had never questioned him. Her quiet beauty had soothed him. With her he had been able to concentrate when required. He could easily put her out of his mind. And when she was gone, he had been stunned to find himself feeling empty and alone.

Yes, he had loved once and it had taught him to never be that vulnerable again. If he had felt such grief over losing Kamra, what would happen if Cleo ever—

He pushed the thought away, refusing to consider it. Better to work, he told himself, returning his attention to his computer screen.

But before he could lose himself in his work, his secretary buzzed him to say that his father was here. Hassan walked into his office and took the chair opposite his.

Sadik nodded, then waited for the king to speak. His father obviously had something on his mind.