Under the Sheik's Protection. C.J. Miller
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would occupy most of her time and it was too late to acquire more. Idle time was bad. She needed to stay busy.
If she agreed to help Owen, maybe she wouldn’t have to pass on anything because she may not learn anything. Saafir might not want to see her alone again. He might not say anything to her about the trade agreement. If they never spoke of the trade agreement, she’d have zero insider knowledge. “If I hear anything, I will let you know.” The words felt like they were stuck to her tongue.
She was spared further conversation by Molly and Krista, who arrived in her room carrying a balloon and flowers.
Owen sighed. “The news is already on the street?”
Molly glared at him. Owen and her friends had never gotten along. “Details aren’t in the news. I heard from Debbie about a problem with the trade summit,” Molly said, referring to the congresswoman she worked for. “Krista called one of your waitstaff and got the details.”
Gossip spread quickly in D.C., especially when it involved international politics and high-profile situations.
“I’ll give you a few minutes to talk,” Owen said.
After Owen left the room, Krista set the flowers on the table across from Sarah’s bed and sat in the chair he’d been occupying. “He is always so uptight.”
“That’s not true,” Sarah said, though she’d had similar thoughts in the past. “He’s under a lot of pressure.” His marriage, his work and Alec were strains on him.
“Oh, please. He’s always been hard on you,” Molly said.
Sarah and Owen had a shaky history. They hadn’t agreed on the right course of action for Alec’s care. “He’s protective of Alec and he knows you guys were on my side during the divorce.”
The word “divorce” still pained her. It should be easier to talk about it. Maybe one day it would be.
“Of course we’re on your side. We’re always on your side,” Krista said.
Her friends were the closest to family she had. She’d once felt that Alec, Owen and Evelyn were her family, but not recently, not based on how they now treated her.
“How are you feeling?” Molly asked.
“I’m okay,” Sarah said. Should she tell her friends Barr’s real name? They were usually understanding and nonjudgmental. “It turns out that I accidentally slept with the emir.”
Molly lifted her brows. “Accidentally? How do you accidentally get naked and sleep with someone?”
“The guy from this weekend is the emir.”
Molly and Krista had matching looks of shock.
“Does that mean you’ll be a princess?” Krista asked.
“What does that mean Adham is? His courtier or something?” Molly asked.
“I am not a princess and Adham is in charge of his security. Adham was outside when the shooting started,” Sarah said.
“Is he okay?” Molly asked.
“I haven’t heard anything about Adham, and Owen says the emir is doing okay.”
“What about you? How are you feeling about all this?” Krista asked.
Confused and overwhelmed. “Physically, I’m okay.”
Molly chewed her lower lip. “I’ll talk to one of the nurses and see if I can get more information. I’ll be right back.”
Krista touched Sarah’s arm. “Excuse her. She’s bounced between worry about you and talking about Adham. She’s crushing on him hard. But are you really okay? I was terrified when I heard there was a shooting.”
Sarah hadn’t had time to process what had happened. “I’m scared, shaken and confused. It happened so fast. One minute, I was talking to the emir and the next I was waking up in a hospital. I have some fragmented memories, but I think I was fading in and out of consciousness.”
Krista clasped her hand. “Maybe you should think about taking a vacation.”
“You sound like Owen. You know I need the money and my business needs the boost. Alec is counting on me to pay the bills for his rehab.”
“Why can’t Owen pay for it? He brags about how he’s some big-shot negotiator. Let him deal with his brother.”
Krista’s vehemence was in defense of her. “I promised Alec I would do this. It’s the last thing I will do for him.” And Owen had indicated he had some financial problems. His wife was running up credit card balances across town.
“I’ve heard that before,” Krista said.
Sarah let her head fall against her pillow. “It’s not easy to cut him out of my life.”
“Okay, forget about Alec for a minute. You have that outdoor wedding coming up. You’ll get some work from that,” Krista said. “You can pass out business cards.”
Sarah never promoted her business that way. She let the event speak for her. “The wedding is small potatoes compared to the work I’m getting with the trade summit.”
“Tell your new boyfriend about your money problems. He owns a country. Maybe he can help,” Krista said.
Sarah laughed. “You know I would never ask him to do that.”
Krista sighed dramatically. “But isn’t it nice for a second to pretend we’d all meet a handsome prince and get swept away?”
“Sure, but you just said it. A fantasy like that is just pretend.”
* * *
The police arrived a few hours later to ask Sarah some questions. They had pieced together most of the day’s events starting from around the time Sarah had arrived at the office building and began setting up for the meeting. She hadn’t noticed anyone strange lingering around the building. She hadn’t noticed any strange cars, either, but the office suites were in a busy section of town. Why would she have noticed a car?
She hadn’t been aware of the gunfire until she was covered by Saafir and his guard. She wasn’t part of a conspiracy to assassinate Saafir.
After repeating details as the police dug for an important clue she had left out, she started to feel like she was answering the questions on autopilot.
Sarah’s arm was heavy and throbbing. She wanted a break, to get some medication, get into the bathroom to shower or at least wash her face. If she pressed the button for the nurses, they might shoo the police from her room. Her finger stretched toward the call button.
Before she could press the button for help, Saafir entered the room. Flanked by three security guards—Sarah noticed that Adham was missing from the group—Saafir appeared regal and composed. He showed no signs of injury and nothing on his face gave away he was in pain. His PR team may have been right when they’d said he wasn’t injured. Though he had said nothing, the room fell silent. One of the police officers, a woman about ten years older than Sarah, was openly gaping at him.
Sarah echoed the sentiment. Saafir was something to look at. Naked, he was even more incredible.
“Do you mind giving us a couple of minutes alone?” Saafir asked, addressing the room at large. Since Sarah was confined to her bed and this was her room, she assumed he meant to speak to her in private. Excitement tickled her insides. He hadn’t forgotten about her. He was interested in talking to her. Though his interest might be rooted in this morning’s event, perhaps there was a personal aspect to it. Why did that make her feel special and wanted?
Her one-night stand was morphing into something more in her mind. She couldn’t help it. If he hadn’t shown up that morning or if she had never seen him again, she may have moved on. With him back in her life, how could she pretend she felt nothing for him? Her body was already betraying her, her skin aching