Mike pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Tamara absorbed his gentle affection for a long moment, but then pulled back, ignoring the hurt look in his eyes. “Sorry, Mike. But I just…I can’t take any more of this. I need to…” she stopped and turned, hurrying toward their office. At that point, she dove into the work, not letting any other thoughts enter her mind. Just work. Ensure that every client was happy. That’s what she would do!
Chapter 13
A week later, Mike ordered a cup of coffee and thought about getting one for Tamara. She’d been pushing herself harder and harder, trying to blot out the memories of that week with Jurid. Mike suspected that her efforts were failing miserably.
But right after the person asked if he wanted anything else, something else occurred to him. Tamara hadn’t been drinking coffee lately, although he had no idea why. She used to love her morning java but lately, she’d been avoiding it and drinking tea.
The barista handed him his order and he took it, heading to his first meeting. This would be the third riverside condo that he and Tamara had considered, the first two not being quite “right”. He still had a few minutes before his meeting, so he sat down on a bench and watched the Thames as it meandered by. It was a fast moving river and always different, the currents a bit mesmerizing and Mike loved sitting here, the sunshine warming him as he contemplated the river and life.
“She’s not worth it, is she?” a voice asked.
A frisson of fear struck him and Mike turned around, surprised to find a stranger speaking to him, not in English but in the native dialect spoken in his Tular village. He was so surprised to hear his native language that it took him several moments to translate. “Excuse me?” he asked, slipping into the dialect in response.
The man looked out at the river, but he didn’t seem contemplative. The man seemed…dangerous. His next words confirmed Mike’s impression. “The princess. She’s not worth it.”
Mike stared at the man, not sure what was he meant by that. The words were mostly benign, but the tone seemed…threatening. Although, Mike couldn’t quite put his finger on exactly why. It was the look in the man’s eyes when he turned his head, looking directly at Mike for the first time.
There was also the issue of this stranger knowing Tamara’s royal status. That couldn’t be good, Mike thought with increasing dread.
“How do you now that she’s a princess?” he asked, thinking back to the conversation he’d had only two weeks ago, when Tamara had admitted that she was a royal princess of Nadir. It was a small country, so it hadn’t surprised him that he’d been unaware of the identities of the royal family. It had definitely surprised him to learn that his best friend and business partner was betrothed to the leader of Tular though!
He definitely didn’t like the way this man was talking about Tam, although a gut instinct warned Mike to play it cool.
The stranger shrugged as if dismissing the question. “We know a lot of things. Such as how good it would be for the world if Sheik Bin Casees were no longer around.”
As casually as possible, Mike shifted on the bench, turning slightly so that he was once again looking out at the river while his hands slipped into his coat pocket. He fumbled with the buttons on his phone, trying to be casual as he pressed the record button. “I’m from Tular and I don’t think I really care what happens with…”
“You should care!” the stranger hissed, a spray of spittle bursting from his mouth as he stiffened with outrage. “The bin Casees family has ruled Tular for too long!” he stopped, visibly forcing himself to calm down. “We don’t want to hurt anyone,” he told Mike, but the man’s cold eyes warned him that the man only appeared calm. “We just want a new leader for Tular.” His eyes moved over Mike, and there was a sneer on the man’s tight features. “We’re going to win. Do you want to be part of the solution or part of the problem?”
“What are you intending?” he asked, not feigning interest, but not dismissing the man either.
The man stood up, adjusting his coat. “We’ll be in touch with ways in which you can help. You seem like the loyal type of guy, but you’ll still have to prove yourself.” There was a dark, intense look and Mike wanted to back away.
A moment later, the man turned away and walked along the sidewalk, appearing to blend in with the other people making their way towards their destination as if he were just another Londoner.
Mike shivered as the fear hit him hard. He stopped the recording, but wasn’t sure what to do about it.
Mike had left his native country to attend college and had discovered his true self. He couldn’t go back, not wanting to hide in fear because of his sexual preferences. But he didn’t want anything to happen to his country either. Besides, Tular had thrived under the rule of Sheik Bin Casees.
Mike knew that he had to get the message to Sheik bin Casees, but how? Mike couldn’t travel to Tular, it was too dangerous for him, not just because of his sexual preferences, but also because he suspected that the stranger who had just walked away would be watching.
So no, he couldn’t travel to Tular. Not only could he not go back, but he doubted he could get close enough to deliver the recording to someone who might be able to do something about the threat to Sheik bin Casees.
But Tamara! She could do it! She could not only get into Tular, but she could get a message to Sheik Bin Casees! She could get this recording to him and…maybe stop whatever was going to happen!
How was he going to get the recording to her though? Looking out at the river, he replayed the conversation in his mind. The man had said something about…about an argument? This afternoon? Damn, was he being watched?
The possibility sent a shiver of fear down his spine. If someone was watching him, he couldn’t go directly to Tam with the recording. He had to get it to her…some other way. Not through their office computers either. If these people were watching him and Tamara, they’d most likely be monitoring his online activities.
“Willow!” he whispered. Now that she was in London to speak with that lawyer, perhaps he could talk to her, then Willow could pass along the recording to Tamara. It seemed like the obvious solution. Why would anyone think that Willow was a threat? She was a redheaded beauty with a vivacious love of life. “She can do it!”
Standing up, he kept his eyes on the river, pretending to be thinking. Perhaps that wasn’t a pretend issue, he thought. He was thinking. Frantically! He had to figure out how to get the recording to Tam! But how could he do it? Willow first. Back to his office, he’d call her and ask her if she wanted to hang out with him and Joe tonight. Willow did that all the time, so doing it again wouldn’t be an issue. Although, normally, Tam would be there with them as well.
Sighing, he thought about another plan. Coffee tomorrow morning. He couldn’t deviate from his normal routine, but if he sent a text message to Willow, letting her know that he was grabbing coffee, she’d show up and they’d have breakfast together.
Yes, that made sense.
He walked back to the office and pretended to work, but in his mind, he was frantically going through his plan over and over again. He couldn’t e-mail the recording to Willow either. They might be monitoring his e-mail.