Forever Bold

by Kathleen Brooks

  Jameson gritted his jaw. How was something so wonderful as finding a woman he really wanted to be with but so horrible at the same time? It was like a punch to his gut to realize he could never have her in his life beyond this assignment.

  Jameson turned down the hall and stopped at the open door. Ariana sat at the desk overlooking the city with her laptop open. On the screen were an older man and woman who looked worriedly at Ariana.

  “Sweetie, you can come home. No one will think less of you for not speaking tomorrow,” the lady with her dark hair messed from sleep told Ariana. That must be her mother.

  “There is no shame in putting your safety first, Ari,” the man with the salt-and-pepper hair said seriously.

  “I know, Dad. Is it wrong that I’m just pissed off now? I wasn’t going to name names. I had a whole speech ready that only alluded to countries who were the worst offenders, but now I’m madder than a cat being baptized and I want to call each and every one of those assholes out.”

  Her father groaned and turned to his wife. “I wonder where she gets that from?”

  Her mother smiled proudly. “You married me knowing full well what I was like. There’s no backing out now, Mo.”

  Ariana chuckled at her parents and Jameson couldn’t stop watching. His parents would never wake up in the middle of the night for him. They considered themselves American royalty because they had someone from each generation in national politics. But here was actual royalty with messed-up hair, wearing old T-shirts, and full of love and compassion.

  “Well, if you’re staying, then we’re coming up,” her father told her.

  He half expected Ariana to argue but she didn’t.

  “Your mother and I, along with Ahmed, Nash, and Nabi, will be there as soon as we can.”

  Who were all those people? Wait, Nash was the second-in-command of security, according to Greer.

  “I’m glad. I hate to admit it, but I’m nervous and I’m scared. I’m also determined and headstrong. I feel bad for poor Jameson having to try to keep me in line by himself. I mean, I have Valeria and Grant here, too, but they’re just in the background making sure I’m not killed.”

  “Wait, who are Valeria and Grant?” her mother asked.

  “Friends of Abby and Dylan.”

  “Ah,” her parents said with knowing looks. Maybe Greer was right. He did need to run some searches on Keeneston.

  “How is Jameson working out?” her mother asked and Jameson stopped breathing.

  “He’s great. From what he’s told me, he’s former Special Forces and he sure did keep his calm tonight. He was always between me and whatever danger was going on. He never panicked and that helped me keep my cool. But then—”

  “Then what?” Mo demanded.

  “Then I kind of broke down after it was over. He was nice enough to hold me as I cried.”

  “You cried?” her mother gasped, and Jameson felt the desire to defend her. “You never cry. This is more serious than we thought. We need to leave now.”

  “It’s okay, Mom. He got me calmed down. He was actually very sweet.”

  Jameson slipped back into the hallway and made his way to the now quiet living room. He had to be strong. No matter how much he wanted to be a part of Ariana’s life, he couldn’t risk it—or her—to whatever game his mother was playing.

  9

  Ariana said goodnight to her parents. She would see them in the morning before her speech. However, it wasn’t her parents she wanted right now. Ariana looked at the bed and the empty room. She didn’t want to be alone. She wanted Jameson’s arms around her again.

  Ariana stood up to find Jameson and then stopped. He was her bodyguard and that was it. She was only interested because he made her feel safe. Ariana dropped onto the bed and stared out the window. That’s not true. She had noticed him the second she walked into the ballroom at the palace in Crusina. He hadn’t been her bodyguard then.

  It wasn’t bad, was it? To fall for a man who happened to be paid to protect you? Piper and Aiden found a deep and passionate love and he was her bodyguard when someone was after Piper’s nanotechnology invention.

  Ariana stood up. She should let Jameson know her family and friends were coming tomorrow. He’d want to know that.

  She found Jameson making a cup of tea. No one else was in the room and her entrance didn’t surprise him. He must have heard her coming.

  “I made you this. I thought it would help you sleep.” He held out the cup of tea and Ariana knew she wasn’t going to be able to keep her heart out of it.

  “Thank you. Will you sit with me for a moment? I have some things to tell you.”

  Ariana walked over to the couch and sat down. She pulled up her legs and leaned against the back cushion as she sipped the tea Jameson had made her. She had angled her body so that Jameson had to sit down next to her to look her in the face as she talked.

  “What’s going on?” he asked her.

  Was it just her or was Jameson sitting closer than normal? The excitement of all the potential was there. The way it felt when she not so accidentally pressed her knee against his thigh. The way he put his arm on the back of the couch and his fingers brushed her shoulder. The way her heart sped with the anticipation and the unknown.

  “I talked to my parents. They’re coming up with our top two security heads and my godfather.”

  “I’m glad. What you’re doing is very brave, but you’ll still be brave if you postpone your speech.”

  “I thought about it,” Ariana admitted. “I’m mad. I don’t like them thinking they can intimidate me. I really don’t like them thinking they can kill me. If I back down now, what kind of message does that show? You wouldn’t back down.”

  “No. I knew you wouldn’t either. I’m just making sure you know you can. Tomorrow is going to be tense. If anything feels off, we postpone. Got it?”

  Ariana nodded. They had a game plan. “You’ll be with me the whole time?”

  “I won’t leave your side. Even during your speech. I’ll be right behind you and slightly to your right.”

  “Where is everyone else?” Ariana asked after they were quiet for a moment.

  “Your guards are outside in the hall. Val and Grant are getting some sleep. In three more hours they’ll take watch and your guards will get some sleep before we leave.”

  “What about you?” Ariana asked. “Don’t you need to sleep?”

  “As long as you’re up, I’m up. When you’re ready to go to bed, I’ll drag this chair down there and sleep in the hall. I told you, I’m not leaving you until you are safely on your way home.”

  Home had never been a sad thought before, but Ariana couldn’t imagine going home yet. Or was that a gentle reminder that she was only a job to him? The warring emotions made her yawn and she set the tea down.

  “Tell me about your parents. What was it like growing up a princess?” Jameson asked as he reached behind her. He leaned into her, his mouth just a breath away from hers. Then he drew back and placed the thick blanket he had grabbed over her lap.

  Ariana pulled the blanket up and leaned against the back of the couch. The side of her cheek pressed into the fluffy cushion as if it were a pillow while the top of her head rested against Jameson’s outstretched arm.

  “I didn’t really understand what it meant to be a princess until I was older. I mean, they never hid it from me, but no one in Keeneston addresses us by our titles. We’re just the Ali Rahman family there. I went to the local schools and I just happened to spend vacations at the palace in Rahmi with my uncle, the king, and my cousin, the whiner.” Ariana laughed to herself as she remembered how they’d pick on Jamal.

  “You have to tell me more,” Jameson said as he got settled more comfortably on the couch. It also just so happened to bring them closer together.

  “My cousin, Jamal, who is now happily married with his own heir, thank goodness, wasn’t always so mature. He thought he was the golden child and was the biggest brat. So, Zain, Gabe, Abby,
Kale, and I would play pranks on him. He’d get so frustrated with us, but he tried to kiss Abby and told her she had to kiss him because he was her prince.”

  “What did you do to him?” Jameson asked.

  Ariana tried not to smile at the memory. “Abby kicked him in the balls. We all denied it when Jamal went whining to the king. After we got a lecture from the king, we went snake hunting. See, in Rahmi there’s this big snake that isn’t poisonous but will still give you nightmares. So, we gathered around twenty of them and when Jamal was in his nighttime bath, we dumped them in his bed.”

  Jameson burst out laughing. “How did that go?”

  “The scream brought the entire palace guard running and we all pretended to be asleep. My father and Abby and Kale’s father knew better, though.”

  “Did you get in trouble?”

  Ariana shook her head. “My father always taught me to stand up for myself and that’s what we were doing. Especially after we told him about the forced kiss on Abby. Jamal was lucky he woke up in the morning. Abby’s father is slightly overprotective. It took a Delta Force man to marry her and they still have knife fights.”

  “Knife fights?” Jameson asked with suspicion. “You mean they spar? With knives?”

  “I mean he and Dylan literally throw knives at each other to see who can get closest to the other person without actually hitting him. They spar, too. All the guys at home do. The girls do, too, but to a lesser degree. My godfather made sure I could handle myself by the time I was sixteen.”

  “Do you throw knives?”

  Ariana laughed again. She was having such a great time telling him about her family. “No. I can use one in a fight, but I never got the hang of throwing it. I’m better with an axe. Abby’s mother taught me how to throw one last year.”

  Jameson shook his head as he laughed. “This is not the story I expected when I asked about your family.”

  “My parents are great. My mom came from Italian money—the De Luca family. But her mother was from a small town in Maine. I might have inherited her stubbornness. When my mom hit eighteen, she struck out on her own and refused to touch the family money. She put herself through paralegal school and became a paralegal at a large New York City firm. Then one night her whole life changed. Kenna, a lawyer in the office and my mom’s friend, saw something that would bring judges, senators, and her whole law firm down. She grabbed my mom and they ran. Kenna headed to Kentucky and after my mom did all she could to collect evidence against these men, they met up again in Kentucky. Kenna introduced her to my dad and it was happily ever after. Well, after she was shot, anyway.”

  Jameson’s brow furrowed. “Wait, are you talking about Senator Bruce and McKenna . . . McKenna Mason?”

  “Yes! You know about it?”

  “I learned about it in college. Your mother is Danielle De Luca? I didn’t make the connection. I never learned in class that she’d married your father. Wow. Your mom’s a badass.”

  “She is. And so is my father. He’d move heaven and earth for us. We’re all very close and I had a great childhood. What about you?”

  The happiness left Jameson’s face. “I’m an only child but I’m not close with my parents. They wanted me to stick to their traditions and I wanted my own life. When I didn’t go to law school like eight generations of Dukes have, they kind of disowned me. I went into Special Forces instead.”

  “And then you were injured?”

  Jameson nodded.

  “Then the powers that be brought me back to the States.”

  “It brought you to me. I mean, into my life. Here. Now.” Ariana wanted to smack herself. By the freaked-out expression on Jameson’s face, she’d totally blown what was supposed to be a sweet comment.

  “The powers that be did bring you into my life. Now we get to find out why.”

  “We have to find out why?” Ariana asked.

  “When it involves powers in my life, there is always an ulterior motive. Now, why don’t you get some sleep?”

  “I will in a moment.” Ariana really didn’t want to be alone. She might not have a name for it and it was clear Jameson didn’t like fate, but something had brought him into her life and she wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet. “Tell me about your time in the military. I’m sure you played pranks on each other. Were any as good as a bed full of snakes?”

  Ariana leaned back and listened to Jameson talk. His deep voice rumbled through his chest and lulled her eyes to close. She leaned forward, dragging her blanket with her, until she rested against his chest and closed her eyes. She remembered feeling the warmth of his arm as he pulled her against him and then she finally felt safe enough to drift off to a deep sleep.

  10

  Jameson had never felt the way he did when he held Ariana. Her head rested against his chest, her hand on his stomach, and his arm was around her. He felt proud, excited, protective, happy, and nervous. He had a riot of emotions going on inside him. He ignored Grant, giving him a wink when they walked through to relieve the Rahmi guards.

  Jameson could have carried Ariana to her own bed. He could have gently lain her down on the couch. Instead, he used his foot to pull the coffee table closer, propped his legs up, and fell asleep with her in his arms.

  Noise in the hallway woke him up. He had his gun in his hand and aimed as the people walked in. He would have been impressed with how fast they drew their weapons if they’d drawn them on someone else. Instead, he had more guns than he could count pointed at him before he could blink.

  “Release her and I won’t kill you slowly,” the older man who looked like he could still be an MMA fighter said in a voice that told Jameson he wasn’t joking.

  “You’ll have to kill me before you can take her from me,” Jameson said back in an equally menacing tone. “I might not be able to kill you all, but I can kill a couple of you.”

  “I’d prefer if you didn’t kill me before I could check on my daughter,” the woman in the back said as she pushed through the wall of three men who ranged from Jameson’s age to his father’s age.

  Jameson quickly glanced at her and cursed to himself. It was Ariana’s mother, Danielle Ali Rahman. “Your Highness. I am so sorry. I was just protecting your daughter. I didn’t know you’d arrived.”

  “Is that all you were doing with my daughter?” she asked, looking at where Ariana’s hand had fallen from his stomach when Jameson had sat up. Now Ariana’s hand was cupping his locked and loaded gun . . . and not the one he had in his hand.

  “Yes, ma’am!” Jameson reached down and moved Ariana’s hand and then slowly maneuvered himself off the couch. With a slight gesture of his head, he motioned for them to follow him into the dining room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have an ETA on your arrival.”

  “Why didn’t you wake Ariana?” her mother asked.

  Jameson hadn’t thought about not waking her. It was just natural to care for her. “She was up late and needs to be at her best for today.”

  “Hmm,” her mother said as if she were trying to piece things together. “Well, I’m her mother, Dani. It’s nice to meet you—”

  “Jameson Duke.”

  “I’m Ariana’s father.” The man had stood quietly behind the wall of guards until now. His was dressed in royal fashion, a silver suit that matched some of his silver hair and a black dress shirt underneath. The blood-red tie gave a powerful impression. So did the power move of not offering up his name. “You were Special Forces?”

  “Yes, sir,” Jameson said with a nod of his head.

  “My son-in-law was Delta Force,” the older man who had threatened to kill him said. At this point he looked as relaxed as possible, which wasn’t very relaxed. He still looked like a tiger about to pounce. “Although you need to work on your face. You give too much away. Dylan mastered my glare in three days.”

  “Dylan Davies is your son-in-law?” Jameson asked surprised.

  “You know him?”

  “I met him and his wife in Crusina.”

  “
That’s my daughter, Abby.” The man held out his hand. “Ahmed Mueez.” Jameson’s hand froze in midair. “I see you’ve heard of me. I’m also Ari’s godfather. Remember that.”

  Jameson tried not to take an audible gulp. “Yes, sir. I studied you in the military.”

  Ahmed smiled with pure predatory glee, as if he knew he could kill in an instant. And he could.

  “Don’t encourage him,” a beautiful woman said, shoving her hand without the dog leash forward. “Bridget Mueez. I’m this one’s wife and Abby’s mother. It’s so nice to meet someone Abby has worked with. I know her work keeps her traveling.”

  Jameson kept an eye on the Belgian Malinois that was sitting by her side. “Did you meet Valeria and Grant at the door? They work with her, too,” Jameson said shaking her hand.

  “Oh good. I’ll go say hi again and introduce myself. Good luck,” she said before turning and walking out of the room.

  “I’m Nabi. I’m the head of the royal family’s security,” the middle man of the wall of guards said. “I took over after Ahmed retired. This is my second-in-command, Nash Dagher.”

  Jameson shook hands with everyone and then got to work. “We leave in two hours for the United Nations. I’ll email you my protection plan for Ariana if you want to use it for protecting their royal highnesses.”

  “I think you misunderstand your role here,” Nabi said with a cold glare. “We’re here to protect Ari.”

  Jameson was back on familiar ground now. It seemed in DSS there were more jurisdictional pissing contests than any other department. “As her DSS agent, my job is to protect Princess Ali Rahman. You may withdraw your application for protection, but you need to file it with my superior before you take over. Until then, I’m in charge and you will follow my orders if you’re going to be protecting the princess.”