Protecting the Desert Princess

by Carol Marinelli

  ‘I haven’t closed yet,’ Mikael responded, though he gave no pep talk. He certainly wasn’t here to reassure or make friends with his clients. All he required from himself was to offer the best defence.

  It was a long walk back to chambers.

  The press were waiting, with their usual questions, and Mikael duly ignored them. His mouth was dry and he wanted the cool darkness of his office, where the heavy drapes would be closed and he could sit in silence and make notes on all that had been said today.

  ‘Don’t ask!’ Mikael warned his clerk as he stepped in.

  Both knew that it was not going well, and that he would be here all night working on the final details before delivering his closing speech tomorrow.

  ‘I don’t know how to tell you this—’ Wendy started.

  Mikael turned and saw that his very efficient clerk for once looked a touch ruffled.

  ‘There’s a lady here to see you.’

  ‘I haven’t got time to see anyone now.’

  ‘Mikael, I’ve tried to get rid of her…’ Wendy let out a nervous laugh. ‘I’ve never met anyone like her before—you simply can’t say no. I even ended up paying for her taxi because she didn’t have any money—the driver was about to call the police!’

  ‘Wendy?’ Mikael frowned, because he had never seen his clerk like this. Mikael dealt with the lowest of the low, and had only the best of staff around him—staff that were able to deal with the most difficult of people. ‘Where is she?’ he asked, glancing into the small waiting room.

  ‘She’s waiting in your office.’

  ‘What?’ She’d got past Wendy? This Mikael had to see. ‘What’s her name?’

  ‘She won’t tell me,’ Wendy said, ‘and she won’t tell me what she’s here for either. She refuses to discuss it with anyone but you.’

  ‘Okay.’ Mikael nodded. ‘Don’t worry. I shall sort it out.’

  Mikael walked into his office and completely ignored his uninvited guest, who was standing by the window, looking out through a chink in the heavy curtains and watching the world go by.

  Yet as much as he ignored her somehow Mikael was reminded of the rare beauty of the first glimpse of a new moon. Perhaps it was the way the light caught her silver robe or because she was so slender, but as he opened the bar fridge it was that image that was on his mind.

  ‘Mr Romanov!’

  Her voice demanded that he acknowledge her.

  ‘Oh, sorry…’ Mikael’s voice was wry as, his back to her, he added a slice of lime and ice to a glass and then poured sparkling water. ‘Weren’t you getting enough attention?’

  ‘I expect to be greeted.’

  ‘Well, had you made an appointment then you would have been.’

  He turned and looked at her, a golden ray of sun from the chink in the curtains serving as his spotlight. Her beauty was now possibly the biggest challenge of his day, for Mikael was momentarily sideswiped. Her black eyes were huge in her exquisite face, her hair thick and glossy, and her complexion quite simply flawless. His eyes roamed her face—as far as Mikael could tell she wasn’t even wearing make-up. She was the first woman to actually stun him—so much so that when she held out her hand Mikael handed her his drink.

  How did that happen? Mikael wondered as he turned again and made another drink—for himself this time.

  ‘I am Princess Layla of Ishla,’ Layla said, because, given Mikael’s poor manners, perhaps he was not aware of to whom he was speaking.

  ‘Really?’ Mikael said.

  Layla waited for him to continue.

  ‘So you’re the reason I was almost late for court this morning.’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘Your convoy held me up,’ Mikael said. ‘Look, I don’t know what your issue is—in fact I don’t even want to know. I’m in the middle of a very complicated case and I am going on leave soon.’

  ‘I know all about your case, but I need for you to speak with my brother. I want you tell him that I am taking a week off from royal duty and that he is not to look for me or inform my father.’

  ‘Can’t you tell him that?’

  ‘I have written it all in a letter that he must be reading about now. I need you to reiterate the contents to him,’ Layla said. ‘If I speak with him it will get all emotional and I might back down—that is why I want you to do it for me.’

  ‘You need an embassy.’

  ‘No,’ Layla shook her head. ‘I do not want to make a big incident—unless I have to, of course.’

  He heard the warning note in her voice, saw then the fire in her eyes, and he understood why Wendy had been unable to say no to her. She was pretty unstoppable.

  Mikael, though, could not be manipulated. ‘As I just said, I am near the end of a huge case. I’m not taking anything else on.’

  ‘You will make one phone call for me,’ Layla said. ‘But first you can arrange for some refreshments to be brought in.’ It had been a long afternoon of shopping after all.

  Mikael felt the shock from the muscles in his face as they broke into a smile.

  Was she for real?

  ‘You want me to arrange refreshments before I make your phone call?’

  ‘Just something light.’ Layla nodded. ‘Maybe some fruit, and also something sweet.’

  Mikael pulled out a roll of mints. ‘Here’s your refreshments.’

  She took one and popped it in her mouth, and he watched her eyes widen in delight as she rolled the mint across her tongue.

  ‘I like.’

  So too, Mikael decided, did he!

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ‘ONE PHONE CALL,’ Mikael said.

  But there was no way, Mikael knew, that this was going to go away with one phone call. He had only agreed to it because Layla had eked from him the first smile he had given in weeks.

  He opened the curtains and invited her to take a seat.

  ‘First, though—’ Mikael went on, but Layla interrupted.

  ‘I give you some details.’

  ‘No,’ Mikael said. ‘First we need to discuss my retainer.’

  ‘Retainer?’

  ‘I’m very expensive,’ Mikael said.

  ‘Oh, you want payment up-front?’

  ‘Absolutely.’

  ‘I have this.’

  Mikael was a master at keeping his face impassive—poker would have been a lucrative hobby if he’d so chosen—but even he was struggling as, from her tunic, Layla took out a stone that looked more like a paperweight and placed it on the desk between them.

  ‘It is called Opium,’ Layla explained. ‘It is a rare black ruby that was gifted to me by the King of Bishram on my birth, so I would expect it to be worth quite a bit.’

  Mikael said nothing at first. He just stared at the stone that was almost as beautiful as its owner and thought of her walking the streets with that in her pocket. After a long stretch of silence he picked it up and decided to put it in his safe for now, then he sat back at his desk and looked at her. ‘What exactly are you hoping to achieve this week?’

  ‘There are things that I would like to do before I marry.’

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘They are not your concern. All I want is a week of freedom from my duties and a week away from my family.’

  ‘To do what?’ Mikael persisted. ‘If I’m to ring your brother then I need to know what you intend to get up to.’

  ‘I would like to dance,’ Layla said. ‘It is forbidden in Ishla. And I would like to try an Irish coffee….’

  ‘There are other drinks.’ Mikael smirked.

  ‘My brother mentioned Irish coffee once, many years ago. I thought it sounded nice that the cream stays at the top.’

  ‘What else?’

  Layla looked across the
table at Mikael. For the first time in her life she felt a little… Layla tried to decide how she felt. Intimidated? She wasn’t sure if that was the right word, but it had never entered her head that Mikael might say no to her request. More than that, though, the effect of his smile had unsettled her stomach in a way she did not understand.

  Certainly she wasn’t about to tell him all the adventures she was seeking—though her eyes did fall to his mouth, which she had briefly imagined upon hers, but then she met again the cool of his gaze. ‘I don’t know you well enough to tell you,’ Layla said.

  ‘How long have you been planning this?’

  ‘For quite some time,’ Layla admitted.

  ‘Would your family have guessed that you were going to escape?’

  ‘No.’ Immediately she shook her head.

  ‘‘You’re sure of that.’

  ‘Very sure,’ she said. ‘I learnt a very long time ago that I get in trouble if I tell anyone my thoughts.’

  ‘You can be honest here,’ Mikael said, and Layla gave a hesitant nod—though her eyes said that she doubted it.

  She did offer a little more. ‘I tried to get my brother to take me to a wedding in London a few months ago—I was going to escape there, but he refused to take me with him.’

  Sensible man, Mikael thought, feeling a knot of unease forming at the thought of her let loose in London—or even let loose here, for there was an innocence behind her arrogance, an inherent trust in the good of others that could so easily be shattered.

  ‘How are your family going to react?’

  ‘That depends,’ Layla responded. ‘I have made it very clear in my letter to my brother that he is not to inform my father that I am missing. If he does my father will have no choice but to create an international incident. That is avoidable, of course—I just need for you to reassure my brother that I will be safe and that I will return to the hotel one week from now.’

  ‘What about your mother?’

  ‘From what I have been told about her, she would approve.’

  ‘Told?’

  ‘She is dead, but apparently we are very similar, and if that is the case then she’d approve of my plans.’

  ‘Where are you going to stay?’ Mikael asked. ‘Have you got friends…?’

  ‘You will arrange that.’

  ‘One phone call?’ Mikael reminded her.

  ‘Two.’ Layla smiled. ‘You are to make sure I stay somewhere nice and you will have to drive me there. I am not taking a taxi again; the man was very rude.’

  ‘Possibly because you didn’t pay him,’ Mikael said. ‘I’ll ask Wendy to book you somewhere and she’ll drive you to a hotel.’

  They went over a few more details. There was nothing uncomplicated about Layla. She was twenty-four, he found out, and he checked that she was healthy, that she wasn’t on any medication, or suffering any illnesses. He wanted to be sure that there was nothing that could be flashed up on the news about her life being at risk.

  Physically, it would seem she was healthy—though certifiable, perhaps…

  ‘They thought that I had seizure once, but I did not,’ Layla said.

  Mikael let out a tense breath as out of her lips popped another surprise.

  ‘I was on my way to select a husband and I started to scream and shout expletives and then I fell to the floor. The palace doctor is kind and she told my father and suitors that anxiety had caused a seizure. But it was not a seizure. I was just cross.’

  ‘Don’t you ever try that trick on me,’ Mikael warned her.

  ‘It wasn’t a trick.’

  ‘Oh, Layla.’ Mikael slowly shook his head. ‘I’m quite sure that you are full of them.’ He ran shrewd eyes over the cunning minx. ‘Why did you choose me?’

  ‘Because you are not swayed by emotion and you don’t care what others think.’

  ‘You don’t know that,’ Mikael said.

  ‘You are hated by many for the people you defend.’ Layla shrugged. ‘Yet you do not look like a man who cries himself to sleep at night. Now, am I wasting my time or are you going to make that call?’

  ‘Layla…’

  ‘Princess Layla,’ she corrected.

  ‘I’d suggest,’ Mikael responded, ‘that if you really want to disappear for a week then you lose the title.’

  ‘Mr Romanov—’

  ‘Mikael,’ he interrupted.

  ‘Mikael,’ Layla amended. ‘I would like you to speak with my brother now.’

  ‘Very well,’ Mikael said, ‘but you need to understand that I am near the end of a very complex case. I will make one phone call and have you taken to a hotel…’ He briefly closed his eyes. ‘I don’t have time to babysit you.’

  ‘Good.’

  She smiled very widely then, and it was like a fist to Mikael’s guts because the breath was almost knocked out of him when she did.

  ‘The last thing I want this week is to be watched over.’

  Layla didn’t have a phone, but she did have Zahid’s number. Mikael blocked his own number and then made the call.

  He did not give his name, but explained that he was representing Layla and that her request for a week away from her family was far from unreasonable.

  ‘You don’t understand—’ Zahid started.

  ‘I understand that the laws in your land may be different,’ Mikael interrupted, ‘but—’

  ‘You don’t understand Layla.’ This time it was Zahid who broke in.

  Far from the fury and hysterics that Mikael had expected, Zahid’s response was clipped. ‘She will not manage alone.’

  ‘Layla is twenty-four.’

  ‘Which means for twenty-four years she has had everything done for her. Everything,’ Zahid reiterated.

  ‘Well, she seems very capable to me, and more than independent.’

  ‘Could I speak with her?’ Zahid asked.

  Mikael looked over to Layla, who sat rigid in the chair, her lips pursed. ‘Your brother wishes to speak with you.’

  He expected her to shake her head, but instead Layla nodded.

  ‘You don’t have to,’ he said, but she was holding her hand out for the phone.

  ‘Don’t give him my name,’ Mikael warned her.

  Layla had been right to get him in to handle this, Mikael thought, because whatever was being said in Arabic the conversation was clearly emotional. He watched as she stood and started pacing, shouting and crying, but then, just as he was going to take the phone from her, she switched to English.

  ‘No, Trinity, I do not accept what Zahid just said and you can tell him the same. Yes, I have messed up your honeymoon—well, guess what? I don’t expect to have a happy honeymoon. I know my honeymoon will be miserable. At least you get the rest of your life to be happy…’

  Mikael’s eyes widened a touch in admiration, and then he suppressed the second smile to grace his lips in months as Layla continued.

  ‘What does your pregnancy have to do with my life?’ Layla demanded. ‘I am supposed to put my one chance for freedom to the side because you are growing a baby…?’ Layla gave an incredulous laugh. ‘I never realised you were so precious, Trinity. Let me speak with my brother—clearly you are supposed to avoid the real world for the next six months.’

  Mikael listened as she continued speaking to Trinity, who was surely pleading with her to go back before the situation got out of hand.

  ‘I think one week of freedom is a very good deal,’ Layla said. ‘And I warn you: if you tell my father—if you look for me—then I shall take my barrister’s advice and go to an embassy.’ Layla handed Mikael the phone. ‘My brother wants to speak with you again.’

  ‘Whoever you are—’ Zahid’s voice was still supremely calm but it cracked near the end of his words ‘—please look after her.’ />
  Mikael was just about to point out that that wasn’t in his job description, but then he looked over to Layla.

  How could he send her out onto the streets alone?

  ‘She’ll be fine,’ Mikael said.

  ‘I need your word.’

  ‘Hey,’ Mikael said, ‘you’re not my client.’

  ‘I’ll be paying your bill,’ Zahid said, and Mikael ended the call and threw the phone on the desk and looked at his problem.

  ‘You are trouble,’ he said, and Layla smiled.

  ‘I know that I am.’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  WHERE TO HOUSE the runaway princess? Mikael thought as her eyes lit on his chessboard and she walked across his office.

  ‘Leave it!’ he warned, because he played against himself and chess was part of his process when he was working through a case and needed fifteen minutes away from it at a time.

  ‘But I can see checkmate!’ Layla said.

  ‘Layla!’ Mikael warned again, and strode over. ‘Leave it!’

  He pointed his finger at her and blinked as her teeth made a biting noise and she smiled widely at him.

  She was like a little wild animal.

  Sex had previously been the last thing on his mind.

  That would happen after the trial—as soon as possible after the trial—when Mikael would make up for all he had missed out on as he surfaced to the world.

  Sex, though, was right at the front of his mind now—and starting to make itself known elsewhere.

  ‘Come on.’ His voice was brusque as he opened his office door. ‘Wendy…’ he called as Layla followed him out, but then Mikael halted. It would be easier to drop her off himself than explain it all to Wendy, so they walked together to his car.

  ‘This is your car!’ Layla clearly approved. ‘It is very beautiful.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I’d love to drive it.’

  ‘But then I’d have to kill you,’ Mikael said, opening the passenger side door for her.

  ‘You are much more polite than the taxi driver,’ Layla said.

  Mikael got in himself and before driving off called his favourite hotel.