For Duty's Sake

by Lucy Monroe

  Elsa’s shoulders gave an elegant roll, sort of a shrug and sort of something else.

  Angele’s gaze flicked to Zahir to see his reaction, but his eyes were fixed intently on her and her alone.

  “Do you believe her?” Angele asked him.

  “It does not matter if I do, or not.”

  “Because you will not leave it to chance.”

  “No. Even as we speak, he is on his way to Zohra to face blackmail charges.”

  “What?” Elsa demanded a lot louder than was probably wise.

  Zahir finally settled his gaze on her and Angele shivered. She wouldn’t want that look fixed on her. Ever.

  “I am not convinced you were unaware of your brother’s schemes. In fact, I can almost guarantee he’s too stupid to have considered Angele the better target.”

  Elsa blanched.

  “If he names you as accomplice, expect extradition proceedings.”

  “But you can’t do this. I brought you the pictures.”

  “Thank you. They and your brother’s hard drive will be used as evidence in his trial.”

  Elsa looked stunned. “But that’s not fair.”

  Angele wondered at the other woman’s lack of understanding of the way that Zahir thought and the type of action that thought process would lead to.

  “And you think blackmail is fair?” he asked, not sounding like he really cared if she did, or not.

  “But you said you would not prosecute if I ceased and desisted.”

  Had Zahir ever really fallen for that damsel in distress act? Angele could barely suppress the need to roll her eyes.

  Looking as unimpressed as she could hope, Zahir said, “That was when I believed you to be the culprit. I owed you some level of protection, regardless of how things ended between us.” He was an old-fashioned guy. He’d said so on more than one occasion. Zahir would not have sent Elsa to prison, unless she forced him to it. Her brother, on the other hand, was another matter. Being a man, being someone willing to trade on his sister’s former relationship, in Zahir’s eyes, Mr. Bosch was fair game.

  “But Hans wasn’t going to do anything more.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course.”

  Zahir looked intently at the other woman, as if weighing her veracity. Angele, for one, believed her or at least that Elsa believed what she’d said.

  “Then, explain the blackmail letter Angele’s father received last week.”

  “My father?” Angele asked in shock as Elsa’s perfectly painted mouth opened and closed like a landed carp.

  Zahir returned his gaze to Angele. “Yes. Cemal came to me immediately with the demand.”

  “Oh, stop harping.” Elsa frowned at him. “You make Hans sound like a criminal when he was just trying his luck.”

  “I did not say it was Hans, Aziz.”

  Elsa gasped and then glared at them both. “So, that’s it. You’ve tricked me into naming my brother and providing you with evidence against him.”

  “Would you prefer to face the charges on your own?” Zahir asked pitilessly.

  Once again, the other woman went pale, this time her hands shaking as she went for a sip of her white wine.

  “No.”

  “I thought not.”

  “I could still go to the tabloids with my story.”

  “You’ve tied all your money up in your productions company. You can’t afford to pay me back.”

  “So sue me for the money, the story will be out there for all the world to see.”

  “I have already released an official statement admitting a past liaison with you that I deeply regret along with the news that your brother will be tried for blackmail in my country.” He was speaking to Elsa, but looking at Angele, as if her reaction was the only one that mattered.

  “That sounds like the smartest move you could make.” He’d shown her with news of the baby that in some cases transparency circumvented a media frenzy.

  Once again Elsa did her carp impression and this time it was even less attractive than the last. “I…”

  Zahir turned back to her. “Would do well to keep your media silence. Or you will pay the price for your poor judgment just as your brother must pay the price for his.”

  “But that’s all it was, it was poor judgment. He can’t go to prison for that.”

  “Poor judgment that leads to breaking the law also leads to jail.” Zahir shrugged and stood. “It is the way of things.”

  He put his hand out to Angele. “Come, ya habibti.”

  She stood without hesitation. She still had plenty of questions for Zahir, but they could wait for privacy. She turned to Elsa before leaving. “You have a choice right now.”

  Elsa said nothing, but cocked her head as if inviting Angele to continue.

  “Zahir forgave your betrayal and was willing to overlook even worse in his eyes because of your shared past. Don’t make him an enemy now.”

  “Isn’t he already?”

  “If he was, you would be on the plane with Hans right now.”

  “He’s my brother.”

  “I understand that, but he broke the law and my guess is this isn’t the first time.”

  Elsa’s flinch confirmed Angele’s supposition.

  “It’s just the first time he’s had to pay for it. Believe it, or not, Zahir is doing Hans a favor.”

  “How do you work that out?”

  “The next time, your brother could have attempted to blackmail the wrong person. That person might not take legal recourse, but something far more permanent than a few years in prison.”

  “But prison in Zohra.”

  “Isn’t a third-world hellhole. It’s prison. With family visitation and guards who face far stricter reprisal for corruption than most other developed nations.”

  Elsa’s eyes filled with tears, but she nodded. “I’m not stupid. I’m not going to the media with a tell-all.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  “He was always yours.”

  “I’ve come to realize that.”

  “I deserved a chance at happiness.” Elsa meant the man she’d betrayed Zahir with.

  “Yes, you did. But so do we.”

  “Can he serve his time in a German prison?” Elsa asked Zahir without looking at him. “At least then, I could visit him often.”

  Zahir did not answer, but Angele gave the other woman a look meant to convey her intention of discussing the matter with him. Elsa must have gotten it because she nodded slightly.

  The waiter was coming with Angele’s salad as she and Zahir walked away from the table. Zahir instructed the clearly confused man to have her food delivered to his suite.

  Neither Zahir nor Angele spoke on the elevator ride up to their floor. Once they were in his room, he let out a deep sigh, but didn’t say anything, either.

  “Was this the State business you had to take care of?”

  “No, but the other business made a good cover for handling this issue.” Zahir looked like he was waiting for something.

  An explosion perhaps? Only Angele didn’t feel like exploding.

  “Do you have any more work you have to do today?” she asked him.

  “No.”

  “Would you like to come to the Fashion Week with me?”

  She didn’t think she’d ever seen Zahir looking so nonplussed.

  And then he frowned. “No. And I would prefer you did not leave, either.”

  “Why is that?”

  “You know why.”

  “Spell it out for me.”

  “We need to talk.”

  “About?”

  “About what happened in the dining room, damn it.”

  Zahir rarely cursed in her presence.

  She took heart in it. He was upset. And while maybe she should feel badly about that, she was actually pleased. “What exactly did you want to talk about?”

  “You caught me having a meal with my former mistress.”

  “You were gathering evidence for the court case
against her brother.”

  “You would expect me to have told you my plans prior to meeting him. I’m sure you are further angered by the fact I did not tell you about the attempt to blackmail your father.”

  “Nope.” She thought about it to make sure and then shook her head. “Not angry.”

  He opened his mouth, but then closed it again without speaking.

  “You wanted to protect me from upset while I was pregnant.”

  “I cannot guarantee I would behave differently if you were not pregnant,” he said, as if admitting some deep dark secret.

  “I get that.”

  “You do?”

  “What do you think I mean when I tell you that I love you, Zahir?”

  “I do not know.”

  “That’s becoming more than a little apparent. I don’t just love the bits about you I find comfortable. I know you see the world through eyes influenced by generations of responsibility that comes with your role. You protect your family, you protect your people, you protect me. It’s in your DNA.”

  “That does not bother you?”

  “I’m not promising never to get angry, or call you out over it, but for the most part? It makes me feel safe. Cherished.”

  “I do cherish you.”

  “I believe you.”

  “You do?” his voice was tinged with wonder.

  She smiled. Nodded. “I do.”

  “I did not want you under more stress than you already are.”

  “I understand.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. I would do the same for you.”

  For once, it was easy to read her world leader love’s facial expression. Utter shock and a shade of disbelief.

  She laughed. “Don’t you think your mother has ever protected your father from stress when she could?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “No buts, we’ll both protect each other.”

  “Do you think I am being too harsh on Elsa’s brother?”

  “No, but if you can work it out so he serves his time closer to his sister, I think that would be good.”

  Zahir nodded. “It will be done.”

  “For me, but not for her?” she asked, curious that he had shown no indication of even hearing the other woman’s request.

  “Yes.”

  “She said you’ve always been mine.”

  “You said you believed her.”

  “I do. I didn’t for a while,” Angele admitted. “I do now, though.”

  “What changed?”

  “I figured out that you love me.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not even sure you haven’t always loved me, but you wouldn’t let yourself consider such a thing because I stayed thirteen in your mind. You transferred your feelings for me onto Elsa, but not enough to allow you to even consider marrying her instead of me.”

  “How…I…” He went silent for several long moments, took a deep breath and let it out. “You’re right.”

  “Say it.”

  “I will on our wedding day.”

  “Yes, you will, but you’ll say it now, too.”

  “Now who is being bossy?”

  “You’d be bored silly with a pushover.”

  “I love you.”

  She started to cry, but he didn’t say anything. How could he? His own eyes were just as wet.

  He made her eat the salad before taking her into the bedroom and laying her gently on the bed.

  “Another wedding night?” she asked softly as he divested them both of their clothes.

  “A night of affirmation. I love you beyond reason. It is not an emotion I ever thought to experience. I know now what I felt in the past was lust mixed with relief at being just a man, for a few short hours. But I realized something, I’ve never been able to leave my role behind…not even when I was with her. Only with you, can I be what I am and still be free to be just a man.”

  “You are the man I love, the man I have always loved.” Her words came out breathless as he touched her in places that made her quiver, squirm and moan.

  “And you are the woman I love, will always love.” And then he proved it with his body, making gentle, long love to her, repeating the words in every language he spoke fluently and a few he did not.

  When he yelled out Aziz when he climaxed, she knew she really was his beloved.

  EPILOGUE

  ANGELE wore the dress Zahir had given her on their first night together for their wedding, making his mother cry and his father beam with unadulterated joy. Their wedding celebration lasted a full week before he took her on a honeymoon to Paris, telling her it was appropriate for them.

  It was the City of Lovers after all.

  They were at the top of the Eiffel Tower when he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his body as they looked out over the City of Light. “Beautiful.”

  “It is.” She snuggled back against him. “I want to hold this moment in my heart forever.”

  “We can get my bodyguard to take a picture.”

  She smiled. He was a crown sheikh; they went nowhere without security, but sometimes that came in handy. Like when getting snapshots of their honeymoon highlights.

  At least the security detail didn’t share their suite, just had rooms on either side of them.

  “Let’s,” she said, in answer to his suggestion.

  He made the request in Arabic and then bent down to kiss her as their guard pressed the button for their picture with Paris at night in the background.

  She was breathless and bemused when Zahir lifted his head.

  “You are in all the pictures of my future that my heart can see.”

  She accepted his words for truth. She understood…she’d never seen a future for herself without him in it, no matter how hard she’d tried to for that brief time.

  No wonder he refused to dismiss the idea of an arranged marriage for their child.

  It had certainly worked out for them.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-0550-5

  FOR DUTY’S SAKE

  First North American Publication 2011

  Copyright © 2011 by Lucy Monroe

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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