The Sheikh's Crown (Sheikh's Wedding Bet Series Book 2)

by Leslie North

  “What did you just do?” she asked as she joined him.

  “Much like you, I didn’t spend time at the mall. When I was a kid, I used to sneak into the collection room. My parents installed the sensor to keep me out, so I had to learn how to bypass it without them knowing. It took a little digging on the Internet, but I finally figured out how to disable the sensor and reconnect it without anyone knowing. It’s the same model.”

  “You love this,” she said dryly. “Who knew you would be better at this than me?”

  “Well, you do have better legs,” he said dryly as he grinned at her.

  Samine smiled back at him before returning her attention to the wall. “Okay, now we just need to figure out how to get the door open.” She moved her hands around to find the switch to the fake wall. Bending down to inspect the bottom of the table, she looked over. “Enjoying the view?”

  Was he ever. “Are you complaining?”

  Suddenly there was a quiet whirr, and she straightened and stepped back. He watched as the whole wall opened up. “That’s impressive,” he murmured.

  “We have to be quick,” she said as she stepped in. “My God, you realize that all of this stuff is stolen, right?”

  A bad feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. She was a thief, and he was practically handing her a candy store. Still, part of him wanted to believe that she was more than that.

  “Focus,” he said softly. “We’re in and out, remember?”

  “Right.” She gave him a tight smile. “You start on that side, and I’ll start on this side. We’re looking for the three missing necklaces. As a collector, he would display them together, but as a paranoid thief, he will probably have them kept separate.”

  Trust. He needed to trust her. Turning his head, he tried to focus on the pieces. Some of them were exquisite, and he understood Anton’s need to have them. They were amazing, but they were just things. Valuable. Historical. But Anton risked his freedom to have them. He couldn’t understand the connection someone could have to an inanimate object.

  “I found two of them,” he said as he lifted them from the display case.” Turning, he watched as she slipped something into her purse. “Samine?”

  “Is it the crown?” she asked when she turned to him. She gave him an expectant look.

  She didn’t know. She didn’t know that he had seen her. “No. Not the crown,” he said softly.

  “The crown isn’t here. I guess he’s keeping it hidden. Come on. We need to go.” She moved past him, and he reached out and grabbed her arm.

  “Samine, what are you doing?” he asked softly. “Is it really worth it?” He couldn’t keep the disappointment out of his voice when he realized she had stolen the necklace.

  She gave him a sad look and opened her mouth to say something, but an ear-piercing alarm drew her attention away. “The alarm. We have to go now.”

  They both raced to the hall but guards were coming from the stairwell. Adil took a deep breath as he the weapons in their hands. They were never going to make it out alive if he didn’t do something. “Go,” he said urgently. “Go!”

  “Adil,” she said with horror in her eyes. “What are you doing? We have to go together.”

  He didn’t have time to argue with her. Turning, he threw a punch at the first man and saw one trying to slip past him. “Go,” he yelled again as he reached out and grabbed the man. Suddenly, he was on the ground, and several men were on top of him.

  He took several punches and kicks before hearing the unmistakable sound of a hammer of a gun being cocked. Feeling the blood running down his face, he closed his eyes and waited for the shot that didn’t come.

  He heard more footsteps on the stairs and men identifying themselves as the police. Adil opened his eyes to see that they were surrounded by the local police. With a groan, he turned to see if Samine was still there, but she was gone.

  13

  After sitting in the jail cell all night, Adil waited as the police returned with a translator. He took one look at Adil and turned to speak rapidly to the officer who nodded and left. The translator turned back to Adil, “Sheikh, I would recognize you anywhere. I’ve told the police to call your family for lawyers. Care to tell me what you’re doing in here?”

  Adil knocked his head back on the wall and sighed. “Tommy Grey is Anton Negatin. He stole from my family’s Bathsheba collection, and I was simply there to get it back.”

  The translator nodded. “Apparently the police knew that Anton Negatin was masquerading as Tommy Grey. They were monitoring the house the night of the party. Why did you steal it yourself? Why not just call the police to retrieve your things?”

  Adil thought of Samine. “It was a personal family matter,” he muttered.

  The police returned and muttered a few things to the translator. Finally, the translator turned. “Your family has been notified. Once the paperwork is pushed through, you’ll be released. The police department offers their sincerest apologies for the mix up.”

  Adil nodded. Great. His family had been notified. No doubt, they had a few choice words for him about his decision to free Samine and go after the jewels himself.

  He knew that Samine took the necklace. It was more important than he had ever been to her. He’d been such a fool.

  But he wasn’t the type of man to mourn the loss of a woman. He didn’t do that. He left one woman and went straight to another, and that’s exactly what he would do. He’d face his family’s wrath, and he’d shrug it off. This is what they expected of him. He’d endure their disappointment, and he’d go on with his life. It had been awhile since he’d been to a decent party. People would start to wonder.

  “Okay. Paperwork is done. You’re free to go. The police are keeping the necklaces for evidence, but once they have what they need, they’ll release the artifacts to you.” The translator smiled as the officer unlocked the door to his cell. “Your family has arranged for your return home. The driver will take you to the airport.”

  Adil sighed and stretched. “Thank you,” he muttered. “And tell the police no hard feelings. They were just doing their job.”

  “There’s one other thing,” the man said nervously. “The police say that guests think that you were with a woman, but they couldn’t find her when they interviewed everyone. Can you identify her?”

  This was his chance to redeem himself with his family. He could come clean and tell them the truth. He obviously meant nothing to her, so there was no reason to keep protecting her. “I didn’t arrive with anyone,” he said instead. “I picked the most beautiful woman in the room and spent the rest of my evening with her. I don’t know her name. I don’t usually remember names.”

  The translator gave him a knowing smile and spoke to the police. They all started chuckling and waved him through. Adil felt hollow as he walked past them. He was still protecting her.

  And she didn’t give a damn about him.

  “You released Samine Isme without my authorization. You broke into Anton Negatin’s house and nearly got yourself killed. Then you get thrown jail,” Jaymin shouted. “Is this what is going to happen every time I try to give you anything to do?”

  “Jaymin,” Masoud said in a warning tone. “Take a step back.”

  “Don’t tell me to step back,” Jaymin said as he whirled on him. “You just got back. You haven’t been here to deal with his mess.”

  “My mess?” Adil said softly. “You’ve got be kidding me. You were going to try Samine Isme for the robbery. You didn’t even listen when I told you that she didn’t do it. You don’t listen to me. You want to know who fucked this up? You did. You’ve been so damn busy pointing out everything I’ve been doing wrong that you completely missed what was going right. I had things under control. If you hadn’t stepped in to try to fix things, we could have avoided half this mess and gotten Anton arrested. Instead, he’s disappeared. Again. This is on you, Jaymin. Stop blaming me because you wouldn’t release control long enough to let me finish what I started.”r />
  Jaymin stared at him. “Adil.”

  “No,” Adil snapped. “You don’t get to talk. When Anton stole from Masoud, you didn’t call him incompetent. You let him fix the mess, and he did. Now, you’re going to let me fix mine.”

  Masoud stepped forward. “When things went south, you two pointed out that I was too close to see things clearly. Samine stole from us, Adil. And whether you want to admit it or not, you’re too close to this.”

  “I’m not,” Adil said coldly. “I have no delusions about how this is going to end. We still have an agreement with the Louvre, and we’re going to uphold the agreement. And once that is settled, I will handle Samine.”

  Jaymin stepped forward, but Masoud grabbed his arm. “Fine,” he said. “We’ll let you handle it.”

  “What?” Jaymin said as he turned around. “We could do this together.”

  “No. I’ll do it alone.” His brother didn’t say anything else to argue with him, and Adil nodded. “Good. Now where the hell is Bruce?”

  He found the man down in the vaults cataloguing the other items. “Bruce,” Adil muttered as he leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

  The man looked up nervously and pushed his glasses up. “I had nothing to do with Anton stealing the collection. I swear.”

  “I believe you. Unlike some people,” Adil muttered.

  Bruce looked down. “This is a big job for me. I know I have a reputation, but I want to do a good job. So when it got stolen right out from under me, I took it personally, and I lashed out. I made a mistake. I should never have accused you, but you lied to me.”

  “Like you said. You have a reputation,” Adil pointed out. “As do I. I needed this to work, and I figured you would run and tell on me when it became clear that things went wrong. We all made mistakes, and I suggest that we move past it.”

  “Move past it. I agree. What do you want to do from here?”

  “The police have shipped over two of the missing pieces,” Adil said as he jogged down the steps into the vault. “We need to go over the authentication process so there aren’t any doubts. The Louvre is giving us a few days’ extension, and the collection will go on display this weekend.”

  Bruce nodded. “Okay. That’s fine. We can do that. But there is still one piece missing.”

  “I know. We’ll leave the display case empty. She’s going to bring it back. I know she is.”

  “That’s a lot of faith in someone that you barely know,” Bruce muttered.

  “I don’t have to explain anything to you,” Adil muttered. “Let me know what you need to get this done, and no more opinions from you. Are we clear?”

  “We’re clear.”

  14

  The curator of the museum watched Adil move through the collection. He twisted a cloth in his hands and took a deep breath. “This is highly unusual,” he muttered, not for the first time. Adil was getting tired of hearing it.

  “I understand that it’s unusual,” Adil said with an edge in his voice. “But if you want this collection, you’re going to abide by my terms.”

  The curator nodded. “Of course. Of course. We’re very happy to have your collection and abide by your terms.”

  “Good.” Adil walked around the collection in the empty museum. The public would be streaming in soon to take a look at everything. These pieces had collected dust in the vaults for years, and now they would finally be appreciated.

  A shadow passed over him, and he looked up sharply. “Fleur.”

  “Adil. The display looks lovely,” she said with a smile. “And I can’t help but notice that you were admiring it as well.”

  “I did a good job.” He caught her withering look and smiled. “Bruce did a good job as well.”

  Fleur chuckled. “I heard. Bruce makes mistakes, Adil, we all do. I’m glad that you two patched things up, and it’s clear you worked well together.” Fleur paused in front of the empty display case and looked at him quizzically. “However, I’ve noticed that one of the display cases is empty.”

  “You are correct,” Adil snapped back and winced at his tone. He liked Fleur, but he wasn’t about to discuss the situation with her. It was clear where she stood on thieves. And it was just as clear that Samine was a thief.

  “I think it’s great,” she said softly. She reached out and touched his arm. “Your brothers are hard on you, Adil, but you handled everything just as they would have. But they won’t ever tell you that.”

  Adil gave her a small smile. “It’s nice to have you back, Fleur.”

  “It’s nice to be back. I’ll give you a few minutes to admire your work.” Fleur laughed.

  Alone, Adil crossed his arms and studied the empty display case. The museum would open in an hour, and he had been almost sure that Samine would return. But now, he wasn’t so sure. She’d had days to come back.

  “Fuck it,” he muttered. He was wrong. He really was the fool.

  Turning his back on the display case, he closed his eyes. Anger set in. Samine didn’t care about it. He’d given her plenty of time to ask for forgiveness, and she just hadn’t followed through.

  “Your collection looks like it’s missing something.”

  The familiar voice stilled him. “What am I going to find if I turn around?” he asked hoarsely.

  “I wouldn’t have returned without the necklace, Adil. It’s the real deal, but I understand if you want to have it authenticated just in case. You have no reason to trust me, and I accept that.”

  He still didn’t turn around. If he turned around, she might be gone. “If you need money…”

  “It was never about the money,” she said sharply. “As I’m sure you’re aware, not all of your collection came from recent digs. Some of those pieces have been in your family’s possession for decades, and not all of it came honestly.”

  Adil turned to face her. “If it’s not about money, then what is it about?”

  She handed over the gift box, but he didn’t bother to open it. He knew the real thing was inside. “For the past four hundred years, there’s been an heirloom in my family. Passed down from generation to generation. And thirty years ago, right before my family fled to the United States, it was stolen. My parents grieved. I know it seems ridiculous, but losing that piece seemed to steal the very soul of my family. My father died knowing that he never got it back, and the burden fell to my brother.”

  “Samine.”

  “He’s dying, Adil. He’s sick, and no amount of money or doctors is getting him better. I know he worries about the necklace. I need him to relax so he can get better. I’ve been searching for years for this necklace. I traced it to a poker game where Yasin Khalidizack won it.”

  Adil looked down at the box. “You told me it was about money.”

  “I lied.” She blushed. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but I don’t open up to people easily.”

  “I noticed,” he said dryly.

  A moment of awkward silence settled between them. “Adil, I know that you probably hate me. But I needed you to know why I did it. It’s important to my family, and my family is important to me, but if I steal it, then I’m doing to your family exactly what someone did to mine. And I didn’t want to lie to you anymore.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, I guess that’s all I came here to say. I’m sorry.”

  She turned to leave, and Adil reached out to grab her arm. “Samine, I need to ask you a question.”

  “What?”

  He looked down at the box. “Have you showed your family this?”

  She snorted. “Please. If I had shown this to my family, I would not be able to give it to you now. “

  “And what are you going to tell them?”

  Her features hardened. “I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it out. That’s my problem.”

  “It’s my problem, too, Samine.”

  “Why?”

  Adil traced his fingers over the box. “As it happens, I know the piece that you’re talking about. My great-uncle used to boast ab
out it. And it’s not this necklace. I just wish you would have said something sooner.”

  Her jaw dropped, and she stared at him. “What?”

  “It’s not unusual for royalty to have several pieces of jewelry to adorn their crowns. While this could very well have been part of her crown, it’s not the piece that you’re looking for.” He gave her a smile and held out his hand. “Come with me.”

  Samine stared at the necklace. “It’s not nearly as flashy, is it?” The gold was lustrous and aged, and the gems weren’t polished. “But it’s still beautiful.” She took a deep breath and stared at Adil. “Why are you showing me this?”

  “Yes, Adil. Why are you showing her that?”

  Samine turned to see Adil’s brothers and father standing behind them. None of them looked happy.

  “I should probably not be touching this,” Samine said quietly as she tried to put the necklace back in the display case.

  “No,” Adil said as he pushed the necklace back in her hands. “This piece belongs to you, and you should have it.”

  “Adil, what are you doing?” she whispered. She glanced nervously at his family.

  Jaymin stepped forward. “I’d like an answer to that question as well. Explain yourself, brother.”

  Adil smiled. “I’m sure we all remember the story of how Yasin won this piece in a poker game. It turns out that he won it from a thief. This piece belongs to the Isme family, and we have no right to keep it from her.”

  “You don’t have proof of that,” Jaymin interrupted. “She could be telling you a story to steal from us.”

  “She’s not.” Quadir stepped forward. “Yasin knew that the man was a thief. He used to brag that he was getting priceless items for a steal, and he was right. Samine, on behalf of my family, I would like to apologize to yours. The necklace should be returned to its rightful owner. We are not thieves.”

  Samine felt the weight lift from her shoulders. She sagged against Adil. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You have no idea what this means to my family. What this means to me.”