The Sheikh's Troublesome Bride

by Leslie North

  “That is correct. That means she is still here in the camp.”

  PJ didn’t like the fact that the teams had missed finding her during the first search. She whistled, gaining everyone’s attention and asked, “Would you mind telling everyone what you just told me? My Arabic is rusty and they keep correcting me. Tell them that we search each tent again, but this time, every nook and cranny of each tent will be gone through. I also want all of the occupants of each tent outside while we search.”

  Talib was impressed with her plan; one he would have implemented himself given the chance. He quickly spoke to the guards and worker’s present, telling them to divide themselves up into groups of four. Two would search the tent, and two would stand guard outside with the tent’s occupants. At the first sign of struggle or if they found Miss Malone, they would fire their weapons into the air three times and hold their position until help arrived.

  After everyone dispersed, PJ found herself alone with Talib. “How is the Sheikh doing?”

  “He longs for something to destroy. Your boss arrived just as I was leaving the palace. I imagine he and the men he has brought with him will join us soon.”

  PJ nodded, having already received a text from Slade that he was in country and headed her way. “She has to be here, somewhere. Two people cannot just have disappeared so easily.”

  Talib thought about her words and then placed a call on his phone. PJ listened to him, only picking up pieces of his conversation, enough to know that he was making inquiries into the guard who was also missing.

  The grim expression on his face told her all was not well back at the palace. “What?!”

  “The guard that with her when she disappeared.”

  “Yeah, what about him?” PJ demanded, wondering if they had missed something.

  “I suspected he had something to do with Miss Malone’s disappearance and I was correct. When I asked for them to do a background check on him, I never looked at it. I was sent to retrieve Miss Malone’s parents when it hit my desk.”

  “Well, what did we miss?”

  “He’s the son of a conservative Islamic group, based in the country next door. His father most recently served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs before the war broke out. He was killed when the rebels took over the palace.”

  “So is this a revenge thing, then?”

  “No. It is a holy war. The conservative group he belongs to abhors the new western influences on their culture. They wish to practice Islam the way their forefathers practiced it, and their fathers before them.”

  “But that’s archaic! No civilization remains the same century after century!”

  “They do not see it that way. They see it as protecting and maintaining the purity of their beliefs.”

  PJ let the impact of what he was telling her sink in. Fighting a holy war was much harder than fighting for democracy or justice. PJ stared at Talib, seeing the answering knowledge in his eyes. The stakes were much higher than originally thought and it was imperative that they locate the missing bride of the Sheikh. The future of Jawhara hung in the balance, as well as the peace the region was currently enjoying.

  PJ walked away, intent on making sure the American agents with her knew the game had just changed. Talib watched the small woman walk away from him, admiring her small compact form and swinging blonde hair.

  Talib had always had a fondness for blondes, ever since he had accompanied Kale to Harvard. Women with blonde hair were not a normal occurrence in his part of the world, and he had always found the contrast between their coloring and his own striking.

  He hoped that this situation could be resolved quickly. Kamal had already informed him that the American security team would be staying in country for a minimum of two months. Talib smiled to himself as he thought of all the things he could show the little American spitfire in that amount of time.

  Bringing his thoughts back around to the present, he headed in the opposite direction. He would plan the seduction of the little American after Miss Malone was found. It would be his way of celebrating a job well done. He only hoped she could be encouraged to celebrate with him.

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  The Denver Men Series

  CEO’s Pregnant Lover (Excerpt Below!)

  The Marine’s Virgin Lover

  The FBI Agent’s Reluctant Lover

  Other Sheikh Stories

  The Botros Brothers Series

  The Sheikh’s Accidental Pregnancy (Excerpt Below!)

  The Sheikh’s Defiant Girlfriend: May 2014

  Excerpt from ‘CEO’s Pregnant Lover’ (Download Instantly – Click here)

  “HR, Janet speaking. How may I he-”

  “Janet? Trent. I need you to send up a replacement for Pam. Her daughter was injured in an accident, and she just left to go take care of the children and such. I’ve no idea how long she will be gone, so send me someone that you weren’t planning on firing at the end of the week.” Trent said matter-of-factly. He didn’t really care if she fired twenty people each week; if they couldn’t do the job they could find somewhere else to work.

  Janet Marshall worked as the head of HR for Coldwell Enterprises. She was not only a friend, she was the toughest woman Trent had working for him. She was also his second cousin and married to his best friend from college. While Janet didn’t have to work another day in her life, she enjoyed managing people and understood Trent in a way others didn’t. He was as alpha as they came, she’d never met a more dominating, arrogant man until Trent had come along.

  “Oh dear! Which one of Pam’s daughters was hurt?” Janet asked with obvious concern in her voice. Pam had worked for the company for as long as she could remember, first as Trent’s father’s personal assistant, and now for Trent. She was one of the nicest women Janet had ever worked with and she only hoped that her daughter wasn’t too badly hurt.

  “Susan,” Trent replied, thinly hiding his impatience.

  The timing couldn’t be worse as Trent was in the process of acquiring a large production company in Europe and the contracts that had been drawn up by his European office were in chaos. He had been in the process of finalizing his corrections when Pam had announced that she must leave immediately. He needed these contracts fixed today!

  “Oh, no. And she just delivered twins a few months back. That poor woman,” Janet commiserated over the phone. “Don’t worry about it; I have just the girl in mind. She’s only been working here for about six months, but her reviews are excellent.”

  Janet was thinking of the young woman she had hired a little over six months back. Janet had interviewed her and been surprised at how mature she seemed for someone only twenty-four years old. Smiling to herself, she tried to envision how Trent would react to the young woman who wore her hair like a fifty year old, clothing that didn’t fit her body, or compliment her natural coloring, and honestly had no idea of just how attractive she could be. On top of all that, she was the most capable woman Janet had hired in months.

  “Whatever - just send her up after lunch. I’m right in the middle of negotiations for that buyout in Germany, and Pam didn’t have time to make the corrections on the contract yet. I need them by 3 o’clock - if not sooner.”

  “Not to worry. I’ll go tell her now and then send her to lunch. I assume that I can offer her the same benefits and salary that Pam was drawing?”

  “Of course.” Trent started to hang up the phone when he heard Janet call him back. Sighing, he put the phone back to his ear and answered, “What?” Damn it, he had work to do. He didn’t have time to chitchat with Janet; that’s what her husband was for. He’d mention just that fact to Shawn next time he saw him.

  Janet took a breath and thought about kee
ping this information to herself, but then she decided that Trent would want to know. “Shawn and I went to that symphony fundraiser last night.”

  Trent waited for her to continue, and when she didn’t, he impatiently replied, “And? I assume it was a smashing success and all that.”

  “It was, but that wasn’t my point.”

  “Well, get to it. I have work to do and so do you.”

  “I saw Marco Bresi there.” Janet said in a rush, holding her breath for the explosion she assumed was coming. When nothing happened, she paused, letting Trent digest what she had just told him. Marco Bresi was a very wealthy, and very influential businessman in Europe. He and Trent had a past marked with tragedy and Marco had stayed in Europe for the last three years because of it. Janet had been shocked to see him back in the States, especially in Denver.

  Trent was silent as he let Janet’s words sink in. Serena’s father was back in the states. Trent immediately tamped down on the emotion that threatened to sideline his focus. He hadn’t thought of Serena for several months now, and wanted to keep it that way.

  Serena Bresi had taken the fashion world by storm at the age of sixteen. Three years after that, she had met Trent at a fundraiser in New York City and they had fallen madly in love. At least, Trent thought she had been in love with him as much as he had been with her.

  Their love affair had been the subject of all the social magazines and the paparazzi had hounded them mercilessly. When Trent had taken over Coldwell Enterprises from his father, he had immediately used his many contacts in Europe to expand the company overseas.

  Everything had been going smoothly, or so he thought. Serena had signed a contract with a large fashion house in Milan and had temporarily moved to Italy. Trent had missed her, but had so many things on his plate in the states, that the time had just seemed to slip away.

  Four months later, he had flown to Milan to surprise Serena for the weekend. He had gone straight to her flat, flowers in hand, surprised to find her home in the middle of the afternoon. The surprise had been on him, however, as she had answered the door with the arms of her current lover wrapped intimately around her.

  Trent had been so furious, he had immediately left and returned to the airport. His private jet had been airborne several hours later. Serena had called him repeatedly, but he had ignored her calls. Trent valued honesty and loyalty above all else, and her betrayal had hurt him deeply. He had let it be known to the media, that they had decided to break things off, but were still friends. He’d had no wish to tarnish her reputation in the publics’ eyes.

  When she had called him three weeks later during the middle of the night, he had reached for the phone, unaware that she was on the other end of the line. Having been caught off-guard, he had listened as she tearfully apologized and begged for his help. It seemed that she had just found out she was pregnant and expected Trent to come to her rescue. Trent knew there was no possible way the baby was his since he hadn’t touched Serena for over five months.

  Trent had been repulsed and hung up the phone without replying. Two days later, he received news that Serena had driven her car off a bridge. Her suicide note made it seem that Trent had refused to do the right thing and marry her, and that she couldn’t bear to shame her family by having a child out of wedlock.

  Marco Bresi, Serena’s heartbroken father, had managed to keep the suicide note out of the media, but had vowed to get revenge for Serena’s death. He blamed Trent for causing her death. Trent had thought of telling Marco the truth, but didn’t think that her grief-stricken father was in any position to listen at the time so had kept silent.

  True to his word, Marco had started to go after Trent, keeping their feud to the business world, thus far, but Trent knew that it was only a matter of time before Marco started trying to attack him in his personal life as well. Now that Marco had personally come to Denver, it seemed that time had arrived.

  “Did you speak with him?” Trent asked.

  “He didn’t give us a choice. He made a point of cornering us during the intermission. Trent, there was such hatred in his eyes when he asked about you. I know you and Serena broke up before her death…”

  “Janet, let it go. I told you then, and I’ll tell you the same thing now. What happened between Serena and myself was between us. I will not discuss it and as she’s dead, there really is no point. Marco believes some things that are not true. I’ve tried to correct his thinking, but he doesn’t want to hear it. That is on him.” Trent took a breath and then continued, “Now, we both have work to do. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss with me?”

  Janet wondered if she should just let it go like Trent had commanded, but then pushed forward anyway, “Trent, he asked me to deliver a message to you.”

  Trent clenched his jaw and then looked to the ceiling before asking Janet to continue. Whatever the message was, he assumed it was more threat than anything and part of him felt bad that Janet and her husband had been put in the middle of his and Marco’s feud.

  “Tell me.”

  “He warned me that you were going to get what you deserve and that I should tell you to watch your back very carefully. He also mentioned a company called Global Tech. Does that mean anything to you?”

  Trent cursed softly and quickly pulled his keyboard towards him and pulled up the information on the company they were currently buying out. When he scrolled down through the list of shareholders, he cursed again. How could he have missed something like that? Marco Bresi’s company owned thirty-two percent of the stock. No wonder he was in the states. He must have gotten wind that Coldwell Enterprises was in the process of negotiating a hostile takeover and was already talking with bidders, for when the company was split apart. The current shareholders stood to lose a lot of money when that happened.

  Trent had dealt with Marco trying to derail other business negotiations, and Trent had made it a point to stay away from any company attached to the Bresi family name. He had no wish to harm Marco or his family, and didn’t have time for complications with this current negotiation.

  Pinching the bridge of his nose, he held his breath and then let it go in a rush, “Janet, don’t worry about it. I’ll handle the problem. Get me that assistant.” Trent hung up the phone and then went back to reading the contract in front of him, making marks with a red pen as he went. He would deal with Marco later. Right now, he needed to finish these contract papers.

  Janet shook her head as she said “Goodbye” to a dead line. Trent exasperated her with his ability to be rude without trying. One of these days she hoped he learned to curb his impatience, just a little bit. Shaking her head, she placed the call that would bring Trent’s stand-in assistant to her office and hoped that whatever Marco Bresi was planning would fail before it got off the ground.

  *****

  Trent Coldwell was the CEO of Coldwell Enterprises. If someone were to ask what the company did, the answers would vary. Coldwell Enterprises had many interests, but mainly purchased failing companies and then either sold them off in pieces, or turned them around and made them leaders in their market. They did their job very well.

  At the age of thirty-one, Trent Coldwell was one of Denver’s most eligible bachelors, never lacking for female companionship, but never being seen with the same women for more than a few weeks. The fact that he was richer than Croesus didn’t hurt his eligibility either.

  Trent Coldwell had inherited the company from his father upon his retirement, and had immediately implemented changes. He had successfully taken it from a small regional firm, and created an international mega-company with interests worldwide.

  Not known for his patience, he briefly thought of calling Janet back and making sure that she was sending him someone who knew how to work and wouldn’t burst into tears at the first sign of criticism. He was a perfectionist and expected the same from his employees. He often spoke his mind and had been told by more than one employee that he should take lessons in how to communicate effectively. Trent sc
offed at the idea. He communicated fine. He told people what to do and they did it. End of story. He saw no reason to explain his requests as he was the boss and as they worked for him, it shouldn’t matter why he wanted something done. His employees were paid to take care of the job to the best of their ability. Deciding that he would just send the girl away if she were unsuitable, he went back to reading his contract.

  Excerpt from ‘CEO’s Pregnant Lover’ (Download Instantly – Click here)

  Excerpt From ‘The Sheikh’s Accidental Pregnancy’

  “She's adorable,” Fiddah said to Tariq as Sara walked away. He was watching her walk with his usual blank face. He turned to look at Fiddah.

  “Amir keeps saying that. I do not see it,” Tariq said and picked up his menu. Fiddah laughed.

  “This is you we are talking about.”

  He lowered his menu and narrowed his gaze at her. “I am not the problem here,” he defended himself. The waitress reappeared to take their orders. She was watching him and blushing whilst he was speaking to her. Fiddah watched the waitress turn red.

  “When do you plan to marry?” Fiddah asked Tariq as soon as the waitress left. Tariq frowned at his grandmother.

  “What brought this on?” He was confused with her sudden change of topic even though it was not the first time she had questioned him about marriage.

  “The waitress was blushing when she was speaking with you but you did not even notice. Makes me wonder if you notice women.”

  Tariq sighed before he replied. He was so used to women blushing in his presence that it did not even faze him anymore. The waitress came back carrying their drinks. Tariq sunk in his chair and watched her. She noticed him looking at her and she immediately started smiling. He raised one eyebrow. He waited for her to leave before he commented.

  “Marriage is not for me and even if it was, she would not be my type,” he said and took a sip from his glass. Fiddah shook her head. For years, she had been trying to convince him to marry but failed.