The Sheikha's Forbidden Lover (The Tazeem Twins Series Book 5)

by Leslie North

  “No, it would be unprofessional,” Kalik replied sternly as Hussain smiled.

  “You take your job too seriously, you need to lighten up sometimes and enjoy something sweet.”

  “As I should, sheik. It is a serious job,” he answered as he looked at Adilah with concern.

  Hussain nodded. “You are one who never strays from duty. That is good but as I have learned, sometimes we do need to enjoy ourselves.”

  Kalik nodded stiffly. His gaze shifted back towards Adilah for a quick second. She had started clearing up the counter tops. She picked up the ceramic bowls and put them in the sink.

  Kalik had known her long enough to see that she was avoiding speaking about the letter, which sat on the counter. While she had a tendency to do reckless things, she never liked it when her family worried about her.

  Adilah tucked her hair behind her ear and started washing the mixing bowls. Kalik wanted to wrap his arms around her and press small kisses on her shoulder to tell her that everything was going to be okay.

  “Your sister received a mysterious letter,” Kalik said to Hussain.

  “Why mysterious?” Hussain wiped his hands with a kitchen towel.

  “It’s nothing,” Adilah said hastily. Kalik picked it up from the counter and handed it to Hussain.

  “I have no idea what it means, but she did not react well to it.”

  Hussain grabbed the letter and read it before looking up at both Kalik and his sister. Adilah approached him and snatched the letter from his hand.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said. She folded the letter and shoved it into her apron pocket.

  “Who sent this? How do they know?” he asked her.

  “Just some stupid threats. That is all.” She returned to the sink and carried on washing the dishes.

  “The maid can do that,” Hussain snapped as he stared at his sister.

  “I want to do it.”

  Looking from one to the other, Kalik suspected that Hussain knew what the letter meant. “I will tighten security,” Kalik stated.

  “There is no need for that, I am fine.”

  “Adilah, what are you hiding?” Hussain asked her. Adilah’s refusal to discuss the letter was causing Kalik and Hussain to worry more and more. She picked up a tea towel and wiped her hands.

  “It’s just a stupid threat. Another one,” she said quietly.

  Chapter 4

  “Another?” Hussain and Kalik roared together.

  They both looked at her in shock and surprise. Adilah knew what was coming. Both of them were so overprotective when it came to her safety, which was why she didn’t want to tell them, because she knew how they were going to react. But Kalik would not let it go, so, she had no choice but to come clean about the matter.

  “Yes, I have received some,” Adilah said quietly. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter. If only she could merge with it and just become invisible.

  “SOME?” Hussain shouted, hardly able to control his temper.

  “Calm down,” Adilah said to him, not that it was going to do any good. Hussain had just gone from zero to one hundred.

  “So more than one?” He wanted clarification on that point.

  “It’s not that serious,” Adilah shifted awkwardly. His gaze was starting to bore a hole in her face.

  “No, it is that serious, Adilah.” He just sounded like their father. It was amazing how much alike they were.

  “You have been receiving threats and you did not think to mention anything to me?” Kalik demanded.

  Adilah shrugged her shoulders trying to keep from visibly shrinking away from two of the most important men in her life. She had always thought to do everything by herself. It was not that serious she kept telling herself. And she knew how much they would worry, which was why she didn’t say anything; especially as it meant giving up her beloved bakery.

  “I did not think it was a big deal,” she lied.

  “It is a big deal,” Hussain told her as Kalik nodded.

  “Adilah, I cannot protect you if you do not tell me what is going on,” Kalik added.

  She knew that Kalik was right; however, she did not want to blow the situation out of proportion. She refused to live in fear. Even though she was well aware that Kalik would only be doing his job by protecting her, she tingled inside hearing him say it. He was so gentle and ferocious at the same time. It made him that much more appealing to her.

  “I know.”

  “What are they threatening you for? What do they want from you?” Hussain asked her.

  “They want me to close my business.” The one she had worked so hard to build and she was definitely not going to give it up for any reason.

  Hussain placed his hands on his hips and cussed in Arabic. “And you have that baking event coming up. I think you should cancel,” he said.

  Adilah’s eyes widened. “I have to do it. I cannot cancel now,” she implored. There was no way she was going to cancel now after all the months she spent preparing for it. She hoped that the event would help portray her city in a positive light. She was tired of seeing headlines of terrorism and atrocities. People needed to know that there were good things here too.

  “No, Adilah, it is not safe. You have to cancel,” Hussain told her. She looked at Kalik, wondering if he felt the same as her brother.

  “Is the event that important?” Kalik asked her.

  “Yes, it is very important to me. Everything has already been organised. Invitations have been sent.” The whole thing was already in motion. She couldn’t and wouldn’t cancel now.

  “I think your life is more important,” Hussain told her as he rubbed her shoulder.

  “This is really important to me, Hussain. I cannot cancel.” After everything she had gone through to set it up, she could not just cancel it. Her brother was being unreasonable.

  Hussain ran his hand through his hair. Adilah understood that he was concerned about her, but she was not going to give in. It was for a good cause. She was grateful when Kalik stepped in.

  “If we increase security and work with the hotel, Adilah would be safe enough; however I need to know about every single letter from now on,” he told her. Adilah gave him a small smile. The last thing she needed was for him to be against the whole idea.

  “Are you serious?” Hussain asked him. He stared at Kalik as if he had really lost his mind.

  Kalik nodded his head. “From experience, I’ve come to realize that the Tazeems will do whatever they want, despite the warnings. So long as we take precautions, I think the best thing to do would be to support her in this,” he said.

  “Why is it so important that you are willing to risk your life?” Hussain asked his baby sister. He was only a couple of minutes older than she was, but he treated her as if she were years younger than him.

  “Because it would really show the city in a positive light. I need for the world to see something good. For once it needs to be something that has nothing to do with terrorism.”

  After hearing her point, Hussain sighed deeply. He knew that she cared for their country and it was only natural growing up cousins to the royal family. Loyalty and appreciation for a country often fraught with turmoil was admirable and he had to admit that he would do the same if he were in her shoes. Adilah watched his expression soften.

  “I do not like this,” he said.

  “I will be careful,” she said calmly. “As you know, the proceeds are going to charity. There are too many people depending on this event taking place, I couldn’t possibly cancel now.”

  “That is all well and good but your safety matters to me more,” Hussain replied, as he tried to squash his feelings of guilt at putting his sister’s safety over the needs of so many.

  “As head of security, I will make sure that her safety comes first, sheik. We will work with the hotel to make sure that all precautions are taken and I will be with her at all times, she will not leave my side,” Kalik stated.

  Ah, a silve
r lining, Adilah thought to herself.

  “I think that will be best,” Hussain replied with a sigh. Adilah was not surprised that he had finally agreed. After all, Kalik was the man her brother trusted the most. He was more than a bodyguard and the head of security; he was Hussain’s best friend.

  “That settles it then,” Adilah said in relief.

  “I will keep an eye on you as well,” Hussain stated as he popped the last of the cupcake into his mouth.

  Adilah narrowed her gaze at him. “You have other things to focus on, like Sheik Saeed Sharqi,” she said to him matter-of-factly. Hussain raised his eyebrows.

  “Oh, yes,” he answered.

  “This deal with him will be a tough one, since he refuses to conform to a more modern business format,” Adilah pointed out. The elderly sheik was stuck in the old ways. He valued tradition over everything else.

  “He makes things… difficult.”

  “Nothing is ever too difficult for you, big brother.”

  “Of course, I am Hussain Tazeem after all,” he said with a wink.

  Adilah shook her head. The conceited gene ran through their family. It seemed to have affected all the Tazeem men.

  “I suddenly feel bad for Cassie,” Adilah said as she shook her head in mock concern.

  “Why would you feel sorry for her? She is the luckiest woman in the world.”

  “No brother, I believe that you are the lucky one!”

  “Where is she anyway?”

  “She was here a while ago. I think she went back up to her room.”

  Adilah could not stop her hands from shaking as she laced her fingers in front of her. Those letters were really affecting her. She had tried to remain calm on the surface but on the inside, she was a mess. She did not want either one of the two overprotective men in her life to see her shake so she smiled and acted as if nothing was the matter.

  Hussain grunted as he slid his hands into his pockets. He scanned Adilah for a quick second. “So you are okay?” he asked her.

  “I am fine,” she smiled as she nodded. Hussain kissed her cheek before heading for the exit. “Going to look for your habibti?” she called out to him. He paused and turned towards her.

  “My habibti?”

  Adilah spread her legs apart and started walking, her shoulders back and her head held high. “Come here, habibti. I want to kiss you,” she said in the deepest voice she could do. Hussain and Kalik looked at each other before they burst into laughter.

  “That is supposed to be me?” Hussain asked his sister as he laughed. Adilah laughed and nodded her head. “That is a poor imitation.”

  “I thought it was rather accurate,” she said.

  “Kalik, do you agree with this?”

  “I am not going to comment,” he said stiffly. Hussain smiled and shook his head at his sister, before he turned on his heel and walked out of the kitchen.

  “Be safe and keep me in the loop,” Kalik said to her. She smiled and nodded as he too left the kitchen.

  Maybe something good would come from these death threats after all.

  Chapter 5

  It had been a week since Kalik had found out about the death threats Adilah had been receiving. Hussain had assigned him to keep a close eye on her and he had basically become her personal body guard. He was grateful because it allowed him to be closer to her in a way that wasn’t normally possible.

  He had been sitting at a table watching every customer that went in and out of Adilah’s bakery. Each morning, he tried to talk her out of coming into work but she was stubborn as always and today was no different.

  She wanted to make sure that everything was running smoothly at the bakery and she still had some last minute things to do for the weekend event. She was passionate and hardworking. Kalik admired that about her.

  Adilah walked out of the kitchen and approached Kalik, as he sprang to his feet instantly. “You don’t have to stand up,” she said to him with a smile on her face. Kalik did not say anything. Of course he was going to stand up and show her the respect she deserved. He stood there with his hands at his sides as if he was waiting for an order.

  “Can I get you anything to drink or eat?” she asked him. She stood before him staring into his face.

  “No, thank you.” Kalik said. She rolled her eyes.

  “That doesn’t surprise me.” She smiled at him. He just looked at her with an unreadable expression on his face. Touching his arm, “I am almost done,” she told him before returning to the kitchen. Kalik waited for her to disappear before he sat back down.

  He looked at his arm where she had touched him. He put his hand on the exact spot as he brushed at the tingles her touch had left on his skin. She had casually touched him, but she had no idea how much that meant to him - what it had done to him.

  A few moments later, Hussain walked into the bakery; dressed in a black suit and checked tie. Kalik stood up and watched him approach. Each step was filled with authority. “Good afternoon,” Kalik greeted him.

  “Hello, how is everything going?” Hussain asked him.

  “Everything is okay so far.”

  “Where is Adilah right now?”

  “She is in the kitchen talking to her staff and making some buns or scones for the event. I do not really know which one it was that she needed.” While Kalik enjoyed everything that she made, he did not know what most of them were called.

  Hussain laughed. “Yes, I am not well versed on the differences either.”

  “She said that she was almost done.”

  Kalik was not surprised that Hussain had come to check on his sister. He had always been very concerned and overprotective when it came to her.

  Hussain nodded. “I just wish that she would stay home,” he said with a sigh.

  “She refused.”

  “Of course she did. I have tried to talk her out of this but she was adamant about continuing her life as normal.” Hussain slid his hands in his pockets. “This event, can you talk her out of attending?” he asked Kalik. “There will be too many people there. It will be difficult to keep an eye on everyone.”

  “If you cannot change her mind, then how could I?”

  “It might help hearing it from someone else. I am always going to be her overprotective obstinate brother,” Hussain said. Kalik relaxed his face, it was the closest he usually came to a smile.

  “Has anyone ever successfully changed her mind on anything? Even your father failed to stop her from starting her own business,” Kalik pointed out. The twin’s father, Rafe Tazeem, was a strict, traditional man. He too worried for his daughter and did not want her to work. He felt that she would be too exposed to dangers; however, Adilah being her stubborn self, she still went ahead and opened her bakery.

  Hussain shrugged his shoulders. “Only because he thinks it is for charity,” Hussain said. He frowned. “Or maybe it is because he wants to believe that.”

  “I did not understand the letter Adilah received. What are the fields?” Kalik asked.

  “When we were children, we often played in the fields outside our home. Adilah had wandered too close to a beehive and was stung multiple times. By the time we found her, she was unconscious and near death,” he told Kalik as he flashed back to his feelings of terror at almost losing his sister. “After she was released from the hospital, she was different. More… reckless,” he finished, with a deep sigh.

  “A near death experience can do that to someone,” Kalik said quietly, now understanding Adilah better.

  “True, but not to the point that she ignores threats. Please keep my sister safe,” Hussain told him.

  “The threats make mention of the fields, so that must mean that it’s someone who knows what happened. Does that help at all in identifying the person?” Kalik asked.

  Shaking his head, “Unfortunately that doesn’t narrow it down. As cousins to the royal family, it was in the newspaper, so everyone knew.”

  “I will beef up her security. I know it is going to be a big event a
nd there will be a lot of people but I will not take my eyes off her.” Even if her life was not in danger, he still would not take his eyes off her.

  Hussain nodded. He glanced down at Kalik’s ring. Without realising it, he had been playing with it. “It was this time of the year, right? It was never your fault. You know that?”

  Kalik stopped playing with his ring and sighed before he spoke. “I know,” he said. He knew it but it never stopped the guilt of losing someone.