“What did you get out of the assassin?” Mo asked.
“Nothing. The bastard’s still in a coma. Our people defended their queen mother,” Dirar said proudly. “However, we didn’t need to get anything out of him. He had a boat receipt from Surman in his pocket for his travel to Rahmi. Now, bring Suri to me.” The screen went black and everyone in the room let out a breath.
“Nabi,” Zain said quietly. “You and Kareem go get Suri.”
“As you wish. But I sent Kareem to patrol the grounds since we’ve slowly been transitioning everyone out of the house,” Nabi told him.
“Cassidy arrived thirty minutes ago. Apparently the queen has a long beauty regimen for the morning and enjoys breakfast at the same time. So you need to be careful,” Dani instructed. “We can’t put Cassidy in danger. Maybe wait until Cassidy needs to leave the room for something?”
“I’ll take up position down the hall so I can watch the door. I’ll notify you before I go in,” Nabi told them as he walked across the office. He opened the door to find Cassidy arguing with Dylan.
“Stop being so stubborn. I need to talk to them,” Cassidy was yelling.
“They are on a video call with the king. They are not to be disturbed,” Dylan said in his usual unflappable voice.
“So help me, I’ll tell Mom if you don’t move out of my way,” Cassidy threatened.
“Come in, Cassidy,” Dani called out with a slight smile on her face over the threat of bringing Tammy in to discipline Dylan. Dylan may be well over six-foot-three and two hundred twenty pounds, but he had nothing on five-foot-one Tammy. They had all seen him hang his head and apologize after his mother lit into him about a number of things. They all knew that felling very well. It didn’t matter how old a child was; a mother didn’t hesitate to bring you to task. Heck, old Mrs. Davies still did the same to her boys and they were in their sixties.
Cassidy pushed past her brother. Zain sympathized. There were hardships of being an older brother. “Dylan, you might as well come in and see what your sister wants. Hold on, Nabi,” Zain called out.
Nabi shut the door after the siblings walked inside. He took up position at the door and watched quietly. Cassidy, on the other hand, hurried into the room speaking a mile a minute.
“Slow down. What’s so important? We are about to confront the Queen of Surman,” Zain told her.
“That’s it. I heard her talking about your grandmother. By the way, I’m sorry about her getting hurt,” Cassidy sympathized.
“What did you hear, dear?” Mo asked as he laced his fingers with his wife’s.
“They haven’t realized that I can understand them yet. I make them point at everything or do charades. It's rather funny. However, I expected them to say very nasty things about me and about Dani assigning me to them, but they haven’t. They’ve been exceedingly polite.”
Zain took a deep breath and exhaled. “So you’re coming to tell us they’re nice assholes?”
Cassidy shook her blond curls. “No, I’m trying to tell you she isn’t behind the attacks. Her secretary told her about your grandmother, and Suri went into a rage. Especially after she received a phone call telling her the assassin had been linked to Surman. She gave away her whole plan for what she wanted to accomplish here. And that involved earning respect. She wants Rahmi to apologize for treating her poorly when she hasn’t done anything to deserve it. You know, the whole don’t-blame-the-daughter-for-the-father’s-sins thing. She’s excited to talk to Piper today and supports the nanotech lab. She just wants to be part of the family again—part of your family.”
Zain’s brows knit in confusion. “But what about all the rumors about her working with Tahjad?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard her say anything about them. But I did hear her demand her people find out why someone is making it look like Surman is behind the unrest in Rahmi. She had thought the citizens of Rahmi were unhappy, but then she’d learned that the man who blew up the shipyard had come through Surman. Then another person entered with no ID, but had the smallest link back to Surman. She thinks someone is framing her country.”
Zain thought about everything Cassidy said. There was only one way he would believe it, and that was if he could look Suri in the eyes when he asked her. “I’ll be right back.”
Zain strode through the house with Dylan scrambling to catch up to him. “What’s the plan?”
“Suri and I are finally going to talk.”
Zain didn’t bother knocking on Suri’s door. Instead, he flung it open and strode into the room. Suri was sitting at a dressing table. He saw her eyes widen quickly in the mirror before she resumed her queenly fa?ade.
“Good morning, cousin,” Suri said innocently.
Zain looked to her secretary, who stood frozen by a desk, and the makeup artist putting on the queen’s cosmetics. “You two, out.” The secretary looked to Suri who just nodded. “You too, Dylan.”
Dylan didn’t say anything. He simply turned and shut the door behind him. Zain knew he would be standing on the other side with his hand on the doorknob waiting to hear anything unusual.
“What is this display of power all about?” Suri asked as she picked up where the makeup artist left off.
“Look at me, cousin,” Zain demanded. He noticed Suri’s look of defiance in the mirror. “We need to have a very serious family discussion, and we need to be looking at each other when we do it.”
Zain pulled up an ottoman and sat down as he waited for Suri to face him.
“Since when have I been part of the Ali Rahman family?”
“Since now.”
Suri gave a bitter laugh. “As if Dirar would ever allow that.”
“I don’t care what my uncle thinks. My family is ready to open our arms to you. My siblings, my parents, and myself. But I need to hear what you have to say first.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense,” Suri said with a fake smile.
“Who do you think is behind the attacks on Rahmi? We both know it points back to Surman, but you were angry and just as surprised to learn about Rahmi’s attackers arriving from Surman.”
“You have a spy—Cassidy.” Suri shook her head. “She speaks our language?”
“Yes.”
Then Suri did something he wasn’t expecting. She laughed. “She fooled my secretary and me. We tested her with fake news and outrageous comments, but she didn’t react. We determined she really didn’t speak our language. You should have seen what she was having us do to communicate. That girl has gumption.” Suri’s smile then slid from her face. “But you are correct. I didn’t have anything to do with this. I fear someone is trying to make Rahmi look unstable and paint Surman as an aggressor.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I have all my resources working on it. Someone doesn’t want your nanotech lab to see the light of day.”
“I believe you. The trouble is—if it’s not you, then who is it?”
Mila had to pry her fingers from the roll cage of the ATV. Abby had gone through pastures, an apple orchard, cornfields, and a creek. The world was still bouncing even though Abby had turned off the engine and they were sitting in front of Zain and Gabe’s house. The front door opened as Gabe walked out, pretending to be Zain. He took one look at her and shook his head. Or not. Mila couldn’t tell. Everything was still unsteady.
“Abby, what have you done to my love?” Gabe chided as he strode over to her.
“I made Abby hurry. I was so upset over the news you just received that I had to give you a kiss before you start your day,” Mila said louder than normal as Gabe helped her from the ATV.
She felt his body shaking with hidden laughter. “Thank you, love.” His Zain impersonation was nearly perfect. “I’m going for a quick walk to calm myself. I can’t talk business right now.”