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CHAPTER ONE
IN HIS villa in the South of France, Prince Tariq Shazad ibn Zachir, paramount sheikh and ruler of the oil-rich Gulf state of Jumar, tossed aside the cellular phone and turned his attention to his most trusted aide, Latif
Shrewd at reading others, Tariq noted the strain etched on the older ?’
‘I regret that I should have to disturb you with this matter…’ Latif settled a folder down on the desk with an air of profound apology ‘…but I felt it should be drawn to your attention’
Surprised by the otherdocument was a detailed report from Jun national, who had been imprisoned for bad debts He froze, his superb bone structure clenching, narrowed dark eyes hardening with angry incredulity It was Adrian Lawson, Faye’s elder brother!
Yet another Lawson guilty of dishonesty and deception! As he read the explanation of the events which had led to Adrian’s arrest his lean, strong face hardened in disgust How could Faye’s brother have dared to set up a construction firm in Jumar and rob the very citizens that he, Tariq ibn Zachir orn to protect?
Powerfulto forget What male wished to recall his oorst mistake? Faye with her fake innocence, who had laid a snare to entrap hier The bait? Her beautiful self The threat after the trap had snapped shut? Scandal! The paraht exercise feudal power over his subjects But, even in the twenty-first century, Tariq ibn Zachir accepted that it was his duty to o his choices had been few for his father, Ha…
Snapping back to the present, pale with bitter anger beneath his tawny skin, Tariq slowly breathed in deep Unlike many other scions of Middle Eastern royal families, he had not been educated in the West Tariq had been raised much like his ancestral forefathers Military school, tutors, desert survival exercises with the British special forces At the age of twenty-two, a pilot and an expert in every possible form of combat, Tariq had finally convinced his father that, while the ability to lead his future people into battle was naturally important, one hundred years of peace within their borders and with their neighbours ree could be of rather more imminent use to his son
Tariq had duly discovered a natural talent for the business world and had enriched the swollen coffers of a state already so fabulously wealthy that he and his people hest per capita charitable contributions of any country in the world And with his entrance into the more liberal culture of Europe, Tariq had also received an unparalleled education on the ways of Western worip of his subsequent cynicis duck when he’d met Faye Lawson…
‘How do you wish me to act in this matter?’ Latif enquired
Tariq flashed hilance ‘There is no action to be taken Let the process of law take its course’
Latif studied his feet ‘It seems unlikely that Adrian Laill be able to produce the money necessary to obtain his own release’
‘He may rot’
After a very long and tense silence, Latif cleared his throat with deprecatory hesitance
Tariq sent hirim amusement ‘Yes, I knohat I do…’
Uneasy though he ith that response, the older ain Well aware of the source of Latif’s anxiety, Tariq considered his own position with grim disfavour Realities he had sidestepped now confronted hi set up and trapped, had come between him and common sense But it was time to sever his connection with Faye Lawson and move on
It should have been done a year ago It was not a situation which could be left unresolved Particularly not when he now had the responsibility of bringing up three young children, orphaned by the plane crash which had decimated his own family circle He needed a wife, a warm, maternal woman It was his duty to marry such a woman, he reer to embrace that duty
Thrusting aside the folder on Adrian Lawson, unread beyond that first enlightening page, Tariq lounged back in his chair like a restive tiger, brooding dark golden eyes hard as iron The Lawson siblings and their boorish stepfather, Percy, were a sly and greedy trio, who allowed no moral scruple to come between themselves and financial profit How many other men had Faye played for a sucker? How many lives had Percy ruined with blackmail and dishonest business practices? And noas evident that even Adrian, the only one of the trio whom Tariq had believed to be decent, was equally corrupt Such people should be punished
Tariq pictured the hawk that was the eh above the desert in search of tender prey A chilling smile formed on his well-shaped mouth There was no reason why he should not strike a blow for natural justice Indeed there was no reason why he should not take advantage of the situation and have a little fun at the same time…
Faye sat beside her stepfather in the back of the taxi in total silence Sht of build, she arfed by the bulk of the man beside her
It was only ht froh the wide pristine streets of Ju the held Had she not been so worried about Adrian and had ht, she would have refused to share even a cab with Percy Smythe
It still shook Faye that she could feel such intense dislike for any living person Family loyalty had always been very iive Percy for dragging her down into the dirt with hi any faith that Prince Tariq ibn Zachir had ever
had in her Nor could she forgive herself for being so infatuated that she had refused to allow herself to question Tariq’s sudden unexpected proposal of e twelve months earlier
‘This is a waste of ti face was full of exasperated io and see Prince Tariq and ask him to have Adrian released!’
Beneath the pale blonde hair which merely served to accentuate her present lack of colour, Faye’s delicate profile froze ‘I couldn’t—’
‘Well, how are you going to feel if Adrian picks up sos?’ Percy de!’
Her sensitive stomach churned for there wasthan she liked to credit As a child, Adrian had had leukaeh he had recovered, he still tended to catch every passing bug His uncertain health had finally destroyed the ar hie into the business venture which had led to his current plight
‘The Foreign Office assured us that he was being well treated,’ Faye reminded the older man tautly
‘Insofar as he’s been locked up indefinitely! If I was a superstitious man, I would believe that your desert warrior put a hex on us all last year,’ Percy co money hand over fist and look at me now—I’m practically broke!’
Just as he deserved to be, Faye reflected heavily Her stepfather would walk over anyone and do anything to feather his own nest But there was one surprising exception to that rule: Adrian had somehow become as dear to Percy as any flesh-and-blood son It was ironic that Percy should have sacrificed his own security in trying and failing to keep her brother’s business afloat
The prison lay well outside the city lih walls and lookout towers They had to wait for some time before they were shown into a roolass partition Faye only then appreciated that neither privacy nor physical contact were allowed between inmates and visitors
But a bigger shock was in store for her when Adrian appeared He had lost a lot of weight and his prison clothes hung loose on his thin frame The drawn pallor of his features alarmed her: her brother looked far from well His bloodshot eyes were strained and reluctant to meet hers
‘You shouldn’t have coroaned on the phone provided for coot too cocky and over-extended myself I let Lizzie spend like there was no to to keep up—’