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"He still disapproves" Joe nodded in Khalid’s direction

"It is not ed At least, not yet it wasn’t The battle he was fighting to steer clear of her was becoht yet lose

"It could be" Joe’s gaze was somber now "If you were serious in your intentions"

Khalid had to chuckle at that "Gentlehteenth," he infor to protect the honor of our daughters My intentions are as they have always been I rimaced as Zach shook his head at Khalid’s answer

"Marty isn’t a toy," Zach stated, his voice firh one Khalid rarely started or participated in

"Tellforward, Khalid slid the recliner back into its folded position "Is there any chance that Deerfield could learn what happened in Saudi before I left?"

What had happened ten years ago had nearly destroyed him And there were still men ould love to see Khalid el Hamid-Mustafa broken, least of ere his two half brothers

"We’re taking care of it," Zach pronation will strip him of his clearance and ensure that he never learns your secrets"

His secrets More like his nightmares The bloody, shameful past that haunted his days like a dark specter Khalid nodded as he rose to his feet This conversation was at an end as far as he was concerned If he stayed to socialize with the two men it inevitably would return to Marty To the one woer unlike any he had ever known before She was the one woman he was forced to deny himself

For toomerely a third to other club members’ lovers or wives He had no desire to form a coht to do so He had lost that right long ago in a desert filled with blood and betrayal

"That doesn’t mean that the threats your half brothers represent is at an end" Zach sighed as Khalid fought to hold back the anger building inside hiirls His daughters Six young women whom his father had sent to him as little more than slaves when they had been no o He had adopted the lives for themselves

Khalid nodded "They are with Mother and Pavlos"

Pavlos Galbraith, the Greekrequired to ensure their safety, as well as that of his wife--Khalid’s hter

"Good" Zach nodded "Until we know the repercussions of the operation that unearthed that cell in DC last month, it’s best we stay on the safe side"

Which hter, Marty

Which was no

"If you’ll excuse me" He nodded to the two men as he moved away and headed for the bar’s exit

He had no desire to discuss Marty at this point, just as he had no desire to face another night filled with arousal and nighte

"What do you think?" Joe sighed, as he watched Khalid before turning back to the man who had been his best friend hter were interested in another man," Zach said, as he ran his hand over his jaw and tried to hold back the concern building inside him "He’s a hard man, Joe"

"He won’t stay away froed to, eventually, she would find him" This was a truth Zach was certain of "She’s as obsessed as he is"

"She’s protective of him," Joe countered "And she’s curious"

Zach sat back in his chair and breathed out a heavy sigh Marty was like the wind, soft and gentle one day and blowing fierce and hot, or icy cold, the next But one thing remained constant, and that was her loyalty to those she cared about For some reason she had focused on Khalid when she was no irl, and that fascination hadn’t abated

Joe knew Zach had lived in fear in the past years of that dark fascination that often filled their daughter’s eyes whenever she saw Khalid The man would break her heart, and Joe didn’t know if he could ever forgive Khalid if he hurt her But he knew Zach would see to it personally that Khalid regretted any tears Marty shed

While rubbing his hand over his face, Joe gave Khalid’s retreating back a final glance before lifting his drink and finishing it Zach would take care of the probleet him off Khalid’s and Marty’s asses Joe would help his daughter do what Zach had made him promise not to do And that was to help her to attain what he felt wouldit ould make Khalid happy as well Eventually The boy needed so lax in his own protection

Sometimes a ether Khalid and Marty matched in ways that defied description and, as a father, Joe wanted nothing more than her happiness and Khalid’s peace

Over the past two years he had watched the anger build inside Marty as Deerfield went after Khalid Each order that had gone out to tap his phone, search his home, or follow hi had struck a sensitive nerve in the girl

Each time she had been forced to reaed a littleanother woered her further