Desert Sheikh vs American Princess (26 page)

The corner of Walid's mouth tipped up in a dry smile. "You sound like my sister-in-law. For some reason, I feel the two of you would get along very well."

"She sounds like a smart chick. Was your brother really going to attack? Maybe it was more than a pissing contest."

Walid shook his head. "More likely that my father would have, which I did not recognize at the time. I was overconfident that I was the one who would return Zallaq and Sadad to Askar, as it should be. I felt Walid should see reason and return Zallaq to Askari rule, giving up his claims. So I watched my father spend hundreds of millions building arms against his own son. The tax base could not justify such a thing, nor sustain it. When the treasury was empty, my father seized the oil interests of private companies to fund the military."

"Damn. Was that why?" Her dad had mentioned something like that happening under Walid's father. What a useless waste. Not only were tax dollars funneled off from actual worthy causes like education and infrastructure, taking private companies' assets would hurt development in the future and turn some very rich Askari folks against their own government. She imagined how her dad would respond to something like that. Not well. And very publicly.

"Damn indeed," he agreed. "And it was my idea."

She blinked at him, not believing that such a dumb plan had come out of his brain.

He must have sensed her thoughts. "I did not understand how desperate my father was for funding. I was not serious when I suggested seizing private companies for the profit of the state. I merely stated the idea as a way to initiate better ideas."

"Brainstorming, I think it's called." There'd been one or two brainstorming sessions in the businesses she'd been involved with. None of them had ended up saving those companies, though.

"Brainstorming," he repeated. "I wish my brain had not even rained at that time, much less stormed."

"You can't be responsible for something your father did, Walid. It's not your fault." She squeezed his hand. He was taking this insanely hard. How could he blame himself for what his dad did when his dad was king at the time?

"Where does my dad come into this story?" She rolled her eyes, dumping sarcasm into her tone. "So, we were at an arms buildup and the companies are now public instead of private. What then?"

"Almost two years ago, my father died, of a sudden heart attack. On my ascension to the throne, I learned the true extent of the seizure of the oil companies. I thought he had taken some minor holdings. That was not so."

"Wait, wait." She raised a hand to get him to pause. "So you didn't even know about the whole oil company thing until you became king. I really don't see how you can blame yourself for this, Walid."

"I should have known earlier. It was remarkable that my father was able to keep the seizures out of the public eye, but I was closest to him. I should have known."

Okay, she just really wanted to shake some sense into the guy. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he see his father had pulled the crude-soaked wool over everyone's eyes? Then again, this was Walid. If he felt something, there was a reason for it. Maybe she should just get the rest of the tale out of him before she started to tell him he was an idiot.

"So, you become king. You've got a massive debt to face, a very tense situation with a potentially hostile country, and in the middle of that you're supposed to run these corporations that you really shouldn't be running." She cocked her head at him. "I know you didn't want these companies, but why didn't you stop spending on the military and keep the profits for a while?"

He looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Those companies did not belong to the government. It was not right to keep them, or to take even one dollar from them. Except for taxes, naturally."

He said it so simply. He didn't take the money because it wasn't his to take. Her heart went a little squishy. No excuses. That was her Walid.

Well, not
her
Walid. Askar's Walid. Soon to be Kalilah's.

"And in the meantime, you loaned my father a ton of money."

"Yes, to build a hotel in Deira. I imagined it as a way to generate much-needed revenue and employment. The pipeline was not yet in planning." His proud shoulders sank an inch. "The hotel did not materialize. Your father did not fulfill his commitment. I took him at his word."

"That's your mistake." The words came out before she could stop them. And they hit their mark. Walid winced.

"I'm sorry," she quickly countered. "It's not your fault. My dad is like that. He makes you want to believe him, then he smacks you down, but you don't even realize it until a lot later. It happened to me over and over, and I'm his daughter."

"But you were correct the first time. I bear the responsibility," Walid said.

"Nope." She squeezed his hand. "If someone doesn't keep their promise, it's their fault, not yours. And I think you know that."

"I should have recognized his tendencies before I invested. I should have done more research. This situation could have been avoided if I had spoken to you." The smile Walid gave her was flat as room temperature water. "My father had just passed away. I believe your father reminded me of my own. Which should have been my first warning sign. My father was not..."

His words seemed to give out. The sentence died a lingering death on his lips.

"He wasn't a lot of things, I understand. Thale may have mentioned some stuff," she explained. "Put unrealistic expectations on you and shipped Ithnan to another country, where he was basically abused, but Thale didn't mention his own relationship with your dad."

"That may be because our father barely acknowledged that Thalatha existed." Walid shrugged, while still somehow managing to look regal. "He left my youngest brother to his own devices from the time Thalatha's mother left him for another man. My father saw Thalatha as expendable. He had me as his heir, and if anything happened to me, then Ithnan could take my place. He did not envision that anything would happen to take both of us out of the succession. As a boy, Thalatha received few opportunities for education. No guidance. No direction."

While she would love to know more about Thalatha, she wasn't going to waste Walid's talking mood on it. Time to get back to the real inquiry. "And you got too much of all of those things."

"As the heir, the expectations on me were clear. When I came to the throne, I was to rule as if I was my father, making all the decisions I would face as if I were him. Most importantly, I was to reunify Askar with Zallaq and Sadad."

"Yeah," she said. "I don't quite get that part. They were all one country once?"

He nodded. "Zallaq and Sadad were provinces of Askar. The country was divided by a king who wished each of his sons to inherit. For the purposes of defense and trading, it would be well if the country were reunified. I have failed in this task."

"If your brother is like you, Zallaq is in good hands. He wouldn't give up the country without a fight."

If your brother is like you...
What? Why did those words stick in her head? And it wasn't Bonnie either, it was her own mental voice repeating them. Hadn't she said them earlier in this conversation, too? She hadn't met Ithnan, but the idea of someone being like Walid wheeled around in her mind, spinning and getting nowhere.

"Rest assured, Noelle. No one will die for my father's wishes. He caused too much pain in his lifetime. No more."

"You and Thale don't really get along. How about you and Ithnan?"

"When my father allowed Ithnan to be sent to Hidd as hostage to ensure the good behavior of the tribes on the border, he informed me that my little brother had left because he no longer loved us and had found a family better suited to him." Walid's voice was dead and flat when he said this. "While I had my moments of doubt, I foolishly believed what my father had said. For the most part."

She gripped his hand harder. "I know what that's like. You trust your parents when you're a kid. Of course you do. So why did your dad say that?"

"To create a rift between us, I can only imagine. To ensure I would focus on Askar without the distractions of family attachment."

"Wow, that sucks."

"Previously, we had been close, Ithnan and I. He was my best friend, the two of us with Thalatha trailing behind. Recently, I discovered a document--" Walid cut himself off. "No, please disregard me saying that. But you will not, will you?"

"Nope," she said brightly. "The pirate princess wants to know. Don't make her make you walk the plank."

That got a little smile out of him, at least. "Very well. The document was the negotiation of peace between my father and the King of Hidd. In it, Hidd suggested reparations for the damage done by the raiding tribes. It was my father who suggested Ithnan be taken instead. That I was becoming attached to him... So, you see, in my brother's kidnapping, I was to blame."

White sparks of rage burst behind her eyes. "That is outright bullshit, Walid. Did you keep your brother hostage?"

He shook his head. "I understand what you mean to say--"

"Was it your idea to send your brother to Hidd?" she demanded.

"It was the last thing I would have wished. Your intentions in this line of questioning are transparent, Noelle. I appreciate that you are attempting to soothe my conscience, but in the end, he was shut away because I loved him."

"By people who wanted to teach you not to love people. You didn't control him being sent away and you didn't choose him being sent away, so it wasn't your fault. You were a child and adults manipulated you. This was not your fault. Say it."

"Noelle--"

The anger was driving her now. She cut him off. "I'm super serious. You've been telling yourself it's your fault for so long that you actually believe it. Time to start telling yourself that you were a victim. Say it. 'My brother being sent away was not my fault.'"

"You will not stop until I do, will you?" He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"'My brother--'"

"Very well." He drew in a breath like he was prepping for a burst of exercise. "My brother being sent away was not my fault."

"Feel better?"

"Not particularly. But perhaps you have a point."

"I have a pointy sharp point. It probably won't sink in all at once, though. Just... every time you feel guilty about what someone else did to you and your brother, repeat it to yourself. 'This was not my fault. I was not responsible for this decision.' If you get really good at it, maybe you will be able to throw a contraction in there." She grinned at him. "Say you'll do it. Orders of the pirate princess."

He slumped where he sat. But the corners of his mouth lifted, just a tiny bit. "You may tell the captain that I said I will."

"Okay, now back to the financial crisis."

"My father left the country bleeding with debt. I, sadly, continued his policies. I saw my own brother as a threat, as he did me. I felt no other choice but to prepare to defend Askar."

"So?" she interjected. "You played the roles your dad trained you to."

"He built up arms. I responded by doing the same. Then came the question of the pipeline. Sullivan Devoe had made it known that he would build a pipeline in either Zallaq or Askar, and so pitted Ithnan and I against each other. However, when Ithnan disappeared in the middle of the crisis, I knew something had to be done. I was in his palace at the time, though I had been scheduled to leave a day earlier. So I assumed the rule of the country until he returned."

"And rolled your tanks over the border?"

"No."

"Okay," she said. "Why not?"

"Why does no one understand this? Do I look like a murderer? Why would I invade and kill the citizens of my own country? The people of Zallaq should be citizens of Askar. Launching an invasion would be signing up to slaughter Askari people. I would defend, if pushed, but I would never assault Zallaq."

She barely held back a bubbling laugh. "Your father spent so much time telling you that Zallaq belonged to Askar that it backfired--you can't do anything that would hurt your own people. That's too funny."

He didn't seem to share the joke. "Not to mention that if I took Zallaq by force, some of the people might resent it and rebel."

"So you're completely stuck," she said. "You feel intense guilt for not doing what your father told you was your destiny. And if you do, you'll feel responsible if anyone dies because your father drummed into that this was your destiny. Damn, it must be hard to be inside that head."

"And now we have peace with Zallaq and I am left with a fleet of tanks rusting in their treads."

"So, if you don't need them, sell them. That'll help with some of the debt."

"I find myself unwilling to sell tanks to anyone who wishes to buy them in this region of the world. In most regions of the world, actually."

"Good point." She thought about that one. "Maybe Switzerland is buying?"

"They are not," he said, as if he'd investigated the option. She'd been joking; he was serious. International relations really were his playing field. "I need to find the money that I require. It is for the pipeline. My brother went to a great deal of trouble to see that our two countries will share the infrastructure, with each country paying our share. It is a symbol of the alliance between our Askar and Zallaq, yet the importance is more than merely symbolic. It will ensure that we continue to work together for generations. And perhaps unify one day."