The Prince's Intimate Abduction (The Samara Royal Family Series Book 2) (11 page)

“Is he alone?” Turk demanded as he walked up to his brother’s outer office.  The aide sitting behind the desk looked up startled, stammering out a reply.  “Yes, Your Highness,” he said and bowed slightly, awkwardly. 

“Get Rais in here.  Fast,” and he walked into Ramzi’s office without knocking. 

Ramzi looked up from the document he’d been reviewing as his brother walked in.  “What’s wrong?” he asked immediately.  He’d long ago given up on his brothers respecting his privacy.  As long as they didn’t walk in on him and Mia any longer, he was fine with them interrupting his day.  He also knew that neither of them would walk in for anything less than an emergency. 

“We found them,” he said grimly and walked over to the conference room table set up on one side of his brother’s office. 

They both heard Rais walk in and slam the door closed again but Turk was too engrossed in pointing out what he’d found.  “Over here,” he explained and discussed how they’d found the rebel headquarters, the different supplies the small but violent militia had, the traps, the satellite images and anything else that they’d discovered over the last seventy-two hours. 

For the next twenty minutes, the three brothers brainstormed on the plan Turk had come up with.  Turk was the military strategist, but that didn’t mean his brothers didn’t add value to the overall discussion.  The three of them could take over the world, Turk thought as he walked out with a more refined plan in his mind. 

He should be walking towards the security offices to discuss the revisions with his team but he turned right instead of left, heading towards his private quarters. 

Raven noticed the change in him the moment he stepped through the doorway.  “What’s going on?” she demanded as he approached.  She’d spent the last week at the palace with Turk, making love with him, dining on excellent food and enjoying amazing wines. 

She’d even spent some time with Mia, the sheik’s wife, and found her to be delightful, very down to earth.  Raven even liked Princess Ciala and Princess Shantra, ladies who had hidden talents, although Raven still had no idea what those talents were.  She just knew that something was going on with those two and their brothers had no clue. 

Until this moment, life inside the palace had been filled with wonderful discoveries, about herself and her new lover.  She’d been enjoying herself more than she’d thought possible. 

But now, she wasn’t so sure.  She knew she didn’t like the eager expression in Turk’s eyes as he stalked her in his private suite. 

“I found them,” he told her and without another word, he lifted her into his arms and kissed her.  Thoroughly. 

“When I come back, we’re making wedding plans,” he told her as he placed her on the ground once more. 

Raven was too stunned by both the kiss and his announcement to say anything as she watched him stride out of the room once again.  He was different now.  And she wasn’t really sure that he was different in a good way. 

She swallowed nervously as she realized that Turk was going into battle.  He was in fight mode and there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop him from his path.  She could tell by the look in his eyes that his senses were heightened and his mind going through strategy, carefully calculating any problems he might encounter. 

She sank back down onto the previously comfortable chair, wishing she’d fallen in love with a different man.  It would be so much easier to have loved another doctor, a man she could understand.  A man she could share her experiences with.  But she’d tried to love a doctor.  It hadn’t worked out. 

Turk was the exact opposite of her ex-fiancé and he terrified her in so many ways.  The feelings she had for him were deep and powerful, but she couldn’t ignore them.  She loved him.  Even his annoying arrogance made her laugh because it was just a part of him. 

Was this going to work out?  Was she going to be hurt and devastated, knowing that the man of her heart was going out to destroy life when it was her mission to heal life? 

Turk was everything she wasn’t.  He was relishing the upcoming battle and all she could think about was…

Raven pushed the images of burned or bullet holed bodies out of her mind.  Turk wouldn’t do that, would he? 

Of course he would! He was a soldier!  He was the kind of man who always came out on top, no matter what the battle. 

“Oh no!”

She raced out of the room, glancing at her watch.  Goodness!  Over an hour had passed since Turk had walked into his room and kissed her.  Where had her mind gone?  She’d been out of touch with patients for so long, she didn’t even notice the passing of time!  How crazy was that?

She hurried down the hallway, trying to be as discreet as possible but she wasn’t exactly sure where she was going.  She actually had to stop several servants when she knew that she was once again lost. 

So it took her another twenty minutes before she reached Ramzi’s office.  “Would it be possible to speak with Sheik Samara?”

The aide behind the desk rose immediately and bowed, even though he knew this woman was not yet royalty.  She would be, and very soon, he thought to himself.  Better to respect her more now rather than have her mad at him later. 

“Yes, ma’am, he is in but he’s with his brother at the moment.”

Raven considered her options but then a thought struck her.  “Is it Prince Turk or Prince Rais speaking with the Sheik at the moment?”

The man stammered for a moment, lost in her beautiful, grey eyes.  “Um…Prince Rais, ma’am,” he finally said.

Raven smiled, making the man even more nervous.  “That’s good,” she told him.  “Could I speak with both of them?”

There was movement to the side of her and she looked over to see Sheik Samara looking out his office door at her.  “Come into my office, Raven.  Of course you can talk to me.” 

She walked into the enormous office, her head bowed slightly because this man scared her.  So did Prince Rais, she thought, but not in the same way that Turk did.  She didn’t understand all of the family dynamics going on between the brothers, but she also didn’t have time right at the moment to figure it out. 

“I understand that Turk is going into battle, Your Highness,” she said softly, praying that he would deny her assumption.

“He’s going to catch some rebels that have been bothering the border villages.  I wouldn’t exactly say he’s going into battle though.”

Raven didn’t acknowledge the distinction.  “I’m a doctor.  I need to be there to help the wounded.”  And she wanted to be there for him, to make sure that Turk was okay, but she kept that part to herself.  There was no way she was going to reveal that part of herself to these two men.  Her newly discovered feelings for Turk were too new, too raw.  She needed to understand them better herself, to feel more comfortable with them. 

Both men stared at her, not sure they understood what she was asking.  “You want to go out to where the trap is being set so that you can…”  Both men hesitated, not sure how to finish the sentence.  They’d never heard of a gentle woman wanting to go into battle.  Sure, they had female soldiers in the military but not that many.  And none of them looked like Raven.  Not a single one looked soft and sweet, dressed in a yellow dress that made her silver eyes look even more blue than normal. 

“Help,” she finished with quiet determination.  “I’m a good doctor,” she told him.  “I don’t know how many people will be hurt, but I’d like to be there to help out.”

Ramzi and Rais exchanged a look between each other.  “I don’t think Turk would like you being there.  You could be hurt yourself.”

Raven considered her next words carefully, knowing that she’d have to convince these two men if she would ever be allowed to move close to the place where people could be hurt and wounded.  “Yes.  That’s always a possibility.  But I could also trip and fall here in the palace.  The marble floors are very hard.”

Both men chuckled at her logic.  “Yes.  But the likelihood of that happening is smaller than if you were to go where Turk is heading.”  Ramzi put a hand on her shoulder, trying to soothe her.  “Trust me, Turk knows what he’s doing.  He knows what he’s facing and he is taking precautions to limit the number of casualties.”

Raven smothered the cringe of anger at the idea that the man she loved, possibly foolishly loved, was going to hurt other human beings.  Focusing on her mission as a doctor and her need to help, she looked at the two men with determination.  “Regardless, I can help.  I need to be there.” 

She paused before she added, “This is what I do, Your Highness.  This is what I’ve trained for.  Turk has never understood this.  He wants to keep me locked up and protected, but I’m not a wilting flower.  I can take care of myself.  I know self-defense and I can defend myself in close-in combat, although Turk only humors me when I tell him that.”  She smiled slightly.  “I protected him from the rebels, didn’t I?” 

She knew she’d scored a point when both men chuckled. 

Rais and Ramzi looked at each other, both of them knowing that their other brother would be furious if he found out that Raven had been in danger.  But she was right.  She was a doctor and could possibly help if something were to go wrong.  None of them wanted anyone to die.  They just wanted the rebels to stop the malicious activities that were hurting the villagers. 

Finally, Ramzi nodded his head, agreeing to her request.  “I’ll get you out there, but you’ll be guarded at all times.  And when my brother discovers you out there, you deal with his anger.”  Ramzi took her hand.  “I know that Turk has very strong feelings for you.  Be careful.”

Rais had been waiting to hear his oldest brother tell her that there was no way Raven was leaving the palace until Turk returned.  So when Ramzi said the opposite, Rais did a double take, staring at his brother as if he’d just lost his mind.  “Wait!” Rais said, stepping forward and shaking his head.  “You can’t honestly be thinking of letting her go out there.  She’ll be hurt.”

Ramzi cringed.  “I only know what my Mia would say to a statement like that.”

Rais didn’t care.  “Ramzi, this isn’t….”

“I know,” he sighed and squeezed Raven’s hands.  “But I also know that Mia wouldn’t let me go into this kind of thing alone either.  She’d want to be there with me.”

Rais compressed his lips, not sure what was going on.  Before his oldest brother had met his wife, they never would have allowed a woman to be in danger.  Mia was strong though.  And she’d changed all of his brother’s views on a woman’s place in the world. Mia had shown Ramzi that women could take a lot and keep on going. 

Apparently, Raven was finishing up that process.  “I don’t agree with this, but…” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.  “I’ll head up her security.  Turk still isn’t going to like it, but at least I’ll know she’s safe.”  He turned to face Ramzi who was about to open his mouth. 

“Don’t even think about it!” he told his oldest brother.  He stopped the suggestion that Ramzi would go out and watch over Raven while she tended to the wounded.  “You’re staying here.  There’s no way Turk or I want your job so you’ll stay here and be cosseted like an old man.” 

And with that, he took Raven’s arm and led her out of his brother’s office, not bothering to look back at Ramzi.  He knew his oldest brother was furious, but that was just the way it was going to be.  Ramzi had to remain alive and healthy.  The people of Kilar needed him as sheik. 

An hour later, Raven stepped off of the helicopter, grateful to be on solid ground once again.  But the sight in front of her looked like organized chaos.  “Over here,” Rais said to her and led her over to an outcropping of rocks. 

“We wait here,” he said and lifted an earpiece, sticking it into his ear.  He gave instructions to the other men who had come with him and Raven was surrounded by bodyguards, some standing up on a perch above her head, others fanning out around her. 

She heard a few gunshots in the distance, but she wasn’t sure how far away they were.  She opened her mouth to ask Rais, but he shook his head, silently telling her to remain quiet. 

About thirty minutes later, the gunfire ended.  There was an ominous silence and Raven looked up at Rais.  He was obviously listening to someone give him information in his earpiece and she tried to be patient, but she was here, there had been gunfire and all she wanted to do was run out and find Turk, to ensure that he was okay. 

“Sounds good,” Rais said with an affirmative nod.  Turning back to Raven, he looked down into her eyes but they couldn’t see very well because of the sliver of a moon.  “Turk is okay and he’s on his way back here.  Don’t go anywhere.”

Rais stepped out, his back protecting Raven and she felt a spurt of affection for the man.  He was protecting her even though the danger was over. 

A few moments later, the roar of an engine broke the silence of the night.  When the vehicle came around the corner, she could see Turk in the passenger seat and she wanted to run over to him and throw her arms around him, to make sure that he was okay.  She was just about to do that when he stepped out of the vehicle and started towards her, furious once again. “Why the hell is she here?” Turk demanded. 

Raven was just about to open her mouth to explain and to demand to be taken to the wounded when Rais stepped forward.  “She wanted to make sure you were safe,” he told his older brother.