Guilty Pleasure

12

Khalid remained calm, though doing so wasn’t as easy as he had wished it was, while riding in the back of Joe Mathews’s limo long minutes after Mac had taken Marty from the club. Joe, Zach, and Shayne were all silent. The silence wore on his nerves, nerves that were never tested this way until this night, until tangling with Marty.

The only man who appeared unaffected by any of this was Joe. He sat back in the leather seat and simply watched Khalid.

“This is a fucking mess,” Zach muttered to Joe from where he sat at his side.

“Of course it is,” Joe agreed. “We let our emotions get involved. It’s always a mess when we allow that.”

Amusement touched Joe’s voice as Khalid watched him coldly. Beside him, he could feel the tension radiating from Shayne. Tempers were simmering, and Khalid had a feeling that holding his own in check wouldn’t last much longer.

“Damn it, Joe,” Zach cursed, his voice low. “She thinks we’re all conspiring against her.”

“You are,” Joe pointed out. “All of you have been, by not giving her the answers she’s all but demanded of you. I didn’t make that mistake.”

“You trained her too well, Zach, if you didn’t want her poking her nose in places you didn’t want her.” Shayne sat watching them, his arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face. “And Khalid could have saved us all the trouble if he’d simply given her details rather than an insignificant portion of the events.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, you damned spook,” Zach bit out angrily. “You only came back to the States to tell Khalid about his brothers, hoping that he would choose you as his third. And don’t think we’re not all aware of it.”

“Enough.” Khalid watched as Joe’s gaze glittered with interest as he stared back at him. “It ends now. Once we reach the house I’ll tell her what we must.” Not that he wanted to. Hell, one question was going to lead to another, and before he knew it, the truth of his own past would come out.

Joe’s brow arched. “I’d say it’s a little late for that. I’d suggest Kevlar, if I were you. She’s ready to shoot us all.”

“If she doesn’t, then I just might.” Khalid forced himself to keep his hands in place at his side, rather than around Zach’s neck for demanding that meeting, even though he knew Marty was with Khalid and Shayne.

“I feel like I’m throwing my daughter to the fucking wolves.” Zach glowered at Khalid and Shayne.

That was exactly what he had done; it was what he had done years before, when he had allowed Marty the opportunity to join the FBI.

He had allowed his lover, Joe’s wife, to convince him otherwise. He had given in to the woman and the child he had loved, and Khalid suspected he had regretted it every day since.

“She’s your woman now,” Shayne reminded him quietly. “Would you do anything differently? And while you’re contemplating your answer, Khalid, tell me, did you ever get around to telling her about Abram and Lessa?”

“It’s too late to consider what I would have done or what I have yet to do.” What he should have done. He never should have stayed away from her. He should have taken her when she was eighteen, when she was young enough to be convinced to be a lover rather than a warrior.

And Marty was exactly that. She was a warrior, and she had years of training in facing the war she had chosen. Pulling her out of the fire wasn’t going to happen now.

“I wouldn’t blame her if she shot all of us.” Joe wiped his hand tiredly over his face as the limo pulled into the driveway of his home. “God help us all. We’re going to wish we were all dead now. Virginia’s home.”

“Then get ready to start praying,” Zach warned him.

“I started doing that weeks ago.” Joe stared back at his friend in irritation. “She’ll kill you first, though. Think about that. She knows I would have never helped conspire in keeping anything from her. I’ve just never had the details.”

“Because you refused to read the files,” Zach said angrily.

“For whatever reason.” Joe shrugged calmly. “Still, I covered my back. Let’s hope you have as well. God help you if she asked you and you lied to her.”

“I’ve never lied to her,” Zach snarled.

The limo rolled to a stop as Khalid leaned forward slowly, catching the attention of both men.

“Her protection is no longer your concern,” he stated, his tone icy, filled with purpose.

“Khalid…” A frown line snapped between Zach’s brows. He was a father first, Khalid had always known that, but in his efforts to protect his daughter he had done nothing but harm her.

“She is mine now,” he stated, his voice harsh. “You will not interfere in that, nor will you interfere in her life any longer. And the next meeting you arrange, you will do so in a venue that she can attend. No more secrets, period.”

But he was guilty of his own secrets, and Khalid knew it.

Joe groaned. “Taking her out of it now will be impossible.”

“And now she could be facing a nightmare if my brothers manage to get their hands on her.” Rage ate inside Khalid like a corrosive acid at the thought of the evil his half brothers had focused toward him. “It is my past that endangers her, and I will ensure that it endangers her no longer.”

With an irritated flick of his wrist he jerked the door open, rather than wait on Abdul, and stepped from the car.

Pausing, Khalid watched as the other men exited the vehicle. Shayne was the last to step out. His gaze swept the area, eyes narrowed and piercing as he searched for any threats.

Marty was like this as well. Wherever she went, whatever she was doing, she was always particularly aware of her surroundings and all that was going on.

“Time to pay the piper,” he heard Joe mutter to Zach as they headed toward the house. “Virginia isn’t going to be happy with us. You know, if you paid attention to me more often, we wouldn’t get in nearly so much trouble.”

They often bickered like close brothers. Young ones, at that.

“No one holds a gun to your head,” Zach snorted. “That innocent act isn’t going to get you very far with her.”

“Farther than you’ll get.” There was a hint of amusement there that made Khalid want to shake his head.

At that moment the front door opened and Khalid nearly came to a stop as Virginia Mathews stood glaring at the four of them.

Shoulders tense and thrown back, her delicate frame nearly quivering with anger, her gray eyes shot furious daggers at all of them.

“Now Ginny, it’s not as bad as she thinks it is,” Joe started out. He held up his hands as though to halt the angry words before they poured from her lips.

“I can’t believe the four of you.” She didn’t limit her anger to her husband, her lover, or the men in her daughter’s life. Hell no. She was pissed at all of them.

Stepping into the house, the four men faced not just an angry mother but a furious daughter as well. Marty stood at the far end of the entryway, arms crossed over her breasts, her gray eyes narrowed on them all.

“Finished with your little visit?” She directed her ire at Khalid.

“For the moment.” He shrugged as though that anger didn’t faze him, when in fact he swore he could feel his balls drawing up in primal fear. She looked ready to kill. “I’m certain there will be more in the future, though.”

“Come into the kitchen.” Joe flexed his shoulders as though expecting a lash to descend upon them. “Hell, I’m going to need coffee for this.”

“And you think explanations are going to fix this?” Virginia asked incredulously. “Joe, I’ve warned you about playing with her life. I’ve warned both of you.” She shot Zach a fulminating look as well. “I have a mind to pack my bags and move in with my daughter. God only knows how the two of you have worked me over the years.”

Khalid kept his expression closed, cool. He noticed Joe and Zach did the same. It wouldn’t do to allow the graceful yet renowned temper of Virginia Mathews free. She was a spitfire, and one that knew how to slice the meat from a man’s bones at forty paces.

“Coffee.” As they entered the kitchen Zach headed to the coffeepot; Marty kept a wide distance between herself and everyone else.

She did that a lot, Khalid thought.

“Marty, Virginia, please.” Joe indicated the chairs at the kitchen table. “Let’s sit down.”

They sat, albeit reluctantly, both women staring at the other two men as though they had grown fangs and horns in the past hours.

“Things are a bit complicated,” Joe finally stated, as Zach paced back to the table and everyone took a seat. “And it’s all Zach’s fault.”

Zach shot him a vengeful glare.

“With the two of you involved, that doesn’t surprise me,” Virginia snapped. “You deliberately make things difficult. And don’t even bother playing innocent with me, Joe.”

“We do what we have to do, Ginny.” The edge of weariness in Zach’s tone had Khalid’s gaze shifting from Marty’s angry expression to the resolute determination in Joe’s.

“Enough.” Joe leaned forward, his penetrating gaze locked on Marty now. “You’re angry, but without cause, Marty. No one here has lied to you. We’ve simply attempted to ensure you were kept safe while trying to apprehend Khalid’s half brothers, and whomever they sent here in an attempt to kill you that day your car was shot at. We know they were involved in it, but knowing it and proving it are two separate things.”

“Dad, I hate it when you talk around me.” Marty leaned forward, laying her arms on the table as she glared at Joe. “You called that meeting tonight, knowing I couldn’t be included in it because of where it was. You could have moved Khalid’s brother here, or to your house, and no one would have known. Instead, you kept it there, where Khalid had no choice but to lie to me, or to have me so curious that I followed. You used him.” She leaned forward, fury etched on her face. “And I don’t appreciate it.” Her gaze turned to Khalid, her eyes dark with anger. “And you. You allowed them to do it for most of your life.”

“No one used me, precious,” he assured her with a hint of steel in his tone. “If anything, I used them to achieve my own plans to destroy Azir Mustafa. We just haven’t managed it yet.” His gaze narrowed on her then.

“And the meeting tonight had nothing to do with you,” Zach finished for him. “That simple.”

“You had to get into that club,” Khalid growled at her. “Just as you had to get to that meeting, despite my best attempts to keep you from it.” He met her gaze directly. “You couldn’t wait for explanations; you couldn’t ask questions. Instead, you felt the need to slip around as though I would lie to you rather than meet your questions head-on.”

Marty stared back at him, wondering if somehow the world had tilted on its axis, or if there had been a particular mental plague that affected only the males of the species.

“As though questions were going to get me anywhere,” she snapped back. “You forget, Khalid, I know exactly how secretive you are, and every time I start to ask a question you conveniently have something else to do.”

“Something such as protecting you. It was my fault you were in danger. It was my job to fix it.”

Khalid seemed perfectly serious, and no one around the table was disputing his statement.

“What kind of game are you playing now, Khalid?” Indignation rose inside her. “Do I look as though I’m stupid? That I’m not well aware of the attempts you make to ensure my attention is diverted? That you’re hiding things from me? Perhaps if you weren’t so damned evasive it might be easier to believe you.”

Black eyes flickered with impatience as she glared at him, refusing to blush at the certainty that her parents would know exactly the tactics he used.

“It’s definitely difficult to tell you the truth. Your suspicious nature makes it damned hard to tell you what we suspect.” He grunted. “Nonetheless, it is exactly that, the truth. The meetings between Abram, your fathers, and myself are for an exchange of information and security concerns. Certain factions have become suspicious, though. To allay that suspicion, we meet at the club, to make sure that Abram and I never appear as though we are working together once again, as we did in the past with your godfather.”

She sat back in her chair and stared at him silently. He might be telling the truth, but none of it made sense to her.

“Why would it matter if the two of you were friends or not? You’re brothers,” she pointed out.

Khalid glanced at her godfather, Zach, before breathing out heavily.

“It was an impression we encouraged once I left Saudi. I cut all ties with the entire family when my brothers, Ayid and Aman, learned of my connection to the FBI and began trying to exact vengeance for it. Information I gave at the time led Saudi and U.S. forces to the headquarters my brothers had set up in Riyadh from which they planned to stage a strike against the Saudi royal family for their ties to America. That information led to an attack where my brothers were reportedly killed. They’d escaped instead. Their wives did not. I barely made it out of Saudi alive.”

Khalid managed to hold back the information surrounding Lessa’s death, and his failure to protect her while, hopefully, giving her enough information to allay her suspicions. His brother’s wife had been his responsibility at the time. He’d been overconfident, he’d fucked up, and she had paid with her life. How could he ever expect Marty to place her trust in him if she knew how he had failed with another woman? A woman who had trusted him to protect her?

And there was no doubt that eventually his brothers would strike again. Unless he struck first and ensured they didn’t rise to retaliate once again.

Marty stared at him intently then, as did her mother. He could practically see the gears working in their heads, the information turning over, being dissected and examined.

“And you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your brothers attacked me?” Marty asked. She could feel a lack of information, missing pieces, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was she wasn’t being told. One thing was for certain at this point: If she didn’t ask the right question, then she would never know what he was still hiding.

“There is no doubt,” he assured her.

“And that’s the reason you didn’t move to claim me yourself?”

She watched as Khalid’s gaze became shuttered. “I did that because I could not bear endangering you because of my determination to destroy the Mustafa family.”

But there was more. With Khalid, there would always be more.

“What else aren’t you telling me?”

Khalid breathed out heavily. “I’m thirty-five years old, precious. I’m certain you will learn other things about me, but isn’t that part of the joy of a relationship?”

She licked her lips, suddenly aware of the seriousness of his expression, the glimmer of emotion in his eyes. Could he suddenly be promising her more than just the sex? “Don’t lie to me,” she whispered. “It would destroy me.”

“No lies.” Sincerity filled his tone.

He was still hiding something from her, she could feel it, sense it, and Marty knew in her heart that that was a lie in and of itself. But she couldn’t turn away from him. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, not yet, not until she had to let go of him. “Marty, my life hasn’t been charmed,” he stated gently. “I’ve led a life filled with blood, and with nightmares that I often wish only to forget. Can you blame me for not wishing to air those nightmares just yet? Can I not take a moment of my life to simply enjoy my woman, rather than dragging her into a past that even I wish I had no part of?”

But she loved him. She had a right to be a part of that life. She glanced at Shayne, noticing that, like her father, he had found something else to direct his attention to. It appeared that the pattern of the wallpaper across the room had him mesmerized.

Turning back to Khalid, she nodded slowly. “If there’s nothing more.”

“For now, I swear to you, there is nothing more important than just holding you.”

Marty had a feeling those nightmares now held the key to the answers she needed. The reason why a part of Khalid remained distant to her. Why she didn’t have the heart of the man, as he held her heart. Zach rose to his feet and moved to the coffeepot to refill the cups he gathered from the table.

After filling cups with coffee and transferring them to the table, he retook his seat and glanced at Virginia. “We’ve done our best to protect her, Ginny. She might be pissed at us, but we’ve kept her safe.”

Marty had to smile at her mother’s sarcastic, less than ladylike snort.

“Why not just tell me what was going on?” She looked between Khalid and Shayne then.

“Because we weren’t certain what was going on; we still aren’t,” Shayne answered her. “I came here with information for Khalid, rumors that his half brothers suspected he had helped disband the cell they sent after you, and that he was once again working to destroy them. Now, I’m trying my damndest to figure out who ran you off the road and tried to shoot you, and whether or not Ayid and Aman are closer than they should be.”

“Marty, there’s nothing else going on,” her father promised her, his gaze filled with love, with sincerity. “I would tell you if there were.”

“If you knew about it.” She glanced to her godfather.

“And I swear to you, that’s all Khalid is involved in,” Zach promised. “I would tell you if there were more. Since the attack against you, you’ve had two men on constant detail to watch your back. I’m not taking chances with your life.”

Her jaw clenched as she threaded her fingers together and tightened them around one another. She’d had a sense of being watched, but like Shayne, she’d been unable to pinpoint who was watching or what they wanted.

“I can’t believe you two.” Her mother spoke up before she had a chance to, her voice rising in maternal fury. “You suspected she was being followed, she was attacked, shot at and you never called me and warned me my daughter was in danger.”

“He hadn’t shared the fact that she’s had a tail on her with me, either.” Joe’s tone lowered, became deeper as he attempted to shift the focus from his own knowledge that Marty had been in danger, and that he hadn’t called his wife. “What the hell do you think you’re doing keeping that information from me?”

Now, this was familiar. This was one of the reasons Marty had moved out of her parents’ home the moment she had graduated high school. They fought over her, constantly. She was the only child, and the source of their greatest disagreements.

Not that her mother wasn’t usually right when she argued with them, but once it began, her fathers couldn’t help but bury each other deeper in trouble.

“I’ve had enough.” Marty rose quickly to her feet, intent on getting out of the house now as quickly as possible. Staring back at her godfather, the man she had always considered her other father, Marty felt hurt rise inside her. “Perhaps when you’re answering Mother, you can let me know as well why you wouldn’t warn me that your men were following me. It would have been nice to know, just in case I were wondering if I had gun sights trained on me again.”

“I did what I thought best.” He rose to his feet, his hands flattening on the table. “Like your father, I had no desire to ruin the vacation you’ve looked forward to for two years, unless there was no other choice.” He glanced at Khalid then. “And as much as I disapprove of Khalid dragging you into his life, I wanted you to have the time I felt you needed with him. It was bad enough you knew you were in danger. I wanted you comfortable, and I wanted you safe.”

A scathing reply rose to her lips, but she held it back. She loved her parents, all three of them. She had no desire to hurt them, despite Zach’s high-handedness.

“I’m going home.”

Khalid and Shayne rose as well. It was easy to see that both of them were intent on following her. She hoped they had fun sleeping in the car outside her apartment, because that was where she was heading.

“You’re staying with Khalid.” Zach made it sound like an order.

Marty gave a light, low laugh. “I don’t think so, Dad. But I’ll let you believe it if it will allow you to sleep better tonight.” She was angry. Her sharp tongue was impossible to control in the best of circumstances, but the hurt that rose inside her made it impossible to stem at the moment.

“Marty, you should stay here.” Her mother rose to her feet and moved to her, reaching out for her with loving hands. “Give your fathers a chance to figure out what’s going on before you leave.” She cast Zach a glare. “And they will figure it out, I promise you.”

“Then they can let me know when they do.” Kissing her mother’s cheek, she drew in a hard, deep breath before turning to her father, Joe. “Could I borrow the car, Dad?”

“Abdul has arrived with the limo,” Khalid said. “I’ll take you home.”

“Nice try, Khalid.” This time, her smile was tight, angry. “I think I’ll pass. You and Shayne can have a nice ride alone tonight. Consider it bonding time.”

“Sweetheart, stay the night.” Joe was on his feet, his face creased in worry. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise you.”

“Why are you so worried, Dad?” She gave a light, easy laugh filled with bitter amusement. “After all, Daddy Zach’s agents are keeping a nice careful eye on me, remember? I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll give me more gray hairs,” Zach muttered. “You should listen to us, Marty. Stay here the night.”

“I have a home and that’s where I need to be.” Taking the keys to her father’s car, she let her gaze go over the four men once again. “You know, I think you just made a decision for me that I’d only been considering until now. You’ll have my resignation on your desk by the end of the week. I’m sorry, Dad, but if you have your men shadowing me without my knowledge, then I have no business being a part of the Bureau.”

“Damn it to hell, Marty, don’t do that.” Zach straightened in shock as she, ignoring his surprise, left the kitchen.

Behind her, Joe and Zach were beginning to argue fiercely. Khalid and Shayne were stalking behind her; she could feel them as she moved quickly to the door.

“Marty.” Her mother’s hand touched her arm, drawing her to a stop at the front door. “Don’t make a hasty decision.”

Turning, Marty breathed out roughly, staring over her mother’s shoulder to where Khalid and Shayne watched her with equal amounts of thoughtful intensity.

“Go away,” she ordered them both, wearily. “Just leave me the hell alone.”

“We’ll be waiting outside.” It was a major concession on Khalid’s part, she could tell. She watched as they stepped outside.

Turning back to her mother, she shook her head tiredly and fought back tears. “You know, Mom, I hate having my life played with.”

Virginia’s smile was loving, understanding. “You learn how to deal with it,” she said softly, “when you’re married to them. I love them both, Marty, but sometimes I can’t wait for my vacation just to get away from them.”

Wrapping her arms around her chest, Marty dipped her head for a long moment as a sense of helplessness seemed to steal over her. “I think leaving the Bureau is best,” she finally said. “They can’t watch over me like a mother hen if I’m not there. And I doubt Braque Sawyers will give a damn what my fathers want when it comes to the assignments I get.”

Braque’s private security and investigation firm was a multinational enterprise. Marty knew for a fact that Braque wouldn’t consider the salary she was demanding if there was a chance of giving in to the FBI director’s controlling impulses where Marty was concerned. Nor would he give in to Khalid’s.

“You’re growing up,” Virginia stated sadly. “Just remember, Marty, they love you. They love us.”

“And I love them, Mom.” She sighed. “But if I’m going to keep loving them, then I need to get the hell away from them.”

“And Khalid?” Virginia asked. “Do you need to get away from him as well?”

Did she? “I rather hope he’s trainable.” Marty groaned; she knew the chances of that were slim to none. Well, slim actually wasn’t in the equation.

She doubted very seriously that Khalid was trainable in the least. If her mother’s skeptical look was anything to go by, then she doubted it as well.

Marty’s lips quirked with a bit of mocking amusement as she fought back a rueful laugh. Her mother didn’t bother to fight back her own amusement, nor her laughter. They both knew exactly the battle Marty was facing.

She reached for her mother, gave her a tight hug, then moved toward the door. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Mom.”

“Do that,” her mother commanded gently. “After all, I cut short sun, fun, and sand to come home and try to control your fathers for you. I, at least, deserve a call, as well as a few luncheons and a day of shopping.”

Marty groaned as she left the house and closed the door behind her. She hated luncheons and shopping days with her mother. They wore her out.

Ignoring the two men awaiting her, she moved down the steps and strode purposefully to her father’s black Jaguar, which was parked at the side of the circular drive.

She was aware of them getting into the limo, just as she was aware of the limo following her every step of the way as she headed home.

She was aggravated, tired, and holding on to her temper by a thread. Dealing with not one but two impossibly arrogant men wasn’t her idea of a fun night tonight. But it appeared it wasn’t something she was going to get out of, either.