Page 27

“G entlemen, please have a seat." King Rajeemh gestured to a sitting area as Ian, Devon, and Darius walked into his large office in the Clearwater Beach estate. "Can Semira get you something to drink? Coffee, tea, or something else?"

Darius followed his bosses’ leads and requested a coffee from the woman wearing a black skirt and crisp, white, button-down shirt, standing next to a table laden with anything they might be in the mood for.

He then sat on a couch next to Devon, while Ian took an upholstered wingback chair, opposite the leather one the king was sitting in.

The only other people in the room were Amar, who was standing behind and to the left of the king's chair, and the king's chief of staff, Sebak Fahim, who was sitting on a loveseat across from the couch.

His Majesty waited as the drinks were served and a platter of finger sandwiches and pieces of fruit was set on the coffee table between them.

It had taken a little more than an hour to make all the arrangements for Tahira to be released from the hospital.

Dr. Moreau would be making a house call tomorrow to check up on his patient.

He'd also strongly suggested to Darius that Tahira speak with a psychologist experienced with sexual assault victims. When Darius had mentioned Dr. Trudy Dunbar, Moreau had agreed she’d be a good choice.

Darius would call Dunbar's office after this meeting and make an appointment.

When they’d first arrived at the estate a short time ago, Queen Azira had whisked her daughter up to the younger woman's bedroom, insisting she get more rest. The bags under Tahira’s eyes had belied her attempts to convince everyone she wasn't tired.

The server glanced around and then addressed her employer. "Is there anything else I can get for you, Your Majesty?"

The king gave her a kind smile. "No, Semira, thank you. That will be all. I will call for you if we require anything else. Please make certain Princess Tahira is settled in her room."

"Of course, Sire." She bowed slightly at the waist, then left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

Once she was gone, Rajeemh glanced up at the head of his security. "Amar, please sit and tell me where you are in the investigation."

The man took a seat next to the chief of staff.

"While I've held off on interviewing Princess Tahira until she was released from the hospital, I have spoken with Lahana and Nala. Neither recall ever having seen the men who kidnapped them in Jamaica before, and they did not see those same men at all once they awakened in Argentina. They could not give anything further than what we’d learned from the few witnesses at the park. Their memories of the actual abduction are blurred, most likely due to a combination of fear, shock, and whatever they were drugged with. On that matter, the drug used to sedate them was out of their systems by the time the blood tests were done at the hospital, as expected.”

Lahana and Nala had been treated and released from the same private wing at the hospital where Tahira had been.

They'd boarded a private jet to return to their families in Timasur yesterday morning, hours before their cousin had arrived on US soil.

Lahana would receive all the help she needed to get past her sexual assault as Tahira would.

“As far as we can tell,” Amar continued, “the kidnappers were not on the cruise—all other guests and staff were accounted for before they left port.

Ian sent Jake and Nick to the ship to recover the women's belongings, and they didn’t find any clues as to who may have abducted the women.

Farid, Daillo, and my other men assigned to the princess did not notice anyone suspicious paying attention to the women.

Any attempts by other male guests to interact with the women were discouraged by Farid and Daillo, and there were no altercations as a result. "

Darius noticed that whenever Amar mentioned Farid and Daillo, the king frowned but didn't say anything. Since Farid was his nephew, it was probably Daillo he disapproved of. Darius made a mental note to find out more about the man who had joined the cousins on their cruise.

"The Jamaican police are doing their best to try to identify the kidnappers, however the trail has grown cold.

They are still trying to track down the final three jets that left the private airport during the timeframe we believe the women were flown off the island.

If any further information comes to light, I will let you know immediately. "

The king acknowledged him with a nod before his attention turned to the man sitting directly across the coffee table from him. “Ian, my friend, once again, I must thank you, Devon, Darius, and the rest of your employees for rescuing Tahira and her cousins."

"No thanks necessary, Your Majesty,” Ian responded. "I'm just glad Darius was in the right place at the right time."

"As much as I would like her to return home with her mother and me, she has asked to remain here during her recovery.

I would appreciate if you handled increasing the security measures, so her mother does not worry.

We will be leaving for Timasur in the morning.

Unfortunately, we are hosting the President of South Korea for a state dinner and trade talks.

It took a long time to arrange, and to cancel would cause more questions and problems than I want to deal with at this time.

Tahira's privacy is my utmost concern, and if that means I must return home, so be it.

"Sebak, has the official press release been prepared to announce the rescue of Tahira, Nala, and Lahana and deaths of Amar's men?"

"Yes, Sire. I have it here for you to approve.

" Opening a manila file he'd been holding, the squirrelly-looking man handed Rajeemh a piece of paper.

"Amar has already reviewed it. We thought it was best to not hide the abduction but have kept many of the details out, including Lahana's assault.

However, there is a chance further information will eventually be revealed if any of the other women rescued talk to the press, and we are prepared to deal with it if that happens.

Once the other hostages had been rescued, the Deimos operatives had made sure they were returned to their families.

The women were told their captors had been killed, including the man who'd sexually assaulted some of them.

They were also asked to remain silent about the princess, her cousins, the rescue, and the rescuers, however, there was no way to guarantee they would remain mum.

His majesty instructed his staff to make certain all the rescued women received any aftercare necessary to help them deal with what had happened and he would quietly pay for it.

Fahim consulted his notes. "I have mentioned the guards' funerals are being arranged by the palace and their families will be taken care of during this difficult time.

We are requesting that the press allow them to mourn in peace.

We are also requesting they allow Princess Tahira and her cousins a chance to recover from their ordeal.

No interviews will be granted, and an updated schedule of Her Royal Highness's public events will be posted within the week.

"As for the rescue, all we are saying is it was done by the royal guard’s special forces team and nothing more will be released about the mission.

Mr. Sawyer ...” he nodded in Ian's direction, “.

.. requested that Trident and its operatives not be mentioned.

" There had been no need to ask Fahim to not mention Deimos since the man, nor the king, had any knowledge of the US black-ops agency's existence.

“To avoid overshadowing the state dinner, I’ll hold the press release until the day after. And as you requested, I have left out the news of Princess Tahira's engagement for the moment."

Over the tops of his wire reading glasses, Fahim glared at Darius. The man clearly did not approve of the princess marrying a non-royal from America. Too bad, Darius thought. The little shit didn't have a say in the matter.

Clearing his throat, Rajeemh read the press release then handed it back to his chief of staff. "Very good. That will be all for now Sebak."

Dismissed, the man gathered his papers, stood, and left the room. The king turned back to Amar. "Unfortunately, I need you to accompany Azira and me home. The security for the prime minister's visit requires your full attention. Who will you be leaving in charge here?"

It was at that moment that Darius remembered Tahira's bodyguard, Kojo, who'd been killed, had been one of Amar's executive guards and in charge of Tahira's detail for the past year or two. Darius had met the man on a few occasions and had liked him.

"I've assigned Jabari Bastide to fill the position, sir," Amar responded. "He was already in line for a promotion and has been on the princess's detail for the past eighteen months."

"He was one of the guards left behind on the cruise when the women went ashore, correct?"

"Yes, he was. I've interviewed him and the other guards extensively.

The princess and her cousins insisted on going ashore with only two guards.

They didn't want to attract attention with a large entourage.

Farid and Diallo also confirmed this. Since Her Royal Highness is often accompanied only by two guards, unless she is attending a highly-publicized function, they did not see any harm in her request. Either way, Jabari had been on duty overnight and scheduled to be off until later that evening.

There is no record of him leaving the ship while it was docked in Jamaica, and I trust he had no part in any plot to kidnap the princess. "