Guilty Pleasure

3

A week later, Khalid stepped into the secured meeting room Sebastian had prepared and faced a part of his past that he had avoided at all costs.

Staring back at the man who could have been his twin brother, Khalid felt his chest tighten, felt the pent-up agony of guilt, and fought not to apologize once again for events he had been unable to control.

Abram el Hamid-Mustafa rose slowly from the couch, his muscular frame standing tall and proud as fierce black eyes stared from a face that had turned to stone years before.

A short, neatly trimmed beard and mustache now covered his lower face. Thick, heavy black lashes would have given his black eyes a sensual, drowsy look had it not been for the pure ice that filled his gaze.

That ice melted as Khalid closed the door behind him and watched as Abram approached him. Behind the other man, Sebastian remained sitting, just as Shayne did.

They were the only ones to attend this meeting, the first in more than two years.

“Khalid, you are of course looking as decadent as ever.” A glimmer of a smile warmed Abram’s dark gaze as he took in the jeans, the untucked white shirt, and casual leather shoes that Khalid wore.

Khalid grunted at the description as he shot a disgruntled look at his brother’s attire. “Slumming today?”

Abram wore a baseball cap, jeans, and a black T-shirt with the name of a popular hard rock band emblazoned on it.

“Ah, the things we must do to survive, eh?” Abram plucked at the front of his shirt before giving Khalid a brief, strong hug and murmuring quietly, “It is good to see you again, little brother.”

“Five minutes doesn’t make me your little brother,” Khalid reminded him as they parted.

“Of course it does.” It was their lifelong argument. “Just because you are the son of his prized, redheaded pigeon doesn’t make you any less younger than I. It simply makes you luckier.”

Khalid’s mother, Marilyn Kobrin, a French college student who had been kidnapped while on vacation had had a brother, as well as a fiancé, who had been determined to find her. Marilyn hadn’t been the type to sit around and wait on rescue, however.

No more than a few weeks after Khalid’s birth, she had wrapped her child in a blanket, tied him to her back, and escaped the palace she had been locked inside, for the desert beyond.

She should have died. The desert was no place for a woman alone with a child to care for and very little water for her on her journey.

Fortunately, her brother and fiancé had managed to track her to Azir’s lands and had been watching the palace as she scaled down the wall that had enclosed the gardens that the women were allowed to gather within.

Azir’s “redheaded pigeon,” as he had called her, had flown the cage and quickly escaped with the son Azir had claimed as his second heir. An heir he hadn’t seen again for eighteen years.

“I’m not so certain about the ‘lucky’ part.” Khalid shrugged. “It seems to me that neither us have much influence in the luck department.”

“Luck is what you make of it.” Abram sighed wearily as they both moved to the bar.

Sebastian and Shayne joined them, the two men remaining quiet as Khalid and Abram fought to find that comfort level they had once shared.

They had been nearly inseparable after Khalid had returned to the desert to meet, and to destroy, the man who claimed to be his father. Now, more than ten years later, Khalid wondered if he and Abram weren’t the ones who would eventually be destroyed.

“So, I hear from Shayne that your woman has you running in circles.” There was an edge of amusement to Abram’s voice, as well as something else. Something darker, something edged with danger or warning.

“She’s definitely making life interesting,” Khalid agreed as Shayne poured their drinks and handed them across the bar.

“She’s got him watching the shadows and pacing the rooms, Abram.” Shayne grunted. “He doesn’t know if he’s coming or going.”

Khalid’s lips tightened as he turned away from the bar.

“There is no need for guilt, Khalid.” Abram’s quiet statement made him pause.

“Isn’t there?” Khalid asked before shaking his head and continuing to the sitting area arranged in the middle of the room. “Why are you here, Abram?”

He couldn’t imagine what would make his brother risk his life, as well as his place within Azir Mustafa’s heirship, to visit his little brother.

“Actually, I managed to manipulate Azir into ordering the visit.” Disgust filled Abram’s tone as he spoke of their father. “He wishes the trip to remain a secret from Ayid and Aman. According to him, it would only upset them needlessly.”

Rage ignited inside Khalid at the thought of Azir’s loyalty to his two youngest sons. They were terrorists, men who sought to destroy everything the royal family, Azir’s distant cousins, had ever fought to maintain.

Azir had protected them for far too many years. He had lied for them, defended them, stood in front of his king and swore that Khalid lied, and that, as an American citizen, Khalid had no loyalty to Saudi Arabia or to the ruling family. And therefore, there was no basis to believe his account of the death of Lessa Mustafa, Abram’s young wife.

“And how did you manage such a manipulation?” Khalid sneered, thinking of Azir and his own manipulations where his two youngest sons were involved.

“There are rumors.” Carrying his drink, Abram moved to the sofa across from Khalid and took his seat once again. “Azir has heard that you were involved in the capture of a small terrorist cell moving into D.C. several months ago. Two of the men were killed. Ayid and Aman were involved with this terrorist cell. Azir fears you’re going to target this once again.”

“So I have.” Khalid sipped at his drink as he stared back at Abram, reading the hatred and icy rage in his brother’s gaze.

It was a rage that filled Khalid as well. A rage born of blood and death, of deceit and hatred.

“Azir does to Ayid and Aman the same as he does to us.” Abram grimaced in anger. “You know this well. He defends them, refuses to believe the truth. That we will destroy Ayid and Aman, no matter what it costs, and vice versa. The world he lives in is not one that reality touches.”

“At least not in this matter,” Khalid agreed. “Did the old bastard send you to beg me again not to kill them?”

Each time his brothers fucked up, Azir sent a plea to Khalid to stay his hand, to leave his brothers unharmed. Khalid ignored each plea, and with every bit of information and proof he could garner, he sought to take his brothers down.

“This is a fair description of the reason he sent me,” Abram said, his tone rasping with fury and pain. “As though the past had never happened.” Abram shook his head. “As though the blood of my wife does not stain their hands.”

The blood of his wife, as well as the blood of Aman’s and Ayid’s own wives.

“They won’t forget the vendetta they have against the two of you,” Sebastian warned them as he and Shayne remained at the bar. “They’re only growing in strength and numbers, Khalid. The men you helped capture in D.C. was only a small number of them.”

Khalid was well aware of that.

“That mission you and Shayne cooperated with was one Ayid and Aman were counting on succeeding,” Abram said as he leaned closer, his gaze becoming cold and hard once again. “It is only a matter of time, Khalid, before they learn for sure of our involvement. When they do, they will strike once again. I do not wish to see you lose what I lost so long ago. Your woman must remain safe.”

“There’s no way they can find out.” Khalid shook his head. “I’ve learned how to cover my tracks, Abram.”

That was something he and Abram both hadn’t known how to do effectively during those years in Saudi. That inexperience had cost them Lessa’s life, and nearly their own.

“Rumors are already surfacing,” Abram argued. “Just as I know Shayne has warned you. One of the terrorists involved in the D.C. cell managed to escape back to Saudi. He carried the tale that he saw you when the agents swarmed into the safe house for the arrest. Were you there?”

“The chance that Ayid and Aman would be there was too great,” Khalid said, his voice tight.

But they hadn’t been there. They had returned to Saudi hours before the Homeland Security agents had overtaken the small cell.

It had been a far different scenario than the one of ten years before in Saudi, just outside Riyadh.

There had been no agents then, just a fighter jet and a bomb, and a small, mud hut beneath the blistering sun just outside the city. The eight-man terrorist cell had been gathered there, along with Ayid, Aman, and their wives. That time as well, his brothers’ luck had ridden fast and hard upon their backs. Ayid and Aman had slipped from the hut to meet with a contact they had approached within the Saudi Royal Palace. A cook who had conspired with them to kill the king and his immediate family.

The Saudi Royal Air Force had struck before they returned to the hut, and the information that it was Khalid who had supplied their location to the Air Force had been on the cook’s lips when he met with the brothers.

Ayid and Aman had known who to strike, just as they had known that Abram would have been involved in whatever Khalid was involved in. Abram and Khalid hadn’t been at the palace when the brothers had returned, but Lessa had been. And because Abram had shared his wife’s body with Khalid, Azir had stood back and allowed Ayid and Aman to brutalize her.

He had blamed Lessa for what he called Abram’s and Khalid’s “unnatural desires.”

“Ayid and Aman weren’t there, though,” Abram informed him about the most recent mission. “Their suspicion that you and I were working together once again to provide the information of the movements of this cell have risen due to the information the terrorist carried back to Ayid and Aman’s ears after the raid. He swore he saw you.”

“And what does Azir think?” Khalid asked curiously.

“So far, he has Ayid and Aman on a tight leash,” Abram sighed heavily. “It is a hold that may not last long. And it is one that Ayid, especially, will find a way to work around.”

Ayid was older than Aman. He was the leader and the planner, while Aman was no more than the gopher, the pitiful sidekick who followed whichever direction Ayid took.

Khalid could feel rising inside him now the certainty that Ayid and Aman would strike against him.

And what better way to strike than to come after a woman Khalid claimed as his own?

Marty’s timing was damned inconvenient, Khalid thought.

“Khalid, Zach has his men on this as well,” Shayne said, his tone low as Khalid rose slowly from the couch to pace to the window that looked out over the gardens. “There’s no way you can hide the fact that there’s something between you and Marty. Not now.”

Khalid wanted to shake his head. He wanted to deny that he had done anything, that he had ever placed her in danger. But there was no denying it. He had done just that. He had drawn her into the most dangerous game of his life, and he was damned if he knew how to pull back now.

“Ayid and Aman have sworn their vengeance against both of us,” Abram reminded Khalid. “I cannot stay and help you protect her.”

No, he couldn’t stay. He would not be Khalid’s third. Not that Khalid had planned to go that route. Abram had his responsibilities in Saudi, and Khalid had his here-despite the bond that had developed between them during the years Khalid had spent in Azir Mustafa’s small region. The brothers, so close in looks and temperament, had found they had shared similar interests as well. Most especially that dark, driving hunger to share their lovers.

“When are you going back?” Abram never stayed long, never spent enough time away from Saudi to allow the brothers to suspect that he was doing more than attending business in Riyadh.

“In a few days,” Abram answered as Khalid turned back to him. “I’ve brought with me the pictures and files I’ve put together over the months for Shayne and Zach Jennings. The training camp in the mountains, just over the border, has grown in recruits. I counted more than thirty men last week. Ayid and Aman were there, but, as always, their faces were covered. There’s no way to prove it’s them by pictures alone.”

The brothers moved with a distinctive stride and their voices had a clearly recognizable pitch. There was no way to document it though without a recorder, and there was no way Abram could get close enough for that.

“Our main concern at this point is their next move,” Shayne said. “As I told you when I arrived, Ayid and Aman are already accusing you and Abram of being part of the capture of the D.C. cell. That was too important to them, Khalid. They’re going to come after you.”

Of course they were. Sooner or later. They may even get lucky and manage to kill him this time.

Not that they hadn’t tried hard before. Unfortunately, they were limited in the funds Azir allowed them, as well as in the freedom he gave them. And they would never be satisfied unless they could drive the stake into his heart themselves.

“I’ll be prepared, then.” He gave a short, brief nod to the three men watching him. “And I’ll make sure Marty’s protected.”

“There is no more that I can do here, then.” Abram removed the baseball cap to run the fingers of one hand through his hair before replacing the cap. He gazed back at Khalid regretfully. “I must go now.”

Khalid moved to him, embraced him, and damned if he didn’t also feel regret tearing through him. They had made a pact so many years ago, to always be a part of the other’s lives. Now, not only distance separated them, but also the evil whose blood they shared.

“Kiss your lovely woman for me,” Abram said softly as he drew back. “And watch your back, Khalid.”

“Abram, I’ll see you back to your hotel.” Sebastian stepped from the small private bar, his black eyes in contrast to the dark blond hair that grew thick and long to the collar of his black shirt.

“Once again, I am in your debt, Sebastian.” Abram nodded as Shayne also moved forward.

Extending his hand, Abram shook Shayne’s firmly. “Watch out for my little brother.” His lips quirked with amused fondness as he glanced back at Khalid. “See you soon.”

Leaving the room, Abram didn’t look back. He never did. Khalid saw his big bodyguard, Mohammed, step forward to lead Abram from the building. And then the door closed behind him and his brother was gone once again. Turning to Shayne, Khalid gave a weary sigh. “I must make a few calls. If you don’t mind meeting me in the bar later?”

Shayne gave a quick nod and an amused grin as he strode to the door before turning back. “Tell Zach I said hi.”

The panel closed softly behind him, leaving Khalid alone with nothing but his thoughts and his fears.

The fear that his past was rising against him now, and the fear that despite the battle he had waged against it, Marty would be smack in the middle of it this time.

Jerking the cell phone from the holster at his side he flipped it open and placed his call.

“Zach.” The FBI director answered on the first ring.

“We have a problem.”