Forever Betrayed: Forever Bluegrass #3 (9 page)

“Good evening, Poppy,” Zain said dryly as he kept a hand on Mila’s hip. He wanted her to know he wasn’t embarrassed, and she shouldn’t be either.

Poppy just smiled broadly as she walked up the stairs to the front door. “Mila, remember the cars will be in front of the café in the morning to take you out to the farm. I hope you have a good first day. Carry on.” She winked before heading inside.

Mila shook her head and Zain knew their time together was over. “I’ll send a car for you in the morning. I heard Kale was a driver, and trust me, you don’t want to risk getting Abby’s younger brother as your driver. Come to think of it, Riley and Reagan’s younger twin brothers, Porter and Parker, are also drivers. I’m definitely sending a car for you.”

Mila laughed and Zain felt it in his heart. It was a magical sound that he wanted to hear more of. “Thank you, but I can’t. I need to appear invisible to do my job. Arriving in Prince Zain’s car is not invisible and would probably get me in trouble with the chancellor.”

“Prince Zain? Do you still think of me like that?” Zain asked, trying to mask his disappointment.

Mila shook her head. “No. I stopped thinking of you and your mother as royalty about thirty seconds after meeting you both. It’s funny, really. I grew up rather wild—a diplomat’s kid in foreign countries and all that. Then something happened in college, and I seemed to turn into my mother. Prim, proper, and obedient. All of those things are what I needed to succeed at my job. If the chancellor discovered we’ve kissed, he would probably have me replaced since he wouldn’t know if he could trust me to best represent his interests. Something about that is rather exciting, don’t you think? Because I don’t plan on not kissing you again,” Mila winked.

Zain liked this more outspoken side of her. “You’re not going to get any complaints from me. So, we’ll be on a mission to appear proper when around anyone else and . . .”

“Wild when we’re not,” she said with a wicked grin on her face. “But that also means we need to play it safe.” Mila looked up at the bed and breakfast. “No more kissing where everyone can see us.”

“It’ll be tough, but I’ll restrain myself. After all, there’s always the secret room I showed you.” Zain felt a level of excitement he had never felt before. He knew he was attracted to her, but most women liked to be seen with him. They would post pictures of them all over the place, even when Zain hadn’t known there was a camera around. And they certainly made sure to engage in PDA. It was exciting to know she wanted him for him, not for publicity. The added level of not being caught, well, he was starting to understand the panties being left all over town.

Mila blushed and her breathing quickened. She liked the idea, too. “You’re not good for my prim and proper side. I already feel wilder, and don’t tell my mother, but I like it.” Mila stepped forward and ran her hand down his chest and over his abs.

“Mila.” Zain groaned as he tried to keep his hands off of her. The front door to the bed and breakfast was partially open and he didn’t want another staff member seeing them.

Mila glanced inside and then pulled him down for a searing kiss of tongue, lips, and hands. Then she was gone. Zain opened his eyes. “Sweet dreams.” Mila smirked as she skipped inside.

Zain took a deep breath and ran a hand over his short hair. His shirt was partially un-tucked and his zipper felt slightly opened. With a goofy grin on his face, he walked back to the café to pick up his car and head home. As much as he wanted to think only of Mila, he had a summit to run and Rahmi’s economy to stabilize.

The café’s lights were off as he started his car and put it into drive. Zain let his mind drift to Mila as he sped home. He grew up on these country roads and could drive them on autopilot. The rolling hills were highlighted by moonlight, and cows munched on bluegrass.

Thinking of what he would do to Mila in the secret room was Zain’s mistake. He didn’t see the person dressed in black flinging the tire spikes across the road until it was too late.

CHAPTER TEN

Mila hummed to herself as she undressed. Her body felt on fire. Every place Zain’s hands had touched felt energized. She couldn’t settle down as she tried to get ready for bed. Mila opened the window in the bathroom and went to brush her teeth. Was this really happening? Being kissed by Zain Ali Rahman was something dreams were made of. Not because he was a prince, but because he saw her.

Mila had spent years being invisible. She spoke only when spoken to, and most of the time the person wasn’t actually speaking to her, but to her employer. It wasn’t as if she had never had a boyfriend. She had one in every country she grew up in. The past few years were filled with married diplomats who hit on her. They were only concerned with feeling the power over any woman they wanted. Zain was different. They had talked, laughed, and kissed. And man, could he kiss.

Mila went to unhook her bra when the sounds of sirens tore through the night. She tried to look out the window to see what had happened, but the sounds of the sirens were heading away from Keeneston. With a nervous feeling of dread, she slowly walked to her bed and picked up her phone.

You’ve reached Zain. Leave a message.

Mila sank to the bed with worry. Her fingers shook as she dug around looking for Veronica’s number.

The phone was answered on the second ring.

“Veronica, it’s Mila Thiessen. I think something has happened to Zain.”

Zain blinked his eyes open and saw stars. Red, white, and blue stars flashed on the nearby cows. This was strange. It felt as if his neck was on fire and he had the headache to end all headaches.

“Zain, can you hear me?”

“Cody?” Zain mumbled as he blinked at the cows.

The new deputy’s face came into view as he sliced the airbag away with a knife. “I was worried about you. An ambulance is on the way. I called Dr. Emma at her home. She’ll be here before the ambulance arrives from Lexington. What happened?”

“There was someone in the road. They laid out a spike strip so fast that I couldn’t avoid it. My tires blew and I careened off the road. I almost hit a tree but missed it. Then the airbags went off and I guess it knocked me out for a minute.”

Cody nodded as he took notes. “You shot through the fence and into the cow pasture. Security from the farm called me to report your car had been hit and sent me the GPS location. I didn’t know all of your cars were monitored 24/7.”

“They are. So, I’m not imagining the cows?” Zain asked as a cow poked his head into the passenger window.

“Nope.”

“Did the fence knock me out? “

“No, the cow you hit did. Don’t worry; the cow appears better than you. Did you see anything else about this person? Man? Woman? Build?” Cody asked as another car slowed to a stop.

“No. They were dressed in black and had a baseball cap on. I could tell they were average weight. They were bent over, so I can’t even tell you how tall they might have been. Nor can I tell you if it was a man or woman. Did you get anything off the spike strip?”

Cody shook his head. “It’s not there. They cleaned up after themselves.”

“How bad is the car?” Zain asked as he heard another person approaching.

“The front is smashed up and the windshield is done. Here’s Dr. Emma,” Cody said as he stepped back, and Emma’s curly brown-and-gray hair came into view. Emma was married to former Deputy Noodle, who had just retired from the sheriff's office. Cody had taken his place on the force. Emma was an ER physician in Lexington and served as the unofficial town doctor.

“Cody,” Zain called out before Emma could start her exam. “If he or she meant to do me harm, then why not finish me off when I was unconscious?”

Cody’s lips flattened as he thought. “I’ll look into it. Here’s Nabi. I’ll discuss it with him. And I believe your parents are right behind them. Who drives a white sedan?”

“Veronica,” Zain said as he closed his eyes. Was everyone from town going to be here?

“Zain!” He heard his mother yell the second her door opened somewhere behind him.

“How long was he out?” Dr. Emma asked Cody as she flashed a light in his eyes with one hand and took his blood pressure at the same time.

“I got the call seconds after impact and was here in under eight minutes. He was already waking up when I arrived,” Cody said before Nabi pulled him away.

“How is he, Emma?” his father’s worried voice called. He saw his parents hovering behind her.

“I’m fine. Just took a hit from the airbag. And a cow.” Zain tried to reassure them as Veronica’s worried face came into view behind his parents. She whispered something into her phone.

“I want to take him into Lexington for X-rays and a CT scan. He has a burn on his neck from the seatbelt and a burn from the airbag above his eye, but otherwise everything else appears to be okay,” Emma told the group huddled around the car.

Veronica spoke into the phone and then hung up. “Kareem and I will take care of everything if you need to stay in the hospital,” she reassured him as his parents peppered Emma with questions.

Zain groaned as he moved to get out of the car. The seatbelt left bruises, and he had a fierce headache but was fine otherwise. “I’ll be there, Veronica. Don’t worry.”

“I will fill in for whatever Zain needs to miss,” his father said as he stepped over to help Zain stand up.

“Thanks, Dad, but I’m fine. And it won’t look good to have my father fill in for me as if I can’t do it myself. Not with Surman looking for any weakness they can exploit. Do you think they could be behind this?” Zain asked as Emma worked on cleaning his burns.

Nabi came over with a determined look on his face. “I’ll find out. However, we don’t have much to go on. We’ll check the rooms of the staff already here to see if we can find the spikes.”

“Don’t you think the countries would have issue with that?”

Nabi’s lips quirked. “Maybe if they knew about it. Tomorrow morning they’ll all be at the farm.”

Zain gave a single nod of his head in approval—not that Nabi was asking for it. It would have been done one way or the other. His security team would take this personally. There hadn’t been a threat made against the royal family since before Zain was born. The fact that someone had gotten this close to killing him was going to change everything.

By the time the ambulance had arrived, Ahmed and half of the security force were there and combing the scene with Sheriff Marshall Davies and State Trooper Matt Walz.

“I’ll lead the ambulance so I can be his admitting doctor,” Emma said as she got into her car while Zain reluctantly got onto the gurney.

His mother climbed into the ambulance along with Ahmed. Veronica hurried to his side. “I’ll take care of everything if you’re late. Also, Mila called worried about you when she heard the sirens. I’ve updated her. She told me to tell you she was thinking about you.”

“Who’s thinking of him?” Dani called from the ambulance.

“All of us,” Veronica said smoothly as she gave Zain’s hand a squeeze and let him be loaded in the back of the ambulance.

*     *     *

Mila had barely slept. Veronica had let her know Zain was all right but going to the hospital for X-rays and a CT scan. However, she hadn’t heard anything since then, and she was in a near state of panic. She tried to tell herself she’d only known Zain a short time, that her heart shouldn’t be breaking with worry, that he shouldn’t mean so much to her. But that was all for naught. He meant that much to her even though their future appeared limited to the three days of the summit. So Mila got dressed and walked to the café. She hoped to force herself to eat before she caught a ride to the farm to meet with the chancellor a couple hours before the summit began. Mila only wished she’d be able to see Zain alone for a few minutes to make sure he wasn’t too badly hurt before the opening meeting.

Mila had met some of the other interpreters that morning, and it was clear from the narrowed looks she was getting that they had already circulated the fact that she was hanging with the locals, including Zain. Wonderful. She would have to start her job out by informing the chancellor of this, subtly, so he wouldn’t hear it from another dignitary.

Staff and interpreters were already sitting at the outside bistro tables as Cassidy and Poppy hurried to serve coffee, tea, and breakfast to them. As they finished, they stepped up to the first car in a long line of cars on Main Street and drove off to the farm.

“Mila!” Poppy called out. “There are no empty tables, but Sienna’s brother Carter has room at his table if you don’t mind sharing. He may even be able to drive you to the summit.”

Several of the interpreters looked over at her and put their heads together to whisper. Great, no working together this time around. “Sounds good. I don’t have much time to wait for a table anyway.”

Poppy hurried to set down a plate of pancakes, and Mila followed her to a table inside. A man around Mila’s age was sitting there reading the newest issue of
The
Keeneston Journal
. When Poppy stopped, the brown-haired man looked up and Mila saw that he had dark-brown eyes, a square jaw, and a sexy dimple to accompany his smile.

“Carter, this is Mila Thiessen. She’s the German interpreter and needs a place to eat. Can she share your table?” Poppy asked as she placed a menu at the empty chair across from Carter.

“Of course. Ryan told me all about you. I heard from Ryan this morning that Sienna still hasn’t gotten out of bed. She just groaned a lot. But you don’t seem to be similarly affected.”

Mila took her seat and quickly placed her order with Poppy before turning her attention to Carter. “I spent some of my high school years in Poland. There was a great amount of very strong homemade vodka consumed. I guess I grew tolerant of alcohol. Sorry Sienna is suffering. She’s really nice.”

Carter’s face showed his love for his sister. “She is. So, are you ready for the summit?”

“As ready as I will ever be.” Mila lowered her voice and leaned forward. “Zain was in an accident last night.”

“I know,” Carter said, his smile falling from his face.

Mila tried to act casually. “Do you know how he is?”

“I know he’s still at the hospital. There was some delay in getting all his scans. He should be back in time for his opening speech, though,” Carter told her.

“That’s good. Do you know if it was serious?”

“I know they want to keep it quiet,” Carter said gravely.

“I understand. I was just worried. I know he’s friends with Ryan and your sister, so I just hoped you knew something.”

Carter looked at her and she had a feeling he was making an assessment. Finally he said, “The whole town knows about it, but we won’t say anything to any of the tourists. However, none of them have asked about it. You have. Why?”

“Zain has been nice to me. I hate to see him injured when he’s worked so hard to put this together. And I feel guilty. Maybe if he hadn’t taken the time to walk me home, then he would haven’t have been tired or whatever it was that caused him to have his accident.”

“Mila,” Carter said as his voice dropped, “it wasn’t an accident.”

Zain pulled the blood pressure cuff from his arm and removed the various cords and wires that were hooked up to him. He had a bruise above his eye and across his chest, but apart from that, he felt fine. The CT machine had been down for much of the night, but the test was now complete. He was tired of waiting and needed to get to the summit. He’d already had Kareem talk to Surman and Tahjad about rescheduling. Surman, it appeared, was uninterested and took the missed meeting as an insult.

Well, he wasn’t going to sit in the hospital any longer. If he hurried home, then he would be able to change and grab a quick bite to eat before his opening remarks.

“What do you think you are doing?” the slow and deadly voice asked.

“I’m putting on my pants. You’re slowing down in your old age, Ahmed,” Zain tried to tease.

Ahmed didn’t smile. “Get back into that bed or I’ll put you there myself.”

“No. I have a summit to run, and I don’t want whoever is behind this to think they have won. I’m not going to hide.”

“Zain,” Dr. Emma said as she walked in looking down at his chart.

“Yes?”Dr. Emma’s head shot up when she realized he was no longer in bed but was pulling on his shirt instead. “Your scans are clear. You’ve been discharged. I won’t bother to tell you to rest.”

Zain shot a smile to Ahmed who again didn’t smile. “I’ll call for the car to be brought around. We’ll go out the side stairwell.”

Zain thanked Emma and slid his feet into his shoes. It wasn’t just the summit he was in a hurry to see. He’d been thinking of Mila all night. He had wanted to call her, but when he’d reached into his pocket to get his phone, he’d found it was broken. At least he knew Veronica had told her he was okay, and he knew Veronica would have a new phone for him as soon as he got back to town.

Ahmed looked down at his phone. “The car is in place. We have a lot to talk about on the drive home—starting with the rule that you’re not allowed to go anywhere without security.”