The Prince’s Secret Twins (Al-Sintra Family #2)

Chapter 8

Tila heard the stealthy sounds and turned, suddenly feeling her heart pound frantically against her ribs. Nothing. Had she only imagined the soft noise? She stood very still, watching, rubbing Laith’s back as she watched, waiting.

A moment later, a shadow moved past her window. Normally, this would be cause to call the police emergency line. But in her heart, she knew the shadow was Joran coming back to her.

Tila tried to ignore the excited thud of her heart. He was going to emotionally hurt her again. He’d popped in and out of her life too many times to think he would suddenly change.

Tila refused to be a naive fool anymore. Tonight, she would stand her ground! She would simply tell Joran to leave her and her babies alone. She couldn’t do this crazy is-he-isn’t-he going to show up thing anymore. She had far more important things to do.

All day, she’d mourned the loss of Joran, because she knew she’d have to tell him to stay out of her life. And in her heart, Tila knew this was no way to live. Even now, as she waited, she reminded herself for the hundredth time. A man, a father, who flitted into her life only in the darkness of the night was not a healthy relationship. She should have stopped this madness long before she’d gotten pregnant. But at the time, it had been exciting.

However, it wasn’t exciting anymore. True, her heart was racing, but her heart wasn’t in charge. Not tonight. Her mind was in control and it was past time to move on. She couldn’t keep waiting for Joran. Not anymore. Never again. This was the end.

So, she didn’t scream with alarm when a black-clad leg poked through her window. It was a little startling when the leg jerked back out of her window though. She stopped bouncing Laith in her arms and stared. He was asleep again and she should be too. She’d quickly learned that sleeping whenever both boys were asleep was her only path to survival.

There were some unexpected grunts from outside. Had Joran fallen? Was he struggling to get up? There was a fig tree right outside that window. Had Joran damaged it? Fig trees didn’t have strong branches. The limbs were pretty spindly compared to most other trees. But they could poke and make life uncomfortable. She knew that from experience. Tila had snuck out through that window more than once during her younger years.

The fig leaves shook and there were more grunts and odd sounds. What in the world was going on out there?

She took a step closer, craning her neck to peer out the window. But it was Joran’s face that came into view. Tila forced her shoulders to relax as Joran pulled himself through the window. Why he hadn’t just come in through the front door? But when he stepped into the small bedroom where her sons usually slept, Tila felt a wave of anger. He could have woken up Rafi or Laith! What was he thinking, coming through that particular window? Joran had absolutely no respect or understanding of how much effort it took to get her sons to sleep!

She tried unsuccessfully to tamp it down. When Joran towered over her, she opened her mouth to rebuke him, but his mouth covered hers in a powerful, demanding kiss.

Tila melted, pressing closer, but Laith was still in her arms and Tila couldn’t get as close as she wanted.

Then Joran pulled away and Tila moaned wistfully, needing to keep the kiss going. She’d missed his kisses. No one kissed like Joran. He put his entire soul into kissing her, tasting her, making her want him. Her thoughts had been so consumed over the past few months with babies, that she’d nearly forgotten about the desire that Joran could always stoke within her.

“We need to go.”

Tila froze, confused. She blinked several times, staring up at him as she tried to interpret his words. But they didn’t make any sense. “Go? Go where?”

Joran sighed heavily, then reached out to lightly grip her upper arms. But Tila knew better than to let him touch her. Not again. She’d vowed to tell him to go away, but she’d kissed him back as soon as he’d touched her.

So no. No. No touching. She pulled back, shaking her head.

He looked confused for a moment, but thankfully, dropped his hands. “Tila, you and the babies aren’t safe here.”

“Of course we are.”

If she’d blinked, Tila would have missed the look of concern in his dark eyes. But he hid the expression quickly.

“You’re not safe, love. You need to come with me. I’ll keep you and the babies safe. But we need to leave. Now.”

Leave her home? Was he crazy?

“Nope,” she replied firmly, even shaking her head. “Not gonna happen, Joran. I’m done.” She would have sliced the air with her hand, but she was still holding Laith. “We’re done. We’re no longer going to…”

Her words trailed off as another black-clad leg came through the window. A stranger emerged and looked around. The man was heavily armed, just like the guys last night. A third man climbed through the window. The tiny room was now crowded with large men, plus her and Laith. Rafi was somehow still sleeping in his crib, oblivious to the terror surrounding him.

“Joran, what’s going on?” she demanded, pulling Laith closer.

Joran nudged her out of the small room, but Tila didn’t want to leave Rafi alone with heavily armed strangers. She kept looking back over her shoulder, but Joran kept her moving until they reached the narrow hallway.

“Tila, I’m not just a regular soldier,” he said in a soft, firm, voice.

“You’re not?” she asked, her attention flitting from Joran’s serious expression to the men who seemed to be…! “What are you doing!? You can’t just take that stuff!” They were shoving diapers and clothes into a small black pack as they ignored her protests. The men grabbed more diapers and wipes, then climbed back out the window.

“Honey,” Joran said, pulling her attention back to him.

Tila ignored Joran, pulling at him, trying to see around him. “Make them stop! Diapers are expensive! Why are they taking them?”

“Tila!” he snapped, his tone harder now. She stared up at him. “We need to leave immediately. I’m the Crown Prince of Lativa, love. You and our sons are in danger here. I need to get all of you to a safer place. Do you understand?”

Prince? He was a prince? Of Lativa? Okay, she’d known that Joran didn’t live in her town. She would have seen him at the store or the coffee shop. Everyone knew everyone in her tiny little town. But she’d assumed that he was at least a member of the Uftar military!

“You’re…what?” she asked, still confused.

He gripped her upper arms and this time, she didn’t pull away. “I’m Crown Prince Joran Al-Sintra of Lativa, Tila. You and our sons are in danger. I need to get you to safety.”

No. Absolutely not! She hadn’t had a wild affair with a prince!

He bent down so that their eyes were at the same level. “Tila, we need to move quickly. I have a car waiting outside. There are car seats already installed. We need to get out of here, right now. You and our sons are in danger.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “If you won’t help me, I will have to carry you. But I need you to hold one baby while I carry the other out to the vehicle. Can you do that?”

Tila considered for a long moment. “We’re not in danger. We can’t be.”

“You are,” he insisted. “Just now, a strange man was trying to break into your home. We stopped him. We have him tied up and will call the police for questioning. Will you trust me?”

She didn’t. Trust him, that is. But she’d seen the leg come through the window, heard the strange grunts. She understood the scuffle outside the window moments before Joran had come through.

So instead of arguing, she reacted on pure instinct. Tightening her hold on Laith, she nodded. “Get Rafi!” she hissed, already moving towards her bedroom. “I just need–”

“Don’t pack anything, we don’t have time. We need to move fast. Just put some shoes on and go to the front door. Don’t turn on any lights.” The lights in the hallway and the babies’ room went out. The house was suddenly very dark.

“Joran, you’re scaring me,” she told him, hugging Laith to her chest. She watched as Joran gently lifted Rafi into his arms. Miraculously, the tiny boy continued to sleep, his little mouth forming a moue as if he were dreaming about his next meal.

Joran cradled their son against his broad chest and the image startled Tila. The only people she’d seen holding her sons were herself and the nurses right after delivery. Seeing Joran holding Rafi made her want to cry.

“Tila!” Joran urged, jerking her out of her daze. “We have to move, honey.”

Tila heard the urgency in his tone and reacted automatically. She hugged Laith to her chest as she rushed over to the front door. She kicked her slippers off and shoved her bare feet into her sneakers. Then she turned, glanced around her newly cleaned home and wondered if she’d ever see it again. Something deep within her whispered the answer was no and that saddened her.

“Tila, love, you need to hurry,” Joran urged. She found him standing in the open doorway, cradling their son. Tila moved towards him, then paused briefly when she found a large SUV idling in her driveway. For some reason, the fact that the dome light didn’t come on when the door opened bothered her.

She found a car seat and lowered Laith into it, strapped him in carefully, then moved to sit down beside him. Rafi was already secured and Joran sat next to him. The vehicle was so large, there was enough room for both car seats, as well as herself and Joran, in the wide backseat. As soon as the door closed, the driver reversed out of her short driveway.

Tila wondered if her neighbors might be peering out through their windows, witnessing this clandestine departure. Her lips twitched slightly at the thought. Her neighborhood was clean and basically crime-free. But it was also filled with gossips. She’d been the target of their gossip ever since her first visit with her grandmother, years ago. Tila hadn’t adhered to their persnickety standards of behavior. Never had, and never would, she told herself as she watched the houses speed past.

Finally, the houses grew further apart until there were just large expanses of darkness. The driver finally turned on the headlights, and Tila was fairly certain that the SUV was going well over the speed limits.

“What’s going on, Joran?” she finally asked. There was a long silence as the tension hung thickly in the air.

He looked at her, then down at the two sleeping boys. “I told you who I am.”

She snorted. “You’re not a prince, Joran. You just told me that story to get me out of the house.”

The driver’s head jerked around and she caught his startled gaze before he returned his attention back to the road.

She shivered, not from the chilly night air, but because she was starting to worry that she’d made a horrific mistake. Had she just walked out of her home in the middle of the night with her precious babies because a man told her to? Dear heaven, had she just allowed her babies and herself to be kidnapped?

“Tila,” Joran’s voice interrupted her growing panic. He reached across their sleeping children, offering his hand.

Tila ignored the reassurance, knowing that any touch right now would further zap her brain cells.

“Who are you, really ?” she hissed. “What the hell is going on?”

He sighed, holding her gaze. “I really am Prince Joran Al-Sintra of Lativa. If you don’t believe me, then look me up online.”

She stared at him for a long moment, then her head nearly exploded. “I don’t have my cell phone!” In the rush to get out of the house, she only had her sneakers and the clothes she was wearing. Even her sons’ diapers had been taken away!

“Joran, I need you to…” She stopped when he flipped his phone around, showing her a picture. It was of him. He wasn’t smiling, and looked very stern and he wore a formal military uniform. She didn’t recognize the medals on his chest, but she definitely recognized the flag behind him. Tila wasn’t a very political person. She rarely listened to the news, preferring to focus her energy on her work and on living every day to the fullest.

So, it was a shock to find the man she’d had a wild affair with staring at her from what looked to be an official Lativa website. She swallowed hard, but couldn’t dislodge the lump of panic in her throat. Joran touched the screen and another picture appeared. This one was more familiar, even for someone like her who wasn’t up to date on politics. It was Sheik Khal Al-Sintra, current ruler of Lativa. He looked incredibly grumpy in that picture, and terrifying, if she was being completely honest. When Joran ran his finger over the screen again, a wedding picture appeared. The groom was Sheik Al-Sintra and his lovely wife, Tessa or…no, Tasha. She remembered when that wedding announcement had been all over the internet a few months ago. But it was the man standing beside the ruler that made her gasp. It was Joran and he looked so incredibly handsome!

“This is my older brother,” he explained. “And this is my younger brother.” He grimaced. “I used to be the middle child, but a little over a year ago, we discovered that my father’s second wife had a daughter.” He flipped to another picture. “This is Marianna. Technically, she’s my half-sister, but we don’t call her that. She’s ours and we’re keeping her.” He looked at the picture with pride.

That expression of pride was what convinced her that Joran was who he said he was. That he was a prince. No, a freaking crown prince! Didn’t that mean that he was next in line to be ruler?

The implications of that terrified her. “Are you…?” she stopped when her voice cracked and she tried again. “Are you going to take my boys from me?”

She felt Joran’s shock even in the darkness.

“What?” he snapped. “Why would you ask something like that?” he demanded. “Why would you even think it?”

Tila looked away, staring out at the inky blackness. “Because you’re a very powerful man, Joran. I’m just…” she looked down at her hands in her lap. She pressed her lips together. “I’m just a web designer. I have no power. I don’t have the money to fight you if you want custody.” She looked down at her adorable, sleeping twins. “But I can’t live without them!” She sniffed, fighting back sudden tears. “They are so much to handle and I know I haven’t slept enough for…I don’t actually know how long but–”

“Tila!” he interrupted, stopping her. “I would never take our sons from you. We’re heading back to Lativa. Once we’re there, we’ll get married. The boys will have everything they could possibly want. They’ll have tutors and nannies. You’ll be able to get a full night’s sleep, not just tonight, but every night. You’ll never want for anything ever again.” He reached over the boys, touching her shoulder. “Tila, you can stop working and just enjoy yourself.”

That startled her. “Why would I want to stop working?” she asked, baffled. “I love my job.”

He shrugged. “Then you can keep working. It doesn’t matter to me. My point is you can do whatever you want. I’ll support you and the boys in proper style.”

Tila swallowed hard, shaking her head. “You can’t promise me that.”

“Yes, I can,” he countered, grinning. “Everything, Tila. You can have everything.”

What about his love? Tila was stunned by that unexpected thought. She hadn’t ever thought about falling in love with Joran. He’d been her secret lover, the man who had come to her in the night, made wild, passionate love with her, then slipped away before the sun peeked over the horizon. He’d been her secret. But that didn’t mean that she loved him. Nor did he know her well enough to love her.

And suddenly, that was incredibly important to Tila. She’d never thought about falling in love before. But now, faced with her babies and their uncertain future and the unbelievable promises he was making, she realized all she truly wanted was his love.