CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Nadim sat at his desk, brooding, as he stared at the Kids Chat website on his laptop screen. His gaze rarely strayed from the cursor blinking in the message stream in anticipation of a response from the Corbett woman.
He lifted the crystal glass to his lips and took a long swallow of Kentucky bourbon. He’d grown accustomed to, even enjoyed the slow burn as it worked its way to his belly.
Like many other things, alcohol was forbidden by his religion. If his subjects found out their king regularly imbibed in his favorite American liquor, he could end up with a revolt on his hands. They would really be upset if they knew he committed adultery on a regular basis.
Knowing he would one day take his place, Nadim had watched and listened to his father for years. He’d learned that being the king afforded him a level of freedom and immunity from censure that others were not privy to. As such, he was able to treat himself to some of life’s simple yet forbidden pleasures with impunity .
His tongue dragged across the lip of the glass to catch a drop of bourbon, and his gaze shifted to the large clock hanging on the wall across the room.
Eleven twenty-seven.
“You have twenty-three minutes, Maya Corbett.” He set the heavy glass on a coaster, leaned back, and rested his elbows on the arms of his chair. He crossed his fingers together and thought about what it would be like to watch the life leave her eyes.
Adnan should be on his way to the girl’s room. He’d been given instructions to have her prepared for when they made contact with her mother. His friend was decidedly unenthusiastic about Nadim’s plan to exact his revenge against the woman who murdered his brother and, in doing so, hastened his father’s death.
Only a few years before, King Khaled suffered a serious heart attack, which had left him fragile and in a medically weakened state. The strain of hiding his illness while defending their family’s reputation against the foul rumors that constantly swirled around Zahir’s lifestyle—and the real reason for his brother’s sudden demise—had proved to be too much for their father.
Khaled’s second heart attack had left him bedridden and close to death.
“Come close, my son.” On his deathbed, weak and frail, his father couldn’t speak above a whisper .
Nadim had sat on the edge of the bed and leaned his ear close to his father’s mouth.
“Promise me you will avenge Zahir’s death.” These were the last words he ever spoke.
He vowed he would, then his father’s eyes drooped shut and he released his last, rattling breath.
Three days later, Nadim took his place upon the throne.
His father had a blind spot where his youngest son was concerned and never could accept that the rumors about Zahir weren’t rumors at all.
His youngest brother had always been a problem child. From the moment he was able to walk, he would find a way to get into places he had no business being. At the age of five, he’d nearly drowned in one of their pools after wandering outside alone. Quick thinking on the part of one of their gardeners was the only reason he survived.
Not much changed after he became an adult. His favorite haunts were whorehouses and gambling dens. Both of which were strictly forbidden. And trouble followed his youngest brother everywhere. The kind of trouble only their father, as the king, could make disappear. That, too, had taken a toll on their father’s health.
Nadim had conflicting emotions about his brother’s death. On the one hand, an incomprehensible anger burned inside him—no one killed a member of the royal family and lived. On the other hand, his brother’s death eliminated a lot of headaches for Nadim, the royal family, and his country.
He would honor the vow he’d made to his father, and once the Corbett woman was dealt with, he would figure out what to do with her offspring. Because he had no intention of releasing the girl.
Ping .
He sat forward and picked his cell phone up from his desk. Adnan . He tapped the screen to take the call and put it on speaker.
“Yes, my friend.” He finished the last of the bourbon in his glass.
“It is not appropriate for me to see the female child without her abaya.” The click of his heels on the marble floors could be heard through the phone. “Therefore, I have asked Halima to meet me in the girl’s room. She will prepare her.”
“Whatever you decide, just have her ready at the appropriate time.” His friend could be such a puritanical prude sometimes. “Once your sister has her ready, restart the video camera.”
After sending the first video to Maya, they’d sent in a woman from the household staff to check on the girl and turn off the camera.
“Nadim … Your Majesty, are you sur— ”
“Do as you are instructed, Adnan.” He added a bite to his words, as it was important to remind him of the boundaries between them.