Chapter 12
“I found him!” Mandy whispered, staring at the information on her screen.
Raven looked up from the files she was packing into boxes. “You found who?” she asked.
Mandy laughed, then jumped up, doing a little dance. “I found the guard who was working with…?”
Mandy’s celebratory dance abruptly halted when a strange looking servant stepped into the room with a tray of drinks and desserts. “Good morning, ladies,” the woman commented. “His Highness asked that I bring you some refreshments.”
Mandy stared at the servant, startled by the interruption, as well as the thick layer of makeup. The color of the foundation didn’t match the color of the skin on the servant’s neck. So there was a weird line where the makeup ended and natural skin began.
Mandy glanced over at Raven, relieved to see the confusion in her friend’s gaze as well.
“Thank you,” Raven replied. “If you would set that down on the table, we’ll have our treat as soon as we’re done here.”
The servant hesitated, looking over at Mandy with a strange shimmer to her eyes. “His Highness was very eager for you to try this dessert, ma’am. He ordered it specially for you.”
Adam’s apple! Mandy noticed that the large, oddly shaped “servant” had an Adam’s apple. Plus, one boob was significantly higher than the other. The left boob had fallen nearly to the “woman’s” belly button.
In other words, this wasn’t a woman! And most likely, not a servant.
“I’ll be sure to thank His Highness when I see him,” Mandy replied, walking over to Raven and standing in front of her. She felt Raven’s hand on her shoulder and knew that the other woman was trying to reassure Mandy that they were in this predicament together.
“Don’t you want to try them now?” the servant asked, shifting the tray forward. “The cookies are fresh from the oven and delicious. A palace specialty, made with secret ingredients.”
Raven snorted and Mandy remembered Astra’s attempt at making cookies with a “secret” ingredient.
“As delightful as that sounds, I need to get back to work.”
The servant set the tray down on the table, then folded “her” hands in front of her. “That’s very diligent of you. It sounded like you were excited about a new discovery. What sort of services do you provide to our illustrious leader?”
Raven’s fingers tightened on Mandy’s shoulders at the derogatory way the servant had said, “services”, implying that Raven and Mandy were here for sexual convenience.
“I think it’s time for you to leave,” Raven snapped, stepping to Mandy’s side. “We’ll sample the dessert later, when we have time. Thank you for delivering them to us.”
The servant’s eyes sharpened. Obviously, this person didn’t like being ordered about.
Instantly, Mandy realized she knew who this person was. “Hasan!” she gasped, then slapped a hand over her mouth. Hasan Isfari was the man she knew was embezzling money from the Sidrina government! He was the head of the Urban Affairs department!
A gun was pulled out of the man’s “boob” in the next moment.
“Okay, that was unexpected!” Raven hissed. Both of them backed up, terrified of the weapon. But in that same moment, one of Zahir’s personal bodyguards slipped into the office, silently stalking the man. Since the “servant” had his back to the door, he was unaware of the movement. Two more guards were right behind the first, all ready to tackle Mr. Isfari.
“You’re going to tell Sheik bin Aristi that you don’t know anything, then you’ll be on your merry way out of the country. Do we understand each other?”
Mandy nodded. “Absolutely,” she confirmed.
“Good!” the man snarled.
It was almost comical how easy it was for the guard behind Isfari to pluck the pistol from his grip. A moment later, the second guard viciously grabbed him and forced him to the ground, pinning his arms behind his.
The man struggled even as handcuffs were slapped onto his wrists. He lifted his head from the floor, his neck at an odd angle, so that he could roar, “You’re going to pay for this!”
The guards lifted the man up from the floor, steadied him and forced him out of the small office. Afterwards, there was a silence that was…almost painful!
Raven stepped closer and Mandy glanced over at her. “That was…anticlimactic!” she whispered. “I knew that you were working on something, but I had no idea…” she paused, then smiled. “I’m still not completely sure what just happened.”
Mandy nodded, too stunned to speak.
When she looked over at the door again, Zahir was striding towards her and Mandy gasped, then ran into his arms. He lifted her up, hugging her close as he buried his face in her hair.
“I heard everything, love!” he whispered. “He will be going to prison for the rest of his life. He’ll never get close enough to harm or threaten you ever again!”
Mandy laughed, hugging him back. Relief that the man was finally arrested made her head spin. “Is marriage to you always going to be this exciting?”
“No!” he growled, pulling back to look into her eyes. “I will protect you better going forward. I just need to find the security guard who–”
“I know who it is!” she whispered, her voice low but excited. “I’d just found him. He’s a security guard assigned to one of the back entrances. I’ve been going through every guards’ banking records and I found only one man who had several thousand dollars in unexplained deposits. I know who is working with Isfari!”
Zahir stared at her, stunned for a long moment. Then he kissed her. “You’re brilliant!” he hissed when he lifted his mouth again. “Absolutely brilliant!”
“What’s more, I’d said that there were four other agency employees that were working with Isfari, right?”
“Yes,” Zahir nodded. “Did you find out who they are as well?”
“They don’t exist,” she told him, bouncing on her toes with excitement. “They are fake employees! Hasan Isfari made them up and gave each identity a salary. I finally figured out that Isfari was slowly transferring their salaries into two different banks, and then into his personal Swiss account that was held under a relative’s name! I have evidence that all four identities are fake, and linked to him!”
There was a long silence as everyone absorbed that news. “Wow!” Raven finally said, breaking the silence.
“I want to hire your fiancée,” a new voice announced.
Everyone turned to find Sean, Timothy, and that new guy standing in the doorway, each wearing a bland expression.
Sean and Tim both turned to look at the new guy.
“I’m sorry?” she replied, not sure what to say.
The man stepped forward. “I’m Edward Worthington,” he explained.
Sean snorted. “He’s a bloody duke! Don’t give him the time of day!” Everyone laughed at the Irishman’s teasing tone that didn’t match the harsh words.
“Men are weird,” Raven whispered as she rolled her eyes.
Mandy was about to say something, but the words died on her lips when she saw…no, felt…the tension between her new friend and…Timothy? Logical, analytical Timothy? The brilliant scientist was interested in the non-logical Raven?
Oh, this was going to be wonderful, Mandy thought!