Chapter 24
Over the next few days, Ann fell in love with Tazim all over again. She watched as the father of her son played video games with Archer, read stories, played cards, and even took a cooking class from Ann. She tried to teach them to make pancakes without making a monumental mess. She considered the lesson a medium success since her two favorite men were still covered in flour in the end. The pancakes eventually came out perfectly, but the penthouse kitchen was a mess.
The hotel’s butler scoffed when the duo tried to clean up, insisting that she would get a team of hotel cleaning staff to restore the kitchen to its former tidy condition.
Then there were the moments when Ann caught Tazim staring at Archer. Sometimes, his expression was confused, such as when Archer asked a question that didn’t quite make sense. Other times, there was a look of wonder in Tazim’s eyes, like when Archer giggled at a particularly funny moment in a movie or when Archer leaned his small body against Tazim’s, not for any particular reason. Archer just needed to feel Tazim’s strength and comfort. But always, he was proud.
“You okay?” she asked during one of those stunned moments after Archer had fallen asleep while snuggled up on Tazim’s lap.
Tazim turned towards her and she saw his confusion. Smiling, she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I know.”
“He’s…a human being!” Tazim replied with amazement.
“Yeah,” she laughed. “That’s how I felt when I held him in my arms for the first time.” She saw the moment when his eyes clouded up and kissed him. “I’m so sorry that you missed that time in his life.”
He looked down at her, pulling her closer. “I’ll hold our next child.”
The idea of giving Archer a sibling startled her. Yes, she’d thought about having more children, but until that last statement, it hadn’t been anything more than…an abstract thought. Hearing Tazim say those words made everything more…real.
“Deal,” she whispered, fighting back tears.
While Tazim and Archer made progress bonding as father and son, his security team made a few inroads into the mystery surrounding Ethan Howell’s crimes against the religious community, and there were more rumors bubbling up that confirmed that there were videos of powerful people hidden somewhere, although no one knew where.
After three days of searching, Devin returned with bad news.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. My team has looked in every place we can think of. But so far, we haven’t found any digital or analog evidence.” He looked grim as he shook his head. “We also know of several other teams who are searching for that evidence.” He pulled his arms behind his back. “Howell had some very powerful people under his control.”
“Powerful people?” Ann echoed, her attention caught.
All eyes shifted to her. She’d been watching Tazim and Archer read to each other, enjoying the differences in their voices and the similarities in their appearance.
Devin turned to her and nodded sharply. “Yes, ma’am. It isn’t just the chief of police and mayor of the town of Todras, or the governor and his sister who are looking for that evidence. There are several other people in powerful positions that are searching for the information as well.” He grimaced before continuing. “The FBI brought in a computer expert, but they came up with nothing on the laptops in Howell’s house. The police have searched his house and offices for hidden spaces, but we’ve come up empty.”
Ann uncurled her legs, an idea forming in her mind. Tazim looked at her, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
“No!” he announced even before Ann could explain her idea.
She laughed and moved over to where he and Archer were sitting, laying a hand on his shoulder before turning to look at Devin. “So, you’ve exhausted all your ideas for discovering this blackmail information?”
Devin hesitated. The head of security even looked at Tazim to see how he should answer. But in the end, he replied, “We have some other ideas, but I don’t believe they will give us what we need. They are long shots.”
Ann nodded, biting her lip thoughtfully as she contemplated her idea. But in the end, she wasn’t sure if there was an option. And she really wanted to take Gary down. She glanced at Tazim, who was still holding Archer on his lap.
“No!” Tazim said again. He took the book he and Archer had been reading and closed it, carefully putting it down beside Archer. He looked at his son. “Can you go find us some cookies and milk?” he suggested.
Archer reluctantly climbed off of Tazim’s lap and sighed, the sound mimicking Devin’s frustrated grunt of moments ago. The little guy even fisted his hands on his hips, an action that Tazim had done several times over the past few days.
“You just don’t want me to hear what you guys are going to say next.”
Tazim ruffled his hair. “That’s exactly my plan. Do you mind? Do you want to stay here and listen to me tell your mom that she’s not going to do whatever idea she’s about to suggest? Or would you prefer to search for the cookies that I know the butler has hidden somewhere?”
Archer thought about it for half a second, his adorable mouth twisted as he debated his options. Then his face lit up with his gamin smile and he nodded. “Cookies!” he announced, then spun on his heel and raced for the door. “Besides, I’ll find out what’s going on anyway.” And then he was gone, a four year old blur as he hurried off.
Ann chuckled, as much for Archer’s adorable reaction as Tazim’s scowl. Plus, he was fisting his hands on his hips, a nearly exact replica of his tiny son’s pose. Tazim probably had no idea why she was smiling now.
“No!”
Ann couldn’t stop the laughter this time. “Right,” she said, walking towards him. “You don’t even know what I’m going to suggest and already you’re saying no?”
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s too dangerous and I’m not risking it.”
She walked over to him, her heart melting when he automatically wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her in closer. Ann rested her hand on his stomach and smiled up at him. “It’s a good idea.”
“No.”
Again, she laughed, but turned her attention towards Devin. “A lot of wealthy, powerful people have no idea that the wait staff can hear what they talk about while playing poker or billiards, or when they’re standing around getting drunk and bragging about their most recent illegal stock trades.”
Devin’s eyes sharpened. “That’s true,” he replied slowly, glancing at Tazim. “It’s a very easy way to get information, Your Highness. We use that tactic during the events at the palace. More than half of the serving staff at any event are on my team.”
“Seriously?” Tazim asked, surprised by that news.
“Absolutely,” he confirmed with a sharp nod. Then he looked at Ann. “What are you proposing?”
Her smile brightened. “As a waitress at TBC, Emily, Maggie, and I heard a lot of secrets.” She bit her lip, still working through her idea. “What if Emily and I visited Ethan Howell at the jail where he’s being kept while he awaits trial?”
“Why would you bother?”
Ann slipped out of his arms, folding one hand over her stomach and resting her elbow on the arm while one finger tapped her nose. She was silent for a moment, trying to come up with the right words. Then she spun around. “If we visit him in jail and tell him that we need something on someone who could influence the outcome of his trial, then maybe he would reveal where he’s hidden these mysterious videos.” She dropped her hands. “Or maybe, the videos don’t exist.”
“They exist,” Devin confirmed. “My team has interviewed several people who are…participants in the videos. They’ve seen the videos because they’ve been blackmailed by Howell.”
“Excellent,” Ann replied, clapping her hands together. “Then, I need to speak with Emily.” She looked at Tazim. “Do you want to join me?”
Tazim’s jaw was tight with his disapproval, but after a long conversation with Devin about the efforts they’d expended to find these videos, he finally accepted that Ann’s plan might work.