Page 48 of Liam

“Move aside for his Royal Highness, The Crown Prince Abdul al Kamali.”

Taamira almost rolled her eyes as Mustafa, her brother’s head of security announced her brother using his full title. She wanted to tell him none of that held any sway with these men, but she bit her tongue, instead reaching out and laying a hand of Kanan’s shoulder. “It’s okay, let him through.”

Kanan tensed, and she wondered if he was going to ignore her, but with a slight chin lift to Dane, they stepped aside, leaving just enough room for her to move forward, seeing her brother in person for the first time since she had left his boat for the island of St Kitts.

He looked good, regal as he always had but she noticed the imperious manner in which he looked at her men, her friends, if they would still allow it.

“Your men are untrained and uncouth, sister,” her brother said in greeting.

Taamira clenched her jaw to stop herself from lashing out at him. She did not have time for a verbal sparring match about these men but oh, how she wanted too. “Brother, you look well.”

He eyed her all over critically, and she waited for the blow, but it never came.

“As do you, sister. Are you ready to forget this sulk you have been throwing and come home?”

Taamira was struck speechless by his words, the insensitivity, and the callous way he dismissed her feelings. “Sulk?” she ground out as Lopez moved closer to her back.

Her brother’s eyes flicked behind her, and she saw the way he rocked back just the tiniest bit on his heels at what he saw. “I did not mean it to be insulting, but the family needs you. Your nieces miss you. They speak of you often. It is not seemly for an unmarried woman to be galivanting around the world on her own.”

Him using her nieces had her temper flaring, but it gave the perfect opportunity to ask about them. “Are they well?”

She saw the pride on his face, and her chest ached, this was the brother she remembered, this was the man she knew, not the one who had sold her out.

“Najwa is studying the arts and Mamina has a fine musical talent.”

“And Fawzaana?”

Her brother’s wife was not her favourite person in the world; Taamira found her calculating. She had been sweetness and light until they married and once her place as the future Queen was secured she had changed, looking down on people, being harsh and cruel with the staff at the palace, always critical of her daughters, yet she had been nice enough with her, and her brother seemed happy. Although she did not think it was a love match, she saw none of what she and Liam shared between her brother and his wife.

“Fawzaana is well. She is in our rooms resting, the flight tired her.”

“Are they safe?”

Her brother frowned. “Of course, they are safe. What happened to you was not ignored, my sister. We have taken every precaution to keep it from happening again. If only you had listened to me, it would not have happened.”

Taamira’s instant anger flared, but then she let it go. Her brother was not being cruel on purpose; it was just how he saw things. Women should do as instructed, and she had scorned that, and it had ended badly for her. “Why did you not pay the ransom for me? Why was it so easy for you to leave me to the whims of evil men? I understand I went against your word, and that is unforgivable in your world, but I am still your sister, still your Tami.”

The pain in her words must have hit her brother, and she saw him accept the verbal blow, but she did not understand the look of confusion on his face.

“Oh, shit,” were the hushed words behind her and Taamira lifted her head to see what might have caused those words and saw Liam and Jack bearing down on the group.

Liam’s face was like thunder, and Jack didn’t seem much happier. Liam moved to her side as Dane and Kanan stepped aside to give him room. He took her arm in a firm but gentle grip, and ignoring the other men, looked at her.

Taamira glanced at his angry face and instantly wanted to soothe him.

“Which part of stay in the room, didn’t you understand?”

Taamira bristled but held her tongue, just gave him a look that could freeze lava. The twitch on his lips was the only sign he found her anger amusing.

“Who is this man laying his hands on you in this manner?” her brother demanded.

Taamira and Liam both turned to her brother, who was watching them intently. Especially the familiar way Liam held her. Now was her chance to announce to her family who this man was and what he meant to her. “Abdul, this is Liam Hayes, my boyfriend.”

The surprise rippled around the room like a wave, and she glanced at Liam to see his reaction. His eyes had softened, gone warm with love for her, and she wanted to kiss him more than she wished to breathe at that moment, but she held back, not wanting an audience.

“Boyfriend! He is a commoner, a lowly guard. He is not fit to be your anything, Taamira.”

She moved to defend Liam but he beat her to it. “You’re right, I’m not fit to lick her shoes, yet she loves me, and I love her. There is nothing, and I do mean nothing, I wouldn’t do for her, and there’s not a single thing in all of your imagination that I wouldn’t do to keep her safe from harm.”