“All will be taken care of. I will fly Erin’s parents to Jawhara if I need to. But we will be going back to Jawhara, and anything we don’t get finished up can be handled via email or courier.”
Shira nodded, automatically rearranging her to-do list and wondering how on earth she was going to get everything accomplished in such a short amount of time.
Chapter 16
When Kale received another call from his brother several days later, Shira knew she wasn’t necessarily going to like the news. It seems that Kamal had decreed he and Erin would be marrying before the month was out. Due to her condition, the doctor had decreed plane travel unwise and Kamal had charged Kale and Shira with packing up Erin’s belongings as well.
They were still expected to be back in Jawhara, but Kamal was now requesting they return in less than two weeks. Kamal had gone so far as to send a private yet to Brisbane to intercept her uncle and aunt and have them brought to Jawhara for the wedding.
Shira was glad that she would get to see them, but now had even more loose ends to take care of. The shipping company delivered more boxes and she got to work packing up Erin’s personal effects while Kale had a talk with the landlord.
When he returned, she was pleased to find out that the landlord had happily cancelled their lease and she suspected that Kale had paid the man but couldn’t prove it and he wasn’t saying anything about it.
“Is Erin feeling better?” Shira inquired, taping up the last box of books.
Kale took the box from her and placed it with the others along the living room wall. “Yes. The doctor has provided her with vitamins and a special diet. Kamal seems to be pleased, so everything must be going better.”
“Good. Erin is one of those people who rarely gets sick and I can’t imagine that she is handling it all that well.”
“She is being well cared for. Kam did mention that she had some personal items at her office that she would like you to pick up for her.”
Shira nodded, “That’s fine. I need a break from packing anyway.”
“Good,” before Kale could escort her from the apartment, his phone rang again. This time it was Slade, his old college roommate and head of the security firm which already had agents in Jawhara helping to bolster their security.
“Slade, it is good to hear from you.”
“You too, man. I spoke with Kamal a few minutes ago and told him I would contact you. Two of the agents I sent over to Jawhara picked up some intel a few hours ago. There’s a leak in the palace.”
Kale started to shake his head and then remembered that Slade was very good at his job. If his agents said there was a leak – there was a leak! “Do they have any suspects yet?”
“No. What concerns me more is the nature of the intel.”
“And that is?” Kale asked, wondering if he really wanted to know the answer.
“The dissidents are smart. They realize that getting to either you or Kamal is going to be very tough, if not impossible. That is not true of your women.”
Kale cursed before asking, “What are you saying? That they are going to try and hurt Erin or Shira?”
“I’m afraid that’s exactly what I’m saying. I spoke with Kamal and he wants to basically lock Erin up in the palace and never let her leave again. I advised him against doing that, but I don’t know that he listened to me.”
“That would be his first response and not such a bad one.”
“The female agent I sent over there disagrees. Erin has become an integral part of caring for the refugees and seeing to their comfort while in Jawhara. If she suddenly stops, it will be noticed by everyone and could harm the negotiations your brother has worked so hard to get signed. The refugees are to being crossing the border back into their own country next week.”
Kale sighed, “So, what do you recommend?”
“Everyone needs to be extra careful. I have already instructed PJ that Erin goes nowhere by herself. Not even to her bedroom in the palace. And especially not anywhere public.”
“And she agreed to this?”
“She will. She was on one of her mercy missions to the refugee camp when I spoke with Kamal. He was sending someone out to bring her back immediately.”
“Good.” Kale ran his fingers through his hair, the sooner the refugees returned to their own country, the sooner Jawhara could return to a peaceful existence and he could focus on his future.
“Anyway, I wanted you to let your men know what’s going on. I’m going to fly over there at the end of the week with several more agents. Until this thing goes away, I don’t want to take any chances.”
“Sure you don’t just want to go lay on the beach for a while?” Kale asked, nor forgetting Slade’s fondness for Jawhara or the ocean.