Prince Under Cover. Adrianne Lee

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СКАЧАТЬ what personal information he could on Khalaf. Javid had had as little interaction with Khalaf as possible, knowing he was the one who could expose him, he was the one who knew Zahir, he would spot the differences, know he was dealing with a fake.

      But Khalaf had been as elusive as a desert breeze. Each time the agents had thought to arrest him, he’d failed to show up where expected. Since he would not miss Zahir and Miah’s wedding, the agents had decided to take him into custody there.

      “I’d like it a hell of a lot better if you were getting married on land.” Lawson Davies intruded on his dark musings.

      Law, as he preferred to be called, was a high-paid corporate lawyer who worked for Petrol Corporation, Quantum Industries’s closest competitor. His suit was a serious pinstripe, tie subdued, eyes intelligent, green. He yanked off his wire-rimmed reading glasses, eyeing Javid as though he’d just presented a distasteful brief.

      “A yacht for God’s sakes. Makes this whole task more risky.”

      “Unfortunately,” Javid said, “the ‘where’ of this affair was already set before I came on scene.”

      Vincent’s expression was as serious as a thundercloud. “And Khalaf’s insistence on security makes this a ‘do it their way’ situation.”

      “Y’all are makin’ too much out of this,” Quint Crawford drawled. Quint, a long lanky cowboy, had Texas oil in his blood, and embraced the accoutrements of his ranch lifestyle—boots, big black Stetson, silver belt buckle. He never took himself too seriously. “If you want to brand a calf, you gotta go to the corral.”

      “That’s right.” Whitney’s hand went to her bright red hair. “The wedding takes place on a yacht, so we’ll be on the yacht.”

      Quint punched the brim of his black Stetson higher on his forehead, his blue eyes twinkling. “I, for one, can’t wait to see the prince say ‘I do.’ Seems like getting hitched is contagious.”

      Vincent glanced at his wife, Whitney. Only then did his expression and his tone soften. “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”

      “I’m not knockin’ it.” Quint had a secret smile. “Heck, I’m all for it.”

      “Hey,” Javid interjected. “There isn’t really going to be a ceremony, remember? So, make sure you take Khalaf into custody before I end up married to his daughter.”

      “I’ve seen the charmin’ Ms. Miah,” Quint added, his infectious grin widening. “Worse things could happen to a man.”

      “Just make sure you do your job, and everything will work out as it’s supposed to.” Even Javid could hear the peevishness in his voice. He cleared his throat and reined in his emotions. “Too much could go wrong. So far, I’ve avoided Khalaf as much as possible. But he’s no fool. If he discovers I’m not Zahir, our mission will be compromised.”

      Vincent nodded grimly. “We aren’t underestimating the risks. We’re on top of everything.”

      Andy Dexter burst into the room, slamming the door in his rush. His energy seemed to zing off the walls as though he were as electrified as his equipment. He didn’t bother with a greeting. He hurried to his chair, waving something that looked like a miniature floppy disk at the group. “Just picked this up from Ramses, my Egyptian informer. It’s a camera flashcard.”

      He inserted the disk into his computer and directed all eyes to their individual monitors. A parking lot appeared in the first frame, followed by a quick sequence of others, moving like a slowed-down motion picture. A dark sedan occupied a deserted space before what seemed to be a park and an indeterminate body of water.

      Javid asked, “What are we looking at?”

      “Khalaf,” Andy answered. “Ramses has been following him since the sheik ‘disappeared’ last week.”

      There were no people on the screen.

      “So, where’s Khalaf?” Quint asked, his black hat dipping forward over his shaggy brown hair.

      “In the car.”

      “Who or what is he waiting for?” Law plunked his glasses back onto his nose.

      “No one. He’s already in that car, meeting with someone.”

      “Who?” Javid asked.

      “Come on, Dexter.” Vincent groaned. “Don’t make us play twenty questions.”

      “That’s just it.” Andy shrugged. “Ramses didn’t know or see who Khalaf was meeting. He thought we could figure it out.”

      “What has this got to do with anything?” Whitney sounded as impatient as her husband.

      They watched a white stretch Lincoln approach the dark sedan, saw Khalaf emerge from the sedan, but couldn’t see inside the dark car, couldn’t see who he’d been meeting. Khalaf got into the Lincoln and drove off. The taillights of the dark sedan lit up as the engine was started.

      “This is all very interesting, Andy, but I’m already running late.” Law checked his watch, pulled off his glasses and shoved back his chair. As he started to stand, hands planted on the table, his gaze landed once more on his screen and his mouth dropped open. “Oh my God.”

      “What?” Vincent glanced between Law and his own screen. “What?”

      “Stop the film,” Law barked, putting his glasses back on. “Can you run it backward, Dexter?”

      “What the hell are we looking for?” Quint echoed Javid’s thought.

      “The back license plate of that dark sedan,” Law informed them.

      Andy found the desired sequence and freeze-framed it. They all saw it then. Petrol Corporation’s logo, a small world globe inside the loop of a giant red P. Khalaf had been meeting with someone in a car that belonged to Quantum’s chief rival, Lawson Davies’s employer.

      Quint sat back and swore under his breath. Vincent demanded of Davies, “Whose car is it?”

      “I don’t know. They aren’t assigned.” He peered closer at the screen as though he could find the answer written there in secret code. “Could be anyone in the upper framework of Petrol.”

      “Which means if we take Khalaf tomorrow,” Quint said, “we won’t be cutting off the head of this nasty snake.”

      Whitney glanced at Javid. “But if we don’t arrest Khalaf tomorrow, that means…”

      Javid felt all eyes on him, felt the bottom dropping out of his stomach. “No.”

      “Oh, yes, dude,” Andy said with his loopy grin. “Come tomorrow, you’re gonna have to marry the daughter for real.”

      Chapter Three

      “‘Happy’s the bride the sun shines on…’” Miah peered out the porthole of the 222-foot yacht. Sunlight glistened off Lake Michigan, a huge sheet of glassy water on this cloudless day. It was nearly noon. The ceremony started at twelve-thirty. For a marriage to be happy СКАЧАТЬ