Final Vow (10 page)

At intermission, they strolled through the grand opera house. His hand never left hers. The second half of the opera flew by with much laughter and excitement. The patrons applauded as the red curtain closed and the lights came on for the final time.

“That was wonderful. Thank you so much for bringing me
.” Bridget smiled as she stood up.

“The night is not over yet,” Ahmed whispered as he slid her wrap over her shoulders.

“What’s next then?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

“Now that’s my man of mystery,” Bridget teased, slipping her hand through his arm.

“I like that.”

“Being mysterious?”

“No, being yours
. It’s something I’d be proud of. Much more than anything else I’ve done in life.” Ahmed covered her hand with his. They had stopped in the middle of the opera house lobby and stood looking at each other while the other patrons streamed by them.

They may not be the words of love Bridget wanted to hear, but they were still the sweetest words ever spoken to her.
“Take me back to the hotel,” she said over the pounding of her heart.

The door to the room banged open as she and Ahmed fell into his room. Her hands were pulling off his bow tie while she kicked off her heels. Ahmed shrugged out of his jacket and slammed the door shut. Bridget was too busy working on the buttons of his shirt to notice the table set with candles, champagne, and chocolate-covered strawberries.

She pushed the shirt from his shoulders and licked her lips in anticipation
of exploring his body. Muscles rippled under her touch as she ran her hands from his shoulders, down his chest, and over the ridges of his abdomen. Above his heart was a large scar that had been stitched up a long time ago. The smaller white scars that were scattered across his body only seemed to enhance his features. Before she could reach for his belt, his hands were on her. He pulled her arms behind her and held her wrists loosely together in one of his hands.

The action thrust her breasts up toward him as he feasted on her mouth. His free hand slid up her rib cage and kneaded
a breast. His fingers found her erect nipple as he buried his face in her neck. Bridget’s head rolled to the side as he nipped and then kissed her. She was breathing him in—his presence was almost overwhelming. He was everywhere, except the one place she wanted him.

“Bridget?” Ahmed asked as his hand found the zi
pper to her dress.

Bridget knew what he was asking
—permission to do what she had been dreaming about since she first met him. “I know you aren’t good with emotions, but I love you. I love you enough for us both. Make love to me, Ahmed.”

Ahmed didn’t say anything in response but the sound of her zipper being undone and the fierce primal growl that came fro
m him were his answer. The dress fell to the floor and Ahmed stepped back. “So that’s where you hid your gun.”

Bridget looked at the hunger in his eyes
and the smile on his lips and felt emboldened. She sat down on the bed and leaned back against the pillows. She saw his eyes darken, and in one swift move, he was naked. Clothes could never do him justice. His legs were thick and strong. A small trail of dark hair led from his navel straight to his . . . hello!

Bridget gulped as he climbed onto the bed. His arms were braced on
either side of her as he looked down into her eyes. He slowly lowered his head and kissed her. “Now, Ahmed. I need you now.”

CHAPTER TEN

Ahmed didn’t
want to move. Bridget was curled against his chest sound asleep as the plane prepared to land at the Lexington airport. They had not slept much the night before. This morning, they had both received phone calls from their respective sources alerting them to the fact Sergei had left Italy after King Ali Rahman and the president had disappeared to hold their meeting.

Jamal had said the
king was reluctant to have the meeting in private—he did like the pomp and circumstance of formal state visits. After Jamal had arrived and interrogated the man Bridget caught, the king gave in and held the meeting in private late that night. They were gone from Italy by the morning and would already be safely back at the palace in Rahmi.

“Bridge
t? Dear, we’re landing,” Ahmed said gently while he rubbed her back. She stirred in his arms and Ahmed was struck again with the fierce desire to protect her. She may look, and quite honestly be, tough when she was working, but when she was in his arms, she was simply the woman who held his heart.

“We’re home already?”
she asked sleepily as she sat up.

“Yes. I’ll drive you back to Keeneston if you’d like.”

“Um, Ahmed?”

“Yes, dear?”
he asked as he continued to run his hand down her back. He loved the way his name sounded from her lips.

“I’m not
. . . I mean . . . I don’t really know what to do now. With us.”

Ahmed placed his finger under her chin and raised it
, forcing her to look him in the eye. How could someone so kind and unsure of her feelings be so confident and secure in her abilities in the field?

“I’ve never really been
an
us
before. It sounds nice. I believe it’s customary for new couples to dine at the Blossom Café. Shall we have lunch there?”

Ahmed couldn’t believe he’d offered to do something so public. Sadly, he knew Miss Lily, Edna
, or, most likely, John Wolfe would ferret out the information, and he’d lose the upper hand by the end of the day. For some reason, he felt inordinately pleased to be able to walk into the café with Bridget beside him. And unless John had spies in Rome, no one would have a clue they were together. Ahmed felt almost like laughing at the idea of surprising them.

Bridget beamed and Ahmed smi
led back at her. “I’d love that . . . if it’s not too much for you? You’ve seen what they do to new couples, right?”

“Please. I’ve been interrogated by far more experienced people than a group of senior citizens,” Ahmed joked while the images of Cy and the rest of the Davies men succumbing to the pressure from the Roses lingered in the b
ack of his mind.

* * *

Ahmed opened the door and held out his hand for Bridget. She placed her small hand in his and they walked to the cheery yellow door of the café. He didn’t want to brag, but the most amazing woman in the world was on
his
arm. He smiled down into Bridget’s nervous face and almost laughed. He’d seen her take down a man twice her size just the other day and now she was nervous to face her friends. He found it adorable.

“Don’t worry. I’ll always be here to protect you,” he said to
her as he reached for the door.

“I can protect myself, thank you. Besides, it’s not me I’m worried about,” she said cryptically as they st
epped into the café arm-in-arm.

Ahmed
looked up and felt his smile slip. Every person in the café had frozen in place. Forks, spoons, and sandwiches were hanging midair as the patrons stared at them. More particularly, stared at his hand holding Bridget’s. No one moved. No one spoke. The only sound was of Miss Violet’s spatula clanging on the floor.

Ahmed looked around and found Mo and Dani
, with shocked expressions on their faces, sitting at the big table full of their mutual friends. Bridget squeezed his hand as she plastered a nervous smile on her face. He made eye contact with Miss Daisy and swallowed hard when her eyes narrowed. Her pen was still poised over the pad as she prepared to take Will’s order.

“We’re dating,” Ahmed blurted out under the scrutiny. He’d told his
brother about this town and its ability to put government agencies to shame, but you just couldn’t understand how scary they really were until you went up against them.

“Oh
, bless your hearts,” Miss Daisy exclaimed as she dropped her pen and hurried to beat her sisters to hug them.

“We couldn’t be happier
,” Miss Lily cried as she joined her sister.

“You have to understand what a surprise it was to see you together. It didn’t register. Neither of you
has ever shown any interest in anyone before. Well, we’re just happier than pigs in mud.” Miss Violet dabbed her eyes on her apron as she pushed Mo out of the way to get to the couple.

Ahmed refused to let go of Bridget as they were enveloped in hugs and congratulations from the town. Finally Mo and Dani made their way through the crowd. “We
are so very happy for you, my friend.” Mo shook his hand and Ahmed couldn’t help but think how different this was from the night before his wedding eighteen years ago when Mo had consoled him. “You deserve this happiness.”

“And you too, Bridget. We’re very happy for you
both
.” Dani smiled as she kissed Ahmed’s cheek and gave Bridget a hug.

Ahmed felt Bridget pull her hand away as she was wrapped in a hug
from Annie. “I think you pulled off the surprise of the year,” Cade said, shaking his hand as Bridget and her best friend laughed.

“Come join us for lunch and tell us all about how this happened,” Katelyn said with a sweet smile as she rubbed her be
lly.

“Yes, I can’t wait to hear all about it
.” Kenna grinned while Will shook his hand.

“Thank you. We will
.” Ahmed let out a breath and felt relaxed again. It was strange how he and Mo had been outcasts when they first came to the town. But with a force of nature named Kenna behind them, they became a part of Keeneston. He may have been born in Rahmi, but this was his home. He had felt like a failure in Rahmi. He had been constantly compared to his brother and mocked for being a weakling who preferred to take pictures rather than fire a gun. He’d changed after Sergei. He’d not only turned into his brother; he’d become better than his brother. He’d allowed himself to be consumed with the need to prove himself. But for the first time, he was thinking of putting it all behind him and starting a life with Bridget—after he killed Sergei.

Ahmed held out a chair for Bridget and then took a seat next to her. It was hard to keep his hands off her as they placed their order
s. He let Bridget tell of their meeting in Rome and even smiled when she got to the part about how hard it was to hide a gun in the dress he got her. It took him a moment to realize his tablemates had stopped talking and were staring at him again.

“Honey? Are you okay?” Pierce asked Tammy. “You’re all red.”

“I’m fine,” Tammy gulped as she used her hand to fan herself.

“You look flushed
, too; is it the baby?” Marshall worriedly asked Katelyn.

“Maybe it’s hot in here
—Kenna, you’re red, too. It doesn’t feel hot in here, does it?” Will asked. The men shook their head and the women nodded theirs.

“Pregnancy hormones,” Gemma said as she
, too, fanned her face.

“
Yes, that’s it,” Tammy giggled.

“Did I miss something? I just hate missing the latest gossip.” Ahmed didn’t have to turn around to know
who owned that overly sugary voice. “Bill and I just got back from a convention.”

“Hi, Bill,” Cole said from across the table. Ahmed would h
ave turned around, but two over-inflated beach balls were sitting on the top of his head at the moment. “Hello, Kally.”

“It’s Kandi
.” Ahmed felt her boobs bouncing against his head as she stomped her foot in annoyance at Cole. He heard the slight sound of a knife being unsheathed next to him and almost grinned. Bridget was coming to his rescue.

“I could fix those for you right now. It looks like you need to let a pound or two of air out of those puppies. Hold still. It’ll only take a sec.” Bridget raised her knife and Kandi jumped away from Ahme
d with her eyes full of terror.

“Please do. I’ve been having nightmares of being smothered to death by them,” Bill sighed. Ahmed finally turned around and saw the dark circles
under Bill’s eyes.

“Hi, Mr. Rawlings. Do you need a table?” Summer asked as she bounced up to him. The perky waitress had been out to find a husband for the past two years. Ahmed was just glad he would no longer be in her crosshairs
—not that she’d been brave enough to even talk to him, but he’d seen the way she had eyed him.

“Yes, thank you, Summer.” Bill looked around and then let out a long-suffering sigh again. “Kandi, get your tits off Henry. Our table’s ready.”

Bridget choked on her drink as she heard Bill call his wife. The whole table erupted in laughter. Bridget laughed even harder as she saw the tea
rs rolling down Paige’s cheeks.

“Did you see Henry’s face?” Paige asked as she laughed even harder. Bridget had.
When Henry had gone to stand up, he bumped his head into Kandi’s bazongas, forcing him back into his chair.

“Oh gosh
,” Katelyn cried as she grabbed Marshall’s arm. Bridget and the table just laughed harder as Henry almost ran from the café.

“Ow
,” Marshall yelped and everyone stopped laughing as they realized the look on Katelyn’s face was one of pain, not humor. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m in labor
. I laughed so hard I went into labor,” Katelyn giggled when the contraction passed.

“You need some pillows to lean back on?” Miles asked seriously, but the
glint in his eye gave him away.

Katelyn snorted while Marshall looked frozen in place. “I think a ride to the hospital would be better. Thank you
, though, Miles.” Katelyn stood up and so did everyone else except Marshall.

“Bro, come on. Your wife needs to be driven to the hospital and you have that car with the cool sirens on it.” Miles
's sarcastic remark had Morgan smacking his arm.

“You realize I’ll hurt you if you’re
like this when I go into labor,” Morgan mumbled as she helped lead Katelyn around the table.

“I’m call
ing your grandparents. We’ll all meet you there after we pick up the dogs. Marshall, snap to it.” Paige thwacked him against the back of his head and finally got him moving as she waited for Mrs. Wyatt to pick up the phone.

“I’m going to be a father,” Marshall murmured as he stood up. “Oh crap
, I’m coming. Do we need the sirens? Of course we need the sirens.” Marshall answered his own question as he took his wife’s arm from Morgan.

Marshall stopped b
y the door where the Rose sisters were already in full baby-prep mode, by organizing phone trees and casseroles. He leaned down and kissed Katelyn so gently and reverently that Bridget felt a longing she’d never felt before. She wanted that. Would Ahmed ever want a wife or a baby after what happened before?

“I love you,” Marshall
said to Katelyn as some of the women in the café teared up.

“I love you
, too. Can I play with the siren now?” Katelyn smirked. “Thank you all,” she called out to the café. She was met with well wishes as Marshall helped her to the car.

Ahmed came to stand beside Bridget
and slid his arm around her waist. She leaned into him and wondered if they had a future together. While she told him she had enough love for them both, she wished for more. She wished for a man to love her and she just didn’t know if Ahmed could.

“I’ll take you home if you’re ready. I have some work I need to do. But I’d like
to see you tonight.”

Bridget looked up at Ahmed and gave him
a soft smile. “I’d like that.”

* * *

Ahmed stalked into the security office that was housed in the cottage next to Mo and Dani’s house. Nabi quickly stood and handed him a set of papers. Ahmed scanned them and tossed them onto the table.

“Leave,” Ahmed said simply to the other guards in the room. To his credit
, Nabi didn’t flinch as he and Ahmed waited for the room to clear.

“How credible is this information?” Ahmed asked when everyone was gone.

“Very. It comes from my father.” Nabi’s father worked with Jamal and was known for his solid sources. “There’s something else. I hope you don’t mind, but after you told me Miss Springer was in danger and we started watching her, I thought about why she was in trouble.”

“Because of m
e,” Ahmed said without hesitation. He wouldn’t betray his guilt or his worry about Bridget to his apprentice.

“I know that
—but how did Sergei even know to target Miss Springer? He had to have a reason to have Rana hire her in the first place.” Ahmed just nodded. He’d been thinking the same thing. “While you were gone, I let myself into Miss Springer’s apartment and searched for bugs after I did the daily sweep of the main house.”