“Indeed, you received such a call, and your car was swept,” Mansur said. “I was present. Hamid and I were together all evening, in fact, going over all the vehicles and the security arrangements for tomorrow. He hasn’t left the palace since King Faisal’s death. The GPS tracking shows the car leaving your home, stopping at the location witnessed by Agent Chase, continuing to the palace, then returning to the suspect location and remaining there for quite some time before continuing to your home.”
“It wasn’t me, I’m telling you!” Majid looked at Sean. “Your Majesty, you must believe me! I had my disagreements with your grandfather, but I am no traitor! I would never conspire against our country.”
“You have been heard to say King Mishaan has no right to the throne,” Mansur said coldly.
“Yes, I did, before King Faisal died.” Majid drew himself up proudly. “He was not raised in this country. He knows nothing of how to rule or how to maintain the peace and take care of the people. But heisthe king now, no matter how I may feel about his worthiness for the title.”
Throughout these exchanges, Bash had remained silent, and Sean regarded him in puzzlement. Bash was watching Majid intently. Sean would have thought that having been the one to capture the traitor at long last, Bash would have been proud of the achievement and furious with Majid, but he seemed more pensive than anything else.
Sean returned his attention to Majid. “You will be given a chance to have your say in court,” he said. “I know it is within my rights as king to have you executed, but the taking of a life, even that of a traitor, is not something I care to have on my conscience.”
With that, Sean turned away from the cell. He was relieved to have the traitor in custody, and hopefully, it was only a matter of time until Carapov and the other Wagner Group operatives were captured. Once that occurred, no doubt Majid would be forced to confess his part in the plot. Sean smiled as his guards escorted him back to his quarters.
He was relieved to see Bash was following his retinue, and he hoped they might manage a few moments alone. But even if they didn’t, he felt things would all be over soon. With the traitor identified, Sean was closer to true freedom than he’d been since the moment he’d first stepped foot in Akkadia.
27
“Iknow it’s incredibly late, Your Majesty, but if you don’t mind, I’d like for you and Agent Chase to stop by my office.”
Bash wasn’t surprised by the request, since they definitely needed to discuss the latest developments. Mansur needed to update them without the guards around, and Mansur’s office was one place where they could talk without Sean’s now ever-present security detail.
“Of course,” Sean replied, and within a few minutes, they were ensconced in the secure room with the Royal Guard relegated to the outer office.
Bash watched as Mansur took a seat behind his desk. The tension seemed to have gone from the set of the older man’s shoulders, and many of the lines on his face had eased. He knew Mansur had far more on his plate than Bash had in this mess, but they couldn’t afford to relax their vigilance yet. Not until they were certain the threat of Wagner Group had been neutralized.
“With the information Sebastian has provided and with the traitor in custody, I think it’s safe to say this is almost over,” Mansur said. He smiled at them, and if his smile was a trifle tired, it was also sincere. “I know you’re both anxious to get back to your lives, but it will be a few more days, I’m afraid, until you can reasonably step down, Mishaan. After the mourning period ends, you can abdicate in favor of whomever you wish to name Crown Prince.”
“I figured as much,” Sean replied. He relaxed back in the chair with a sigh. “I’ve been thinking about it, believe me. Do you think Wagner Group will just give up now that their puppet is out of the picture?”
“No.”
The other two turned to look at Bash in surprise, and he shrugged. “You’re not used to these kinds of games, Sean, and not even Mansur truly understands the people we are dealing with. We can’t let our guard down, even for a moment. I won’t believe this is over until you’re on a plane out of the country.”
Mansur bristled a bit. “I’m not about to let my guard down. I’ve already dispatched troops to cover the location you discovered, and we’ll keep with the plan to smuggle Mishaan into the mosque via the side entrance, which is out of sight of that roof. I even have a decoy who resembles Mishaan coming into the main entrance in an official car, so the assassin won’t suspect the change in plans. The only people who know about it are the guard, the three of us, and Hamid.”
“Why can’t the guard attend the funeral and let Sean stay here in the palace?” Bash asked. Something about the entire situation bothered him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. It might even just be paranoia, but any risk to Sean at this point was too much.
“Because the funeral will be televised.” Mansur leaned forward. “A guard in robes and sunglasses can pass for Sean at a distance, but once inside, it must be Sean himself. It would cause an unbelievable outcry if Sean were so disrespectful as to not attend his grandfather’s funeral. The outrage might be enough to cause riots in the streets. For all his faults, my father was loved by his people.”
“I still don’t like it.” Bash resisted crossing his arms over his chest, but only just barely. He looked at Sean. “Are you okay with this?”
Sean smiled as he reached out to rest his hand on Bash’s arm. “It’s fine. I understand Mansur’s point. This will be my first and possibly last public appearance as King. I trust you both to keep me safe.”
Mansur nodded, obviously pleased at Sean’s easy acquiescence. “Excellent.” He rose to his feet. “I shall give you both a few minutes alone.”
Bash almost rolled his eyes at Mansur’s paternal tone. No doubt Mansur thought he was doing them an enormous favor. But Bash didn’t waste the opportunity, either, and he stood up. As soon as Sean was upright as well, Bash pulled Sean into his arms, holding him tightly.
Sean wrapped his arms around Bash, his fingers clenching into the fabric of Bash’s shirt.
“It’s almost over,” Sean murmured.
“Almost, but not quite.” Bash pulled back slightly so he could look into Sean’s eyes. “You’re sure about this? You’ve done as Mansur asked. We found the traitor, and everything in me says we should be on a plane out of here right now.”
“I’m sure.” Sean smiled, and if there was an edge of exhaustion to the expression, it was still one of hope and faith. “Are you going to keep talking, or are you going to kiss me? I need something to tide me over until—”
Bash cut off Sean’s tart words by capturing Sean’s lips with his own, kissing him hard. Their tongues twined, and Sean pressed even harder against him. It was heaven, and it was torture, knowing this was all they could have until they were safely out of Akkadia. But if this was to be their last kiss until then, Bash was going to make the most of it, growling low in his throat as the kiss continued, hot and wet and deep.
Hearing the doorknob being rattled, they broke apart. A moment later, Mansur slipped into the room, pretending not to notice as Sean adjusted his trousers.
