Rage ripped through Owen. He rammed into the guy. Threaded his arm around the guard’s chest. Hooked his neck and used his own leg to swipe the guard’s out from under him, effectively face-planting him. Knee in the back of the guard’s neck, he drove his gaze to the entourage of princes. “Nouri stays with me. I will not let anyone abuse her.”
Thick brows drawn tight, Maaz flashed a glower at him.
A blow came from his right. Nailed Owen in the temple. He staggered sideways. Tripped and crashed down.
“You do not tell me the rules,” Maaz growled. “We have been too soft on you, American. Nouri is ours. You are a hired gun.”
Warmth slid down Owen’s temple as he pushed himself straight. Refused to cower to these weak-kneed royals. “Who can’t do his job if?—”
The guard came at him again.
“No, no!” Leighton rushed in front of him, holding a staying hand to the guard and one to Maaz. “Please—I’ll go.”
“No!” Owen struggled to his feet. “This isn’t?—”
She caught his arm and tugged him back. “Please, don’t,” she whispered… Brown eyes pooling with tears pleaded with him to stand down. She pulled herself straight and faced Maaz. “He is badly injured from the lion attack, and it’s infected. There is no need for more violence.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Owen hissed to her, shifting closer. He looked to the crown prince. “Don’t listen to?—”
“I do have to,” she said, forlorn eyes coming to him. “I can’t let you get hurt anymore.”
“I can handle it,” he bit out, catching her wrist.
“But I can’t,” Leighton whispered.
Feeling his world collapse at the thought of not being with her, his chest squeezed. Probably hadn’t done his stitches any favors tackling that guy. “I can’t protect you if I can’t see you.” He was certain the royals’ interest in having her with pit-cheeked princess was about separating them, isolating him. Preventing him from keeping her safe.
“I knew it was too much to hope for…” She bent and retrieved her bag, paused for a breath, then started up the path.
Fists balled, he watched her go. When Rayan reached toward her, Owen lunged, but two men hauled him back.
Ghalib stepped into his path. The broad-chested bodyguard of the crown prince stabbed a hand to Owen’s chest.
Fire seared the stitches, and Owen growled through the pain of the intentional, well-placed strike.
“Know when to quit,” Ghalib snarled, his curly black hair glistening with sweat. “You would not want her to see you beaten and bloodied right here.” By the looks of this guy, he’d do it too.
“The king hired me to protect her,” Owen ground out. “I answer to him.”
“And when King Faruq is not around, you answer to Prince Maaz.” Ghalib’s dark eyes sparked, as if begging Owen to fight. “He has spoken.” He swiveled to the side and pointed to a long, narrow tent that easily spanned forty to fifty feet. “You will bunk with the other guards.”
Owen’s gaze slid past the burly royal cousin and found Leighton watching him. Her rigid posture, that look of terror, made him want to raze the camp and flee with her. “If anything happens to her…I swear you will regret it.”
He’d messed it up. Again. Everything. So close to victory and then the ground got ripped out from under him, dumping him into a quagmire of defeat. He was supposed to have protected her. But she had protected him.
“She is a princess and belongs with them.” Ghalib let their shoulders collide in a not-so-subtle message. “Not with you. Not with an American.”
“Nobody cared that she was a princess when they locked her in a concrete cell away from the world and light.”
Ghalib’s expression remained neutral for two seconds. And with strength and speed that belied his burliness, the royal coldcocked him, plunging Owen into darkness.
He awoke sometime later, head thundering. Remembering the fist driving at his skull, he tried to sit up. And instantly regretted it. Groaning, he lay there, allowing his body to recover. To get his bearings. He cursed himself for not anticipating that sucker punch.
He’d been right—the guy had it in him. Felt as if he’d hit a brick wall. At least his nose had been left out of the blow this time. But his jaw ached like nobody’s business. Probing it, he came to grips with another failed mission.
Just like the Rangers.
Just like the Green Berets.
