Page 41 of Her Prince in Disguise
“What are you doing with those?” she asked, watching while the men carried them away.
“They’re continuing the investigation that was started back in Singapore.” He frowned at her. “If you’d bothered to let us know that you’d received more threats, we could have looked at these boxes and letters before now. Each one is a new piece of evidence. The writing, the language, even the fact that he used a computer instead of hand-writing the addresses is important.”
Andi watched with shock and amazement. Then she said, “Today’s box was delivered here to my apartment. It was sitting outside my door when I went to leave this morning.”
There was silence as everyone in the apartment absorbed that.
“When?” Laith demanded, gripping her upper arms. His hold wasn’t tight, but Andi knew she wouldn’t be able to shrug him off. Nor did she want to. She loved the fact that he was here, helping her figure this out.
“I came home this morning to get some sleep after my flight.”
His gaze sharpened. “We’ll get into why you didn’t sleep on the flight later. What happened next? Did you hear anything?”
“No…” She paused to think about it for a moment. “Yes!” She bit her lower lip then explained, “I thought I’d heard someone knocking on my door earlier, but I was too tired and I just fell asleep.”
Laith shook his head, sighing with frustration. “That was me, Andi. I was hoping to talk to you. But you didn’t answer your door.”
“Oh,” she replied softly, running her fingers through her hair. “Well, that was stupid of me, wasn’t it?”
His eyebrows drew together and she felt the anger in him. “So, what else do you remember about this morning?”
“Nothing,” she admitted. “I was too upset and exhausted to hear anything. I just fell into bed and the next thing I knew, I woke up. I was going to head out and get some coffee, but the box stopped me.”
He pulled her in close, kissing her forehead. “Andi, why didn’t you tell me that someone had threatened you?”
Andi wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. “Because I didn’t want anything to happen to you, Laith,” she whispered, leaning her forehead against his chest. “You read the note!” Her words were muffled. “The man said that he could get close enough to stab you! He didn’t just say that he was going to hurt you, Laith. He said he would make sure that you suffered before you died.” She pulled out of his arms and glared at him, unaware of the others in her small apartment now. “He said he was going to make your pain last! He was going to ensure that you died slowly!” She shook her head, unaware of the tears streaming down her face. “I won’t let that happen! Not if I can do something to stop it!”
Laith was furious with her. And more in love with her than he’d thought possible. But the fury won in the moment. “So, you decided to put yourself in danger?” he yelled. Throwing up his hands, he continued, “You decided that you’d take onthis battle all by yourself?” He moved closer to her, so angry, he could barely see straight. “No, Andi. You’re never going to put yourself in danger! Not ever again. Do you understand me?”
She shoved against his chest, but Laith didn’t move. “No!” she yelled right back. “I love you, you idiot! I know that I’m just a fling to you! I know that you don’t feel as strongly as I do. But there’s no way that I’m going to let you be hurt!”
Laith stared at her for a long moment, then softly said, “Damn it, Andi! You’re not going to put yourself in danger. Not for me or anyone else. Got that?”
“No!” she snarled back.
“Andi, I love you too! And since you love me, then…” he dug in his pocket and pulled out the diamond ring. He grabbed her hand, then shoved the ring onto her finger. “There! Now we’re engaged. You’re mine and I’m going to protect you! Even from yourself, if needed. Got it?”
Andi was silent. She stared down at the lovely, large, glittery ring. Her hand felt oddly heavy.
When she looked up at him, Andi wasn’t sure what to say. But at the nervousness in his eyes, she tried to smile. “You love me?” she whispered.
Laith shifted on his feet, his hands fisted on his hips. He looked away, then sighed and looked back at her. “Yes. I love you.” He reached out, taking her hands in his. “And you love me too! You’ve already admitted it and you can’t take those words back.”
Andi walked right back into his arms, holding him tightly. “I’ll never take them back,” she whispered. “Never! I love yousomuch!”
Laith tightened his arms around her and Andi knew she’d found heaven.
“There’s a lot you need to know about me, Andi,” he warned. “But that can wait a bit longer. For right now, I’d just like to figure out who the hell wants to hurt you.”
Andi tilted her head back, looking into his eyes. “And you. Someone definitely wants to hurt you too.” She looked around, noticing they were alone. “Where did all the guys go?”
“Probably just outside to the hallway to give us privacy.” He smiled at her. “They’re considerate every once in a while.”
“Good to know,” she teased. “Are you hungry? I have a couple of sandwiches in the fridge. And I can call someone to deliver more for the guards.”
“My guards will figure out their own food needs. They don’t eat on duty. It’s a distraction.”
Andi grimaced. “That sounds like a miserable job.”
