Page 66 of The Geek and the Sheikh

“She’s here and expecting our first grandchild,” Ihab replied.

“A kid? Aimee’s having a kid? Wow, Mid didn’t tell me that. I helped Idella when she was going after Qadir—you know, when he was kidnapped by Coldhouse. I’m a hacker like Jameel,” she said.

Ihab laughed again. “I suspected that. It is good he has someone who can speak his language.”

* * *

Jameel stood uncertain as he watched his mother guide Junebug away. He was torn between wanting to whisk Junebug away from his mom and wanting to tag along so he could listen to what they were discussing. He reluctantly pulled his attention back to his father when his dad noisily cleared his throat.

“Bronislav shot at you?” his father growled with a deep tone of disapproval.

Jameel shook his head. “Not Bronislav… his men.”

“Why am I paying for protection if you are getting shot at?” Melik demanded.

Jameel gave his father a wry grin. “So that we don’t get hit when someone does?” he asked.

“What about the two men your brother sent?” his father continued.

“It sounds like he should have kept them with him. What happened? Are Junayd and Junebug’s sister alright?” he asked.

Melik snort of amusement eased Jameel’s mind. The twinkle of delight in his dad’s eyes wouldn’t have been there if something had gone wrong. His dad motioned to him to follow.

“I could use a cup of that dreadful tea your mother makes me drink,” his dad said.

Jameel nodded. “I promised to have some hot chocolate and a meal delivered to Junebug.”

“Hot chocolate sounds better than my tea. I don’t care what the label says,” Melik grumbled.

“Tell me what happened with Junayd and Midnight,” Jameel quietly requested.

“Bronislav had Coldhouse send a team of assassins to Junayd’s desert home. Issa was wounded. Badr was able to get him to the safe room while Midnight dealt with the assassins.”

Jameel looked at his father with concern. “Will Issa be alright? What about Kalili?”

“Kalili wasn’t home at the time. Issa will be out for a few months, but Junayd said he should fully recover. One of the assassins was captured alive, but was killed shortly afterwards. We suspect by Colin Coldhouse.”

“Neither Junebug or I have been able to find any information on Coldhouse. He’s gone off the grid,” Jameel grimly replied.

Melik pursed his lips. “He’ll resurface, and when he does, we’ll be ready for him.”

Jameel was silent as they entered the kitchen. With Coldhouse still alive, that left yet another threat to Junebug. The thought of what Coldhouse would do to someone as sweet and innocent as her made his blood run cold.

Between Bronislav, Coldhouse, and possibly this Harlem, he wasn’t sure which was the biggest threat. All he knew was that until they were neutralized, he was going to have heavy security on Junebug. He needed to talk to Tarek… and Idella. Idella would be able to give him inside information on this Harlem person.

He looked up when the head chef stopped to greet them. He ordered a meal and hot chocolate to be delivered to Junebug. He also requested her favorite marshmallows. The chef vowed to search all of Jawahir for them.

“Thank you, François,” Jameel said.

“Now, tell me about being shot at,” his father demanded as they settled at a small table in the corner of the kitchen.

Nineteen

Junebug swiveled back and forth in the Herman Miller gaming chair that would have cost a pretty penny but was probably the last gaming chair Jameel would ever have to buy. She smoothed her hands over the soft leather and adjusted it to fit her petite frame. The curved wall of computer screens in front of her made her mouth water. The setup in his apartment was just as good as the one she had back home.

In a matter of minutes, she was plugged in and running. Each screen filled with connections to servers around the world. She was back in her element.

Life doesn’t get much better than this,she thought as she reached for a chocolate-filled marshmallow.

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