“I agree,” he replied, then came over to her. “I’m sorry that you endured his threats. But you…” he stopped, shaking his head. “You should have come to me and told me what he’d said.”
She nodded, angrily wiping away the tears. “Yes, I should have. But then he threatened you!” She nodded when his face froze. “He said he’d kill you if I didn’t get you to sign the papers.” She closed her eyes, pressing her lips together in remembered panic. “And if that threat hadn’t worked, he would have come up with another. And another! He wanted to get to you through me. I figured….” She stopped, a sob ripping through her at the terrifying memories. “I figured that, if I wasn’t around you anymore, then he couldn’t hurt you. You would be safe.” She shook her head, then glanced down at Shanta once more. “If I’d known how to get in touch with you, I would have told you about Shanta as soon as I’d figured out that I was pregnant. For a long time, I just thought I was sick because of the stress of trying to stay ahead of Scott. He sent out people to find me and several times he got pretty close.”
“No, Faye,” he explained gently. “The people you ran from were my guards. It was my team trying to find you!” His anger towards her was softening now that she’d explained Roland’s threats.
She stared at him, stunned by this latest revelation. At that point, all she could say was, “Oh!”
His hand ruffed up his hair as he started pacing. “I’m not sure if I’m angry with you or with myself.”
Faye felt the same way. She suspected that she should be angry at him, but she wasn’t sure why. She’d run away from him to save him, and herself, from Scott’s viciousness. So…why would she be angry towards him? Or was she angry with herself for believing in Scott’s threats?
Focusing on Zantar for the moment, because her own feelings were a bit too confusing, she asked, “Why would you be angry with yourself?”
He stopped pacing and shook his head, his hands fisted on his hips as he chuckled at the past year. “Because I never told you who I was,” he explained, turning to face her. “I was being selfish.”
Faye blinked, startled by his declaration. “Selfish? How were you being selfish?”
He sighed, shaking his head slightly. “You were the first woman who wanted me for who I am, not because of my title, Faye.”
She stared at him, biting her lip. A moment later, she looked around at the luxury, then shrugged as she brought her eyes back up to his harsh features. “I’m still not completely sure what your title is, Zantar.”
He laughed and sat back down in the chair. Faye felt Shanta fall asleep and adjusted her daughter in her arms, letting the pillows take more of her weight.
“I’m Zantar al Abbous, Sheik of Citran. I’m ruler of this country. I was in Skyla that week we were together trying to figure out what the hell was going on with the border villages.” He laughed harshly. “It was all connected. The sink holes, the trucks disturbing the villages at night, the tunnels going from the caves in the mountains to the drilling sites, the Green Mining operations and the kidnappings…everything was connected. We know that now. Scott Roland was behind the tunnels and he’s in prison now.”
“And you stopped him!” She paused, closing her eyes for a long moment so she could savor that news once more.
He smiled grimly, nodding his head. “Yes, you’re safe, Faye. You and Shanta are safe from Roland’s threats.” That’s when his eyebrows pulled down as he looked back at her. “And that’s why you should have trusted me instead of simply kissing me and disappearing.”
She nodded, looking directly into his eyes. “I know.” Faye’s lips pressed together and she nodded again for emphasis. “I’m sorry. That was wrong of me.”
Zantar was stunned. An apology? She was…sorry? Everything inside of him relaxed and he wasn’t sure where to go with that. He hadn’t expected her to apologize, but her simple words melted all of the anger and fear that had plagued him for the past year. Was it really that simple?
Staring into her blue eyes, he knew that it was.
“Did you mean it?”
She blinked, confused now. “Mean what?”
“What you said that day?”
Her lips lifted slightly and Faye nodded, easing the rest of the pain. “Yes. I meant it.” She blinked slightly. “I love you, Zantar. And I’ve missed you every moment of the past year!”
He moved over to her, bracing a hand on either side of her shoulders against the back of the sofa. “Don’t say that unless you intend to follow through on what that means, Faye!”
“I mean it!” she replied with heat. “I don’t know what you mean about following through but…” she stopped and lifted her hand, touching his cheek. “But I love you! And I’ve missed you so much!”
He looked down at the now sleeping infant. “Can you put her into the crib?”
“Crib?” Faye chirped, still focused on his handsome features. “Has a crib already been delivered for her? I know that you said someone would…well…” she sighed, her shoulders drooping slightly. “Zantar, this is all very new to me. I don’t understand…”
“What’s wrong, Faye?” he asked, his rough fingers touching her cheek.
Faye looked down at Shanta. “I was just going to…I don’t know. Create a makeshift place for her to sleep. Maybe surround her with pillows or something.”
He rolled his eyes and pushed up. “I told you that my staff was providing everything.”
“I know you did.” She pulled her eyes away from Shanta’s sleeping features and looked into his eyes. “Zantar, I’m not used to having servants. This is all new to me.” She sighed again. “As is trusting someone to do things for me. Like fight for me.”
He froze and stared into her blue eyes. “Is that why you ran away?”
“Yes. I think so. I’m used to dealing with all of my problems. Zantar. I’m used to being on my own, fighting my own battles. I’ve been on my own, essentially ever since the moment my mother married my stepfather. It was just…easier to stay out of their way. To avoid Scott when he came home for his college breaks and…well, I learned to only rely on myself.”
“So you ran.”
“Yes,” she replied with a nod. “It wasn’t a lack of trust in you,” she finally explained. “It was a knee-jerk reaction. Running was the only solution I could come up with. If Scott couldn’t find me, then he couldn’t use me to get to you. Problem solved.” She shrugged, still patting Shanta’s bottom. “It’s my way.”
“I’m going to have to teach you other ways,” Zantar explained. Then he took her hand and tugged her up from the sofa. “Come with me.” He then led her into a small room where a crib, changing table and even a rocking chair had been set up.
Faye halted in the doorway, stunned by the lovely furniture as well as stacks of diapers. “How in the world did this happen?” she asked with awe. “Did you borrow all of this from someone? Or was it already here?”
“Everything is new, specifically purchased for Shanta,” he countered. “If you don’t like the style then I can-“
“I love it,” Faye interrupted, still stunned by the efficiency of whoever had accomplished all of this in such a short period of time. “It’s perfect!”
She walked over to the changing table and set Shanta carefully down on the cushioned area. “Would you like to change her?”
Zantar stared down at the tiny human being, then shook his head. As much as he wanted to touch her, hold her and get to know his tiny daughter, he was terrified of her fragility as well. “No. I’ll just watch this first time.”
Faye laughed, then efficiently grabbed a diaper off of the top of the stack, as well as a fleece pajama outfit. It took Faye very little time to change her daughter’s diaper and put her into the one piece outfit, made easier because Shanta was blissfully sleeping. Thankfully, the tiny girl would continue to sleep for at least another four hours, she thought.