Protecting His Princess by C. J. Miller Page B

was Aisha pleased about her arranged marriage?
    “Thank you to everyone for attending tonight’s festivities, the first of many we have planned over the next several days. Some of you have traveled a great distance to wish me and my bride a happy life together.”
    The emir looked around the room. “Because you are my family and my closest friends, I have some upsetting news to share. I considered keeping the news secret to not put a blight on the festivities, but I want everyone to be alert and aware and not confused by gossip.”
    Laila tensed. Next to Mikhail, Aisha shifted in her chair, a frown on her face.
    “My security team has learned that a member of the American government has attempted to infiltrate my home and to intrude on my wedding.”
    Laila’s shoulders hiked, and Harris worked overtime to school his expression. He hadn’t been discovered. He’d been careful. Sweat dripped down his back. He wasn’t armed at the moment. If he had to get out of this room with Laila and her mother, it would be difficult to get past the security and staff.
    “He’s been apprehended and will be dealt with swiftly and sternly,” Mikhail said.
    Not him, then. Relief washed over Harris and on its heels, more questions. Who had Mikhail jailed? Harris wasn’t aware of another American posted in the compound for the wedding. His communication with the CIA was limited, and he needed to be careful how and when he checked in. He’d have to do what digging he could to uncover if Mikhail’s announcement was being used as a warning or if it was the truth.
    If it was the truth, Harris needed to do what he could to free his fellow American or gather information so that he could be freed. Was the CIA aware an American had been on the premises and had been captured?
    While the emir’s wedding may mean a moratorium on government-sanctioned deaths for a few days, Qamsar wasn’t known for its leniency or for fair and unbiased trials. They weren’t known for having trials at all for suspected spies.
    “I have invited many important guests into my home, and they are to be treated with respect,” Mikhail said. “I have friends all over the world, from countries who are not always allies with each other. But here, inside my home, those resentments are not welcome. This is a place of sanctuary.”
    Important guests. Were any of those guests Ahmad Al-Adel? Harris hid his amusement over Mikhail’s announcement implying he wasn’t looking to make enemies and wanted peace within his borders. If he was working with Al-Adel, he was joining himself to a man who had many enemies and left a path of destruction in his wake. Mikhail was not interested in having friends all over the world. His dislike for America was strong in his policies and his resistance of America’s attempts to finalize trade negotiations with Qamsar.
    “I will not allow violence or deception to mar my wedding,” Mikhail said.
    Aisha forced a smile. It must be the one she pasted on when in public. Having this news delivered close to her wedding couldn’t have thrilled her.
    Did she know anything about the captured American? Harris’s team hadn’t determined if the arranged marriage between the emir and his new bride carried any real trust or intimacy or if the arrangement was purely a political and social agreement. If Aisha knew something, could he ask Laila to find out more information?
    Harris immediately retracted the thought. He wasn’t putting Laila further at risk to pry information from her brother’s future wife.
    Mikhail glanced at Aisha. “No more of this talk. I want everyone to enjoy themselves. Please make my home your home.”
    Had Mikhail stopped speaking of the American because he saw Aisha was upset? Doing so would imply actual feelings between the two, and it might mean Aisha knew something about the American spy. Harris would have a hard time speaking to Aisha. Aside from being a male, he wasn’t a relative and had no reason to approach