Malik stepped out of the limousine, almost tearing the door off of the hinges in his need to see his family.
The others stepped out more slowly, willing to give the man some time alone with his wife.
“Jina!” Malik shouted as soon as he stepped into the foyer of the peaceful villa.
Chloe stepped out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “About time you arrived, young man!” she snapped. “And there’s no use yelling. She won’t hear you.”
“Where did she go?” Malik demanded, already pulling his phone out, ready to get his plane refueled and back in the air. He wasn’t wasting another moment. He wanted his family back beside him and he was going to move heaven and earth to make that happen.
“Oh pish,” Chloe said and shook her head. “She’s just out in the back with the other ladies in the pool. That adorable little girl of yours loves the water. One would think she was supposed to be a mermaid,” the housekeeper chuckled. But she was now talking to herself because Malik was already rushing through the back doors, determined to find his family and hold both of his ladies in his arms.
As soon as he burst through the glass doors, he stopped cold. Four women, well, three women and one little girl, were splashing about in the pool, sunshine sparkling off of the crystal clear waters. Lika was the first to see him and her smile split her adorable, chubby face and her tiny hands splashed the water while her chubby legs wiggled underneath the floating circle that was holding her safely above the water. The rest of the ladies were a bit slower to react, but as soon as Jina saw him, she too burst into a smile.
But a moment later, that smile disappeared and her anger came back. “Don’t you dare come any closer!” she told him.
Malik ignored her. He barely took the time to slip his shoes off before he dove into the water. In a swift movement, he lifted Lika and Jina into his arms. One of them was wiggling in order to get closer, the other was wiggling to get out of his arms but he held both of them securely even while he whipped his hair back and forth to get the water out of his eyes.
Kissing Lika gently on the cheek and nuzzling her nose, he then turned to smile down into Jina’s angry eyes. “Hello, love.”
“Don’t you dare ‘love’ me you horrible bastard!”
Malik only chuckled and pulled her closer. “Ah, you love me. And you knew exactly what I was doing.” He kissed her, harder this time. “As soon as you figured out what I was trying to do, you fixed it so that we could all be together again.”
She was already trembling now, just from the one kiss. Jina tried to hold onto her anger, but he was grinning triumphantly and she couldn’t resist this man. Never had been able to do it and now was no exception.
“I hate you.”
“You love me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have found all of that information and gotten rid of the threat so quickly.”
“It’s over?”
“Yes. I found the culprit.”
“Who was it?” she asked, staring up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.
“A guard named Musef was the man who threatened you a year ago,” he explained.
That was startling news. “Musef?” she whispered, shivering at the realization that the man that who had been in charge of keeping her safe was the primary threat. “But why?”
“Money,” he said simply. “He was bribed. Once you and the ladies here figured out the reason behind the threats, we were able to trace the money from Musef back to the Prime Minister of Sistrain. We wouldn’t have figured it out if it weren’t for the money trail and bugs.”
Jina’s eyes widened in surprise. “Listening devices?”
“Yes. They were all over the palace. Aaron tried to resign once they were discovered but I wouldn’t let him go.”
Jina leaned against his chest, unaware of Sierra, Sasha and Livia slipping out of the pool to be with their husbands. She only had eyes for one man. “I’m glad that Aaron will stick around. He’s a good man.” She grimaced. “He just needs to learn to change a diaper,” she laughed.
Malik threw back his head, laughing at the memory of how they’d taped the diaper on Lika. Turning to nuzzle his baby daughter’s cheek, he said, “You didn’t mind, did you?”
Lika’s only response was to smack her baby hands on his cheeks.
Jina realized what he was wearing and pulled back. “Malik, you dove into the pool in your clothes!” she gasped.
He chuckled, delighted that his family was safe. “What’s the problem?”
Jina thought about that for a moment. “I love you.”
He bent lower to kiss her gently. “I love you too. And we’re going home.”
Her smile brightened. “Then I guess we don’t have any problems, do we?” she sighed happily.