She could fight. But now she wasn’t certain she would win.
The double doors opened, and Hassem stood there, two small metal objects in either hand. What was he doing? She got a glimpse of his face again and remembered where she’d seen him before. A brief memory flashed through her head. Hassem had been the one Khalil had called on for tea. She remembered his graceful hands as he’d placed the tray on the table and poured out the tea. He’d given her the slightest smile as he’d passed her the cup that she now suspected he’d placed a measure of poison in.
He had the same smile on his face as he threw the small canisters into the conservatory. Metal cylinders hit the floor and exploded, causing the whole world to flare. There was a horrible flash. Her vision fled, bleeding from fiery white to complete darkness in a second. A blast of sound hit her ears just before they stopped working. Piper stumbled, trying to find her balance, but she couldn’t quite make her legs work.
Flash bang. She’d read about them. Stun grenades. She’d read an article about a terrorist attack that went into the use of flash bangs as a way to gain valuable seconds. They could incapacitate people for a few seconds, giving the bad guy time to do something really nasty. She let her body fall back. She needed to get to the floor. She couldn’t stand. Falling back would save her arms, and she could turn to her belly and protect her head. Confusion threatened to swamp her, but she forced herself to stay calm. Five seconds. That was what she’d read. In five seconds her vision would start to clear. Her hearing would take longer, but she would be able to see. She had to get to Tal. They were coming for Tal.
But they weren’t, she knew in just a second. A big hand reached down, and she was dragged across the floor, her body sagging as she was pulled from the room.
* * * *
Tal hit the floor, his ears ringing and his eyes black. He couldn’t fucking see. What the hell had happened? One minute he’d been walking away from Piper, certain he was saving her, and the next, one of his household staff was tossing a goddamn grenade his way. It had hit his chest and bounced off before the flash bang had exploded and sent him into silent darkness. He forced himself to flip over. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t see. He had to get to Piper. Khalil was behind this. Khalil had paid off his staff to turn against him. It was the only explanation.
He felt the marble under his hands and at his knees. He tried to orient himself. He’d been facing away from Piper when the assault occurred. His vision swam in front of his eyes. He couldn’t see a fucking thing. His ears felt like they were bleeding. Sound got through but it was muffled and distorted.
Piper. He had to reach her, protect her. He couldn’t lose her. He could turn her away. He could live without her as long as he knew she was somewhere in the world, safe and sound. He didn’t want to live in a world where Piper didn’t exist. His heart pounded in his chest.
“Piper!” A muffled shout managed to get through his damaged ears. Rafe? Kade? They sounded so far away.
He stumbled to his feet. His eyes were beginning to clear, but the whole conservatory was chaos. Smoke filled the room. Where the hell were the guards? He’d made sure there were at least two at every door. Dane, Landon, and Cooper were patrolling. In his stubbornness, he had sent them as far away as he dared. Had they heard the noise?
Khalil couldn’t expect to get out of the palace with Piper. He could have bribed one or two people without causing alarm, but more? He didn’t believe it. His staff was loyal.
That meant Piper could already be dead. And then nothing would matter.
He nearly tripped over a body. The ambassador? He wasn’t dead, but he was struggling to get up. Tal fell back to the floor. A strong hand lifted him up.
“You know my orders are to get you out of danger.” Dane looked right at Tal. His eyes were perfectly clear. Dane had all his faculties because he hadn’t been in the room when it exploded in light, smoke, and sound. Besides the flash bangs, the attacker seemed to have used some sort of smoke bomb. Tal coughed to try to clear his lungs.
“Piper.” He could barely hear Dane, but he knew the gist of the words. Dane’s chief mission was to protect the sheikh. If he didn’t get away from Dane, he would find himself in protective custody while Khalil did god knew what to his bride. He tried to pull away. “I have to find Piper.”
He couldn’t let them waste time trying to get him somewhere secure. Piper, if she was still alive, had so little time.
“Stop. I know I’m supposed to protect you, but if that woman dies, you’ll be worth nothing. Do you remember how to use a SIG, Your Highness?” Dane pressed a SIG Sauer into his palm. The cool metal felt substantial in his hand.