Secret
Agent Sheikh
Linda Conrad
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Table of Contents
Title Page
About the Author
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Copyright
About the Author
LINDA CONRADA bestselling author of more than twenty-five books, Linda has received numerous industry awards, among them the National Readers Choice Award, the Maggie, the Write Touch Readers Award and the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award. To contact Linda, read more about her books or to sign up for her newsletter and/or contests, go to her website at www.LindaConrad.com.
To Shelley and Peggy, the most ingenious
website and newsletter creators ever!
You two are the greatest!
Chapter 1
Monte Carlos tourists went about their business at sea level twelve stories belowoblivious to the drama unfolding high above their heads. Steadying himself, Tarik released the thin metal rappelling cable attached to the safety harness under his specially outfitted tuxedo shirt.
He let the line go loose and flattened his body against the stucco wall, stopping to let his pounding heart calm. But his heart continued thundering in his chest. Dropping over a dark abyss with nothing but air between your very existence and certain death was not his idea of smart.
The best part of his job had always been hiding in plain sight. Preferably at the nearest casino table. Becoming a different personality and handing people bold-faced lies was much more in keeping with his lifestyle than any crazy high-flying
acrobatics needed to reach hotel ledges. After all, his brothers had always maintained that as the baby of the family, hed excelled from earliest childhood at being a chameleon and making up stories.
He was born for his old job as a covert agent. But the Kadir family had recently asked all their sons to assume the responsibility for their growing war with ancient enemies, the Taj Zabbar. Out of loyalty, Tarik resigned his commission with the United States Army immediately upon learning of his familys need for him to lead their intel-gathering efforts.
His foot slipped on the slick ledge and Tarik lost his balance. Grabbing hold of the uneven brick wall with his fingertips, he tried balancing on tiptoes. Looking out at the black expanse of ocean in the distance and the ant people strolling the seawall directly below, he swallowed back his panic and relied on innate athleticism to regain his balance.
Breathing slowly in and out, he made his way along the twelfth story ledge of Monte Carlos Le Meridien Beach Plaza hotel. His thoughts turned to his former work as a member of a special para-military task forcea cross-branch compilation of Army Special Forces, Navy Seals and CIA spooks. He regretted having to quit and he missed working with some of the most elite men and women in the world of covert intelligence. His old unit had been special, known within the Department of Defense for its ability to track down international mobsters and terrorists while staying in the shadows.
With his heartbeat stabilized again, Tarik cleared his head, inching along in the darkness. As he reached the balcony of the penthouse suite, he slipped over the open railing and the half glass-wall enclosure and crouched down to conceal himself behind a potted palm. The balcony doors had been closed against the chilly night air, but hed paid the maid a small fortune to see that the sliding glass was left unlocked for the night.
A secret power-broker meeting was supposedly about to take place in the suite on the other side of these glass doors. He needed to be in position with his high-tech surveillance and listening equipment before any of the action began.
Tarik peered past the edge of the glass. The room was an enormous space, set up with a temporary conference table surrounded by six captains chairs. A handful of men had already gathered and were standing at a bar with drinks in their hands.
He recognized the Russian gangster whod reputedly organized this little get-together from his CIA dossier. The gangster was Karolek Petrov, a renowned physics genius before the fall of the Soviet Union who had since amassed a $300 million empire based on illegal banking ventures and arms deals.
Tarik had to hand it to his older brother, Darin. His intel about this meeting had been spot-on.
As Tarik quietly set up the micro recording/receiving device Darins geek department had come up with, he rifled through his memory trying to put names to a couple of the other faces hed recognized around the bar. Clearly none of the men were members of the Taj Zabbar. He and his brothers had turned themselves into experts at facial recognition when it came to their familys enemies. At this point he could pick out a Taj Zabbar face from any crowd.
Apparently not everyone had arrived for the meeting yet. The Taj Zabbar participant was the only one Tarik cared about, and hed better show up soon.