“It happens because I am forced to work with fools,” he said, venting only a small portion of the heat he felt. “This mercenary you assigned to me is like a mad scorpion, stinging everything he nears.”

Nazer blinked at Kemel’s reply, then shrugged. “We had to move quickly. We had a record of this man Baker offering his demolition services for hire to the government during the Gulf War. We contacted him. And he has proved most useful so far.”

“But we don’t need him anymore. We should be rid of him and simply hire a commercial security company to watch over the property.”

“Get rid of Baker?” Nazer said, shaking his head. “No, I’m afraid that even if we had the time to make other arrangements, we are, in a sense, married to this man. And as you well know, time is in short supply. This has dragged on far too long already.”

Kemel knew… knew all too well. He wanted this matter settled, not simply because the fate of his homeland and the entire Arab world depended on it, but because he was not cut out for this sort of… intrigue.

Yes, the blood of bedouin warriors ran in his veins, but he was a businessman, a negotiator, a—what was the American term? A lobbyist. When he succeeded in his mission, he expected to be well rewarded, enormously rewarded, and would spend the rest of his days in wealth and leisure, adding a second and perhaps a third wife, both in their teens, of course, to his hareem.

And yet he would give up the chance at that dream life in a heartbeat if someone showed up and offered to remove the burden of this terrible responsibility from his shoulders. He would give it up gladly, and then flee this devil country back to his home and his sons in Riyadh.

But that was a fantasy. No one was waiting to take over. Only a few in Iswid Nahr knew of Ronald Clayton’s secret, and Kemel was one of them. To reveal it even to one more person was unthinkable.

And so he had to remain here, taking orders from Khalid Nazer, consorting with the likes of Sam Baker, and doing whatever was necessary to succeed.

“Baker is dangerous. This is a delicate matter—”

“Perhaps it is less delicate than you think,” Nazer said. “Perhaps witnessing the sudden, violent death of her lawyer will finally convince the Clayton woman that selling the house is the wiser—and safer—course.”

“Perhaps,” Kemel said slowly. “But I would not count on it. She has not acted rationally since this began. I see no reason why we should expect her to start now.”

Nazer sighed. “This is what happens when women are let out of the hareem and permitted to act as equals. The Prophet said it best: ‘Men have authority over women because Allah has made one superior to the other.’“

Not to be outdone, Kemel could not resist adding, “He also said, ‘Do not give to the feebleminded the property with which Allah has entrusted you.’“