what happened. See, her parents, my grandparents, were big in casinos and they passed away leaving a huge fortune to my mother. She said it was too painful to stay in Vegas because it reminded her of her parents. She hasn’t been back once in twenty-two years. Anyway, she picked up and moved to Hollywood. She was celebrating getting her role on
“That could be an interesting line for filming . . .” Cy murmured.
“Oh. That would be so cool. We could find my dad and interview a whole bunch of famous actors to see if I’m their daughter. Although, I’m super close to my mom and she wouldn't like it. But if I’m on the show, maybe she’ll help out, too. It would be a real family bonding episode.” Sarah’s hands were gently crossed over her heart as she played up the show.
“Good point. Now, how is this sex tape going to play in? Are your lawyers getting it removed? Can we mention it or is it a no-go?” Cy asked.
“No, you can mention it. I decided to sell my rights to it so I can at least make money off it. As I said, it's very good.”
“We’ll need to talk to the man who starred in it with Sarah. Get his permission to be on the show as a guest a couple of times,” Cy told Gemma.
“You can’t do that,” Sarah said as her voice cracked.
“Why not? This show is about your life and this is a big part of it,” Cy reminded her.
“I know. It’s just that Seth was killed. He was murdered right after the tape came out. They haven’t caught the guy yet. Hey, could that be used on the show? A big shot investigative reporter is going to write a story on it, too, so I bet it would be really interesting to have it featured on the show. Very emotional and all. Hey, she kinda looked a lot like you. Ha! You have a twin out there and you didn’t even know it.”
Cy saw Gemma freeze and knew he needed to get her out of there fast. But he had an idea and he needed Gemma to play along one last time. “Gemma, let’s take a picture of all of us.” Gemma snapped out of it and handed the tablet to a waiter before joining them.
“Thanks for the picture, Sarah. We’ll be in touch with you.” He shook her hand and hurried Gemma from the club.
He opened the door of the limo the hotel provided and ushered Gemma into it before tossing one last glance at the club. Sarah was by the door with her cell phone out, no doubt checking him out. She saw the name of the hotel on the limo and smiled. He had a feeling he’d be hearing from her soon.
Cy closed the door and pulled Gemma close. She was shaking even though the club had been hot. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You did it. We got all the information we needed.”
“Was the picture really necessary? The thought of my sister talking with her just . . . I had this really weird feeling this is what got my sister killed.”
“The picture was definitely necessary. Didn’t you find it weird what she said about her father and her grandparents? And then her sex tape partner being murdered. Too many coincidences for me.”
“That is strange. And strange that her mom got all that money just a couple days before getting pregnant.”
“Yep. I think Mr. X is Sarah’s father. Got a Vegas dancer knocked up, pays her off, and she moves away from Vegas with all this new money to try to become a star.”
“And the picture?”
“I’m going to put the photo on the Internet with a caption about my great talk with Sarah. I’ll have Cade work his magic so he can capture the IP addresses of whoever looks at it. I bet one of those addresses will belong to Mr. X. I also bet it’s going to make him very nervous to see us both with her. So nervous that he’ll make a move he’s not prepared for.”
“Are we heading home then?” Gemma asked.
“Not yet,” he smiled. “I have plans that involve the marble soaking tub. Plans that will take most of the night and morning.”
“Who needs sleep?” she asked as Cy slid his hand up her legs. “Totally overrated.”
“What’s not overrated? You in that dress. Now take it off.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dani looked at her husband and gave him a smile. She felt a little useless as the house was in chaos this morning while they were getting ready to take the king’s plane to Rahmi for the birth of her child. Mo was directing what needed to be put on the plane versus what needed to be shipped when Bridget came in.
“I swept the limo and the plane. No explosives, and Marko and I are ready for the flight. Just let me know if you need me to help with anything else,” Bridget said as she gave Marko, her explosive-sniffing Belgian Malinois, a scratch behind his ear.
“Thanks, Bridget. It really means a lot that you’ll take time off to come to Rahmi with us. I feel safer just having you there.”
Dani stood up from the table as Ahmed came in, looking serious as always. “The last of the bags have been sent to the airport. Your parents are waiting outside with the royal family. Nabi and Bridget will escort you while I lock the house down and instruct the remaining staff. My brother has all your security covered for your arrival and I will be in Rahmi as soon as Cy’s back with your plane.”
“Thank you, Ahmed. I don’t know what we’d do without you, my dear friend.” Dani clasped his hand and screamed.
Mo caught her as she fell to the ground and Marko barked as the tension in the room escalated. Dani blinked her eyes and took some deep breaths as her parents and four royal in-laws came running into the room along with most of the security force and staff.
“What is it?” Tony De Luca cried. She tried to give her dad a reassuring smile, but oh my God, she was in pain.
“I’m in labor,” Dani said between clenched teeth.
Her mom pried her hand from Ahmed’s and placed it in hers as Mo gathered her in his arms. “That’s right, dear. Breathe.” Her mom’s confident voice soothed her.
“No!”
Dani’s head shot up as the king loomed over her with a panicked expression on his regal face. “What do you mean, no?” Dani groaned.
“You can’t have the heir to Rahmi in the United States. You must simply cross your legs and wait.” Dani choked and sputtered, but nothing came but another contraction.
“Father.”
“What? I’m giving her an order and she needs to obey, umph.” The king stared in utter shock at his wife. “You hit me? You hit the king?”
“Well, dear. Someone had to knock some sense into you. It’s better me than your son or, heaven forbid, Danielle. Now shut up and support your daughter as she gives you an heir.” Fatima smiled at Dani. “But shouldn’t we be going to the doctor’s?”
“Oh no. The doctor is in Rahmi waiting for you,” her father said.
“Don’t worry, I know what to do,” Ahmed said calmly.
“What? Pass out on me?” Dani snapped as she started to sweat.
“That only happened once. I have sawn off limbs in the battlefield,” Ahmed defended. He shook his head and held up a hand. “I’m getting the limo ready and calling Dr. Francis to meet us at the hospital.”
Dani grabbed her mother’s hands as Mo and Ahmed helped her up. She had a death grip on Mo’s hand as he led her to the limo. She was so worried about the baby coming early that she didn’t care when her parents, in- laws, Bridget, and even Marko got into the limo first. Nabi and seven other security guards came running and leapt into two black SUVs, one in front and one behind the limo.
“Dr. Francis is going to meet us there. She’s in a fitting for her wedding dress but started taking it off as we talked,” Ahmed told her as he opened the driver’s door. “Oh no.”
