Zolan remained calm, unfazed by the accusations. ‘For a good cause.’
His composure only fueled Mak’s rage.
‘You call snatching my woman a good justification?’ Mak spat.
‘It was necessary,’ Zolan growled.
Mak slammed his fist on the table, rattling it. His patience was gone. ‘Whatfokkin’ reason would necessitate you kidnapping an innocent woman?’
Zolan’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re angry, I get it. You’re looking for someone to blame. Mak, you need to be smarter than this. You’re chasing the wrong ghost. It’s why I had to waylay Saba and bring her here. Twas the only way to get you to come after her, so you’d see me, discuss our common enemy.’
‘So you’re saying this was all a ruse to get me here?’ Mak snarled.
Zolan leaned forward, folding his hands together. ‘Look outside your assumptions for once. There are more players inthis game than just us. Your enemies are growing, whether you choose to see it or not.’
Mak clenched his jaw, still simmering with fury, but something in Zolan’s words gnawed at him. Could someone else have orchestrated this?
‘I swear to you,’ Zolan added, his tone deadly serious, ‘if I had wanted to hurt you, the last person I’d have done it through was Saba. Like you said, she’s family. I also happen to like her and think she’s the shit. Second to her sister, who Ifokkin’ love.’
Mak’s anger cooled somewhat, but his rage still burned when he thought of Saba’s abduction. He gritted his teeth. ‘If I find out you’re lying,’ he growled, his glare lethal, ‘I’ll tear your world apart until nothing stands.’
Zolan met his eyes, silent, his calmness infuriating Mak even more.
Mak glared at him. ‘You’re either a weak Don if you’re not on top of who is going rogue in your name. Or a shit lover who has no scruples using his woman to get what he wants.’
That’s when Zolan bristled. ‘I’m a leader who appreciates how to sift through the chaff and find our true adversary. Those who wish us harm or want to exploit us with malicious intent.’
Zolan leaned in earnest. ‘I’d never use Shiloh or Saba to gain leverage over you. Shiloh and I are in love, so she came to me. If you must know, her uncle was well aware of our relationship and blessed it.’
‘He knows about you two?’ Mak asked in surprise, recalling Tewa’s outrage at the restaurant on hearing about Zolan and Shiloh.
Zolan nodded, with zero pride or arrogance in his gaze. ‘Of course, he did. He introduced me to Shiloh and insisted that I take her on a date. I had no clue she was engaged to you at the time. He instructed me to enjoy her company. It was part of theenticement and payment, along with diamonds for hitting a few of your supply ships.’
‘He pimped Shiloh to you?’
‘I had no idea she was promised to you at the time. He also told her she could court me until the arrangement with you came to fruition. You know, have a little fun.’
‘What he didn’t count on was us falling in love. At first, he was outraged when he found out she was pregnant; he extended us an olive branch and blessed the union.’
‘So, you’re saying he was well aware of the switch at the altar? That Shiloh was out of the picture and Saba stood in her place?’ Mak growled, struggling to keep his temper in check.
Zolan sighed. ‘He was. He committed to sending a packet of valuable diamonds to me after six months if I kept the fact that Shiloh was with me a secret. He said something about maintaining the family’s respectability. He also promised he’d eventually let me marry her. This other thing, the hack, has nothing to do with me. The gemstones, from your bride price, were a lifeline for my people, for the Sidani Order. However true to form, I haven’t seen one gem of it.’
Mak’s rage flared again. ‘Thefokkin’ snake.’
Zolan crossed his arms, his gaze steady as he regarded Mak. ‘He’s been playing us both,’ he grunted.
Silence fell until a husky voice broke through the impasse.
‘So I was just a pawn.’
The woman who stepped into the room was beautiful, but her familiar face was incandescent with wrath.
Shiloh.
Stunning, long-haired, with eyes like a doe, her pregnancy was obvious.
‘I didn’t have any idea he paid you,’ she said with a bitter edge.
