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didn’t talk to him until they were out of the examination room and going down the stairs. “Thank you. I don’t have to thank you, because you kidnapped me and bullied me into this whole visit, but it was a moment, and…otherwise I would have been alone. Which probably would have been a step up from going with a kidnapper. But if I consider that you’ll be my baby’s uncle—”
    “You’re welcome.” Did she always babble on when she was emotional?
    She gave him a dirty look. “One more thing.”
    He drew up an eyebrow. Here we go. She was about to make her first demand.
    “Please don’t humiliate me in front of people like that again.” Her words were issued softly.
    Damned if he knew why he was feeling like a heartless bastard all of a sudden. His jaw muscles pulled tight. “Sorry.” He didn’t know which one of them was more surprised when the word was out.
    “Wow, that sounded like it hurt. Was it your first time?” She grinned.
    He glared back.
    “You could just let me go,” she said when they were in the car, the air conditioner going.
    “Too cold?” he asked as he pulled into traffic.
    “Are you kidding? I have a furnace inside. I could be standing on the snowfields of Siberia and be hot. Pregnant bodies produce lots of energy.”
    He hadn’t considered that. “I can’t let you go.” He turned down the boulevard.
    “You’re a sheik. You can do anything you want.”
    She had an answer for everything, didn’t she? Fine.
    “I don’t want to let you go,” he said.
    “Don’t you ever watch international TV? Your views on life and responsibility are pretty archaic. You don’t have to take care of me. I don’t belong to you.” As she said the last sentence, she enunciated each world deliberately.
    “I don’t have time for TV.” He didn’t bother addressing her wild notion of her not belonging to him. “I want you to write me a list of what you need. Both for you and the baby. And you need to eat more,” he said just as a dark sedan cut off the car following them to get directly behind him. “I can bring a nutritionist on staff while you’re with us.”
    He kept his attention on the sedan, his warning senses perking up. The car was moving with too much purpose, the driver unnecessarily aggressive.
    “I don’t need a nutritionist. I eat healthy and I eat as much as I need. I won’t be staying that long anyway.”
    She clearly resented his interference. And right now wasn’t the time to discuss just how far he was willing to go to make sure her pregnancy went as smoothly as possible.
    He looked at the rearview mirror again. “Listen, we might—” Too late, he saw the gun. He swerved. “Watch out!” He pushed her down just as the rear window exploded.
    He heard the shards hit leather, but his seat and headrest protected him. A glance confirmed the same for Julia. He stepped on the gas and the car lurched around the minivan in front of them. But his attackers—two men, their faces obstructed by tribal-style headdresses—followed.
    He swore under his breath. Should have brought his security along. But he didn’t want anyone in his family or at the company to know about Julia Gardner and her claims yet. Didn’t want to deal with the questions about him going to a women’s clinic. If her story were untrue, he didn’t want to unnecessarily tarnish Aziz’s memory and bring his honor into question.
    The car in front of him was slower than slow. For a moment, he swerved into upcoming traffic to get ahead, expecting Julia to scream at him. She didn’t, but horns beeped all around them. He chanced a glance at her when he’d returned to the right side. She sat pale-faced, hanging on to her seat with a white-knuckled grip.
    He snapped his attention back to the road in front of him. “We can handle them.”
    “We can’t handle them. Oh, my God. Call the police!” She squeaked the last word.
    “I’m a little busy.” He growled under his breath, not at her, but at the men.