Hudayfah looked up in surprise as the door to his office was flung open, and he watched as Rami sulked into the room, and threw himself in the chair across from his desk.

"What's wrong?" Hudayfah asked after a few seconds, and Rami glowered at him.

"Your sister! Ugh your sister!" he seethed through his teeth, and Hudayfah looked at him in amusement.

"What about her?"

"I hate her!"

"You do not."

"I really do Hud! I hate her with a passion!"

"Passion being the keyword there." Hudayfah said with a grin before turning back towards his computer.

"What are you implying?!" Rami demanded.

"That you love her." He said not removing his eyes from the screen. Rami's mouth dropped open, and he angrily kicked the side of Hudayfah's desk.

"I do not love her!"

"Fine you don't."

"I don't Hud!"

"Okay!"

"Stop it!" Rami exclaimed, and Hudayfah laughed.

"Hey you are the one who is dragging this out!"

Rami glared at him again, before crossing his arms, and staring out the window.

"Any news?"

Hudayfah ran a hand through his hair in agitation.

"No, and that scares me. Yesterday was a clear message. Who knows what they will do next? What are they waiting for?!"

"For Jen to be left alone?"

"That won't ever happen." Hudayfah snapped. "Someone will be with her all the time."

"Did you tell her yet that I know?"

"No, but we might have to tell her."

"That would ruin your whole happily married charade." Rami said teasingly, and Hudayfah sighed.

"Yeah well. Did you see the way Rana was glaring at me? She knows something is up."

"Just tell her. She can't keep her nose out of anybody's business." Rami grumbled, and Hudayfah shook his head with a grin before turning back to his computer where the pictures of his car were up. He enlarged one of them, zooming in on first the slashed tires, then the message on the windshield.

"This most definitely was not under Jamaal's orders." He said eventually, and Rami leaned back in his chair.

"What do you mean?"

"Jamaal isn't so sloppy. He wouldn't have them wreck the car, especially in such a public place, and when our drive could have returned any second. He would have them deliver the message in a classier way. My guess is he gave the orders to take us out, and they decided to get creative."

"You mean to take me out. Why would he want you gone? You're his personal bank account." Rami said simply, and Hudayfah winced, but didn't deny it.

"You'll just have to be more careful. We all will."

"You have to tell her Hud. You have to tell her everything."

Hudayfah shook his head.

"Not everything. But I will tell her enough where she will be careful." He swiveled his chair to look at Rami. "We can't leave New York right now. I hope she won't be too disappointed about not having our honeymoon in Egypt."

"It's not like you're having a real honeymoon to begin with."

Hudayfah glared at him.

"Shut up Rami. That's not all a honeymoon is about. It's about connecting with the other person on multiple levels, not just physically."

Rami grinned but didn't say anything as there was a knock on the door, and as Hudayfah bid entrance to whoever it was, Rana's face appeared.

"Salaam habibti. What can I do for you?" Hudayfah asked with a smile, quickly turning his screen away. Rana followed his movement, her eyes narrowing suspiciously before she took the seat next to Rami.

"Walaikumasalaam. What, a sister can't come talk to her brother?" she turned towards Rami. "Hello Rami." She said, her voice teasing.

"Hi." He grumbled, and Rana grinned. "I'm going to go...do something." Rami said lamely before dashing out of his seat, and leaving the room. Once the door had closed, Hudayfah shook his head.

"You two are going to drive me crazy, and you've only been here an hour."

Rana shrugged.

"I'm not doing anything. He's the one acting like a weirdo."

Hudayfah laughed.

"Where is Jenna?"

"She is starting dinner. I'm going to go help her, but I wanted to come talk to you first."

"About what?"

"I haven't seen you in over a year, I need a reason to come talk to you? We should catch up."

"Okay, so how've you been little sis? Anything new?"

"Enough about me Hudayfah, what's going on with you and Jenna?"

Hudayfah's eyes widened in surprise.

"What?"

"Please Hud. I'm not stupid. I know that there is something odd going on. What did you force her to marry you?"

Hudayfah winced, and Rana's eyes widened.

"Oh my God! Did you!?"

"No," Hudayfah said with a scowl.

"Then what is it?"

Hudayfah sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"You can't let on to Jenna that you know anything."

*** Jenna looked up with a smile as her sister in law came into the kitchen, and Rana smiled back before washing her hands, and coming up to stand next to her.

"Put me to work!" she exclaimed, and Jenna laughed.

"You can make the salad." She said, and at first there was silence in the room as Rana took out the cutting board and the things for the salad, but soon Rana leaned forward, a smile on her face.

"So how do you like being married to my brother?" she asked with a grin, and Jenna flushed slightly.

"I like it a lot." She said, trying to make herself sound convincing and she couldn't help but wonder if Rana knew of what was going on. But her sister showed no signs of knowing anything, calmly cutting a tomato into pieces.

"Did you see your house in Arizona yet?"

Jenna shook her head.

"No. We came here the day after the wedding. We stayed at the hotel the wedding night."

"Oh it's beautiful MashaAllah! You're going to love it!" Rana exclaimed, and Jenna smiled.

"I can't wait then!"

"Did you like all of your clothes?"

Jenna's eyebrows raised slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, when you got engaged, Hudayfah sent me your sizes and had me fill your wardrobes in all of your houses. I had so much fun!"

Jenna's eyes widened, and she just stared at Rana in astonishment. So that's how she had clothes here even though they weren't planning on staying!

"Wow. That was really sweet of both of you. Thank you." She whispered quietly, and Rana grinned.

"No need to thank me! I enjoyed it! I can't wait until you see the house in Florida! I have to tell you I was so glad that Hud gave me full reign to redecorate for you, it was so boring before!" she exclaimed and Jenna put a hand to her chest, feeling a bit overwhelmed at his generosity.

"Wow I don't even know what to say."

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure you will figure out a way to thank him later." Rana said as she began to cut the cucumbers, and Jenna blushed, even though her tone wasn't crude or anything. They finished the meal together pleasantly, talking about different things and getting to know one another, and by the time the men came down to eat, Hudayfah was beaming as he could hear their giggling all the way from his office.

They had a wonderful meal, though Rami was a bit curt with Rana, and she in turn teased him as much as possible and by the time they retired for the night, Jenna was dying to ask Hudayfah about their relationship.

"So what's up with Rana and Rami?" she asked as soon as he had shut their bedroom door, and he laughed.

"They have a very unique and slightly odd relationship. Long story short, he's in love with her, but covers it up with insults and being rude to her. She knows of his feelings, and likes to tease him."

"Aw that's mean." Jenna said with a slight frown, and Hudayfah smiled.

"I think it's her way of showing she likes him as well. Neither one of them are very good with expressing their feelings. I've been dealing with this for too many years." He sighed dramatically, and she laughed before beginning to unpin her scarf, and taking off her sweater.

"Why don't you do something about it? Push them together."

He stood behind her, glancing at her in the mirror.

"You can't force two people together. They have to both not only want it," he paused to skim a finger over her shoulder, "but both make the effort." He said softly, before turning away from her, and walking towards his own closet.

*** "Hey. Hey shhh," Hudayfah said a bit blearily as Jenna began to sob. He sat up, rubbing his eyes slightly, trying to adjust to the darkness of the room.

"Hudayfah," she whimpered, and he scooted closer to her.

"I'm here." He said quietly, and as she reached out her hand towards him, he just stared at her. There had been something he had been wanting to do ever since their date night, and he felt they were doing well enough that he could try it.

He would hold her.

"Hudayfah?" she whispered when he didn't take her hand, and he swallowed hard before he moved a little bit closer to her until he could feel the warmth from her body. He laid a hand gently on her arm, and stared into her face, gaging her reaction, seeing if she would resist. When she did nothing but look back at him, tears staining her cheeks, he put one arm around her back, one under her knees, and lifted her up before settling her onto his lap. He brought his arms around her until she was tucked into his body, and she clung to him, burying her face in his chest, the tears wrecking her body, and he knew this had to be a bad one. As her sobs continued, he hesitantly put a hand in her hair, raking his fingers through her curls, and the harder she cried, the harder she pressed herself into him, as if she was scared any gap left between them would cause whatever she had been dreaming about to come and get her. Soon they were pressed together as close as they could possibly be, and Hudayfah was positive she would be able to feel his heart beating furiously.

"Better?" he asked after a few moments, and he felt her nod against his chest.

"A little bit." She lifted her head to look at him. "Thank you." She said, and when he moved to release his hold on her, she clung to his shoulders in a panic. "Don't leave me!" she whispered, and he stared into her face before nodding, and leaning against the headboard, pulling her body with him.

He continued to stroke a hand down her hair, and not ten minutes later, he felt her body grow heavy as she drifted off to sleep, and instead of putting her down, he held her tighter, a few minutes later falling asleep himself, his grip never loosening.

***

Hudayfah was startled out of his sleep by a knock on his bedroom door, and at first he was confused as to where he was for he felt weight on top of him. But then he realized that Jenna was lying across him, her face buried in the crook of his neck. He looked down at her for a few moments in astonished joy, not wanting to disturb the moment, but when the knock came again and he heard Rami whisper his name, he put her on her side of the bed, hurriedly put on his robe, and stepped out of the room.

"Rami what's going on?" he asked as he closed the door behind him, looking at his friend. Rami looked like he had just been torn out of bed. His hair was in disarray, his face still held traces of sleep, and he was wearing a thin black tank top. But nonetheless, his expression was grim.

"Come with me." He said, and Hudayfah followed him, worry growing in the pit of his stomach the further they went down the stairs. As they reached the kitchen, Hudayfah came to a halt, his mouth falling open in shock. Every single surface of the room was covered in a red rose. And attached to each red rose was a picture of Jenna. There were some that looked like they had been taken from her Facebook page, and there were others that looked as if they had been taken by someone following her. There was even one of her washing dishes, and the thought that the person could have been so close to her scared Hudayfah to his very core.

"How did you know this was here?" Hudayfah asked.

"I came down to get water." Rami said, and Hudayfah took a step forward, fingering one of the flowers.

"Now this was Jamal's orders." He said with a groan, a slight shiver of fear shooting down his spine, and Rami nodded.

"I know."

"Was there any sign of a broken lock?"

Rami shook his head.

"No."

"So that means the person picked the lock."

"Hud, or they have a key."

Hudayfah winced.

"My men wouldn't betray me."

"I know you don't want to think it. But it's looking more and more like it. We have to be cautious of everyone if we want to keep Jenna safe."

Hudayfah was quiet for a second before nodding.

"Let's get this out of here before she sees it."

The two of them worked for the next half hour bagging the flowers into garbage bags, and gathering the photos for Hudayfah to shred later. By the time they finished, it was time for Fajr, and Rami took the three filled bags in his arms.

"I'll throw these out," he said walking towards the kitchen door before he hesitated, and turned back around, "Hudayfah you have to tell her to be careful. That way she will understand why I will be going everywhere with you guys."

Hudayfah nodded.

"I'll tell her right now." He waited until Rami had thrown the bags away before going to inspect the locks. Rami was right. Not a single one was broken, nor scratched as if it had been picked.

It had been someone with a key.

"First thing in the morning let's get the locks changed. Also, send for all of the boys. I want everyone here." Hudayfah said, and Rami nodded, yawning before following his friend up the stairs.

*** Jenna stared up at the ceiling, wondering where Hudayfah was. She had awoken to an empty space beside her, and to her surprise, she had been disappointed. The feel of Hudayfah's arms around her was more intense than she would have expected it to be, and as she awoke from the Fajr alarm, she realized that his arms had acted as a shield from those visions when they tried to return that night, and that she had enjoyed it much more than she wanted to admit.

She had enjoyed how he smelled and the feel of him. His body was solid and firm, and it made her feel secure and safe.

He made her feel secure and safe.

As she heard their bedroom door open, she sat up expectantly, and as he came into the room, she smiled.

"Where did you go?" she asked, and he grinned at her, removing his robe.

"Miss me?" he teased.

Yes.

"Usually you are asleep before Fajr. It was a little weird not to find you next to me."

"Sorry, I had to get something from the kitchen." He paused to hang up his robe, before sitting down on the bed, his face drawn.

"What's wrong?" she asked, and he hesitated for a second before sighing.

"Jenna, I don't want to scare you. But things are worse than I thought with Muhsin's friends."

Her face paled.

"What do you mean? Did something else happen?" she asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about it, just please don't go anywhere alone. Promise me?" he pleaded, and she nodded, her eyes widened in slight fear.

"I promise."

"You promise what?"

"I promise never to go anywhere alone."

"Don't talk to any strangers either."

"Hudayfah you're scaring me." She whispered, and he took her hand in his.

"I'm sorry. I don't want you to be scared. I just want you to be aware that those friends of Muhsin's are out there."

"Why are they coming after us though?!"

"The second I married you, Muhsin's problems became mine in their eyes because technically he is my brother."

"What do they want though? I thought Muhsin's debts were paid off!?"

He hesitated a second.

"He is in deeper than probably he even realizes. It isn't about money anymore. Jamaal, the leader of their little gang is not a nice guy."

"So he is the one who did that to our car?"

He nodded.

"His men at least. Just be aware that there are people out there. I don't want you to live in fear, but I also want you to be cautious."

"Are you sure it will be safe?"

"As long as you don't go anywhere alone and Rami is around it will be InshaAllah."

She nodded.

"Okay."

"Considering the circumstances, I think it best if we stay in New York for a little bit more. I hope you won't be too disappointed?"

She smiled.

"It's okay. We still have a lot here we haven't done. Gone to Manhattan and Madison Square Garden, and so many other things!" she said excitedly, and he laughed, raising her hand to his lips.

"We will do whatever you wish."

*** Jamaal looked up from his desk as the man entered the room, and blew a ring of smoke in his direction. How much did this guy smoke!?

"Did you send the flowers?" he asked, and the man nodded.

"Yes. All five hundred."

"And the pictures."

"Yes."

Jamaal nodded.

"Good. And Omar's key worked?"

The man shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes it did." He hesitated for a second. "Where is Omar?"

"That's none of your concern."

"Is he alive at least?"

"Yes," Jamaal said blowing out a spiral, "for now."

He felt his heart sink. Omar was one of his best friends, and now he was God knows where, going through God knows what. It had freaked him out to sneak into Hudayfah's house and arrange the flowers in the kitchen. He had been so scared that he was going to be caught, that the whole time he had been shaking like crazy.

"So do you have any news for me?" Jamaal asked, putting out his cigarette, and lighting another.

"Rami just called. Hudayfah is sending for all of us. He booked flights for today."

"Well that's good. It will be easier for us to take them all out." Jamaal said. Jamaal hadn't been able to handle being halfway across the country from Jenna, and had taken half of his men to New York a few days ago. "Now that you are really going to be on the inside, I expect full reports. And we need to take out Rami. I'm very disappointed no one has done it yet."

"Like I said, he won't be easy."

Jamaal glared at him.

"Make it work."