Case 1: When A is in position 2, B can only be in position 1. There are two arrangements of cd: 2× 1 = 2.
Case 2: When A is in position 3, B can be in position 1 and position 2. After ab permutation, there are only two permutations of cd, so there are 2× 2 = 4.
To sum up, * * * has 4+2=6 combinations.