by Dana Mentink
“This old thing?” She laughed, twirling around so he could get the full effect of the gauzy gown. Her laughter warmed his heart and he clenched his fists to keep from moving toward her. It was then that he remembered the phone in his hand.
“I have a promise to you that I need to keep.” He held the phone to his ear. “Are you still there?” he asked into it.
After hearing the reply at the other end of the line, he handed the phone over to her. Her fingers brushed his as she took it. The simple touch was nearly his undoing. Her eyes looked up into his, full of questioning.
“It’s for you,” he said.
“Hello?” She spoke cautiously into the phone. He waited for the realization to come. It didn’t take long. Her eyes widened and then pooled with tears. They would be tears of joy this time. “Leo!” she squealed.
She bounced up and down in place, the expression of joy on her face filling him with happiness. It warmed his heart to have been a part of their reunion, even if it were only by phone for now. He smiled. He backed from the room slowly, unable to take his eyes off her. She chattered into the phone, firing questions away at top speed. There was no way her brother could get a word in edgewise, he was sure.
When he reached the door he allowed himself one last glance. He’d meant to talk to her and explain things, but more than anything else he knew she needed this time with her brother. He would give her privacy to chat with him.
He’d known it would make her happy to know that Leo had been discharged from the hospital and was safe. Soon they would be reunited. For now it was enough that she was happy. He would know that he had some small part in that happiness. He closed the door behind him with a click. It would be impossible to forget the time he’d shared with her.
He wasn’t sure he even wanted to.
THIRTEEN
The smile died on her face.
Moments before Thea had been so happy to hear her brother’s voice she’d been floating on a cloud, barely paying any attention to her surroundings. She knew better. Staying aware of the things and people around her was something she’d done for so long, it was almost second nature.
Despite what they’d told her, what they’d promised, even here she was not safe.
The piece of paper propped against the pillow on her bed was proof of that.
Tonight you die.
The hastily scrawled words chilled her to the bone.
And where was Ronin? She’d been so happy when he’d handed over the phone, and she hadn’t expected him to sneak away and leave her alone. Especially not when she was obviously still in danger. Thea grabbed the note from her bed and bolted from the room.
The guard they’d placed at her door yelled for her to stop, but she paid him no attention. She was a princess and she would go where she pleased. She stopped dead in her tracks as she turned a corner and the realization hit her. She had no idea where she was going.
“Where is Ronin Parrish?” she shouted to the guard behind her. He couldn’t have gotten far in the short time she’d spent on the phone with Leo.
“Your Highness, you aren’t supposed to leave your room,” the young guard replied. “It’s not safe.”
“Where is Ronin Parrish?” she asked again. She smoothed down her dress and straightened her back, but even then she wasn’t at his eye level. Only then did she realize she was barefoot. She stood on tiptoe and shot him her most regal look. “If you don’t take me to him, I will wander every hall in this home until I find him. How safe would that be?”
For a few moments she wasn’t sure if he was going to acknowledge her words. Then he sighed and motioned for her to go to the left. She took off down the hall, the guard close behind her shouting directions at her as she stormed through rooms and more hallways.
“Is this how you protect me?” Thea shouted from the doorway when she’d finally reached her destination and saw Ronin seated behind a desk.
She moved closer to the desk where Ronin sat, pen in hand, and glared down at him. Gone were the jeans and T-shirt he’d worn the short time they’d been together. Now he wore a suit and tie. The combination of clothing accentuated his muscles, making him look very strong and masculine. But it wasn’t the clothing that gave him the dangerous quality. It was the look in his eyes.
“Princess, you should not have left your room.”
“So I’ve been told,” she said, motioning to the entourage of private security at her heels. “But leaving my room seems to be the only way I can have a conversation with you.”
Ronin rose from his desk. Leaning across it, he stared straight into her eyes. She was sure he meant to use some form of intimidation technique. She was just as sure it wouldn’t work. She leaned toward him, meeting his gaze.
“Here I am, Princess,” he spoke, his voice filled with what sounded like annoyance. “What did you need to talk to me about?”
“My safety.” Thea paused and looked around. Every eye in the room was on her. She didn’t let that stop her from saying what she’d come here to say. “I thought I was being protected here.”
“You are well protected if you remain in your rooms.”
“Does this look well protected to you?” Thea tossed the note she clutched in her hand at him. It bounced against his chest and rolled onto the desk. She waited for his reaction. Surprise lit his face as he reached for the crumpled paper.
She crossed her arms in front of her and waited. She wanted answers from him, and she wasn’t moving until she got them.
“Where did you get this?” he asked, his brow furrowed with concern.
“It was on my bed,” she replied. “Propped against my pillow.”
“When?” While he waited for her to answer his question, he picked up the phone and started pushing numbers. “When?” he repeated.
“I came straight here as soon as I found it.”
“Go to lockdown,” he shouted into the phone at her answer. “No one comes in or out without talking with me first. And get Jarrod!”
Satisfied that she’d gotten his attention, Thea sat in the chair across from him, her dress billowing out in puffs around her. “I suppose you are going to tell me to go to my room now?”
“No!” Ronin said loudly. “You need to stay right where you are,” he said more gently as he took his seat behind the desk.
“Why did you leave me after bringing me the phone?” She already knew the answer. He had hoped the phone call to her brother would distract her. It had worked. She had waited such a long time to talk to Leo. She wasn’t going to just hang up on him when she’d noticed Ronin sneaking away.
She would be forever grateful that Ronin had thought to give her that time with her brother. When they would finally be together was one of the many things that had been on her mind the past few days. But just as often she’d wondered about Ronin and what had happened to cause a change in his behavior toward her. He’d been ignoring her, and none too subtly.
“I felt you needed privacy for your call and I had other things that needed my attention.”
His words stung. Was she just a thing to him now? She’d come to him with so much on her mind. She needed to thank him. She needed to be sure he was okay. She needed to tell him about the perfume and the note. But none of that seemed important as she looked into his eyes.
There was something final there.
“So that’s the way it is now? Now that we are here and I have to play the part of the princess, we’re no longer friends? Am I just a thing for you to protect?”
“This is no part you are playing, and you are not a thing. You are Princess Dorthea and I am your servant.”
The words hit Thea like a punch to the gut. Her breath whooshed out in disbelief. “You are not my servant. You are my friend.” That he thought so little of what they’d shared stung.
“I was very truthful with you all along, Princess. Bringing you home safely was always what this was about. Now that I have done that, my job is finished.”
Thea sh
ook with a volatile mixture of pain and rage. He felt more—she knew he did.
Fear and doubt reared their ugly heads. She pushed them aside.
For a moment she saw a hint of the old Ronin. His face softened but only momentarily.
“Safely? You think your job is finished and I’m safe?” Thea pointed to the note in front of him. “I think that proves otherwise.”
Ronin smoothed the note she’d tossed at him out on his desk. He stared down at it, his face stony and cold. Thea knew he’d had time to read it multiple times by now. It was only three words. Three hateful, evil words. Thea squirmed in her chair, and he looked up at her.
An awkward silence filled the room.
“The men who grabbed me that night…” Thea cleared her throat and scooted forward in her seat. “Are they both locked up?”
“Yes, they are. We have been questioning them, but so far they haven’t given us any useful information. They both had cell phones on them and we’ve been going through all the phone records and bringing in anyone they had contact with over the past few months.”
“Then someone else who wants me dead is still out there,” Thea whispered. There would always be someone else out there until the person behind it all was exposed. They would keep sending people until there was no one left to send. Or until she was dead.
“There is still one number we haven’t been able to track down. It was obviously a burner phone.”
“So it’s a dead end.” But she refused to believe it was that hopeless. She struggled to remain calm and not show the myriad of emotions coursing through her. She could still think of only one way that they could end this all, but she knew Ronin wouldn’t like it.
Thea thought of voicing her ideas, but she knew he wouldn’t listen. He was closing himself off from her and she had no idea how to make him stop. She wanted her friend back. She wanted the man who had laughed with her and treated her like a normal person. The only problem was, short of begging, she had no idea how to topple the walls he’d erected around himself.
“I have things to do to get ready for meeting the king tonight,” Thea said as she rose from the chair.
“I won’t allow it,” Ronin stated as he rose across from her. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Allow?” Thea hated to pull rank on him and she knew it would only put more distance between them if she did, but this was her life. She was tired of running in circles waiting for the next threat to expose itself. “Dangerous or not, it could be the only way we’ll ever prove who is trying to kill me.” Fear clutched at her heart, squeezing it. Her throat tightened with the weight of her decision. “I’m going, with or without you and your protection.”
Thea waited for the argument that she knew would come, but Ronin stood speechless by his desk. His eyes bore into hers. He knew she was right. He just couldn’t bring himself to face the facts she already had. It was the only way. “I’m going back to my room. If you don’t think I’ll be safe there, you’re welcome to come stand guard at my door.”
And with that she turned, lifted the hem of her gown just above her calves and stormed from the room. She could hear Ronin behind her. After the note, he would double-and triple-check before letting anyone else near her. She was sure of that.
Mixed emotions rolled through her. The fear was still there, but it was buried deep beneath the despair of rejection. She knew how deep and true the feelings she had for Ronin were. She had hoped the time they’d had together, no matter how short, had also shown him what they shared was real.
His silence behind her said otherwise.
She prayed as she ran back to her room. She needed time alone to clear her head and listen for that still, small voice that would lead her in the right direction. If she would even be alone in her room and there wasn’t someone waiting and lurking in the shadows to kill her. Being bait for a murderer might not be the smartest move, but it was the only way she could see to ever end this.
Thea threw open the door to her rooms and waited quietly as Ronin did a thorough check. After a few moments he left without a word and she ran to her bed. Lying across it, she let the flood of emotions go and sobbed. He cared for her. She sensed it. He was just afraid. Fear was something she was used to, as well. He was a strong man, but she wasn’t sure he was strong enough to let go of whatever was holding him back and keeping him from admitting his true feelings for her.
*
Ronin read the crumpled note again. The words filled with hatred jumped out at him. Bold black strokes against the white sheet of paper. “Tonight you die,” it read. Anger bubbled up inside him. He was sure it wasn’t the guards he’d posted. He’d only posted men at her door that he’d worked with and knew personally. Still, someone had gotten that close. They had been in her room. Why hadn’t they just killed her then?
He slammed his fist down on the desk. All movement in the room stopped as every eye turned toward him.
“Get me Jarrod!” he yelled. His gaze moved over the crumpled paper. It would be unlikely they’d find any usable prints on it. But it was worth a try. If he could get the prints lifted from it here, it would be quicker. But they’d probably have to leave that to Jarrod’s contacts with the police.
That would be more time lost.
He shook the thought from his mind. Whatever the reasons, he was thankful they hadn’t harmed her. He had thought she would be safe here. There were guards everywhere. He’d known the deception ran deep, but perhaps it was deeper than they had even begun to realize.
The troubled look in her eyes as she’d thrown the note at him flashed through his mind. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her. Treating her that way and putting the distance between them were the hardest things he’d ever done. But the words were the truth as he saw it and he needed the distance to keep himself from reaching for her.
They couldn’t have any sort of future. She was a princess. She would marry a dignitary if not a prince from a neighboring nation. She would marry into wealth and her children would be heirs to the throne after her.
The only place a man like him had in her life was to protect her, and he wasn’t even doing a good job of that. He’d let his emotions get in the way. That was just the thing he’d been most afraid of. All of the distancing and assigning new bodyguards to her hadn’t helped at all. She was still in his mind and she was still in danger.
“You needed me?” Jarrod asked.
“Yes.” Ronin battled to rid all emotion from his voice and relay the facts to his brother. He would need every bit of information he could give him to help find the person behind these threats. “There’s been another threat against Princess Dorthea’s life.” Ronin picked up the note and handed it over. “Have we been able to trace the last number from the phones?”
“No. It was evidently a burner phone. It’s either been disposed of or never turned back on.”
“We have to assume they are smart enough to have gotten rid of it by now.”
“I agree.” His brother’s expression clouded as he skimmed the note before handing it back over. “When did this happen?”
“She brought it in about thirty minutes ago.” Fear knotted in his stomach. “Meanwhile we have someone in the building with access to the princess who we cannot trust. Are you completely sure about the men you have put on her detail?”
“They have all been with me for years. I’ve known some of them since they were kids. No one has gotten into that room without being thoroughly checked.”
“Well, someone got in.” Ronin took a deep breath to keep from shouting. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if he let his frustration run rampant on everyone. His brother didn’t deserve this. He’d worked just as hard over the years to finally get to the truth. “I’ve locked the building down. Whoever did this should still be here.”
“I’ll start a sweep. Everyone who has been near her room will be questioned first,” Jarrod said even as he called a man over to begin the process.
“She wants to continue with the event tonight
.” Ronin shook his head as he spoke the words. She would be in grave danger. But it was a good plan.
If it were anyone else he would be all for it. But it was Thea. He didn’t like it. Moving her to the Royal Estate and attending the reception that had been planned for her tonight would be suicide. There would be too many unknowns.
“She what?” his brother questioned.
It was obvious his brother shared his sentiments.
“It’s a good plan.” He hated to admit it, but unless they could find the person behind it all before tonight, they might have to go along with it.
“I’ll have the note checked for prints,” his brother said. Then he stopped at the doorway and turned back toward him. “This isn’t the Dark Ages, you know. It’s obvious you two care for each other. The princess is free to see anyone she chooses. It’s not like it’s in the rule book that she has to marry someone of equal rank or bloodline. Even if it was, she strikes me as the sort of person who would challenge it for something she wanted.”
Ronin smiled. She was that very sort. She would do what she wanted if it was for the good of her or her country or anyone else. That knowledge hardened his resolve. Thea would feel as if she had to choose between him and her country, whether she actually had to or not. Ronin would not be the man to put her in that position. Not when so many had done so much to put her back in her rightful place.
“Aren’t you getting that note checked?” Ronin asked, hoping to change the subject and remind his brother of his mission.
Jarrod nodded. “We have a lot to do to get ready for tonight. I’ll also double up the security on the princess without making it too obvious.”
“I want to be with her.” If they were actually going to let her go through with attending tonight, he had to be there. Too much was at stake to entrust her safety to anyone else.
Ronin handed Jarrod the folder that contained all the information they’d gathered so far and the statements from those who had been brought in already. Thankfully, only a handful of Guardsmen had been involved. They had to have been getting their orders from someone. But so far none of them were talking.