“Shush!” she said, as Gilbert began his introduction of Nikolai Petrov and his sister, Veronika.
The pair rose to thunderous applause and then Nikolai strode over to the microphone to say a few words.
His voice was deep and rich and he had only a slight accent. He was an accomplished speaker and as he began talking about the plight of his people in Lukinburg and the desperate need for a U.N. resolution, a hush fell over the room. There had been the usual shifting and coughing when Governor Gilbert spoke, but with Petrov, a pin could have been heard dropping. The man was electric, mesmerizing. As Kaitlyn watched him, she suddenly understood why the world had fallen so hard for Nikolai Petrov.
After his speech, the orchestra started to play again, and gradually the hall returned to normal. Aidan took Kaitlyn’s arm and started to pull her away from the throng, but Eden came up just then and grabbed her other arm.
“There you are! I’ve been looking for you all evening,” Eden admonished. “I thought you’d stood me up!”
“I saw you earlier, but you were busy and I didn’t want to bother you,” Kaitlyn said. “Eden…you’ve outdone yourself. This event…this whole evening is extraordinary.”
Eden smiled, but she seemed a bit tense as she scanned the crowd. “I never can breathe easily until these things are over.” She turned back to Kaitlyn, and then nodded at Aidan. “Well, hello. It’s good to see you again.”
Kaitlyn thought Aidan’s smile seemed a bit forced. “You, too.”
Eden’s focus swept over him admiringly, and Kaitlyn was surprised to feel a stab of jealousy. He’s mine, she wanted to say, but of course, he wasn’t.
So she kept her mouth shut, but she could understand why Eden couldn’t seem to tear her attention away from him. The man looked absolutely gorgeous in a tux.
And she’d spent so much time fantasizing about him in a uniform, Kaitlyn thought.
Eden’s grasp tightened on Kaitlyn’s arm. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing a date,” she admonished.
“I didn’t. We came separately.”
“Oh…in that case…” She smiled up at Aidan. “You won’t mind if I borrow Kaitlyn for a few moments? There’s someone I want her to meet.”
Before he could respond, Eden whisked Kaitlyn away. “Come on. It’s time to meet Petrov.”
And a moment later, Kaitlyn was standing in front of him. She didn’t quite know the correct protocol on meeting royalty, but she wasn’t the curtsying type. So she merely extended her hand and murmured, “How do you do?”
He took her hand and lifted it to his lips. Of course, he would, Kaitlyn thought. The courtly gesture suited him to a T.
“Eden tells me you’re her oldest and dearest friend,” he said warmly.
“Yes, we go back a long way. We went to high school together.” Where was Eden? She seemed to have disappeared, and Kaitlyn couldn’t help wondering if she’d beat a path back to Aidan. Had this whole thing been a ploy to separate them?
That was ridiculous. Eden had gone to great deal of trouble to engineer this meeting. The least Kaitlyn could do was show a little gratitude.
And concentrate, for God’s sake. She was speaking to a prince here. And not just any old run-of-the-mill prince at that, but Nikolai Petrov!
“The friendships we make in school are often the most enduring,” he said. “You’re lucky to have each other.”
The wistfulness in his voice made Kaitlyn realize all the things he’d left behind when he turned his back on his father’s tyranny.
“Are you enjoying your stay in Montana?” she asked, hoping to prolong the conversation long enough to slip in a question or two about the situation in Lukinburg.
He clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. “It’s quite a state. Rugged. Beautiful. Even a bit dangerous,” he said with a gleam in his eyes. “It reminds me a little of home.”
And just like that, Kaitlyn had her opening. “You must miss Lukinburg. I’ve never been there, of course, but my father tells me it’s quite beautiful. And violent.”
“Yes, the violence,” he said with a sigh. His expression clouded, and for a moment, Kaitlyn thought that he was unhappy about something she’d said, but then she realized he was looking past her.
“Would you excuse me? I see someone I must have a word with,” he murmured.
And just like that, he was gone.
Kaitlyn turned and watched him make his way through the crowd. His sister, Veronika, was dancing with a man who looked vaguely familiar. He didn’t have a mask on and his expression, even with a beautiful princess in his arms, was a bit dour. Try as she might, though, Kaitlyn couldn’t place him.
Nikolai took his sister’s arm and tried to pull her away, but she flung off his hand. The two of them exchanged a few heated words before she went back to her dance partner. And then Nikolai stomped away.
“I wonder what that was that all about,” Aidan said at Kaitlyn’s shoulder.
She turned. “I don’t think he was too pleased to see who she was dancing with. Do you know who that guy is?”
“His name is Joseph Brown. He works with me.”
“He’s a bounty hunter?” Kaitlyn asked in surprise. “What’s he doing dancing with Princess Veronika? Aidan, what’s going on here—”
The explosion rattled the windows in the mansion, and as Aidan grabbed Kaitlyn’s arm to drag her away from glass, the place erupted in pandemonium.
“Wait here,” he said. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm,” the governor said from the podium. “It’s nothing but fireworks. Nothing at all to be alarmed about.”
There was some nervous laughter from the crowd, but most everyone seemed too jittery to find humor in the situation. With Petrov in attendance, the threat of terrorism was on everyone’s mind and the explosion had made it all seem too real.
Kaitlyn, watching from a corner, tried to calm her own racing heart while she waited for Aidan.
“I JUST GOT WORD from Murphy,” Joseph Brown said a little while later. “We have to return to headquarters immediately.”
“Why?” Aidan asked with a frown. “What’s going on?”
“Cook has come up with some new information. He doesn’t think this place is the target after all.”
Aidan glanced over his shoulder at the mansion behind him. “He can’t pull us out yet. What if he’s wrong?”
Brown shrugged. “I’m just relaying orders. You have a problem, you take it up with the colonel.”
“Good idea,” Aidan said as he whipped out his cell phone. Within seconds, he heard Murphy’s voice on the other end. “Colonel, what the hell is going on? Brown says you want us back at headquarters.”
“This is an unsecured communication,” Murphy growled. “I can’t go into detail, but we got the target wrong. We’re trying to nail down the new coordinates, and as soon as we have them, I need you ready to roll.”
“Colonel, I can’t leave. Not yet.”
“Campbell, get back here now. Do you understand me? Bring Kaitlyn with you if you have to, but I want you back at headquarters ASAP. That’s an order.”
It was on the tip of Aidan’s tongue to remind him they were no longer in the service, but instead, he severed the call and went to find Kaitlyn.
EDEN CAME UP beside Kaitlyn. “Where’s Aidan?”
“He stepped outside for a few minutes. He said he’d be right back.”
Eden’s gaze sharpened. “Where did he go?”
“I have no idea.”
“So are you ready to get out of here then?” Eden asked her.
Kaitlyn lifted a brow. “And go where?”
“The train station, remember? The whistle-stop tour? You didn’t forget, did you? Because I’m counting on you.”
“I didn’t forget, but I can’t leave until Aidan gets back. I told him I’d wait here for him.”
“Call him on his cell and tell him there’s been a change of pla
ns. But don’t say where you’re going. That’s top secret.” Eden’s eyes gleamed. “No one is supposed to know anything about this, so you have to keep mum until we get out of here, okay?”
“But what if he asks where I’m going? I can’t lie to him.”
“Then tell him it’s none of his business.”
“Eden! The man saved my life.” More than once, Kaitlyn silently added. She might have been cool to him this past week, but there was no way she could be out-and-out rude to him. Besides…she wanted to wait for him. She wanted to go back to her apartment and pretend she’d never erected that stupid wall between them.
“Look,” Eden said impatiently, “I didn’t want to tell you until we were safely away from this place. I don’t want anyone to overhear, but…” She leaned in closer to Kaitlyn. “Petrov is going to accompany the governor on the first leg of the trip. He’s on his way to the station now. The fireworks were a diversion so that he could leave without creating a big uproar. If you want that exclusive, we’ll have to leave right this minute. You don’t have time to wait for Aidan. You can call him when we’re in the car. Petrov will be boarding the governor’s private car in fifteen minutes, and as soon as the train pulls out, he’s gone for good. This is your last chance. Do you want it or not?”
Kaitlyn bit her lip. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. She didn’t dare blow it. Aidan would just have to understand. Besides, his concern was for her safety. How much safer could she be? Petrov was surrounded by his own personal bodyguards as well as federal agents. No one would be able to touch her.
She turned back to Eden and nodded. “Of course, I want it. Let’s go.”
Eden smiled. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”
She led the way through a maze of hallways so confusing that Kaitlyn was soon hopelessly lost. She doubted she could have made her way back to the ballroom if her life depended on it.
They exited the mansion through a side entrance where a car waited for them. As they slid into the back seat, Eden started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Kaitlyn asked.
“You. Me. Look at us in our designer gowns and Manolo Blahniks.”
“A far cry from the jeans and sneakers we wore in high school,” Kaitlyn agreed.
“We’ve come a long way, baby,” Eden said.
And then they both started to laugh.
AIDAN STARED at his cell phone in dismay. Kaitlyn had slipped out of the ball, and he had no idea where the hell she’d gone off to. She wouldn’t say. She’d only called to reassure him that she was safe, he shouldn’t worry, she’d talk to him when she got back.
Got back from where, damn it?
He snapped the cell phone shut and stuffed it in his pocket.
“Problems?” Brown asked in his usual surly manner.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you going back to headquarters or not?” Brown demanded. “I’m not standing around here all night waiting for you to make up your mind.”
Aidan had half a mind to punch the guy right in his kisser, but instead he shrugged. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Why was he even surprised? Aidan wondered a little while later as the chopper lifted off from the pad. Ever since they’d returned from the cabin, Kaitlyn had been putting distance between them. He couldn’t blame her, he supposed. Having him around all the time was bound to cramp her style, and it wasn’t her fault that he’d gotten a little more attached than he should have.
Attached?
Face it, he was falling for her in a big way, but that was his problem. She’d been up front with him from the start. She had plans for her future. Career plans. Plans that didn’t include him. Tonight proved that, didn’t it?
“So what’s really going on?” he asked Jacob Powell as he adjusted his headset. “Murphy was pretty cryptic on the phone.”
Powell glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll let Murphy fill you in. It’s big, though. Get ready for some more fireworks.”
No one said another word until they were on the ground at Big Sky Bounty Hunters.
WHERE WAS PETROV? Kaitlyn wondered a little while later when Eden led her into the governor’s private car. The space was furnished like an office with charcoal leather furniture and a large ebony desk. Seated behind that desk was Peter Gilbert, and he rose when the two women entered the car.
“Welcome aboard,” he said warmly. “Eden tells me that you’ll be accompanying us on our trip across the state.”
“Yes, thanks for having me,” Kaitlyn said, still wondering about Petrov. “This is quite a place. I don’t think I’ve ever been inside a private railroad car before.”
“First time for everything,” Gilbert remarked. “Eden, how about a round of drinks?”
“Certainly.” She dropped her wrap and bag, and striding over to a sideboard, began mixing martinis. When she was finished, she handed one to Gilbert, then offered Kaitlyn one.
“Oh, no, thanks. I’m fine.”
Eden lifted a brow. “Are you sure? You look a little flustered.” She poured herself one and came back over to sit down in the chair where she’d dropped her bag.
“I’m just a little confused about what I’m doing here,” Kaitlyn murmured.
“Didn’t you say you had some questions you wanted to ask the governor?”
Gilbert’s smile was completely disarming. “I would love to stay and answer those questions for you, I really would, but at any moment, Eden will be receiving a call that will require both of us to return to the state capital immediately. The train will get under way with the understanding that we’ll catch up with it at the next stop.”
Okay, Kaitlyn thought. What was that little speech all about? “I’m afraid I don’t understand—”
“No, of course, you don’t,” Peter Gilbert said. “But you will. You see, Kaitlyn, you’ve stumbled upon the story of a lifetime. But this time, you really won’t live to tell it.”
Kaitlyn gasped and staggered back as a memory lashed her like a wave pouring over a ship’s prow. “It was you,” she said on a breath. “You were up on that mountain with Fowler. You must be the one who arranged to get him out of prison. It had to be someone in power.”
Gilbert shrugged. “See? I said you’d put it all together sooner or later.”
Kaitlyn put a hand to her mouth. “But…why?”
“Fowler and I go way back. I happen to believe he’s right about this country. It’s on the wrong track and has been for a very long time. I’m the one who can get going in the right direction again. A savior, if you will. But unfortunately it takes more than vision and ambition to make a dream come true. It also takes a great deal of money.”
“Is that why Fowler and his gang killed that ambassador? You’re being paid to stop that vote.”
“Very good, Kaitlyn,” he said approvingly. “But one vote won’t stop the resolution from passing. That’s why we’re being paid to stop the other ambassadors from reaching their destinations as well. It might surprise you to learn that two of them are on board this train even as we speak. They’ll never make that secret vote, just as you’ll never live to tell your story. The train, you see, is going to meet with a terrible accident. It’ll be very tragic and require my undivided attention…right up until the election.”
Kaitlyn turned to Eden. “You knew about this?”
“Of course, she knew,” Gilbert said. “She and Fowler go back a long way. Don’t you, Eden?”
“Oh, my God.” The truth hit Kaitlyn with the force of a truck. “You’re the one who got Jenny to join the MMFAFA.”
“It wasn’t hard,” Eden said with a shrug. “She wasn’t the person you thought she was, Kaitlyn. She had all this rage and hate bottled up inside her ever since her brother was killed. All I did was give her an outlet.”
“With Fowler?” Kaitlyn asked in outrage.
“Boone Fowler happens to be a brilliant man,” Eden said matter-of-factly. “I knew the first time my friends and I went to hear him speak
back in college that he was someone special. He wanted to change the world, or at least this country, and I wanted to help him.”
“By blowing up buildings and killing innocent people?” Kaitlyn demanded.
“We’re at war,” Eden said softly. “In war, people die. It’s called collateral damage. Jenny could have been a valuable asset to us, but then you came back to town, and I knew it was just a matter of time before you’d get her to betray us. You’ve always had this way about you. And I was right. She came to you, so we had to take care of her.”
“Did you kill her?”
“No, that was Fowler. But I made damn sure he knew that he couldn’t trust her.”
Kaitlyn shook her head. She couldn’t believe any of this. “What are you going to do?”
“Just what Peter told you. After we get the phone call, we’ll get off the train.”
“And then?”
Eden smiled. “You don’t want to know.”
Kaitlyn’s gaze shot to the door, but before she could make a move, Eden whipped out a gun. “Don’t do it. I don’t want to have to kill you myself, Kaitlyn, but I will if I have to.”
“Why?” Kaitlyn asked helplessly. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I have dreams and ambitions, too,” she said coldly. “You understand about that, don’t you?”
Her phone rang then, and she and Gilbert exchanged looks.
Eden listened for a moment, hung up the phone and then picked up her bag and wrap. “Time to go.”
“Yes, just let me…” Whatever Gilbert was about to say froze on his lips as he lifted a hand to his heart. An astonished expression came over his face as he stared at the drink on his desk, then glanced up. “Eden?” he said on a gasp.
“Sorry, Peter. There’s not enough room at the top for both of us, so I’m afraid I’m the only one getting off this train.”
Grabbing his throat now, Gilbert lunged for her, but he lost his balance and pitched forward, landing on the floor with an awful thud.
“So long, Kaitlyn,” Eden said softly as she backed through the door.
Going to Extremes Page 16