Bulletproof Princess

by It Girls

  "Okay," she said. "Okay, one thing at a time. I'll talk, you listen. I'd better start with Renee. I heard Franklin Greene call her a bitch behind her back to Julio. She says they haven't had a run-in, but there has to be a reason he hates her. And anything that Franklin hates, Ryan hates, too."

  She had to tell Emma about Erik. "Wonder Boy is in this business cartel with Brit and Ryan. I asked Erik to stay away from Brit, but he refused. Jack and I found his crest ring in my apartment. He might be dirty, Emma. He might even be the Duke. I don't want to believe it, but I can't find a decent reason to deny it. God, but that would kill Mother."

  More disappointment. Chloe couldn't bear the thought of it. Wonder Boy never had disappointed their mother; Chloe had paid dearly to see to it. If he fell off that pedestal now…

  Chloe sniffed, grabbed a tissue from Emma's table and dabbed at her eyes. "Please wake up soon, Emma. The suspect list on the Duke is narrowing, and everyone still on it either works with the Roses or is among our friends and my family. Erik, Brit, Harrison, and Ryan."

  Chloe licked at her lips. "There's one more thing." She steeled herself to say it. "Renee set us up to fail with the red wigs and interview mix-up. Since neither was an accident, I should determine why she sabotaged us— yet I can't make myself do it. I believe in her. But what if I'm wrong? Did you or Tatiana find proof Renee had switched sides? Is she working for the Duke? Oh, God, Emma. Did Renee have someone attack you and abduct Tatiana?"

  Emma tapped Chloe's hand.

  Chapter 12

  After Emma's tap on the hand, Chloe had nearly flown out of her chair. She'd wanted to tell the nurse, to ask Dr. Scoffield if that tap meant Emma was out of the coma, but so long as Emma was comatose and guarded by Mac Dayton— a man both Frank and Lucas had checked out— she was safe. Safe was best for Emma.

  So Chloe had kept quiet and left. As soon as she had gotten into her car, she had called Jack and told him, and he'd deflated her hope, saying, "Patients in a coma jerk. I'm 99.9% sure the timing was coincidental. I'm sorry, honey. Try to get some rest. You're exhausted."

  And so she'd driven home, showered and snuggled down in bed, totally depleted physically and mentally. Her mind churned, and she begged it to make sense of everything while she slept. She didn't remember her head hitting her pillow, which is why the phone ringing beside her bed startled her. The bedside clock read 3:40 a.m. "Yes, what?"

  "Princess Chloe," a woman said. "Pardon the intrusion."

  Chloe recognized her voice. "What is it, Olivia?" Oh, God. "Is Emma— "

  "She's fine. I mean, there's been no change. This is unrelated," Renee's assistant and oldest friend said. "Jillian Baker from the Women's Center called the club, very upset."

  Jillian supervised the shelter's night shift. "Why?"

  "One of the women who's been staying at the shelter is missing."

  "Do you have Jillian's number?" Chloe didn't want to go down there unless she absolutely had to do it. Four hours' sleep in two days just wasn't enough.

  Olivia read off the number.

  Chloe thanked her, hung up, and then dialed the Women's Center. "Jillian, it's Chloe."

  "Oh, thank goodness. I don't know what's going on, but I know it's bad." Jillian had revved up to borderline hysterical.

  "Calm down and tell me what's happened."

  "One of our women, Nadia, had a five o'clock modeling audition yesterday. She never came back."

  Chloe remembered Nadia. She was a center success story, an aspiring model who'd come to them to conquer bulimia. She was staying at the shelter while completing the eating disorder program. "Where was the audition?"

  "The Black Swan, over in the Meatpacking district."

  Two doors down from Hollow Hill. Chloe sat straight up.

  "I went down there," Jillian said. "But the man claimed Nadia hadn't been there— her or Karen Grant. I know he was lying to me, but what could I do?"

  "Who's Karen Grant?"

  "A friend of Nadia's. She's the one who called and told me that's where they were. They were auditioning for a photo shoot in Hong Kong."

  The Far East. The biggest buyers of brunette Western women. "Is Karen a brunette, Jillian?" Nadia was, and if Karen was, too…

  "Yes, she is. Why?"

  "No reason," Chloe said. "Did Karen say anything else?"

  "They scheduled to leave tomorrow for a shoot in California. Then, they hoped to go to Hong Kong for two weeks. But when I went down to the Black Swan, the man doing the auditions said he'd never seen Nadia or Karen. I'm really worried, Chloe."

  Chloe was worried, too. "What was the man's name?"

  "Karen called him 'Brother' on the phone. I didn't hear anyone call him by name."

  "What did he look like?"

  "He was handsome. Blond, tall, well dressed. He had that rich look. You know what I mean. You just know."

  Chloe did know. It wasn't clothes or jewelry or anything the naked eye could see. It came from inside, an inbred confidence. Chloe called it the X-factor, and she didn't know why so many wealthy people had it, but they did. Sadly, she lacked the trait. "If I e-mail over photos, would you recognize him?"

  "Oh, yes." Jillian hesitated and then added, "I didn't like him, Chloe. He sounded sincere, but working here, you learn to read people fast. The truth never touched his eyes."

  Jillian had an amazing bullshit detector from hearing every possible story human beings could contrive. Stories from the women and from the men hunting down the women hiding from them. "I'm going to send those photos. You take a look and call me back." Chloe reeled off her number.

  "Okay." Jillian paused. "Chloe, we have to find them."

  "Focus on facts not fear. That's our best chance."

  Chloe hung up the phone and booted up her computer. She nearly shot the keyboard when she discovered the Internet connection was down again. Some things simply couldn't be controlled by money.

  She dialed Harrison. He sounded wide-awake. "I need some special help, partner." She didn't relay that they had two new missing women. "Can you e-mail or fax photos of Brit, Erik and Ryan for me?" She gave him Jillian's contact info.

  "Sure. What's up?"

  "I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know as soon as I have anything solid." She turned the topic to avoid questions. "Any word on the Governess?"

  "Not yet. But she kept an appointment on her schedule this afternoon, so apparently, it was short-term non-availability."

  "Oh, good." Chloe didn't believe it.

  "It'll be an hour or two before I can get these out."

  "Thanks." Chloe broke the connection and called Jack, who sounded as if he'd been sound asleep. After relaying the information about Nadia and Karen, she told him what Harrison had said about the Governess.

  "Chloe, the Black Swan is right by Hollow Hill."

  "I know. Should I brief Renee?" That was standard operating procedure, but this assignment had left S.O.P.s in the dust long ago.

  "About this development, yes," he said. "Maybe she'll reveal why she sabotaged you and Emma."

  Chloe was sorry she'd asked and hoped nothing Renee said or did now would worsen her situation. "Okay. I'll do that."

  "Just call her for now," he said again. "I'll meet you at the G.R.C. at three-thirty this afternoon."

  "Why so late?" She shoved her hair back from her face and shifted her pillow under her neck.

  "I want to get some qualified people in on this."

  Some FBI people, Chloe felt sure. "Okay," she said, hoping these qualified people were good and that they found Nadia and Karen before they were taken out of reach.

  "We'll check transportation, but they'll probably opt for private planes."

  "Jillian said this 'Brother' seemed rich."

  "Definitely need to watch the planes, then. If they get these women out of the country, we're screwed."

  "No, Jack," Chloe corrected him. "The women are screwed. They'll be sold and held prisoner until they die."

  "Exactly," he said.
>
  "I'm going down there— to the Black Swan." Chloe made the decision on a dime. "Maybe I'll recognize this Brother guy, or learn something that will help us."

  "No, Chloe," Jack insisted. "Absolutely not."

  Her hackles tap-danced up her neck. "Excuse me?"

  "You'll be walking into an active mission and you could hurt far more women than Nadia and Karen." He paused to let that sink in, then added, "Do not go down there."

  "A related classified mission that the FBI is already on?"

  "Yes. A sting operation."

  "Tell me they'll make finding these women a high priority."

  "Absolutely," he said. "You have my word."

  After all the people who'd betrayed her— him included— she wasn't crazy about trusting anyone on anything. But it was a small leap of faith. She'd be watching. "All right, Jack."

  "Call Renee, and then get some sleep. You've had a rough couple days, and I need you conscious and alert."

  She was equally dependent on him being conscious and alert, but she didn't feel the need to constantly remind him of it. Of course, his abilities weren't in question. She grunted. "I'm acutely alert, okay? Will you quit worrying about your back?"

  "Baby, the day we do that will be the day we die."

  A cold rush ran through her. He wasn't being sarcastic, just sharing wisdom he'd picked up on the job. "Got it." She committed the advice to memory. "Will you sleep, too?"

  "I will. Good night."

  She hung up, and then dialed Renee. Her husband, Preston, answered, sounding sleep-fogged, and Chloe winced. "Pres, it's Chloe. Sorry to disturb you, but I need to speak to Renee."

  "Just a moment, Chloe."

  A pause and then Renee came on the line. "Chloe, is it Emma, darling?"

  "No. No, there's been no change," Chloe assured her, then filled her in on Nadia and Karen Grant.

  "Where are the women now?"

  "They've disappeared and the man running the auditions, Brother, denies seeing them." A slight variation was necessary here due to the classified nature of the sting. "Jack's put some people on it."

  "Oh, good." Her relief was evident. "So no immediate action is required."

  Surely if Renee were involved, she wouldn't be relieved. "That's correct. Just an FYI to keep you up on developments." Prickly, Chloe asked, "How is the peace accord coming along?"

  "It's not." Renee sounded sad about that, and Chloe well imagined she was. Preston's return should be a happy time. Instead, Renee stood right between a rock and the hard place. Who could be happy with their spouse and child at war? "Is there anything I can do to help?"

  "Pray. Otherwise, no, darling." Renee's gratitude was genuine. "These things work out in their own time, bit by bit."

  "Okay. I'm here if you need me. You know that, right?"

  "Of course, darling," she said. "Good night."

  "Night."

  Chloe cradled the receiver, thoughtful and solemn. If she wanted to know why there was tension between Renee and Franklin, she needed an alternate source. Olivia wouldn't utter a word… But Senator Ellie Richardson might.

  Ellie had served with Renee and Olivia in the Peace Corps in Colombia. She could have useful insights. Resolving to phone Ellie's office as soon as it opened, Chloe settled down to sleep.

  *

  At 8:00 a.m. Harrison still hadn't sent Jillian the photos and Chloe's Internet was still down.

  Chloe had breakfast and then dressed in sporty cocoa-brown slacks and a cream top Adele had designed. While phoning the hospital to check on Emma, she had an extra cup of coffee, hoping for a caffeine jolt.

  No change.

  God, she was sick of hearing those words. Chloe spoke briefly with Emma's mother, who was even sicker of them, then left a message on her mother's voice mail not to forget to send Gerard over this morning with Chloe's Vera Wang couture. Then she dialed the security desk and told Scott, the daytime security chief, to expect Gerard and a delivery from Adelphio: Chloe's gown for the Halloween Ball.

  It was next to impossible to gear up for the Halloween Ball while Emma lay in a coma and Erik's innocence was in doubt, not to mention Renee, Nadia and Karen, the three Russian women and Chloe's suspicions that Ryan, Brit, Harrison or Erik could be the Duke. And the Governess still being out of pocket didn't do a thing to restore Chloe's flagging confidence.

  Jittery, she reconsidered. Maybe she should switch to tea.

  She steeped it and added lemon, steeling herself, and then dialed Ellie. If Renee was on the wrong side in this, shock wouldn't begin to cover all Chloe would feel. She just couldn't believe it of Renee, but what she believed was insignificant. All that mattered was what she could prove.

  "Senator Richardson's office. This is Liz. How may I help you?"

  "Liz, good morning. This is Chloe St. John."

  "Princess Chloe," she said. "Wonderful to hear from you."

  "Thank you." She sipped from her cup. "I need to speak to the senator, if she's available."

  "She'll be disappointed to miss your call, but the senator is in Tuscany until next Monday. Shall I relay a message?"

  "No, thank you. It was purely social," Chloe lied. "I'll phone again after she returns. Goodbye, Liz."

  "Goodbye."

  Chloe couldn't phone Olivia. That would be a hotline right to Renee. So she called Alan Burke. "Morning, Mr. Gadget."

  "Chloe, hi. What's up?"

  "I need to do a little breaking and entering— on the QT."

  "Jimmy's never going to get off his knees with you, is he?"

  "Right now, I need all the novenas and candle-burning Jimmy can give me." Divine intervention on this assignment would be totally welcome. "It's important, Alan." Everyone knew Olivia had the most extensive database on the elite in the city. Names, addresses, phone numbers, cell phone numbers, children's names and ages, family trees, food and drink and restaurant preferences, and even what type flowers and chocolates people preferred. "I need Ellie Richardson's number in Tuscany."

  "And when should I tell Jimmy you'll be in for training?"

  Chloe frowned, wishing he could see it. "I'm coming in this afternoon— and I need another Rose pin."

  His tone turned serious. "What happened to the original?"

  "Someone stole it when they broke into my apartment."

  "Damn, Chloe. You okay?"

  "I'm fine." She didn't dare admit how not fine she really was. "But as you can see, I've been a little busy."

  "I didn't hear about the apartment."

  "No one knows it. Keep it that way," she added. "I want the Roses alert, not terrified."

  "Okay," he said, sounding wary. "Does Renee know this?"

  Oh, hell. Now she was stuck. "Not at this time, Alan."

  On the other end of the phone, his silence roared.

  Chloe waited him out.

  "All right. I'm supposing you know what you're doing."

  Scary assumption and he didn't sound convinced. She faked certainty and shoved it into her voice. "I know exactly what I'm doing," she said with conviction. "Has Tatiana been found?"

  "She was with Emma on the hotel security tape, Chloe."

  "Did it show her leaving?"

  "No."

  Disappointing, but not surprising. "I guess I just need that number, then."

  He read it off to her and she jotted it down in her book. "Thanks, Alan. Not a word on anything we discussed."

  "Not to anyone?"

  "No."

  "Damn it." He sounded disillusioned.

  So was she. "Yeah." She hung up, knowing he'd be in a tizzy all day, figuring out why Chloe wasn't briefing Renee.

  Can't be helped. Chloe put through the call to Tuscany and got Ellie's housekeeper on the phone.

  "No, Princess Chloe," Ellie's housekeeper said. "That's what I'm telling you. The senator never came. She got on the plane in New York but she no get off the plane in Tuscany."

  "Did it stop anywhere in between?"

  "No, ma'am. It was a direct
flight. The driver, he wait and wait, but no senator."

  "If you hear from her, will you call me?"

  "Of course."

  "Thank you." Chloe gave her the number then ended the call— and read an incoming text message from Jillian, asking her to come to the Women's Center ASAP. Then Chloe reported the missing Ellie discovery to her secretary, Liz.

  "I appreciate your telling me, Princess Chloe."

  "You already knew," Chloe realized. "Damn it, Liz. You already knew."

  "The investigators are keeping it out of the press as long as possible to avoid getting a million false leads. Senator Richardson has been missing since yesterday afternoon."

  A slow sinking feeling shrouded Chloe. The Russian women. Nadia and Karen Grant. The Governess. And now Ellie, too?

  Coincidence? Chloe mentally ripped through four years' worth of speculation on the Governess's identity, and while both women obviously held jobs high in government, Chloe couldn't see Ellie issuing some of the orders that the Governess had issued. She couldn't see Ellie risking her senatorial career by deliberately involving herself in assignments going up against the very rich scum that had to be, at least in part, her political base. Career politicians didn't risk re-elections.

  And yet Renee had cut a deal with the Governess. She'd run G.R.C.'s spy agency and the Governess secured Preston's early release from prison. So it wasn't impossible that the two women were one and the same…

  Could Ellie be the Governess?

  Oh, but it was time for a face-to-face with Renee.

  *

  "You want the Jaguar, Princess Chloe?"

  The smell of car exhaust was strong in the garage. "No, I don't think so, Craig." Matching her car to her mood, she needed the tank. Maybe in it, she could plow through all the twists and turns this assignment had taken. "The Hummer."