Bulletproof Princess

by It Girls

  She pulled herself together and put her gun in her handbag. "Greene," she told Jack. "Male. He doesn't know how old."

  The police moved in and removed the suspect. An officer approached Chloe. "Ma'am, we'll need a statement."

  "We'll provide it as soon as possible," Jack said.

  Chloe launched into a full-fledge description of events, including the license numbers of two vehicles that had been parked on the street at the time of the explosion, then asked, "Is the bomb squad taking care of my cars?"

  The officer nodded, his nose red from cold. "They've secured the area. Now they're diffusing the devices."

  Chloe saw Carmine's face at the glass door. "Oh, hell. I forgot." She walked over and tapped on the glass. "Carmine, it's okay. Your customers can go now. Thanks for waiting."

  Carmine opened the door. "Did you stop being a princess and go to work for the police?"

  "No," she said. "You can't stop being a princess, Carmine. You're stuck with it for life."

  "Okay, then." He stepped back and shut the door, keeping his customers safely inside.

  "Why is he doing that now?" She looked at Jack. "The bomber is gone."

  "Maybe the situation is just a little too weird for him."

  "You're joking, right?" she said. "This is New York."

  "Right." Jack shrugged and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I'm glad you didn't get yourself killed."

  "Me, too." She blinked hard. "But it should've been me. Poor Craig. His wife and baby… Oh, Jack. It's so awful."

  "I know." He tucked her under his arm and led her toward his car. "Are you okay? You weren't hurt in the blast, right?"

  "No. I'm as okay as I'm going to get until one o'clock."

  "You're going to have to postpone that nervous breakdown, if that's what you're talking about," Jack said. "I have news."

  "What kind of news?" She walked the sidewalk with him, tucked under his arm, and felt relief. Her knees were going to make it after all.

  "We found Nadia and Karen."

  "I know. Jillian told me before the explosion."

  "Did she tell you we identified Brother?" He stepped up to a jet-black Lamborghini Murcielago and opened the door for Chloe.

  "No, she didn't." Chloe slid inside and, after Jack got in and closed his door, she picked up the conversation. "I'm guessing she didn't know it."

  "Well, I should say that we've almost identified him, but there is some disparity— "

  "Disparity?" And he was worried that she wasn't quite together? "Jack, you either know who he is or you don't."

  "There are two men," he explained. "We pulled photos from the surveillance tapes at the airport. Nadia and Karen were brought in separately. They were separated in New York and not reunited until they arrived at the airport in LA. Nadia identified one man as Brother, and Karen identified the other."

  Chloe frowned. Why hadn't Jack started the car and gotten the heater going? She was suddenly freezing to death. "Are you telling me there are two men named Brother?"

  "Or more." Jack took her hand. "It appears that whatever man escorts the women to export them is known to the women as Brother. It's a position, not a name."

  "Clever," she grudgingly admitted. "It makes them much harder to identify."

  "It does." Jack hesitated and then frowned. "Chloe, I'm afraid we know the men they identified."

  She tried to feel surprised. She wanted to be stunned that anyone she knew could do such a horrible thing as to sell women. But she wasn't. She just…wasn't. "Who are they?"

  "Brit Carouthers is one of them." Jack stopped, waited.

  "Harrison?" She guessed the second man.

  Jack nodded no.

  "Then where is he?" she asked. "He's been M.I.A. ever since the Governess went missing."

  "That's where he is," Jack said. "Looking for her."

  "So he's not the Duke?"

  "No."

  She was glad to hear it. She liked Harrison, and being as close to the Governess as he was, if he were the Duke, well, it could be complicated. "I knew that sorry bastard Brit was trouble, and I tried to tell Erik, but no, he refused to listen to a word— " The truth slammed through her in crashing waves and she stopped suddenly. Breathe, Chloe. Breathe. "The second man is Erik, isn't it?"

  Regret filled Jack's eyes. "I'm sorry, honey."

  The heart her brother had broken so many times she'd been convinced he couldn't break it again shattered.

  *

  In the secret offices at G.R.C., Chloe and Jack mutually agreed not to mention that Ellie Richardson was missing along with the Governess. With everyone unable to reach her, the Governess being missing couldn't be hidden, but hopefully Ellie's absence could be kept quiet.

  Jack did the briefing with Renee and spent fifteen minutes relating details on the Governess, Chloe's Hummer blowing up, and Brit and Erik's photos in the L.A. airport being identified by Nadia and Karen. Afterward, he touched base with Chloe.

  "Well?" Chloe asked. "Is she going to recover?"

  "She's working on it. But she said something odd, Chloe."

  "What?" Swirling her chair away from the computer, she faced him.

  He closed the door and hitched a hip on the corner of the desk. "I told her about Erik, and she said, 'Son of a bitch. I wonder how her mother will blame this on her.' I assume that meant your mother will blame you for Erik's actions."

  "Unfortunately, Renee's comment isn't odd, and you assumed right. It doesn't matter how Erik screws up, it will ultimately be my fault. It always has been."

  Jack unbuttoned his suit coat, letting it fall open, and leaned against the edge of her desk. "Why?"

  Chloe opened her mouth to answer and realized she had no idea what to say. "I don't know," she confessed. "I've never known."

  "And you accept that?" He folded his arms, his expression intense.

  "Yes, I pretty much have." Chloe stood and shrugged. "She should be proud of one of us, and it was crystal clear early on, it wasn't going to be me."

  "Could that be because you've kept the truth about Erik's indiscretions from her?" Jack's voice sounded soft but struck a hard note in her heart.

  She wanted to deny it with a resounding no. But thinking back, she couldn't. That's exactly what she'd done, though she couldn't say why, and she had no idea how her mother would have reacted had she known what all Erik had done.

  "Never mind," Jack said, reeling her closer to him. "You don't owe me any answers, but you do owe them to yourself." He ran his hands down her arms, shoulders to elbows. "How's Emma?"

  "The same." Chloe's insides twisted and she inched between his spread thighs, looped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. "I swear, I've never hated the words 'no change' until now, but I'm making up for lost time."

  He rubbed little circles on her back. "Intense, eh?"

  "So intense it feels like stone slabs on my chest and I can barely breathe."

  "What are you doing on the computer?" He buried his nose at her neck and breathed deeply.

  A shiver coursed through her. "Running copies of a few reports. I know the Duke is in there. I'm going to find him."

  "Believe me, after four years of searching for the bastard, I hope you do. I hope anyone does." He brushed her throat with the tip of his nose. "You smell good."

  "Thanks." Smiling, she turned her head and captured his mouth.

  This kiss was tempered, cautious and timid, as if they both feared asking for too much would result in being wholly denied. When she snuggled closer, he grew bolder, sweeping her mouth with his tongue, and Chloe met him, stroke for stroke, need for need, and passion ignited hunger, and hunger an unquenched thirst. All that they seemed to tangle with words became so evident and clear through lips and mouths and hands eager to touch everywhere at once. Their bodies and hearts communed unencumbered, and Chloe knew that this man would always, forever be in her heart.

  Jack separated their mouths. "I need some serious time in bed with you."
r />   "Soon." Chloe gave him a siren's smile. "First, reports."

  He groaned. "You have no mercy." He let go of her. "I'm going to work in the office next door, or we're going to melt the bolts off the door."

  She laughed. "What are you doing?"

  "Checking in with agents to get the latest updates from the field."

  "Work fast, and let's go home." Chloe smiled. "If they find Brit or Erik, let me know, okay?"

  "I will." He walked out, turned around and came back in, then kissed her hard. There was no tenderness and gentleness in this kiss; it was steeped in raw passion, and Chloe returned it fully, and gave him more.

  He lifted his mouth. "I'm glad you're alive, Princess."

  She nuzzled his neck. "Me, too."

  Jack walked out and closed the door behind him.

  Still zinging from his kiss, Chloe turned back to the computer, selected all of the previous six months' mission reports entered on Rose assignments, burned them onto a CD, and then printed out a hard copy for review.

  Somewhere in them was the key that would tell her the Duke's identity and whether or not Renee or Erik or one of the other Roses had crossed over and betrayed the rest of them. Chloe just had to have the courage to look with her eyes wide open to see the truth, and then she had to have the strength of will to report her findings.

  While waiting for Jack, she spent the next forty-five minutes reading reports, and the subsequent thirty minutes reading the Roses' mission notes. Oddly, Brit Carouthers had been mentioned several times on several missions, and so had Ryan Greene, though pretty much in passing and never with anything that would point to either of them as the Duke. That didn't bode well for Erik.

  Someone tapped on the door.

  "Come in, Jack." Chloe lowered the report and looked back. "Oh, sorry, Olivia."

  "No problem," she said. "Rubi Cho is on the phone. She wants to talk with you."

  Chloe blinked. "I wonder what she wants? An update on Emma?"

  "As of ten minutes ago, there was no change."

  Those hated words, yet again. "Thanks." Chloe turned to the desk, swallowed her dislike of the woman and lifted the phone. "Rubi. This is a surprise. What can I do for you?"

  "Two things to talk about," she said in her clipped tone. "One, congratulations on snagging a dinner date with Harrison Howell."

  She'd seen them at Perrini's, no doubt. "You know him?"

  "Oh, yes," she said. "It's very QT, and I'd never violate his trust, but the man is…" She paused.

  Would Rubi expose him as a representative for the Governess? She mentally slapped herself. How could she? Rubi didn't know the Governess existed.

  "Very low key," Rubi continued.

  Chloe decided to play dumb. "Are you warning me that he's a fortune hunter?"

  She laughed. "Hell, no. He doesn't need your money, Chloe. He has more than enough of his own."

  "From what?" Couldn't hurt to get the scoop from an outsider and see if it matched what he'd told her himself.

  "One of those dot-com companies. I forget which one, but he's got more money than God."

  Loud noises sounded in the background. "Where are you?"

  "L.A. Ryan Greene chartered three planes full of friends and a film crew out here for a party. I got a tip about it and managed to get a seat on one of the flights."

  "What's the party for?"

  "Celebrating some major real estate deal he closed," Rubi said. "Ashley's covering it for Chic. He even hired some models so she'd have professionals along to do a shoot."

  The hair on the back of Chloe's neck stood on end. "Were they on the plane with you?" This couldn't be dismissed.

  "Two were. The others came on the earlier flights. Erik and Brit acted as hosts on those."

  Were the modeling jobs Nadia and Karen had been offered legitimate? Or were Rubi and Ashley in danger of becoming victims? They had family and connections— their absence would be noticed. The Duke wouldn't dare be stupid enough to snatch them— would he?

  "Is Tatiana with you?"

  "No, she's gone."

  "Gone where?"

  "That's the other thing I wanted to ask you about. Erik says she's vanished."

  Chloe's heart skipped a beat. Speak up and risk being a fool. Or stay silent and live with regret. Rubi was fishing, hoping her statement would trick Chloe into revealing something. But now Chloe needed Rubi's help. Damn it, she didn't know what to do. "Rubi, I need a favor."

  "Does this mean we're friends?" That was Rubi's term for people who gave her scoops.

  "No," Chloe said. Why lie? They both knew the truth, and being honest would set the stage for their future interactions. "But it does mean I'll contact you with the next interesting tidbit that comes my way."

  "That could work. What's the favor?"

  Chloe pushed. "Are you in or out?"

  "Oh, what the hell? Call it junket fever. I'm in the mood to take a few risks."

  "Find Erik at that bash and latch on to him." Think, Chloe. Think. "He's been drinking too much, and my mother's going nuts."

  "No."

  "Damn it, Rubi. You said you were in. Where's your integrity?"

  "I'm in for the truth. Don't peddle me a sack of lies."

  "You know Brit's history. I don't need to explain. Erik's too tight with him. I'm scared he's getting in over his head."

  "Now, that I believe, and since I happen to agree with you, I'll run interference for you with Boy Wonder. I'll recruit Ashley, too, so we can be less obvious."

  That was a bonus Chloe hadn't expected but certainly welcomed. "Did Erik bring Chelsea with him?" Chloe asked. That would tell her a lot— or it could.

  "No, and she was plenty pissed about it, too. He refused to let her come."

  Not good. "Did he say why?"

  "I talked to Chelsea, not Erik," Rubi said, clarifying. "He told her this wasn't her kind of party. She's the one who called me about it."

  Erik was protecting Chelsea. Keeping her safe and away from this. Definitely not good news. "One more favor." Chloe sat on the edge of her seat.

  "You're pushing the bounds of our non-friendship, Chloe."

  "I know I am." She licked her lips. "But I have to ask."

  "Yeah, I'll bet you do. I'll bet it took a lot for you to ask me for anything, which tells me a whole lot is happening." Chloe didn't respond, and Rubi's sigh crackled through the phone. "Okay. What?"

  "Don't get on one of those private planes to come back to New York. Swear you won't do that."

  "If you expect me to take a commercial flight when I can travel with Ryan Greene, the sexiest man on the planet, you're going to have to tell me why."

  "I can't." Chloe let out a pent-up breath. "Rubi, you know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. But it is important. It's really important."

  "To whom?"

  Crossroads time. She could lie and be refused, or tell the truth and maybe gain Rubi's cooperation. "You."

  "Me?" Surprise rippled through her tone. "How is this important to me?"

  "It is, but I'm not free to say how." Chloe's hand tightened on the receiver. The bones in her fingers ached.

  "Can't or won't?"

  "Can't." That was it, as far as she was going to save Rubi's ass. She wasn't overly fond of the woman to begin with, and even less so after she'd done the article on Hollow Hill, exposing Chloe's cover. But that was no reason to stand by and watch her be sold as a slave.

  Silence stretched between them. Chloe's palm grew damp against the receiver, and though the temptation burned strong to blow it and explain to Rubi, she held her tongue.

  "Okay, Chloe," Rubi finally said. "But later, you damn well better have a great explanation for this." She sighed. "I won't take a private flight, and I'll take care of Erik." She told someone she didn't want another drink.

  "Thanks, Rubi."

  "Thanks, hell. I want to know what's going on, and I expect you to tell me, and me alone, just as soon as you can."

  "When I know, you'll know."
That was as committal as she could get and implied the information would be coming from another source. That was critical.

  She went over to the office Jack was using. Sitting at a computer desk, he rocked back in his seat with the keyboard in his lap and the phone crooked at his ear. Hearing her enter, he looked back. A few words, and he put down the phone. "What's up?" he asked Chloe.

  "I think Nadia and Karen had a modeling job with Ryan." She filled him in on Ryan Greene's party and three flights.

  Jack frowned. "It's got to be a cover."

  "I think so, too. Erik is nuts about Chelsea, she wanted to go with him and he said no." Chloe then went on to relay the rest of the information and everyone she knew to be involved.

  Jack paused. "The women they plan to sell were on those planes."

  Chloe leaned against the door and folded her arms, keeping the pain of Erik's involvement inside. He would be held accountable, and when he was, her mother would be heartbroken and casting blame. Her poor father would be devastated. "They divided them between the three planes. My guess is the two models on Ryan's were legitimate and will return to New York."

  "Why?"

  "They knew his name." She sighed. "The women on the other two planes didn't know who they were with. Brother, right?"

  "Yes." He seemed surprised, and pleased at her deduction.

  "So is Ellie Richardson the Governess?" Chloe asked.

  Jack frowned at her, lowered his feet to the floor. "You know I can't answer that."

  "You don't have to," Chloe said. "It's a logical deduction, too. They're missing without word one from their abductors. What are the odds of that happening to them simultaneously?"

  "Not as unrealistically high as you'd think, considering they're both neck-deep in Intel matters and half the nuts and extremists in the world are after them."