“I cannot in good conscience appear at the royal wedding and endanger the lives of everyone there.”
He held his breath, fearing she’d announce she was leaving.
Ava pinched her face into a pain-filled expression that was by now all too familiar to him. She added, “Nor can I leave on such short notice.”
Relieved that her stubborn mind wasn’t set on going, Jason nonetheless couldn’t see what she was getting at. “What other choice is there?” He’d toyed with the idea of using technology to allow her to supervise the wedding from a remote location, but the technical difficulties that presented—combined with the thick stone walls of the cathedral, which were notorious for deflecting transmitted signals of every sort—had forced him to dismiss that possibility without ever suggesting it.
“I can’t keep hiding from the inevitable. If I wait until the day before the wedding to show my face, there’s sure to be an incident, and any member of the royal family might be hurt.”
“You’re not thinking—”
But Ava cut him off, slapping down a sheaf of papers with articles she’d printed out. “I’ve done research on assassination attempts. Did you know that in 1842, when Queen Victoria of England was riding in her carriage, a man stepped out and aimed a pistol at her? He tried to shoot her, but his gun didn’t go off.”
“I’m familiar with that story.” As head of royal security in Lydia, Jason had made it a point to familiarize himself with the major historical incidents involving royal safety. “Didn’t they catch him the very next day?”
“Yes. The queen rode her carriage along the same route at the same time, but this time she had plainclothes police positioned to catch him. When the man stepped out to try it again, he was captured.”
“That was a long time ago. Guns don’t often fail to go off anymore. The world was a different place then,” Jason cautioned Ava. He could guess what she was getting at, and wanted to slow her momentum before she became too caught up in her plan.
“It’s not that different. We could lure him out.”
“No.”
“I’ve thought about this a great deal, Jason. It could work.”
“You can’t go out there as bait.”
“What’s the alternative? I stay inside the palace forever?”
“Not forever. Just until...”
“Until when?”
“Until whoever is after you gives up and goes home.”
“How do you know that hasn’t already happened?”
Jason had expected a sharp retort, but Ava’s choice of words surprised him. “How— What?”
“Nothing has happened in the last three days. Maybe I’m safe already and we just don’t know it. For all you know, I could leave the palace and be fine.”
“And then what? You’d go on with your life without a full guard detail? I don’t think so.”
Ava glared at him for a long stretch of silence. He could see her weighing her options, choosing her words. “I’ll make you a deal.”
Jason raked his hand back through his hair. “What kind of deal?”
“Let’s try luring him out. You pick the time, the place, the number of guards. If anyone attempts to attack me, we’ll capture him. And if not—” she took a step closer and met his eyes without blinking “—I’ll let you assign me a full guard detail for as long as you deem it necessary.”
Jason blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding back. Ava had a knack for making deals he couldn’t refuse. He’d prayed for a way to convince her to accept the full guard detail. She’d walked into his office and proposed it herself.
He couldn’t turn down such an obvious answer to prayer, even if it meant risking the safety of the woman he’d come to care about so much. “Fine.”
“Yes?”
“Yes, fine, we’ll do it.”
Ava grinned at him and stepped forward, right arm extended.
Jason reached for her, ready to hug her, then fumbled awkwardly when it appeared she only meant to shake his hand. He recovered, shaking her hand solidly as he told her, “I pick the time and the place? You’ll clear your schedule?”
“I’ll do whatever needs to be done. This will work. It has to.”
“Does it?” Jason had his doubts that her plan would succeed, and couldn’t imagine the source of her confidence.
But her smile faded quickly and she cast him a sober look. “I don’t know what we’ll do if it doesn’t.”
Finally understanding her meaning, Jason wished she’d hugged him. Instead she turned and left. He couldn’t help wondering if he’d have another opportunity to hold her. If her plan failed...well, Ava was right about one thing. Her plan had better work.
Jason spent the rest of his hour working out the details. Given the quickly approaching wedding, it made sense for Ava to go on her outing as soon as possible. She’d told him she was booked until ten that evening, but she’d also promised to clear her schedule for him. He wanted as many men as he could get on hand to protect Ava and apprehend anyone who might try to harm her. And since he was eager to proceed before his better judgment prevailed, the only time that made sense was the evening shift change.
A quick call to Ava confirmed she’d move her appointments to make the time work. When Jason’s men filed in at the end of the hour, shoes shining, Jason quickly enlisted their support.
“Do any of you have a problem with working an hour later than usual tonight?” To his relief, none of the men had pressing plans. Jason proceeded to fill them in on the details, but when he mentioned Ava’s name, the men didn’t try very hard to muffle their snickers.
Jason stopped midsentence and glared at them. “Is there a problem?”
“Are you sure you want us to protect her?” Titus asked.
“It might be a convenient way to—” Adrian started.
Jason didn’t let him finish. “Let’s get one thing straight right now. Yes, Ava and I have argued in the past. Yes, she can be headstrong and demanding, but she is every bit as deserving of your respect as any other member of the royal household. I will not tolerate any hint of disrespect toward her in the future. Is that clear?”
His men looked first surprised and then chastened.
Taking advantage of their silence, Jason added, “This is what I’ve been trying to impress upon you about the difference between the royal guard and the army. Honor goes both ways. If you want people to respect you and the uniform you wear, you must respect all those you protect.” Jason looked his men in the eye each in turn as they absorbed his words. He could have said more. In fact, his thoughts spun with examples of Ava’s attributes—her selfless concern for others, her grace under trial, her persistence—but he didn’t trust himself to say any more, not without revealing the depth of his feelings for the woman.
The men listened silently and respectfully as Jason outlined the rest of the plan. After a few clarifying questions, they filed out to prepare for their mission by changing into civilian clothes and choosing their positions along the route between the palace and the marina. Since he and Ava had been followed to Dorsi, Jason could only assume her would-be killer would be watching the same route. Of course, there was every chance the man might miss them as they passed by, even if he was still out to kill her. Even if nothing happened today, he wouldn’t reconsider whether her life was really in danger. Until Dan—or whoever was trying to kill her—was caught, Ava was in danger.
All the more reason why Jason wanted to see Ava’s plan through quickly—so he could assign a full guard detail to her without any further objection.
As planned, Ava exited the palace promptly at six and approached the garages from across the courtyard. Jason watched her walk toward him, her posture as authoritative as ever, her navy slacks and coordinating blue-and-white top crisp in spite of the long day al
ready behind her. And yet, in spite of her uptilted chin, Jason could see the shadow of fear that haunted her eyes, the slight uncertainty as she glanced toward the remaining guards who hadn’t yet taken positions on the route ahead of them.
Then her eyes landed on him and her face immediately relaxed. She didn’t smile, necessarily, but she certainly looked relieved and possibly even glad to see him.
Jason grinned at her as she came to a stop next to him. “Ready to take a walk?”
She nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Jason signaled a pair of men to fall out ahead of them. “We’ll follow in a moment,” he explained to Ava, “and the last men will trail us at a distance. I have guards positioned at regular intervals between the palace and the marina.”
Ava fell into step beside him and they walked through the pedestrian gate in silence.
“Perhaps we should chat,” Jason suggested after signaling the last of his men to follow them. “We need to act natural.”
“Good idea—but let’s talk about something other than what we’re doing right now. I’d like to get my mind off all of this.”
“Yes, that’s smart,” Jason agreed, thinking. “How was your day?”
“I don’t want to discuss that, either.” A distressed note ran through Ava’s voice.
The situation was getting to her. Jason needed to calm her down or cheer her up, and he needed to do it quickly. If the would-be killer sensed a trap, their jaunt to the marina might do more harm than good.
It had been years since Jason had been the class clown. He hadn’t thought about his old jokes in years, and tried to recall what he used to do that had been so funny. “When I was younger I wanted to be a ventriloquist.”
Ava looked completely taken aback by his announcement. “You did? Seriously?”
“Yes. My family had a pet parrot named Pepe, but he couldn’t speak. He would sit on my shoulder, and I’d go around trying to convince everyone Pepe could talk.”
“You talked for the parrot?”
Jason nodded, he memories returning. “The best part was I could get away with saying things I normally couldn’t. There was a fish stall down the street from our house. The fisherman was stingy and didn’t like tourists. He tried to take advantage of them by selling them old fish, so my parrot would warn them.”
“What? How?” Ava walked more slowly, watching Jason as they ambled down the street.
Putting on his best parrot voice, Jason imitated the bird, “This fish stinks! It’s old, it’s old,” he squawked, adding quickly in his own voice, “Pepe, that’s rude. You shouldn’t talk like that.” And then squawking, “He shouldn’t sell old fish!”
Whether it was the bird’s voice coming out of the captain’s mouth or simply her nerves getting the best of her, Ava laughed—not just a giggle or a smile, but full-out laughter.
Encouraged, Jason added with Pepe’s signature squawk, “Don’t touch the fish! It stinks! It stinks!”
To his surprise, Ava not only continued to laugh, but she clutched her stomach and threw her head back, stopping still on the street.
Jason stopped, too, beaming as he watched her. It felt good to make someone laugh again, but far more than that, his heart soared at the sight of Ava laughing.
Once she’d caught her breath enough to speak, Ava said, “I can’t imagine you got away with that routine many times.”
“Pepe was eventually banned from the fish stall, but not before some tourists tipped off the Food Safety Board. They nearly shut his stall down, but he cleaned up his act.”
“So it all ended well.” Ava’s smile lingered, brightening her face and chasing the fear to the far corners of her eyes.
“Yes.” Jason gazed at her a moment longer, amazed by the way her smile transformed her face, revealing her true beauty. Then he cleared his throat. “We should keep going.”
“We should,” Ava said, glancing about them nervously, fear flooding her features once again.
So Jason added in Pepe’s voice, “We should keep going.”
“I can’t if you keep making me laugh like that,” Ava said, swatting at his arm.
Jason screeched quietly, “Assault! Assault!”
Ava recovered from her laughter enough to ask, “How do you do that without moving your mouth?”
They paused on the cobbled street again. Jason knew they weren’t going to reach the marina very quickly at this rate, but he figured the point of the plan was for Ava to be visible. The longer it took them to reach their destination, the more visible they’d be.
Jason demonstrated in Pepe’s voice, “You’ve got to open your mouth just a small amount, but hold your lips still, like this.”
“Like this?” Ava tried, but she burst out laughing again and ruined whatever might have come of her attempt.
“More like this. Use your teeth instead of your lips.”
“Ny theeth?” Ava mangled the words. “Like thith?”
However much he might have wanted to assist her, Jason couldn’t help chuckling at the sight of the usually stern-faced wedding planner attempting to speak without moving her lips. Besides that, he was glad for the excuse to laugh. He hadn’t realized before how lovely her lips were, how perfectly they framed her teeth or how she glowed when she laughed. The formidable wedding planner was transformed when she smiled, and he felt his attitude toward her changing just as quickly as the expression on her face.
Getting in on the act, Ava added, “Thith could come in handy at wedding rehearthalth.”
At the thought of Ava attempting the act in front of a nervous wedding party, Jason couldn’t help laughing even harder. It was that or give in to the temptation to explore how her lips felt against his.
That was beyond consideration.
So why couldn’t he stop thinking about it?
Ava blushed, giggling.
As he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes, watching Ava giggle self-consciously, Jason couldn’t help wondering if he’d finally found the real Ava, underneath all her armor and sternness. He sincerely hoped so, because he was falling in love with this woman, whoever she was. He could only pray this Ava would supplant the stern-faced wedding planner, because he didn’t want to lose this woman.
TWELVE
Gratitude surged through Ava’s heart as she laughed at the uncharacteristically playful captain. She couldn’t recall when she’d last laughed—really laughed—with her head thrown back, clutching her sides as though she might burst. She certainly hadn’t expected to laugh today, but Jason had somehow accomplished the impossible.
She’d so needed the break from the constant fear and stress. “You’re far more fun to laugh with than to argue with,” she confessed as they started walking toward the marina again.
“Oh? I thought you rather enjoyed arguing with me.” The captain’s tone was still playful, not accusatory.
Ava answered honestly, “Actually, I rather have enjoyed arguing with you. Is that an awful thing for me to say? You fight fair. You follow my reasoning, and you stick to your principles. I hope I haven’t been too much of a pain.”
“I’m glad you feel that way about our arguments,” Jason said, surprising her. “You’ll probably want to argue with me again about the wedding plans. If we don’t catch anyone today, I’m going to ask you to reconsider your plan for Prince Alexander and Lillian to travel from the cathedral back to the palace in an open carriage.”
His words chased away her laughter.
Though she shared Jason’s concerns for the royal couple’s safety, Ava always promised her brides the wedding of their dreams. She couldn’t go back on their promise now, certainly not because of a problem that only existed because of her. “Lillian specifically requested a horse-drawn carriage. She loves horses. She’d have arrived on a horse if I hadn’t
convinced her it wouldn’t work with the dress she’d chosen. The carriage was our compromise.”
“I appreciate that,” Jason acknowledged, “but safety is more important than having the wedding of one’s dreams. If you’d like, I can meet with the couple and explain—”
“Please don’t—not without me. It’s all my fault. All week long I’ve been inconveniencing everyone to meet at the palace. We’ve got to capture whoever’s after me.”
Jason cast a meaningful glance toward the marina. They were almost there, and they hadn’t seen or heard the slightest hint of trouble. “I’m afraid we’re not doing very well at that.”
Having thought over her plan for some time before she’d even approached Jason to suggest it, Ava had already considered one possible scenario that now seemed even more likely. Unwilling to speak the words very loudly, she leaned close to Jason and whispered, “What if he’s out there watching us right now, but he’s made a plan to strike during the wedding on Saturday, so he’s not acting now? He’s purposely waiting.”
The captain made a discontented rumbling noise in his throat. Ava wished he’d deny her suggestion, in Pepe’s voice if necessary, but instead he said, “That’s a distinct possibility, but I hope it’s not the case.”
“I hope not, either.” Her lighthearted laughter now completely doused by fear, Ava shivered.
They finished their walk in silence, reaching the marina and continuing on down the dock toward the spot where the royal-guard speedboat was moored. They stopped beside the boat.
Ava looked up at Jason. “Now what?”
“We walk back to the palace.”
“Isn’t that admitting defeat?”
“You have appointments this evening, don’t you?”
“I cleared the hour. We’ve only been walking for ten minutes.” Ava felt desperation rising within her. The gunman needed to show himself again. Whoever was after her had to show up. The plea rose inside her, almost like a prayer. In times past she would have prayed, before she’d learned God didn’t answer and didn’t care. And yet where else did she have to turn?
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