Royal Secrets

by Abramson, Traci Hunter

  “I know he moved to his new offices right around the time the United States started negotiating for a new naval base,” Garrett told her. “Uncle Elam was one of the people opposed to allowing your country access to our waters.”

  “He was also in favor of allowing offshore drilling,” Stefano added.

  “Any chance he’s been associating with Liberté?” Janessa asked now.

  “I don’t see any reason why he would. Even if his views are anti-American, he wouldn’t have any reason to support a group that is also against the monarchy.”

  “You’re probably right. Maybe he just felt threatened when he realized he was being pushed out of your father’s inner circle and planted the listening devices here so he’d know what was going on after he lost access to the chateau,” Janessa suggested. “Although I still don’t understand why they were planted here and not in the palace. Levi said they conducted security sweeps at the palace with the enhanced scanning equipment and didn’t find any problems.”

  “The majority of the meetings about the new U.S. naval base were held here at the chateau because the security is so good at the naval base here in town,” Garrett offered. “If whoever is behind this was trying to stop the U.S. from gaining a foothold in Meridia, that could explain why the equipment was planted here.”

  “It could also be a matter of access,” Stefano suggested. “Elam had offices here in the chateau, but his access to the palace was limited after he married and moved out. That access was restricted further after my grandfather died and our father ascended the throne.”

  “What is the relationship like between your father and your uncle?”

  “Apparently they got along okay when they were younger. I know as they grew older, our grandfather was impatient with the way Uncle Elam spent his time.” Stefano hesitated and tried to find a way to explain his uncle tactfully. “I guess you could say he was more interested in enjoying what life has to offer than in participating in the duties expected of a member of the royal family.”

  “And your father mentioned when we saw him last that Elam’s family is prone to living beyond their means.”

  Stefano’s eyes narrowed. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I’m simply trying to figure out why your uncle would betray his family,” Janessa said gently. “Financial weakness is one area that is often exploited, especially in the area of espionage.”

  “We can’t be sure that Elam was the person behind it,” Garrett interjected. “For all we know, some contractor may have planted the equipment during the renovations.”

  “Am I correct in assuming that your family would want proof before accusing him of being involved?”

  “I believe so.” Stefano nodded. He considered his earlier plan of trying to spend more time with Alora and decided that perhaps a few days apart would help both of them gain some perspective. Going with instinct, he announced, “I am going to leave for Calene in the morning. I have some business I need to tend to, and I would prefer to discuss our theories with Father in person.”

  “What can we do to help?” Garrett asked.

  Stefano ignored his brother’s question and the concerned look on Janessa’s face. He motioned to the hole in her office wall where the transmitting equipment had been discovered. “We’ll need to have workers come in tomorrow to patch that hole. Janessa, if you want, you and Alora can use my offices until the repairs are done.”

  Janessa’s voice held compassion when she spoke. “Stefano, I don’t mean to pry, but is everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine,” he said abruptly. “I’ll talk to you both later.”

  Stefano turned and left the room with the intent of packing a few things and then driving to Calene tonight. Then he remembered he had promised to take Dante for a walk tomorrow night. Although he tried to convince himself that Dante would understand if he had to postpone their time together, he remembered too well his disappointment as a child when his father’s duties had interfered with personal plans.

  As much as he needed to put some distance between himself and Alora, he knew he couldn’t disappoint her son. Resigned to stay one more day, he crossed to his office and packed everything he would need to work from his quarters the next day. He glanced at the files he and Alora had been working on together for the past several days and wondered if she would miss him half as much as he expected to miss her.

  She had feelings for him. He’d felt it when he’d kissed her, and he’d seen it on her face when she’d turned him away. Now he had to find a way to overcome the obstacles she was placing between them.

  * * *

  Alora knew she should have felt relieved when it was Levi who brought her the bank access codes on Tuesday morning instead of Stefano, but she couldn’t deny that she was disappointed. She also couldn’t deny that she didn’t want to be.

  Her words the night before had been the truth, at least as much of the truth as she had been able to give. She didn’t want to be involved with Stefano for all of the reasons she had offered him, but most of all, she was afraid.

  Earlier that morning she had mustered all her energy to be cheerful as she and her children headed down to breakfast. She had been prepared to act like nothing had happened between them, only to find that Stefano had come and gone long before their arrival.

  The explanation Patrice had offered was simply that he had some early calls to make, but Alora didn’t miss the disappointment on her children’s faces. It was too late, she realized suddenly. Despite all her concerns that her children might get too attached to Stefano, that they might see him as the male role model they had been lacking for so long, she could see now that the connection had been made. Her boys not only looked up to the prince, but they also already depended on him in many ways.

  When she walked into his office that morning, she had been braced to face this new reality. Then she had opened the door only to find his office empty.

  When Levi arrived with the access codes, Alora resigned herself to working alone and tried to focus on the task at hand. She spent nearly an hour organizing the files Stefano had left on his worktable. When she tried to access the computer in Stefano’s outer office, she found it lacked the security protocols necessary to link with the bank’s systems. With her office once again under construction, she reluctantly moved back into Stefano’s office.

  She stared at the computer on Stefano’s desk but couldn’t bring herself to use it without permission. Just as she was considering calling Janessa’s cell phone, she looked up to see Janessa walk in.

  “Oh, I’m glad you’re back.” Alora motioned to the files on the table. “I’m afraid I can’t do any more without a computer that has a high enough security level. The secretary’s computer wouldn’t let me access the bank files.”

  “Stefano’s computer should work. I’m sure he won’t mind if you use it.”

  “I don’t know . . .”

  “Alora, it will be fine,” Janessa insisted. “He’s probably already left for Calene anyway.”

  Her heart sank. “He left the chateau?”

  “He mentioned last night that he was going to drive to the palace today to take care of a few things.” Janessa’s eyes narrowed. “He didn’t tell you?”

  “No, but there isn’t any reason why he would need to check in with me.”

  Janessa lowered herself into a chair and leaned back. Her eyes lifted to meet Alora’s. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Alora gave her a deliberately innocent stare. “Talk about what?”

  “What’s going on between you and Stefano.” She held up a hand in anticipation. “And don’t tell me ‘nothing.’ Let’s skip to the part of this conversation where you tell me what’s really going on in your mind.”

  Alora’s shoulders drooped, and she leaned back against Stefano’s desk. “Janessa, I don’t know what to do.” She fisted her hand and pressed it against her heart. “I feel something I’m not ready to feel. He makes me want to dream about a
future I can never have.”

  “Alora, you’re only thirty years old. You have considered that someday you would start dating again, maybe even remarry, right?”

  “I guess. Maybe.” Her shoulders lifted. “But I never thought I would have feelings for someone so soon—and definitely not someone who isn’t LDS.” Alora caught herself, remembering that Janessa had chosen to marry outside of their religion. “I’m sorry. Please don’t think I’m judging you for your decisions.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Janessa insisted, not looking the least bit offended. “I know I’m making the right decision, and I already told you my prayers were answered about marrying Garrett.” She hesitated a moment. “How serious are things between you and Stefano? Maybe you need to get down on your knees and ask for some guidance.”

  Alora paled. “Things aren’t serious. I hardly know him.”

  Janessa gave her a look of disbelief. “You’ve been eating breakfast with the man every day for a month. You worked with him on renovating our offices for the better part of a week, not to mention the financial reports you’ve been analyzing together. You definitely know him. In fact, I think you know him better than I do.”

  Alora shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. “It hurts, Janessa. I look at him and I see this incredible man who makes my heart beat faster just by walking into the room, a man who goes out of his way to be kind to my children, and then I think of Carlo and what I used to have.”

  “Do you feel like you’re betraying Carlo by having feelings for Stefano?” Janessa asked gently. “I know Carlo would want you to be happy.”

  “You’re right. He would want me to be happy, but he would also want me to raise our sons in the gospel. I don’t know if I can do that if I end up with someone who isn’t a Latter-day Saint. Besides, I miss having the priesthood in my home.” She shook her head and let out a short laugh. “Listen to me. I start having feelings for a man and all of a sudden I’m acting like he’s asked me to marry him.”

  “We both know that dating can lead to marriage.” Janessa gave her a wry smile. “I’m living proof of that.”

  “I guess so.” Alora sighed. “So let me ask you this: If you could go back to the place I’m in right now, would you have done anything differently?”

  Janessa shook her head. “All I can tell you is I have been in your shoes before, and the only thing that helped me get through it was to pray about it. I suggest you do the same thing. The Lord will have the answers even if you don’t.”

  The corner of Alora’s mouth lifted. “You know, Stefano told me to pray about him too. Isn’t that odd?”

  “Maybe he already understands you better than you think.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about.”

  Chapter 29

  “Can’t we ride longer?” Dante pleaded from on top of the bay gelding. “Please?”

  “These horses need to be fed,” Paolo told him. “Besides, your mother is going to wonder where you are if we don’t get you cleaned up in time for supper.”

  Stefano smiled as he approached the stables. He remembered having the same conversation so many times when he was a boy. “I thought I would find you two here.”

  “Good evening, Your Highness.” Paolo bowed slightly. Then he grinned and motioned to Dante. “This one is just like you. He would stay on a horse all day if I let him.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that, is there Dante?”

  “No, sir.”

  Stefano glanced over at Giancarlo, who had already dismounted and was obediently holding onto his horse’s reins. “Are you done riding for the day, Giancarlo?”

  He nodded.

  “Well, Dante, maybe you and I can take that walk we talked about on horseback.”

  Dante’s eyes widened excitedly. “Really?”

  “You wait there with Paolo and let me saddle my horse.” Stefano turned to face Giancarlo. “Can you help Paolo while we’re gone?”

  Again he nodded. “I’m a good helper.”

  A smile tugged at Stefano’s mouth. “I’m sure you are.” He turned to face Paolo and saw the older man grinning. “I’ll be right back.”

  Stefano went inside the stables, bypassing his stallion’s stall, instead choosing a mare with a milder temperament. After he saddled the horse, he led her into the yard, where Dante was waiting anxiously. “Are you ready?”

  Dante nodded.

  Paolo stepped beside Giancarlo. “I’ll take Giancarlo to his mother when we’re finished here.”

  “Thank you, Paolo. We should be back in a half hour.”

  “Keep a good eye on the little one.”

  “I will.”

  * * *

  Alora headed toward the kitchen, hoping to find her children eating their afternoon snack. She had been staring at bank codes all day, making lists of money transfers and following them through various accounts. She was nearly done gathering the information on the charges Stefano had seemed most concerned about. Tomorrow she would begin analyzing the data to try to make some sense of it.

  She pushed open the door to the kitchen, smiling when she saw Patrice supervising Giancarlo at the kitchen table as he stirred something in a large bowl. Her smile faded when she looked around the room and didn’t see Dante anywhere. She crossed to Giancarlo and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey there, handsome. Where’s your brother?”

  “He’s still riding.”

  “Oh.” Alora wasn’t sure what to think of Dante staying with Paolo without Giancarlo. She tried to push aside a seed of discomfort and put a hand on her son’s shoulder. “Do you want to go on a walk with me?”

  “No thanks.” Giancarlo looked up at his mother, his eyes bright with excitement. “We’re making cookies.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s a secret recipe.”

  Alora caught Patrice’s amused grin, but she managed to keep her voice serious. “Oh, it is, is it?”

  Giancarlo nodded and turned his attention back to the cookie dough.

  “Go ahead and walk down to the stables,” Patrice offered. “We’re fine here.”

  “Thanks.” Alora nodded.

  She walked out of the kitchen and made her way to the terrace doors. The late afternoon sun was just beginning to dip in the sky, but the August heat had yet to dissipate. Automatically, she looked out to the water. Then she saw the two horses walking leisurely down the beach. Her heart squeezed in her chest when she realized the riders were Dante and Stefano.

  The mother in her immediately worried. She had seen her boys ride in the riding ring near the stables under Paolo’s watchful eye, but this was the first time she had seen either of them outside the safety net of those split-rail fences.

  She took several hurried steps in their direction before she caught herself. Stefano was riding right beside Dante, and even from this distance she could see her son talking animatedly to the prince, their horses calm and controlled.

  They were a picture, man and boy riding across the sand. She wished she had a camera to capture the image and then immediately wondered if the event might be repeated.

  She remembered what she had told Janessa, her concerns that developing a relationship with someone who wasn’t Mormon would have a negative impact on her children’s testimonies. Watching Stefano with Dante, she now wondered which would be more detrimental, growing up without a father figure in their lives or growing up with a father figure who didn’t hold the priesthood.

  With a sigh, she was forced to admit that the more she thought about Stefano, the more confused she became. Perhaps Janessa was right. Maybe it was time she got down on her knees and prayed for guidance.

  * * *

  Stefano answered the knock at his door to find Janessa standing on the other side.

  “Do you have a minute?” Janessa asked him.

  “Sure, come on in.” Stefano stepped aside and motioned her into the large sitting room. “Would you like to sit down?”

  “No thanks. I’m meeting Garrett downstairs in a few
minutes.” She ran a hand over the small blue book she held. “I wanted to let you know Garrett talked to your father about letting the CIA do some digging into your uncle’s background. Since we’re talking about such a long period of time, it will probably take several weeks to get the complete report, but they’ll let us know if anything concerning pops up before then.”

  “I’ll talk to my mother when I’m at the palace to see if she can give me the dates of the different renovations here. With the placement of the transmitters, they had to have been planted when construction was going on.”

  “I agree,” Janessa said. “If you can get me those dates, I’ll send them over to CIA so they know when to concentrate their search.”

  “I’ll ask my mother to forward the information to you.”

  “Thanks.” She glanced over at his suitcases near the door. “Do you have any idea when you’ll be coming back?”

  “A few days. A week.” He shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet.”

  “Are you leaving because of work or to put some distance between you and Alora?”

  Stefano’s back stiffened. “I appreciate you trying to help, but Alora and I will work through this on our own. She needs time to adjust to some changes in our relationship, and I have duties I need to tend to in Calene. I’ll call and check in on her in a few days if I get hung up at the palace.”

  The realization that he and Alora had yet to exchange phone numbers struck him, and he slipped his hand into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone. “What is Alora’s number? I only have the number to your office.”

  Janessa’s eyes met his, and slowly she shook her head. “She doesn’t have a cell phone.”

  “What?” His own eyes narrowed. “Everyone has a cell phone.”

  “Alora doesn’t.” She seemed to debate with herself over how much information to reveal but then remained silent.

  “I see.” Stefano thought back to when he had asked for her phone number. She had sidestepped the question smoothly—smoothly enough that any doubts he had about her being former CIA melted away. “Well, in that case, would you mind giving Alora my number in case she needs to contact me?”