“Oh.” His admission should have irritated her on principle, but she could only wonder how he had come to know her so well.
He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, his eyes locked on hers. “Did it work?”
Her shoulders lifted. “Maybe.”
His lips twitched, and he edged closer. “Good.”
She lifted a hand to his chest, surprised to feel his heart beating as rapidly as hers when he appeared so composed. “I still don’t think there can be a future between us.”
“Then we’ll have to live in the moment.” His lips brushed hers, once then twice.
When he released her hand so he could pull her closer, she leaned into the kiss. She was past pretending that she didn’t want this, that she didn’t feel for him what she hadn’t dare let herself feel in a very long time. His hand trailed up her back to tangle in her hair. Chills ran through her, and she pulled back to look up at him.
Decisions would have to be made, issues about their differences would have to be faced, but for tonight she wouldn’t think of the obstacles between them. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to live in the moment just this once.
“This scares me, what I feel for you,” she said.
“You don’t have to be scared. I’m not going anywhere.”
“No, but I am. I will be leaving for the chateau in the morning.” Alora looked past him to the palace standing so solidly on the cliffs. Then she shifted, and her eyes met his once more. “I know your home is here, but will you be coming to visit us anytime soon?”
“My father wants me to stay until after parliament’s first legislative session. It is the only time our entire government body is gathered in one place. As heir to the throne, I shouldn’t be there with him because of potential security concerns, but I will need to remain here in Calene.”
“When will that happen?”
“Next week.”
“We’ll miss you.”
“Stay.” Stefano said the word as though he was surprised it escaped his mouth. Then he kissed her gently once more. “Stay here at the palace for a few more days.”
“Janessa needs me at the chateau.”
“My father has asked Garrett and Janessa to come to the palace. They will be here at least through the weekend. Besides, I would feel better if you aren’t at the chateau until the financial issues are resolved.”
The thought of staying longer, of spending more time with him, was appealing, but she also had to consider the practicality of the situation. “I only packed for one night.”
“Call Patrice tomorrow and ask her to send some more of your things. Or if you would prefer, Janessa can take care of it for you. She can bring whatever you need when she comes tomorrow.”
“I guess that would work . . .”
“Good.” Stefano smiled. “Does that mean I can talk you and the boys into eating breakfast with me tomorrow?”
Her smile was instant. “We would all love that.”
Chapter 35
“What is the meaning of this?” Martino looked at Garrett, disbelief and indignation on his face. “I have been loyal to this family for more than thirty years. You can’t possibly believe I would steal from you.”
“Martino, I’m sorry, but the evidence is compelling. I’m afraid you’ll need to come with us.” Garrett placed his hand on Martino’s arm. He could feel the fury vibrating from him, but Martino nodded stiffly and moved forward without another word.
Garrett escorted Martino out of his office to where Levi was waiting with two uniformed police officers. As Garrett released Martino’s arm to turn him over to the police, he leaned closer to the older man and spoke quietly. “Martino, I promise you, the truth will come out.”
Martino didn’t look at him, but he gave a curt nod before falling into step with the men who had come to take him away.
Garrett let out a shaky breath. He still couldn’t believe the holding accounts Alora had discovered had all been in Martino’s name. He watched Martino disappear down the hall and then pulled his phone free to call his brother. “It’s done. Now it’s in your hands.”
Stefano’s voice was sympathetic. “How did Martino take it?”
“About as well as can be expected,” Garrett told him. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”
“So do I.”
* * *
Stefano hung up with his brother and immediately dialed Luigi Ovalle’s phone number. The man answered on the second ring.
“Your Highness, what can I do for you?”
“Luigi, I need your assistance with a rather delicate matter.”
“Of course. What do you need?”
“As you may already know, Martino was just taken into custody. It appears he may have been involved in some questionable financial transactions in relation to the gala this summer.”
“Martino? I find that difficult to believe.”
“So do I,” Stefano agreed. “From what I understand, inflated bills were submitted to replace the originals, which were lower amounts. The only way to prove conclusively who was behind this fraud is to find the original invoices or the blank invoices used to create the new bills.”
“You want me to look for them?”
“Yes. If Martino really is guilty, they should be hidden somewhere in his room or his office.”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
“Let me know if you uncover anything.”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
* * *
Alora stared out the window at the drizzling rain, memories of last night still occupying her thoughts. Her concern that she was falling for a man who wasn’t LDS was forefront in her mind, but she couldn’t deny that her prayers seemed to have led her to this point. Every time she thought of life without Stefano in it, she felt hollow inside. She knew there were plenty of women out there who had managed to stay active in the Church after marrying someone who wasn’t a member, but she also knew they faced challenges she never hoped to understand.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She knew she was worrying about a future that was unlikely in the best of circumstances. Despite the attraction she felt for Stefano, the circumstances that had brought them together were coming to an end. In a matter of weeks, he would relocate permanently to the palace, and she and the boys would have to adjust to life without him at the chateau. She dreaded the time when that would happen, as much for her sons as for herself. They had so enjoyed having breakfast with Stefano this morning, even though an important phone call had forced him to leave them earlier than he had planned.
Already Alora could see the change in him since their time at the chateau. His duties weighed more heavily on him here at the palace, and she imagined his free time would be even more limited than before. The demands on his schedule would surely affect their relationship sooner than later. Undoubtedly time and distance would erase whatever closeness they now shared, but even with that knowledge, she found herself looking forward to enjoying this time together.
He had called shortly before noon to let her know he wouldn’t be able to meet her for lunch because of meetings. Feeling awkward about wandering around the palace, she had let Brenna bring lunch up to their rooms instead of venturing out to the kitchen. Now that their dishes were cleared, Alora found herself restless.
Giancarlo climbed onto the window seat beside her and cuddled onto her lap. “Mama, I’m bored.”
“Why don’t you go watch a movie?”
“We already watched a movie.”
“Do you want me to read you a book?”
He shook his head. “I want to play outside.”
“I know, honey, but it’s too wet to play outside. I don’t want you to get sick.”
“Can we go see the horses?” Dante asked, climbing up to sit on the other side of her.
“Maybe tomorrow, if it’s sunny out.”
“What can we do today?” Giancarlo asked impatiently.
“Maybe we can play a game,” Alora suggeste
d as someone knocked at the door.
Dante jumped up to answer it.
“Hello there,” Stefano greeted him before his eyes swept over the room and landed on Alora. “I thought maybe you would all like to walk around the palace for a bit before I have to get back for my next meeting.”
Giancarlo jumped out of Alora’s lap as she nodded. “That would be great. I’m afraid we’ve been spoiled by the nice weather over the past few weeks. The boys definitely aren’t used to staying inside.”
“Boys, why don’t you go get your shoes on, and we’ll find something for you to do.”
“Okay!” Giancarlo raced into the bedroom, followed by Dante.
“Have I ever told you that you have excellent timing?” Alora asked with a smile.
“I gather they were getting a little antsy?”
She nodded. “Oh yeah.”
Stefano moved closer and lowered his voice. “Do you have any religious objection to your children learning how to shoot? We have a firing range in the east wing.”
“I don’t have a religious objection to it, but I think they may still be a bit young to be handling weapons.”
“It’s laser, not live fire,” Stefano told her. “I promise, it’s perfectly safe.”
“I suppose that would be okay,” Alora agreed.
When the boys returned, Stefano led them through a maze of hallways until they reached a glass-encased room with targets on the far end. A stocky man stood in what appeared to be a control booth. When he saw them coming, he stepped into the hall to greet them.
“Are these the young men who want to learn to shoot?”
“That’s right.” Stefano nodded. “Giancarlo and Dante, this is Pedro. He is the shooting instructor here at the palace. He trains all our guards.”
“Come this way, and we’ll set you up.” Pedro put a hand on each of the boys and nudged them into the shooting area.
Alora watched as Pedro instructed the boys on gun safety before he helped each choose a weapon. He then taught them how to hold the modified rifles and how to stand. Alora couldn’t help but grin as she watched Dante fire all of his pretend ammunition in a quick burst, while Giancarlo carefully squeezed off one shot at a time.
Pedro set them up for a couple more rounds, correcting them as they progressed.
Alora glanced over at Stefano, who was watching through the glass beside her. “He’s very good with them.”
He nodded. “I thought this would help break up the boredom for them. It’s never easy being cooped up inside when it rains.”
“Especially for those two,” Alora agreed. “I wasn’t sure if we were going to see you today, especially after what happened yesterday.”
Stefano looked at her inquisitively. “How did you . . . ?”
“Enrico got a call from your brother when we were on our way here.”
Stefano let out a sigh. “We lost nine people yesterday, and dozens were injured.”
Alora’s voice lowered. “Tragedies like this are always hard to come to terms with.”
“But you did.” Stefano looked at her intensely. “How is it that you’ve been able to move past everything you’ve been through?”
Something in his stare told her he knew more than what she had told him, that perhaps he knew much more about her than she had realized. Her voice lowered to a whisper. “How did you know?”
“The background check from when you first started working for Janessa.” Stefano reached for her hand. “I look at you, and I’m amazed at how you are with your children, how you are so cheerful around them even though you’re the only family they have left.”
“You’re seeing me as I am now. It’s taken me a long time to get here,” Alora admitted. “Losing my family tore me apart, but I finally had to accept that I’ll be able to see them again someday and that they wouldn’t want me to spend my life pining for them. I do the best I can to live the life they would want me to live.” She nodded at her sons. “That includes helping them learn to enjoy life.”
Giancarlo held a hand up victoriously when he made his first bull’s-eye.
“It looks like they’ve got that down.” Stefano gave her hand a squeeze and nodded at the shooting range. “You know, you can try too if you like.”
“That’s okay.”
“You aren’t afraid, are you?”
She heard the challenge in his tone and recognized the gauntlet he had thrown. Unable to resist, she nodded. “Maybe I’ll give it a try.”
Pedro printed out copies of their results, and the boys came out waving them like they had just gotten straight As on their report cards.
“Signora DeSanto would like to try as well,” Stefano said.
“Do you already know how to shoot?”
Alora shot a smug look at Stefano before nodding. “I know the basics.”
“This way, then.” Pedro helped her select a weapon and then stepped aside.
She lifted the rifle, adjusting her stance for the weight difference between a fully loaded weapon and one equipped with laser. Then she set her sights, took aim and fired methodically until her laser ammunition was expended. Once the round was finished, she set the rifle back in the rack and walked back into the hall, where Stefano was waiting with Dante and Giancarlo.
“Didn’t you want to try another round?” Stefano asked.
“No thanks. I think that should do it.” Alora shook her head as Pedro came out of the control booth with a printout. He looked at her skeptically, and then he handed her the report. She didn’t have a chance to look at it before Stefano took it out of her hand. His eyes widened, and Alora fought back a grin when she saw what he was staring at. A black target was dotted with white spots where her shots had landed, a single shot at the bull’s-eye surrounded by seven other shots so the target resembled a daisy.
“Did you do that on purpose?” Stefano asked. Even though he was quite certain she had worked for the CIA, he suspected she had worked in an administrative capacity. He hadn’t considered that marksmanship would be one of her skills.
Alora shook her head and gave him a blank look. “I’m sure it was just beginner’s luck.” Then she turned to Pedro. “Thank you for teaching the kids. They really enjoyed it.”
“If the sun doesn’t come out tomorrow, bring them back, and we’ll go a few more rounds.”
“I doubt I’ll be able to keep them away.”
Chapter 36
Stefano walked into his father’s office and saw Martino sitting stiffly on the couch beside Garrett. Janessa and his father were seated in the chairs across from them. “Have we had any success?”
“We have.” Garrett nodded. “Luigi took the bait. The hidden cameras caught him planting the evidence in Martino’s private quarters not ten minutes after I told him what we were looking for.”
“The police are bringing him in now,” Martino added. “He thinks they are escorting him to the palace to deliver the evidence to Prince Stefano. I guess he’ll find out soon enough that he’s really being taken to the police station here in Calene.”
“I’m sorry we had to put you through this, Martino,” Stefano said apologetically.
Martino gripped his hands together. “I appreciate that your family went to such lengths to clear my name.”
“We never believed you were guilty,” Stefano assured him before turning his attention to his father. “Now that we’ve proven that Luigi was behind the fraud at the chateau, perhaps it would be wise to allow Alora access to the other bank accounts we were concerned about this morning. It would be nice to know if the two situations are related, and we can’t be sure that Luigi will be forthcoming with information.”
King Eduard glanced over at Martino briefly and then nodded. “Go ahead and send for her. Make sure she has everything she needs.”
“I’ll have her work out of my office.” Stefano looked over at Garrett. “Let me know if you find anything else out.”
“We will.”
* * *
“What
exactly am I looking for?” Alora asked as she took the seat in front of Stefano’s computer.
“Any correlations between the information you found earlier and these accounts.” Stefano handed her a list of a half dozen bank accounts.
She read the owner information and then looked up at Stefano. “You think your uncle is behind the missing funds?”
“That’s what we need to find out,” Stefano said stiffly. “We certainly don’t want to accuse him of any wrongdoing without proof.”
“Okay.” Gone was the man who had kissed her in the moonlight. This man was all business, coated with a layer of impatience. Swallowing a sigh, Alora keyed in the code to allow her access to the accounts. She focused on the information in front of her and jotted down a few notes on the pad of paper Stefano had given her.
Stefano’s phone rang, and he settled down in the chair across from her and started talking about some details for the upcoming legislative session. She tuned him out as she focused on the information in front of her. She noted the source of the various incoming funds and then started on the expenditures. Only twenty minutes later, she circled an account number and looked up at Stefano, who was currently reading through a thick report.
“I think I found what you’re looking for.”
“Already?”
She nodded. “At least one of these accounts is transferring money to a numbered account in the Cayman Islands. It’s the same account as the one the embezzled funds were transferred to.”
“Is there any way to identify who owns the account?”
“I seriously doubt it’s your uncle. He wouldn’t have a reason to siphon money out of his own accounts, especially since he’s the sole owner of this one. That means you’ve got two logical scenarios.”
“Which are?” Stefano prompted.
“Either Prince Elam has been paying Luigi for some reason, or they’re both sending money to the same person.”
“Do you think this has anything to do with the bombing yesterday?”
“I don’t know. It depends on what your uncle has been paying for.” Alora shook her head. “I’m afraid all I can tell you is where the money came from and where it went.”
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