“We’re safe for now. The sheriff is on his way and Ms. Taylor and I don’t intend to leave this room for the remainder of the day. There are some things I want to go over with you later, but I’ll call you when I’m ready.”
It was an obvious dismissal and Michael knew it. He gave a quick bow and then left the suite. Antoine looked at Beth and for the first time noticed her clothes were dirty, her hose encasing her long legs were torn and she winced as she changed positions on the chair.
“You should go take a hot bath,” he said. “You need to soak your muscles before they all tighten up. I have a clean robe hanging on the hook behind the door in the bathroom.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she replied but made no move to get up.
He stood and walked over to where she sat and held out his hand. “Come, it’s been a difficult time and you look exhausted.”
She took his hand in hers and allowed him to pull her up to her feet. “I’m more tired than I think I’ve ever been in my life,” she admitted.
When they reached the bathroom, Antoine started the water running in the tub, added a liberal dose of scented bath salts and then walked back to her and gently cupped her face with his hands. “I’m so sorry about what happened.”
She smiled, but it was obviously a forced gesture. “Don’t you dare apologize. You aren’t responsible for any of what happened. You didn’t force my car off the road and you weren’t the one taking potshots at us.”
“I don’t know what I would have done if you’d been hurt.” Emotion welled up and pressed heavily in his chest as he thought of what might have happened to her. They’d been very lucky to walk away from not only the wrecked car, but also from whoever had been shooting at them.
“Thankfully the only real casualty was your head and my hose.” This time her smile was more genuine, although still weary.
He held her gaze for another long moment, then let her go and stepped back. “Soak and relax. When Sheriff Wolf arrives I’ll take care of the report to him. If he needs to speak to you I’ll let you know.” With that he closed the door to allow her privacy.
He would have loved to climb into the big tub with her, to feel her soap-slickened skin against his, but he had business to attend to and couldn’t afford to allow himself to get distracted again by Beth’s charms.
Although he’d been reluctant to use the computer in his room to do the search he wanted to run, he also didn’t want to waste time. He needed to find out everything he could about Aleksei Verovick as soon as possible.
As he waited for the computer to power up he made a couple of phone calls, taking care of some business that needed to be handled and by that time Sheriff Jake Wolf arrived.
“Sheriff Wolf.” Antoine ushered in the tall, Native American sheriff who had a reputation for being a straight shooter.
Despite his reputation, Antoine wasn’t at all sure whether to trust the man. According to what Antoine had heard, there had been whispers of corruption in the Wind River County law enforcement for many years.
“Prince Antoine, when Beth called me she said you needed to report a crime,” Jake said.
“Please, have a seat.” Antoine gestured him toward one of the easy chairs next to the sofa.
“Where’s Beth?”
“She’s in the bathroom cleaning up.” Antoine shoved aside a quick vision of Beth in a tub of bubbles. “We’ve had a rather traumatic afternoon. It started when a black sedan intentionally rammed us from behind and forced Beth’s car off the road and down an embankment near her cabin.”
Jake sat up straighter in his chair, his dark eyes glowing with intensity. “Did you get a plate number? Maybe see who was behind the wheel?”
“Unfortunately no.” How Antoine wished he’d seen who had been driving that car. How he wished he’d gotten an eyeful of the person who had been shooting at them. If he had, they would now no longer be a threat.
“It all happened so fast. The car plowed into us, we went off the road and flipped a couple of times, but Beth and I managed to climb out of the wreckage. Thankfully we were both wearing our seat belts so sustained simply bumps and bruises.”
“And a pretty good gash on your forehead,” Jake observed. “Do you need to see a doctor?”
Antoine raised a hand to the wound which had finally stopped bleeding. “No, it’s fine. Anyway, by the time we managed to climb out of Beth’s car, the other car was gone, but somebody started shooting at us.”
Jake released a weary sigh. “And I suppose you didn’t get a look at who was doing the shooting.”
“I’m afraid we were too busy scrambling for cover to pay much attention. Eventually the shooter must have left the area and we made our way back here.”
“You had no security with you?” Jake lowered his dark eyebrows in obvious disapproval.
“Beth and I were on our way to her place. I felt a need to escape everything and everyone, and that included my own security team.”
Jake frowned. “You royals would make my life much easier if you’d either avail yourself of your own security or stay holed up here in your rooms. Better yet, perhaps it’s time to wrap things up here and head back to your country.”
“That’s not going to happen until I find out about Amir’s fate,” Antoine replied firmly. “I understand the difficulties our being here has brought you and I apologize for that, but I have no plans to return to Barajas at the moment.”
Jake waved a hand. “I guess it’s all in a day’s work,” he replied. “At least I can’t say things have been boring around here lately. So, let’s start at the beginning and you tell me exactly what happened again.”
It was almost an hour later that Jake left the suite with what little information Antoine had been able to give him. Jake had made arrangements for Beth’s car to be towed although Antoine was relatively certain it couldn’t be salvaged for anything but junk.
The minute Jake left Antoine headed toward the master bathroom to check on Beth. She hadn’t put in an appearance the entire time that Jake had been there.
He discovered the reason for her absence the minute he walked into the bedroom. Clad in his white robe, she was curled up asleep in the middle of his bed, a hand towel folded up and clutched in one hand. As he watched her sleeping he felt his heart constrict just a little bit.
During the entire trek back to the resort she hadn’t complained. She hadn’t worried about the fact that she now didn’t have a car. She hadn’t accused him of getting her into a bad situation. Her entire concern seemed to be getting him back to the resort so she could take care of the cut on his forehead.
She was unlike any woman he’d ever met before and she was definitely getting under his skin. She looked so beautiful with her long lashes dusting her cheeks and her lips slightly parted as if anticipating a lover’s kiss.
Despite his words about taking her to bed, he knew the best thing he could do for both of them was to back away. When she woke up he needed to take her back to her cottage and then leave her alone.
The last thing he wanted was to bring danger to her doorstep and this afternoon had been too close a call for him to want to continue having her near him.
Antoine stared at her for a long moment. He’d never wanted to get too close to a woman because he’d never wanted to feel responsible for a woman’s safety.
He’d never forgotten that his father’s past had lunged up to destroy not only his own life, but Antoine’s mother’s life as well. Antoine was determined not to make the same mistakes as his father.
As quietly as he’d entered the room he left, more confused than ever about what to do with her.
They had gotten little sleep the night before and with the dramatic events of the day he knew the best thing for her at the moment was sleep. That would allow him to figure out whether he should cut her loose or keep her close.
He returned to his computer to find out what he could about Verovick. He didn’t know how long he worked before darkness and hunger drove him
back out of his chair.
He ordered dinner from room service and turned on lights against the night, then once again checked on Beth who was still sleeping soundly.
There was a part of him that wanted to get into the bed with her, to pull her warm sleeping form against him and allow himself to relax for the first time in hours.
However, Jane’s clock ticked loudly in his head, reminding him that minutes were slipping by and he had only two days left before she’d take the information in the notes to Jake Wolf.
He returned to the desk and stacked the pages he’d printed off the computer. He leaned back in the chair and began to read.
There was no question that plenty of speculation swirled around Aleksei Verovick with little solid fact. He was reputed to be behind a scam that had stolen hundreds of credit card numbers and personal information that had yielded hundreds of thousands of dollars for the mob.
His name had been linked to kidnappings and killings, but a lack of solid evidence and plenty of palm-greasing had apparently kept him a free and very powerful man.
He picked up one of the printouts and stared at a photo of the man. Verovick had a thick, beefy body and a square head with a prominent jaw. His hair was dark and cut with military precision and his eyes were round and black like those of a reptile. He looked like a formidable enemy to have.
Antoine frowned as he noticed the fountain in the background of the picture. It was large and made of stunning marble, with finely sculptured sea nymphs rising out of the huge base.
He knew that fountain, had stood before it many times when he’d visited the island of Saruk. In their area of the sea there were a total of five independent islands—Barajas, Kyros, Nadar, Jamala and Saruk.
Saruk was the largest of them all and the only one that had chosen not to participate in the COIN coalition.
So, why would a man like Aleksei Verovick be visiting in Saruk? More important, who had he been visiting while in that country? Antoine’s mind raced with theories.
Kalil Ramat, the leader of Saruk, had made no secret of the fact that he disapproved of the COIN coalition and their goals, but surely his disapproval wouldn’t go so far as to hire members of the Russian mob to destroy the leaders of the other nations.
Antoine picked up his phone and dialed his friend, Darek Ramat, Kalil’s son.
“Antoine.” Darek’s deep voice held a warm welcome when he answered. “How are you, my friend?”
“Good,” Antoine replied. He figured the fewer people who knew about the attacks against him and the others, the better.
“It’s good to hear you’re well.”
“It’s good to be well,” Antoine replied with a touch of humor. “And how are things on the beautiful island of Saruk?”
“Wonderful. I have plans tonight to club it with a couple of beautiful women so life is definitely good,” Darek said with a hardy laugh. “And when are you planning a visit here?”
“I don’t know, Darek, things are still very much up in the air with nobody knowing anything about Amir.”
“I pray for his safety,” Darek replied. “There have been no new developments?”
“None,” Antoine replied and felt the edge of grief he always suffered when thinking about Amir. “Aleksei Verovick, you know the name?” Antoine asked, getting to the point of the call.
“No, should I?” There was obvious confusion in Darek’s voice.
“He’s reputed to be a high-power player in the Russian mob and he was recently a visitor to your country.”
“Really? Well, I don’t know the man. I have nothing to do with reputed mobsters.”
“So you would have no idea what he was doing in your country?”
“Antoine, many people visit Saruk. This is a beautiful place where tourism thrives. Do you think this man has something to do with Amir’s fate?”
“Perhaps,” Antoine replied, not wanting to tell Darek about the notes that had been found, notes that were directly tied to Verovick.
The two men talked for a few minutes longer and then hung up. Antoine leaned back in his chair and fought against a new wave of exhaustion.
Was it possible that Kalil’s disapproval had gone over the top? Had he taken his disapproval of the COIN coalition to the next level and actively worked against them by hiring the Russian mob to take them all out?
Antoine had a difficult time believing that about a man who had many times opened his household to him in welcome, a man who was the father of somebody Antoine considered a good friend.
Had Verovick simply been vacationing on the beautiful island of Saruk? He supposed even mobsters needed a vacation now and then.
A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. Dinner had arrived. As the server left the suite Beth appeared in the doorway from the bedroom.
She had dressed back in her own clothes sans the ruined pantyhose and looked far more refreshed than he felt.
“Ah, sleeping beauty awakes. I hope you like steak,” he said. “I took the liberty of ordering a late-night dinner for us.”
“It smells delicious and right now I think I could eat anything you put in front of me.” She walked across the room to the dining room table where the plates had been placed with meticulous care. “Did Jake come?”
He nodded. “He did. I made the report and Jake will be looking for a dark sedan with front-end damage. There’s no way that car could have hit us with such force and not sustained some damage.”
“I’m sorry I slept through it all. After the bath I sat on the edge of the bed and before I knew it I was out like a light.”
“I had Michael pick up replacement cell phones for both of us,” he said. “Thanks.”
She sat at the table. “And once we finish eating I’ll call somebody on staff to take me back to my place.”
“That won’t be necessary,” he replied. “I bought you a new Jeep, complete with four-wheel drive and all the extras. It’s down in the parking lot now with a red ribbon tied to the antenna.”
He’d expected joy to light her eyes, or at least a little bit of relief that she didn’t have to worry about not having a vehicle anymore. He’d sent Michael to take care of the details and Michael had managed to get everything done while she’d slept.
But, instead of joy, her green eyes narrowed and her lips thinned with a hint of displeasure. “I didn’t ask you to buy me a new car.”
“No, you didn’t,” he replied easily. “That’s not in your nature. But, you needed a new one and so I got you one.”
“I can’t accept a new car from you.”
“Of course you can,” he replied and sat next to her at the table. “It’s already tagged and licensed in your name. It was because of me that your car was destroyed. Don’t look at it as a gift, but merely a replacement of the one I ruined.”
What he didn’t tell her was that a tracking device had been placed on the Jeep to allow him to keep track of her movements by his computer. It was just a precaution, given what they’d just experienced.
Her cheeks were flushed pink as she stared at him. “I’ll make payments to you until I’ve paid for it, every dime that it cost you.”
Damn, but he wanted her now, this very minute with her eyes blazing and her chin thrust forward in a show of stubborn defiance. But, as much as he’d like to think of his own wants, his own needs, he couldn’t forget what had happened to his mother and father.
It was time to let her go.
Chapter Five
Beth sat at her desk the next morning with a cup of coffee in hand and thought about the night before. They had been halfway through dinner when Antoine had told her he didn’t feel comfortable with her going back to her cottage alone.
Truthfully, she hadn’t felt all that good about going home alone, either. The small house was far too isolated for her to be comfortable there alone after what had happened to them.
Antoine had told her she was welcome to stay in his suite, but she knew where that would lead and she wasn’t will
ing to go there with him.
Once she’d slept good sense had prevailed and the desire she’d felt for him while the two of them had been in the bathroom had ebbed.
The fact that in the blink of an eye he’d bought her a new car reminded her of how very different their worlds were, how foolish she would be to think that there was any kind of future with Prince Antoine Cavanaugh.
She’d wound up spending the night in a hotel room that was available for staff and she always kept a spare uniform in her office.
She’d spent the night tossing and turning, thinking about what had happened with the car wreck and the shooting and ultimately her thoughts had returned to Antoine.
She took a sip of coffee and rose from her chair, ignoring the faint groan of muscles that had been overworked in the accident. She stared out the window, unseeing, lost in her thoughts.
People who stayed at the hotel were in transition. They were coming from somewhere or going someplace. They were conducting business or on vacation and had lives that had nothing to do with their stay at the resort.
Other than Mark she had never allowed herself to get involved in anything personal with a guest, aware that this was just a short stop in their lives that had little to do with reality.
There had been plenty of men who had flirted with her, who had made it clear that they might have pursued her given half an opportunity, but she’d shut them down easily.
Still, she was precariously close to losing her heart to Antoine. Not only was he handsome as sin, as sexy as satin sheets, but he was also a kind man and had a great sense of humor. He’d even started her bathwater for her. Damn, he was absolutely killing her.
If the knock on the door hadn’t stopped them, they would have fallen onto Antoine’s bed and made love. She’d been ready to succumb to him, to give herself completely with no thought of tomorrow. It would have been foolish to do so.
“Beth?” Barbara Kintell, one of the maids, stuck her head into the room. “Do you have a minute?”
By Order of the Prince Page 6