“There you are. I was just—whoa.” Erick came to a sudden stop in the doorway.
Inari blushed and stepped back from Elias, using her palms to brush at her own clothing. Elias’s shirt still sported a crumpled spot from her fist.
Talk about a telling detail, even if they hadn’t been actively kissing when Erick arrived.
“I’ll see you later. Get some rest if you can,” Elias said, stepping past the threshold with one hand guiding Erick deeper into the castle.
Away from the landing, from her, which was both a blessing and a curse.
She waited until the men had disappeared into another hallway before she made her way into the castle proper.
The unexpected kiss left her reeling and reconsidering her feelings for Elias Ahtissari.
A spark had been lit, one she wasn’t sure she wanted to put out.
* * *
“Brother, was that what I thought it was?” Erick asked.
“Yes.” Elias paced next to Erick along the hallway, thoughts back on the princess he’d just unexpectedly kissed. The moment still felt right; he had no regrets. He wasn’t typically prone to impulsiveness in his latter years, but he couldn’t deny that had been an act borne of pure instinct and want.
Elias glanced at Erick when he felt his brother’s blatant stare. “What?”
Erick stared harder, eyes widening, as if to say, don’t ‘what’ me. What the hell is going on?!
“Tell me what you’ve found. You came looking for me for a reason,” Elias said.
Erick grunted his unhappiness. “Nice sidestep.”
“Something familiar in more of the photos?” Elias asked, stifling his mild amusement. He knew this wasn’t the end of Erick’s attempts to get some answers out of him.
“Yes. I found the same man in two more photos.” Erick gestured to one of the generic parlors off the main hall.
Elias followed his brother through the open doors. They headed straight to a desk with pictures fanned out over the surface and a laptop set up, screen in sleep mode. Erick tapped a few keys and brought up an image of what looked to be a charity event. Elias recognized a logo in the background as he scanned the faces of guests who stood near a podium with glasses of wine in their hands. It did not take him long to spot the dark-haired man. He pointed to him just as Erick did.
“Yes, that’s the same guy. So he’s been to quite a few of these events. Maybe scouting Inari’s security team, getting an idea for their schedules and how they operate,” Erick said, bringing up another photo. This one was of a street parade in Somero—Elias recognized the palace in the distance—with fans lined up behind metal barriers.
Elias pointed to the person of interest, picking him out of the crowd now that he knew what to look for. The man’s dark hair and distinct blue-tinted sunglasses gave him away.
“Here’s an interesting tidbit,” Elias said, looking from the monitor to his brother. “I asked Inari about her alleged relationship with Wolfe Novak. She was definitely involved with him. She broke it off when she heard he’d been cheating on her . . . with a maid.”
Erick’s brows shot upward. “A maid? Is this the same Wolfe Novak who flits between supermodels like a bee pollinating flowers? That Wolfe?”
Elias nodded. He thought Erick was onto the same train of thought he’d been on since Inari mentioned it.
Erick’s expression grew dubious. “There’s no way. This supposed maid would have to be the most beautiful woman on earth for Wolfe to so much as notice her with the company he keeps. Something about that sounds way off.”
“Exactly. Inari also said that Wolfe denied the accusations, but the damage had been done for her. She couldn’t go back. He pursued her for four months after they ended their secret relationship, advances she rejected,” Elias said.
Erick glanced at the computer screen.
Elias watched Erick’s expression as it shifted from thoughtful consideration to a dawning realization.
“This guy is a hitman sent by someone who doesn’t want Wolfe getting together with Inari,” Erick said.
“Yes.”
“And I’d bet my next paycheck that Wolfe is not the perpetrator here.” Erick seemed positive.
Elias liked that Erick’s thought processes mirrored his. “But it’s someone with inside knowledge of Somero’s royal schedule, someone with power and money to send this guy all over the world. Someone who managed to get this guy inside Somero palace the night Inari was nearly drugged. The question now is who has a vested interest in who Wolfe dates and why do they want Inari out of the picture.”
Erick rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. A sudden, shrewd look entered his eyes. “A scorned one-night stand doesn’t hold up against the smell test. Though the supermodels could afford to hire a hitman, it wouldn’t be worth the risk to their careers if they were found out, and it doesn’t answer how a supermodel would get her hands on Inari’s schedule. I think the jealous girlfriend idea is out.”
Elias actually smiled. Erick was taking the same thought process Elias had down in the Crypt and coming to the exact same conclusions. He said nothing, waiting to see if his brother reached the next obvious answer.
A troubled frown creased Erick’s brow. That was the moment Elias knew Erick had tripped upon the same culprit he had.
Elias met and held his brother’s bemused, disturbed gaze. He said, “We could be wrong. There could be someone else. But with her history . . .”
“And Wolfe doesn’t even know, does he, that his own mother is probably trying to kill the woman he once loved,” Erick said.
“Once loved? Maybe still does. Maybe that’s why Princess Valentina Novak has hired a hitman. Perhaps Inari pissed Valentina off—it’s hard to say. She seems to be the likeliest perpetrator out of everyone I can think of,” Elias said.
“So what do we do? It’s not like we can accuse her without proof. Father would kill us both if we went public with it,” Erick said.
“No, we don’t do that. We find the hitman, I think, and put the screws to him. I also think, because we’re involved and because of Father’s history with Valentina, that we tell him our suspicions.” Elias rubbed the center of his palm with his opposite thumb, thinking through the game plan. It was fluid and ever changing with each new revelation.
“I can’t think of anyone else that makes sense,” Erick admitted. He seemed to be racking his brain for another culprit to the crimes. “But you’re right. We should tell Father immediately. Not over the phone, either.”
“Why don’t you head back to Latvala and have a talk with him? He should be home from his trip by now. I’m going to stay here for another day or two, then I’ll join you. If Lisbet continues to make good progress and leaves the hospital soon, the public will expect the Aschers to begin attending events. Maybe as soon as next week.” Elias planned to be at every one until they caught the hitman.
“All right. We should keep considering other possibilities, just in case. I feel like this could explode into something major if we’re not careful.” Erick began scooping up the photographs.
Elias said, “It already is something major.”
Chapter 16
The following day, while Caspian saw to a few royal duties beyond his escape, Elias went on the hunt for Inari. He hadn’t seen her last night at dinner or breakfast this morning, and he wondered if their kiss had anything to do with her absence.
It had been on his mind as well.
The entire situation took center stage, distracting him somewhat from the journals and the new findings on his ancestor’s rift with Imatra. He hadn’t completely forgotten the crest, the dagger, and his questions regarding the change, but it would have to wait.
When he failed to locate Inari in the dining areas, parlors, or stables, he sought the bowels of the castle once more. He suspected he would find her there, poring over books, looking for clues.
And that’s exactly what he walked in on some minutes later.
She had her back
to him, shoulders hunched forward, tawny hair upswept into a messy knot with a few slender strands curling around her throat. Today she wore jeans and a pale yellow shirt that complimented her coloring. He spent a few minutes contemplating the desire to put his mouth to the skin of her neck before breaking the spell and moving deeper into the Crypt.
Not sure what reaction he might get, since she’d clearly been avoiding him, he circled the table and set a hand on the chair opposite her own.
“Elias, you startled me,” she said, snapping a look up from the book.
“You must be engrossed,” he said, taking a seat. He couldn’t tell from her rather closed-off expression if she was annoyed, nervous, or excited to see him. Maybe all of the above.
Maybe none.
“I have to do something with my time. I went for a ride earlier this morning, but it’s no fun with three guards following me everywhere I go. Plus . . . I kept looking over my shoulder the whole time.”
“As you will until this problem is solved.” Elias wanted to ask her if she’d found any more journal entries, but she’d given him the perfect setup to ask a few harder, more uncomfortable questions. So he dove in without delay. “Tell me, did you ever meet Wolfe’s mother?”
Inari’s lips quirked. “I did. Several times.”
“What did you think of her?” Elias really wanted to know what Valentina thought of Inari, but one thing at a time.
Inari straightened in her chair, as if mentally and physically preparing herself for a conversation she didn’t want to have. Her expression bordered on belligerence with a hint of annoyance. Elias didn’t feel those latter emotions had anything to do with him.
“I’ll be honest, Elias. I didn’t like her. I knew of her reputation, what she’d done back before we were born, but that didn’t factor into the reasons for my dislike.”
“What did?” Elias asked.
“The way she treated me. Her interference in mine and Wolfe’s relationship.”
“How did she treat you?”
“Like she loathed the very sight of me. Of course, the first time I ever met her was when she walked in on Wolfe and me in his private study.”
“I’m unclear what you did to make her not like you. Walking in on a couple isn’t really grounds for putting someone on the blacklist.”
“I didn’t find out until after Wolfe and I broke up,” Inari said. “Apparently, she had designs on a Mideastern princess who stands to inherit a lot more than I will when I become queen. It’s more about the money than the title, I guess.”
Elias thought back to a few rumors he’d heard over the past year about Weithan Isle’s economic troubles. The small country wasn’t in total disarray, but there had been talk of hard times and sacrifices. He hadn’t paid too much attention back then, and now wished he knew more. Either way, it explained Valentina’s interest in breaking Wolfe and Inari up if she had designs on someone else for purely monetary reasons. Inari stood to inherit the title of queen and, with it, the vast empire of Somero’s wealth. Somero was a relatively small country in relation to kingdoms in the Middle East, and Somero did not have the oil income those other regions were known for.
“Do you think she knows that Wolfe pursued you even after you broke up?” he asked after several moments.
“Yes. She knows many things, because she has spies everywhere. Wolfe was the one who told me that. They have a . . . tense relationship as mother and son.”
Elias wasn’t surprised to hear that at all, especially if Wolfe was bucking the system. Valentina, according to legend, was a master manipulator. She liked to get her way. Anything that stood in the way of that—including her own son’s willfulness—was probably cause for trouble.
“Why all the questions?” Inari asked.
Elias pulled himself from his reverie and contemplated the wisdom of confiding his and Erick’s idea that Valentina was behind the assassination attempts. He wasn’t positive that Inari wouldn’t then contact Wolfe in some way, which might throw a wrench into their plans. For, surely, Wolfe would go straight to his mother, demanding answers.
“I was curious. All this has brought up the past, with Valentina and my father and her manipulation of our family.” He wasn’t enamored of telling a partial lie. And, if Inari’s arched brow and skeptical look were any indication, she suspected there was more to the story. She proved to be much more astute than he gave her credit for with her next question.
“Do you think she has something to do with the poisoning?” Inari asked, eyes widening incredulously.
She had put him directly in the crosshairs. He could not lie now, not when she’d asked straight out. “Yes.”
Inari gasped and pushed to her feet.
Elias straightened, sure she was about to run out of the Crypt and call Wolfe immediately. “Don’t do anything rash, Inari. Give us time to make sure we’re right. If you go public with this, or if word gets out before we can act, the assassin will go to ground and we’ll never find him. We need him to convict Valentina. If you want all this to be over, you have to remain silent.”
“Do you think she would really go to those lengths? I mean, I know how deceptive she can sometimes be, and that she had caused other problems in her own homeland, but assassination? Would she stoop that low?” Inari asked. She wrung her hands together and paced near the table.
Elias intercepted her. He caught her gently by the arms so he could make and maintain eye contact. “She deceived my grandfather, nearly wound up married to my father while carrying another man’s child. She had grand designs on Latvala back then and, if I had to guess, I’d say nothing has changed. If anything, her tendencies might have gotten worse. If she feels pressured about money and Weithan’s well-being, there’s no telling what lengths she would go to.”
Inari stood before him, one finger moving a stray lock of hair from her eyes. Elias could see the conflict in her expression and feel the nervous tension in her body.
“There’s something else,” Inari said in a quiet voice.
“What is it?” Elias dropped his hold on her arms. She surprised him by taking a step closer of her own accord. They were almost close enough to touch. He stared down into her pretty face, inwardly bracing himself for whatever came next.
“He’s still in love with me. I heard from him four weeks ago. He wants to get back together. Says nothing has changed. And then he sent me a few texts when he heard about Lisbet. Asking if I needed him to come to Somero, did I need any help. I’ve not replied to any of it.”
“Why not?” Elias asked. He was tempted to take another step closer, which would fit the front of their bodies snugly together.
“Because I’m not in love with him. Because when I told him I was done, I meant it.”
“Even if you found out that he’d never cheated at all?”
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, frowning.
“I suspect he wasn’t lying to you when he told you that he’d never cheated. I think, after all that we’ve discovered, that Valentina probably planted the lie among the staff and let rumor do the rest.” He waited to see if that deduction had any effect on Inari. Perhaps, if she thought Wolfe hadn’t cheated, it would change the way she felt.
“So you’re saying that she broke us up intentionally, and has likely tried to take me out because she knows that Wolfe is serious about me. She’s found out about his letters and texts.”
“Yes.”
“That woman is a menace,” Inari said, ire flashing through her eyes.
“Yes, she is. All of this is unfounded, Inari. It’s what we’ve come up with after looking at all the available information. We could be way off—”
“But you’re not. I think you’re exactly right, Elias. It feels like the right answer.” She glanced from his eyes to his mouth.
“I don’t think you should tell your father, either. Not yet. He’s running high on emotion with his daughter in the hospital, and I think he might take action he’ll regret if he knows what we kno
w. We need proof before anything else,” he said. The way she stared at his mouth made Elias think things he shouldn’t be considering at the moment. Like pushing her back against the nearest wall and kissing her until their heads swam.
“I can’t withhold that kind of information from him for long. He won’t be happy to know I withheld it at all, when he finds out. If you and Erick and Caspian can’t find proof within the next few days, I’ll be forced to tell him anyway,” she whispered.
“That’s not a lot of time to locate the assassin. We need to wait until the next event.”
“I’m sorry, Elias. I can’t give you more time than that.” She reached up to stroke her thumb across his lower lip.
“Then you’ll have to excuse me. I have work to do.” He spun toward the door, regretting the loss of her touch immediately.
She’d thrown down the gauntlet, however, and there wasn’t a moment to waste.
* * *
Inari turned back to the desk and the books lying open on the surface. She couldn’t focus on the material at the moment, couldn’t sit there and look through the pages for journal entries. At least, not yet. She needed to move, to work off her restlessness. Elias’s shocking news and her subsequent disinclination to give him more time were working her nerves over, hardcore. Her stomach was in knots, her mind flitting from one scenario to another.
Despite how bad she felt, she knew that she’d been correct in her decision. Her father would be extremely displeased that she’d withheld any information at all, for any length of time, but she had wanted to give Elias and the guys some time to act. To settle the whole thing so her father wouldn’t have to get involved. He had enough going on, enough to deal with. Elias, Erick, and Caspian could distance themselves from the situation in ways Thane could not, and she knew it.
The tension between her and Elias also needed examination. Their kiss yesterday had sent her into a tailspin, made her want things she probably shouldn’t want. Not while all this was going on. She felt guilty for wanting more kisses, more intimacy, while her sister was recovering in the hospital. Lisbet was doing even better this afternoon, yet it felt wrong somehow to find enjoyment until her sister was home and completely out of the woods.
Latvala Royals: Bloodlines Page 11