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“I assume you know.” He toyed with one of Shannon’s hair bands on the table.
“Impossible to miss.”
“Where’s Carlos? He’s not picking up.” Tony fell back into their clipped shorthand. They’d only had each other growing up and now circumstances insisted they stay apart. Did his brothers have that same feeling, like they’d lost a limb?
“His secretary said he got paged for an emergency surgery. He’ll be at least another couple of hours. Apparently Carlos found out as he was scrubbing in, but you know our brother.” Duarte, the middle son, tended to play messenger with their father. The three brothers spoke and met when they could, but there were so many crap memories from their childhood, those reunions became further apart.
Tony scooped up the brown band, a lone long strand of her blond hair catching the light. “When a patient calls…”
“Right.”
It could well be hours before they heard from Carlos, given the sort of painstaking reconstructive surgeries he performed on children. “Any idea how this exploded?”
His brother hissed a long angry curse. “The Global Intruder got a side-view picture of me while I was visiting our sister.”
Their half sister Eloisa, their father’s daughter from an affair shortly after they had escaped to the States. Enrique had still been torn up with grief from losing his wife…not to mention the guilt. But apparently not so torn up and remorseful he couldn’t hop into bed with someone else. The woman had gone on to marry another man who’d raised her daughter as his own.
Tony had only met his half sister once as a teen, a few years before he’d left the island compound. She’d only been seven at the time. Now she’d married into a high-profile family jam-packed with political influence and a fat portfolio. Could she be at fault for bringing the media down on their heads for some free PR for her new in-laws? Duarte seemed to think she wanted anonymity as much as the rest of them. But could he have misjudged her?
“Why were you visiting Eloisa?” Tony tucked the band into his pocket.
“Family business. It doesn’t matter now. Her in-laws were there. Eloisa’s sister-in-law—a senator’s wife—slipped on the dock. I kept her from falling into the water. Some damn female reporter in a tree with a telephoto lens caught the mishap. Which shouldn’t have mattered, since Senator Landis and his wife were the focus of the picture. I still don’t know how the photographer pegged me from a side view, but there it is. And I’m sorry for bringing this crap down on you.”
Duarte hadn’t done anything wrong. They couldn’t live in a bubble. In the back of Tony’s mind, he’d always known it was just a matter of time until the cover story blew up in their faces. He’d managed to live away from the island anonymously for fourteen years, his two older brothers even longer.
But there was always the hope that maybe he could stay a step ahead. Be his own man. Succeed on his own merits. “We’ve all been caught in a picture on occasion. We’re not vampires. It’s just insane that she was able to make the connection. Perfect storm of bad luck.”
“What are your plans for dealing with this perfect storm?”
“Lock down tight while I regroup. Let me know when you hear from Carlos.”
Ending the call, Tony strode back into the living room, checked on Kolby—still snoozing hard—and dropped to the end of the sofa to read messages, his in-box already full again. By the time Tony scrolled through emails that told him nothing new, he logged on to the internet for a deeper peek. And winced. Rumors were rampant.
That his father had died of malaria years ago—false.
Supposition that Carlos had plastic surgery—again, false.
Speculation that Duarte had joined a Tibetan monastery—definitely false.
And then there were the stories about him and Shannon, which actually happened to be true. The whole “Monarch’s Mistress” was really growing roots out there in cyberspace. Guilt kicked him in the gut that Shannon would suffer this kind of garbage because of him. The media feeding frenzy would only grow, and before long they would stir up all the crap about her thief of a dead husband. He tucked away his phone in disgust.
“That bad?” Shannon asked from the archway.
She’d changed into jeans and a simple blue tank top. Her silky blond hair glided loosely down her shoulders, straight except for a slight crimped ring where she’d bound it up on her head for work. She didn’t look much older than the babysitter, except in her weary—wary—eyes.
Leaning back, he extended his legs, leather creaking as he stayed on the sofa so as not to spook her. “The internet is exploding. My lawyers and my brothers’ lawyers are all looking into it. Hopefully we’ll have the leak plugged soon and start some damage control. But we can’t stuff the genie back into the bottle.”
“I’m not going away with you.” She perched a fist on one shapely hip.
“This isn’t going to die down.” He kept his voice even and low, reasonable. The stakes were too important for all of them. “The reporters will swarm you by morning, if not sooner. Your babysitter will almost inevitably cave in to one of those gossip-rag offers. Your friends will sell photos of the two of us together. There’s a chance people could use Kolby to get to me.”
“Then we’re through, you and I.” She reached for her sleeping son on the sofa, smoothing his hair before sliding a hand under his shoulders as if to scoop him up.
Tony touched her arm lightly, stopping her. “Hold on before you settle him into his room.” As far as Tony was concerned, they would be back in his Escalade in less than ten minutes. “Do you honestly think anyone’s going to believe the breakup is for real? The timing will seem too convenient.”
She sagged onto the arm of the sofa, right over the silver X. “We ended things last weekend.”
Like hell. “Tell that to the papers and see if they believe you. The truth doesn’t matter to these people. They probably printed photos of an alien baby last week. Pleading a breakup isn’t going to buy you any kind of freedom from their interest.”
“I know I need to move away from Galveston.” She glanced around her sparsely decorated apartment, two pictures of Kolby the only personal items. “I’ve accepted that.”
There wouldn’t be much packing to do.
“They’ll find you.”
She studied him through narrowed eyes. “How do I know you’re not just using this as an excuse to get back together?”
Was he? An hour ago, he would have done anything to get into her bed again. While the attraction hadn’t diminished, since his cover was blown, he had other concerns that overshadowed everything else. He needed to determine the best way to inoculate her from the toxic fallout that came from associating with Medinas. One thing for certain, he couldn’t risk her striking out on her own.
“You made it clear where we stand last weekend. I get that. You want nothing to do with me or my money.” He didn’t move closer, wasn’t going to crowd her. The draw between them filled the space separating them just fine on its own. “We had sex together. Damn good sex. But that’s over now. Neither one of us ever asked for or expected more.”
Her gaze locked with his, the room silent but for their breathing and the light snore of the sleeping child. Kolby. Another reminder of why they needed to stay in control.
In fact, holding back made the edge sharper. He skimmed his knuckles along her collarbone, barely touching. A week ago, that pale skin had worn the rasp of his beard. She didn’t move closer, but she didn’t back away, either.
Shannon blinked first, her long lashes sweeping closed while she swallowed hard. “What am I supposed to do?”
More than anything he wanted to gather her up and tell her everything would be okay. He wouldn’t allow anything less. But he also wouldn’t make shallow promises.
Twenty-seven years ago, when they’d been leaving San Rinaldo on a moonless night, his father had assured them everything would be fine. They would be reunited soon.
His father had been so very wrong.
Tony focused on what he could assure. “A lot has happened in a few hours. We need to take a step back for damage assessment tonight at my home, where there are security gates, alarms, guards watching and surveillance cameras.”
“And after tonight?”
“We’ll let the press think we are a couple, still deep in that affair.” He indulged himself in one lengthy, heated eye-stroke of her slim, supple body. “Then we’ll stage a more public breakup later, on our terms, when we’ve prepared a backup plan.”
She exhaled a shaky breath. “That makes sense.”
“Meanwhile, my number-one priority is shielding you and Kolby.” He sifted through options, eliminating one idea after another until he was left with only a single alternative.
Her hand fell to rest on her sleeping son’s head. “How do you intend to do that?”
“By taking you to the safest place I know.” A place he’d vowed never to return. “Tomorrow, we’re going to visit my father.”
Chapter 3
“Visit your father?” Shannon asked in total shock. Had Tony lost his mind? “The King of San Rinaldo? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m completely serious.” He stared back at her from the far end of the leather sofa, her sleeping son between them.
Resisting Tony had been tough enough this past week just knowing he was in the same town. How much more difficult would it be with him in the same house for one night much less days on end? God, she wanted to run. She bit the inside of her lip to keep from blurting out something she would regret later. Sorting through her options could take more time than they appeared to have.
Kolby wriggled restlessly, hugging his comfort blanket tighter. Needing a moment to collect her thoughts and her resolve, she scooped up her son.
“Tony, we’ll have to put this discussion on hold.” She cradled her child closer and angled down the hall, ever aware of a certain looming prince at her back. “Keep the lights off, please.”
Shadows playing tag on the ceiling, she lowered Kolby into the red caboose bed they’d picked out together when she moved into the apartment. She’d been trying so hard to make up for all her son had lost. As if there was some way to compensate for the loss of his father, the loss of security. Shannon pressed a kiss to his forehead, inhaling his precious baby-shampoo smell.
When she turned back, she found Tony waiting in the doorway, determination stamped on his square jaw. Well, she could be mighty resolute too, especially when it came to her son. Shannon closed the curtains before she left the room and stepped into the narrow hall.
She shut the door quietly behind her. “You have to know your suggestion is outrageous.”
“The whole situation is outrageous, which calls for extraordinary measures.”
“Hiding out with a king? That’s definitely what I would call extraordinary.” She pulled off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.
Before Nolan’s death she’d worn contacts, but couldn’t afford the extra expense now. How much longer until she would grow accustomed to glasses again?
She stared at Tony, his face clear up close, everything in the distance blurred. “Do you honestly think I would want to expose myself, not to mention Kolby, to more scrutiny by going to your father’s? Why not just hide out at your place as we originally discussed?”
God, had she just agreed to stay with him indefinitely?
“My house is secure, up to a point. People will figure out where I live and they’ll deduce that you’re with me. There’s only one place I can think of where no one can get to us.”
Frustration buzzed in her brain. “Seems like their telephoto lenses reach everywhere.”
“The press still hasn’t located my father’s home after years of trying.”
But she thought… “Doesn’t he live in Argentina?”
He studied her silently, the wheels almost visibly turning in his broad forehead. Finally, he shook his head quickly.
“No. We only stopped off there to reorganize after escaping San Rinaldo.” He adjusted his watch, the only nervous habit she’d ever observed in him. “My father did set up a compound there and paid a small, trusted group of individuals to make it look inhabited. Most of them also escaped San Rinaldo with us. People assumed we were there with them.”
What extreme lengths and expense their father had gone to. But then wasn’t she willing to do anything to protect Kolby? She felt a surprise connection to the old king she’d never met. “Why are you telling me this much if it’s such a closely guarded secret?”
He cupped her shoulder, his touch heavy and familiar, stirring. “Because it’s that important I persuade you.”
Resisting the urge to lean into him was tougher with each stroke of his thumb against the sensitive curve of her neck. “Where does he live then?”
“I can’t tell you that much,” he said, still touching and, God, it made her mad that she didn’t pull away.
“Yet you expect me to just pack up my child and follow you there.” She gripped his wrist and moved away from his seductive touch.
“I detect a note of skepticism in your voice.” He shoved his hands in his pockets.
“A note? Try a whole freaking symphony, Tony.” The sense of betrayal swelled inside her again, larger and larger until it pushed bitter words out. “Why should I trust you? Especially now?”
“Because you don’t have anyone else or they would have already been helping you.”
The reality deflated her. She only had a set of in-laws who didn’t want anything to do with her or Kolby since they blamed her for their son’s downfall. She was truly alone.
“How long would we be there?”
“Just until my attorneys can arrange for a restraining order against certain media personnel. I realize that restraining orders don’t always work, but having one will give us a stronger legal case if we need it. It’s one thing to stalk, but it’s another to stalk and violate a restraining order. And I’ll want to make sure you have top-of-the-line security installed at your new home. That should take about a week, two at the most.”
Shannon fidgeted with her glasses. “How would we get there?”
“By plane.” He thumbed the face of his watch clean again.
That meant it must be far away. “Forget it. You are not going to isolate me that way, cut me off from the world. It’s the equivalent of kidnapping me and my son.”
“Not if you agree to go along.” He edged closer, the stretch of his hard muscled shoulders blocking out the light filtering from the living area. “People in the military get on planes all the time without knowing their destination.”
She tipped her chin upward, their faces inches apart. Close enough to feel his heat. Close enough to kiss.
Too close for her own good. “Last time I checked, I wasn’t wearing a uniform.” Her voice cracked ever so slightly. “I didn’t sign on for this.”
“I know, Shanny….” He stroked a lock of her hair intimately. “I am sorry for all this is putting you through, and I will do my best to make the next week as easy for you as possible.”
The sincerity of his apology soothed the ragged edges of her nerves. It had been a long week without him. She’d been surprised by how much she had missed his spontaneous dates and late-night calls. His bold kisses and intimate caresses. She couldn’t lie to herself about how much he affected her on both an emotional and physical level. Otherwise this mess with his revealed past wouldn’t hurt her so deeply.
Her hand clenched around her glasses. He gently slid them from her hand and hooked them on the front of her shirt. The familiarity of the gesture kicked her heart rate up a notch.
Swaying toward him, she flattened her hands to his chest, not sure if she wanted to push him away or pull him nearer. Thick longing filled the sliver of space between them. An answering awareness widened his pupils, pushing and thinning the dark brown of his eyes.
He lowered his head closer, closer still until his mouth hovered over hers. Heated breaths washed over her, stirring even hotter memories and warm languid longing. She’d thought the pain of Nolan’s deceit had left her numb for life…until she saw Tony.
“Mama?”
The sound of her son calling out from his room jolted her back to reality. And not only her. Tony’s face went from seductive to intent in a heartbeat. He pulled the door open just as Kolby ran through and into his mother’s arms.
“Mama, Mama, Mama…” He buried his face in her neck. “Monster in my window!”
* * *
Tony shot through the door and toward the window in the child’s room, focused, driven and mentally kicking himself for letting himself be distracted.
He barked over his shoulder, “Stay in the hall while I take a look.”
It could be nothing, but he’d been taught at a young age the importance of never letting down his guard. Adrenaline firing, he jerked the window open and scanned the tiny patch of yard.
Nothing. Just a Big Wheel lying on its side and a swing dangling lazily from a lone tree.
Maybe it was only a nightmare. This whole blast from the past had him seeing bogeymen from his own childhood, too. Tony pushed the window down again and pulled the curtains together.
