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“One thing,” he said. “I’ve heard your brothers are heading here to join you. Should I let them know…?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I don’t want them to know what we’re doing. I’ll call them later, once we get there.”
“The usual place?” he asked carefully.
“Of course.”
It was settled. She felt energized, now that she saw a clear path in front of her. She woke the nanny and went in to change Robbie’s diapers and prepare him for the trip. As always, she found herself forgetting her worries and smiling as she tended to him. He gurgled and cooed. What a love he was.
“Hurry, Grace,” she urged. “We’ve got to get on the road.”
Her brothers. What if they did come here? She wanted to avoid them almost as much as she’d wanted to avoid Dane, whom they hated with a passion. They might even kill him if they found him here. At the very least, they would harm him, and despite everything, she couldn’t stand the thought of it. Should she warn him somehow? Leave a note? Make a call?
Closing her eyes, she laughed softly. See how crazy she was getting? Even as she was running from the man, she was thinking of his welfare.
“Are you ready?” she called in to Grace.
“Just a moment more,” the girl called back. “I’ll be there.”
Alex sighed, rocking her baby in her arms. Soon they would be safe. Very soon.
The sun hadn’t made an appearance yet as Dane knocked, then waited patiently for the young man to come and open the outer door to the Lion’s Mane service entrance for him. The employee handed him a small ring of keys and he handed back a folded bill. Nodding, he took the back stairs and climbed quickly to the fifth floor, then used the keys to unlock the service door and let himself onto the floor.
He paused, listening at the double doors. She would have a full party of servants and escorts in her entourage, but they wouldn’t all be staying here on this floor with her. He figured two or three guards at the most. He was hoping to avoid them, but if the muffled sounds he heard were any indication, they were already up and probably getting ready to head out of town. Good thing he’d come early.
Another twist of a key and he was inside the suite of rooms being used by the Acredonna party, standing in the wide entryway that had three rooms leading from it. His heart was pounding but he wasn’t sure if that was because of the danger involved or the prospect of seeing her again. He chose one of the rooms on instinct, walking softly to the doorway. And there she was.
She didn’t see him at first. She was dressed in jeans and a bright, tucked-in shirt that was full in the sleeves. Her hair was loose in a glorious riot of red curls. She was bending over a pile of CDs, reading labels and pulling two out of the stack.
“It’s getting late,” she said without turning as she sensed the presence of another person in the room. “Did you bring the car around?”
“No,” he responded softly. “And I forgot to bring the brioche as well.”
Dropping the CDs, she whirled, hand to her mouth as though to stop a scream. “Oh!” she gasped, her eyes huge.
He smiled, soaking in the sight of her. “You’re even beautiful at four in the morning,” he noted. “But then, I knew that.”
The tension between them was electric.
“What are you doing here?”
He shrugged casually, but his eyes were alert, following every nuance of her reactions.
“Keeping track of you is like trying to catch a rainbow in your hand. I thought I’d better get here early.” His smile faded and he regarded her narrowly. “It looks like that was a wise decision on my part.”
She glanced back at the doorway nervously. “I have guards with me, you know.”
He looked at the doorway, too, sure that was where any attacker would be coming from and planning accordingly. It was automatic, second nature. The only thing that might get in the way of his natural protective radar was this woman who seemed to be able to cloud his senses as though she wore a magic perfume.
“Of course,” he said to her. “Are you going to order them to throw me out?”
She hesitated and he could see that she would love to do just that, if she thought she could get away with it.
“Not if you behave,” she said at last.
He made a short bow. “You have my word. I promise not to ravish you right here on the Persian carpet. Is that enough?”
“Be serious.” She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “I’m afraid we aren’t going to have time to have that talk,” she said, making an attempt to sound lighthearted and failing utterly. “We’ve decided we must leave right away. So…”
One quick step closed the gap between them. He moved before she had time to react and took her hand in his, looking down into her startled eyes.
“Alexandra, you’re not going anywhere until we have our talk. We’ve got things we need to clarify between us. You know that.”
She tried to pull her hand away but he wasn’t going to let it go.
“Don’t you have something you need to tell me?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you?” He stared into her eyes. “Where is the child?” he asked firmly.
Even though she’d known what he was here for all along, that sent a shock through her system.
“What child?” she said breathlessly, fighting for equilibrium.
He pulled her closer, staring intently into her eyes.
“The baby you had five months ago in Paris. Where are you keeping him?”
She lifted her chin defiantly.
“That’s just nonsense.” She felt stronger as she fought back. “Who told you I had a baby?”
He looked pained. “Alex, please. People tell me all kinds of things. I have to sift through a lot of lies to get to the few kernels of truth. I’ve had a lot of experience at this.”
“Then what makes you think you’ve got hold of some good information for a change?” she demanded, trying to buy time.
“More than one trusted source.” He shrugged. He’d only recently gathered enough evidence to know he was on firm ground. “I’ve seen proof. You had a baby just about five months ago at the Sisters of Mercy private clinic on Gereaux Street, the little building behind the art gallery. I’ve seen pictures.”
She closed her eyes, feeling faint. Her head was reeling. He had more than she’d thought. There wasn’t much she could do but bluster her way through this.
Opening her eyes again, she glared at him.
“Even if I did have a baby, what business is it of yours?”
His blue eyes were searching her face as though he would find answers in her gaze.
“Alex, we were together at exactly the right time to make it my business.”
She shook her head firmly. “You don’t know that. You can’t remember what happened to you during your recovery. You’ve said so again and again. It’s even been in the papers.”
He hesitated. “It’s true. I have very little memory of that period of my life. I was unconscious most of the time.”
“There, you see? Then what makes you think…?”
“Certain memories are coming back.” He touched her cheek with the palm of his hand, and his gaze softened as it traced her hairline. “Memories of skin like silk and hair like fire,” he murmured.
She stiffened, determined not to let him get to her. “Maybe you were dreaming.”
“No.” He shook his head. “No, Alex.” His fingers touched her small, shell-like ear, then curled softly around it. “I remember how you taste. I remember you slipping into my bed, soft and willing and…”
“No!” She tried to pull away, but his hand held hers like a vise.
“You tasted like fine wine.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. That’s crazy. Women all taste alike.”
His smile was slight but deadly. She shivered, wishing she had the strength to look away.
“No, they don’t,” he said. “No one else tastes like you do.”
Her heart was thudding in her throat, beating so hard she could hardly breathe. “How would you know that? It’s…it’s been years, and then you were wounded and…”
He captured her chin in his hand, tilting her face to receive him. “I’ll show you,” he said softly, then lowered his lips to hers.
She tried to gather the wherewithal to resist, but it was no use. His mouth felt so warm, so good, and she opened to his kiss as though she’d been starving for him.
But it only lasted for a moment. He drew back and looked at her, shaking his head. “Alex,” he began.
But she never heard what he was about to say. Her attention was caught by something behind him on the other side of the room. Henri was there, his long, thin body bent over, a tranquilizer gun raised and trained on his target. He was going to shoot a dart into Dane.
Of course. It was the only way they could possibly get out of here without Dane and his security people following them. Good for Henri. Quick thinking. It made sense. And yet the feelings that filled her were overwhelming. She couldn’t do this. She had so much hidden affection for this man, despite everything. She couldn’t let him be hurt in any way.
“No!” she cried out to Henri. “Wait!”
Dane looked at her, startled, and by the time he realized there was someone else in the room, it was too late. The dart had been shot from the tranquilizer gun. He looked at her in disbelief, reached back to try to pull out the dart, swore and crumpled to the floor.
“Did you hurt him?” she cried, though she knew the question was moot. Dropping to the floor, she swept his hair back off his forehead and searched his unconscious face for signs. “Didn’t you hear me say to wait?”
Henri shrugged. Leaning down, he pulled out the dart and noted it was empty. The fluid would do its work.
“I couldn’t risk it. He had to be rendered harmless.” He reached for her hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
“No.” She rose, looking down at the prince. Emotion choked her throat. “We can’t leave him like this.”
Henri looked at her, incredulous. “What are you talking about? We have to go. He might have others outside. And in any case, your brothers will be here soon. You don’t want to have to talk to them about this, do you?”
“No.” She put a hand to her head, trying to sort things out. “We must go. But…”
“Come along, then. Grace is already in the car with the baby. I’ll tell the manager to hold our bags and things in storage until we send for them.”
She nodded, still looking down at where Dane lay like a wounded stag.
“We have to take him with us,” she said softly, a feeling of wonderment growing inside her. How could she even think of such a thing? And yet, there wasn’t any choice.
“If we leave him here…” A few horrendous consequences flashed through her mind. She looked up at Henri. “Don’t you see?”
He looked pained, his thin face haggard. “Your brothers…”
“Yes.” She threw a hand out, half in a sense of command, half beseeching him to understand. “Who knows what they would do to him?”
“But, miss, we can’t,” he said, his usually stoic expression twisted into a special sort of agony. “What are we going to do with him? What will he do when he comes to? Don’t you see how dangerous that would be?”
She stared into his worried eyes. “But don’t you see how impossible it is to leave him?” she said simply.
He stared back and what he saw in her eyes seemed to explain it all to him. Slowly he nodded, and a look of resignation began to relax his face.
“All right, then,” he said, resolved and back to being the normal unflappable paragon of efficiency. “I’ll take care of it. You go.”
“No.” She shook her head, tears trembling in her eyes. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. It was just that she couldn’t bear to risk anything happening to Dane. She had to be involved. All the way.
“No, I’ll help carry him. I’d rather.”
He nodded curtly. “Let’s do it, then.”
CHAPTER THREE
ALEXANDRA stared at her reflection in the mirror and wondered who that was looking back. She looked haunted, scared, hopeless. And she needed to appear calm and cool and collected. Could she be all those things at once?
Hardly.
Things were rapidly careening out of control. She’d done the unthinkable—brought the crown prince of Carnethia to her only hideout, the only place where she was sure she could be safe. She’d brought the man she was hiding from right into the heart of her refuge. What was she thinking?
But no matter how crazy it seemed, she hadn’t had a lot of choice. She couldn’t have left him in that hotel room. And what else was she going to do with him? Dump him by the side of the highway?
“We could leave him at the house of a loyalist I know who lives not far off the highway,” Henri had suggested. “From there, we could contact the palace and tell them where he could be found.”
She sighed. “And have the loyalist arrested for his trouble? I don’t think so.”
Not only that, but knowing the feelings left over from the war, she didn’t trust anyone on either side to do the honorable thing. She wasn’t going to let him out of her sight until they found a way to get him back where he belonged.
Of course, this set up quite a dilemma for her. She didn’t want to leave Dane alone, and she didn’t want to leave her baby alone, and yet she couldn’t let Dane know she had the baby with her. She was caught in a balancing act and felt like a tightrope walker whose rope had begun to sway. There had to be some resolution—fast!
Rising from the dressing table in her third-floor bedroom, she turned to look at where Dane lay on her bed, still under the effects of the tranquilizer. Henri had tied his legs together at the ankles and then bound his wrists and tied them above his head to a bolt he’d put in the wall behind the bed.
She hated to see that. She’d stood beside Henri the whole time he’d worked on it, urging him to be careful. But she knew the man was right when he insisted Dane had to be restrained somehow. Still, this was terrible. He was a prince. How could they treat him like this? Right now, she just wanted this whole thing to be over.
Moving closer, she looked down at him, checking his breathing as she’d done every few moments since they’d left the Lion’s Mane. He still seemed to be doing all right. She touched the pulse at the side of his neck and nodded. There was no sign of distress in his vitals.
