Alec's Royal Assignment (Man On A Mission Book 3) (16 page)

“You, too?” Captain Zale asked.

“Yeah. And yeah, she took me by surprise, too, but still...” The two men shared a look of commiseration.

“Your secret is safe with me,” the captain assured Alec.

“Same here.” Now that they’d calmed down a little, Alec ventured to say, “Your respect means a hell of a lot to her. Even when you suspected her of being involved in the assassination conspiracy, even when she thought you were unfairly blaming her for having to kill Tcholek, she defended you to me. That kind of loyalty is rare.”

“I did not really suspect her,” Captain Zale was quick to say. “Majors Kostya and Branko—the king’s favorite bodyguards—they are the ones who raised the possibility. I knew in my heart she was innocent, but I also knew I could not prove it—not to their satisfaction. They are ruthless in their devotion to the king. So I allowed her to be questioned by them until it was obvious to all she was telling the truth.

“As for the other, you are right. I did not speak up when the majors implied a man would not have let his guard down with Tcholek. I should have. I should have told them I would have done the same with a man I had worked with so closely.” A tinge of color touched his cheekbones. “That I did not speak in her defense is a shame I bear.”

He breathed deeply. “Then she interrogated the remaining would-be assassin and tricked two names out of him no one else had been able to obtain.” Admiration colored his words. “You should have heard her. A man could not have done what she did.”

“So what are you going to do about this latest accusation of impropriety?” Alec asked. “I can talk to the king, tell him the truth about Lieutenant Mateja and me, and explain that I—”

“No.” Captain Zale shook his head firmly. “I will handle it. She is my officer. My responsibility. I will handle it.” He turned to go, but Alec called him back.

“Captain, wait a minute, please.” When the other man turned around, Alec found himself torn. Despite the original accusation, despite the confrontation, Captain Zale had turned out to be a fairly decent guy. How to say what he felt he had to say?

Straight out,
he told himself firmly.
That’s the only way.
“I have to ask,” he said frankly. “Tahra—my administrative assistant—you have a date with her tonight, right?”

“I
had
a date with her, yes.” Captain Zale’s face gave nothing away except the fact that he now believed his date was in jeopardy after he’d used his personal connection with Tahra to gain admittance to this restricted area. “When she authorized security to let me in, I let her think I came to see her.”

“Tahra’s very trusting,” Alec told him. “Did your date with her have anything to do with me? What I mean is,” he rushed to add, “if you only asked her out to pump her for information about me, please don’t. She doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment, and I don’t want her hurt.”

If anything, the captain’s face turned even more wooden. “That was not why I... She is very sweet. A man would have to look far and wide to find someone like her.”

He didn’t say anything more, but Alec read between the lines and was satisfied. “Then on your way out, why don’t you make sure your date for tonight is still on. She was really looking forward to it. I’ll give you five minutes’ privacy. If you can’t convince Tahra of your sincerity in five minutes, you’re not the man I take you for, Captain.”

* * *

Alec waited for Captain Zale to leave before he picked up the phone and dialed a number he already knew by heart. “Hi,” he said when Angelina answered. “How’s everything going? Making progress?” He wouldn’t normally call to check so soon—he didn’t hover—but he had an urgent need to hear Angelina’s voice. To
know
she was safe.

“Progress,” she confirmed with a hint of excitement in her tone. “Yes. I had not realized I had so many memories of Caterina. Perhaps because I did not want to let myself remember them. But I already have ten pages, with many more to go.”

“Great,” Alec said. “Don’t skip over anything. Not even the smallest detail. My sister’s got a knack for figuring things out, sometimes based on the tiniest clue. Kind of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with nothing to go on but the shape of the pieces. But the more she has to work with, the better off we are.”

“I understand.”

Alec hesitated. Then figured,
What the hell,
and asked, “Tell me something.”

“Yes?”

“It’s been bugging me for days, ever since McKinnon and I first learned Caterina might be alive. As soon as I heard there was a hit out on her, as soon as I heard how high the price tag was, I figured she either knows something or has some kind of evidence. Evidence Vishenko is afraid she’ll take to the authorities. Which means wherever she is
now
, at some point she was with Vishenko.”

At first, Angelina didn’t respond. But then she answered Alec’s unspoken question. “She would not stay with a man like Vishenko. Not by choice. Yes, she wanted more out of life than she could have here in Zakhar. And yes, she believed modeling was the way to achieve these things. But she believed in hard work. Believed in achieving success by her own efforts. She was a good girl on the brink of becoming a good woman. She would not sleep with a man for what it would get her—that is what you are thinking? That Caterina would choose the easy way?”

Alec was sorry he’d brought it up. But now that he had... “Are you sure, Angel?” he asked softly, knowing the question would hurt no matter the answer.

Her voice didn’t waver. “I know her. I know she would not any more than I would. If she was with Vishenko, it was not by her choice.”

“Then why? If she was forced into prostitution and eventually escaped that life, why didn’t she go to the authorities? Especially if she had evidence against Vishenko. That’s what doesn’t make sense. And if she couldn’t bring herself to press charges—if she was afraid for her life—why didn’t she just come home?”

A long silence followed. “Caterina did not come home because she was ashamed,” Angelina said finally, and Alec knew she was swallowing back tears because she didn’t want to admit she was crying. Again. Tears from the woman who swore she never cried. “Because she blamed herself. Because she believed everyone would blame her for what happened. Because she believed
I
would blame her.”

Suddenly it all made sense to Alec. Rape victims weren’t to blame for what happened to them any more than robbery victims were, or victims of home invasions. And yet the perception persisted in the minds of many that they
were
to blame. Alec wasn’t naive. He’d been posted in countries where fathers and brothers of rape victims killed the
victim
—not the perpetrator—to salvage their family honor. Honor killings were still acceptable in many countries, countries with which the United States had diplomatic relations.

“I’m sorry,” he said now, wishing he were there with Angelina, wishing he could hold her and somehow convey that he understood her pain and shared it.

“That is why she did not come home,” Angelina said. “She did not want me to know. Her parents were dead before she ever disappeared, but they would have blamed her just as my parents would. She did not want
anyone
to know what she had suffered. She would rather live alone for the rest of her life than admit the truth.”

Determination grew in Alec. Hard. Cold. Not just to bring Vishenko down, but to rescue Caterina and help her understand
she
was the victim. That she wasn’t responsible for
anything
that had happened to her. The same way he’d helped Angelina understand she wasn’t responsible for the deaths of Sasha Tcholek and Yuri Ivanovitch. These things had
happened
, and they couldn’t be undone. They just had to be lived with. But the blame—the blame had to be placed where it truly belonged.

“We’ll find her, Angel,” he promised, his heart aching for what Angelina was going through. “We’ll find her. And when we do...”
She’ll never have to feel ashamed again.

* * *

“Stop right there!”

Cate froze with one hand on the front door to the rooming house in Boulder, Colorado, where she’d moved in three weeks ago, waiting for the bullets that would tear her body apart. Vishenko’s men had found her again. She couldn’t escape as she had at the bus stop in Denver—there was nowhere to run this time.

Six years,
she thought, not bothering to utter a last-minute prayer she knew wouldn’t be answered.
At least I lived six years free from him. Even if it had only been a day, one day of freedom would have been worth it after spending two years as his prisoner, and I had six years.

“Put your hands up where we can see them. Then slowly, very slowly, turn around.”

Confused—because she expected to be dead already, or at least gasping out her last breaths on the ground—Cate obeyed, putting her hands up as she slowly turned around to face whoever was behind her. A man and a woman stood there, both wearing dark blue jackets and vests over beige pants, their guns drawn and pointed at her. Emblazoned across the pocket of the vests was the word POLICE. And underneath that word was another word, one she had no trouble recognizing. ICE. And though it wasn’t as bad as she’d first feared, it was bad enough.

Chapter 16

T
hat night, Alec reviewed what Angelina had written down about her cousin. Every memory, every facet of her character, every motivation. Everything. “Okay,” he told her. “This is good. I can’t swear to it, but it might help find her. All we can do now is turn this over to Keira and see what she can do with it.”

He put the voluminous document—which Angelina had typed on her computer, organized and cross-referenced before printing it out—to one side. Then he took her hands in his and kissed them both before sitting her down on the sofa. “We have to talk about something,” he told her, settling himself next to her. Close enough so she could feel the warmth emanating from his body but just far enough away not to be touching her. And she knew instantly something was wrong.

“What is it?”

“Captain Zale came to see me today,” he began, but stopped. “There’s no way to say this except straight out,” he told her roughly. “Captain Zale knows about us. About you and me.”

“You told him?” Angelina couldn’t believe it. Betrayal? From Alec?

“I didn’t have to. He already knew. But yeah, I confirmed it.”

“How? How did he know?”

“Apparently you, along with everyone else on the security details, are under observation by Zakhar’s secret intelligence service.”

She blinked but made the connection. “The assassination attempt. Of course. The king said he wanted us all investigated. I did not realize...” She glanced down at her hands. “I am sorry, Alec. I should have thought of this. I should have—”

He crushed her hands in his. “Don’t apologize. If you think I give a damn who knows about us, think again.” He loosened his grip but still kept possession of her hands. “I know you wanted to keep our relationship a secret, at least for a while. Especially from your captain.” She still refused to look up, but she sensed his internal struggle, could hear the strain in his voice. “But I’m not ashamed, and as far as I’m concerned, the whole world can know about us. Or the whole world can go to hell.”

She raised her face to his then, and saw the truth in his eyes. “I refused to lie to your captain,” Alec said now, a hard edge to his voice. “When he told me he knew about us, I admitted it. But I also told him you have the right to keep your private life private, so long as it doesn’t impact your job. And he knows it won’t.”

“Then he does not think less of me? It is not an issue?”

“Why the hell should he think less of you?” The challenge in his words was matched by his tone. “You’re a woman, Angel. A living, breathing woman, not an automaton. Neither is he. In fact—” He stopped abruptly, as if he wasn’t sure he should say anything more. But then he said, “In fact, I just found out he has a date tonight with my administrative assistant.”

“A
date
?” Angelina couldn’t believe it. “Captain
Zale
?”

Alec laughed suddenly, and then she did, too. “What’s wrong with that? As far as I can tell, he’s a normal man with functioning parts. You act like he’s not allowed to be human.”

“No, not that, but...” It still struck her as funny, and she chuckled. “He is very much a man. No question of that. He is much sought after by women, this I know—it is no secret within the ranks. But he has time only for his duty. His eyes are always on the queen.” Angelina suddenly realized how this might sound, and hurried to clarify. “Not that he is interested in the queen
that
way. Please do not misunderstand.”

“Don’t worry,” Alec assured her. “I wasn’t thinking along those lines. Besides,” he added dryly, “it would take an extremely brave—or reckless—man to touch
anything
belonging to your king. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who would tolerate that, not for a second.”

“That is a very sexist thing to say,” she retorted. “The queen is not a
thing
, and—”

“Okay, okay,” Alec said, holding up his hands, palms outward. “Forget I said it.”

But Angelina could tell he was still thinking it.
So Alec is not perfect, after all,
she realized.
In some ways, he is a typical man, with typical male thinking.
It didn’t make her love him any less. Just the opposite, in fact. It was somewhat endearing to know that Alec—so perfect in many ways—had his faults just like everyone else.

Then another thought crept into her mind, distracting her from consideration of Alec’s few faults, and she blurted out before she meant to, “I have never known Captain Zale to
date.
Is she very beautiful, this assistant of yours?”

Alec’s eyes widened in surprise, and Angelina cursed her unruly tongue. “You’re jealous,” he said eventually, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“No, I...how can there be jealousy when there is trust?” she asked, suddenly flustered in a way she hadn’t been since high school. “And I trust you. I... I am not jealous, you understand. I would merely like to know.”

Alec tried to suppress the unholy glee in his expressive eyes but failed.
And that is another fault in him,
Angelina averred with a spurt of anger.
He laughs at the most inappropriate times.
But when she admitted the truth to herself, her anger faded.

“Yes, I am jealous. I do not mean to be,” she said seriously. “But I...what are you doing?” Alec was stripping off his coat, his shoulder harness, undoing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. “What are you doing?” she asked again, bewildered.

“Proving to you there’s no reason to be jealous. Not of Tahra. Not of any woman.” He was completely naked now, except for his socks, which he stripped off with an un-self-conscious air. He was magnificently aroused already, but his hand went to his erection, stroking it a couple of times until it swelled even larger. Impossibly larger. He bent down and retrieved a condom from his pants pocket, which he quickly rolled on. Angelina watched for a moment, then glanced up at Alec’s face, trying to read his intentions in his determined expression.

“I’m all yours, Angel,” he said as he pulled her to her feet. He hooked his hands underneath her armpits and lifted. She automatically wrapped her legs around his hips and grasped his shoulders for balance, feeling him hard and heavy against the crux of her thighs, as his hands moved to her hips to hold her. And just like that, she wanted him. But she wanted to be naked, too. Wanted to feel his hard warmth inside her where it belonged. Where
he
belonged.

He kissed her, putting his whole soul into it. “All yours,” he murmured, grinding his pelvis against hers. Teasing her. “Every inch. Every time. All yours.”

He walked into her bedroom carrying her that way and tumbled her onto the bed. He stripped off her shoes, her slacks, her panties in no time, but left the rest of her clothes untouched. He fitted himself into place, and the teasing expression disappeared. “Tell me you want me,” he demanded. “Tell me.”

She arched her hips upward, wanting everything he offered. Everything he was. “Yes,” she panted. “Yes.”

He surged into her. No foreplay, nothing to prepare her for his entry, but she was already so wet, so ready for him, all she could do was moan in pleasure at the incredible feeling of being stretched, filled, taken to a whole different plane. Then he was riding her hard and fast, so fast she couldn’t catch her breath. So fast she exploded without warning, arching and crying his name as he rocked her with his deep thrusts, her body milking his uncontrollably when he exploded, too, driving himself deep with his last thrust.

They lay there like that forever, it seemed. Her legs locked around his hips, holding him tight and deep inside her. His lips found her throat and he kissed her there, just a slight movement, but enough for her to feel it. He was still shaking, tremors running through his muscles. But so was she. They were both breathing hard, depleted. And yet... Angelina tightened her pelvic muscles around his erection, and he groaned.
Not pain,
she told herself with a secret smile.
Pleasure.
So she did it again. Then again.

He groaned each time, but he didn’t ask her to stop. Eventually, though, she was forced to let him go, unlock her legs and let him roll off her body to lie beside her with one arm thrown across his face. He didn’t say anything, just lay there breathing hard. And that was the first inkling she had that something wasn’t right.

“Alec?” She touched his arm tentatively, but he refused to remove it from his face. Then he drew a deep, shuddering breath and sat up abruptly, his arm falling away.

“It’s not enough, Angel. Not for me. Not anymore.”

“I do not understand.”

“I can’t just make love to you and pretend that’s all I want.” He ripped off the condom and disappeared into the bathroom. When he returned, he sat next to her on the bed and dragged a corner of the coverlet over her.

His eyes closed for a moment as an expression she didn’t understand flickered across his face. His jaw tightened and he swallowed. Hard. When his eyes finally met hers, he said, “I...you want to talk sexist? I wanted to mark you as mine. I started out wanting to prove I belong to you, only to you. And then somehow, along the way, that changed. I wanted so badly to prove you belong to me. And I didn’t want to wear a condom this time.”

Angelina caught her breath because it sounded as if Alec was saying...

“I love you, Angel. I wouldn’t admit it to myself until this morning, when Captain Zale came to see me. When I thought something had happened to you. And I realized I don’t want to be a survivor if it means being without you.”

“Alec—”

“I know this isn’t what you wanted,” he continued, cutting her off. “This isn’t what you planned. I know that. But I—”

“Alec—”

“No, let me finish. I can make you happy, Angel, if you’ll let me. I can—”

Angelina reached up, slid her hand around his neck and pulled him down for an endless kiss. When their lips finally parted, she murmured dreamily, “I love you, too, Alec.”

He looked blown away by her confession. “You do? Since when? Why didn’t you tell me?”

She laughed deep in her throat. “To answer your questions in order, yes. Since last night. At least, that is when I admitted it to myself. And I did not tell you because I did not want you to know. Not until...”

“Why didn’t you want me to know?”

She could feel warmth creeping into her cheeks. “Because I am more Zakharian than I knew, and in Zakhar a woman does not...not first, you understand.” She held his gaze. “And because for years I told myself I could not have what other women have. Not and have my career, too. But that was before I met you.”

His face contracted. “I told you I’m more traditional than you think I am. Not that I want you to give up your career, but I want the whole nine yards, Angel.” When she shook her head, not understanding the reference, he explained, “I want the whole picture. Marriage. Children.”

Angelina caught her breath.
Alec
wanted
children?
With her? She had never thought of having children before—children weren’t compatible with the life she’d chosen for herself—and the sudden yearning for a child with Alec’s warm, brown eyes slammed into her from nowhere.

All at once she remembered the look Queen Juliana had given her in the spring when the queen had been expecting her baby and Angelina had made some off-the-cuff remark about never having children of her own. At the time, she hadn’t understood the expression of...was it amusement on the queen’s face? Not exactly. More like her friend knew something Angelina didn’t know, and was humoring her by not saying anything. Not contradicting Angelina’s assertion that her life was perfect just as it was.

Now she understood that expression, and the thoughts behind it. Now it made sense. Because the queen had known that because Angelina had never loved a man, she’d never had the chance to feel this way before. Hadn’t understood.

She did now.

She didn’t need children to complete her, just as she didn’t need a man to complete her. That wasn’t it at all. She hadn’t lied to Alec when she’d told him she’d been happy before he’d come along. Her life had been rewarding. Fulfilling. Enough to make her reasonably content. There were things she would have changed—Caterina, her parents—but not the lack of a man in her life.

That is the key,
she realized now—she hadn’t missed having a man in her life because she hadn’t known what she was missing. But now there was Alec, and everything was different, including her. Now the desire for Alec’s child rolled through her like an incoming tide. Inevitable. Not just any man’s child. Only Alec’s, because she loved him and wanted to give him the gift of immortality his child would bring...if he wanted it, too. And incredibly, it seemed, he did.

She touched Alec’s face with a hand that didn’t tremble. “Yes,” she told him, sure in a way she didn’t stop to question.

But Alec did. “Angel, are you sure? Your job—at some point you wouldn’t be able to continue doing it if you get pregnant. I know how much it means to you, and you’re already fighting prejudice here because you’re a woman. If you were pregnant, there’s no way they’d let you—”

She placed her fingers over his lips, stopping his words. “At some point, I could no longer be a bodyguard anyway,” she told him firmly. “As we age, our reflexes slow. Our minds may stay sharp, but that split-second difference in reaction time could be critical to the person we are guarding. I accepted that a long time ago. I am twenty-nine. I told myself I would be a bodyguard only as long as I could stay in peak physical condition. Only that long and no longer. Then I would do something else. Yes, I love my job. But ten years from now...who knows if I will even make it that long?”

She smiled at him. Not a tremulous smile. A smile that conveyed rock-solid assurance in what she was doing. “I have a law degree. Did I ever tell you that? I was a junior prosecutor, but not for long, because when the king ascended the throne, he threw open the gates to something I had long dreamed of but never thought to attain—service to my country in the Zakharian National Forces.

“Then I was tapped for the queen’s security detail. Dream followed dream, and my life was full. But I knew someday I would return to the law—that was always my long-term plan. I would still be serving my country as a prosecutor, and there would be great job satisfaction in bringing evildoers to justice.”