His Forbidden Princess (4 page)

“He did? It must be serious, then”

Ian nodded. “Very.” He approached and sat on the sofa next to her. The closeness of his body brought back all the memories.

“Anna?” she whispered.

“She’s unconscious, has a very bad concussion. It was a miracle there weren’t more

injuries.”

“I need to go home to be with her.” Sofie rose and moved frantically for her bedroom, before Ian grabbed her hand and stopped her.

“I’m sorry.” She looked startled. Scared. He dropped her hand. “That can’t happen right now. We’re going to be moving you to a secure location.”

When she started to object, Ian laid a finger over her lips silencing her. Was he serious?

She had every right to question him. He was about to say something, but hesitated right before he reached out and gently dropped his hand on her shoulder. Too stunned to stop him, not that she’d be able to, Ian guided her into the main bath and turned on the shower. Under any other circumstances this would have been a very appealing situation, now she was just confused. And hurting. God, her heart ached for her sister.

“What are you doing?” she asked while wiping her eyes. Everyone around her was going crazy. “I want to go home.”

“Sofie, listen.”

“Why are we in here? This is absurd.”

“No one can know what we’re discussing. It’s possible your suite is bugged. We’ll have it swept.”

“Bugged? Like a listening device? That’s impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible. We have reason to believe there’s someone in the United States who is planning an attack.”

“On me?”

“Yes. At this point, based on what happened to your family, we are operating as though your life is at risk. We believe that the individual wanted to carry out the attack today and that he is getting information from the inside.”

“Inside?”

“In the palace, somewhere. Perhaps even here. It could be one of your people.”

Sitting on the commode, Sofie never felt less like a princess. She was hiding in a bathroom, with her ex, figuring out who was trying to kill her. Panicking would serve no purpose, so Sofie fought back the urge lose it, and pulled herself together. “What do I have to do?”

“I have permission from the palace to take you out of here.”

“Right, to some safe house.”

“Not exactly. We’re going to make it seem like that’s where you’re going, but I’m

actually going to take you someplace else.”

“I don’t think you and I should be going anywhere together.”

They should absolutely not be together, because she was already feeling twinges and ticks in her heart.

“I’m sorry you feel that way, because I’m on the detail. I was asked by your father to take the lead.”

“He asked for
you
?”

“Yes. So this is what we’re going to do…”

“My father asked you to protect me? You specifically.”

“Yes.” Ian’s reply was terse. Special Agent Stuart obviously wasn’t used to being

questioned. “I’m known to your family. They trust me, and there are precious few people you can trust right now.” He paused, examining her eyes, waiting for another argument. “So, are you ready to hear the plan?”

Having been put in her place, Sofie nodded.

“Good. We’re going to hide you in plain sight. You and I are going to my family’s

cottage on Shelter Island. That will give all the different agencies a chance to coordinate and find out who’s responsible for the crash in Aubonne.”

“Shelter Island? That’s a place?”

“It’s east. Situated between the north and south forks of Long Island, and it can only be reached by ferry. You’ll be safe there.”

“With you.”

“Yes, with me.”

“Shouldn’t we be going to some isolated mountain safe house? With gun turrets and

barricades and secret passages?”

He grinned at her--a soul-stealing, heart-stopping grin that was all for her. “As interesting as that sounds, no. Your seclusion will be much more mundane. You’ll blend in. You won’t have to worry about your safety.”

Sofie prided herself on her self-control—she’d been reining herself in all day. Naturally emotional, more so than the rest of her family, for her to keep her emotions in check was a considerable accomplishment. However, today tested her. She tried everything. Going through a list of rhyming words. Counting backwards by sevens. None of it worked. Ian being there hadn’t helped. She felt her lips tremble. Her eyes started to burn and the first big tear, rolled down her cheek. Then another, and another. Burying her face in her hands, she let the tears go.

Tears for herself, but more than that, tears for her family. For her sister. ”Why is this happening?

Why are these people after us? We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I don’t have an answer,” Ian replied “I wish I did.”

“I wish I knew something. Anything. I feel so lost.”

“We’ll find out about your family as soon as possible. We’re keeping things on a need-to-know basis until we have you in a safe place.”

Sofie nodded, rubbing her forearm across her eyes. Ian reached around her, his big body coming way too close. He grabbed the box of tissue behind her and she clutched a handful when he offered it to her. “We’re going to tell everyone I’m taking you to a safe house. We’ll send several black SUV’s out at the same time from the VIP entrance, and a later on, you and I will take off for points east in my car. We’re going to pretend to be a couple. Change your hairstyle, your makeup.”

“What should I bring?” She sniffed and mopped at her eyes.

“Keep it casual. Low key. No gowns or tiaras.”

Bastard
, she thought. He was so damn sure about her. “Thank goodness,” she said curtly.

“I left my tiara at home, along with my scepter and royal robes. It would have been a disaster if the ferry boat required such finery.”

“Good to know you still have a sense of humor in there.” He smirked and she was

grateful, in some way, that she still felt easy with him. “If you want, we can hit some stores before we get on the ferry. There’s an outlet mall out there.”

“Outlet mall?”

He smiled, and Sofie’s heart pattered restlessly in her chest. Even in her state, she still responded to him. And she hated it.

“Outlets are where the regular people shop.”

“You’re having far too much fun at my expense. That was not nice.”

“I’m sorry.” He might have been sorry, but he was still smiling. Sofie was going have to keep reminding herself how much he'd hurt her eight years ago, how he made her believe anything was possible, and then told her what he thought of her the first time they hit a bump in the road.

“I guess I’ll go pack.”

He turned off the water and opened the bathroom door. “No one can know. No one.”

She nodded. “Can I talk to my parents?”

“As soon as we have a secure line.”

Wonderful. More waiting. The waiting would be the death of her.

“How is my father?” she asked.

“He’s well. Glad you’re safe, but he acknowledges the threat is very real.”

She nodded, and Ian dropped his strong hand on her shoulder. She took in his long

fingers, the callouses, the dark hair on his arms. He was a strong man and Sofie still had feelings for him. In that moment, she didn’t know how this was protective custody thing was going to work.

Ian watched Sofie out of the corner of his eye; she was curled into the passenger seat of his Grand Cherokee and staring out the window at the changing scenery. They’d be at the Greenport Ferry in about ten minutes and would then make the eight minute ride to Shelter Island.

Her entourage was gone. Sent back to Europe where they would await word from other

members of the royal staff. Based on the most recent report Ian had received, the palace was deserted—everyone had scattered.

He hadn’t yet informed Sofie of the latest information. He hoped he didn’t have to tell her, there was a chance she’d never go home.

They’d stopped at the outlets as promised and Sofie picked up a few things—shorts,

some jeans and casual pants—usually having designer clothes brought to her and custom fitted, or being escorted through luxury stores, shopping with the masses was something she hadn’t done very often.

Before they left, a messenger arrived at the suite with two credit cards, something Sofie never carried anymore, and it was easy to see she loved the independence. She always had.

“There are so many vineyards,” she said. “I had no idea.”

“Lots of wineries and farm stands. The North Fork is all about growing things. Let’s get settled in at the house and maybe we can come here in a few days. We’ll taste some wine, buy some pies.”

“You think we’ll be here that long?”

“It could be a week,” he acknowledged. “Possibly longer. Not sure.”

Taking a deep breath, she smiled shyly with acceptance. “Then we’ll definitely need pie.

Probably more than one.”

Her voice was sweet and musical. He’d always loved listening to Sofie talk. Her speech was tinged with the slightest Italian accent, and when she was excited or upset, she’d throw in bits of French or German. Ian’s heart stopped right in his chest.
Shit
. He was supposed to be over her. When they’d been alone in her suite, when she’d cried because she wanted to be with her sister, when the fear seemed to get the better of her, Ian just wanted to hold her. It was a miracle he’d been able to hold back, because where Sofie was concerned, his heart ruled him just like always.

Based on photos he’d seen recently, she always wore her hair up and her makeup was

expertly applied. He guessed it was to make her look older, more sophisticated. More like a future queen. Now though, her hair was down, the long dark curls spilling over her shoulders, and she wore only a touch of makeup. She looked as pretty and natural as when she was twenty-one. The girl he fell in love with.

The girl he was still in love with.

Every day since she’d walked out of his flat, Ian wondered if he’d done the right thing.

Knowing the responsibility on her shoulders right now, it was obvious he wasn’t the man for her.

Being cruel to her, hurtful, the day they broke up, made it easy for her to leave. And even now, Ian believed Sofie needed someone who could support her, love her, and fit into her very complicated life.

He wasn’t that man, but he’d protect Sofia until he drew his last breath. Nothing would happen to her as long as he was with her.

“You must hate that you’ve been saddled with me. I can’t imagine this is going to be very exciting.”

She still caught his vibe, knowing when there was something bothering him, but this time she was reading him wrong. “I actually do a lot of analysis. Not very exciting.”

“You aren’t chasing bad guys on a daily basis?”

“Not every day, no. I head up teams when there’s an especially high risk of violence.”

“I see. So everyone knew this visit was a bad idea, but me.”

She didn’t know? Not a chance.

“I doubt that. You’ve got your finger on the pulse of this threat. You came to New York to prove something.”

“Don’t be absurd. I don’t have anything to prove.”

Stopped at a traffic light, Ian looked over. “You forget it’s me you’re talking to, Princess.”

She went quiet. Glancing over, he saw her watching the houses of Front Street pass one after another. “After we lost Philippe, there were many opinions regarding what we should do.

Some said we should go into hiding. There was talk of exile. Parliament had some very long discussions with my mother. She’s officially Head of State, but wields a lot of power. She’s dug in her heels. It makes my father a bit mad, as he’s just concerned for everyone’s safety.”

She was rambling as she sometimes did. It was her way of thinking things through. Ian was happy to see that so much about her hadn’t changed and as beautiful as she was, Sofie’s brains were still her most attractive feature.

“So you were in New York as a show of strength. Standing with your mother.”

“If I’m going to be queen someday I can’t very well hide, can I?”

“No,” he said, throwing the car into park. They’d reached the ferry dock, but he wanted to talk to her before they made the crossing. “But you don’t have to paint a target on your back either.”

“Those bloody bastards killed my brother. I’m not giving up my home for them.”

There was the girl he knew—full of spit and fire, and not willing to take anyone’s shit.

“Look, I get this. I understand you, and how much you love Aubonne, so I know where your defiance is coming from. But we’re laying low while we’re here. Once we get on the island, you are Sofie Luzano, my girlfriend. I know people here, and they’ll be curious, but there’s lots of space. It’s a very friendly place. But less is more. Be “shy,” don’t give a lot away.”

“I have to be your girlfriend?” She glanced out the window, containing her emotions once again. He couldn’t even imagine how she felt.

“That’s the plan.”

“You know, you didn’t have to take me on. I could have flown home,” she said once he got back in the car.

Did he tell her? Not everything. “No you couldn’t. Once your sister is able to travel, your family is going into hiding. The attempt was made with a great deal of precision and we simply don’t know how many people the terrorists have who are feeding them information.”

She leaned her back into her headrest, closed her eyes. “They’re winning. The terrorists.”

“Not yet. Everyone is fine. Your sister is conscious. But they’re getting out of town. This is one of those times when getting all of you out of sight could force their hand. They’re going to be looking for you and we hope that trips up their organization.”

“I have no idea what to think about all of this.”

“Your father wanted me to get you off the grid. That’s what I’m going to do.”

“
Mio Dio
. He wanted you, truly?”

“I was surprised too. His request went through at a very high level. I’m not even sure how high.”

“Rest assured, I’ll be cooperative, especially if it keeps my family safe.”