Royal Secrets (23 page)

“What’s going on between you and Stefano.” She held up a hand in anticipation. “And don’t tell me ‘nothing.’ Let’s skip to the part of this conversation where you tell me what’s really going on in your mind.”

Alora’s shoulders drooped, and she leaned back against Stefano’s desk. “Janessa, I don’t know what to do.” She fisted her hand and pressed it against her heart. “I feel something I’m not ready to feel. He makes me want to dream about a future I can never have.”

“Alora, you’re only thirty years old. You have considered that someday you would start dating again, maybe even remarry, right?”

“I guess. Maybe.” Her shoulders lifted. “But I never thought I would have feelings for someone so soon—and definitely not someone who isn’t LDS.” Alora caught herself, remembering that Janessa had chosen to marry outside of their religion. “I’m sorry. Please don’t think I’m judging you for your decisions.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Janessa insisted, not looking the least bit offended. “I know I’m making the right decision, and I already told you my prayers were answered about marrying Garrett.” She hesitated a moment. “How serious are things between you and Stefano? Maybe you need to get down on your knees and ask for some guidance.”

Alora paled. “Things aren’t serious. I hardly know him.”

Janessa gave her a look of disbelief. “You’ve been eating breakfast with the man every day for a month. You worked with him on renovating our offices for the better part of a week, not to mention the financial reports you’ve been analyzing together. You definitely know him. In fact, I think you know him better than I do.”

Alora shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. “It hurts, Janessa. I look at him and I see this incredible man who makes my heart beat faster just by walking into the room, a man who goes out of his way to be kind to my children, and then I think of Carlo and what I used to have.”

“Do you feel like you’re betraying Carlo by having feelings for Stefano?” Janessa asked gently. “I know Carlo would want you to be happy.”

“You’re right. He would want me to be happy, but he would also want me to raise our sons in the gospel. I don’t know if I can do that if I end up with someone who isn’t a Latter-day Saint. Besides, I miss having the priesthood in my home.” She shook her head and let out a short laugh. “Listen to me. I start having feelings for a man and all of a sudden I’m acting like he’s asked me to marry him.”

“We both know that dating can lead to marriage.” Janessa gave her a wry smile. “I’m living proof of that.”

“I guess so.” Alora sighed. “So let me ask you this: If you could go back to the place I’m in right now, would you have done anything differently?”

Janessa shook her head. “All I can tell you is I have been in your shoes before, and the only thing that helped me get through it was to pray about it. I suggest you do the same thing. The Lord will have the answers even if you don’t.”

The corner of Alora’s mouth lifted. “You know, Stefano told me to pray about him too. Isn’t that odd?”

“Maybe he already understands you better than you think.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

Chapter 29

“Can’t we ride longer?” Dante pleaded from on top of the bay gelding. “Please?”

“These horses need to be fed,” Paolo told him. “Besides, your mother is going to wonder where you are if we don’t get you cleaned up in time for supper.”

Stefano smiled as he approached the stables. He remembered having the same conversation so many times when he was a boy. “I thought I would find you two here.”

“Good evening, Your Highness.” Paolo bowed slightly. Then he grinned and motioned to Dante. “This one is just like you. He would stay on a horse all day if I let him.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, is there Dante?”

“No, sir.”

Stefano glanced over at Giancarlo, who had already dismounted and was obediently holding onto his horse’s reins. “Are you done riding for the day, Giancarlo?”

He nodded.

“Well, Dante, maybe you and I can take that walk we talked about on horseback.”

Dante’s eyes widened excitedly. “Really?”

“You wait there with Paolo and let me saddle my horse.” Stefano turned to face Giancarlo. “Can you help Paolo while we’re gone?”

Again he nodded. “I’m a good helper.”

A smile tugged at Stefano’s mouth. “I’m sure you are.” He turned to face Paolo and saw the older man grinning. “I’ll be right back.”

Stefano went inside the stables, bypassing his stallion’s stall, instead choosing a mare with a milder temperament. After he saddled the horse, he led her into the yard, where Dante was waiting anxiously. “Are you ready?”

Dante nodded.

Paolo stepped beside Giancarlo. “I’ll take Giancarlo to his mother when we’re finished here.”

“Thank you, Paolo. We should be back in a half hour.”

“Keep a good eye on the little one.”

“I will.”

* * *

Alora headed toward the kitchen, hoping to find her children eating their afternoon snack. She had been staring at bank codes all day, making lists of money transfers and following them through various accounts. She was nearly done gathering the information on the charges Stefano had seemed most concerned about. Tomorrow she would begin analyzing the data to try to make some sense of it.

She pushed open the door to the kitchen, smiling when she saw Patrice supervising Giancarlo at the kitchen table as he stirred something in a large bowl. Her smile faded when she looked around the room and didn’t see Dante anywhere. She crossed to Giancarlo and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey there, handsome. Where’s your brother?”

“He’s still riding.”

“Oh.” Alora wasn’t sure what to think of Dante staying with Paolo without Giancarlo. She tried to push aside a seed of discomfort and put a hand on her son’s shoulder. “Do you want to go on a walk with me?”

“No thanks.” Giancarlo looked up at his mother, his eyes bright with excitement. “We’re making cookies.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s a secret recipe.”

Alora caught Patrice’s amused grin, but she managed to keep her voice serious. “Oh, it is, is it?”

Giancarlo nodded and turned his attention back to the cookie dough.

“Go ahead and walk down to the stables,” Patrice offered. “We’re fine here.”

“Thanks.” Alora nodded.

She walked out of the kitchen and made her way to the terrace doors. The late afternoon sun was just beginning to dip in the sky, but the August heat had yet to dissipate. Automatically, she looked out to the water. Then she saw the two horses walking leisurely down the beach. Her heart squeezed in her chest when she realized the riders were Dante and Stefano.

The mother in her immediately worried. She had seen her boys ride in the riding ring near the stables under Paolo’s watchful eye, but this was the first time she had seen either of them outside the safety net of those split-rail fences.

She took several hurried steps in their direction before she caught herself. Stefano was riding right beside Dante, and even from this distance she could see her son talking animatedly to the prince, their horses calm and controlled.

They were a picture, man and boy riding across the sand. She wished she had a camera to capture the image and then immediately wondered if the event might be repeated.

She remembered what she had told Janessa, her concerns that developing a relationship with someone who wasn’t Mormon would have a negative impact on her children’s testimonies. Watching Stefano with Dante, she now wondered which would be more detrimental, growing up without a father figure in their lives or growing up with a father figure who didn’t hold the priesthood.

With a sigh, she was forced to admit that the more she thought about Stefano, the more confused she became. Perhaps Janessa was right. Maybe it was time she got down on her knees and prayed for guidance.

* * *

Stefano answered the knock at his door to find Janessa standing on the other side.

“Do you have a minute?” Janessa asked him.

“Sure, come on in.” Stefano stepped aside and motioned her into the large sitting room. “Would you like to sit down?”

“No thanks. I’m meeting Garrett downstairs in a few minutes.” She ran a hand over the small blue book she held. “I wanted to let you know Garrett talked to your father about letting the CIA do some digging into your uncle’s background. Since we’re talking about such a long period of time, it will probably take several weeks to get the complete report, but they’ll let us know if anything concerning pops up before then.”

“I’ll talk to my mother when I’m at the palace to see if she can give me the dates of the different renovations here. With the placement of the transmitters, they had to have been planted when construction was going on.”

“I agree,” Janessa said. “If you can get me those dates, I’ll send them over to CIA so they know when to concentrate their search.”

“I’ll ask my mother to forward the information to you.”

“Thanks.” She glanced over at his suitcases near the door. “Do you have any idea when you’ll be coming back?”

“A few days. A week.” He shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“Are you leaving because of work or to put some distance between you and Alora?”

Stefano’s back stiffened. “I appreciate you trying to help, but Alora and I will work through this on our own. She needs time to adjust to some changes in our relationship, and I have duties I need to tend to in Calene. I’ll call and check in on her in a few days if I get hung up at the palace.”

The realization that he and Alora had yet to exchange phone numbers struck him, and he slipped his hand into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone. “What is Alora’s number? I only have the number to your office.”

Janessa’s eyes met his, and slowly she shook her head. “She doesn’t have a cell phone.”

“What?” His own eyes narrowed. “Everyone has a cell phone.”

“Alora doesn’t.” She seemed to debate with herself over how much information to reveal but then remained silent.

“I see.” Stefano thought back to when he had asked for her phone number. She had sidestepped the question smoothly—smoothly enough that any doubts he had about her being former CIA melted away. “Well, in that case, would you mind giving Alora my number in case she needs to contact me?”

“Of course.” She took a step toward the door before turning to face him once more.

“Was there something else?”

“Actually, yes.” She seemed to muster her courage before continuing. “I know you’ve never completely understood Garrett’s reason for becoming a Latter-day Saint, but I thought you should have this.” She pushed the book she carried into his hands. He looked down to see the gold lettering that read simply Book of Mormon. “It might help you understand Alora a little better.”

Stefano started to hand it back, to insist that he didn’t have a need for it. Then a knock sounded at his door, and he dropped the book into his briefcase before he crossed to answer it.

His eyebrows lifted when he saw his physician standing in the hall. “Dr. Casale. This is an unexpected surprise.”

“Your Highness.”

He motioned to Janessa. “I believe you have met Janessa Rogers.”

Dr. Casale nodded. “It is good to see you again.”

“You too, Doctor.” Janessa shook his outstretched hand.

The doctor shifted his attention back to Stefano. “Your Highness, could I speak with you privately, please? It’s important.”

“Yes, of course.” For an instant, Stefano had the fleeting hope that the doctor was here to tell him his previous diagnosis had been a mistake. Then he noticed the serious expression on his face and worried that the doctor was once again about to be the bearer of bad news. He turned to Janessa and said, “Would you excuse us for a few minutes?”

“Of course.” She nodded. “In case I don’t see you before you leave, have a safe trip.”

“Thank you.” As soon as Janessa left, he closed the door and turned his attention to the doctor. “Please sit down, Doctor.”

“Thank you.” He took a seat and then looked around the room, apparently making sure they were really alone.

“Is something wrong?” Stefano prompted.

“Belinda Parnelli, the nurse who ran the blood work on you at the hospital, is missing.”

“What do you mean
missing
?”

“No one has seen her since she finished her shift at the hospital almost three weeks ago.”

“She’s been missing for almost a month? Why am I only hearing about this now?”

“I received a call from her brother a few weeks ago to let me know they had a death in the family and that she would be gone for a couple weeks. I was worried when she didn’t show up this week, so I stopped by her house this morning to see if everything was okay.” He took a steadying breath. “Her family said that they had received a phone call too, but the man who called them said he was from my office and that she was coming with me for a few weeks to take care of you here in Bellamo.”

A vague image of the young woman with the quiet bedside manner formed in Stefano’s mind. Confusion and concern mingled together. “Do you think she was kidnapped?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“I don’t understand. Who would possibly go to such trouble to kidnap a nurse? And why?”

“The police have been talking to everyone she knows. They have all confirmed what I already know. She has always been incredibly responsible and honest. She goes to chapel every Sunday.” He hesitated a moment as though trying to control his emotions. His voice wasn’t quite steady when he added, “If she had wanted to go away somewhere, she would have informed her family and me before she left.”

“Do you have any idea what anyone would want with her? An old boyfriend maybe?”

Dr. Casale shook his head. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but the only thing that makes her any different from the other nurses at the hospital is that she knows the results of your medical tests.”

“I see.” Stefano let the reality of the situation sink in. A young woman’s safety could be in jeopardy because she knew he had Merid’s syndrome. His concern for her welfare overshadowed the dread seeping through him. “Did you explain to the police why you think she was kidnapped?”