Russian Enforcer's Royal Engagement (Russian Enforcers Book 7) (8 page)

The sound of her brothers laughing and frolicking in the surf on their boards was nothing but a distant memory, the warning call of her mother still ringing in her ears: “Don’t swim too far, Diana, honey.”

Well, that’s exactly what she’d done. She’d swum out too far and now there was no way she could ever get back.

The water was so deep here, so cold, her breaststroke but a feeble attempt to propel her body through these dangerous currents sweeping her out to sea.

She tried to call out, to shout, but a gulp of salty water prevented her from using her voice. She coughed, quelling a rising sense of panic.

The surface was closing over her head, tons of water pushing her down into the darkness, deeper and deeper…until a glimmer of hope surged in her chest.

A voice called out—a hand caught hers and pulled her back up.

 
Who was calling her name? All she knew was that her heart trilled at the sound of his voice.

“Diana! Diana, wake up!”

She groaned and shook her head, straining to resurface.

Her mother…Anna…where was she? Why had she ever allowed her to be swept away?

“Diana? Come back!”

She tried to open her eyes but they were heavy. Finally, with supreme effort, she managed…and gazed into eyes the color of amber. She sighed in relief when strong arms held her and pressed her close.

“Jack,” she whispered. “Oh, Jack.”

“Diana, thank God,” he murmured, his voice betraying his emotion.

Then she noticed she wasn’t out at sea but safe on the hard floor of the palace basement. She must have collapsed, and now found herself being rocked in Jack’s arms, reveling in the feel of safety that washed over her at his touch.

“You gave us quite a scare, young lady,” a familiar voice sounded next to her.

When she found herself gazing into Rob’s trusty greens, she smiled. “Rob.”

He grinned down at her. “We thought you were a goner.”

“They must have drugged her,” muttered a third man, whom she recognized as Yulian. Vaguely she remembered something about him, though at the moment she couldn’t recall what it was. There was something about this man…something very important…but what?

Then she remembered, and her eyes widened. “Yulian…you’re my brother!”

He nodded. “That’s right, Anastasiya.”

She winced at the name. “I think I prefer Diana.”

“Me too,” Rob chimed in.

“What happened?” she groaned, only now becoming aware of nausea sweeping through her.

“They put a gun to your head, spraying you with some noxious gas. It knocked you out cold.” Jack shook his head. “Thank God it wasn’t a bullet.”

“Seems kinda weird that a terrorist would use gas,” muttered Rob.

Diana gingerly rose and checked around. They were in a cavernous underground space, more a bunker than a ballroom. Then she remembered. She was in the command room. She stared at a man sitting on the floor nearby. He was holding his head in his hands. She vaguely remembered having seen him.

Jack followed her gaze. “Armand. Our security man. They knocked him out with the same concoction they used on you. He’s just now coming to.”

“Where are the terrorists?” she asked.

He grimaced. “They left the moment they got their hands on the money.”

She remembered she’d granted them access to her bank account. “So they got what they came here for.”

Jack pulled her close. “God, I thought you were dead,” he grunted.

The warmth of his embrace did much to dispel the nausea and confusion. She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again as a sudden fear assaulted her. She jerked back, staring at him imploringly. “The others…are they all right?”

“They’re all fine,” he rumbled. “They haven’t harmed a single person.”

This was all so weird, she decided. Terrorists invading a castle, then harming no one and managing to get away scot-free.

“The most important thing is that you’re safe, Diana,” he stressed, clasping her in his arms. Automatically she raised her lips to his and reveled in the heat of his kiss, drowning out all the horrors and fears of the past few hours. Whatever had happened, it had brought her at least this one gift: Jack.

CHAPTER 17

Jack could have kicked himself for letting any harm come to Diana. He’d sworn to protect her and instead he’d allowed that asshole to put a gun to her head and pull the trigger. He’d lunged at the man in a last ditch attempt to knock the gun from his hand, but the sickening sound of a click had told him he was too late.

He’d plowed into the terrorist head first and had managed to take him down, but when he looked back, desperate, he’d seen Diana prostrate on the floor and the sight had knocked him for a loop. He’d immediately moved to her and cradled her in his lap. It had taken him a few moments to realize what was wrong with the picture: no blood. No head wound. Nothing. Only the vague scent of some gaseous substance released in the air.

Behind him the terrorist had scrambled to his feet, but he hadn’t paid attention, all his focus on the woman cradled in his lap.

Vaguely he sensed the man standing over him, looking down. If at that moment the madman had wanted to take him out he would have had a clean shot.
 

But then retreating footsteps had sounded and then suddenly silence reigned.

Now that Diana was safe, his mind was finally free to focus on catching the bastards who did this to her.

Not letting Diana out of his sight, he moved over to Armand, who sat staring before him, dazed and confused. When he caught sight of Jack, he smiled feebly.

“Jack! What happened?”

“My question exactly,” Jack grunted in reply, checking the man for any signs of physical duress. He found none. “You’ve been knocked out with some type of gas,” he told the old security veteran. “What is the last thing you remember?”

Armand frowned, trying to collect his faculties, then shook his gray head. “I—there was some commotion at the elevator. When I went over to see what was going on…” His eyes widened in shock and he looked up sharply. “We’re under attack!” he urged. “Some men in black…they barged in here…” He frowned, confusion clouding his mind. “But how? How did they get past the security lock?”

“They had a key,” Jack told him.

“But that’s impossible,” exclaimed Armand. “Those keys can’t be duplicated.” Tremulously, he asked, “What happened? The king…” He brought a distressed hand to his face. “Oh, my God, the wedding! Mike and Emily…”

“They’re all fine,” Jack assured him. “They were all held at gunpoint in the main banquet hall until the terrorists could get at their real target.”

“The king?”

“Not the king.” He gestured to Diana, who’d risen to her feet and stood swaying now, surveying the scene. In a few words, he briefed the security man on what had taken place. The man expelled a shaky breath. “God, I should have—”

Jack cut him off immediately. “There’s nothing you could have done. These people were well-armed, well-prepared and well-trained.”

He told Armand how he’d called in the police but they never showed up.

“Which reminds me,” he grunted, and walked over to one of the consoles, picked up the horn and put in the call once again. Two minutes later he had his answer: his distress signal had never reached police headquarters. They could have waited forever for the GIGN to show up. Now, at least, things had been set in motion, though he held little hope that they’d catch these bastards quickly. They had probably thought of all possible contingencies when devising their plan of campaign.

Diana stood beside him while Rob and Yulian checked on the others, who’d been bound and gagged. “It’s so weird,” she told him, holding a hand to her aching head. “I’ve just discovered I’m a very wealthy woman, the heir to a giant fortune, only to have it stolen away from me in the same moment.”

“We’ll get the money back,” he assured her.

“No, that’s not what I mean,” she returned softly. “It’s just…” She darted a glance over to Yulian. “It’s such a pity for Yulian, to have all his money stolen.”

He eyed her incredulously. Only a woman as soft-hearted as Diana would worry that a multi-billionaire like Yulian Gornakov would be out of a few million dollars. “I’m sure he’ll survive,” he announced dryly.

She bit her lip. “God, I sure hope so.”

He held her close, and pressed a kiss on her lips. He didn’t care one bit about Yulian’s millions. The only thing that mattered was that she was safe. He deeply regretted not having been able to stop the bastard from taking that shot.

At that moment he swore that he wouldn’t rest until the man who’d harmed her would pay for his crime.

Just then the door to the elevator swung open and his father and brother stepped out, followed by Mike and Emily.

Emily eyed her sister-in-law solicitously. “What happened? What did they do?”

“I’m fine,” Diana assured her. “Just got the wind knocked out of me, that’s all.”

“Any sign of the bastards?” Jack asked Mike.

Mike shook his head. “Not a trace. It’s as if they simply vanished into thin air.”

“We’ll have to check the cameras,” he told the security man. They both turned to look at Armand, who was already busy checking the equipment for any sign of a break-in. Whoever had managed to hack into the castle’s security system must have left some trace.

“These guys are good,” Mike opined. “I doubt whether we’ll discover much.”

That’s exactly what Jack thought. The operation had gone off without a hitch, except for the part where Jack had spirited Diana away to the safe room. They hadn’t foreseen that little contingency, but had dealt with it nonetheless. It had bought him and Diana some time, but in the end the assholes had gotten what they wanted after all.

“So I hear congratulations are in order?” Emily said, squeezing Diana’s hand and staring up at him with sparkling eyes.

He stared at her blankly.

“The engagement?” she pressed.

Ah, that… He frowned, remembering the ruse he’d used to be able to stay by Diana’s side. He now noticed she was eyeing him intently.

“That—that was just a ruse, wasn’t it, Jack?” she asked hesitantly.

He nodded, trying to read her face. It had been a ploy, though now he suddenly felt oddly disappointed that it wasn’t true. He found to his surprise that he considered her his woman. He wanted her—in his bed
and
in his life.

Crazy? Maybe so, but then why did it feel so…right?

He held out his hand, and she gave him a weak smile. God, he wanted her. Wanted her so badly he could taste it—could taste her—could feel her, wrapped tightly around his dick, screaming out her ecstasy as he plunged into her.

And in that moment he decided she would be his.

CHAPTER 18

Diana walked along the beach. Even here on the French Riviera the nights could get chilly in November, and she was glad she’d brought her woolen sweater. The day had passed uneventfully. Police had finally arrived on the scene and the castle had turned into a confused maelstrom of people running around. Jack had busied himself with the proceedings, setting up a task force with Armand and Mike and Emily, trying to ascertain where the hostage-takers had fled to and cobble together what exactly had gone down.

Her heart bled for Mike and Emily, whose beautiful wedding had so brutally been interrupted. What was supposed to be the best day of their lives had turned into a veritable nightmare. She felt for her mom and dad too. Though she’d assured them they’d always be her parents and she thought nothing less of them after the shocking revelations, she’d still seen the hurt in their eyes, and nothing she said seemed to diminish the pain.

She told them she understood perfectly well why they’d kept the secret to themselves all these years. The promise to a mother. The fear of losing a daughter. They all made perfect sense to her, and she decided that whatever happened, she would always be their little girl. Nothing had changed in her mind. Her brothers had also promised she would always be their sister.

She hadn’t lost a family, she had gained one. She now stood firmly rooted in both families, and was effectively the physical bond that tied the Petrovs and the Gornakovs.

She didn’t care about all of that. All she cared about was catching the people who’d turned all of their lives upside down and then had run off with a fortune.

No matter how much Yulian insisted the millions they’d stolen were peanuts—and probably to him they were—she still felt responsible. It had been her iris scan that had opened that account. Her actions had made it possible for them to steal all that money. She’d offered her help, and demanded to be kept informed of the investigation, but so far there was no sign of the attackers.

She sighed as she stared out across the Mediterranean, waves gently lapping at her feet. The setting sun set the sky ablaze and lit up the rippling surface.

Paradise on earth.

Her mind finally drifted back to the one thing that had been occupying it all this time. Not the terrorists, nor the money, Yulian or her family.

Only one thing kept playing through her mind over and over.

His Royal Highness.

Prince Jacques.

Jack.

Twice they’d made love—twice she’d been his, and all she could think about now was that she wished to be in his arms again, wished to be in his bed again, wished for him to be inside her again. Though they’d been voluntary prisoners, the hour they’d spent in there had changed her life. Never before had a man so entranced her—captured her heart, body and soul with such sweeping finality.

She cherished the memory, for she doubted whether it would be possible to repeat what had happened in there. It had been madness, of course. Two strangers unexpectedly thrown together. Psychologists would probably have a logical explanation. Stress, perhaps. The pressure cooker environment of the safe room. The knowledge of the terrorists nearby…

All she knew was that Jack was in her system now, and that she would never be able to get him out again. Nor did she want to. Quite the opposite: she wanted him to take her, over and over again. But she also knew that he never would. They were worlds apart. He was a prince. She was a girl from Brooklyn, scion of a family of Mafia enforcers. And even though it had just been revealed she was related to the famous Gornakovs, that made things even worse.