The Last in Line (The Royal Inheritance Series Book 1) (29 page)

“I’m calling this in,” said Harry. He put his finger to his earpiece, but before he could call for backup, a vase crashed down over the back of his head and Harry slumped down beside John. Renee put down the vase that had stood on the hallway table and hoped she hadn’t done too much damage to Harry’s cranium. Her chest heaved from the effort, but no one could know. She was willing to do anything to get her daughter back safely.

The door to the suite opened at the touch of her fingers. At first she didn’t see anything out of place and then her eyes took in the shattered lamp and the overturned chair.

“Cassandra?” she whispered.

She heard a muffled voice and ran to the sofa. “Mama!” she cried. Leanne was tied up on the floor with a cloth napkin stuffed in her mouth. Renee pulled out the napkin. “Where’s Cassandra?” asked Renee, while untying Leanne’s hands.

“I don’t know,” sobbed Leanne. “One minute we’re watching the show, the next minute something hits me in the back of the head. Then I wake up and my hands are tied and that rag damn near is suffocating me.”

“It’s Bretton, Mama. He’s got Cassandra.” She helped Leanne to her feet.

“Oh, dear Lord. Do the police know?”

“Yes, the police know,” lied Renee. “Why don’t you splash some water on your face because they’re going to need to take your statement.”

She led Leanne to the marble bathroom, who was still rubbing her wrists and put her hand to her hair in rollers at the mention of the word statement. Renee knew she wanted to look good for the police officers. Renee handed her one of the mini bottles of liquor from the fridge. “Here, have this.”

“Good idea. I need it.” Leanne went into the bathroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Take your time,” said Renee, her voice steadier than she felt. She closed the bathroom door and then quietly turned the big, iron key, dropping it in a flower pot on the other side of the room on her way out. “Sorry Mama,” whispered Renee. “But nobody can know.”

She went back to where John and Harry were inert on the hallway floor; Harry was breathing shallowly, unconscious. She pulled back Harry’s coat looking for his gun. With a groan she remembered that it was in Audrey’s glove compartment. Perhaps her brilliant idea of going out hadn’t been so brilliant after all. She took a deep breath and turned to John, trying not to look at the blood congealing on his face as she felt his pockets and his sides for his gun. Nothing! The other guard was similarly unarmed. Bretton must have taken them. She couldn’t face Bretton with nothing, but she couldn’t ask for help either. In a moment of inspiration, she ran back into the suite and to her room. Her closet was full of gowns and clothes. She began flinging everything out to find what she was looking for. Finally she found the suitcase containing the clothes and mementos of her old life. She kicked aside the sweaters and jeans and tee-shirts. She heaved entire armfuls onto the floor until she got to the cigar box at the bottom. The box her father had left her. She opened it and carefully removed the papers and photographs on top. At the bottom of the box lay the ancient pistol that had travelled over the Atlantic Ocean with George Shireman and had been passed from father to son, all the way down to her. She opened the chamber.
Jesus
. There was only one bullet. It didn’t even look like a bullet. It looked like a gray malt ball. Would it even fire? More than likely, it would backfire, it was so old, but it was all she had. It wasn’t like she could just walk into a shop in Britain and buy a firearm, which were outlawed. She gripped the pistol in her hand. This one had been grandfathered in.

She tucked the gun into her pants, praying it wouldn’t blow off her backside and then dashed back to the hallway to deal with Harry. Harry was huge.
Just like wrestling a steer
, she said to herself, and gripped him under the arms and dragged him slowly into the suite. She wrangled him into the hall closet and locked the door securely. She dropped this key down the garbage disposal in the kitchenette. To be safe, she also took his phone, ear piece and walkie talkie. The first item she put in her pocket, the others she left on a table. She walked back out into the hallway and closed the door to the suite.

She looked at John for a moment and blinked back tears. The memory of him showing her photos of his children pierced her like an arrow. She couldn’t move him and had to trust that no one would disturb him until the morning shift change. Let his children have a few more hours of sleep, restful in the belief that their father would return to them in the morning to open Christmas presents with them.

She sniffed back a sob and then walled off her feelings. Nothing could get in the way of reaching Cassandra, which was now her only concern.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

SHE’D HAD TO stake her claim early, but she was lucky—few people wanted to be near the garage doors. It wasn’t exactly a picturesque view and there would be no time to get a good look at the heiress as the car exited and then made a quick turn. Most people preferred to position themselves on the longer stretches of road so they could get a long view of the heiress approaching and then passing, and then cheer as the car drove away. But Tina didn’t need a lingering view.

All she needed was an instant.

She had come prepared with a lawn chair, an umbrella to shield her from the gently falling snowflakes, a backpack full of water and food, and a thermos of hot coffee. She would wait here all night. She was warm. She tried not to think about the weight in her pocket, but couldn’t help noticing it every time she shifted.

The course of events which had led her here seemed unreal. It was bizarre to be on the outside of it all, to sit on the sidewalk with a Union Jack blanket across her lap. She listened to the excited chatter and watched the anticipation on the faces of the people drifting past her. The excitement emanating from the people only added to her sense of heightened emotions. Her knee bounced up and down in a rapid tattoo; too much adrenaline coursed through her wasting energy, which was foolish because she would have to remain awake all night and be completely alert and focused in the morning. When it was time.

She had just stood up a moment to stretch her legs when the garage door slid upwards and a yellow Mini drove out. The flame-haired woman behind the wheel paused to allow pedestrians pass in front and wave at the guards on duty who were stationed at the doors.

So she’s on a familiar basis with the guards
, thought Tina, which caused her to pay close attention to the vehicle and the occupants inside. An unexpected jolt of recognition nearly knocked her off her feet. Roberts! A rush of emotion surged through her. She stepped back to allow passers-by to shield her from view as Roberts had looked in her direction, but not before she caught a glimpse of blonde hair next to Roberts.

The Heiress.

She must be crouching in the car.

Tina didn’t know what to do. The mini pulled out and turned. Tina hesitated and wondered if she should try to follow it, but realized she would be quickly left behind once the car left the secure area. She paced in a tight square around her lawn chair. This could ruin everything! What if the Heiress had changed her plans and would spend the night at the Palace instead? Should she relocate, knowing that the entire area around the Palace would be packed to the gills preventing her from finding a good spot? She would not find a location as good as this one if she were to leave now.

She pulled out her phone.
He
would know what to do, whether to continue with the mission or abandon it for a better opportunity. Yes, that was the right thing to do. She eagerly pressed the Contacts button, but with a sinking feeling she lowered the phone. He had her number, but she didn’t have his new one. They discarded mobiles often to avoid detection and he had intentionally not programmed his current number onto the phone she held in her hand. If something were to go wrong, there couldn’t be any trace of their link. It was up to Tina.

She tried to slow her breathing and think through the situation logically. If the Heiress had relocated then there was nothing she could do, but if she returned to the Hotel, then the plan was still in play.

Tina felt easier now.

She sat down. She would wait.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

RENEE TOOK THE STAIRS, went down one flight and poked her head out of the door. All clear. Half way down the hallway a cleaning cart was parked neatly by a closet. Renee padded silently to it and had half a mind to check the closet for a maid’s uniform and try to walk out of the servant’s entrance, but a door began to open in the hall. Quick as she could, she climbed into the cart and covered herself with the dirty sheets and damp towels. She tried not to breathe and didn’t make a sound when a large armful of dirty laundry was dropped on top of her. This was repeated two more times as the maid stripped two more vacant rooms. Renee prayed there wasn’t much more to do because it was becoming harder to breathe and remain still, and with every passing moment she was growing more frantic. Finally, Renee felt herself being pushed and the ding of the elevator told her the cart was full. Renee didn’t know what she would do if the maid started emptying the cart into a washing machine; what a shock she would have to find the heiress at the bottom of it.
Please take me to the garage
, thought Renee and repeated it over and over again. She felt the floating sensation in her stomach so she knew the elevator was descending. The maid bumped the cart roughly over the threshhold and down a ramp. The cart came to a halt. Through the layers of laundry, Renee could barely hear what was happening.

“They’ve got you working on Christmas Eve, eh?” said a male voice. Renee recognized it as belonging to the guard stationed at the door to the garage that she had passed earlier.

“Oh yes. The laundry never ends. But it’s kind of exciting to be here tonight, although I wish I could be here tomorrow instead. The whole staff will be lined up in the lobby to bow and curtsy as she goes by. I just wish I could see her dress!”

“Maybe you can wash it for her.”

“Oh, you!” said the maid, but she didn’t sound angry.

The guard and the maid continued to flirt for a couple of minutes.
Just give him your number already!
Renee thought angrily.

“Let me help you with that,” said the guard.

Finally!

Renee felt herself being pushed up a ramp into a truck.

“That’s the last one,” said the maid.

The truck door slammed closed. A minute later the truck rumbled to life. Renee mentally followed the turns of the truck and knew that when it paused, it was checking in with the guard at the garage exit. Renee held her breath and the truck began moving again. She was out!

Renee tentatively swam to the surface of the cart, silently pushing aside the musty linens and towels that threatened to gag her. She poked her head up and saw that she was at the very back of a dark truck. Christmas music played on the radio up front and the driver was whistling along with it. Renee had to act fast. She climbed out of the cart and crouched behind it while feeling with her hand up the door looking for a latch. It was hard to keep her balance while being knocked into by the cart. She found the latch and when the truck paused at the traffic light, she prayed, pulled it, pushed it open just enough for her to squeeze through, and jumped out.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

TINA HAD WAITED anxiously, forcing down cups of the stale coffee in her thermos. When she saw the yellow Mini return with a full car and then leave a few minutes later with only the flame-haired woman and Roberts, she breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was going to be fine. The plan was still in play.

The hastily swallowed coffee began to make demands of her. She asked a lady who had set up a chair nearby to keep an eye on her things so she could find a loo. The lady nodded and Tina set off down the street to use the facilities in the corner pub. She emerged back onto the street again ten minutes later, determined to never set foot in a pub loo ever again. She would be a good citizen to notify health and safety about the conditions inside. Shocking!

She stuffed her hands into the deep pockets of her parka and stopped to let the snowflakes gather on her lashes. She breathed deeply the crisp air. It was little things like this that she enjoyed and if it wasn’t for the mission she was to carry out tomorrow, she would have said that being out at night among the cheerful masses was quite fun. She idly watched the garage door to the hotel slide up again and another service truck exit. It stopped at the street light near where she stood.

She marveled at the amount of people it took to keep things clean and humming. Just a single hotel, for instance, required doormen, valets, cooks, concierges, maids, and service drivers. All of these people worked feverishly to keep a relatively few people in comfort. She shook her head. It was madness.

Her stomach growled and she thought she might nibble on the sandwiches she had brought along.

At first she thought she was imagining that the back door to the service truck had opened, but when a woman quickly jumped out, shut it behind her, and ran to the sidewalk, scooping up a discarded glitter hat from the ground and sticking it on her head, Tina knew this was the real thing.

All thoughts of sandwiches and waiting were discarded. Tina crossed the street and followed the woman.