Royal Wedding Threat (11 page)

Ava turned to the bulletproof-glass panel. Ah, yes, the dispatcher would have to deactivate the lock on the door to let her through. When she’d come through before with Jason, the man must have recognized his captain and let him pass without a word.

“I need to give these to Captain Selini.” Ava
waved the envelope at the man behind the glass, adding, “He asked for them.”

“The captain is in an important meeting right now. I can pass along the envelope to him.”

Of course, Ava realized, feeling foolish for assuming she’d be able to monopolize Jason’s time. He’d already shoved aside his regular duties to attend to her. She carried the pictures to the window, where a narrow opening
at the base provided just enough room for her to slip the envelope through. “Could you ask him to please call me when he gets these? My name is—”

“I know who you are, Ms. Wright.” The man behind the tinted glass smiled at her, and Ava realized she’d seen him on various occasions when she visited the royal-guard headquarters, usually to grill the captain on the security details for the weddings
and other events she’d planned.

But she didn’t know his name, so she simply thanked him and headed back out the front door and across the lawn to the palace for her meeting with the florists, surprised by the disappointment she felt at not being able to see Jason again.

It was silly, of course. She didn’t need to see him.

Still, her heart fluttered when her phone rang later, and
she saw he was calling her. Her meeting with the florists had just ended, and she was on her way back across the palace lawn toward the palace-wall apartments. She answered the call quickly.

“Do you have a moment this afternoon when you could come by headquarters?”

“I’m free right now.” Ava turned around on the sidewalk and headed for the branch that would lead her to the royal-guard
building. “If it’s not too soon.”

“The sooner the better.”

To Ava’s relief, this time when she entered the foyer, Jason was there to meet her.

“Do you have your schedule for the coming week with you?” He held open the door to the hallway.

“Of course.” She stepped through, then waited for Jason, unsure where they were headed.

He stopped in his office first as she called
up the full-week overview on her tablet.

“It seems you’re only truly safe when you’re inside the palace walls,” Jason observed. “I’d like to keep you here at all times. How difficult will that be?”

“I can change the location of most of my meetings so that I don’t have to leave the palace grounds.” Ava looked over her schedule as she spoke, checking for anything that might require her
to leave. “Of course, next Friday I’ll have to go in person to the Sardis Cathedral for the final check of the wedding decor, and then the rehearsal. And Saturday is the wedding itself.”

“If there’s anything you need before then, we can send a palace staff member to get it for you. Under no circumstances do I want you leaving without a full guard detail.”

“Full detail?” Ava clarified.

“At least three guards. If you have more people with you, the proportion of guards will change, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Ava swallowed. She knew she ought to feel protected, but instead his words made her feel threatened. “Your guards don’t like me,” she reminded him.

“That’s not my fault.” His expression, which up until that moment had been compassionate, now hardened.

“Isn’t it?” she challenged him. After all, he was the only member of the guard she’d worked closely with. It seemed to her his men had picked up on his attitude.

“Ava,” he snapped, “I’m trying to help you.”

Ava stared at Jason as she debated how to respond to his claim. Should she apologize or stand her ground? Her words had been completely honest, so she saw no reason to take them
back. She didn’t want his men anywhere near her, but at the same time, she knew the threat against her life was real. And though she couldn’t deny her increasing affection toward Jason, her instincts told her to push him away before she was hurt any worse.

But before she could make up her mind to say anything, Jason spoke again. “As long as you’re not planning to leave the palace grounds
before Friday, it won’t be an issue. I’ve circulated the photographs you passed along to me. Hopefully, we won’t have anything to worry about by Friday.”

“Good.” Ava put her schedule away and turned toward the door. She glanced back for just a moment, unsure if she should thank him or fight with him or give in to what she really wanted and throw herself into his arms.

Jason nodded curtly.

Ava nodded back and left in silence. She wasn’t sure what they had going on between them. They could either be enemies or something quite the opposite, but Ava had far too much going on to allow herself the indulgence of wasting time trying to sort out whatever it was between her and the captain.

Until they caught whoever was trying to kill her, she didn’t figure there was any way she’d
be able to examine the question with a clear head anyway.

ELEVEN

B
y Tuesday, Jason was ready to pull his hair out in frustration. They had no new leads, no new developments, no sign of the American Daniel Johnson, and each day when Jason called the church in Seattle, a different secretary told him Ava’s father wasn’t there. None of them would tell him where the pastor was or how Jason might reach him. The royal-wedding date was quickly
approaching, and with it, the certainty that Ava would have to leave the safety of the palace walls.

Most frustrating of all, Ava had turned cold toward him again. Or perhaps
cold
wasn’t quite the word. She hadn’t gone back to her argumentative ways completely, but she watched him warily, as though unsure whether he could be trusted.

As if Jason didn’t have enough on his mind, he found
himself constantly stewing over just what was going on between him and Ava. They had a distinct chemistry between them, he knew that much. It had always been there, he realized now, but for the longest time they’d merely screamed at each other because of it. He didn’t want to argue with her anymore. Somehow he had to convince the hurt girl under the armor that it was safe to lower her defenses.

But as long as a killer was after her, it wouldn’t be safe for her to lower her defenses, not really.

When Jason’s phone rang in the early afternoon on Tuesday, he recognized her number and answered quickly, though at that moment he stood in front of a roomful of transfers from the Lydian army, explaining to them in detail the differences between life in the army and life in the royal
guard.

“I have an hour,” Ava said without preamble. “Can I meet with you?”

“Right now?” Jason had one foot up on the table, demonstrating a proper shoe-polish shine to the new recruits.

“This is the only block of time I have free before ten o’clock tonight. It’s rather urgent.”

Jason couldn’t help wondering what qualified as urgent. Had she learned something new, recalled an
old, forgotten death threat? He couldn’t put off meeting with her, not if it meant a possible break in the case. “I’ll meet you in the foyer.” He dismissed the men, instructing them to return promptly in one hour.

Ava didn’t speak until Jason closed his office door after her. Then she met his eyes and said bluntly, “I can’t do this.”

For one light-headed instant, Jason thought perhaps
she was going to confess her feelings for him, reach across the desk and kiss him. But she glared at him rigidly from the other side of his desk, so clearly a kiss was the furthest thing from her mind.

“I cannot in good conscience appear at the royal wedding and endanger the lives of everyone there.”

He held his breath, fearing she’d announce she was leaving.

Ava pinched her face
into a pain-filled expression that was by now all too familiar to him. She added, “Nor can I leave on such short notice.”

Relieved that her stubborn mind wasn’t set on going, Jason nonetheless couldn’t see what she was getting at. “What other choice is there?” He’d toyed with the idea of using technology to allow her to supervise the wedding from a remote location, but the technical difficulties
that presented—combined with the thick stone walls of the cathedral, which were notorious for deflecting transmitted signals of every sort—had forced him to dismiss that possibility without ever suggesting it.

“I can’t keep hiding from the inevitable. If I wait until the day before the wedding to show my face, there’s sure to be an incident, and any member of the royal family might be hurt.”

“You’re not thinking—”

But Ava cut him off, slapping down a sheaf of papers with articles she’d printed out. “I’ve done research on assassination attempts. Did you know that in 1842, when Queen Victoria of England was riding in her carriage, a man stepped out and aimed a pistol at her? He tried to shoot her, but his gun didn’t go off.”

“I’m familiar with that story.” As head of royal
security in Lydia, Jason had made it a point to familiarize himself with the major historical incidents involving royal safety. “Didn’t they catch him the very next day?”

“Yes. The queen rode her carriage along the same route at the same time, but this time she had plainclothes police positioned to catch him. When the man stepped out to try it again, he was captured.”

“That was a long
time ago. Guns don’t often fail to go off anymore. The world was a different place then,” Jason cautioned Ava. He could guess what she was getting at, and wanted to slow her momentum before she became too caught up in her plan.

“It’s not that different. We could lure him out.”

“No.”

“I’ve thought about this a great deal, Jason. It could work.”

“You can’t go out there as bait.”

“What’s the alternative? I stay inside the palace forever?”

“Not forever. Just until...”

“Until when?”

“Until whoever is after you gives up and goes home.”

“How do you know that hasn’t already happened?”

Jason had expected a sharp retort, but Ava’s choice of words surprised him. “How— What?”

“Nothing has happened in the last three days. Maybe I’m safe already
and we just don’t know it. For all you know, I could leave the palace and be fine.”

“And then what? You’d go on with your life without a full guard detail? I don’t think so.”

Ava glared at him for a long stretch of silence. He could see her weighing her options, choosing her words. “I’ll make you a deal.”

Jason raked his hand back through his hair. “What kind of deal?”

“Let’s
try luring him out. You pick the time, the place, the number of guards. If anyone attempts to attack me, we’ll capture him. And if not—” she took a step closer and met his eyes without blinking “—I’ll let you assign me a full guard detail for as long as you deem it necessary.”

Jason blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding back. Ava had a knack for making deals he couldn’t refuse.
He’d prayed for a way to convince her to accept the full guard detail. She’d walked into his office and proposed it herself.

He couldn’t turn down such an obvious answer to prayer, even if it meant risking the safety of the woman he’d come to care about so much. “Fine.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, fine, we’ll do it.”

Ava grinned at him and stepped forward, right arm extended.

Jason reached
for her, ready to hug her, then fumbled awkwardly when it appeared she only meant to shake his hand. He recovered, shaking her hand solidly as he told her, “I pick the time and the place? You’ll clear your schedule?”

“I’ll do whatever needs to be done. This will work. It has to.”

“Does it?” Jason had his doubts that her plan would succeed, and couldn’t imagine the source of her confidence.

But her smile faded quickly and she cast him a sober look. “I don’t know what we’ll do if it doesn’t.”

Finally understanding her meaning, Jason wished she’d hugged him. Instead she turned and left. He couldn’t help wondering if he’d have another opportunity to hold her. If her plan failed...well, Ava was right about one thing. Her plan had better work.

Jason spent the rest of his
hour working out the details. Given the quickly approaching wedding, it made sense for Ava to go on her outing as soon as possible. She’d told him she was booked until ten that evening, but she’d also promised to clear her schedule for him. He wanted as many men as he could get on hand to protect Ava and apprehend anyone who might try to harm her. And since he was eager to proceed before his better
judgment prevailed, the only time that made sense was the evening shift change.

A quick call to Ava confirmed she’d move her appointments to make the time work. When Jason’s men filed in at the end of the hour, shoes shining, Jason quickly enlisted their support.

“Do any of you have a problem with working an hour later than usual tonight?” To his relief, none of the men had pressing
plans. Jason proceeded to fill them in on the details, but when he mentioned Ava’s name, the men didn’t try very hard to muffle their snickers.

Jason stopped midsentence and glared at them. “Is there a problem?”

“Are you sure you want us to protect her?” Titus asked.

“It might be a convenient way to—” Adrian started.

Jason didn’t let him finish. “Let’s get one thing straight
right now. Yes, Ava and I have argued in the past. Yes, she can be headstrong and demanding, but she is every bit as deserving of your respect as any other member of the royal household. I will not tolerate any hint of disrespect toward her in the future. Is that clear?”

His men looked first surprised and then chastened.

Taking advantage of their silence, Jason added, “This is what I’ve
been trying to impress upon you about the difference between the royal guard and the army. Honor goes both ways. If you want people to respect you and the uniform you wear, you must respect all those you protect.” Jason looked his men in the eye each in turn as they absorbed his words. He could have said more. In fact, his thoughts spun with examples of Ava’s attributes—her selfless concern for
others, her grace under trial, her persistence—but he didn’t trust himself to say any more, not without revealing the depth of his feelings for the woman.

The men listened silently and respectfully as Jason outlined the rest of the plan. After a few clarifying questions, they filed out to prepare for their mission by changing into civilian clothes and choosing their positions along the route
between the palace and the marina. Since he and Ava had been followed to Dorsi, Jason could only assume her would-be killer would be watching the same route. Of course, there was every chance the man might miss them as they passed by, even if he was still out to kill her. Even if nothing happened today, he wouldn’t reconsider whether her life was really in danger. Until Dan—or whoever was trying
to kill her—was caught, Ava was in danger.

All the more reason why Jason wanted to see Ava’s plan through quickly—so he could assign a full guard detail to her without any further objection.

As planned, Ava exited the palace promptly at six and approached the garages from across the courtyard. Jason watched her walk toward him, her posture as authoritative as ever, her navy slacks and
coordinating blue-and-white top crisp in spite of the long day already behind her. And yet, in spite of her uptilted chin, Jason could see the shadow of fear that haunted her eyes, the slight uncertainty as she glanced toward the remaining guards who hadn’t yet taken positions on the route ahead of them.

Then her eyes landed on him and her face immediately relaxed. She didn’t smile, necessarily,
but she certainly looked relieved and possibly even glad to see him.

Jason grinned at her as she came to a stop next to him. “Ready to take a walk?”

She nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Jason signaled a pair of men to fall out ahead of them. “We’ll follow in a moment,” he explained to Ava, “and the last men will trail us at a distance. I have guards positioned at regular intervals
between the palace and the marina.”

Ava fell into step beside him and they walked through the pedestrian gate in silence.

“Perhaps we should chat,” Jason suggested after signaling the last of his men to follow them. “We need to act natural.”

“Good idea—but let’s talk about something other than what we’re doing right now. I’d like to get my mind off all of this.”

“Yes, that’s
smart,” Jason agreed, thinking. “How was your day?”

“I don’t want to discuss that, either.” A distressed note ran through Ava’s voice.

The situation was getting to her. Jason needed to calm her down or cheer her up, and he needed to do it quickly. If the would-be killer sensed a trap, their jaunt to the marina might do more harm than good.

It had been years since Jason had been
the class clown. He hadn’t thought about his old jokes in years, and tried to recall what he used to do that had been so funny. “When I was younger I wanted to be a ventriloquist.”

Ava looked completely taken aback by his announcement. “You did? Seriously?”

“Yes. My family had a pet parrot named Pepe, but he couldn’t speak. He would sit on my shoulder, and I’d go around trying to convince
everyone Pepe could talk.”

“You talked for the parrot?”

Jason nodded, he memories returning. “The best part was I could get away with saying things I normally couldn’t. There was a fish stall down the street from our house. The fisherman was stingy and didn’t like tourists. He tried to take advantage of them by selling them old fish, so my parrot would warn them.”

“What? How?” Ava
walked more slowly, watching Jason as they ambled down the street.

Putting on his best parrot voice, Jason imitated the bird, “This fish stinks! It’s old, it’s old,” he squawked, adding quickly in his own voice, “Pepe, that’s rude. You shouldn’t talk like that.” And then squawking, “He shouldn’t sell old fish!”

Whether it was the bird’s voice coming out of the captain’s mouth or simply
her nerves getting the best of her, Ava laughed—not just a giggle or a smile, but full-out laughter.

Encouraged, Jason added with Pepe’s signature squawk, “Don’t touch the fish! It stinks! It stinks!”

To his surprise, Ava not only continued to laugh, but she clutched her stomach and threw her head back, stopping still on the street.

Jason stopped, too, beaming as he watched her.
It felt good to make someone laugh again, but far more than that, his heart soared at the sight of Ava laughing.

Once she’d caught her breath enough to speak, Ava said, “I can’t imagine you got away with that routine many times.”

“Pepe was eventually banned from the fish stall, but not before some tourists tipped off the Food Safety Board. They nearly shut his stall down, but he cleaned
up his act.”

“So it all ended well.” Ava’s smile lingered, brightening her face and chasing the fear to the far corners of her eyes.

“Yes.” Jason gazed at her a moment longer, amazed by the way her smile transformed her face, revealing her true beauty. Then he cleared his throat. “We should keep going.”

“We should,” Ava said, glancing about them nervously, fear flooding her features
once again.