CHAPTER ONE
PrinceValentiDomeneofCartanajumped down from the two-seater fighter jet with a litheness that widened the young pilot’s eyes.
At times like these, it helped to be a prince of a powerful kingdom. Better yet if Azar Domene, your older brother, the king and commander in chief of the royal military, had several fleets of fighter jets at his disposal.
It had cut down the normal hours-long journey to a mere forty-five minutes, with airspaces cleared with one phone call.
He saluted the pilot and whirled around, the sight of the gleaming black sports car waiting for him twenty feet away, easing another layer of the angst riding him hard. This one was courtesy of his twin brother, Teo. Valenti would get a ton of back-chat and demands for favours, but for now, he was grateful for the expedited support. He slid behind the wheel, gunned the engine and floored the accelerator out of the military base north of the small Scandinavian country of Reykland.
Soaring fir trees flashed past in shades of green and red, but the autumnal beauty of one of the most beautiful places he’d ever visited barely impinged on his roiling senses.
All of this would be worth it if the recipient of this entire upheaval would appreciate the effort.
His lips flattened. The chances of that happening would be nil. Not after the way they’d clashed at their last meeting, when years of fondness and easy conversation had morphed into…something else. Something he was still at a loss to describe.
At a loss or…unwilling, evenunnervedto pin down?
It didn’t matter. Not if she was in danger.
Quelling the anxiety threatening to rise, he thumbed the voice-activated phone system. His deputy answered before the first ring finished.
‘Status report,’ Valenti barked.
‘We’ve been here an hour, Your Highness. It’s all safe and sound.’
Safe and sound.
How he hated that term. In his chilling experience, things tended to be safe and sound…until they weren’t.
Safe and soundhad turned into a harrowing nightmare in the blink of an eye seven years ago, shattering one family and introducing him to a dark world of anguish and bitterness he didn’t need to look very deep to locate. It was the invisible cloak that yes, stole his joy, but also maintained his focus razor-sharp, ensuring that one devastating eventneverhad the chance to repeat itself.Ever. Collateral damage was considered part of running a security outfit, but he refused to accept preventable failure.
And this was very much such a scenario.
‘You’re still at the club?’ he asked, although he was merely confirming an answer he knew. The person they were watching was as intractable as a dog with a bone.
‘Yes, sir.’ An infinitesimal hesitation before, ‘She…she’s refusing to leave.’
With any other client being actively stalked, Valenti wouldn’t even have to say the necessary words.Remove her by force. But he’d long ago drilled into his men that this particular client wasn’t to be touched. Under any circumstances.
And yes, while it baffled him completely that he would go to such lengths with her, he hadn’t been able to retract his extreme reaction to having anyone lay their hands onher.
His ward.
Lotte Lillegard.
A twenty-two-year-old walking nightmare and albatross around his neck for the last seven years. And for the next three years. But once she turned twenty-five, he could wash his hands of her. Because he would have fulfilled the promise he’d made.Finally.
The knife of guilt sliding between his ribs robbed him of breath, making him grit his jaw as he stomped harder on the accelerator, shooting past slower vehicles and changing lanes, willing time to pass just as fast.
Spotting the Asbjørg Bridge that would take him into Ljomi, Reykland’s capital, a layer of tension eased. Not enough until he clapped eyes on her, confirmed for himself that she was fine. And even then, he knew a different,original, weight would resettle in its place.
‘Do not take your eyes off her for one single moment, is that understood?’
‘Of course, Your Highness,’ came the brisk reassurance.
Valenti didn’t feel guilt for reiterating the command. Overkill wasn’t a word in his vocabulary. Not anymore. He’d failed to stress a dire situation once in his life, and he’d lost a good friend, one who, had she lived, could’ve changed the course ofhislife. Knowing the loss had crushed his own dreams was a guilty secret he couldn’t shed. A secret that chased him into his nightmares. And yes, he knew it was also why dropping his guard where Lotte was concerned wasn’t an option. He could and had learned to live with many things, but that wasn’t one of them. Even if Lotte Lillegard tested his last nerve.
The combination of traffic-monitoring gadgets, and probably Azar greasing the way further for him, meant he wasn’t stopped for speeding.
