Personal Protection

by Julie Miller

  Ivan buttoned his cuffs and pulled on his jacket before turning his attention to Galina and the computer tablet she held. “What decisions need to be made?”

  Since Galina seemed to be a perpetually put-together woman, Carly guessed that the huff that lifted the other woman’s dark bangs indicated annoyance. She gestured to the man sitting on the couch, drinking a bottle of water. “Mr. Decker, for one thing. He refuses to accept any payment for his services. What are we to do with him? He has been most...inquisitive.”

  Ignoring the dark-eyed daggers she shot his way, Ralph Decker rose and crossed the sitting area to join them. “It’s an ingrained habit. I can’t help but ask questions.” He crushed the empty bottle in his hands and tucked it into the front pocket of his jeans. “Mr. Petrovic and your chief of staff have been regaling me with everything you hope to accomplish for your country while you’re here in the US. Sounds admirable and ambitious. Go big or go home, eh?”

  Ivan turned to Carly with that frustrated frown that meant he hadn’t understood the slang. “You’ve got big plans for Lukinburg,” she explained, “and you won’t settle for anything less than what you came here for.”

  “That is true.” He gave his answer to the reporter.

  “And you’re willing to risk your life to do that?” Decker asked.

  “I am.” Ivan didn’t bat an eye when Decker pressed him for a more informative answer. “Galina, issue this man a press pass for the ball on Saturday. Clear his credentials, of course. The ball is black-tie, Mr. Decker.”

  “I can find a tux.”

  “Would you like to cover our visit to the research facility at the university tomorrow? You can see how our raw materials are being put to use in building American technology.”

  “I’d like to sit down for a one-on-one interview with you. But I’ll settle for the invitations.” Decker seemed to understand that helping Ivan escape the Plaza and get to the hotel didn’t mean he’d earned full access to Lukin politics and conspiracies. “I thought royalty were all figureheads. But you’ve got a real agenda. You’ve got some stones, Your Highness.”

  Ivan looked to Carly again. The lewd colloquialism was something she’d rather explain in private. Or not at all. “It’s a compliment. He respects you.”

  Decker’s green eyes smiled as they met hers. “That’s the polite translation.” He turned his gaze to Galina and winked. “You saving me a dance at the embassy ball, pretty lady?”

  Galina arched a regal eyebrow. “I will not be dancing. Certainly not with you. Allow me to show you to the door, Mr. Decker. I will get your contact information to send you the press passes.”

  Decker laughed. “I like her. She’s all business. Kind of makes me want to see what’s under that starched collar.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “Figuratively, of course.” Decker shook Ivan’s hand and nodded to Carly before following Galina to the door. “Thanks, Your Highness. Good luck with everything. Officer Valentine. Hey, if a copy of the bomb squad’s report on today’s incident happens to fall into my hands...”

  Not until she read it first. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Aleks laughed as Galina and Decker disappeared into the foyer. “I think she likes him. At least, she likes being flirted with. I haven’t seen her flustered like that since losing Konrad.”

  After Aleks’s matchmaking amusement had been dismissed, and the reporter had been ushered out, Ivan checked his watch. “We have twenty minutes before we are set to leave for the Mayweathers’ cocktail reception.” He spoke to Filip, who was adding milk to his coffee at the bar. “I assume you have made new arrangements for our transportation? And inspected each vehicle personally?”

  Filip set the cup down without ever taking a drink. “There was nothing wrong with that limousine when we left the hotel this morning. I rode with you everywhere today. If I thought there was a bomb on it, would I have done this?”

  Carly wanted a better explanation, a better alibi, than the security chief’s excuses. “We don’t know the details about the bomb yet. It could have been on a timer or remotely detonated.”

  “A remote detonation would mean someone was watching us to know when we would be in the limousine,” Milevski argued.

  “Someone was watching us today,” she pointed out. The hooded man among hundreds of other less obviously suspicious bystanders at the Plaza was her prime suspect. If only she had a name, or even a face, to help identify him. And if she could prove the hooded man was working with any one of these people, she’d close the case and know Ivan was safe.

  Ivan buttoned his collar and knotted his tie. “If it was triggered by turning the ignition as it appeared to be, then the bomb was put there sometime after we arrived at the store and went to dinner. That’s only a two-hour window.”

  “One of our people stays with the car always,” Filip insisted. “It was Eduard’s assignment until we called him for backup to help manage the crowd.”

  “Eduard was in the store with us,” Carly reminded them. “I remember him joking with the clerk who checked us out. Was the limo unattended during that time, too? A skilled bomber wouldn’t need more than a few minutes.”

  Filip stormed across the carpet, his cheeks turning ruddy with temper. “What are you accusing me of? Not doing my job? An attempt on the prince’s life? That is treason, Miss Valentine.” He thumped his chest, leaning in close enough for her to smell the oily tonic he used in his hair. “I am a proud Lukin. If you had not interfered—”

  “Are you angry because I got the prince out of a dangerous situation you couldn’t control or because Eduard is dead?” Carly wasn’t intimidated by Filip’s bluster. She had two big brothers she was used to standing up to. She propped her hands on her hips and stood her ground. “Or are you upset because this latest attempt to kill Ivan failed?”

  Her challenge left a long silence in the room. Ivan had moved in beside her, no doubt thinking she needed his protection. Now he stood shoulder to shoulder with Carly, awaiting Milevski’s answer. Galina returned in time to hear the accusation, hanging back at the edge of the seating area. Aleks cleaned his glasses, either oblivious to or purposely ignoring the tension in the room.

  From across the room, Carly heard a grumbling noise that sounded a little bit like laughter. Danya had avoided the whole conversation, but now he moved to the bar to pour himself a cup of coffee. “She knows, Filip. She knows about the threats. This isn’t how we ran security in the old days. We should have canceled any royal appearances until we shored up the holes in our security network. Even that day we lost Konrad and the others in St. Feodor, we’d heard chatter about one last hurrah from the Loyalist movement. But you ignored it. Lives were lost that didn’t have to be.”

  “The prince insisted on making that appearance. To show solidarity in the new government.”

  “The prince relies on us to keep him safe. When there’s a threat, what needs to be done shouldn’t be up for debate.”

  “Wait a minute,” Ivan calmly interrupted. “What do you mean by holes in security? What is it, Danya? What do you know of today’s events?”

  Danya turned to his boss, giving him a mocking salute with his coffee cup. “You tell him, or I will.”

  Filip rubbed his fist in the palm of his other hand before the anger fell away and his face aged with remorse. “There was a security breach sometime last night. A hacker got into my computer files. He has our personal contact information, so it’s possible he could be pinging our phones and tracking our movements. He would have known today’s schedule, our security assignments.” He shrugged his beefy shoulders. “With that information, he or she would have known where the limousine would be parked, and the time frame for your luncheon. He could even have called Eduard’s phone to trigger the explosion. I know there were threats made against you in Lukinburg. I fear the Loyalists haven’t honored their alliance. They fo
llowed you here to the States.”

  Ivan reflected on the revelation for a moment. Surely, he wasn’t about to tell these people that he was the one who’d gotten into Filip’s files. Carly reached into the pocket of her jacket and curled her fingers around the flash drive. Still there. Still safe. Still their best lead. Anyone else who had access to those files could have used the information as Filip had suggested—to follow Ivan, to set off the bomb. Ivan wouldn’t admit he was conducting his own investigation of these so-called friends and colleagues, would he?

  But the prince had a different confession to make. “I have received two threats since we arrived in the US.”

  Carly’s sigh of relief was drowned out by the flurry of concern and protest from the circle of people closing in around Ivan.

  Danya cursed. “This is what I mean. It’s shabby—”

  “Why did you not tell me?” Filip accused. “How can you expect me to do my job when I do not have all the information I need?”

  “Someone has that information,” Galina chided. “On all of us. Now we are all in danger. How could you let this happen?”

  Filip scoffed at the accusation. “Eduard was our tech man. We’d need an expert in technology to find out where the incursion came from.”

  From the corner of her eye, Carly glimpsed Ivan adjusting his glasses on his nose and studying Aleks, sending a silent message to the nerdy numbers guy. “This is your area of expertise, my friend.”

  Aleks blinked once, twice, not understanding any better than she did. “Are you accusing me of—?”

  “I am not. But perhaps you could help?”

  His adviser’s confusion suddenly cleared. “Oh...yes. I am good with a computer. I will look at Filip’s program this evening after the party to see what I can find out.”

  What was that all about? Carly wondered. Ivan had said Aleks was the only member of his delegation he trusted. Was this a regular exchange between the two men? Was he using his friend to cover up his foray into late-night hacking? Had he used his friend to help him keep other secrets before this one?

  At first glance, the two men could be brothers, although she’d been spending enough time with Ivan that she noticed the subtle differences in their build and height. She was guessing Aleks didn’t carry the scars Ivan did. Both men had blue eyes; both wore glasses, although Aleks had a slightly thicker lens in his. Both men had that rich, raven-black hair, but Ivan kept his hair and beard neatly trimmed while Aleks had embraced his curly locks and grown them out to the point he looked like a turn-of-the-century scientist pictured in one of her schoolbooks.

  They couldn’t be related, could they? No, their last names were different. Cousins? There were enough lies and secrets in this room that it wasn’t completely out of the question. A man would trust his family, wouldn’t he? Did the two men share a link beyond friendship? Even as Aleks scrolled through icons on the screen, she wondered if Ivan and Aleks cut their hair the same length and wore the same glasses frame, could they could switch places like twins sometimes did?

  But what did their looks or relationship even matter? A man was dead. Multiple attempts had been made on Ivan’s life. The threats were real, and as far as Carly could tell, Lukin security sucked. “We have computer specialists at the crime lab if you want me to call them,” she offered.

  “No,” Filip snapped before she finished making the offer. “I want no foreigners looking through my records.”

  Was that embarrassment? Or did the man truly have something to hide?

  Ivan was insistent. He sent her the same silent message he’d given Aleks. Follow my lead. “Thank you for the offer, but Aleks can spend some time working on this after our appearance at the Mayweathers’ this evening.” He dropped a hand onto Aleks’s shoulder. “I will expect a report in the morning.”

  “Roger that, Your Highness.”

  “Roger that?” Ivan chuckled. “You are picking up many Americanisms.” He tapped his watch. “Now go pick out a tie that does not have evidence of your lunch on it so that we may be ready to depart.” He turned to Filip, who was still stewing over the security breach. “Bring the car around, please.”

  Danya stepped forward. “I will be driving now, sir. Since we are not canceling any appearances, despite the threats. You are giving our enemy an unfair advantage.”

  Ivan nodded. “Your complaint is noted. Lukinburg is depending on us. On all of us. We shall simply be more careful.” He addressed everyone in the room before they all went their separate ways. “We will move forward without Eduard. We will remember him as a brave young man, a Lukin patriot who gave his life for his country. We will not dishonor his memory by failing on our mission to the States. Any questions?”

  With a flurry of thank yous and yes, sirs, Filip, Danya, Galina and Aleks all went in different directions, putting down coffee cups and checking their respective gear before heading out the door to their respective rooms to finish getting ready to depart.

  Once the penthouse door had clicked shut behind them, Ivan hurried over to Aleks’s computer and sat down at the desk. “Apparently, I need to do a better job of covering my tracks.” He pulled down a command from the toolbar, clicked in a few places and typed in a couple of passwords before going back to the home screen and shutting everything down. “There. Filip should not be able to trace the incursion back to this computer now. If he somehow manages to get through these firewalls, and understands IP addresses, all he will find is a dummy account.”

  Impressive. Ivan seemed to have some skills she wouldn’t expect to find in royalty. His penchant for protecting her from threats both physical and emotional? Encryption-breaking hacker skills? What exactly had his job been before being named the crown prince? Would he be on that flash drive, too? Now she really wanted to get to her own computer and dig into the files that were burning a hole in her pocket.

  Carly picked up a towel from the wet bar and wiped Ivan’s prints off the keyboard and mouse before using the towel to close the laptop. “Now we’ve really erased your trail.”

  “Well-done, my lioness.” He tipped his face up to hers and smiled. “I sensed you would be a true ally. You have done much for me. You truly have my back. I do not know how I will ever be able to thank you.”

  Forget Prince Charming. This mysterious puzzle of a man, who made tough guy in a tailored suit and geek with glasses equally hot made her feel soft and feminine and important without having to sacrifice one iota of the tough, working-class cop she was.

  “You’re welcome.” Feeling a connection to him as though they were tethered together at the heart, Carly leaned in and kissed him. She slid her palms against the tickle of his beard and cupped either side of his jaw. Swiveling his chair to face her, Ivan’s hands settled at her waist. Then, with a deep-pitched sigh, he skimmed his hands over her hips and cupped her bottom, tugging her between the V of his legs until her knees butted against the edge of the chair and she tumbled into his chest.

  Surrendering to the demands of his kiss, Carly parted her lips and sank into his hard, warm body. She made several demands of her own, running her fingers across his short hair and bemoaning the cinched-up layers of clothing between them. Her lips scudded across his. She pulled his firm lower lip between hers, found the point of his chin through his beard and lightly nipped him there, unleashing a feral groan from his chest that spoke to something primitive and needy inside her.

  Ivan shifted position again, pushing to his feet and forcing her head back to plunder her mouth with his. He gently touched his lips to the strawberry on her jaw, then nuzzled his way to her earlobe and the sensitive bundle of nerves he discovered underneath that made her jolt with each stroke of his tongue or rasp of his beard against the tender skin there. His sexy, accented voice was a deep purr against her ear. “I will say ‘thank you’ many more times if this is how you say, ‘you are welcome.’” Carly wound her arms around his neck and recaptur
ed his lips. “Thank you,” he growled against her mouth. “Thank—”

  A sharp rap at the door washed over her like a splash of icy water. Galina’s prim, succinct voice intruded. “Your Highness? We are ready. It is time.”

  Easing her grip around Ivan’s neck, Carly dropped onto her heels. “That’s...my cue to...to leave.” Her lips and fingertips and breasts and blood were still tingling with the electricity that had arced between them, making it difficult to think, much less speak. “You have a party to get to.”

  “Carly...” His eyes were drowsy pools of deep blue behind his glasses, and she had a hard time looking away. “I wish with everything in me that you and I...that none of this stood in our way.” There was another sharp knock. His expression hardened, and he whipped his gaze to the door. “I will be there shortly.”

  When he turned away, she glimpsed a spike of black hair sticking up from the top of his head and felt a stab of embarrassment. His trim hair spiked up in several places, mussed by her hands. She reached up and smoothed them back into place. “Sorry about that. You have to go out in public. You can’t look like you just had sex. Like we... Of course, there wasn’t time to... Oh, hell.”