"On the contrary. You want a car. You take me with you. This is a sovereign country and whatever you plan to do with your little band of soldiers, I plan on being right there."
"Elizabeth, this is no place for you. It could get dangerous. And we are wasting time."
"You're wasting time." She refused to budge.
He ran a hand through his wet hair. She could not help herself and let her eyes take in his taught muscles underneath his see-through, wet shirt.
Callum rolled his eyes. "Fine. Get in. Cal, call in the change of plans. Let everyone know I have the Princess and we are heading to the hospital. Make sure you tell her brother where she is. The last thing I want to deal with the Prince trying to play Superman. It’s bad enough I have to deal with her.
Elizabeth titled her head and gave him a smirk. She shifted positions, pulled the door handle open, and slipped behind wheel.
"Oh, hell no. I'm driving."
"Get in. You're wasting time. My car. My road. My country." She slammed the door shut and let the engine roar to life.
He stared down at her through the window with eyes as hard as steel. He did not move. She rolled down the window and gave him an unyielding look.
"Do you know the fastest way to the hospital?"
She put up the window and shifted the car into drive. He stood there staring bullets at her for another second before he pivoted and jogged around the hood to the other side of the car. She was heading out of the garage before he had a chance to strap in.
As soon as she passed the guards at the palace gates, she pushed the gas petal to the floor and up-shift through the gears in quick succession. The engine growled with happiness. Elizabeth spared a quick glance from the windy road down to Callum as he gave her a surprised look and grabbed for his seatbelt.
"You've never seen me drive before have you?" She said with a smile and let the engine out even further. The roads were slick, but she trusted herself and the machine that vibrated underneath her.
Callum shook his head as he reached for the dash steading himself after she took a sharp turn. She laughed at his expression, which was a mix of surprise, horror, and a little pride.
"Growing up with Stefan and my father, I had to hold my own with cars. The faster the better. Then after my coronation, I went through six weeks of training with the Corranian military." She glanced over at him before she down-shifted and took a hard left. The Vanquish headed up a narrow alley. "They taught me how to use my car as a weapon and how to push it so I could get out of a nasty situation. They also taught me hand-to-hand combat, survival techniques for hostage situations, and a few other moves that I shouldn't talk about."
"And, I probably taught it to them." He said flatly. His hand involuntarily reached up to the roof as she spun out of the alley into on-coming traffic. She up-shifted and maneuvered the vehicle around the other cars. She ran a red light then spared him another glance.
"You aren't use to sitting in the passenger seat, are you?"
He gave her a cocky half-smile. "No, I'm not."
She felt a smile lift her lips in return as she headed up a hill and shot the car though a yellow light.
"So, I guess you're a bit of a bad ass." His deep voice made her belly tingle.
"Let's just say I wouldn't make too many assumptions about me not being able to handle myself."
She was not sure, but she thought she saw a look of pride in his eyes. "So, did Edward get anything out of Victor?"
"Did you know he is a member of the Russian Special Forces?" Callum asked.
"Sure. That is one of the reasons my father hired him."
"No, Elizabeth, not was a member, is a member. He is still on active duty."
"How can that be?" The first inkling of doubt about her bodyguard took route in the pit of her stomach. "Do you think that has anything to do with my father being poisoned?"
"I don't know, but it is something the team is looking in to. He is on the short list of people with unfettered access to the king."
"I just can't believe it. He really cares about me and my family. In my heart, I know that."
Callum gave her a quick look that reminded her that her heart has misjudged people before -- him specifically -- before he jumped out as she pulled the car up against the curb in front of the hospital. They parked behind a black SUV which meant that Callum's friends from the embassy were already here. She turned off the engine and jumped out the car following him though the entrance.
They ran though the automatic sliding doors, but this time instead of running though the hospital with her in tow, Callum waited for her to catch up.
"What is the quickest way to the lab?" he asked.
She headed toward the stairwell. "Two floors down."
"Right."
Callum jumped over each set of stairs. Elizabeth tried to follow as quickly as her the heels and put back on would let her. When she pushed though the double metal stairwell doors, the scene that confronted her made her gasp. Her hand went to her throat as she surveyed the destruction. It looked as if a bomb went off. Paper and file folders carpeted the floor. Cabinets were toppled over, their contents stern out around them. The spell of chemicals permeated the air. She stepped over a couple of thousand dollars of equipment to get to where Callum stood with the other men.
"A woman called it in to the police about 2200. We came as soon as we made the connection that it was the new lab." A large man with arms the size of her waist and warm caramel-colored skin spoke to Callum. He wore cargo pants and a navy blue polo. His attire contrasted sharply with Callum's, whose clothes dried around his body into a series of wrinkles that hugged his muscles.
"Where is the woman?" Callum asked.
The large man angled his head to the office that sat off the main lab area. Elizabeth saw Sophie talking to Edward. She jogged toward her while calling her name. Sophie met her half way wearing a lab coat over her cream colored ball gown.
"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked as she hugged her friend.
"When you left and did not come back, I got bored so I came to the lab to finish-up some work I started earlier in the day. It was like this when I arrived. I called the police and was shocked when the Americans showed up soon after. I tried calling you a couple of times but you never answered."
"Maya has had my phone all evening." Elizabeth did not offer her friend any more details in front of their audience.
Sophie put her hands in her lab coat pocket and shook her hands at the wreckage around them. "Who would do this, Al? This is hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage. It will take is months to recover."
Elizabeth saw Edward come out of the office and walk toward her. "Did your team uncover anything about who would do this?"
"We are working with the police to recover the security tapes. They dusted for prints and the lab is running them now." Edward explained.
"Where's Victor?" Elizabeth asked Edward. Her bodyguard was the only lead she knew about and wondered if he had offered any insight in to who could have destroyed the lab.
"He's not with you?" Sophie asked.
Edward and Elizabeth exchanged a knowing look. Edward answered Elizabeth's question and ignored Sophie's. "He is still at the Embassy. We have been with him all day. Unless this was preplanned, he knows nothing about this."
Callum joined the group. Edward continued to speak. "Dr. Baxter offered to make an inventory so we could see if anything was missing."
"Ay, I said I would try, but you will have to forgive me if it’s not accurate. This is a bloody mess."
"I'll help." Elizabeth walked over and grabbed her lab coat off the hook and moved to put it on before Callum stopped her.
"Buzz and Edward's team can help. You are not staying here a minute longer than you have to. It’s not secure."
She glared at him. "This is my lab. I know what is supposed to be where better than anyone, except Sophie. There is no way I am going back to the palace just to twiddle my thumbs while everyone
else is up all night working. I'm staying."
"Twiddle?" He's lips moved into a half smile. She bit her lip to keep from grinning. He was an infuriating man who knew just when she needed to smile. He stepped back and let her put her lab coat on over her damp dress. She must have looked a mess, but did not care. Someone destroyed her dream and she was not to stand back and pretend that was okay. She grabbed a clip board and began to make notes.
,Buzz, and Callum spent an hour comparing notes in the small office as Elizabeth, Sophie, and a few of Edward's men helped clean up. After an hour of discussion and hypothesizing, they were no further along than where they were when they picked up Victor. The Corranian police had found the van that smashed in to him the night before, but it had been wiped clean. Callum chalked that up to one more dead end.
He looked though the large glass window to the lab on the other side. He saw Elizabeth, still in that black dress that was now beyond repair, check something off of her clipboard before she bent down and gathered more papers that were scattered about beneath her feet.
It had been four years since he had seen Elizabeth in action. She was a wonderful, brilliant princess, but he could see there was always something holding her back when she acted on behalf of the crown. An invisible wall that kept her real-self from those around her. But here, in the lab, she was a natural.
This was her happy place. She would need a project like this wing to have balance. For some women, being princess might be enough. But not for Elizabeth. Her family understood it, which is why she had this wing as her pet project. He hoped Watson did and as her husband - he choked on that thought - he would need to make sure she always had something in her life that kept her linked to her passions. She must have felt his stare, because she looked up and gave him a smile before she returned back to her work.
Callum turned when he heard Edward end his call. "Victor just passed the second polygraph. I hate it, but I think the man is telling the truth."
"That he called AP just to loop us in. That still seems far-fetched to me." Buzz perched his mammoth body on the corner of the desk. Callum was a little surprised that it did not tilt forehead from his bulk.
"I agree. But he knew about Callum and the team from Honduras. After a detailed background check courtesy of the Russian intel, he found out about our link and our capabilities. Not to mention our success rate. When you think about, whom else could he trust with the threat to Elizabeth and the royal family. Argent is an old Soviet program, someone in his chain of command could have been involved." Edward put his hands on his hips. His ever-present blazer hung out to the side as if the expensive sports jacket was a cape.
"It was a ballsy move." Callum added. Both Edward and Buzz nodded in agreement. "So, where would that leave us? We still have two dead bodies and a poisoned king."
"Who is recovering quite well." Edward offered.
Callum was pleased to hear it and looked forward to telling Elizabeth that her father would be okay. She would have to wait a while longer before she put the queen's crown on her head. Maybe she would post-pone the announcement of her engagement to Watson. But Callum dismissed the thought. It did not matter to him either way.
"We also have the van that tried to t-bone you and a trashed lab." Buzz shifted his position and Callum swore he heard the desk moan under the pressure.
"Who gains from all of this?" Callum asked as he ran a hand through his hair. "It seems so random, but there has to be a link."
"The link is your princess out there. She is connected to everyone and everything in this little mystery." Edward pointed to Elizabeth before he pulled back the desk chair and took as seat. The three men looked through the glass to the princess who was conferring with one of Edward's men.
"So, do you think its personnel?" Buzz asked.
A wave of protectiveness washed over Callum. Damned if he would leave Corrania until she knew for a fact that she was safe.
"It's a possibility." Edward crossed his arms. "But Callum is right, who would gain? They have not directly targeted her."
"But they have targeted her world." Callum turned from the window as a flash of clarity hit him. "Whoever it is, they have destabilized her world. They took out her bodyguard, destroyed her lab, and almost killed her father. Someone is trying to force her into a decision or take an action that she would not make unless he felt pressured. They would know that her loyalty to her family and country would be resolute. She would do anything to protect either one."
"It has to be someone who does not know about you two. If not, they would have changed their tactic."
Callum nodded. He agreed with Edward's assessment. It was a leap in logic, but his gut told him that theory was on the right track.
Buzz looked between the two men. Callum had not told him about his previous relationship with Elizabeth, since it happened before Buzz joined his team. But, thankfully, the man did not press the issue.
"Has she made any decisions recently that she felt compelled to make? Maybe a timeline that was speed up?" Buzz asked.
Callum thought about her decisions to marry Watson. He would love it if he had an excuse to separate the two of them. But his own emotional relation made him take a step back and reanalyze the connection. He did not want to waste time accusing the wrong person. They weren't even sure if Elizabeth was the intended target. Maybe someone wanted to pressure her to get to the King or Stefan. He shared his thoughts with the group.
"But she was going to marry him anyway. Why would he need to move up the timeline?"
Callum knew the power Elizabeth had over men. Maybe the man just wanted her to himself. He could understand that. He kept his thoughts to himself.
Edward stood and walked to the office door. Buzz followed. Callum imagined that the desk sighed in relief.
"We will head back to the ops center and do a deep dive on Watson. In the meantime, get the princess home. I am sure you both want to get out of your clothes. And, no, I don't want to know what happened. I'll have our analysts run scenarios once we see what is missing from the lab. Our primary mission remains the same. We need to track down the link to Argent. Two people are dead because of it and I don't want more bodies on my watch."
Edward and Buzz headed out as Callum walked over to Elizabeth. It was three o'clock in the morning. He could see the dark circle underneath her eyes. He skin had lost its glow and every time she bent down for something it took her a second longer to get up. Yep, it was time to take her home.
Chapter 14
Elizabeth leaned her head back against the headrest and shut her eyes. She was so exhausted that she let Callum drive the Vanquish back to the palace. He rolled her head to the side and watched his face as he took a sharp turn. A smile spread across her face.
"What?" He turned his head briefly to look at her before he refocused on the road ahead of him. The rain had stopped and the streets were empty at this time of night.
"You're having fun." She said in a lazy voice.
He turned to her again and winked.
She laughed and he flashed her with a full smile. It was such a rare gesture, like seeing a falling start, that she almost did not believe she saw it. Her stomach flipped and her heart begged for more.
She closed her eyes again and let him enjoy the car. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she was aware of was Callum staring at her, with his hand draped over the wheel and heat in his eyes.
She took a deep breath and sat up straighter in the seat. "I must have dosed off. Are we here?"
"We arrived about ten minutes ago. I did not have the heart to wake you. It's been a long day."
"It has." Images of his hands and mouth on her flashed in her mind. She flushed. Her eyes slid over his face and landed on his full lips, which curved into a devilish smile.
"Come on. Let's get you to bed."
"Okay." She wiggled her eyebrows and smiled. She liked him like this.
He let out a soft laugh and shook his head. They both got out of the car a
nd looked up at the looming stone place lit up against the pre-dawn sky. They were both in their ruined black tie clothes. He wrapped his tuxedo jacket around her shoulders to shield her against the chilly night air.
"I hope no one sees us. I don't know how I would explain this." She began walking to one of the side entrances near the garage.
"I can promise you, someone sees us. Many people see us." He followed her inside the building. They wound their way through the kitchens and long half-lit hallways. Portraits of kings and queens from a by-gone era watched them from the walls as they made their way to the private family wing.
"I love the palace at night. Sometimes, when I can't sleep, I wonder the quiet corridors and rooms."
She looked over at him to see if he thought her comment was stupid. Instead, she saw a softness in his look that made her heart skip a beat. After a few more minutes, they arrived at her room.
"I'll just go in and make sure everything is okay. Stay behind me." She did as he asked. He walked on the ball of his feet and carefully peered around corners and checked in closets before he declared the room empty. She followed him back to her sitting room.
"So no bogeyman then?" Elizabeth asked as she handed him back his jacket before she took a seat on the sofa.
His face was serious. "This is not a joke, Elizabeth."
"I know. I'm just strangely tired and wound up at the same time." She kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes though her ripped stockings.
"It’s the adrenaline. It’s like a drug. Some people get addicted to it. It’s like a runner’s high."
"Are you addicted to it?" She asked. Maybe that was why he did what he did.
"I use to me, but not anymore."
He looked down at her. His shirt was untucked. Somewhere during the night he had opened another button which exposed even more of his skin.
Turn around."
She did not know why he asked her to turn, but she did. She was too tired to argue about anything. Her question was answered in a second when she felt him tug the zipper down her back. His finger followed down her spine making her skin tingle with goosebumps.
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