by Day Leclaire
She shook the heavy curtain from her face and debated her next move. Maybe if she could delay him a bit longer, Merrick really would come for them. “Since you brought it up, why have you waited so long to come after me?”
“I would have been here weeks ago, but you’ve been too well guarded until today.”
Understanding dawned and she inhaled sharply. “Who’s been reporting to you? Who told you about our plans today?”
“That’s not important.” He turned to address two of his men. “We’ll need half an hour to get to the landing site and take off. You will protect Princess Juliana and Princess Alyssa with your lives. In precisely thirty minutes, return the cell phones and have them call for assistance. You’ll be notified when it’s safe to leave them unattended. Do you have your exit plans in place?”
The two gave swift confirmations and took up a stance on either side of Juliana and Alyssa.
Brandt held out his hand to Miri. “Shall we go?”
He wasn’t going to allow her to delay any longer. Ignoring his hand, she stalked toward the waiting SUV. She paused before climbing in and addressed her brothers’ wives. “Tell Lander and Merrick not to do anything foolish, especially Merrick. I’ll be in touch.” She glared at Brandt. “You will allow me to call my family and reassure them that I’m safe and unharmed?”
He returned her cell phone to her. “Once we’re in Avernos, feel free to call them anytime you want. You’re not a prisoner. Not exactly.” He turned his attention to Alyssa. “Do thank Merrick for me, Your Highness. If he hadn’t given me the idea, I’d never have thought to try this. But since abduction worked so well for him, I decided to follow his example. And he was right. It’s an excellent plan.”
“Right up until they arrest you and toss you into that pit my brothers have waiting for you,” Miri shot back.
Brandt inclined his head with one of the slow smiles she adored—used to adore, she hastened to correct herself. “Yes,” he concurred. “Right up until then.”
Finally. Finally his wife was in Avernos where she belonged. Brandt leaned back in his chair and swirled his single malt, inhaling the peaty aroma. Miri may not want to stay, but he’d change her mind, no matter what it took. He swallowed deeply and dropped the glass to the wooden tabletop. He’d let her escape once. He wouldn’t allow that to happen again.
The door opened and he stood, his gaze intent. Miri walked into his study, hell, stalked in, anger reverberating with every step. He silently scrutinized her, gauging her emotions. Furious, no doubt about that. But he could also see the hurt that underscored all else.
She wore a silk suit in blistering red. It was one of the outfits he’d personally selected in anticipation of her return, knowing she wouldn’t have anything of her own with her. The tailored lines revealed the weight she’d lost, making her appear even more delicate than usual. She’d pulled her hair back from her face, inky dark once again, the heavy length gathered into a sleek knot at the nape of her neck. The style emphasized the fine-boned curves of her face and drew attention to her eyes, eyes the deep green of a stormy sea.
“It’s good to have you here, Miri.”
“I wish I could say the same. I’ve been in touch with my family. Needless to say, they’re not happy with you.”
That had to be an understatement to end all understatements. “I’ll deal with your family.”
She approached, tossing her purse onto a side table before gesturing toward the chair in front of his desk. “Do you mind?”
He shook his head, amused. How could he have thought he’d ever be able to make a successful match with Alyssa? He wanted impulsive. Bold. Vibrant. A woman who brought color into his world. He wanted Miri. “Please, have a seat. I’m sorry I couldn’t join you for dinner. Would you care for a drink?”
She shook her head. If he didn’t know her so well, he’d think she were perfectly at ease. But he did know better. Her nervousness showed in the defiant slant of her chin and the tight grip she maintained on the padded arms of the chair. Even the curve of her mouth warned of emotional turmoil.
“Thank you for returning to Avernos,” he began.
“Thank you for—” She stared in disbelief. “Have you lost your mind? You make it sound like I chose to return. In case you’ve overlooked a few dots, let me connect them for you. You gave me no other choice. I had to come back with you or you’d have—”
“I’d have…what?” he cut in.
She froze, like a deer scenting the approach of a predator. “Your men. You. You had all of us surrounded. I had to go with you.”
“Do you think I’d have harmed you, or any of the Montgomery women for that matter?” He bit off each word, offended that she’d believe him capable of such a thing.
“Not harm, no,” she conceded.
“You think I’d have forced you to come with me?”
Her head jerked up. “Yes.” No equivocation this time, just that single fierce word.
He gave it a moment’s consideration before lifting a shoulder. She might be right. He sure as hell wouldn’t have left without her, he knew that for a fact. “Perhaps I would have used force if there had been no other alternative. I don’t know. But since you chose to come of your own free will, I didn’t have to make that decision, did I?” He picked up his drink and drained it, before setting it aside. “Well? Shall we get down to it? Would you prefer to start, or shall I?”
“I’m not sure.” She eyed his glass. “Are you sufficiently fortified?”
He couldn’t help but smile. “There’s no fortification sufficient enough when it comes to dealing with you.”
She relaxed ever so slightly at the admission, but didn’t respond to his smile. “You want to discuss our issues? Okay. I’ll go first.” She leaned forward in her chair, fixing him with an unforgiving stare. “The first thing we need to discuss is who betrayed me. I want to know who told you I’d be at the mall unescorted.”
“Next question.”
“Tell me who the traitor is,” she insisted.
“I said, next question.”
A silent battle of wills ensued, neither prepared to back down. He’d just begun to wonder if they were going to sit there all night when she released her breath in a frustrated sigh. “Fine. Don’t tell me. Explain something else instead. What possible excuse can you have for what you’ve done? For the lengths you’ve gone to, to try and gain the throne?”
He wouldn’t prevaricate over that question. She wanted the truth? He’d give it to her, no matter who got hurt. “I received evidence implicating the Montgomerys in the theft of Verdonia’s amethysts.”
Miri nodded impatiently. “Juliana discovered the person responsible. It was Lauren DeVida, my stepfather’s Chief Executive Accountant. That’s old news.”
“It wasn’t old when I received it.”
She hesitated, frowning. “No, I guess it wouldn’t have been. But now you know the truth. That she was the one behind the thefts. That it wasn’t the Montgomerys.” Her voice gained intensity and he could hear the anger underscoring her words. “If you’d had the charges investigated when they’d first been given to you, you’d have discovered that for yourself. But instead, you used those accusations to try and snatch the throne from Lander.”
He tilted his head to one side. Was she kidding? “How was I supposed to investigate the charges?” he demanded. “I didn’t have access to the necessary records. I still don’t. And I never will unless I’m elected king.”
“Are you telling me you forced Alyssa to the altar in order to get your hands on a bunch of financial records?” she scoffed. “That’s the excuse you’re trying to sell?”
He fought the irritation that swept through him. “Sell? No. I’m telling you the unvarnished truth. Viable information was sent to me implicating your stepfather and Lander, and I considered any number of options before settling on marriage to Alyssa as my best option for resolving a critical situation. I had to protect Verdonia.”
She waved that
aside. “Oh, please.”
He thrust a hand through his hair. Didn’t she understand? “Listen to me, Miri. According to the experts I hired, the documents I received weren’t faked. Someone has been siphoning off amethysts and selling them on the black market. And they’ve been doing it for a very long time. King Stefan was implicated directly, as well as Lander and Merrick, more recently.”
“But it wasn’t any of them,” she argued. “I’ve explained that already. It was this DeVida woman.”
He waited a beat before asking softly, “And who else?”
She looked taken aback. “Excuse me?”
“Think about it, Miri.” Standing, he circled to the front of his desk, edging one hip on the tabletop directly across from her. “The amethysts leave the mines here in Avernos and are shipped to Celestia for processing. Some remain in Celestia and are purchased by local artisans, the rest go to Verdon for international sales and distribution.”
“So?” she asked uneasily. “Every schoolchild knows that.”
“My point is…how did Lauren DeVida steal the amethysts she sold on the black market?”
Miri stared at him blankly. “How did—”
“Lauren couldn’t have done that on her own. It’s not like she walked into the vault and helped herself to handfuls of uncut gems. There are only two places the amethysts could have been culled and the records altered.” He ticked off on his fingers. “When they were brought out of the mines. Or when they were cut and graded in preparation for sale and distribution.”
Miri fell silent, puzzling it out. “Whoever stole them wouldn’t want uncut gems,” she reluctantly offered. “They couldn’t make as much from them.”
“I agree. That suggests the second of our two possibilities is most likely. Which leaves us with the question of who. There’s no way DeVida could have pulled this off on her own. She had to have help from someone, someone in a powerful position. Someone who could have circumvented the checks and balances King Stefan put in place. I want to know who that someone was.”
“It wasn’t my father!” Miri retorted, stung. “Or my brothers. We’re not thieves.”
“How do I know that?”
Hurt warred with anger. “How can you ask such a thing?”
“How can I not?” he asked grimly. “Look at it from my position. I receive incontrovertible evidence of a long-term theft ring that’s brought Verdonia to a financial crisis. King Stefan was in charge during the years this was going on.”
“He didn’t know anything about it,” she protested. “You can’t blame him for that.”
Brandt’s expression hardened. “Yes, Miri, I can. It was his job to know. It was his responsibility. His duty as our king and protector.” He hated criticizing the man she considered her father, but he had to make her understand it from his perspective. “His own accountant brought our country to the brink of ruin. And Stefan didn’t have a clue. Why would I trust Lander to do a better job? Why should Verdonia?”
He winced at her drawn expression. “So you forced Alyssa to the altar because you didn’t trust Lander? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“My goal was to prevent any further malfeasance and to ensure that something like this never happens again. It’s my duty to protect the people of Verdonia. To safeguard their future. The only way I can do that is from the throne. You may not approve of my methods, but at the time I didn’t see any other option. Looking back, I still don’t.”
She stiffened. “My God,” she whispered in disbelief. “You’d do it again, wouldn’t you?”
“Marry Alyssa in order to keep Lander off the throne?” He didn’t even hesitate. “Yes, I would.”
“Regardless of what happened between us on Mazoné? Regardless of what we had?”
“Damn it, Miri.” He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Do you think that doesn’t tear me up? That I wouldn’t wish for a different life, if it were possible? But, it’s not. I am who I am. I can only act the way I’ve been raised to behave. The way I’m ethically bound to respond. I can’t change that.”
“Ethically bound?” She jumped to her feet and shot away from him. Halfway across the room, she spun around again, a flame of red fire. “Alyssa didn’t want to marry you, Brandt. She was terrified, both of you and the situation she found herself in. But that didn’t matter to you, did it? You sacrificed her on the altar of your precious code of ethics. She was no more than a pawn to you. How can that be right? How can that be just?”
He didn’t back away from the question, but faced it squarely. “Not a day goes by that I don’t regret what I did to her and to Angela.” Pain carved deep crevices in his face. “It came down to forcing her to marry me and saving Verdonia, or allowing the corruption to continue until the entire country was destroyed. What should I have done?”
“That’s so obvious, even a child could answer.” Scorn filled her voice. “You should have brought the matter before the Temporary Governing Council, as you ultimately did.”
He conceded the point with a nod. “Perhaps. But I couldn’t be certain how deep the corruption ran. At the time, I didn’t feel I could take the risk. Only after my initial plan failed did I dare take that route.”
“So marrying Alyssa seemed like the best option, despite what we’d shared in Mazoné.” She didn’t phrase it as a question.
“The only option,” he confirmed.
“Then what am I doing here? You brought me back to Avernos.” Her hands fisted at her sides. “Why?”
A muscle jerked in his jaw. “You’re here because I can’t let you go.” The words held a raspy edge. “I won’t.”
“And I won’t be a consolation prize. Nor will I be second choice.” She marched across the room and snatched up her purse. “You don’t have the right to keep me here any longer. I want to go home. And by home I mean Verdon. Do you take me, or do I place another call to my brothers?”
Surging to his feet, Brandt came for her. “There’s only one place you’re going and it sure as hell isn’t Verdon.” Before she had time to react, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her toward the door.
“Let me go!” She fought to free herself, not that it did any good. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Taking you to my bed,” he answered promptly. “Maybe once I have you there again you’ll remember why you stayed the last time.”
Six
Miri struggled in Brandt’s arms, not that it did a bit of good. He carried her easily. To her outrage, the guards and servants littering the hallways were quick to avert eyes and hide smiles. How could they find this amusing? He was abducting her, holding her against her will!
Shoving open the door to his suite of rooms, he dropped her to her feet. “I’m not staying here,” she informed him, backing away.
“You can try to leave, but you won’t get far.” He pursued her, his face set in inexorable lines. “Not again. My people won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“Don’t blame them. It wasn’t their fault,” fairness compelled her to say. She edged her way clear across the room. Bumping up against the chair by the fireplace, the back of her knees clipped the seat and she sat down hard. Her cheeks turned a shade darker than her suit, but she recovered with impressive speed. Acting as though she’d planned to sit all along, she crossed her legs and smoothed the narrow skirt of her suit over her thighs. “They were ordered to guard Alyssa Sutherland, not Miri Montgomery. I made it clear who I was when I left. Why would they stop me?”
He took up a position in front of the mantel, far too close for comfort. “And because of that, you waltzed right out the front door.”
“More of a stumbling run than a waltz,” she muttered. Stiffening her spine, she fought to regain her focus and deal with the panther she somehow found herself caged with. Years of practice handling awkward situations in the course of performing her royal duties came to her rescue. “Let’s have it, Brandt. What am I doing here?”
He regarded her in thoughtful silence for
a brief moment. She’d never seen eyes such a rich ebony, nor so piercing in their intensity. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a perfect punctuation to his stare. “There are any number of issues we need to address. But why don’t we start with a certain wedding ceremony that took place a couple months ago.”
“Oh. That.” She managed to dismiss its importance with a blithe carelessness. And if she took pleasure in the fact that his mouth compressed in annoyance, well, who could blame her? “I don’t suppose you have any idea whether or not we’re really married?”
“No, I don’t.”
She grimaced. He’d managed to out-blithe her and with irritating ease, too. “You haven’t checked?”
“I’m satisfied with the status quo.”
That had her mouth falling open. “You must be joking.”
“Not at all.” He folded his arms across his chest. “As far as I’m concerned we’re married.”
She uncrossed her legs, her heels hitting the floor with a decisive thud. “You can’t possibly believe our marriage is legal. It can’t be.” She ticked off on her fingers. “You married me thinking I was Alyssa Sutherland. Her name was the one used during the ceremony, and on all the paperwork. Any one of those facts must be grounds for an annulment.”
“Quite possibly.” He tilted his head to one side. “What do you suppose would happen if I claim I knew it was you all along?”
She shook her head, alarmed. “That’s impossible. You didn’t know. You couldn’t have!”
“You’re certain of that?”
He’d left her grappling for a response. “If you’d known, you’d have stopped the ceremony. You’d have ordered your men to find Alyssa, just as you did later that night.”
“Actually, it was early the next morning, not that it matters. Now, pay attention, wife.” He leaned forward, crowding her to the point that she inched back in the chair. Lightning flashed, followed by a sharp crack of thunder as the storm closed in. She swallowed convulsively, her pulse fluttering in the hollow of her throat. “Since you’re responsible for me losing my bride, I’ve decided you can replace her. Maybe our wedding ceremony is legal. Maybe it’s not. To be honest, I don’t give a damn either way because I plan to fight the dissolution. So prepare yourself, my sweet. If you want out of this marriage, you have an uphill battle ahead of you.”
