“Of course, Your Highness, she’s obviously the most important party here,” Zach said, smiling. We both knew that he was referring to the news that broke only an hour ago.
Arthur looked like he was ready to say something else, but then his eyes drifted to Ronan.
“You used to work for my mother? I remember … it’s been years, but—”
“Your Highness, it’s an honour to see you again, but my matter is quite pressing. Do you mind if we move to a more private setting?” Ronan asked, shaking Arthur’s hand.
“Of course, let’s go to Rodriquez’s office. Detective, do you mind?” Arthur asked, but he wasn’t looking at Zach, his eyes were fixated on me.
“No, not at all. You have other priorities to think about. I can wait,” Zach said, sounding irritated. A moment later I felt him beside me. He placed his hand gently on my back, invading my privacy. “I’m looking forward to our catch up a bit later on, Maxine.”
He leaned over and whispered the words into my ear. He was winding Arthur up and with very good results. The prince narrowed his eyes at him. I quickly gathered myself, pushed him away and walked through Rodriguez’s room. A moment later I knew that I was more than screwed. Now the prince was available and Zach was ready to try his luck with me again. Either way I was back to square one.
Chapter 5
“Through every city shall he hunt her down, Until he shall have driven her back to Hell, There from whence envy first did let her loose.” ― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
Zach had decided to wait outside, but I knew he wouldn’t just leave me alone. He clearly thought that the two of us needed a proper catch up. I had a feeling that Arthur wasn’t just planning to hand me over to the detective after we were finished talking. He had his own agenda in mind. Zach and I weren’t connected anymore; we weren’t even friends. Just two people that messed around a little.
Deep down I knew that we should have waited for Rodriguez. He needed to know about the letters. The faction liked keeping tabs on any new demons that had access to the royal family. I also promised Cyril to follow the protocol to the book. So far this had proven to be much more difficult than expected.
On top of that, I could see Arthur was burning with desire to talk to me alone and Ronan was sensing everything. The atmosphere was riddled with tension and I couldn’t keep still, thinking that Nameless could release the letters to the press at any moment.
Ronan began telling Arthur about his mother, about the letters, and about her secret affair. This conversation was not going to be easy. Arthur had no idea that his mother was capable of having someone on the side. Princess Catherine wasn’t the kind of person that would betray her loving husband, and Arthur was shocked learning that his mother hadn’t turned out to be the role model that he’d always thought she was.
“No, this is impossible. My mother would never do something like that to my father. She was pure and—”
“I know that this must be hard for you to understand, but we need to retrieve these letters before Tom realises what kind of value he has in his hands. Time isn’t on our side, Your Highness. I hired Max to track down my son, but you have to be aware that there is a possibility that this information might be leaked to the press sooner or later,” Ronan said, shaking his head. He should have destroyed the letters, but for him they were filled with sentimental value.
Arthur dragged his hand through his hair and looked at me, like he was searching for confirmation of how to proceed. He was angry with himself, furious that no one told him about the affair earlier.
I needed to get out of the palace as soon as possible. His presence suffocated me. I took this case because it involved me, but Arthur didn’t need to know that. The decisions, choices that I made in the past were going to hunt me down until I told him the truth.
“Who was the man?” the prince asked, pacing around.
“The man?” Ronan repeated.
“The man that my mother chose to have an affair with?” he pressed, through the gritted teeth.
“He was a foreigner, an official delegate from Morocco, and he had been visiting British monarchs regularly. Your mother had trusted me with these possessions; she gave me the letters before her tragic death,” Ronan explained, trying to be as diplomatic as possible. This whole story probably wasn’t easy for him to share.
I had worked for royals for over two years and during that time I learnt that other members of the royal court had their own secrets. Now there was a strong possibility that some of them would be exposed too. Ronan should have just let me get on with my task of tracking Nameless down. He didn’t really need me here, making Arthur believe that we still had a chance to fix everything.
“Who else knows about this?” Arthur asked me.
“No one apart from me and Ricky. Ronan came straight to me. I’ll make this case my priority, make sure that I find Tom before he can make use of the letters,” I assured Arthur, hoping that he wouldn’t dwell on the ins and outs. In the past two months I’d been focused. I made money and solved a lot of difficult cases. Now I had to shift my priorities, because this was likely the most important assignment in my career. My whole future hung on that one letter, that Arthur didn’t even know about.
“Maxine, do you know why Detective Quinton is here?” Arthur asked me all of a sudden. I opened my mouth to answer, but then changed my mind. Actually, I had no idea what Zach was doing in the palace. He mentioned that it was police business.
“No.”
“Someone broke into my residence in Kensington a couple of nights ago and stole my mother’s jewellery. Whoever it was left a golden feather—”
“A gold feather?” Ronan repeated, cutting the prince off abruptly.
“Yes, I thought that was unusual, that maybe the thief had dropped it or something,” Arthur continued, rubbing his neck.
The sunlight beamed into the room and I noticed dark circles under his eyes. He looked tired, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. The news about his failed engagement had broken today, but he’d most likely been thinking about this for some time. Natalie was probably devastated.
“No, it’s not a coincidence. It’s my son, Tom, he broke in to your residence, Your Highness. That’s his signature, the golden feather,” Ronan confirmed, scratching his head, probably trying to understand why his son took some old jewellery. I had no idea what to think anymore. Maybe Ronan’s son was motivated by someone else, by a person on the outside. I just needed to figure this out.
Arthur walked towards the door and opened it.
“Detective, can I have a word?” he asked. Zach strolled inside the room, looking slightly apprehensive, then shut the door.
“Your Highness?” he asked, still adding that hint of sarcasm whenever he used Arthur’s full title. He was in a bad mood and that wasn’t a great sign. My own hormones were tormenting me, somehow trying to let me know that I made a mistake in the past. The truth was that I wasn’t ready to jump into another relationship.
“I believe that you, Detective, and Maxine should be looking for the same person. The thief called Nameless, he stole my mother’s jewellery,” Arthur said, with a heavy voice.
“Yes, I know who he is. I’ve been trying to catch him for years,” Zach stated, not looking surprised at all.
“His real name is Tom O’Connor, but everyone calls him Nameless Thief,” Ronan said. “He took very important letters from my private collection that used to belong to the tragically dead Princess Catherine. The prince just informed us about the jewellery that was taken from him a night before.”
I needed to go outside, to get some air. My energy was going berserk, rippling through my system. I hated Nameless Thief already, and I’d never met him. I kept going, hoping that some day I would forget about the burning guilt, about the choices that I was forced to make.
Yet again, I had to get involved with royals, but this time my own future was in jeopardy. Demons and humans were always somehow connected, and I so desperately wanted to
stay out of trouble, out of faction business.
Zach looked speechless and I had never seen him so caught off guard by sudden news. Arthur was worried about his mother’s reputation. He also seemed annoyed that he got Zach involved. He could have chosen any detective, but apparently Rodriguez insisted that Quinton was his best choice, that he was discreet and efficient.
“I’m on this case, Zach. Ronan hired me to retrieve the letters,” I said, aware of the raving tension that zoomed between everyone.
“You two should team up and start tracking him down together,” Arthur added, really not pleased with this idea, but he couldn’t deny that it made sense. I didn’t intend to read his mind, but I couldn’t help noticing that he started to doubt himself and his family. At the same time he didn’t want to lose his cool in front of the man that he was competing with.
We started discussing the details, assuring one another that no one apart from people in the room and possibly Rodriguez needed to know about the stolen letters. This whole case had to be kept away from anyone, especially press.
George had fully recovered. He’d nearly died from potion overdose, and Arthur wasn’t ready to tell him that his mother was never faithful to their beloved father.
“All right, it looks like that’s all there is to discuss. I need to head out, go back to the office,” I said, hoping to leave without further problems. Arthur was immersed in conversation with Ronan. Zach was on his smartphone, not paying attention to me at all.
“No, stay. I need to talk to you, Maxine,” Arthur said, suddenly aware of my presence again. A nasty smirk appeared on Zach’s face as he lifted his eyes off the phone to meet mine.
“I really have to go, Your Highness, and catch up with evidence. Detective?” I said, nodding to Zach to move along.
“Maxine, please, this won’t take long. I’m sure that Detective Quinton will be fine on his own for five,” Arthur pressed, pissed off that I was ready to rush off.
“Of course, Your Highness, I have no doubts that your discussion with Maxine cannot wait,” Zach said, and headed towards the door, laughing. Arthur thanked Ronan, and a moment later I was left alone with Prince Charming, the man that would hate me for the rest of my existence if he knew what I’d done.
The silence was unnerving, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands. Arthur stood by the window, lost in his own thoughts. His emotions were unsettling, and I felt his disappointment, his confusion about his beloved mother. There were so many things that we had to discuss, so much that happened.
“Have you heard?” he suddenly asked. We both knew what he was asking me about.
“The story is everywhere, so I don’t think I could have missed it,” I said, breathing in and out. Arthur wouldn’t dare to ruin his future because of me, because of something that happened in the past. I was turning the ring that he had given me on my finger, thinking about our promise.
“She’s gone, and I don’t care what anybody thinks,” he said, turning to face me. His green eyes were taking me in, putting pieces of my soul back together. I rubbed my cheek, remembering the scar, and our last conversation.
“I don’t understand why I’m here. It’s your decision. I have told you countless times—”
“Shut up, Flower, you don’t need to say anything. I’m just letting you know that there isn’t anyone else in my life now. Natalie was someone that filled the time. I hurt her and I regret it,” he was saying, using words that meant a lot, but so little at the same time. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and that prick outside, but I’m going to fight for you.”
I was counting in my head, distracting my thoughts, pushing the old emotions away, like this wasn’t the most hopeful thing that I’d heard in the past couple of weeks. Arthur was stubborn, even more now than before. Once he put his foot down, there was no going back.
“I’m not dating Quinton. We went out once, but things got in the way,” I mumbled, not even knowing why I had to say that. This would have been so much easier if he believed that I was out of reach.
“Good, that’s great, so we finally have a chance, a shot?”
“No, Arthur. This won’t work. Your family would never accept it. I’m no one, just an ex-employee. It’s impossible with everything that’s already going on. You need to concentrate on your future,” I said, sounding more and more like a broken record. Arthur frowned and approached me but didn’t touch me this time around.
“You’re overthinking this again, Flower, and I don’t care about what other people think. My family won’t dictate who I can or cannot love. We are meant to be, and I’ll make this work,” he assured me. “I know that you will be busy with the case. The press won’t leave me alone for a while, but after that I’ll make sure that we spend some time together. We can fix the past, fix us.”
I bit on my lower lip in frustration. He didn’t understand that we didn’t have a future, that what happened between us was a one-time deal.
“I have to go, Arthur. This conversation is over. I won’t let you ruin your reputation just because of a fling—”
“Don’t you dare call yourself a fling,” he cut me off, grabbing my shoulders. “You were more than that, and every day that I spent with you was brighter. You can’t imagine what I went through when you vanished.”
His words squeezed my heart in my chest hard, and when we were looking at each other like this I wanted to believe him. Maybe this could really work, maybe if I weren’t a mongrel, maybe …
Stupid, stupid cow. He is the king and you’re half demon. This would never work. There will always be someone or something that will prevent you from being happy. There is always going to be an obstacle.
I pushed him away, shook my head and then opened the door, leaving the man that I still loved behind, the man that promised we could be together again. There was nothing more that needed to be said. Arthur had cancelled the wedding because of me. His family knew that he wasn’t ready to let go of the past, that he was ready to do anything to bring me back. My life was turning around, but not for the better—for much worse.
Chapter 6
“And my Guide to me: “He will not wake again until the angel trumpet sounds the day on which the host shall come to judge all men.” ― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
“So, how was the conversation with Prince Charming? Did he get your mojo going?” Zach asked, when I left Rodriquez’s office a bit later on. I stopped abruptly around the corner, sensing his rippling excitement nearby. I suspected that he was going to wait for me somewhere by the exit. I turned around, shutting down the tap of my stupid libido. Yes, he was still intimidating enough to make me lose my usual control, to make me think about stuff that didn’t matter.
“Like you would want to know.” I laughed nervously. “Have you seen Ronan?”
His cologne was strong, waking up desire that I’d buried deep inside me for a good two months. I hated to admit that I liked his cocky attitude and the fact that he still wanted to ravage me, so I couldn’t remember my own name. Sad, but true.
“He asked me to tell you that he had to be somewhere. I don’t know, maybe he has another pressing meeting,” Zach explained, as we were walking towards the exit. “You’re flustered, Maxine. Did Prince Charming steal a kiss from you, after he ditched the fiancée?”
I turned around, my hand was itching to slap him hard. Working together after our steamy date was going to be a challenge. Zach had no idea why I was forced to take on this case, and I couldn’t tell him about the letter.
“There is nothing going on between me and Arthur,” I said through gritted teeth. “And now we are stuck on this case together, so you better tell me what you have or I’ll stop being nice. Let’s not forget that you’re the one with a soft spot for me, Detective.”
He laughed, getting ahead of me, so I was forced to stop walking away from him.
“Flower, don’t try to turn this around. We had a shot and you ran away. The prince is still in your mind. And now he’s finally f
ree, so you have a chance to jump back to his bones,” Zach said, sounding completely serious and angry for some reason. I needed a strong drink, maybe not my usual tequila mix. Magic and alcohol was a bad combination right at this moment.
I rolled my eyes, wondering what the hell his problem was. I never promised him anything. We went out for one date, and I panicked. He didn’t need to be so bitter about it.
“I’m done talking to you, Zach. Call me when you’re ready to discuss Nameless Thief,” I snapped, pushed him away and turned around the corner, hoping he wouldn’t follow me.
Oh boy, I was so wrong. That guy was stubborn and very determined to push my hot buttons. Moments later he twisted my arm, wrapped himself over my body, and then shoved me against the wall. The last time he surprised me like that was outside the pub when we ended up fighting. That night I ended up beating him in a poker game and winning a bet.
When I opened my eyes, his mouth was inches away from mine, and I felt his erection pressed over my thigh. The world around me started spinning, and my old insecurities were back, zooming in front of my eyes. Everything had been going so well when we went out on a date two months ago. He’d kissed me in the car and left me drenched, enhanced with arousal and completely ready to take the next step. Then we had dinner, and when we got to his house I decided to run. It was the most pathetic thing that I’d ever done in my entire life, and now I was ready to do it again.
“Flower, you’re so hot when you’re irritated. My proposition stands. Let me have my way with you,” he said, barely touching my lips, caressing them slightly. I sucked in a breath, feeling a fresh wave of desire brush over my hardened nipples. First Arthur, now bloody Zach. What was going on with these men?
“Get off me. This isn’t a game anymore. We have a guy to catch,” I said, sensing his arousal and the craving at the back of my throat. Maybe tequila was a bad idea, but at least I didn’t have to deal with my tormented feelings while drunk.
Doomed Cases Series Box Set Page 28
