by Tia Louise
We reach them, and the baby perks up just like my brother did moments ago. “Da!” Two chubby hands reach out, and he sweeps her up in his arms.
“Rowan.” Zelda stands and gives me a hug before moving to wrap her arms around Cal’s waist. “Are you two ready to solve the world’s problems?”
“We’re much closer than we were this morning,” Cal teases.
Belle rests her head on my brother’s shoulder, and I glance up at Ava. She holds out her hand, and I take the few steps up to where she’s waiting. I can’t help thinking one day soon I’ll have a little one in my arms. In the meantime, I put my arm around her slim body.
“I was just telling Cal you and Zee should go to Occitan.” She tenses, and her brow is lined when she looks up at me.
“You want me to go now?”
Her mind has gone to our fight. I’d been so furious with her for slipping away from the special guard I’d assigned to her. Then she’d kissed me, and I couldn’t keep my hands off her.
“We’ll all go,” I reassure her. “Cal and I will come here during the day. Once we’ve settled matters, we can join you in the evenings.”
“Let’s do it, Ava-bug,” Zelda begs, walking up the steps and catching her sister’s hand. “It’s so stuffy here, and we can spend the days on the beach.”
Ava glances to me again, and traces her finger along my jawline. “As long as you’re not angry.”
Her concern makes me smile, and I lean down to kiss her slowly. “I could never stay angry with you.” I meet her eyes, and she relaxes.
Zelda is quick to chime in. “Sheesh, we are definitely heading to Occitan. You two are spending way too much time together.”
Cal slaps her ass, and she laughs, catching him around the waist and calling out in a high-pitched voice. “Oh, Cal! Will you ever be able to survive all day without me up your butt?”
“Shut up!” Ava cries. “You are such a pill. Anyway, you were up his butt far enough last time you were here.”
“I’m starting to feel neglected,” Cal adds in a too-loud protest. “Why aren’t you more concerned about my butt?”
“Your butt is just fine.” Zelda takes Belle from his arms and starts up the stairway into the palace. “I can only worry about one baby at a time.”
“That’s what you think,” my brother shouts and jogs up the stairs. Zelda squeals and runs inside faster.
Ava turns to me and puts both hands on my shoulders. “You’re not sending me away?”
“I’ll be with you every night.” I slide my hands down her bare arms, and we start to walk up the stone staircase. “You, however, have some explaining to do.” Her brow quirks and I continue. “Freddie hacked into the orphanage Gmail account and read the message from Vega.”
“All this hacking. It’s like I have no privacy anymore!”
Pulling her to a stop, I make her look at me. “You don’t. Not where this is concerned. You have to tell me everything.”
She exhales a sigh. “You were just so angry that day. I didn’t want to say anything more about it.”
“What exactly happened?”
We’re on the second floor, and she takes my hand. “Come with me.”
The noise of Cal and his little family echoes down the stairwell leading to the next floor. I follow Ava to the sitting room across from our master suite. She goes to the desk where her laptop sits, and pulling a narrow drawer open, she takes out a card.
“He wants me to leave the check at this location.” She holds the small white paper. “I don’t know if he’s planning to meet me there or if it’s some sort of mailbox.”
I take it from her quickly, tamping down my irritation that I’m just learning about this. “Were you planning to slip away again?” I ask, cutting my eyes at her.
“No,” she says quietly. “Zee and Belle are safe here with us. I was considering not doing it at all.”
Reaching out, I catch her chin, gently lifting her eyes to meet mine. “If there’s a next time, I need you to tell me. Immediately.”
She nods. Then she adds quietly, “I don’t want to give him the money.” Her hands go to her stomach, and I can see this is hard for her. “If he gets it back, it will be like he never had to pay for what he did. It will be like he wins.”
My eyes close, and I reach for her, pulling her to me and taking a deep breath of her jasmine scent. She’s right. It does feel like I’m at the top of a mountain, taking my first deep breath of the day.
“He will not win,” I say, conviction deepening my tone. “I will be sure he pays for what he did to you, my love. I promise you that.”
Her arms circle my waist and she holds me. “I’m sorry I’ve brought this into your world. I know you have enough worries without having to pile my past on top of everything.”
Placing my hands on her shoulders, I hold her steady. “I love you, Ava Wilder-Tate. Your worries are my worries. My shoulders are wider than yours, and my back is stronger. I have no problem taking this from you.”
That earns me a little smile. “Thank you,” she whispers, but she still seems a bit sad.
“Hey.” I catch her chin again, and her beautiful green eyes meet mine. “Let me have it.”
Chapter 14
Ava
Zelda and I are both dressed in bikinis, lying on our towels in the sand. Belle is in a swim diaper and tons of sunscreen, and she’s adorable running in and out of the tiny surf, squealing at everything she sees. At one point she runs to where we’re lying and drops in front of her mother.
“Pish,” she says pointing to the water.
“Yes,” Zee says, taking her fat little hand. “Fish swim in the water.”
The baby pats her arm. “Pish, mama.”
“Sure,” my sister says. “I’m your fish mama.” Zee leans forward to rub their noses together. “Mermaid baby.”
My niece pops up and returns to running back and forth with the small breakers. My sister flops on her stomach to face me.
“So tell me about your orphanage.”
Tilting my head, I sigh. “It’s been so long since you’ve visited!”
“Only six months.”
“Exactly. Six months is almost a lifetime at Belle’s age!”
“We had a few visits from the queen mother in there.” She rolls her eyes. “But let’s stay positive! What’s the story on this orphanage?”
I’m leaning on my hands, digging my toes in the soft white sand. “It sort of came out the blue six months ago, actually. Rowan and I were in Italy, and the prime minister’s wife was really lovely.”
Zelda laughs, and I stop. “What’s so funny?”
She glances up at me, and her blue eyes glisten. “I was thinking about the words you’re saying and how amazing it is for you to be talking about the Italian prime minister and his wife.”
I’m quiet a moment. “It’s true. We’ve come so far so fast.”
“Is Rowan still treating you like a queen?”
“Queen regent,” I say, giving her a wink.
“Oh, right.” Belle is back, carrying a handful of wet sand, which she drops on her mother’s lower back. “Ah! Belle. Don’t put wet sand on Mommy!”
“Pish,” the toddler says.
“Sand,” Zee says in response.
“Pish.” She takes off toward the water again, and my sister follows behind her, leaning down to wash the wet sand away.
Zelda’s walking back when she returns to our conversation. “So the Italian prime minister’s wife turned you on to refugee children?”
“She basically told me what was happening, and I wanted to help. We only have ten.”
My sister sits facing me. “What about children of your own? I have to say, I’m surprised you don’t already have like two. Since you’re the queen.”
“Regent,” I add softly, letting my eyes go to Belle. I can’t help a little smile when I picture another toddler there with her, cousins playing together like sisters. Like me and Zee…
“Wh
at’s that look about?” Zee’s on her knees at once. “Are you pregnant?”
I start to laugh, and shake my head. “It’s too soon to know, but we’re trying. We’ve been trying for a few weeks.”
“Ava!” she shrieks so loudly, Belle runs up the sand to us again this time whining. “Sorry, baby. Mommy’s okay.”
“Da,” she pouts, reaching over my sister’s shoulder toward the house.
“Daddy is at work,” Zee tells her, turning her little body and helping her sit. The baby is up again, running to the water. “Cal spoils her so much. I swear, when he’s home, her feet never touch the ground.”
I smile, watching Belle’s fat little legs as she runs. “Rowan will be that way. He’s so protective.”
My stomach twists when I think about what day it is. I’m supposed to be leaving one hundred and fifty thousand dollars right now… Only Rowan took it from me.
“Okay, that’s it.” Zee slaps the sand. “What else is going on? It’s not like you to keep secrets from me Ava Lavinia Wilder.”
“Wilder-Tate,” I add softly.
“Stop correcting me, and tell me what has you so worried. Is it a high-risk pregnancy?”
“No!” I cry. “It’s not that…” My stomach twists painfully. Saying this out loud to Zelda is so much harder than I thought it would be. “It’s… Dwayne.”
Her pale brows clutch together, and she stares at me completely confused. “Dwayne Vega? That asshole who tried to hurt you in Florida?”
I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and nod. “One and the same.”
“What the f… hell does he want?”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Good save.”
“We’ve started a swear jar.”
“Hell doesn’t count?”
“Technically not a swear word. Now tell me what is going on.”
Another deep inhale, another sigh. “I never told you this, but when we ran away, I took his special wallet.”
She frowns. “Why?”
“He made that big show of putting my picture in it. Do you even remember that?”
Zelda shakes her head. “I tried to tune him out. He was always saying creepy shit, and I only had six months to go before I could get us out of there.”
“Well, before we ran, I took it, because I wasn’t letting that asshole keep anything of me.”
“Okay. So you stole his stupid special wallet. No big deal.”
Clearing my throat, I slide my finger in a line through the sand. “Only, it is a big deal. It had a fifteen thousand dollar note in it.”
“What?” Zelda shrieks loudly, and once again, Belle is with us whining. “Sorry, baby!” Zee says again in a soft voice. “Everything’s okay!”
“Da,” Belle pouts again, this time putting her head on my sister’s shoulder.
“Mother of the year award, Table 2.”
“Stop it,” I argue. “Cal’s probably slipping her chocolates all the time.”
“So finish the story.” Her eyes narrow. “And don’t skip the part about why the fu… heck you never told me about this before. We could have really used that money. Do you know all the shi… stuff I had to do with Seth?”
She’s only pretend fussing, but her words are like a punch in the stomach. “I’m so sorry, Zee. I should have told you.”
She leans back on her towel, and Belle’s cheek is on her chest. The baby is sucking her thumb, and my sister reaches over to pat my arm. “It’s okay. We didn’t turn out too badly. You know.”
“Except for what happened on the island.” A pain is starting in my temple. “I should have told you. You never would have gotten mixed up with Seth.”
“And we wouldn’t be here right now with the men we love, with Belle,” she says. “Everything worked out like it was supposed to. Anyway, we would’ve been busted with that much money. Or robbed. We were just kids. Then they would have tossed us right back into foster care—or worse.”
“You would have figured out a way to keep it safe,” I say softly.
“I would have had to use Seth, and you know how he was. He would have been trying to get his cut.” She pats my hand. “Trust me, it would have been just as difficult if I’d known.”
I look out at the emerald water and consider the alternate timeline. I suppose she’s right. Now, looking back, I wish I’d left the fucking wallet and simply run.
As if sensing my mood, Zee’s voice is gentle when she asks, “What’s happening now?”
“He wants it back.” My throat hurts. “He’s willing to kill to get it.”
She sits up slightly, and her eyes hold mine. Concern etches her face. “What does that mean? Is he threatening you?”
“Rowan says he and André and Freddie are handling it, but I’m so afraid.” My voice cracks. “Dwayne is as horrible and scary as ever.”
For a brief while, the only sound is the lapping of the small waves and the light breathing from the now-sleeping Belle.
“Is that why you called me?” she finally asks.
Nodding, I glance her way. “I was afraid. I needed you here with me.”
“I’m always here for you, Ava-bug.” She reaches out for my hand and squeezes it. Belle’s tiny thumb is in her mouth, and she sucks it in her sleep. “Still,” my sister is thinking out loud, “if Rowan said he’s taking care of it, why are you afraid?”
Tension twists in my stomach. “He threatened my family.”
She studies my expression. “Me?”
Again, I nod. “He said he would take something of mine. He said islands aren’t safe.”
My sister’s lips twist into a frown, and she hugs her daughter closer. “Does Rowan know about this?”
“I told him first.”
She exhales through her lips. “This really is serious. If Rowan told Cal, Dwayne’s as good as dead.”
Chapter 15
Rowan
The drop location on Vega’s card is Plage du Larvotto, a narrow beach on a bay lined with high rises and filled with crowds of tourists. The water is turquoise and deep blue, and a line of buoys and platforms separates the swimming area from the deeper water where several yachts are parked. Sunbathers line the sand, and swimmers stand in the thigh-high water.
“To Catch a Thief,” my brother mutters as we walk across the sand.
“Similar,” I agree, looking at the white cabanas positioned in a line behind the umbrellas. Between one and a small office, a man is doing chin-ups on a bar.
We walk slowly, scanning the chairs for any signs of the phlegmatic, overweight lowlife threatening our families. I’ve shown the mug shot to Cal, so he knows somewhat what he’s looking for. It’s impossible to know how much he’s changed since that picture was taken.
Cal and I both wear hats and sunglasses in an attempt to hide our identities. So far, this is our only hope of making contact, as Vega is not responding to any of Freddie’s missives. We’re scanning the beach. He has to be out here, and my guess is he’s looking for Ava.
I step into the shade of a cabana. Cal is beside me, and we’re scanning all the faces, our search complicated by all the hats and sunglasses. A tall woman with long brown hair steps backwards, pausing beside me. I don’t know her, and she’s looking at someone else. Still, we stand in the same vicinity several moments.
It’s long enough for me to spot a pasty-skinned male in a white linen shirt and blue shorts moving toward us. He’s paunchy with a receding hairline, and when the woman turns, he pulls up short. It’s too late. I’ve spotted him.
“Vega,” I say under my breath, and our eyes meet.
He starts to back away, and Cal moves around behind him. “Not so fast. We have something you want.”
“I don’t know you,” the man snaps, and my brother catches him by the shoulder. I see Cal’s fingers cutting into his flesh.
“You’re right. You don’t know me.” Cal’s voice is a growl. “Yet you had the cowardice to threaten my baby girl.”
My muscles peak, and I step forward
, putting my hand on top of my brother’s. “Take a breath,” I say quietly.
Hazel clashes with blue, and I know it takes every bit of strength he possesses to release this motherfucker and step away. We have to bide our time. We can’t have a brawl on a public beach.
“Allow me to introduce my brother, Prince MacCallum Lockwood Tate, Captain of the Carabiners, Duke of Dumaldi, and father of Her Royal Highness Princess Isabella Scott Lavinia Wilder Tate of Dumaldi, my niece, who you threatened along with my wife, the queen regent, two days ago.” My voice grows more and more intimidating with every word I utter. “You’re not bullying children anymore, asshole. You’re in way over your head.”
“She stole from me,” he stutters. “She took my livelihood. I went to prison because she stole from me.”
“You went to prison for your own bad choices.” My voice is merciless. I have no tolerance for this lowlife. “You’ve never paid for what you did to Ava. You robbed little girls of their innocence. You raped and abused them.”
“I never abused my girls,” he hisses, standing taller. “I loved them.”
It’s then that I see his madness. He comes at me, and it takes all my self-control to hold myself in check. We can’t do this here. The clock on our ability to stay is ticking. Paparazzi will come storming out of the bushes or over the hill at any moment. I’m surprised they haven’t done so already.
Calming my tone, I step back. “I have your money. In two days, you can have it. Once you agree to my terms.”
He jerks his head, which creates an unattractive double chin around his already toadish face. “I need that money now! Ava was supposed to meet me here with the note. Not you. Where is she?”
“You will never go near my wife again,” I say. “In two days, you’ll get what’s coming to you—with conditions. Take it or leave it.”
It’s Cal’s turn to touch my shoulder. “Breathe,” he says, and I know he’s right. I can’t lose my cool if we’re going to make this work. I’m not giving us much time to build our case, but I have to keep this guy on the hook. He can’t run.
