Dirty Thief

by Tia Louise

  “Have you been out in the sun, Ava?”

  I realize the old queen is staring at me with one eye squinted and one eyebrow up. I get the creepy feeling she somehow knows I’m pregnant, even though we agreed not to tell anyone… other than Zelda and Cal.

  “We have been at Occitan,” I say and do a little smile.

  “Hm…” She isn’t convinced, but she waves her hand. Her tone is more solemn when she continues. “I also needed to come back because of these latest crimes. My son just said they have a lead on who is committing them. Has he confided in you?”

  “No ma’am,” I say, although I feel pretty confident I know who is behind them.

  “It’s been a long time since we’ve had so much unrest,” she continues, still holding Belle in her arms. “I suppose such things are cyclical.” She presses a kiss to one chubby cheek then releases the struggling toddler. “Doesn’t make them any easier to digest.”

  “Does Rowan know you’re here?” Her kindness to Belle coupled with her genuine sorrow over the recent crimes makes me want to be friendly.

  “I didn’t see him at breakfast. The staff said he and his brother had more of a brunch today. I’m sure they’re dealing with this situation. Still…” She gives me a cold look from her perch. “I trust we will all have dinner tonight at the usual time.”

  Friendly feelings gone. “Of course,” I say, doing a little bow. No idea when that might be.

  “If you’ll excuse us.” I take a few steps backwards before exiting the sitting room, my sister and Belle right behind me.

  “I told you. The minute she finds out we’re here, there she is,” Zelda grumbles. “I never get a visit without her disapproving mug hanging around.”

  “She doesn’t disapprove of you,” I whisper. “That’s just her face.”

  “What’s all this ‘dinner at the usual time’ business?”

  I have to laugh at my sister’s exaggerated impersonation of the queen mother. “I don’t know. I hope Rowan does. He grew up around her.” As he likes to remind me.

  “Well, once you find out send me a text. I’m taking this little princess and putting her down for a nap.”

  “Nighty night, Bee,” I lean forward and kiss her little cheek.

  She pats my face with her sticky hand, and I kiss it, too. Zee air-kisses my cheek and starts up the stairs. I wait until she’s left the balcony area and gone into her wing before turning around and starting for the opposite side of the palace.

  If Rowan is making a statement and meeting with police, I hope that means one new and possibly unsuspecting guard might be hanging around minding his own business with his gun unprotected.

  Chapter 21

  Rowan

  I’m informed the queen mother is back in the palace as soon as I return from meeting with police. Cal and I exchange a glance, and I’m sure he’s remembering the panicked state of the servants during our brunch this morning.

  “Called it,” he says, leaning forward as if clearing his throat.

  If the current situation weren’t so serious, I might smile. As it is, we’re sitting down with our guards to reconvene and figure out a plan of attack.

  “So we are not using my wife as any kind of bait,” I reiterate. “Any other suggestions for how we can track this guy?”

  “He’s using a wireless-only phone, which makes it harder to keep tabs on him,” Freddie says. “Still, any time he passes through a wireless location, he’ll appear.”

  My stomach tightens. “Is there any way to make the entire kingdom a wireless location?” It’s a ridiculous question. I know how technology works, but I suppose it doesn’t hurt to ask.

  “I wish,” André says. His wistful tone is so out of place, I can’t help cutting my eyes at him. “I’m sorry, sir. I was just thinking no data overages.”

  “Okay,” Cal hastily interjects, placing his elbows on the table and blocking my view of the young guard. “So we have a madman somewhere in Monagasco attacking women when Rowan threatens him. I’d say we have a solution right there.”

  “Keep me away from him?” I say, knowing my brother’s levity usually precedes a brilliant suggestion.

  “Just the opposite. I say you arrange a meeting. Piss him off again, and then Freddie and I… and this one… will stay on him like white on rice.”

  “White on rice?”

  “It’s something Zelda says.”

  “I’m more a couscous fan—” André starts.

  Freddie cuts him off. “It’s not a bad idea, sir. We could alert the police as well and have them on standby.”

  Leaning back in my chair, I think about my brother’s idea. “What if we lose him? Then we will be responsible for whatever comes next.”

  “All of this is assuming this Vega bastard is the perpetrator,” Cal says. “Should we leave open the possibility it could be someone else?”

  “Your plan would let us know for sure,” Freddie’s voice is somber. “One way or another.”

  “He did leave the door open for another meeting.” I remember his idiotic ravings at the yacht club.

  “One hundred fifty thousand dollars at the Monte Cristo?” As he says the words, my brother’s expression changes. “That’s it. That’s how we’ll get him.”

  “Will he commit a crime if we give him what he wants?” I ask.

  “No,” Cal continues. “The trick is we don’t give him what he wants. You give him the original fifteen thousand, and when you hand it off, you place a bug on him.”

  “A tracking device?” I look over at Freddie, who is now leaning back in his chair frowning.

  “It’s a risk,” he says, “but we can try it. Along with the additional coverage, of course.”

  “Tell me the risk.”

  “Cal’s suggesting what? You place it in his coat? Attach it to his sleeve? It’s a warm night, he takes off the coat, he disappears.”

  I push out of my chair needing to walk. “Is there a way we can bug his person?”

  “What if you give him a phone as part of the deal?” André chirps.

  “Too obvious,” Cal replies. “Even an amateur like this guy would know we can track a cell phone.”

  “Can we bug money?” the young guard asks.

  Freddie doesn’t look up from his computer screen. “No.”

  “I’ll make contact,” I say, walking to the door. “I’ll say we can meet in the bar of the Monte Cristo at five. That will give us the entire evening to see what he does. I’ll also alert the authorities. I’ll have them contact Freddie, and you can guide them based on what you see.”

  “I’m already tracking his phone,” Freddie points to the laptop. “Looks like he’s at the Monte Cristo right now.”

  “Good time to send an email.” I head to the door. “I’ll be across the hall if you need me.”

  * * *

  It takes less than a minute to send my message, but I linger at the computer waiting to see if he’ll respond right away. Alerting the police is lower on my list of things to do—primarily because I don’t want them interfering with justice, should it need to be carried out.

  Now that Ava is pregnant, it seems each passing day I grow more obsessed with her safety. I’ll do anything to keep my beautiful wife protected, but now I’m also concerned with the tiny being her amazing body is carrying.

  Minutes continue to tick past when I notice her voice out in the hallway. It sounds like she’s talking to André. Going to the door, I step out to see the young guard flushed and stuttering as he tries to have a conversation with my wife. If he wasn’t such a greenhorn, I might feel sorry for him.

  “Ava,” I say, and she startles, looking over her shoulder at me.

  “Rowan!” Her smile is dazzling, but I’m a bit puzzled as to why she’s surprised to see me where I work.

  “Are you looking for me?” I go to where she’s standing. She’s holding a narrow clutch purse, which she moves behind her back as I get closer.

  “Zelda and I just got back from Occ
itan,” she says, placing one hand on my chest and kissing my cheek. I’m surrounded by the scent of fresh jasmine. “I wasn’t sure if you knew your mother is here.”

  “I heard, although I was pretty sure I already knew by how nervous the staff was acting this morning.”

  She wrinkles her nose with a smile. “She said she expects us all to be at dinner tonight at the usual time. Any idea when that might be?”

  Shit. “Six, I believe.” My mind is immediately preoccupied with the email I just sent to Vega. I’ll have to act quickly to meet him at five, piss him off, and be back for a hasty dinner at six. Cal will have to miss it and face our mother’s wrath. Not that he’s ever had to do that. Even before he met Zelda and was burning up the tabloids, she would dismiss his behavior as boys being boys. I on the other hand have always been the future king.

  Not that I mind. I’ve never been one to enjoy the scalding glare of the paparazzi.

  “You could have texted me,” I say, putting my hands on Ava’s hips and pulling her closer for a kiss.

  She cups my cheek with her palm. “Then I wouldn’t have gotten my kiss.”

  My mind travels to all the places I want to kiss her and all the places in this wing we haven’t christened when Cal emerges from the war room and gives me a signal.

  “Hi, Ava,” he says.

  She looks back and calls a greeting as he steps into the small library two doors down.

  “I have to speak to him… about dinner.” I don’t want to worry her with our plans for tonight. I’ll let her know Vega is no longer a threat after I’ve dealt with him. “He has a previous engagement, and you know what that means…”

  “Uncomfortable dinner?”

  “It actually means nothing.” I kiss her cheek as she laughs. “See you in a few hours.”

  She turns and backs down the hall a few steps before giving me a little wave and turning again, trotting off to the east wing where our suite is located. I step to the library to settle our plans with my brother and decide where we’ll rendezvous tonight.

  Chapter 22

  Ava

  My heart is flying, and I do my best not to run all the way to our bedroom. I almost fainted when Rowan stepped out and caught me with André. As I suspected, the young guard never felt a thing when I lifted the small pistol out of his shoulder holster, but I almost dropped it when my husband nearly saw me slipping it into my clutch.

  “Logan would never have let me get away with stealing his gun,” I say to myself as I walk through the open-air courtyard to the half-moon staircase leading straight to our chambers.

  I giggle thinking of all the things I have lifted off Mr. Hunt—and returned! Cell phones, guns, keys… Now he hardly lets me around him.

  Dark clouds linger on the horizon.

  “If it doesn’t rain tonight, it will likely rain tomorrow.” The croaky, formal voice nearly makes me scream.

  I take a step back. “Your majesty!”

  “Are you out for a stroll around the grounds?” The queen mother has her hands behind her back, and she’s still wearing her lavender suit, sans hat.

  “Yes… I mean, not really. I was just over speaking to Rowan.”

  Her grey brow draws together. “You bother him while he’s at work?”

  “No!” Cue the feelings of guilt. “I only wanted to be sure he knows you’re here. In case he might try and make plans for dinner.”

  “Don’t you normally have dinner together as a family?”

  I have to hand it to her, this woman knows how to make me feel awful about everything. “Of course, but with all that’s going on, I just… I wanted to be sure.”

  She regards me a little longer, still not smiling. I’m not sure she ever smiles.

  “Walk with me,” she says.

  Taking a deep breath, I don’t look down at my clutch. I don’t want to draw her attention. The gun is too thick for my narrow bag, and if anyone looks closely, they’ll ask questions. Instead, I move it around behind my leg.

  Our pace is slow, and I wonder how long she plans to keep me. “You seem very relaxed and refreshed since your spa visit,” I say in an attempt at conversation.

  “I look exactly the same,” she shuts me down.

  We take a few more steps, and I study the brick façade of the building. At night, with the lights shining on it, the center portion glows pink like something out of an aquarium. It’s a holdover from one of Rowan’s great grandfathers, who was obsessed with the sea. For whatever reason, no one has ever changed it.

  At last the queen interrupts my reflections. “What you’re doing with those orphans is commendable.”

  Her words catch me off guard. “Thank you, ma’am. I felt guilty when the council criticized Rowan for it.”

  “The council’s job is to criticize. What you’re doing is the right thing. The tragedies of war touch us all, and if we are presented the opportunity to help, we should.”

  “I confess, I only did it because Marguerite showed me pictures of the children, and I felt sorry for them.” I think back to that day on the track. “I should have talked to Rowan first.”

  She pats my arm. “It’s okay to trust your instincts sometimes. You are the queen regent.”

  My hands tighten on my purse, and I wonder what she would say about my current, more illegal instincts. A few more paces, and we’ve circled the courtyard. We’re making our way to the half-moon staircase leading to my chambers.

  I step toward them, and do a little bow. “Well, if that’s all—”

  “Are you happy here at the palace?” She squares her shoulders and looks up at me.

  It makes me pause and return to her. “Yes, very much. I’m very happy here.”

  “And Rowan?”

  “I love the king. Why do you ask?”

  Her eyes move down my designer dress, and she motions with her hand. “It’s been a few years, and normally, by this time, the king should have at least one heir.”

  She’s not being mean or accusatory, and it takes me a few moments of wavering to decide what I need to do. “We’re trying,” is all I say.

  “Very good,” she nods. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

  With that she continues her stroll around the palace. I watch her slowly making her way away from me wondering if I just made a critical error. I don’t think Rowan will be angry either way, and her line of questioning, her implication that I might not love Rowan had been more than I could tolerate.

  She makes the corner out to the gardens, and I see a smile on her face. My eyes narrow, and I feel like I just got played.

  “Can’t worry about that now,” I grumble, taking the steps two at a time.

  I lost valuable minutes. Rowan could be headed back to our suite, and I’ve got to stow this weapon somewhere he won’t find it.

  Dashing through the door, I quickly look around every possible hiding place—in the bathroom, in the closets. I’m alone, and I open my clutch, tossing it on the bed and checking the chamber of the gun. Six bullets are inside, and the safety is on.

  Standing in the middle of the suite, I look all around at the paintings, the potted plants, the sofa, the black leather wingback chair… that one makes me smile.

  “No furniture,” I say to myself. Paintings and plants are out.

  Going to the bathroom, I open the lower cabinet door and pull out a stack of towels. In the very back is a basket of leftover medical supplies from a few years ago. They appear undisturbed, and I have to trust the servants won’t look in it over the next few days. I take the gun and wrap it in the ace bandage at the bottom of the basket. Then I return everything on top, put it in the back of the cabinet and replace the towels.

  Checking the clock, I have just enough time to send the email. Hurrying across the hall to the small study I open my laptop and pull up the orphanage Gmail account

  “Oh!” My heart leaps when I see I have a response from the German ambassador waiting.

  Chewing my lip, I decide that’s one I can handle whe
n Rowan is back, and I go straight to the “Family Information” message.

  Before I start to type, I twist my fingers together. What I’m about to do sends a rush of bile to my throat. It makes me want to run to the bathroom and vomit. I want to stand out on the balcony and scream. The words I’m about to type are enough to cause me physical pain.

  “I’m sorry, daddy,” I whisper to my real father—the one I only knew such a short time. “I hate that I have to do this.”

  With another deep breath, I place my fingers on the keys.

  Daddy Dwayne,

  Your message has made me sad because I have made you sad. You look at me as the queen regent, and you think I can do whatever I want. It’s not true. I’m heavily guarded, and it has been impossible for me to come to you.

  However, the king has been preoccupied with the recent crime wave, and it provides a way that I can escape. If you can meet me tomorrow evening in the Pointe de la Veille, I will be there.

  Please let me know if you can, and I will send a time.

  Your little girl,

  Ava

  My stomach is churning, and I sit for a long while before I’m able to drag the cursor over to the send button. Even then, I can’t click it right away. My eyes squeeze shut, and I want to cry.

  I won’t cry. This is justice and revenge and the only way to stop the dark force that keeps coming after me. Prison won’t stop him, oceans won’t stop him, money won’t stop him. It’s what I have to do.

  Without even reading the message again, I move my hand and click send. No going back.

  Leaning forward, I rest my forehead against my hand on the wooden tabletop. This dark task is before me, but I won’t back down from it. It’s the only way I know I will be free of him.

  It takes away the closure Grace’s family will have. I’m not even sure Ramona has family. Sadness again squeezes my chest when I think of that solemn little girl and the way she died.