By Order of the Prince

by Carla Cassidy

  “Not yet. He’ll have the information tonight. If Verovick is here in town, then hopefully Wolf can find the man and get the answers we need.”

  “And find out what happened to Amir, although I must confess I fear the worst where he’s concerned,” Efraim said, his dark eyes filled with sadness. He stood. “I won’t keep you any longer, I just wanted to see how things were going and if there were any developments since last we spoke.”

  Antoine walked him to the door, wishing he had the answers to who was behind all the attacks, and more importantly, what had happened to Amir. “We’ll speak again soon,” he said and clapped Efraim on the shoulder. “And we’ll pray for our friend.”

  Efraim nodded and then left.

  When he was gone Antoine walked to the window and stood staring out at the Wyoming landscape that spoke to a place in his soul.

  When would this all end? When would they finally have the answers they sought? Frustration burned inside his gut. If the Sahrons were somehow tied to Aleksei Verovick, then he would find out and they would finally have a trail to follow to the source.

  And then, he would leave here and try his damndest to forget about a woman named Beth Taylor and the pieces of happiness she had given him.

  When Beth finally called him he was ready. He felt a cold, hard resolve as he left his suite and headed to her office. He knew it was possible that Janine Sahron and her husband had nothing to do with anything that had been happening, but he needed to assure himself of that fact.

  He knocked on the office door and his heart sang at the sound of Beth’s voice bidding him entry. When he saw her he felt as if it had been days rather than a couple of hours since he’d last seen her.

  He wondered if she knew that her smile let him know how deeply she’d grown to care about him. He tried to rein in his own emotions as he greeted her.

  “Janine is on her way,” she said as she sat behind the desk and gestured him into one of the two chairs in front of her. “You won’t be too rough on her, will you? She seems to be a very nice woman.”

  “Then I’ll keep the whips and chains hidden until I think we really need them,” he said teasingly.

  “Good, because I can’t have that sort of thing happening in this nice resort. We do have a reputation to uphold, you know.”

  He was glad to see the teasing light in her eyes but once again he was reminded of all that he would never have with her.

  At that moment a knock sounded at her door.

  The woman who entered was a thin redhead with big blue eyes that instantly became guarded when she saw him. “You wanted to see me, Ms. Taylor?” A nervous twitch appeared at the corner of one of her eyes.

  “Yes, Janine, please have a seat,” Beth said. “This is Prince Antoine Cavanaugh. He’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  The nervous tick fluttered once again as she sank down on the chair. She nodded to Antoine and clutched her hands together in her lap and then looked back at Beth. “Is something wrong? Have I done something wrong with my work?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that,” Beth quickly assured her. “Your work here has been exemplary.” Janine seemed to relax a bit.

  “Mrs. Sahron, I hope you don’t mind me taking a few minutes of your time,” Antoine said and gave her his most charming smile.

  “Uh…no, I don’t mind,” Janine said.

  Antoine could tell she was nervous not only by the eye twitch but also by the way her tongue slid over her lips, as if her mouth was unaccountably dry. It didn’t mean she was guilty of anything. It was possible she was simply nervous because she was probably speaking to a prince for the first time in her life.

  “Beth mentioned that your husband is from a Mediterranean island. Which one would that be?” he asked. He kept a light, easy tone to his voice.

  “Nadar. Actually it’s his parents who are from there. Hakim, my husband, was born here in the United States,” she replied. The tick at the corner of her eye stopped and although her fingers remained laced together he noticed that some of the tension had dissipated.

  “Ah, Nadar is a beautiful place. Do you visit there?” Antoine leaned back in his chair and looked at her as if he was interested in learning everything about her.

  Her cheeks flushed slightly and she nodded. “We’ve gone to visit family there several times over the years. It is a beautiful place but it’s expensive to travel.”

  “And what does your husband do here?” Antoine asked. He was aware of tension wafting from Beth, but he kept his focus on Janine, seeking any sign of deception in her body language.

  “He’s a math teacher, but during the summers he works at a video store to make some extra money. The house needs a lot of work.” Once again she looked from Antoine to Beth. “Is something wrong? I’m afraid I don’t understand…”

  “I just hungered to speak with somebody from my area of the world,” Antoine said and once again infused his smile with warmth. “What brought you and your husband to Dumont? I understand you’ve only recently moved to the area.”

  For the first time since she’d arrived in the room Janine unclasped her hands and leaned back in her chair and he knew she was starting to fully relax. “My grandparents are from Dumont. Five months ago they decided to go into an assisted-living facility and gifted Hakim and me their house. We were living in Texas, renting an apartment and trying to save up money for a house so it was like a gift from heaven.” She was completely relaxed now, all signs of stress gone from her body language. “The house needs lots of work, so both Hakim and I are doing what we can to get extra money to make the repairs.”

  “Do you have sisters or brothers, Janine?” He leaned forward and gently touched her on the shoulder. She seemed to melt toward him.

  “Two sisters,” she replied.

  “And you are very close to them, I can tell.” He pulled his hand away from her shoulder but leaned into her, as if she were the most important person on the face of the earth.

  A smile curved her lips. “Very close,” she agreed.

  “It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for me,” he said and saw the spark of sympathy that darkened her eyes. “I’m sure you’ve heard about the bombing of my friend Amir’s car.”

  “Of course, everyone knows about it. It was a horrible thing that happened.”

  “He was a good friend to me…like my brother. If you’d heard anything about his whereabouts, if you had any clue as to who might have been behind the bombing, you would tell me, wouldn’t you?”

  Janine’s eyes widened. “Of course. I’d want the people responsible brought to justice.”

  “And your husband? If he knew anything about it, he’d come forward to the authorities?”

  Her brow crinkled in confusion. “Why would Hakim know anything about it? He knows about movies and math, but he doesn’t know about what happens here at the resort unless I share it with him.”

  He believed her.

  There were absolutely no signs of deception from her. If her husband was involved, then he was confident she had no idea about it.

  “I appreciate you coming in to speak with me,” he said as he stood. Just to be on the safe side he would give her husband’s name to Jake Wolf and let him check out the man more thoroughly, but Antoine’s gut instinct told him this was just another disappointing dead end.

  Chapter Ten

  Beth had watched him charm Janine, set her at ease with his warm, engaging smile and his gently orchestrated touch to her shoulder. A hard knot formed in the center of Beth’s chest.

  It was all so familiar, the way he’d manipulated her so easily.

  Just like he’d manipulated Beth on the day she’d found the notes. She remembered that look in his eyes, the soft touch of his hand on her shoulder. Manipulation 101 and like Janine, Beth had fallen right in line and agreed to do whatever he wanted. And she’d continued to be manipulated by him.

  He’d needed her. As Janine left the office Beth realized that the nice things Antoine had don
e for her, the caring she’d seen in his eyes, the passion she’d felt in his touch had probably all been a ruse to get what he wanted, what he needed from her.

  That’s what he did. That’s what he’d been trained to do. He found weaknesses and exploited them and the biggest weakness she’d had was her aching loneliness and her overwhelming attraction to him.

  “That was probably a waste of time,” he said once Janine was gone. “I didn’t detect any deception from her and my gut is telling me she doesn’t know anything about Verovick or what’s been happening.”

  “You’re very good at what you do,” she said as anger built up inside her.

  He must have heard something in her tone for he closed the office door and then turned to face her once again. “I only asked her some questions.”

  “Oh, you did so much more than that.” She remained on the other side of the desk as her anger continued to build. “That soft touch on the shoulder, that pain-filled gaze, so practiced and so effective at getting women to tell you whatever it is you want, to do whatever you need.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Beth, what is going on in that beautiful head of yours?”

  “I think for the first time in days I’m finally seeing things clearly.” She felt as humiliated and as stupidly naïve as she had when she’d found out that Mark was married. God, she’d been such a fool. He’d made her feel important, had acted like he was interested in every area of her life because he’d needed to use her to achieve his ultimate goals.

  “And what is it that you think you’re seeing clearly?” He walked toward her and she steeled herself not to allow her thoughts to get muddied by the familiar scent of him, by his very nearness.

  “I was easy, wasn’t I, Antoine. I was lonely and already had something of a crush on you. I was just ripe for the picking when it came to you finding somebody to use.” To her horror hot tears burned at her eyes, but she swallowed hard against them, refusing to allow him to see her cry.

  He stared at her in surprise. “Beth, you’ve got it all wrong,” he said. He rounded the desk and reached for her, but she held up a hand to stop him before he could touch her in any way.

  “Really? You didn’t use manipulation and interrogation skills when you called me into your room the day I found those notes?” She gazed at him belligerently, daring him to lie to her.

  His cheeks reddened slightly and he opened his mouth to speak and then paused as if he were collecting his thoughts. “Of course I did,” he finally replied and the hard knot in her chest expanded.

  “I knew that you’d found something in that room that was important and I wanted to know what it was,” he continued. “Did I like what I had to do? Absolutely not. Did it have anything to do with what we’ve shared since then? Absolutely not.”

  She didn’t believe him. She was afraid to believe him. Any crazy fantasy she’d entertained about them somehow having a future together had died a final death as she’d watched him talk to Janine.

  It was over. Her heart had finally shut down. She refused to be a fool any longer. “Antoine, I think it best if we just say goodbye to each other here and now. You should call Jake and give him the information about the notes and your suspicions. I’ve done everything you needed and so there’s really no reason for us to see each other anymore.”

  His eyes were the soft blue that beckoned her to fall into their depths, but she knew she’d be foolish to allow herself to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “Beth, not like this.” His voice was a soft caress that only served to break her heart a little more. “I can’t let this end with you thinking this has been nothing more than what I needed to help solve Amir’s disappearance. It was about so much more.”

  “Please, just go,” she said as new tears begged to be released.

  Still he hesitated, as if wanting to say more and for a moment she imagined what she saw in his eyes was love, but then he took a step backward and gave her a stiff bow. “As you wish,” he said and then turned on his heels and left the office.

  The minute he was gone Beth sank down at her desk and allowed the tears to fall. She hadn’t realized until now the tiny flare of ridiculous hope that had burned bright in her chest. And now it was gone and she was left feeling empty inside.

  She hadn’t really considered marriage to him, but she had desperately wanted to believe that when he’d made love to her it had been because he desired her to distraction and not because he’d needed to keep her on his side.

  But, the truth of the matter was that he’d needed somebody who didn’t have a stake in any of the intrigue that surrounded him. He’d told her again and again that he didn’t trust the people around him. He’d needed a driver, a confidante, and she’d fit neatly into what he needed.

  She could have been anyone…another maid, a member of room service or a clerk in the gift shop. And that’s what hurt the most—that she could have been anyone whom he could manipulate into fitting what he needed.

  She was grateful that nobody called or came into the office for the next hour; it took that long for her to shed the tears that had built up.

  Antoine had been everything she ever wanted in a man. Her attraction to him had nothing to do with the fact that he was a prince. She’d loved him for his teasing sense of humor, for the soft heart she knew beat beneath his tightly muscled chest. She loved him for the way he’d made her feel—and that had been the biggest lie of all.

  He’d warned her that he didn’t want a wife, that he would never have a family. He’d at least been honest about that. And it was shame on her for thinking that what they had might make him forget his resolve to live alone for the rest of his life.

  When her tears had finally been spent she went into the adjoining bathroom and fixed her makeup and at that moment her cell phone rang. She checked the ID and saw that it was Haley from the café.

  “Hey, girl, sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you,” Haley said.

  “It’s not a problem,” Beth replied.

  “You gave me a tall order,” Haley continued. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the people who come in and I’ve got a couple of names for you.”

  “Hang on, let me get a pen and paper.” Beth pulled a small notepad and pen from the desk. “I’m ready.”

  “The first name is Dimitri Petrov, he’s a Russian who told me he’s in town on business, but he was vague about what his business is. The second man told me his name is Abdul Jahard and that he’s here in Dumont visiting relatives, but his relatives must not feed him because he’s here for almost every meal. Unfortunately those are the only two I’ve identified as being slightly suspicious.”

  “How did you manage to get them to give you so much information about themselves?” Beth asked.

  Haley laughed. “You know me, I could get a rock to confess its sins to me if I had enough time. I just struck up a conversation with them while they were waiting for their orders.”

  “Thanks, Haley, I really appreciate it,” Beth replied.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Sure, why?”

  “I don’t know, you sound kind of funny…sad.”

  Darn. Beth should have realized her friend would pick up on her emotional state just by talking to her. “I’m fine,” she said and forced more life into her voice. “Just tired, that’s all.”

  “We need to do lunch sometime soon,” Haley said. “It’s been too long.”

  “I’ll call you and we’ll set something up.” With that the two disconnected. Beth wasn’t interested in meeting for lunch too soon. She needed to get over the pain of Antoine before she felt like going anywhere with anyone.

  She looked at the two names she’d written down. She’d finish her day and then she supposed she’d take the names to Antoine. A couple of hours wouldn’t make any difference as to when he got the names from her. At the moment all she wanted to do was get back to the work of running her staff and spot-checking rooms.

  She left her office but stayed away from the
suites, not wanting to run into Antoine until she was better prepared to see him again. If he hadn’t already contacted Jake Wolf about the notes she had found and the fingerprint that Jane had pulled, within hours Jane would be talking to the sheriff.

  There was nothing more to be done. Even though Antoine feared there were dirty people working for the Sheriff, he had no choice but to give up the information. Maybe she’d just give the names Haley had given her to Jake. That way she wouldn’t have to speak to Antoine again.

  She could only hope that if Antoine remained here he would be safe. No matter how much her heart ached because of him, it was important to her that he stay well and return to his home to rule his nation with his twin brother.

  It was after five when she finally grabbed her purse from the desk and decided to call it a night. She’d called her insurance agent while she’d waited for Antoine and Janine to come to her office and he’d assured her that they’d work to get her back into her house as soon as possible.

  Hopefully if she and Antoine had nothing more to do with each other, then she could eventually go home without worrying about her own safety and all she’d have to deal with was her broken heart and the fact that she felt like she’d been played for a fool.

  Once she got to her room she’d call Jake and give him the names of the two men Haley thought might be suspicious and then the intrigue with the visiting royalty and any connection to Antoine would be over for her.

  As she left her office, she was plagued by an exhaustion deeper than anything she could ever remember feeling. It was an emotional weariness that she feared would be with her for a long time to come.

  Being a fool for a man seemed to come naturally to her, she thought as she started across the lobby. It would be a long time before she put her heart on the line again for any man.

  She was halfway across the lobby when a slightly overweight brunette waved from across the room and hurried toward her with a bright smile.

  Beth racked her brain frantically in an effort to identify the woman. A former employee? A returning guest? She came up blank but forced a responding smile as the woman reached her.