Catharine & Edward

by Marianne Knightly

  “It doesn’t like you did. Are you worried?”

  “About all this?” he asked with a wave to the screens. “Only because we don’t know what the threat is, but we’re all leaving the bunker today. Rebecca’s happy about that.”

  Cat pursed her lips, then decided to ask. “Is she? She hasn’t seemed very happy lately.”

  Alex’s eyes sharpened. “How do you mean?”

  Cat shrugged. “Nothing really. I’m sure she’s just overwhelmed by everything going on, and the wedding dress and preparations. I’m sure it will pass.”

  Alex looked as though he wanted to ask her something, but decided against it. “I’m sure that’s it. She likes her work at the hospital, at any rate, so I’m sure she’ll cheer up once she’s there on her visit today. She was really upset at the thought of cancelling.”

  Cat smiled and reached over to give Alex’s hand a sympathetic squeeze. “Are you feeling overwhelmed by everything, twin?”

  The corner of Alex’s mouth quirked up. “Well, younger twin, I’m just fine.”

  Cat made a face. “I’m only younger by thirty minutes.”

  “Yes, and that’s thirty extra minutes Mama was in labor, in pain, because of you.”

  Cat rolled her shoulders back and put her hands on her hips while still sitting. “Those were the most exciting thirty minutes of Mama’s life, I tell you. I was the surprise, you know. Everyone knew you were coming.”

  “Children,” Gabriel said with a stern tone, even though a smile graced his face. “Thirty-five years and you’re still arguing about this?”

  “It’s Alex who can’t accept the truth, Papa. I really think you ought to speak to him. It’s not good to dwell on things for so long, don’t you think?”

  Alex and Gabriel laughed. Since Cat’s goal had been to make Alex stop brooding, she considered herself a success. “Well, if you men can’t see reason, I’m going to find everyone else.” She rose and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. As she turned to go, the door opened and Edward entered.

  As his eyes came to rest on her, she froze.

  Marcello – and she may, in fact, kill him for this – had clearly downplayed the ‘minor injuries’ Edward had. Bandages crisscrossed both arms and half of his neck. Butterfly bandages dotted his forehead and large bruises marred one eye and the opposite cheek.

  Who knew what more damage lay unseen underneath his clothes?

  She took a few discreet deep breaths while Edward greeted her father and brothers.

  Then he turned to her.

  “My Lady.” He gave her a brief nod, then turned to Marcello.

  Gabriel came over to her. “Catharine, why don’t get something to eat? I’m sure we’ll update everyone shortly.”

  She nodded and gave Edward once last glance before she left the room.

  If only she’d woken at his touch last night.

  If only she’d pulled him into bed with her.

  If only.

  Cat reminded herself that Edward was alive and whole, despite the bumps and bruises.

  For now, it would have to be enough.

  Edward stood off to the side while the royal family entered the conference room, his expression impassive. Outwardly, he ignored the pain from the injuries he’d received. Inside, however, he ached at the sight of Catharine. He’d lost focus for one minute last night, one minute where he couldn’t help but think of her, and that minute had almost cost him his life later that night.

  But it may have saved hers.

  So, it was completely worth it.

  “All right,” Marcello said once everyone had settled. “Good news: everyone can leave the bunker once we’re done here. We also think we’ve got a better idea what these people are after.” His fingers tapped the large screen in the room and several images were brought up.

  “This is the headquarters for the Vallerian Star. I should say it was the headquarters because last night there was an explosion.”

  Edward didn’t even have to turn to know Catharine’s eyes were on him.

  “It’s true Bash broke in last night, but we didn’t cause it. Bash was actually caught in the blast when it went off; it’s how he became injured. He got knocked back and lost consciousness for a few minutes, so didn’t see who may have set it. Lucky this was his final stop last night, or he wouldn’t have gotten the intel we found at another location.

  “As for the explosion itself, prelim reports say faulty wiring, but my gut says something else. This corner of the building,” Marcello pointed, “was where the editor, Vinnie’s, office was located and it received the greatest damage. We believe this was where the explosion was centered. Vinnie’s safe was damaged, and none of the items he said were inside have been recovered.”

  Another tap of the screen. “This is Vinnie’s house. We broke in there, too, while Vinnie was out. Another safe, which we did crack open, was empty.”

  A swipe across the screen. “This is our favorite socialite Muffy’s house. Muffy was not alone when my man went to visit. She was, let’s just say, entertaining Vinnie along with two other gentlemen, both of them quite elderly.” Varying degrees of disgust flitted across the faces in the room. “I’ll spare you the details here, but my man managed to break in, even with all that going on. This time, we actually found something useful. Bash? Why don’t you take over from here?”

  Edward stepped forward and swiped the screen, bringing up a set of photos inside Muffy’s house. “Yes, Sir. I found several disturbing items at the Kori house. As you can see, the house itself is quite extensive. Her father, Sir Walter Kori, purchased it for her and, while the deed is in her name, Sir Kori is fiscally responsible for its upkeep to this day. The only reason I mention this is because Sir Kori is known for his privacy. The RPS investigated him some time ago for an unrelated issue and we discovered that he had secret rooms built in all his homes. Not just panic rooms, which we’d expect, but rooms completely hidden from all but him and likely Muffy. And now us.”

  Edward tapped on a photo onscreen. “I was able to locate and break into this room while the occupants were otherwise engaged. These are some stills from the camera I wore. You should prepare yourselves before seeing this.”

  “We won’t have nightmares, will we?” Cat asked him. Edward knew that she, in particular would bear the worst of it, but there was no choice.

  Gabriel, sitting next to Cat, squeezed her shoulder. “It will be difficult to see these, my child, particularly for you. As I’ve already seen them, I know of what I speak. If I thought shielding you from this would help you, I would. We’ve just discussed it, however, and we think it’s best if you stay. If you feel the need to leave the room, either now or when you see the photos, none of us would ever think less of you. Do you understand?”

  Cat tentatively nodded.

  “Good. Go ahead, Agent Bashiera.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” Edward swiped across the screen and brought up a series of images, each more disturbing than the last. Edward’s eyes were on Catharine.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered, her voice heard even over the gasps in the room.

  Edward had reacted differently when he’d stepped foot into that room: his blood had boiled and his hands had shaken with a need for vengeance.

  It was the same reaction he saw in Gabriel, Marcello, and Alexander’s eyes when they’d seen them a short time ago.

  It was now becoming the reaction of everyone in the room, except for Catharine, who focused on the still images with fear.

  Each still was a view of the hidden room.

  A room that was plastered with pictures of his Catharine.

  Images of her on official royal visits, other pictures of her shopping or out with her sisters, mother, friends, and more. There were several pictures of her with Philip at the Holiday Ball or even out to dinner since.

  Some of the pictures were crossed out with a thick, black ‘X’.

  Some of the pictures went as far back as Catharine’s childhood. Her shining, yout
hful face, circled in a brown, flaky heart.

  Edward could have sworn the heart was made of old, dried blood.

  Besides the pictures, there were other items. Outfits Catharine had worn, originally borrowed from designers, and even used plates and silverware. By the looks of it, all of the items had been hers at one time or another.

  Edward had barely restrained himself from hurtling every plate and glass against the wall, and setting fire to the whole damn room.

  “I took several of the smaller items there – which will hopefully go unnoticed, at least initially – and brought them back for analysis for DNA, fingerprints, and more. We’re hoping to get the results soon.”

  “I barely know Muffy,” Catharine said, her voice trembling. Edward once again ached to hold her. “I don’t understand why she would do this.”

  “We don’t believe she’s involved in this, at least not this sort of obsession, My Lady. Women who typically obsess over another woman tend to emulate their obsession in some form, such as their clothing, mannerisms, or hairstyles. Muffy has never done that. Not only that, based on other things we found in the room, we believe a man is behind this obsession. And we believe that Muffy’s working with whoever that may be.”

  Cat wrung her hands together. “What sorts of things?”

  Edward glanced at Marcello; he wasn’t sure how much to reveal.

  “Sexual things, Cat,” Marcello said. “Toys and the like. It’s better if you don’t know more than that.”

  “What about the man Muffy was with at the dinner, Sir Brighton?” Genevieve asked, one hand clasping Cat’s, the other fisted on the table. “What about the other leads you were pursuing? Someone is after my daughter and I want them found. Now.”

  “Of course, Your Majesty, as do we,” Edward said evenly. He didn’t add he’d find the fucker first and rip their goddamn face off. “We’ve found an indirect link between one of the men Muffy was with last night and the Vallerian Patriots, who are the most vocal anti-monarchist group. Obviously, we’ve been following their actions for quite some time.”

  “You think they’re behind this?” Genevieve asked. “We’ve been dealing with them for as long as Gabriel’s been in power. Though they’ve never been friendly, I confess, I never thought them capable of this.”

  “They’ve gotten more extreme in recent years,” Marcello interjected. “The point we’re trying to make is that it may not be the whole group involved. It doesn’t strike me as the way they’d do business. They don’t want us around, true. However, I don’t think that obsessing over us, like a sick asshole might, is the way they’d go. It could be that a small subset of them, with more extremist views, have splintered off from the larger organization.”

  “Any connection to Gerald here?” Nate asked. “I know he’s locked up in prison, but he could have accomplices on the outside.”

  Marcello shook his head. “Nothing yet. Gerald’s kept secluded, but I’ve got some agents reviewing security footage to see if he’s been contacted, and to determine if he’s been smuggling messages out.

  “We also picked up Vinnie. I mentioned we questioned him about his safe, but now we’re digging deeper about the blackmail threat he received. He’s still not talking, but we’ll break him. Meanwhile, Sacheverelle has been released. We’re hoping either Muffy or the man in charge may reach out to him, so we’ve got him under twenty-four-hour surveillance.

  “There are a lot of angles here, and we’re doing our best to sort through them as quickly as possible.”

  “So what’s next? What do I do?” Catharine asked, her voice sounding terrified and small.

  The Catharine that Edward knew wasn’t small. She was larger than life, her presence invading any room she entered, brightening it with laughter and ease.

  She wasn’t at ease now.

  Yup; he was going to rip the fucker’s face off.

  Marcello touched the screens again, clearing away the images and bringing up a set of everyone’s schedules. “We’ve got a plan. Since it’s becoming clear the threat is centered around Cat, we’re going to let everyone go about business as usual. Everyone will have extra security, just in case, but we don’t want anyone to figure out what we know.”

  Marcello paused and looked directly at his elder sister. “Cat, I’m sorry, but we’ve arranged for you to go to a safe house later today. You have one scheduled appearance, which we arranged for you to keep.”

  Alex’s eyes flashed. “I don’t think it’s safe for her to be out right now. Any lunatic could find her.”

  Marcello’s lips thinned. “We’ll have her covered, Alex. Believe me, I’m not going to leave my sister a sitting duck. Her visit is set to last an hour at a local charity luncheon. An hour in and out, then she’s off to the safe house.”

  Alex pursed his lips, but nodded.

  “The objective for maintaining the appearance is to show status quo,” Marcello continued. “We need to show whoever’s behind this that we won’t be bullied. More than that, the news agencies reported our heightened threat level at the palace, so we need to show our faces in public and assure them that everything’s all right.”

  “Those luncheons never last an hour,” Genevieve muttered. “They always go long.”

  “That’s why she’s not going in until after the lunch part is over. She’ll come in while they’re serving tea and dessert, make her remarks, and go.”

  “What remarks? What’s the charity? I don’t recall this event.” Catharine asked.

  “Tavin’s working that all out for you with your chief of staff,” Marcello said. “They’ll have the remarks and information you need before you leave.”

  “I’ll need to go to my room and prepare. Where is this safe house? What should I pack? Who else will be there?”

  Edward exchanged a look with Marcello, who shook his head. So, it was going to be a surprise for her; Edward wasn’t sure she’d like it.

  “Pack for comfort and pack as little as possible, My Lady. We’ll give you the location after we’re on our way there,” Edward said and Cat’s eyes swung to him. “The area is quite secure, I assure you.”

  Worry creased her brow, but she nodded her consent. “Okay. I can do that. I guess I’d better get started.” When she stood, so did the rest of the family and they gave her hugs and kisses goodbye.

  Edward knew she might not see her family again until the threat was over. For someone as social as his Catharine, this would be difficult for her. It’s why Edward had convinced Marcello to use Edward’s personal safe house in the country; his team and others were already there waiting for them.

  “I’m so sorry,” Catharine told Rebecca after their hug.

  “What for?” Rebecca asked.

  “This is mucking up your wedding preparations.”

  Rebecca squeezed her hand. “It doesn’t matter. Keeping you safe is more important. There’s still plenty of time.”

  Catharine smiled. “As soon as I’m back, we’ll finish things up.”

  Rebecca gave her a small smile and hugged her again. She whispered something, Catharine tentatively nodded, then they pulled away with troubled frowns. Edward glanced at Alexander from the corner of his eye; he, too, was troubled.

  It wasn’t his business, he reminded himself. He had one job: to keep his Catharine safe.

  And he would do it or die trying.

  Chapter Eight

  Rebecca sat in the doctor’s office, fidgeting. Though her Royal Protection agents were outside the door, no one in the family knew she was there, and nobody, not one person, knew what she was there for.

  Not even Alex.

  Since they’d been freed from the bunker, Rebecca has used the ruse of visiting the hospital as part of her growing charity concerns. Everyone thought she was merely on an official visit.

  It was a lie, a half of one, if nothing else.

  She couldn’t tell anyone. Couldn’t say anything, not to Alex, not to her mother.

  She was alone.

 
A knock came at the door and it opened. Rebecca caught a glimpse of her agents stationed outside before her doctor came in and closed the door.

  Dr. Evie Safar was an African-born, Vallerian-educated doctor. She was tall, slim, and extremely elegant. Ebony fuzz covered her head and she always wore bright colors, which were vibrant against her mocha skin; today was no exception. Her wraparound dress was patterned with geometric shapes in bold, jewel tones, and complimented her gold jewelry and modest, but sexy nude heels.

  Dr. Safar’s specialty was obstetrics and gynecology.

  “Miss Campo, it’s lovely to see you again,” she said in her mild accent. She shook Rebecca’s hand, then walked around her desk and took a seat. “What can I do for you today?”

  Rebecca cleared her throat. She could state this calmly and professionally. “I have a problem.”

  Dr. Safar’s thin black eyebrows shifted up. “Oh? A medical problem?”

  Rebecca nodded. “Yes, you see, I think something’s wrong with me.” She’d barely finished her sentence when she broke down. Her right hand flew to her face to cover her eyes, and she forced herself to keep her sobs quiet, if she couldn’t hold them back.

  A few tissues came into view, and she attempted to dry her tears.

  Dr. Safar shifted to the open seat next to her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry,” Rebecca said through the quiet sobs.

  “You don’t need to apologize for feeling. Take a minute, then we’ll talk.”

  Rebecca nodded, and took several deep breaths until she calmed enough to speak through her tumbling emotions. “I’ve been feeling a lot of pain,” she started, then promptly burst out crying again.

  Dr. Safar spoke softly and evenly. “You’ve been feeling pain? Menstrual pain?”

  Rebecca shook her head. “I do feel pain during my period, but this isn’t just ordinary menstrual pain.” She took a shuddering breath. “This is excruciating pain.” Pain was usually the body’s way of indicating that something was wrong; she was terrified of what her body might be telling her.

  “And this is only during your period?”