Catharine & Edward

by Marianne Knightly

  He was battered, but whole.

  Yet, she still might lose him.

  “Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, ladies, please forgive me for appearing less than formally,” Edward began, “but I felt that time was of the essence here.”

  Gabriel stood and walked over to Edward and, unsurprisingly, shook his hand. “No formality necessary, Agent Bashiera. You saved my daughter’s life; that more than makes up for any ridiculous protocol.”

  “Absolutely,” Genevieve said as she, too, walked over and took Edward’s hand. “Thank you.”

  Cat saw Edward swallow and contain the surprise on his face before he spoke. “Thank you for the compliment, though I and my team were simply doing our jobs.” Edward glanced at Cat and her breath caught. “We would die in order to protect you, make no mistake about that.”

  “You have my thanks as well, since I wasn’t able to give it earlier,” Cat whispered from across the room, but she knew everyone heard her.

  Edward nodded his thanks, then turned to Marcello across the room. “I have some information I think may help, Sir.”

  Marcello stepped aside. “The floor’s all yours.”

  Edward spoke with one of the agents quietly, then waited as a series of photos were brought up onscreen. He tapped the first one, a bird’s eye view of his home and surrounding lands. “This is our family home where the princess stayed yesterday and today. We monitor it extensively and have several safeguards in place. The grounds – which extend much farther than you’d think – have various motion sensors and monitors, and the buildings themselves all have extensive security measures.”

  “You were attacked by air, were you not?” Gabriel asked. “Thankful though I am you risked your life for my daughter’s, I cannot help thinking it might have been prevented.”

  Edward’s face turned grim. “I understand, Your Majesty. I, of course, blame myself. If the princess had not been out of doors in the first place,” he glanced in her direction, “the situation could have been more contained. If you wish to dismiss me from duty, I’ll understand, but please allow me to finish what I need to say now.”

  He blamed himself? Did he also regret that they’d made love? She couldn’t, even if Eddie had gotten hurt.

  Selfish.

  She was completely selfish.

  Gabriel steepled his fingers and gave Edward a long look. “We’ll discuss your future with the RPS at a later time. Continue.”

  He nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. This area here,” he gestured with his hand, “is where the shooting occurred. Our radar detected something in the air, though we couldn’t see anything. It was at that point that I was called to secure the princess. Eventually, we learned we were attached by a drone.”

  “A drone? But weren’t there gunshots?” Alex asked.

  “Yes, Your Highness. The drone was rigged to carry a machine gun. We’ve seen drones rigged with guns before, but nothing like this.

  “The first shot missed and hit a tree in front of me. If it had been on target, things could have been much worse.”

  He tapped the screen again, and an image of the drone popped up. “We managed to take it down before it flew off. This make and model is considered high-end, with a fairly large range. However, because we monitor our grounds which, as I mentioned, are extensive, we were able to pick up the drone operator.” He tapped and another image came up, this time of a man with a thick, square face, small eyes, shaved head, and non-existent chin; to Cat he seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place him.

  Eddie took a deep breath. “This is the man we caught. He’s one of ours.”

  “What?” she breathed.

  “Former Agent Gori. He was working on the inside, and helped get Sacheverelle into the palace to plant the equipment. He also did the original, incomplete background check on Sacheverelle back in December. We fired him for his shoddy work this week, though we interrogated him first, to determine if he was involved in this mess. He’s good, I’ll give you that. He never let on his involvement, and the paper trail, which we’re still digging out, must be buried deep. We never expected him to turn traitor.”

  We never do. She sighed, wondering when, if ever, people would leave their family the hell alone; wondering when, if ever, they’d be able to live without a target on their backs.

  “He’s told us he was hired to harm the princess, not kill her, but that’s as far as we’ve gotten so far. My team is still working on him.”

  “How did they even know Catharine was there? You must have a leak on your team,” Alex accused just as the door opened and a puffy-faced Rebecca came in. She muttered an apology and took the closest seat to the door, which was also the furthest from her fiancé. Alex frowned, but didn’t say anything.

  “I understand your feelings, Your Highness, and if I thought anyone on my team would willingly give out that information, I would say it.”

  “What do you mean ‘willingly’?” Marcello asked.

  Edward let out a breath. “One of my team is missing.”

  “Who?” Cat asked without thinking.

  Indecision clouded his face before he said, “Lou.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “Lou?” Marcello asked, confusion on his face.

  Edward was still looking at her; she knew he wanted to comfort her, but couldn’t. Not here. Not now.

  Perhaps not ever again.

  “Louise. She’s one of my top techs for anything to do with electronics, hacking, things like that. She’s one of the best.”

  “Louise?” Cat wondered aloud. That bright, spunky girl? “Oh my God.”

  “Why didn’t you report this to me?” Marcello asked.

  “I’m reporting it now, Sir,” Edward replied stiffly. “When she didn’t respond to our distress call after the shooting, we knew something was wrong. We went to her house, which showed clear signs of struggle, but we were able to get some leads. We’ve got people looking for her, including members of my team, RPS agents, and the local Chames PD.”

  “You think she was taken to provide this information?” Gabriel asked.

  Edward glanced at Cat, then back to the room. “I think someone knew the area we were in, and we believe she was likely tortured for the intel. She has had extensive counter-terrorism and hostage training. That said, I’m not positive she talked. I think they may have gotten the information another way, and we’re looking into where that leak may be. If I could spare you from the truth, I would.”

  Though Edward was looking at her father, Cat knew he was speaking to her.

  “What next?” Gabriel asked.

  “We keep interrogating Gori. We confirmed that he didn’t buy the drone, so whoever he’s working with may have purchased it for him. We’re trying to track the buyer down now.”

  “We also followed some leads on Muffy,” Marcello said. “Two of her latest boyfriends rank high in Vallerian society. Rumour mill says she wants to get marry one of them, and we’ve discovered both of them have ties to the Vallerian Patriots.”

  “So either of them could have put things in her hidden room?”

  Marcello nodded.

  “Aren’t they all members of the Royal Yacht Club?” Alex asked, referring to the oldest and most exclusive club in Valleria. Members of the royal family were made life-long members at birth, with high society men and women able to buy their way in. The Vallerian royals rarely made an appearance at the pretentious institution, unless it involved a charity fundraiser.

  “That’s a good point, Alexander,” Gabriel said. “I recall seeing them there at the last charity dinner, though I can’t say if they were all seated together.”

  Marcello signaled to one of his agents, who nodded. “We’ll look into that. A charity dinner would be a good way for them to meet each other in public without drawing attention.”

  “Isn’t the next dinner coming up?” Nate asked.

  “Tonight,” Alex replied. “Rebecca, Cat, and I were planning on going until all this happened.”

&nb
sp; Cat had completely forgotten about the dinner. “I’d planned to meet Philip there.” She caught the flash in Edward’s eyes. “I’ll need to call and let him know I can’t attend, perhaps using an excuse of a previous engagement. Then he won’t expect me.”

  Marcello rubbed a thoughtful finger over his chin. “Will other people be expecting you?”

  Cat noticed Edward stiffen, but wasn’t sure why. “Oh, I’m not sure. They’ll be expecting Rebecca more, as the money raised at the dinner will fund some projects at the hospital which she’s been managing. I think the media’s announced that I was coming, but we can always send last minute regrets. Unless, do the press already know what happened to me?”

  “No,” Marcello said. “The media haven’t caught wind of it. We informed the local PD about the shooting who, as Bash mentioned, are also now searching for Lou. They seem solid. The local police chief assured me they won’t share what happened outside their department unless or until it becomes necessary to do so. It could still get leaked, though.”

  “I don’t even need to ask what you’re thinking,” Alex said, anger laced in his tone. “You want to use our sister as bait.”

  Cat’s jaw dropped as murmurs of shock rippled through the room.

  Marcello stiffened. “It’s an effective tactic.”

  Alex seethed. “She’s our sister.”

  “It’s worked before.”

  “She’s our sister, for Christ’s sake!”

  “Jesus, do you think I would let anything happen to her? If you were supposed to go tonight, that means RPS is already handling event security. That means we have eyes and ears on all of you, even her.”

  “Respectfully, Sir,” Edward began, “I don’t know if this is a good idea. We still don’t know who’s really behind all this, but all signs point to someone in the upper reaches of society, likely a member of the club, who wants to harm the princess, and potentially the monarchy. This could be the opportunity they’ve been waiting for.”

  “I know. That’s why I think this is a good idea.”

  Gabriel shook his head. “Marcello–”

  Marcello held up a hand. “Please, just listen for a minute. You can berate me after you hear my plan.”

  Once everyone hesitantly nodded, he continued. “We set up Cat to go in. She’s got a tracker, earpiece, the works. Security has to stick with her the entire time at a public event like that. We’ll add more agents just to be safe. If Cat arrives at that charity dinner, alive and well even after an attack on her life, whoever’s behind this will be pissed off. They could make another play for her, or at least reveal themselves in some way. Even the right facial expression can help us, and we’ll track all of that with cameras.”

  The mention of cameras reminded Cat about something. “What happened to those cameras they tried to plant in the palace? If they know I wasn’t in the palace, running a loop on those cameras is pretty pointless, isn’t it?”

  “Not necessarily. We’ve almost triangulated the outbound signal for those cameras. Meaning, we’ll soon know where the feed is being sent, and to whom. The person on the other end hasn’t shut them down, so we’re keeping them on for now. We haven’t been showing any footage of you for the last day or two. So, even though they know you weren’t at the palace, they may not know that the footage is fake.”

  Gabriel frowned. “I can’t say I favor this option. I can, however, understand how it may be effective. Catharine, are you willing to do this?”

  She licked her lips to buy some time and caught the flare of heat in Edward’s eyes. “Will Edward still be assigned to me?”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Marcello said.

  Edward straightened, standing even taller, if that was possible. “Sir, I would be honored to protect the princess.”

  “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

  “Absolutely, Sir.”

  Marcello gave him a long look, then nodded. “All right. Cat, if you want Edward, you’ve got him.”

  If only that were true. “Then I’ll do it. What time do we leave?”

  “You’re going to arrive fashionably late, and separately from Alex and Rebecca,” Marcello laid out. “Wear something long, but no trains, with comfortable shoes.”

  High-profile events and ‘comfortable shoes’ did not really go together. “Marcello.”

  “You need something you can run in, if you have to. Let’s plan for the worst, and hope it won’t happen. Bash, set her up with some pepper spray, too, and whatever else you can think of. Raid the tech closet if you need to.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Can we leave the bunker then?” Rebecca asked, and Alex frowned at her again.

  “Sure, but stay in the Royal Wing until you leave. Don’t do any work in your offices today. I’m going to go over the club’s blueprints and get a plan in place. Bash, come with me.”

  Edward gave her a last look and, with a nod to her parents, left.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Edward, dressed in a spiffy tux, knocked on Catharine’s door. “My Lady? Are you ready?”

  The door opened a few moments later, and his cock hardened almost instantly.

  She was dressed in a long, clinging almost sheer black gown. A nude underlay was covered in a close, swirling pattern of sparkling black, tantalizing the senses. The neck plunged daringly, revealing the curves of her breasts and highlighting her olive skin. Though the top of the dress clung, the skirt flared out, then fell to just above her ankles. It would be easy enough to run in, and billowy enough to hide a weapon or two on her thigh without anyone noticing.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said gruffly, and she frowned; had he said something wrong?

  She stepped to the side. “Come in. I’ll just be another moment.”

  As soon as the door closed, he pushed her against it. “Are you alone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” His mouth closed over hers, which parted as soon as his lips licked hers. One of his hands gripped her back, while the other tangled in her loose flowing hair.

  He’d wanted her all day. Their time that morning wasn’t enough, not nearly.

  As the adrenaline of the gunshot had waned, he’d wanted to claim her.

  As he stood in the palace bunker, watching her through hooded eyes, he’d wanted to claim her.

  In front of her family, he’d wanted to claim her.

  Now, in private, he finally could.

  “Eddie,” she moaned. “I have to get ready.”

  His hand ruched up her skirt and then delved beneath. “I can get you ready, My Lady.”

  With a tortured cry, she pushed him away, Eddie stepping back immediately. “What’s wrong?”

  “Everything,” she whispered as she ran down the hall to her bedroom.

  Eddie quickly caught up with her, and wrapped his arms around her. “What’s wrong?” He caught the tears in her eyes. “Damn it, Catharine, what is it?”

  “We can’t see each other anymore.”

  His body went deathly still. “What?”

  “We can’t.”

  “Why?”

  She pushed away from him again. “Do I need a reason?”

  “Yes, you damn well do. Why?”

  “I can’t say.”

  “You won’t say. Why?”

  “Please, just let me go.”

  “Whose are you?” He heard her choked cry, but didn’t let up; he couldn’t with their future on the line. “Whose are you?”

  “Yours,” she whispered and let out a sob.

  “Whose am I?”

  She shook her head.

  “Whose am I?”

  She whipped around, faint lines of mascara etching her cheek. “You’re not mine! You can’t be. You can’t be.” As she fell to the floor, he caught her.

  She clutched the lapels of his jacket, pushing him away, then pulling him close, tears flowing all the while. “You can’t be mine anymore.”

  “Why, for God’s sake?”

 
“Rebecca can’t have children.”

  His arms went solid around her heaving body. If she couldn’t have children, it’d be up to Catharine to continue the royal line.

  And his blood wasn’t good enough.

  He wasn’t good enough.

  “Jesus Christ.”

  “I’m sorry. She told me just today. She doesn’t think she can have children and that means–”

  “Wait a minute. She ‘thinks’ she can’t have kids? You don’t know yet?”

  “She’s having tests done, but–”

  “But you’re cutting me loose anyway, because you don’t think I’m good enough for you, and you think your family won’t, either.”

  “No, I just–”

  “Don’t want me anymore.”

  “Stop! That’s not what I meant.”

  One of his hands clasped her nape while the other kept her body firm against his. “Then say it and fast.”

  She swallowed. “My time’s running out. Alex will marry Rebecca no matter what. If she can’t have children, that means I need to be married just as quickly. I’m getting older; it will be harder for me to have children of my own if I wait too much longer.”

  “And I don’t factor into that future at all? You think your parents wouldn’t approve of me, even though I’m in love with you, even though I’ve risked my life for you, time and time again?”

  “What?” she breathed, but he continued.

  “I’m good enough to fuck you, but not take care of you for the rest of our lives? Is that it?” He shook his head and started to pull away, but Catharine held him tight.

  “You love me?”

  “Of course I love you. It’s clear you don’t feel the same.” He pushed back and stood.

  Catharine scrambled to get up. “Eddie, no. Please listen.”

  “We get through tonight, we get this fucker, I’m gone. You’ll never have to see me again.” He was halfway out the door when she spoke.

  “I love you, too, you big, dumb jerk!”

  Edward stopped as though he’d just hit a wall. “What?”

  “I love you.”

  He turned and saw her furious, tear-stained face. Relief swept through him like a wave, washing the dregs of his life clean away. “You love me?”