Page 121 of Ruthless

“Gideon,” her father called as he came toward them. “It’s good to see you, son.”

“Thank you, sir. It’s good to see you, too.”

“Papa, we have news.”

Her father’s gaze went from hers to Gideon’s, and a smile spread across his face. “And what would that news be?”

“I’ve asked for Eve’s hand in marriage, and she has agreed.”

The smile went even wider, and an expression of profound relief appeared. “That’s excellent news. The future of our beautiful country will be in the best of hands.” Shaking Gideon’s hand, he said, “I couldn’t be happier, as a father or a citizen of Ile de la Lune, to know that you will be by Lina’s side.”

“Thank you, sir. I will do my very best to be the husband and partner she needs.”

“I know you will.” He glanced at his watch and then at his advisors and Jacques who were standing close-by. “I’m afraid we’re running a little behind.” He turned to Eve. “Lina, I’ll go out first and make a short speech. Then I’ll ask you to come out. You can give your statement, and then you can introduce Gideon.”

She drew in a breath, glanced over at Gideon, and then said, “Okay. Let’s do this.”

The door opened for them, and as her father took a step toward it, his cellphone rang. Huffing out an exasperated sound, he looked at the screen. “No caller ID.” He sent them a harried look. “I’ve been getting calls and texts all morning from people trying to find out what I’m going to announce.”

Pocketing his phone, he took another step, and this time, the chime of a text came through. He didn’t reach for his phone, but then another one chimed. “Well, for goodness—”

He grabbed the phone and quickly checked his messages. All color was washed from his face, and a look she’d never seen before entered his eyes.

“Papa? What is it?”

“I don’t know…I don’t…” he whispered.

Then, surprising her even further, another call came through, and this time, he answered.

“Hello?” he said hoarsely.

She couldn’t understand what was being said, but the frantic sound coming from the speaker had her putting her hand on her father’s arm. “Papa?”

“Hold on,” he said into the phone. With a sweep of his hand, he said to the half-dozen or so people in the office with them. “I need privacy. Now.”

Accustomed to such abrupt requests, everyone departed quickly, leaving only the king, Eve, and Gideon.

The instant the door was closed, the king punched the speaker button and said, “I’m putting you on speaker. Lina and Gideon are the only other people in the room.”

“Lina, this is Nicolas.”

She stumbled, and Gideon put his hand at the small of her back to steady her.

“It’s really you, Nicolas?” the king said.

“Yes, Papa. I’m alive, as are Camille and our sons.”

“And your code phrase?”

“The leaves are green, Papa.”

An expression of profound relief and joy washed over her father’s face. “I don’t understand, Nicolas. How? Why? Where have you been? We found the wreckage of your plane. We believed you were all dead.”

“I’m sorry, Papa. And Lina. I didn’t want to hurt you this way, but I had to do what was necessary to protect my family.”

“What happened, Nicolas? What made you do this?”

“As you know, I was taking my family to another location. Right before we boarded, my mechanic did a last-minute check and discovered the plane had been tampered with. It would have flown for a couple of hours before losing altitude and crashing.