Page 29 of Duty and Desire
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gio
I reined in the impulse to fist the air, but my heart thumped like an engine.
“Did he send you here to tell me that?”
She expelled a sigh. “He doesn’t know I’m here. I’ve taken a leave of absence from my job.”
“Then how can you say?—”
“Gio,” she interjected. “Can we not do this out here? I’ve traveled a long way to see you, and right now I could really use a drink.” Her gaze grew warmer. “I promise, I’ll tell you all I know.”
I opened the gate, then the door. “Come in.” I followed her into the bungalow, and headed for the kitchen. “Will a glass of wine do?”
“Perfect.” Claudia placed her purse on the dining table.
It was then I noticed the carry-on bag. “Do you always pack this light?”
“I wasn’t intending staying long on the island.” She took the glass I proffered. “Thanks. ”
I gestured to the living room, and we went over to the couch.
“When did you find out about Nick?”
I took a sip to ease my tight throat. “Two days ago. A friend saw Nick’s photo on a news item, then called me.” I cocked my head. “So Franz was Nick’s bodyguard?”
She nodded. “He works for the Royal Family, assigned to protect Nick here.”
I put the glass down. “Nick didn’t want to be part of the monarchy, did he?”
Claudia stared at me. “Did he tell you that?”
“Not the monarchy part, obviously, but I knew he was running away from something. I thought it was his family.”
She stared into her glass. “He had many reasons for trying to escape his destiny. Internal struggles, fears… But I won’t talk about those. I can’t. It isn’t my story to tell.” She straightened. “I’m here to take you to Eisenland.”
I snorted. “I’m way ahead of you. My flights are already booked.” I frowned. “You said Nick needs me, but he doesn’t know you’re here. He hasn’t contacted me. If he wanted to see me, he’d?—”
“Gio…” Claudia set her glass on the coffee table. “Look, this is way more complicated than you imagine.”
I arched my eyebrows. “How much more complicated could it be?”
She laced her fingers, her gaze locked onto them. “He’s going to be married. To Princess Karoline von Mussner-Rheinberger.”
I froze. “But… his father’s dead. He arranged the marriage when Nick was only a kid. Doesn’t it die with him? Can’t Nick refuse?”
She shook her head.
“But he’s the freaking king !”
Claudia gave me an inquiring glance. “Doesn’t your President have advisers? Statesmen who surround him? Maybe the ones who truly run the country?”
“Sure he does, but as for whether they’re the ones pulling the strings…” Then again, what did I know ?
She picked up her glass and drank half its contents.
“Well, in Eisenland, now that King Johannes is no more, the ministers are the power behind the throne. Nick’s brother, Prince Rudolf, married Princess Gabriele because that was what had been agreed between the families when Rudolf was just a boy.
It was the same with Nick and Princess Karoline.
Nick wasn’t about to marry a woman, so?—”
“So he left,” I finished for her.
Claudia nodded. “But now he’s back, and his late father’s ministers see no reason why the marriage shouldn’t take place. First a wedding, then the coronation…”
Cold trickled down my spine, inching its way to my extremities.
“He’s trapped, isn’t he?”
All my thoughts of confronting him melted into nothingness. Nick had his back to the wall, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
I scowled. “I can’t let him do this.”
Claudia said nothing for a moment. Then she gave a heavy sigh. “The times we spoke on the phone—before he had to leave here—Nick was the happiest I’ve ever known him.” Her face tightened. “I don’t want him to go back to being the guy I knew at university.”
“What’s your purpose in coming here?”
She took another drink. “I can’t sit by and watch Nick destroy himself.
Because that is what will happen if he goes ahead with this marriage.
I came here to persuade you to come with me to Eisenland, in the hope that when—if—he sees you, he’ll come to his senses.
” She flushed. “He’ll remember how much he loves you.
And maybe that will be enough to divert him from this path that can only lead to heartache and misery. ”
One word snagged. “ If he’ll see me?”
She bit her lip. “Getting to see him might be difficult.”
I gaped at her. “He’s the king. They can’t lock him up—can they?”
“No, but you’ll have to get past Daniela Risch.”
“Who’s she? ”
“The Royal Attaché. Polished, highly intelligent—and extremely ambitious. A political player too.” Claudia met my inquiring glance. “Who knows nothing of your existence. No one does.”
I caught my breath. “Franz didn’t tell tales after all.”
That flush was back. “He’s our greatest ally in this. He doesn’t want to see Nick ruin his life any more than we do. And if anyone can help us to get into the palace, it’s Franz.”
Despite my churning stomach and hammering heart, I couldn’t suppress my smile. “So do I take it all is going well between you two?”
“Considering we’re having a long-distance relationship at the moment, surprisingly, yes.”
I shivered. “This princess they want Nick to marry… what’s she like?”
Claudia shrugged. “I’ve only met her once or twice, when I visited Nick during vacations.
She’s… beautiful, elegant, well-educated, and a little cold.
That last part doesn’t surprise me. Nick’s kept his distance from her for as long as I’ve known him.
But she’s young—twenty-four—and they’ve been grooming her all her life to be a queen.
His queen.” She frowned. “You said you’ve already booked your flights? When do you leave?”
“Tomorrow.” I glanced at the interior of the bungalow. “Which gives me very little time to pack everything up into boxes, because the likelihood of me returning here is remote.”
“I’ll help you,” she announced.
“Then why don’t you stay here? Unless you’ve already got yourself a hotel room.”
She chuckled. “I didn’t think about accommodation. I was too busy arranging transportation.”
“You can have the bedroom. I’ll sleep on the couch.” She opened her mouth, undoubtedly to protest, but I shook my head. “And on the way there, you and I have an important job to do.”
“What’s that?”
I looked her in the eye. “We have to plan a rescue.”