Page 82 of Raul

“I will not negotiate with you, but you have my word that it will be more than once a year.” He wanted to keep her guessing when he would arrive, but he would time it as that escape valve Erica had described.

“I hope your word is worth more than your father’s,” she said.

That jab bounced off him harmlessly. His father had done nothing dishonorable.

“We will meet here in this office?” she asked.

Why did she care about the location? The warden’s office was as secure as the rest of the prison. He glanced around. Except for the ring on the floor and bars on the window, the room did not look like a prison. Perhaps the change of setting was why she wanted to be here.

“Yes,” he said and waited.

“You, the Crown Prince of Caleva, will come to prison to converse with a criminal.” She stared at him.

He nodded.

“Poor Raul.” She laughed. “Your father has made you the sacrificial lamb.”

“My father knows only that I am meeting with you today. Nothing more.” Luis would not have approved had he known about Raul’s plan, but Odette had to be defanged.

“How intriguing.” Odette shifted so her chains clanked against the metal chair. “I will accept your offer with one condition.”

“You aren’t in a position to make conditions,” Raul pointed out.

“It’s a small one.” She lifted her hands. “I would request that I wear only handcuffs. You may lock them to the chair, of course.”

The heavy chains seemed to weigh down her thin body, and she would be thoroughly searched for any hidden weapons, as she had been today. However, her insane hatred burned hot enough to fuel an attack.

“If your chains are removed, there must be a guard in the room with us at all times,” Raul said.

“Agreed.” She smiled with a feral edge. “So, we have a deal, Little Prince. Your presence for my silence.”

“And Dupont’s.”

“That goes without saying.” Her smile widened. “He is my dog, and I will muzzle him.”

He had made his deal with the devil. Nausea threatened again, and he breathed deeply to fight it before he pushed the button to summon the guards. The door opened instantly.

“We’re done,” he said to both the guards and Odette.

One guard bent to unlock her shackles from the floor ring before they pulled her to her feet.

“What? No fond farewell?” Odette taunted. The guards hauled her to the door, where she looked over her shoulder to say, “See you soon,Su Alteza Real.”

When the door clicked shut behind her, Raul sagged back into the chair and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. Stunned that Erica’s idea had really worked, he let relief flow through him in hopes that it would wash away the dread of future meetings with Odette.

Then he straightened in the chair, lifted his chin, and gripped the armrests. He had stopped Odette from sullying the joy of Gabriel and Quinn’s wedding.

He was protecting the rest of his family from Odette’s poison.

That was the thought he needed to carry with him every time he entered this office.

A quiet knock sounded on a side door.

“Come in.” Raul pushed up from the warden’s chair as Dario leaned into the office. “I’m ready to go.”

As the last steel door clanged shut behind him at the prison exit, Raul took a deep breath of fresh air. “I need a shower. And a change of clothes,” he said as he walked toward the plain car that had carried him there. He tilted down the baseball cap that he wore to hide his identity and shoved his hands into the pockets of the shapeless tan raincoat that concealed his bespoke suit.

“Ah, this way,Señor,” Dario said, gesturing toward a different car.