By Order of the Prince Read online

  “Of course,” Beth replied, grateful to focus on work and not on the wondrous charms of Antoine Cavanaugh. This was where she belonged, dealing with hotel housekeeping business and not anywhere near a prince who had everything it took to break her heart.

  It was noon when Beth realized she’d promised Antoine the night before to look at the personnel records and see who had been hired in the weeks before the royals had arrived.

  It was possible somebody here at the hotel had seen Antoine and Beth leave together the day before and had been responsible for what had happened after they’d left the lab.

  This thought brought with it a sense of personal betrayal. Beth had always considered the staff here at the resort part of her extended family. She didn’t want to believe that anyone here could be guilty of such duplicity.

  It was also possible somebody in town had seen them together and had decided it was a perfect opportunity to take out another member of the COIN coalition.

  Beth spent most of her waking hours here at the hotel and rarely went to town for anything but groceries or to meet a friend for dinner.

  There was one person who would probably know any newcomers in town and that was Beth’s friend, Haley Jenkins, who worked at the most popular café in Dumont.

  She dialed Haley’s number and smiled as her friend’s voice filled the line. “Hey girl, I haven’t heard from you for a while. I was beginning to think you’d fallen off the face of the earth.”

  “I’ve just been really busy here at work,” Beth replied.

  “Rubbing elbows with all those hunky sheiks, I’ll bet,” Haley said.

  Beth laughed although she felt the warmth of a blush on her cheeks. “Actually, a prince rather than a sheik,” she admitted.

  Haley squealed in delight. “Do tell all!”

  “There isn’t a lot to tell,” Beth said hurriedly. “I’ve just been spending a little time with Prince Antoine Cavanaugh, but it’s strictly on a professional basis. I’m helping him with a little investigative work.”

  “Beth, I’ve seen photos of him and his twin brother. They are definitely the hottie twins. I hope some of your work is undercover…as in under the covers of one of those big, king-size beds.”

  Beth laughed once again and tried not to think about her and Antoine under the sheets of his bed, making love. “Not hardly. The reason I called is because I’m trying to get the names of people who came to town just before the visiting royals arrived, people who seem to have no real reason to be here.”

  “God, girl, that’s a tall order. With all the reporters and journalists and all those kooky protestors, it’s hard to figure out who has a reason to be here and who doesn’t.”

  “This would be somebody who isn’t a journalist, somebody who is probably a loner,” Beth replied.

  “Can I give it some thought and get back to you?” Haley asked.

  “Of course,” Beth replied. “And Haley, I really appreciate it.”

  “Whatever I can do to help. But, I will tell you that sooner or later I’m going to want details about you and the handsome prince.”

  Beth laughed again and when she and Haley hung up she typed in the password on her computer that would take her to the personnel files.

  It took an enormous staff to keep a hotel and resort of this size running smoothly and Beth intended to check new hires for any position on staff.

  It took her most of the afternoon to plow through the records with interruptions to attend to normal housekeeping duties and coworkers popping in just to say hello.

  There was very little turnover at the hotel. People who worked here liked what they did and knew that in this economy good jobs were hard to find. The hotel provided not only comfortable wages, but excellent benefits as well and there was definitely a certain prestige in working for the Wind River Ranch and Resort.

  However, she did find one name, a member of her own staff, who had been hired a little over a month before the royals had come to the resort.

  Janine Sahron had told Beth when she’d been hired that her husband was from a small Mediterranean island and that they had recently moved to Dumont. At the time the information had meant nothing to Beth, but now she had to wonder about it.

  Was it possible they had moved to Dumont specifically to get Janine hired, specifically to infiltrate the hotel and gain access to knowledge about the movements of the members of the COIN Coalition?

  Beth grabbed her cell phone and called Antoine. She tried to still the leap of her heart as he answered, his deep sexy voice washing over her in a wave of heat.

  “Beth, I was just thinking about you,” he said in a distinctly sensual tone.

  She wanted to tell him to stop it, to stop thinking about her, and to stop saying her name as if he were making love to it. “I was just thinking about you, too. I have a name for you—a maid who was hired a month before you all arrived here. I also remember her telling me that her husband was from a small Mediterranean island.”

  “What’s her name?” Antoine asked, all softness gone from his voice. “Janine Sahron.”

  “Sahron,” he repeated the name thoughtfully. “Doesn’t sound familiar, but that doesn’t mean anything. I would like to meet with her immediately. Can you arrange it for me?”

  “Unfortunately today is her day off,” Beth replied.

  “You have her address?”

  “Yes, but what are you planning to do?”

  “You and I will pay her a visit at her home. I will interrogate her and her husband and get the truth from them.”

  A faint shiver walked up Beth’s spine at the cool resolve in his voice. “Shouldn’t you call them first and let them know you’re coming?”

  “Absolutely not. I would prefer the element of surprise. So, when are you available to take me to them?”

  She had told herself that she was done with Antoine, that what she needed more than anything was to distance herself from him, but she also knew that he had nobody he trusted as much as her. And the truth be told, she didn’t want to distance herself from him—at least not yet and at least not physically.

  “I can take off at about six this evening,” she finally said and tried to ignore the dance her heart did at the thought of seeing him again. It didn’t mean they would sleep together, she reminded herself. Helping him and sleeping with him were two very different things.

  With arrangements made for her to meet him at the side door, they hung up. Beth directed her gaze out the nearby window where she had a view of the stunning formal gardens.

  Was it possible that Janine and her husband were somehow tied to the Russian mobster who had written those threatening notes? It was so difficult to imagine the red-haired, blue-eyed, soft-spoken Janine involved in any kind of international intrigue.

  But she reminded herself that lately the news had been filled with stories about spies living like the Joneses next door, people who looked like Sunday-school teachers and Boy Scout leaders who were actually planted for years as deep-seated spies.

  Who would have thought that some of the local law could be bought off, that professional security teams could be compromised? She couldn’t imagine living a life where you didn’t know who to trust, where even the people closest to you could betray you in the blink of an eye.

  Was it any wonder that Antoine found it easier to trust a virtual stranger like her than anyone close to him?

  By the time six o’clock arrived nervous energy coursed through her. She was determined to take Antoine where he needed to go, support him in what he had to do, and yet try to maintain a healthy emotional distance from him.

  That emotional distance was difficult to maintain the minute she slid into the interior of the new black Jeep. Despite the fact that Antoine had been suffering from a gash in his forehead and from the trauma of somebody trying to kill him, within minutes of getting to safety he’d thought about her and the fact that she no longer had a car she could use.

  Sitting in the new beige leather seat, smellin
g the new-car scent that surrounded her and staring at all the bells and whistles he’d included, she felt a wave of emotion press tight in her chest and bring a haze of tears to her eyes.

  Nobody had ever done anything so nice for her before and while she intended to pay off every dime, she couldn’t help but be touched that he’d thought about what she’d lost, that it had mattered to him.

  She sucked up the uncharacteristic sentimental tears and headed for the side door where Antoine awaited. As always her pulse raced at the sight of him.

  Although he wore his customary black dress slacks, this evening he had on a pale blue short-sleeved dress shirt that both showed off his biceps and emphasized the blueness of his eyes.

  As he slid into the seat next to her and gave her the smile that threatened to turn her into a puddle, she knew maintaining any kind of emotional distance from this man was next to impossible.

  Somehow he’d managed to dig in beneath the defenses she’d erected after the debacle with Mark. The lyrics to a Mariah Carey heartbreaker flew through her head, a reminder that she desperately had to quickly rebuild the defenses to keep her heart safe.

  “You slept well last night?” he asked once they were headed in the direction of the Sahron residence.

  “I would have slept better in my own bed, but yes, I slept okay. What about you?” She cast him a quick glance and noticed that he looked tired. The lines around his eyes appeared to cut deeper than they had the day before. “Nightmares?”

  “No, no dreams. There were just too many thoughts in my head for me to sleep well,” he replied.

  “You need to talk about your thoughts?”

  He cast her a warm smile. “I’m not used to sharing my thoughts with anyone, except perhaps Sebastian.” He leaned back in the seat and a frown tugged his dark eyebrows downward. “I keep trying to figure out how to tie Aleksei Verovick to everything that has happened. I keep wondering if perhaps he’s here in town and pulling strings behind the scenes.”

  “I called a friend of mine at a café in Dumont to see if she could give me a list of anyone who had come to town in the weeks before you all arrived. I haven’t heard back from her yet. But sooner or later everyone who comes to Dumont eats at that café.”

  “You’re a very smart woman, Beth.”

  She hated how she warmed at his words of praise. “If I don’t hear back from her today, I’ll give her a call first thing in the morning.”

  “I don’t know what I would do without you, Beth. Without Sebastian here I have nobody else I can trust.” She felt his gaze on her.

  “Do you really worry that you can’t trust your own security team?” she asked.

  He frowned once again. “I want to trust them, but I’m naturally wary after what happened with Sheik Efraim’s head of security. The promise of money and power can corrupt even the truest of heart.”

  “Money has never meant much of anything to me, except as a way to eventually finance my dream of owning horses,” she replied. “I’ve never longed for designer clothes or fancy shoes. I love my simple life.”

  “A simple life sounds wonderfully attractive to me at the moment,” he replied.

  They both fell silent as she reached the Dumont city limits and she turned onto the street where the Sahron family lived.

  “It should be just ahead,” she said as she slowed to read the numbers on the mailboxes.

  The Sahron house was a two-story that looked as if it was in desperate need of a face-lift. The white paint was peeling and weathered and some of the dark green shutters at the windows hung askance. The lawn was wild and dead bushes lined the sidewalk.

  “Apparently money is an issue with the Sahrons,” Antoine said drily as she stopped the car in the driveway.

  “I’ll go up and knock on the door,” Beth said. Although she was relatively certain they had not been followed and hopefully nobody knew about her new vehicle, she didn’t want Antoine standing on the porch and potentially making an easy target for somebody.

  “We’ll go together,” he replied firmly and opened his car door.

  So much for attempting to save a prince, she thought as she got out. Although Antoine definitely wasn’t the kind of man who would ever need saving by a woman. With his military training and his quick mind he could probably take care of himself in most situations.

  She felt a nervous flutter in her stomach as Antoine rang the doorbell. She didn’t want to think that a member of her own staff might be at least partially responsible for the horrible things that had befallen the visiting dignitaries.

  Janine Sahron was a hard worker and a team player. She was a soft-spoken woman whom Beth had instantly liked. Was it possible Beth had completely misjudged her character? Janine had melded seamlessly into the team which was why Beth hadn’t thought about her until she’d looked over the files.

  It certainly wouldn’t be the first time she’d misjudged somebody. A vision of Mark filled her head. Mark with his charming smile and laughing brown eyes. Oh yes, he’d fooled her with his promises of love and marriage and she’d bought into each and every one of his lies.

  Her attention returned to Antoine as he knocked on the door with an impatient rap. “I guess they aren’t home,” he finally said in frustration after knocking a second time.

  “What now?” Beth asked as they returned to the car.

  “I think we should park along the curb across the street and do what you call a stakeout.”

  “If that’s what you want,” Beth replied. “But, it’s possible they’re out for the evening.”

  Within minutes they were parked where he’d indicated with the engine off and the windows down to allow the refreshing evening air to flow around them.

  “We’ll give it an hour or so,” he said. “And while we wait you can tell me about the man who broke your heart.”

  She looked at him in surprise and a small, uncomfortable laugh escaped her lips. “What makes you think some man broke my heart?”

  His eyes gleamed a silvery blue in the waning light of day. “It’s the only thing to explain why a woman like you is still alone.”

  She broke eye contact with him and stared unseeing out the front window as her mind drifted back in time. “I always had a firm policy not to date any of the guests who stayed at the hotel. It just seemed smart not to get involved with men who were there on business or on vacation and had lives to get back to.”

  “But, you made an exception,” he said softly.

  She turned back to look at him and nodded. “Yes, I did. His name was Mark Ferrer. He was some sort of a medical salesman who worked the state of Wyoming and about every two weeks or so he’d spend a couple of nights at the resort. I ran into him in town one evening. He had just finished up a business call and I was in town to buy some groceries. We bumped into each other and he invited me to have a drink with him.”

  She thought about that night. It had been the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death and she’d been filled with an aching loneliness. “On impulse I decided to take him up on the invitation.”

  “And that was the beginning.” It wasn’t a question but rather a statement of fact.

  “Yes, we started seeing each other whenever he was in town and he’d call me during the time he wasn’t in town. He told me he lived in a small town about three hundred miles from here.” Once again she cast her gaze out the window. “He was very romantic, seemed to be head over heels in love with me and it wasn’t long before I believed I felt the same way.”

  She removed her hands from the steering wheel and felt the faint tick of the errant nerve in the side of her neck. It was embarrassing to admit how incredibly foolish she’d been.

  Antoine reached over and took one of her hands in his. As always when she looked at him she wanted to fall into his arms, lose herself in the blue waters of his eyes. “You loved him and he didn’t love you back?”

  She wished it had been that easy. Unrequited love would have been a cakewalk compared to what she’d be
en through with Mark. “No, he professed to love me desperately up until the very end when I told him to get out of my life and stay out forever.”

  Antoine looked at her in confusion. “I don’t understand. What happened?”

  Beth sighed. “One night Mark stayed with me and the next morning when he left I realized he’d forgotten his briefcase. That evening I looked up his home number in the hotel records and I called him. To my surprise a woman answered the phone, a woman who introduced herself as Mark’s wife.”

  How well she remembered that moment of shock, of utter betrayal that she’d felt. Married? Mark was married? Worse than that, she’d heard the sound of young children in the background.

  She would never forget how humiliated she’d felt at that moment, how her heart had ached not only for herself but also for the woman on the other end of the line.

  “What did you tell her?” Antoine asked.

  “That I was head of housekeeping here at the hotel and Mr. Ferrer had left his briefcase in his room. She thanked me and told me Mark would be in touch.”

  “And I’ll bet he was,” Antoine said drily as he gently squeezed her hand.

  “He called me an hour later, told me that nothing had changed between us. He said he loved me and was grateful that the truth was finally out. He said his wife didn’t understand him, that she was jealous and vindictive but ultimately he didn’t want to divorce her because he had to think about his children. He told me that now that the truth was out, there was really no reason why we couldn’t keep the status quo.”

  The words tumbled out of her. She’d never shared this with anyone. Not even her best friends had known about Mark’s ultimate betrayal.

  “He assured me that nothing had changed between he and I, that he still loved me, still wanted to be with me whenever it was possible. I was appalled. I don’t do affairs.”

  “Of course you don’t. So, that was the end of it?”

  She frowned. “For the next three months Mark called me incessantly. He couldn’t believe that I didn’t want to be with him anymore. He sent me flowers and candy and other gifts. I finally changed my cell phone number, but he’d call me at work.”