Royal Wedding Threat by Rachelle McCalla

Author:Rachelle McCalla
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin (UK) Ltd
Published: 2014-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

By Tuesday, Jason was ready to pull his hair out in frustration. They had no new leads, no new developments, no sign of the American Daniel Johnson, and each day when Jason called the church in Seattle, a different secretary told him Ava’s father wasn’t there. None of them would tell him where the pastor was or how Jason might reach him. The royal-wedding date was quickly approaching, and with it, the certainty that Ava would have to leave the safety of the palace walls.

Most frustrating of all, Ava had turned cold toward him again. Or perhaps cold wasn’t quite the word. She hadn’t gone back to her argumentative ways completely, but she watched him warily, as though unsure whether he could be trusted.

As if Jason didn’t have enough on his mind, he found himself constantly stewing over just what was going on between him and Ava. They had a distinct chemistry between them, he knew that much. It had always been there, he realized now, but for the longest time they’d merely screamed at each other because of it. He didn’t want to argue with her anymore. Somehow he had to convince the hurt girl under the armor that it was safe to lower her defenses.

But as long as a killer was after her, it wouldn’t be safe for her to lower her defenses, not really.

When Jason’s phone rang in the early afternoon on Tuesday, he recognized her number and answered quickly, though at that moment he stood in front of a roomful of transfers from the Lydian army, explaining to them in detail the differences between life in the army and life in the royal guard.

“I have an hour,” Ava said without preamble. “Can I meet with you?”

“Right now?” Jason had one foot up on the table, demonstrating a proper shoe-polish shine to the new recruits.

“This is the only block of time I have free before ten o’clock tonight. It’s rather urgent.”

Jason couldn’t help wondering what qualified as urgent. Had she learned something new, recalled an old, forgotten death threat? He couldn’t put off meeting with her, not if it meant a possible break in the case. “I’ll meet you in the foyer.” He dismissed the men, instructing them to return promptly in one hour.

Ava didn’t speak until Jason closed his office door after her. Then she met his eyes and said bluntly, “I can’t do this.”

For one light-headed instant, Jason thought perhaps she was going to confess her feelings for him, reach across the desk and kiss him. But she glared at him rigidly from the other side of his desk, so clearly a kiss was the furthest thing from her mind.

“I cannot in good conscience appear at the royal wedding and endanger the lives of everyone there.”

He held his breath, fearing she’d announce she was leaving.

Ava pinched her face into a pain-filled expression that was by now all too familiar to him. She added, “Nor can I leave on such short notice.”

Relieved that her stubborn mind wasn’t set on going, Jason nonetheless couldn’t see what she was getting at.

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