Chapter 21

21

Thala

Hank's expression shuttered all traces of emotion so fast that when he passed us at the entryway, his detachment from me felt like a physical blow. I raised my hand to touch him, but he angled away and I let it drop.

Declan and I exchanged a look, and he shook his head. Christian instantly filled in the big puzzle pieces of Hank's background. His dad died first. Then his mother. Did his dad die from a broken heart because his mother cheated?

I berated myself for making such speculations, but it explained why Hank wanted to get rid of this cabin. His love and loyalty to Jim were the only reasons keeping him tethered to this place.

He went straight for his laptop and viewed the screen for a few seconds. While his jaw clenched and unclenched, his fingers flew over the keyboard.

Levi had come out of the bathroom and paused, sensing the mood change in the cabin.

"Find anything?" He walked over to where Hank stood.

Instead of answering his friend, he turned to me. "Princess, see if you recognize this woman."

I should be eager to move to his side, but instinct was telling me that whatever he discovered would be the end of us. My whole being was screaming for more time to make sense of what was happening between Hank and me, but another voice was telling me I was being selfish. That lives hung in the balance and it wasn't about me and what I wanted.

My life had never been my own.

It felt like an eternity before I moved to his side. I forced my eyes to look at the screen.

"She looks familiar. The name doesn't." Iona Negus.

Hank flipped the screen. "How about this?"

"Hela's hell," I whispered. "That's Roxana."

"You know her as Roxana Minka."

"I know her first name." For some reason, it put me on the defensive.

"Okay, we'll go with that," he said tersely. "Roxana was hired to be on the castle's housekeeping staff. Have you seen her in your rooms?"

"Yes, maybe two years ago," I said. "How is she involved?"

"We're trying to eliminate your brother in planting the tracker in your earrings."

"Again, how—"

"Please let me finish," Hank interrupted. The impersonal tone of his voice wouldn't have bothered me if it came from Levi or Declan, but it came from a man who'd had his mouth between my legs and had given me the best orgasms.

I stilled my spine and called upon my training. "I beg your pardon, please continue."

Hank's gaze snapped to mine. And I returned his in unwavering challenge. I guess he caught my tone too.

Yes, I let down my guard with you, Hank, but I have no problem being called the ice princess again.

Declan cleared his throat.

I continued staring at Hank as the seconds stretched into several heartbeats. "You were saying before I interrupted?"

He faced the screen and brought up several financial statements. "Right before the time the castle employed Roxana Minka, someone deposited twenty thousand euros into Iona Negus's account from the same shell company that paid the pilot and the driver."

I didn't say anything. It looked like a direct connection, and I'd hang on to anything to exonerate Petros. However, there was still that issue of whether the shell company was connected to him or any of his cronies.

"You've established a connection, then who owns the shell company?"

"We don't know yet, and we probably might never know because it's buried in shell companies and anonymous trusts. It would take time to uncover, especially if the shell companies exist in different jurisdictions as somehow this one does."

"Then there's nothing we can do to prosecute?"

"We have circumstantial evidence," Hank said.

Again, I waited for him to continue. Was I petty? No. I had nothing to ask, and I was determined to just listen.

"Iona Negus is working for PragueCog's subsidiaries as a technical engineer in their electronics division."

"What?" This confounded me.

He continued, "Why would a whiz in electronics—she graduated first in her class from the University of Romania—work on the housekeeping staff? And it doesn't explain the fake identity Roxana Minka when she applied for the job in Venusstea."

"Let's see who signed off on the interview."

"There are three signatures here. The head housekeeper. Ramsay." Hank looked at me. "You."

"It doesn't mean that I interviewed her. But Ramsay, as the queen's head of security, would certainly have our Intelligence division run a background check."

"Is Ramsay in the clear?" Hank looked at Declan.

"He should be, but this is not looking good."

"Dammit," Hank muttered.

"And you can eliminate our head housekeeper. She's served the family for decades."

"She could have debts."

"She wouldn't betray us, but I'll allow you to dig into her."

"Allow?" Hank scoffed. "I wasn't aware I needed to ask for your permission."

"Excuse me?"

He stood and invaded my personal space. "As it stands, all three signatories on that document could be guilty."

"You mean I planted a tracker in my own earrings?"

"It's called misdirection. And guess what? Petros isn't in the clear because the managing director of that subsidiary is Matvey Sokolov."

"Hela's hell."

"Exactly. His golf buddy." He grabbed his laptop and headed to the back door that led to the balcony. "I need to do more digging. Declan and Levi will keep you company."

The back door slammed and left a shocked silence in its wake. At least for me, although Levi's expression was comical.

"What was that all about?" he growled.

Declan and I didn't answer, but the former addressed me. "You know that wasn't about you, right? That was partly Bristow's encounter with Christian."

"I certainly hope so." Deep inside, I knew that was the case because after what we'd shared, it'd be idiotic for Hank to think I staged my own assassination. And if he insisted on that theory and thought I was still guilty, then he was a crappy judge of character and I should ask Garrison to remove him from my presence. Or better yet, fast-track my return to Venusstea. I tried to tamp down the bitter taste of betrayal. The hurt that scored my heart. The fairy tale was over and real life was a grim reality that just slapped us in our faces.

"What happened?" Levi repeated with an edge of unraveling patience.

"Christian Buchanan exposed sordid details about Bristow's parents. The princess and I were standing right there and heard them. It was obviously a sensitive topic that Bristow didn't want anyone to know. I've never seen him shut down like that." Concern entered Declan's voice and he stared at the closed door where Hank had exited. "Give him time to calm down. But I think you should check on him, Levi, since you weren't the one who overheard what Christian said. See where his head is in case we need someone else to run point on this."

Compromised.

I was seeing how it affected his judgment and his job.

"What do you propose we do in the meantime?" I asked.

Declan grinned. "How about we try to get Edgar to like me since he obviously doesn't trust the pretty boys?"

Despite the cracking pain in my chest, I emitted a light laugh. Declan was trying to cheer me up, and if the man who enjoyed my company in the past few days didn't want to be around me, then I'd rather spend my time around the beast who did.

Hank

I fucked up with Thala, but the painful reality of this was that it might have been for the best. Because, seriously, where did I think we were heading? There was no future between the princess and me and I despised myself for thinking that I could spend these last few days with her, behaving like we were a couple, before letting her get on that plane and come out of this unscathed.

I was already licking my wounds and couldn't concentrate for shit after I stormed out of the kitchen like the biggest asshole on our team.

That title belonged exclusively to Garrison.

It was so out of character for me.

But then again, I never had a princess wrap me around her fingers like this. Christian poked at that shameful secret I didn't want anyone to know. The source of all my trust issues about letting people in. I had a comfortable relationship with my team. They knew when to leave me alone and do my thing. But romantic relationships? I never let them get too far. I'd never let a woman get under my skin the way Thala had accomplished in just a few days.

Because not only had my mother cheated on my dad one time but I caught her doing it twice. The first time she told me it was just that one time and swore me to secrecy. My dad was a traveling salesman for Buchanan Winery. My relatives treated him like shit and it wasn't a job he enjoyed, but he did it because he loved my mother. The second time, it was me and Dad who walked in on Mom and her lover. I would never forget the look on my dad's face. He hollowed out before my eyes and turned into a shell of the man he used to be. It was as if he knew he was on borrowed time and it was over. Marrying my mother was a fairy tale, and it ended in the ugliest way.

The door to the patio opened, and from the outline reflected on my darkened screen, it was Levi.

"Hey," he started.

"I'm fine. I might have overreacted with Thala."

"Yeah, that wasn't cool, brother," Levi said. "I don't know what happened when Buchanan stopped by, but I need to know how you treated Thala in there will not happen again."

"I might have come on too strong, but my conclusions were not out of line."

"I agree, but you've spent a few days with her and you've forged more than a friendly relationship—lines were crossed."

"You're asking me if I can look at this job objectively."

"Can you? Because you attacked her in there. Viciously, I might add. At this point, continuing to sleep with her is only going to muddle the investigation."

I swallowed and tried to make sense of what was on the screen while I contemplated Levi's words.

"B?" Levi prodded when I continued to say nothing except stare at my screen.

"I fucked up," I told him. "But I'm not sure if it isn't for the best." Not the cleanest break, but still a break.

"Can't give you any advice, man," Levi said. "Your situation with the princess is more than getting entangled with a person of interest in an assassination attempt."

"She doesn't have a future with me."

"I mean…have you looked at Venusstean laws?"

"Not in depth. Nothing stops us from seeing each other, but I'll be nothing more than a man who sleeps with her. Not even acknowledged in public."

I glanced at my friend then.

There was nothing but sympathy on his face. "I get it, man. With Kelly, nothing short of putting a ring on her finger and a paper saying she's mine would be enough."

"It's too soon for Thala and me to even consider that, but with the how possessive and protective I've become with her, that's the only way it's heading."

"Then your attack on her makes sense," Levi said.

I frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

He thumbed behind him. "That back there is the classic idiotic language of a man pushing a woman away because he's afraid of catching feelings."

"I cop to catching feelings, but I don't… Shit…" My mouth tipped up at the corner. "I'm a moron, aren't I?"

Levi nodded. "You are."

"I don't have much time left with her, brother, and whatever time we have left, I'm pissing it away. And…I don't know if I should leave things the way they are."

"Only you can answer that."