Chapter 13

As I watched August being led away by the police, panic surged through me. The onlookers, with their phones held high, recorded every humiliating second. With my heart pounding in my chest, I ran down the beach as fast as I could, considering the large beach bag I was carrying, but the police car sped off before I could reach them.

"This can't be happening," I muttered, breathless and frantic.

I needed to get to the police station, but August had convinced me to leave my purse in the hotel room while we went to the beach. I had no phone and no wallet, which meant I had no money.

I dug through the beach bag and found his wallet, feeling a pang of guilt that I was going to open it and invade his privacy, plus use his money for the taxi. It was for him, though. I hoped he wouldn't have a problem with it.

Flagging down a tuk-tuk, I hopped in the back and instructed the driver to take me to the police station.

"Of course," he said, his eyes scanning my face before he took off. "Is everything okay?"

"No, not really," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "My friend has been arrested. He was naked in the water and?—"

The driver's eyebrows shot up. "Indecency is a big crime here in Tanzania. Penalties can be harsh, one to five years in jail."

"Seriously?" My stomach churned. "Is there any way around it? It was just a misunderstanding. A dolphin stole my bikini bottom, then August, my friend, gave me his swim trunks, so I could cover up. When I went to get our things from the shore, the police were taking him away."

He nodded sympathetically as we drove past the House of Wonders and Forodhani Gardens, where we were supposed to meet the group for dinner that evening.

"I know that dolphin," the driver said. "We call him Mwizi, which means ‘thief' in Swahili. He's been causing trouble over the last year."

"A thieving dolphin?" I could hardly believe my ears. "That's unbelievable."

He nodded again, this time with a hint of amusement. "Mwizi is famous around here. But the police are strict about indecency. It is one of the worst crimes on our island."

We arrived at the police station, and I opened August's wallet, searching for money to pay for the ride. The first thing I saw when I opened it was a photo of us from three years ago, cheek to cheek, on top of the Eiffel Tower. My throat tightened as I stared at the picture, memories flooding back. It was the day he told me he loved me.

"He still carries this picture," I mumbled to myself.

"Did you say something?" the driver asked.

"I was just counting the money," I lied, shaking thoughts of our romantic Paris trip out of my head and paying the driver.

"Thank you," I said, getting out.

"Good luck," he said. "Maybe because Mwizi was involved, your friend may be in jail for only a few months." He shrugged and drove away.

A few months?

A few hours in jail was too much!

I stood in front of the police station, took a deep breath, then walked inside, determined to get August out. Today! At the front desk, an officer spoke to me in Swahili. I apologized and asked for English.

The officer called over a colleague who approached me with a polite smile. "How may I help you?"

"My fiancé was arrested," I said, thinking that it would carry more weight than saying he was my friend. "I need to see him."

"The man claiming to be the Prince of Verdana?" he asked skeptically.

"He is the Prince of Verdana!" I insisted, handing him August's ID.

"This ID does not prove he's a prince," the officer replied, unimpressed as he handed the wallet back to me. "Show me his diplomatic papers."

"Do you really think people usually carry their diplomatic papers when going swimming in the ocean?" I snapped. "He has them back at the hotel. I'm Princess Veronica of Kastonia, and I demand his release!"

He raised an eyebrow, studying me from head to toe. "Do you have an ID?"

I hesitated. "No, I don't, but?—"

"Of course not," he replied with a roll of the eyes.

"I demand to see him," I said.

The officer hesitated, then led me down the hall to three holding cells, with August in the middle one, sitting on a bench, wrapped in a towel.

"Veronica!" he called out, standing quickly and inadvertently dropping the towel that was wrapped around him and exposing his naked body to me and the officer. I turned to look away as August reached for the towel to cover himself.

"You need to keep your clothes on!" the officer ordered, shaking his finger at August. "Repeat offender!"

"He wasn't trying to flash you!" I told the officer sharply. "The towel accidentally fell off him, obviously. You will be sorry for treating him this way. He is the future king of Verdana!"

"And I'm King Henry!" the man in the first cell called out with a grin, almost falling over from his outburst. "Release me at once!"

"Please be quiet," the officer told the man, then turned back to me. "Look, I have my orders, and there is nothing you can do about it."

I sighed, then recounted the entire story of the dolphin, how it stole my bikini bottoms, emphasizing how August had given me his shorts. I even mentioned that it was Mwizi, the thieving dolphin.

The officer looked impressed when I mentioned Mwizi. "He's a legend around here, but still, we have laws. If your story is true, he could have stayed in the water and called for help."

"Someone in a boat ordered me out of the water," August said.

"What boat?" the officer asked.

August shrugged. "I have no idea. A boat! I couldn't understand what they were saying, but everyone rushed out of the water like something horrible was about to happen. I turned and saw a shark coming at me and my only option was to get out of the water or be eaten alive."

"We get reef sharks in that area, occasionally," he said. "They're harmless. And whale sharks as well, also known to swim near humans without harming them. You were in no danger."

"How was I supposed to know that?" August asked. "It's my first time here."

"It is not my job to inform the public, only enforce the law," the officer said. "You were naked. You should have waited for help."

"You seriously will not let him out?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Laws are laws. I don't make them."

"Oh, please! If anyone should be arrested, it's me!" I said. "I was the one who was naked until August gave me his shorts. This is not fair."

"You're right, it's not fair at all." The officer sighed, then suddenly unlocked the cell, hopefully reconsidering after my plea.

"Thank you," I said, nodding my appreciation.

"There is no need to thank me," he said, then, instead of letting August out, he pushed me inside the cell with him and locked the door. "You both will be locked up until further orders from my superiors."

"Are you serious?" I yelled.

"You admitted to indecency. That's a crime, as you know," he replied, then just walked away as I stood there with my mouth hanging open.

"This is unbelievable," I said, then turned back toward August, worried about him. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"These guys are harmless, just like those sharks, apparently." He chuckled.

"You think this is funny?" I asked. "August, we're in a Tanzanian jail! They could torture us!"

"Relax—they don't do that here." He grinned. "Besides, it'll be a story we can tell our kids one day."

"Don't you even start with me," I warned, sitting down beside him. "This is serious. We need to get out of here. This is humiliating. And they don't believe we are who we are."

"Everything will work out once they figure it out," August said. "Have some patience."

"Since when have you ever known me to be patient?" I walked back to the cell bars and called out to the officer. "Officer! Look us up online! The Princess of Kastonia and the Prince of Verdana. There are thousands of photos. You can match them to us." The officer didn't respond, and I turned back to August. "Do you think he'll actually check?"

"I have no idea," August replied.

We sat on the bench in silence for a while before August broke the tension. "What took you so long to get our things on the beach?"

I pointed to the red spot on my knee. "I got stung by a bee when I ran through those trees between the two beaches. There was a swarm of them, but luckily I only got the one sting. I took the long way back to avoid them."

August examined my knee. "The stinger is still in there." He gently scraped it out with his fingernail, then tossed it underneath the bench. He placed his hand over the sting site, his touch warm and comforting. "You'll be okay. We'll put some ice on it when we get out of here."

"If we get out of here," I said, feeling the weight of the dire situation.

Fifteen minutes later, the officer returned, unlocked the cell, and waved us out. "I sincerely apologize for the confusion, Your Highnesses."

"We're free to go?" I asked, a little skeptical.

The officer nodded. "Yes, and I am sorry for the inconvenience. We've had our fair share of tourists and investors who are trying to make Zanzibar a party island, like Ibiza in Spain. We're just trying to do what we can to keep our culture and traditions intact."

Daphne was a big fan of Ibiza, with the countless clubs, bars, and world-class DJs. It was much too high energy for my taste, so I understood his reservations.

"We would appreciate it very much if you do not make an international incident out of this," he added. "It's the first time we have arrested royalty for indecent exposure. Actually, it's the first time we have ever arrested a prince."

"I think it's best for everyone involved to just forget this ever happened," August replied diplomatically with a chuckle before shaking the man's hand. "I accept your apology, and rest assured, your secret is safe with me."

"You're much too kind, Your Highness," the officer said, handing August a Stone Town Souvenirs bag. "I took the liberty of getting you some new clothes from the shop next door, my way of trying to make amends. I hope they fit."

I grinned. "Anything is better than a towel."

"Good point," he said, finally smiling for the first time since I had walked in. He pointed to the door on his left. "You can change in there. It's our cleanest bathroom." He winked. "Usually just for staff."

"Thank you," August said, slipping into the room, then coming out a couple of minutes later wearing flip-flops, green and brown plaid shorts, and a white Zanzibar T-shirt. "How do I look?"

August would look good in a soggy paper bag, but I wasn't about to share that with him.

"That works," I simply said, then handed him his wallet. "By the way, I had to use money from your wallet to pay for thetuk-tuk since I didn't have my purse at the beach."

August nodded. "Not a problem. That's what it's there for."

"And I saw the picture," I blurted out.

"Oh …" He nodded, looking deep in thought.

I shrugged. "I guess I was surprised you still had it. That was a long time ago."

"I remember it like it was yesterday," August said. "Which reminds me, we need to talk. I have a confession, something you really need to know. I tried to tell you in the ocean, but then we were interrupted by the dolphin."

"This is probably not the best place for that—we'll have time later," I said. "I do have an interesting fact for you, though. That dolphin is well-known in Stone Town. His name is Mwizi, which means ‘thief' in Swahili."

August chuckled. "How fitting." He gestured toward the front door. "We should probably get out of here before they book us for something else."

"We wouldn't want that," I said with a smile, then, without really thinking, I stood on my toes and kissed him on the cheek. "And thank you."

He blinked twice, looking completely surprised. "For what?"

"You went to jail for me, August," I said. "Not a lot of men would do that for a woman."

He grinned, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Well, I may just have to find more ways for you to get into trouble so I can save the day and earn another kiss."

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't suppress a smile. "Keep dreaming."

As we walked out of the police station, August seemed to have a bounce in his step, like maybe he believed he was making progress and slowly breaking down the walls around my heart.

Without a doubt, he was.

But as we headed back to the hotel, I couldn't stop thinking about what he'd said as we left the police station.

I have a confession, something you really need to know.

For him to tell me twice, it must have been something very important. I only hoped it wouldn't be the kind of news that would make me put my guard back up again.