Royal Wedding Threat (10 page)

“We’re hoping to keep her on staff full-time,” Jason continued, trusting his words weren’t a lie. From everything he’d seen, the royals would love to have Ava work for them, planning events long into the future. “Could you fill me in on her relationship with your company? Is she planning to return?”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s not—though I wish she would. I miss her.
But considering the circumstances that surrounded her leaving...” The woman’s voice trailed off.

“What were those circumstances? She’s never spoken of them to us.”

“No, I don’t suppose she would.” The woman gave a short laugh. “I can’t say I know everything—no one ever bothered to explain it all to me, but I’m just the secretary. She broke off her engagement so suddenly just before she
left.”

Ava had been engaged? Suddenly Jason had a dozen new questions. “Why did she end her engagement? Was that before her first trip to Lydia?”

“It was after she returned—the one time she returned. I probably shouldn’t discuss it—I don’t even know what happened. Dan did something—”

“Her fiancé’s name was Dan?”

“Yes, Dan. Daniel Johnson. I don’t know what he did to upset her,
but she handed over the company to her partner and walked away. Oh, and she changed her hairstyle. She stopped smiling. It was as though something snapped inside her. I wish I could tell you more, but that’s all I know.”

Jason jotted down the man’s name. “Thank you, you’ve been very helpful.”

“If you see her, could you tell her Myra says hello? And I wish her every happiness.”

“Happiness?” Jason repeated the word.

“Yes. She’s brought so much happiness to everyone else, I just wish she could find some herself. She wasn’t happy when she left, but if anyone deserves to live happily ever after, she does.”

Stunned by the woman’s sudden outpouring, Jason didn’t know what to say. “I’ll pass along your greetings,” he promised.

“Thank you.” Myra sounded somewhat
emotional, so Jason thanked her again for her help and ended the call.

He put away his phone, pondering this new element to the mystery. Who was Dan Johnson, and what had he done that had caused Ava to abandon a successful company, change her hairstyle and move halfway around the world? And why hadn’t Ava mentioned the man before? Given the circumstances, Jason considered Dan a person of
interest. Clearly, the man had hurt Ava before. Who was to say he wasn’t trying to do so again?

With little more to go on than the man’s name—and a common name, at that—Jason decided to place a query with the Lydian travel authorities. Given the late hour, he sent out an email to the airports, the border crossings and the marina. It wasn’t much of a net. There were plenty of ways a man who
wanted to hide might slip through.

But at the same time, it was the only thing Jason could think to do without waking Ava and grilling her about why she’d neglected to mention anything about the man. Dissatisfied but unable to do any more, he headed home to catch a few hours’ sleep. He’d be back at his office early the next morning. He prayed by then he’d have some answers.

TEN

A
va did not want to get up the next morning. Her dreams hadn’t been anything too nice, but they were far preferable than the nightmare her life had become. But since she had a meeting with the palace kitchen staff and the bakery that was providing the cake, she had no choice but to get up. She might endanger the royal family with her presence, but there wasn’t any helping that.
She could, however, make good on her promise to give Prince Alexander’s bride, Lillian, the wedding of her dreams.

They’d arranged to hold the food meeting in the grand ballroom, which was there inside the palace, so she had no excuse not to attend. She pulled herself out of bed the moment the alarm went off and tried to wash away every hint of the previous day’s trials in the shower. Red
rimmed her eyes, but she’d had plenty of practice putting in eyedrops to whiten them—not only on members of her wedding parties, but also for herself. And she styled her hair extra high to detract attention from her face and eyes. It was a simple ruse, but it worked remarkably well.

The early-morning meeting went smoothly. Fortunately she’d worked with the same bakery for Princess Isabelle’s
wedding and Duchess Julia’s titling ceremony, so everyone knew what to expect. There were no surprises. Ava took a deep, calming breath as she thanked everyone for meeting with her and turned to leave the ballroom. A sense of tentative peace settled over her. Perhaps today would be a better day.

Then she spotted Captain Selini standing in the doorway, his uniform crisp, his shoes polished,
his weary eyes fixed on her, almost as though he expected her to bolt away at the sight of him.

She certainly considered it, but she knew he’d catch up to her, and she didn’t want to make a scene. Instead she pulled back her shoulders and chose the tactic that disarmed many a flustered vendor—meeting him head-on.

“Can I help you?” she asked as she approached.

“We need to talk.”

“Follow me.” She didn’t slow her steps, but walked coolly past him, almost wishing he wouldn’t follow her, though she knew him too well to think he’d let her escape now.

“We can talk in my office.”

“I’m supposed to meet with the florists at the cathedral in an hour. I need to call them and arrange to meet here, unless you think—”

“You’re not leaving the palace grounds today.”

“Then I need to call them.”

“You can place the call from my office.”

Ava did so, drawing out the conversation to avoid talking to Jason, glad he’d closed the door after them so the men in the rooms nearby wouldn’t overhear. To her relief, the captain’s phone rang just as Ava ran out of advance questions for the florist. She ended the call and couldn’t help hearing Jason’s conversation.

“Do you have a picture of him—a security-camera image, anything? Yes, I understand. But tell me, do you know by chance if he was wearing a baseball cap?”

Jason smiled grimly as he ended the call, but when he turned to face Ava, his smile faded, and his grim look turned almost apologetic. “An American, Daniel Johnson, flew into Sardis late Thursday afternoon.”

Ava felt her mouth drop
open, but she could find no words to speak.

“Given the time of his arrival and the hour when a man arrived at the pedestrian gate, they could well have been the same man. He’d obviously have arrived in time to plant the bomb in your car and drive to your apartment—”

“No!” Ava couldn’t listen any longer. “No, he wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t—how? How did you even learn his name? I didn’t
tell you.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“It’s not relevant.”

“You broke off your engagement suddenly and abandoned your company—”

A horrific sense of betrayal filled Ava. The memory of what Dan had done made Jason’s blunt statement even worse. “You went behind my back. Who did you call? Who have you talked to? You should have spoken with me first.” Ava planted her hands on Jason’s desktop,
needing something to lean on as she absorbed this latest blow.

Jason rounded the desk and stood beside her. “Myra told me.”

“When did you speak to her?”

“Last evening. I called the number on the brochure—”

“Stop.” Ava stood up straight and did her best to stare him down in spite of the six-inch height advantage he held over her. “Don’t call anyone else without consulting me
first. You’ve probably upset Myra—”

“I didn’t. We had a very pleasant conversation. She wanted me to pass along her greetings and tell you she wishes you every happiness in the world.”

Ava pinched her face up tight, trying to hold back the tears. “Sweet Myra. I don’t feel guilty about leaving anyone else, but she had a good heart.”

“No one else you left had a good heart?” Jason
raised an eyebrow. “I need to know about everyone you left behind. You should have told me about Dan Johnson—”

Ava felt as though she’d been punched, and gripped the table again. “Would you please stop saying his name? I don’t want to think about any of this.”

“I’m sorry, but you have to.” Jason kept his voice level, though in the past he’d always raised his volume to match Ava’s shouts.
“I need to know what happened. If you think there’s any legitimate reason at all why D—this person—” Jason refrained from speaking his name at the last moment— “shouldn’t be considered a suspect, I would like to know that reason. Considering the circumstances and the timing of his arrival, he’s currently my top suspect.”

Ava felt her knees giving out under her. She clasped the tabletop desperately,
but she felt as though she was being buried under an avalanche of awfulness. First her father, now the man she’d intended to marry? She wished she could forget her engagement had ever happened, but now Jason wanted her to tell him all the horrible details?

Her tears escaped in a flood, and her legs gave out completely at the very same moment. Ava fully expected to land on the floor with a
thump, but instead gentle arms lifted her. She leaned on Jason against her better judgment. He perched on the edge of the desk and propped her up beside him, grabbing a handful of tissues from the box near his computer.

“Could Dan have been the man in the security image from the pedestrian gate Thursday night?” Jason asked.

Ava nodded. She didn’t even have to think about it. Not only
did the man share Dan’s build, but he’d stood, spoken and walked like him. “But why would Dan want to kill me? I gave him everything. I walked away.”

“This information would make more sense if you’d tell me the whole story.” Jason shifted his arm as he spoke, and Ava buried her face against his shoulder. She felt foolish doing so, as though she’d admitted defeat, but what did it matter, really?
The man had pulled her, blubbering, from his floor. He’d seen her at her worst and was about to hear her most painful secrets. She might as well find comfort where she could. And Jason had such a perfect shoulder for crying on.

“Dan was my fiancé,” she whispered once she’d found her breath. “We’d just become engaged before my mother died. He was my support through all of that. He was all
I had, really, besides my business. Then I went to Lydia. When I returned, I found Dan—” Her throat swelled nearly shut.

Jason rubbed her back in that soothing manner she’d come to appreciate.

Ava continued, “He was cheating on me with my business partner, Tiffany. I left them both. I gave Dan back his ring and gave Tiffany Happily Ever After and I came here to stay.”

* * *

Jason closed his eyes as he held Ava tightly against him and wished he could erase all the awful experiences of her past. So much about the prickly wedding planner made sense now, including the reason why everyone he’d spoken to who’d known her before had called her sweet and kind. She’d changed, hadn’t she? Everyone she’d loved had hurt her so deeply she’d retreated inside a hard shell and refused
to let anyone in.

Suddenly he realized the precious gift she’d given him, allowing him to witness her brokenness. He wrapped his arms more securely around her. No one was going to hurt her again, not if he had anything to say about it.

Another thought occurred to him. He posed the question as gently as he could. “Was that when you stopped trusting God?”

Ava stiffened and pulled
back from him, wiping her eyes with the already-soaked tissues.

Jason pulled out a fresh tissue and wiped her eyes for her. “Ava,” he said softly, “I care about you.” It wasn’t until he’d spoken the words that he realized how much he meant them. He didn’t just care about her safety or her relationship with God, although of course he cared about those things.

He cared about
her.

She met his eyes, and he watched the wariness and the anger war with the temptation to believe him.

“I want to see you smile again,” he told her honestly.

Instead of a smile or even the anger he might have expected, Ava’s face pinched with sadness. “I don’t know how I can ever smile again.” She looked him full in the face and admitted, “You’re right. That’s precisely when I stopped trusting
God, and I don’t see how I could ever go back, not after all that’s happened. If God doesn’t love me, why should I love Him? And if God
does
love me, why would He let these awful things happen to me?”

Jason wasn’t sure if he should presume to answer, but he cleared his throat anyway. “Do you recall the body I told you I pulled off the island of Dorsi?”

“Yes—the former captain of the
guard.”

“That’s right. He tried to take down the monarchy and nearly ruined the reputation of the royal guard in the process. When all the royals had fled and everything was in shambles and it looked as though evil would win, I asked a very similar question. Where was God? How could He let these things happen to the kingdom of Lydia, which has always been a Christian nation and only ever
served Him?”

“Why would God allow all that to happen?” Ava asked adamantly.

“I can’t speak for God, but I do know that Lydia is a stronger nation now than we were before. The royal guard is stronger now, though we still have to prove ourselves and earn back our reputation. You wouldn’t have any weddings to plan if it hadn’t been for the insurgent attacks, because those couples wouldn’t
have met. Sometimes I think God allows something good to be destroyed so that something better can grow in its place.”

Ava closed her eyes as she listened. The sorrow lines eased from her face, and she looked calmer. She opened her eyes and spoke softly. “If I’d kept my business, I wouldn’t have relocated here. I enjoy this kingdom and the royal family.”

“Is it better than what you had
before?”

Ava met his eyes for a long moment. Finally she said softly, “My work is more enjoyable, certainly more prestigious. But the rest of my life?” Her gaze flickered across his face, from his eyes to his lips. Then she turned away. “I’m not sure.”

Jason didn’t know what to say. He felt attraction stirring inside him, chasing through his veins like a potent drug. Ava had been engaged
before she’d left home. Presumably she’d been in love. What would it take for her to find something better here?

He was tempted to pull her back into his arms, to kiss her and insist she was better off with him, but his feelings for her were so new and unfamiliar he didn’t dare. She’d been hurt before. If he declared something he wasn’t sure of only to discover later he’d been mistaken, he’d
hurt her. He didn’t want to hurt her, even if he wasn’t necessarily in love with her...yet.

Instead he decided to focus on the pressing investigation. Prince Alexander’s wedding was a mere week away. They had to catch whoever was after Ava before that event. The safety of everyone attending the wedding was at stake.

“Do you have any pictures of your ex we could circulate? If he’s in
Lydia, I want to bring him in.”

“I can get you pictures.” Ava straightened and took another step away from him. “But I have trouble believing it’s the same Dan Johnson. That’s a common name. It could be just a coincidence. After I broke things off with Dan, he apologized. He sent me flowers. He told me he’d never meant to hurt me, so why would he do something like this?”

“I can’t say.
The man hurt you once before, and that was a surprise, wasn’t it?”

Ava closed her eyes and nodded her head slowly. “I see your point. I’ll get you the pictures.” She turned toward the door, then glanced back at him. “Do I look all right? I don’t want your men to see me—”

Jason grabbed another tissue and gently wiped away a smudge of eye makeup that had crept down her cheek with her tears.
“You look beautiful,” he said and meant it.

A tiny smile played at her lips, and she sighed. “If someone I once loved is trying to kill me, guess I’d rather it be Dan than my father.” She opened the door and exited quickly.

Jason watched her go, still unsure how or why his feelings for her had changed so quickly, or—far more pressing—what he was going to do about it.

* * *

Ava no longer had any pictures of Dan, but she was able to go online and find a few decent shots. Rather than email them to Jason, she decided to print them off. Fortunately Jason’s men had hooked up her computer and peripherals, and her photo-quality printer quickly spat out the images. Ava checked the time. She had a few extra minutes before her meeting with the florists.

She slid the pictures
into a manila envelope. There was time—she could walk them by Jason’s office. Email would have been faster, but, she admitted reluctantly to herself, she wanted to see the captain again. Her heart had been so full of emotions when she’d left, and everything between them had changed so quickly. If anything, she wanted to look him full in the face and try to identify what it was she saw there
that helped her feel secure in spite of the many threats against her life.

Hurrying up the sidewalk to the royal-guard headquarters building, she stepped through the front door, crossed the foyer to the steel door that led to the hallway to Jason’s office, tugged on the door handle and nearly slammed into the door itself when it didn’t budge.

“Can I help you?” a voice asked behind her.
Was it only her imagination, or was there a hint of amusement underneath the man’s words?