Catharine & Edward (5 page)

Cesaire paled.

“Is this settling in? You want to see your boy again, you answer our questions and you do it now. I promise you we’ll take care of your boy.”

Cesaire swallowed, then let out a long breath. “Fuck. Fucking hell.” His head fell awkwardly into his bound hands again. “All right. Ask away.”

Finally
. Now they were getting somewhere. “How did you get into the palace?”

Cesaire straightened and shook his head. “It wasn’t hard. Been watching the palace for a couple weeks to get a feel for how I could sneak in. Kitchens were easiest. Deliveries every day, lots of folks coming in and out. Used a contact at a local linen supply store, asked if I could ride along with them one day. Paid them good money for it, too. They’re a small business; every little bit helps ’em.”

Edward scrolled through a mental list of approved royal vendors; three linen companies were on the list. He discarded two immediately – both of which worked nationally, not just in Valleria’s capital, Valentia. “Capital Linen Services? That’s who worked with you, isn’t it?”

By the look on Cesaire’s face, Edward knew he’d hit the mark. That was now a vendor they’d soon blacklist. “Right. So, you used them to get into the palace. You wore their uniform, too, didn’t you?”

Cesaire nodded. “Looks like one of those coats cooks wear, but I tore off the company’s logo. After we got inside with the delivery, I snuck away.”

Edward knew something had been off with that coat. He’d have to follow up with palace security to determine why they didn’t recognize only one person leaving when two people arrived.

Edward had no patience for shoddy security agents.

He knew Marcello didn’t, either.

“What’d you do next?”

“Stole a kitchen cart and dumped the goods on it, then used the security card to get to where I needed to go. Took some time, since I didn’t have a map of the palace or anything.”

“Where’d you get the mics and camera?”

Cesaire mumbled a curse. “That bitch showed up again. This time at my fucking house to drop it off. Said I had to use their equipment and it had to be up by a deadline, which is midnight tonight. Couldn’t fuck around and hope this shit went away anymore, so I put the plan into action.”

“So, the equipment wasn’t recording?”

Sacheverelle shook his head. “Don’t think so. Bitch said she didn’t care about anything until midnight. She said to set them up and get out, and she would activate them from her end.”

“Where’d you get the security card? That thing is embedded with a secured computer chip. You can’t replicate it, so you must have stolen it.”

“I didn’t steal anything. That bitch gave it to me with the equipment.”

Take a break, Bash
, Marcello said over the earpiece.

Edward leaned forward, his elbows hitting the edge of the table, his hands joining casually as he leaned. “I can tell you’re still hiding things from us. We’ll take a break while you think about finally being fucking honest with us about everything. I’ll bring you back some water.”

Edward walked out, closing the door behind him and opening the one next door. “What’s going on?”

Marcello gestured with his head towards the monitor where they could see Sacheverelle. “Something’s not adding up.”

“To say the least. Say he actually didn’t know who this woman was – which I don’t believe for a fucking second – I can see him doing this for the kid. He may be a piece of shit, but he’s one that actually cares about his kid.”

Marcello nodded. “I agree. I also believe he didn’t buy the equipment or get the card, doesn’t seem the type to be able to swing it.”

Edward nodded. “The equipment he had was expensive. Even with the money he makes, no way with a kid at that hospital he’d have enough cash for it.”

“As far as the security card goes, I’d already had agents running a scan of all security cards with Royal Wing access, but now we’re filtering them by people who’ve missed work lately or have gone on vacation. I’m hoping for a hit soon.”

“His kid safe?”

“Yes. Got officers from the Valentia Police Department to start rotations at the whole hospital, with extras on the children’s ward. Hospital administrators are fine with VPD officers there, especially since we explained a kid could get murdered if they didn’t.”

“If this bitch is still working there, she could find out about the local PD involvement and know Sacheverelle got caught.”

“They’re keeping it under wraps, though we added security to two other hospitals to make it seem like a new city-wide standard that’s being implemented. Only select VPD officials and hospital admins know the truth, and none of the doctors, nurses, other hospital staff, and officers on duty. Though they are instituting better ID checks for people going in and out of the children’s ward.”

“Don’t they usually have pretty stringent protocols in place to keep kids from being kidnapped?”

Marcello shook his head. “That’s only for the maternity and NICU wards. PICU and the children’s ward have separate protocols, but they should still remain vigilant.”

Edward nodded, taking that in.

“Keep working him. I’m going to step out, send in another agent for your backup. Keep the earpiece in and keep me apprised. I want a full update in two hours; after that I’ve got to brief the family.”

“Yes, Sir,” he said as Marcello left.

Edward took a moment to roll his shoulders back and stretch his neck from side-to-side. When his backup arrived, he left to get a bottle of water before continuing the interrogation.

C
at picked up her simple
, yet divine pearl necklace and left her bedroom. The single strand was perfect, with small diamonds nestled between the pearls giving it a classic, sparkling look. It had been a gift from her Nonna – her paternal grandmother, Victoria – when she had come of age at seventeen. All of her sisters received similar gifts, extraordinary pieces from their Nonna’s personal collection, some dating back hundreds of years in Vallerian history.

The only problem with antique jewelry was that it was often difficult to clasp. Cat’s mother, Genevieve, had been slowly restoring and updating their smaller pieces of jewelry to rectify this, but this necklace had not yet had its turn.

Which meant she needed help putting it on, and she went searching for just the man to help her.

“Edward?” she called out as she walked down the hall, her sky high heels clicking softly on the floor, her ivory silk dress caressing her all the way from its strapless top to where it fell by her feet.

Cat turned towards the foyer and stopped at the sight of Agent Brooks, not Edward.

“My Lady, may I be of assistance?”

“Oh, I apologize. I thought Edward would be back by now.”

“Agent Bashiera was called away by Prince Marcello, My Lady.”

Cat’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. Did we have another intruder?”

“No, My Lady. Everything is well.” Cat sighed in relief. “Did you need assistance with something?”

“Hmmm? Oh, yes, I did.” She tried to think of something fast; she couldn’t tell the agent she wanted Edward to assist with her necklace because she wanted his hands on her. “I need help with my necklace; however, I didn’t call for my lady’s maid this evening. I wanted to see if I could borrow Rebecca’s or Grace’s, but I wasn’t sure if we were allowed in the halls yet.”

“The Royal Wing is no longer in lockdown, but access is still highly restricted, My Lady. Only a dozen or so staff have been let in, and I don’t believe lady’s maids were included in the allowed group.”

“I see. Well, would you be able to help me with this necklace? It’s got a tricky clasp I can never manage on my own.”

A knock rapped at the door just as Agent Brooks opened her mouth to answer. When the door opened, Cat’s breath caught at the sight of Edward. His posture was stiff and professional, yet his eyes were searing her.

She felt naked under his gaze.

“My Lady, would you please excuse us for a moment?” Edward asked, and Cat’s breasts tightened in response. God, one low rumble of his voice sent her body humming.

Cat cleared her throat. “Of course. I’ll just wait in the sitting room.” Cat was struggling with the clasp a few minutes later, as she stood in front of an antique mirror while her eyes and fingers struggled to coordinate with each other in her reflection. She sighed in frustration.

“You’ll break that if you keep fiddling with it, My Lady,” Edward said, and Cat’s head whipped around as he entered the room. “Allow me.”

“Has Agent Brooks left?” she asked, hoping the slight tremble in her voice wasn’t noticeable.

“Yes, she’s gone,” he murmured as he moved to stand behind her. “We’re all alone.”

He lifted her hair and placed it over one shoulder, the tips of his fingers brushing her neck, and the curve of her right shoulder.

His hand grazed her bare skin, lingering just under her collarbone before he traced the sweetheart curve along the top edge of the dress. Though her breasts were completely covered, she now wished she’d worn something more revealing.

Something more risqué.

Something more easily torn off.

She watched him in the mirror as his fingers moved to her left arm, and slid softly down until they reached her hand.

His head fell to the curve of her neck. “Allow me, My Lady.” He gathered the pearls in her hand and glided the necklace across her arm on the way up to her neck. The cool pearls and diamonds felt heavenly against her heated, flushed skin.

His lips pressed a barely-there kiss to her neck before he pulled back and she let out a small whimper.

“Hold that thought,” he murmured in a gruff voice.

He effortlessly clasped the necklace and dropped a kiss at her nape, just above where the necklace now lay.

“Edward,” she whispered as he walked around to face her. “I thought you said we shouldn’t.”

“I was wrong.” He gripped her arms and pulled her against his body. Even in heels, he still towered over her.

She moaned even before his lips crushed over hers. His tongue licked the lipstick on her lips, and she opened, allowing his tongue to slip inside.

God, he tasted good.

She’d kissed her fair share of men, yet none of them had been like this. None of them filled her with so much heat and passion from a simple, devastating kiss.

One of his hands slipped behind her neck and fisted her hair. His other hand moved down over the shimmering ivory silk to her bottom and gripped almost painfully.

God, he felt good.

They broke apart, gasping against each other’s parted lips. Edward loosened his grip from her hair, and shifted to caress her cheek. “God damn it.”

She stiffened. “What?”

“I can’t stop wanting you.”

Her heart surged and a new warmth spread through her, filling her in a way nothing had before. “Really?”

“Fuck, yeah. I tried. God help me, I tried.”

“What changed?”

“It finally hit me this afternoon. I spent hours interrogating the intruder. Hours talking to him about his plan and why he did what he did. I was focused. I had my head in the game. I barely thought of you the first hour or so.”

Cat wasn’t sure she liked that, and frowned. “I guess it’s good you can stay focused.”

His hand gave her ass a squeeze. “You’re missing the point. Things changed in the last hour or so, and it became clear to me. The man kept going on and on about how he didn’t know who was involved, that he was blackmailed into breaking in, which is somewhat true. Then he made a throwaway comment that he only cared for the royals – only cared for you – as a potential meal ticket. If he got a photo of you in a compromising situation, he could set himself up for years. And then I thought of you, of protecting you and caring for you, and I couldn’t stop.”

Oh. Cat liked that.

“He made some crass comment about you, and I almost punched his face. I thought about what could have happened to you today, and that you could have been harmed twice, and I wanted to punch him anyway because he was convenient.”

“But I wasn’t harmed. You kept me safe; you always do.” She searched his eyes and couldn’t find it, so she asked. “What did the intruder say about me?”

“It’s not important.”

“Edward.”

He brushed his lips against hers. “It’s better if you don’t know.”

“I can handle it.”

He gave her a long look. “I know you can handle it. I’d just rather not repeat it.”

Cat could probably figure out what the intruder had said about her. She’d been called various nicknames before, and she usually ignored them. Being a princess didn’t stop others from being mean; it simply meant they were more strategic about when and where they said these things to her.

A princess was always forced to develop a thick skin.

She nodded, leaving the comment alone to focus on the more important question. “So what does your change of heart mean for us?”

Edward sighed and brought her fully into the warmth and safety of his arms. Her face was tucked against his neck and one of his hands smoothed down her hair and over her back. “What do you want? You’re the princess. You’ve got a brighter future without me in it.”

Her arms wrapped around him and she gave him a squeeze. “That’s not true.”

“We have to be realistic. If we went public, I couldn’t be your agent anymore. I should resign or transfer.”

“No, don’t,” she said immediately. “Please.”

“You want me to stay? Why?”

She tilted her chin her up and looked into his dark, entrancing eyes. She swallowed. “I like you, Edward,” she said softly. “I feel safe when you’re near. I feel other things, too.”

His knuckles grazed her cheek. “And what would your family say about that? Hell, what would Marcello – your brother and my boss – think about that? They’d say we don’t have a future. They’ll ask me to leave, so you can find the man you need, the man you deserve.”

Cat wasn’t sure why, but she had a feeling Edward was the man she needed, even if her mother didn’t agree. “Edward, I need to tell you something.”

His eyebrows furrowed in worry. “All right.”

“It’s about my mother.”

“Oh?”

“After Alex and Rebecca became engaged, my mother issued me an edict, of sorts.” She took a deep breath, and spoke on the exhale. “She told me that I’ve got to be at least engaged before Alex and Rebecca get married, or else.”

He blinked. “What?”

“We’ve kept it pretty well hidden from anyone outside the family. I know it sounds ridiculous–”

“That’s why you’re seeing Philip, isn’t it?” he cut in, then waited until she hesitantly nodded.

“It’s complicated. Philip is complicated.”

“Explain that. I’ve seen you with him. I can’t say you seem all that enthralled by him.”

“No. Enthralled I’m not.” She sighed.

“Jesus.” When he started to pull away, she held him close.

“I still want to give us a try.”

He shook his head. “It won’t work between us. You need to marry someone else. Your parents would really never agree to it now. And what did Queen Genevieve mean by ‘or else’?”

“I don’t know. I don’t care. No, it’s true,” she said at his disbelieving look. “I don’t care anymore.”

She tried another tactic. “You said I should be with a man I deserve. What makes you think I don’t deserve you?”

“Catharine.” He sighed. “I’m a commoner, with a less than stellar past, and you’re a princess.”

Frustration eeked through. “So what? You think I’m a stuffy princess only after someone with the ‘proper’ position or status? Do you really think me so shallow? Do you really think that Philip is more deserving of me than you?”

His hold around her tightened. “You can do better than him,” he growled.

“In four months? There’s not time, Edward. Not unless it’s us.”

She could see the indecision in his pursed lips and furrowed brows, until his expression evened out again.

“I’ll need to leave.”

“Edward, no.”

“There’s no use fighting about it. I can’t leave in the middle of our investigation into the security breach but, after that, we should consider if my leaving is the best thing for both of us.”

Cat pursed her lips and tucked her head against his neck again. Maybe what she felt with him wasn’t the same as he felt for her. She wasn’t enough for him as a woman and, as a princess, perhaps she was also too much. A lot came with being a royal, and she wasn’t ignorant. She knew they’d be judged, by her family first, then the public.

Cat was in her mid-thirties. She didn’t expect true love anymore. She just wanted to feel safe and cared for. She wanted someone she could be herself with when her day of royal duties was done.

That man might be Edward.

And she didn’t want to give him up without a fight. “You said you couldn’t stop thinking about me.”

“Catharine.”

“That means you care for me, at least a little.”

His arms gave her another squeeze. “More than a little.”

Her heart beat faster. “Then give us a chance. We’re not talking forever; we’re just talking about tomorrow.”
And the day after that, and every day after that
, she didn’t add.

He held her for several long moments, then kissed the crown of her head. “We should go, or you’ll be late to dinner.”

He hadn’t said yes, but he hadn’t pushed her away, either.

Progress.

She nodded against him and inhaled deep, taking in the whole of him as she did. She memorized his unique, musky scent and the way his beard scratched welcomingly against her skin. She wanted more.

If they were forced to reject each other, she’d find some way to show him what they were missing with each other. And, if that didn’t work, at least she’d have a memory she could cherish until she married a more ‘appropriate’ man.

The thought of that sent a bolt of pain through her, but she rallied.

A princess, after all, should put duty above all else.

“You’ve probably made a mess of my hair and makeup. I should see to it before we leave.”

He gave her another look but let her go. A few minutes later, with her looks touched up, they left her apartment and walked down the halls towards the dining room.

The Royal Wing of the palace featured several individual apartments and guest rooms, but also many shared rooms they all enjoyed. Since she and her siblings were all grown – several of them scattered across Valleria, Europe, and beyond – whenever there was a chance for a family dinner, they sat down together.

These days she usually just ate with her parents, or even just her mother if her father was busy with state business. As her siblings paired off – first Alex and Rebecca, then Marcello with Grace, Nate with Charlotte, who went by Charlie, and even Arianna with Finn in his home country of Brazenbourg – they often ate dinner alone in their respective apartments, and the table became less and less crowded.

Today, however, with a security breach – in the Royal Wing, no less – she was in for a lively dinner, to say the least.

She walked into a large sitting room a few minutes later, Edward taking his usual spot just outside the door, and found her brother Nate arguing with Charlie.

Charlie was livid, her distinctly American accent raised and her words clipped. “It’s. My. Fault.”

“Of course it wasn’t your fault. It was a security breach,” Nate said calmly.

“Am I or am I not in charge of the kitchens? Did I or did I not take that position over from Coco when she retired a few months ago? Then that means this is my fault.”

“You are in charge of the kitchens, but you’re not in charge of the security for the palace.” Nate lifted a hand to cup her cheek. “Charlotte-mine, it wasn’t your fault.”