beamed with pleasure. ‘Of course, Your Highness. That’s a very wise decision. We’ll set the ball rolling straight away—’
Reyes held up his hand. ‘No, we’ll reconvene in three days.’
The smile turned into a frown. ‘But, Your Highness—’
‘Arrange for the royal press secretary to include an addendum to my Paris itinerary. They can sell it as an investment-stroke-leisure trip.’ He turned to Jasmine, noting that she’d gone pale again. ‘Miss Nichols will be responsible for finding me five suitable candidates. Fly them to Paris for interviews after my investment meetings.’
‘You’re going ahead with it?’ Her face was deliberately blank, but her eyes were pools of shock.
Somehow that bothered him. He shook himself out of the curious feeling. ‘For my people’s sake, yes.’
She drew in a shaky breath and looked down at her linked hands.
He surged to his feet, not liking the feeling that he’d been judged and found guilty. Nor did he like the sensation of a noose closing around his neck.
‘Three days, gentlemen.’
‘Yes, Your Highness.
In that moment, Reyes hated his title. Hated the responsibility weighing down on his shoulders. But despite the mixed emotions, there was one solemn vow he couldn’t deny. He owed his people a better life than they’d enjoyed so far. And he intended to do whatever it took to make right his mistakes.
* * *
‘You know you could’ve been done with me much quicker if you’d told them.’ Questions had been swirling in her mind since Reyes’s councilmen had left hours ago. But the one she’d wanted to ask wouldn’t form, so she was trying a different route.
Reyes turned from the view to stare at her. ‘Told them what?’
‘What my role was in...’
‘The treaty’s disappearance?’
Jasmine jerked her head, still surprised he’d joined her for dinner and even more so that he’d stayed after they’d shared a delicious Spanish tapas meal on the terrace. Although the meal had gone by in near total silence, she couldn’t help but feel a little less apprehensive of her fate.
She cradled the as yet untouched glass of red wine in her hands, watching the sun set on the horizon. Trying not to stare at Reyes Navarre’s stunning profile as he leaned against the large pillar, facing the garden.
‘Because if I had you’d be on your way to a maximum security prison in Santo Sierra. Your crime would be condemned as treason in my kingdom.’
Her heart stopped and her palms grew clammy. ‘Aren’t I headed there anyway? Something about getting a permanent tan?’
‘Perhaps. But you might want to do something about delaying your arrival there. Before I came to Rio, I was in the process of enforcing a law that prohibited male and female prisoners being housed in the same penitentiary. That law hasn’t passed yet.’
She inhaled sharply. ‘You mean men and women are kept in the same prison?’
He shrugged. ‘The old council deemed all criminals to be worthless regardless of their gender.’
Ice cascaded down her spine. ‘But...that’s barbaric!’
‘They didn’t care that they were potentially turning criminals who could be rehabilitated into irredeemable monsters. So do you regret my silence on your behalf?’
She slowly shook her head. ‘No, I don’t.’ Her eyes met his. Whatever he saw in hers made him lift an eyebrow. Jasmine looked away quickly. ‘I... Thank you.’
His mouth compressed. ‘I neither want nor accept your gratitude. Retribution is still coming your way, one way or the other.’
The warning sent further chills dancing over her skin. While a part of her wanted him to spell out her fate and get her punishment over and done with, another part of her wanted to plead with him for mercy. She’d wronged him. Wronged his country. And he’d still saved her, albeit temporarily, from whatever the consequences were for her acts.
Reminding herself that this was the man who was contemplating marrying to please his people, she took a fortifying breath.
‘My stepfather was kidnapped.’
His head whipped towards her. ‘Excuse me?’
‘First he was blackmailed through me, then kidnapped. He has...or had a gambling problem. He’s been battling with it for almost twenty years. He embezzled government funds. And I’m not talking pennies. It was serious money. Getting caught would’ve meant a long prison sentence for him. So he borrowed money from a loan shark.’
‘Who then turned the tables on him and demanded even more?’
She nodded. ‘He said unless I brought him the treaty, he would harm my stepfather.’
Chilled grey eyes narrowed. ‘Who was the loan shark?’
‘His name was Joaquin Esteban. I don’t know whether that’s his real name or not—’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll find him. So he took your stepfather?’ he asked.
She nodded. ‘In the middle of the night, right in front of my mother. They roughed him up. Broke his arm.’ She shivered and he straightened from the wall.
‘Did they hurt you?’ His was voice was grave, intense.
‘No. It happened when I was...with you, on your boat.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t recall you receiving a call.’
‘You were asleep. My mother called. She was beside herself. I didn’t want to do it, Reyes, please believe me, but I couldn’t leave him in the hands of those men.’
If she’d expected sympathy, she was to be sorely disappointed. But for a heartbeat, his expression altered. Softened a touch.
‘So where is this moralistic gambler of a stepfather, then? Still in his comfy government position?’
Irritation snapped along her nerves. ‘Yes. But he’s seeking help.’
‘How noble of him.’
‘He doesn’t know what I did. He suspects but I don’t want him to know. He’ll be devastated. We can’t all be perfect role models. Some of us try to put unfortunate deeds behind us and seek better lives.’
‘And some of you fail miserably at it.’
Turning sideways, she set her glass down on the table. ‘You have a right to condemn me. Believe me, I’ve condemned myself countless times. But I wanted you to understand why I did what I did. Obviously I was wasting my breath.’
Reyes twirled his wine glass, one broad shoulder still leaning against the
