“But you are interrupting,” she added, lying through her teeth and unapologetic about it. “I’m having a nightcap with a…friend,” she added, making sure to imply the friend was male.
He chuckled. “No, you’re not.”
She hadn’t thought he could get more infuriating, but she’d been wrong.
“Prove it,” she demanded. “How could you possibly know what I’m doing in my own hotel room?”
“Prove that you’re not two-timing me with someone else?” he said mockingly. “Isn’t that your role?”
That statement was too outrageous to challenge. He might as well have accused her of having an affair with a Martian. She wasn’t even going to dignify it with a comment. At least, she knew she shouldn’t. But in the end, she was just too irritated to let it pass.
“How could I be two-timing a man I haven’t seen for six years until tonight?” she demanded reasonably.
“Are you going to ignore that week during the last month of the war?”
She drew her breath in sharply, wondering how much he remembered, how much he was just fishing in the dark. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do, Alex. I’m sure you remember more about our last encounter than I do. I was unconscious most of the time, after all.” His voice hardened. “But bits and pieces of that scene are beginning to clear up for me. And what I’m looking at presents quite an interesting picture.”
She closed her eyes, wishing she knew how to convince him to drop his probing. Wasn’t there something she could say, something she could imply? “Your imagination is working overtime.”
“You think so? Well, that’s exactly what we need to talk about. See you in the morning.”
“Wait,” she said, her fingers clenching the cell phone tightly. “How did you get my number?”
“I’m the head of state of a country with an intelligence service, Alex. You should remember that. Your family used to be in charge here, and I know you had one. Our people are a little rusty, but they’re getting the hang of these things.”
“Of course,” she said softly.
“See you in the morning,” he said again.
She closed her phone without answering.
She shivered, her heart in her throat. It was time she faced facts. She was at such a disadvantage. He had all the power now, and she had none. If he knew the truth, if he was sure, he would find ways to take her baby from her. She had to do something to protect him, to protect herself.
She would take measures. She would become even more elusive. She would dye her hair and wear a veil and…and…
She groaned. No matter. He would find her. And he would find the truth. It was only a matter of time. What could she do?
Run. That was the only thing she could think of. Run and hide and keep running.
For how long?
She closed her eyes.
For as long as it took.
“Excuse me, miss.”
She looked up. Grace, the new nanny, was in the doorway looking hesitant. Or was she looking guilty? Was she the one who’d snitched? Alex winced. Was she going to have to go through the rest of her life not trusting anyone?
“What is it, Grace?” she asked.
“I know it’s late, but the baby’s fussing a bit. I thought maybe…”
She nodded, feeling her milk come in. The anticipation of holding her child made her smile despite everything. “Of course. I’ll be right there.”
Baby Robbie was the one shining bit of happiness in her life. Just looking at his precious little face gave her hope.
But he was hers and hers alone. She would never let Dane take him away from her. Never.
She woke from a dream, gasping. Was the man even going to haunt her sleep? She shuddered, trying to erase the erotic turn her subconscious fantasies had taken. True to her fears, she’d only slept a few hours.
Closing her eyes, she quickly went over all the possibilities. She could foresee what his next move would be. A normal man might have begun by charming her and trying to convince her that he deserved to know the truth, and that once he knew the truth, he would act reasonably and fairly and wouldn’t do anything rash.
But Dane couldn’t promise all those things, because Dane wasn’t reasonable and fair. He wasn’t going to ask her to sign papers or make agreements. He was going to try to force her to tell him what he wanted to know, and if she didn’t comply right away, he would do something to convince her she had no choice. And then he would find a way to take her baby.
Panic shot through her and she held herself tightly, rocking back and forth. What was she going to do? How was she going to protect herself from that?
It didn’t matter how many obstacles she put up or how many security guards she had around her, Dane would find a way to break through all that. There was only one answer. She had to make a move before he did.
What was she still doing here? She knew she had to leave before Dane got here in the morning. She might as well get the show on the road. There was nothing important keeping them here.
The only problem was she didn’t want to take many of them with her. Grace, the nanny, of course. And Henri and Kavon, her personal guards. The rest could go back to Paris.
Yes, she told herself as she rose and began to dress. She had to leave. She had to get out before Dane arrived. Just before going to bed, she’d had word that her brothers, Marque and Ivan, were on their way to Darnam as well, and she didn’t want to risk seeing them before she went into hiding. She knew they were probably coming to try to enlist her in their latest wild scheme to get back at Dane and his family. One of these days they just might gather enough of a force together to do the Montenevadas real harm, but she didn’t want to be involved. It was time to declare the war over.
Should she pack? There was no time. Now that she’d thought over all the ramifications, she wanted to hurry, to run, to dash out the door, her baby in her arms, straight to a hiding place.
She called Henri on her phone. He was her ever-alert, ever-faithful one and she knew the older man would be awake in the next room.
“I’m up,” he said. “I’m ready to go. I was hoping you would see the wisdom in it.”
Quickly, she went over plans with him and he agreed to take care that the others left for Paris right away.
“One thing,” he said. “I’ve heard your brothers are heading here to join you. Should I let them know…?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I don’t want them to know what we’re doing. I’ll call them later, once we get there.”
“The usual place?” he asked carefully.
