Prologue
TWO HOURS OUT of Sydney the small jet banked, jolting Theo Mylonakos’ attention from the photographs he was studying. He looked out the window, his gaze snared by the tiny speck of emerald amidst the sea of sparkling sapphire.
Lord Howe Island.
Tropical islands ordinarily held no attraction for him, but this one was different.
His eyes narrowed as the plane grew closer, taking in the way the island cradled a coral-fringed bay, the twin mountains at one end looming so high over the peaks at the other, one might wonder why the weight didn’t send the island toppling over and spinning to the bottom of the ocean.
And somewhere down there, pretending to be an everyday nobody rather than a member of one of Europe’s oldest royal families, his quarry was hiding, Princess Isabella d’Montcroix, no doubt congratulating herself that she’d managed to evade those looking for her for the best part of six weeks.
Her brother, Prince Rafael, had led them to believe that the Princess was simply that—a typical twenty-something princess.
Refined. Demure. Innocent. And when he looked at the photographs of the pretty hazel-eyed blonde, he’d believed what he’d been told, that she was your everyday princess, living in a privileged bubble filled with parties and balls and designer everything, and most of all, without an ounce of street smarts.
Exactly why he’d delegated to his trusted operatives the task of finding her and delivering her home, until all attempts to find her had failed and it was clear he’d have to chase her down himself.
Nobody had entertained any idea the Princess had the slightest clue about staying out of sight and eluding those searching for her for so long.
If he had to admit it, he held a grudging admiration for the way she’d done it, never staying in one place long enough to be noticed, jumping sideways and backward in her travels and always one infuriating step ahead, this latest move the most audacious, the most surprising.
But at the same time, she’d outsmarted herself, and the time for admiration, along with the hunt, was over. He had his prey all but in his sights. An island that hosted no more than four hundred guests at one time along with a handful of locals and casual workers.
And as the plane came in to land, the blood in his veins pumped fast and furious.
He had her.