Chapter 26
Tiro walked down the hallway, trying to figure out what was bothering him. He’d heard Angela’s mother caution her daughter not to let him break her heart. What the hell did that mean? On the one hand, he was pleased by the thought that it was possible that Angela could be hurt. That meant her feelings for him were growing. But on the other hand, he hated the possibility of her being hurt, especially if he was the one to do it.
He didn’t want to hurt Angela in any way. But, what if this was just a sexual relationship for her? Tiro was quickly realizing that, for him, it was more. Although, he wasn’t sure exactly how to define what was happening between them.
He paused and looked around at his guards as something occurred to him. “Why were the ladies waiting to be served breakfast?” he asked.
One of the guards shifted slightly, and he suddenly noticed that they all seemed more alert than usual. This was normal when he left the palace, but usually, they were a bit more relaxed when he was home.
“What the hell is going on?” he demanded.
“Several of the kitchen staff got very sick yesterday,” one explained.
That wasn’t good. His eyebrows drew down over his gaze. “How many?”
“Ten, Your Highness,” the guard replied. “Two of them are in the hospital this morning.”
Tiro frowned. “Two kitchen employees are in the hospital and I wasn’t informed immediately?”
Another guard sighed. “We didn’t think sick kitchen staff members rose to the level of a problem, Your Highness.”
Tiro’s anger intensified. “One staff member coming down with a virus isn’t something I need to know about. However, ten staff members suddenly getting sick is definitely an issue.” He glared at the four guards surrounding him. “What happened? Is there a cleanliness issue?”
“No, Your Highness. The staff members have been tested and…,” he paused, looking to the others.
Tiro tensed, his eyes narrowing as he grasped that something significant had occurred. “This is bigger than just the kitchen employees getting sick, isn’t it?” At their grim expressions, he looked at each of them, then back to today’s lead guard. “What’s going on? Where is Aziz?” The head of his security team must be looking into the problem.
“Aziz is also sick, Your Highness, but he promised to be in soon.”
Tiro froze. Aziz was sick? The man must be on death’s door if he called in sick! “Good. ” He fisted his hands on his hips, glaring at each of the guards surrounding him . “So, what do you know? What’s going on? Was this an assassination attempt?”
“No, Your Highness. We haven’t heard anything about a threat to your life. At least, not above the normal chatter. Nothing that rises to a level that we would need take seriously.”
“So what’s going on?” he demanded, feeling slightly relieved.
There was an uncomfortable silence, then the lead guard sighed again. “We don’t know, Your Highness. The staff are still too sick to be interviewed, but we have guards standing by at the hospital, ready to question the victims as soon as they are healthy enough to do so.”
“Good. Then inform me as soon as you have news.”
He hurried to a briefing on the mysterious video of him kissing Angela. He wanted answers and his security team wasn’t moving fast enough ! So , he’d privately contacted an investigative firm outside of the palace to get some answers. Something was going on with his security department. They weren’t working fast enough all of a sudden, although Aziz said he’d discovered some useful information. They’d theorized that Lativa had released the video to embarrass Tiro so that they could gain access to the newly discovered lithium. But that just didn’t make sense to Tiro. The idea might be valid, but there were too many variables for the possibility to work.
Tiro had kept his opinions to himself while he waited for Aziz to get more information. He didn’t want to accuse anyone until there was confirmed evidence of a plot.
As he entered the conference room, his thoughts returned to Angela. She’d looked so lovely in the dining room this morning. Her beauty was fresh and alive, and her smile had immediately brightened his morning. The blush had helped too, but he was very aware of the tenderness that had kept him from making love to her yet again this morning.
Well, it had kept him from making love to her one way. He’d pleasured her with his mouth and his hands. Then she’d reciprocated and…damn, it had been a very long shower this morning. Again.
His body immediately tightened at the memory of her lips wrapped around his shaft. And the taste of her. She was sweet everywhere!
Damn it, he was going to embarrass himself if he didn’t get control of his thoughts ! He looked around, realizing that everyone at the table was waiting expectantly for him to start the meeting .
“Gentlemen,” he greeted each in turn. He wished Aziz was here to listen in. He hoped his friend and bodyguard was okay. He’d have to give him a call after this meeting, to check on him. If the man was feeling well enough, Tiro would update him on this briefing. “What have you learned?”
The man in a tan suit and dark brown tie opened a file and slid a picture toward Tiro. “We spoke with several of the hotel employees and we were able to ascertain that this man,” he pointed to a grainy, black and white picture, “is the man who came to the security office the following morning. He’s the one who intimidated the security guards into giving him a copy of the video, Your Highness.”
Tiro frowned at the image, then looked at the next photo. It was of the same man, but at a different angle. He picked the photo up and stared hard at it. Aziz. But it would make sense that his friend was there, working with the security guards at the hotel. Aziz would have gone to the security office to keep the video from going out to anyone else. He would have been there to protect Ginisia’s interests.
“Who else obtained the video footage from the security office?” Tiro demanded, tossing the photos back onto the conference table.
“As far as we could determine, no one else entered the security office that day other than the normal hotel staff. And according to their system, only one download was made of that time period, Your Highness.”
These men were implying that Aziz was the person who released the video of his kiss with Angela to the world. But…no! That was impossible! He forced his spiraling thoughts to work through the details, to demand more information. Tiro simply could not believe that his friend would do this!
“Then who hacked the security feed from outside?” he demanded.
The man in charge looked intense, his eyes serious as he explained, “We’ve gone through the hotel’s security system from five different angles. We’ve found twenty different breeches, but the only person who was interested in that time period in that specific area of the hotel was this man,” the leader explained, tapping the photo.
What the hell was going on? His thoughts went back to the saddle incident. And the food this morning? Or yesterday, actually .
His stomach tightened as several puzzle pieces came together. He’d walked into this conference room thinking Aziz’s suggestion about the lithium didn’t make sense. But what would make sense was if Aziz had released the video to humiliate Angela, or the Lativa government, since Angela’s father was in charge of the Lativa economy. And yesterday’s saddle problem…was Aziz responsible for that as well? Was he trying to hurt Angela for some reason?
“We haven’t been able to ascertain who this man is or who he works for, Your Highness. But we’ll continue to investigate until we have more details.”
Tiro laced his fingers together and went silent, staring at the table, but he wasn’t seeing the grain of the polished wood. His mind was working through the puzzle pieces, trying to make sense of everything.
Why would Aziz be against Angela’s presence here in Ginisia? What would make him hate a woman he didn’t even know? Angela hadn’t done anything to harm Aziz. In fact, Aziz didn’t have any…!
Tiro stopped, thinking back to ten years ago. He and Aziz had been in the military together and his friend had been telling a story about…what had the story been about? Aziz had mentioned an older brother who had also been in the military. No, not the military, the brother had been in another branch of the Ginisia government. A secret organization that…he’d have to look into it. But from what Tiro could recall, Aziz’s brother had been killed during a mission more than twenty years ago.
He made a decision, one that he sincerely hoped he wouldn’t regret. But it had to be done, he knew.
“Gentlemen,” he looked around and nodded to the woman, “and ladies, I need you to continue your investigation, but with a slight shift.” And then he explained the other incidents and how he needed them to continue to investigate in absolute secrecy. “I need answers in days, not weeks or months,” Tiro emphasized.
And in the meantime, he would ensure Angela’s safety. Even if he had to protect her with his own life.
Plus, he knew exactly how to best ensure her safety. He could just keep her in his bed. Then he considered a plan, certain activities that might bring the real culprit to light.
Standing up, he nodded to the group, then left the meeting. They had their orders and Tiro knew that they would be conducted with efficiency and professionalism.