Chapter Four #2
The man was beyond infuriating. ‘Look,’ she said, pinching her nose and breathing deep, taking a moment to calm herself down.
This man was clearly easy to aggravate, so maybe it was time to be a bit more placatory.
Hopefully a bit more persuasive. ‘So, you’ve found me—congratulations—you win.
But does it matter if it’s a day or two later that I arrive home?
Because I can’t leave tomorrow. I’m working a shift tomorrow evening. ’
He shook his head as if dealing with a recalcitrant child, as clearly, he regarded her. ‘Forget it. You don’t need to work.’
‘That’s hardly the point. The point is, I have a job and I promised to work tomorrow evening’s shift.’
He scoffed. ‘You’re a waitress. I’m sure they’ll manage to cover you.’
It wasn’t just the words. It was the disdain that put her back up, his thorough disregard for her work—for the work—as if waiting tables was so lowly that it was no kind of job at all.
And suddenly she was over with all attempts at peacemaking.
She was livid. ‘How dare you? How dare you talk about duty and what my duty is when you have no idea what duty entails? I made a commitment to this business, and I intend to see it through. So, if you insist on taking me back to Rubanestein, against my will I might add, then you’re going to have to wait until I’m ready to go. ’
His lip curled. ‘Nice speech. So, when are you going to start packing, Princess, or do you expect me to do it for you?’
‘So, wait a day! Twenty-four hours. Where’s the harm in that?’
‘Haven’t you heard? There’s a cyclone hovering off the coast. I’m not prepared for it to get any closer and risk our chances of getting off this island.’
‘Of course I’ve heard. Everyone’s heard. But we’re not in the path. It’s hardly a problem.’
He said nothing. Just cast his eyes in the direction of her backpack. The man was insufferable.
‘In that case,’ she said, crossing her arms over her chest, ‘you do it.’ She was hardly going to help him.
She had more important things to do, like work out how she was going to get away.
Her teeth played with her lip. She could escape while he was in the other room, of course, the door didn’t have a lock, and she’d have a lead of a second or two before he realised.
But this man was fit. And he was built. Slamming into his chest had told her that, and that lead of a second or two would evaporate into nothingness the moment he caught on.
She needed a better plan. And she had at the very most one night to come up with one.
He looked back at her, his eyebrows raised, his lips curled into a sardonic smile.
But he said nothing, simply opened the small wardrobe and peeled from the hangers the few shirts and a sundress she had inside.
Turned to a small chest of drawers and pulled open a drawer and scooped out a handful of lace bras and panties and smalls, before he seemed to realise what he was holding and rapidly looked away as he shoved them into the backpack.
The next drawer’s contents of jeans and shorts followed her underwear into the pack. ‘Is that it?’ he said, sounding like he must have missed something.
‘Of course not, you’ll find the ball gowns and tiaras in the gilded chest under the bed.’
He made a move to glance below the bed before thinking better of it and giving her a glare that could have stripped paint. ‘Funny,’ he said.
‘I thought so,’ she said, feeling her lips tweak in spite of the desperate circumstances. ‘It sure gave me a smile.’
He growled, a low, deep growl that spoke of his frustration with her. Of his frustration to be done with her. Of his desperation to be rid of her.
‘Tomorrow,’ he said. ‘We fly out tomorrow.’
‘No!’
He shook his head. ‘You don’t have a say in this.’
‘Wow. You sound just like my brother. He doesn’t think I should have a say in anything either.’
He grunted. ‘Maybe he has a point.’
‘Or maybe he’s just a controlling bastard like you. Congratulations on finding your soulmate. I hope you’re both very happy together.’
His eyes turned to slate. His nostrils flared. ‘Are you done?’
‘Oh, but you provide such rich material. I’m sure I’ll find more.’
‘Excellent. Then while you’re finding things, maybe you can gather up your toiletries in the bathroom and we can get out of here.’
‘Why do I need to go anywhere? You know where I’m going to be tomorrow evening—working my shift at the restaurant, no doubt to be glowered at every minute of my shift by your own uncharming visage.’
‘Nice try, Princess. Leave you here tonight and discover tomorrow that you’ve done a runner? It’s not going to happen. Now go and get the rest of your things.’
‘Where do you think I’m going to run? There’s something like two flights out a day and I won’t be catching either of them, because, like I told you, I am committed to a shift tomorrow night.’
‘So you say. But I can’t take that risk. You’re coming with me tonight and we’re flying out tomorrow. Together.’
Her arms flew wide before slapping back against her thighs. ‘What is your problem? I’ve already been gone for weeks. What difference is twenty-four hours going to make?’
He zipped up the backpack. ‘Don’t you realise what you’re risking, Princess? You leave yourself open to any kind of attack. And in doing so, you expose Rubanestein in the process.’
‘And what, pray tell, do you think might happen to me? Do you think there’s a chance that I might be kidnapped and taken somewhere against my will?’ She snorted. ‘Imagine that!’
He growled. ‘I’m not kidnapping you. I’m rescuing you from yourself and your foolish actions.’
She put her hands on her hips. ‘I am twenty-five years old, and you are insisting on taking me somewhere against my will. I’d call that kidnapping.’
‘No, I’m safely returning you to the place where you belong, because if I worked out who you really are, don’t you think that anyone else who is no doubt searching for you will?’
Her head snapped up at the thought that others might also be pursuing her. But no. He was trying to frighten her. Of course, he would try to scare her. ‘You’re bluffing.’
He said nothing. Just stared at her as he stood rock solid in front of her, and his silence slid uncomfortably down her spine, dislodging her rock-solid faith in her argument. ‘So tell me, who else is supposedly looking for me?’
‘Don’t fool yourself into believing that I’m the only one.
You’ve been missing in action so long that, no matter how much the palace has tried to dampen down speculation, your absence has been noted.
The fact you missed the Prince’s birthday ball three weeks ago only ramped up speculation that you’d run away and were on the loose. ’
She made a move to interject and he cut her off with a slash of one hand.
‘Don’t you see? A runaway princess. Alone. Unprotected. Don’t you realise the danger you’ve put yourself in, not to mention the embarrassment you’re causing your country?’
His words stung Isabella’s psyche. She hated the thought that her actions might result in embarrassment to Rubanestein, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that if the true reason for her fleeing was made public, it would cause more damage to her country and the Prince than mere embarrassment.
But there was no point trying to explain that to this man-mountain.
Izzy swallowed and spun away. Why did life have to be so complicated? All she’d wanted to do was escape from her brother and his demands and live life on her own terms. And not only was that not acceptable but now there were apparently rogue actors pursuing her?
She took a deep breath as she stared out into the dark.
Tried to think. Tried to apply logic to the situation and not let his words frighten her.
After all, this was a man who was trying to convince her to go with him and go quietly.
Why wouldn’t he try everything to make her accede to his every demand?
She spun back around. ‘But you have me now. You know where I am. I’m supposedly “safe” with you.
So where’s the risk with waiting one more day? Why should I feel frightened?’
‘You should feel frightened, Princess, because, if anyone else catches up with you, I doubt you’ll be bargaining for just one extra day.’
Her mouth went dry. If he was trying to frighten her, he was succeeding. ‘What does that mean?’
‘It means you’re lucky I found you first. You’re safe with me. I’ll get you home.’
‘Then maybe I should take my chances with whoever else is after me. Because I’m not safe with anyone who wants to return me to Rubanestein.’
‘Stop being ridiculous. Think about your safety if you can’t think about your country. I’m taking you back to your home where you’ll be safe.’
‘That’s rubbish. You say I’m in danger here, but if you take me back, you’ll be delivering me right back into the lion’s den. Why do you think I ran? I’m not some rebellious teenager. Hasn’t it occurred to you that I had my reasons for running?’
‘I know, you did. You have a conflict with your brother.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s understandable that you would be envious and it’s equally understandable that you’d be angry and want to embarrass him.’
‘Wait. What? Envious? What are you talking about?’
‘Give it up, Princess. You’re twelve months older than Rafael and yet, due to Rubanestein’s traditional rules of succession, it is he who is on the throne and not you.
It must have been a blow to see your younger brother accede to the throne when even the British monarchy, the oldest and most famous royal institution in the world, has modernised its rules so that the crown is passed down the line of succession not according to male-preference primogeniture. ’
Izzy blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing. Unable to process it. She half-laughed, half-snorted, a very unladylike-un-princess-like snort. ‘Is that what my dear brother told you? That I’m envious of him because he’s on the throne and not me?’
‘Why else would you come up with this little act of rebellion, if not to make some kind of statement?’
‘Seriously, do I look like somebody who hungers to be on the throne? I’ve known my entire life that, failing a disaster, I would never accede to the throne.
I have always been good with that. Do you really think I ran away because I’m in a snit?
’ She shook her head. ‘You underestimate me, Mr Mylonakos, by a long way.’
He blinked. Slowly. ‘Whatever, Prince Rafael is concerned for your safety and wants you escorted safely home.’
‘That’s a joke. He’s never been concerned for anything other than his own well-being. He doesn’t care for me. He doesn’t care for anyone or anything other than how they can be of use to him.’
‘Then why is he so keen to have you returned home, if he cares so little for you, his sister, his own flesh and blood?’
‘Because he’s racked up millions of Euros in debt and the Treasurer-General had the intestinal fortitude to prevent Rafael from getting his filthy hands in the Public Treasury.’
‘What does that have to do with you?’
‘Everything. He made a deal with one of his cronies.’ She let that sink in for a moment waiting for him to join the dots. She saw the frown draw his brows together, creasing his brow. She witnessed the exact moment when realisation dawned on him, his dark eyes incredulous.
‘Yes, Mr Mylonakos. He sold me. That’s why he’s so desperate to get me back in the palace under his control. So, he can carry out his plan to marry me off to the creep who’s going to bail him out.’
His tense features relaxed. The corners of his mouth tweaked up. He shook his head. ‘You’ve had weeks to come up with a story and that’s the best you could manage? Don’t you think that’s just a bit melodramatic?’
‘It’s the truth!’
‘So you say. But your response is straight out of the playbook. Prince Rafael said you’d say something like that.’
‘Because it’s the truth and he knows it!’
‘Sure. Last I heard, Rubanestein was a modern European principality. What you are suggesting is positively medieval.’
She clenched her teeth. ‘I see you’ve met my brother. He and his appalling wedding deal are the reasons I’m not going back.’
He shook his head. ‘Princess—’
‘Stop calling me princess. My name is Izzy.’
‘I can’t call you that. You’re a princess. Princess Isabella.’
‘Then why do you make it sound like an insult?’
Did he? If he did, it was because he was sick of the chase. He was sick of the arguments. Responsibility came with being an adult. He had no patience for people who shirked their responsibilities, preferring the easy life, ungrateful for the hand they’d been dealt.
He had people on his books who wanted to be rescued. Who desperately needed to be rescued. People who were a whole lot more deserving than this spoilt runaway who seemed intent on wasting his time.
Of course, he hadn’t expected her to come without a fight, but she could have come up with something a bit more original than her evil brother who wanted to marry her off to settle the gambling debts story that she’d spun.
Nothing in his research had so much as hinted at the Prince having a gambling problem.
‘I won’t call you Izzy. You are Princess Isabella d’Montcroix of Rubanestein. It’s about time you started acting like it. Now, we’re leaving. You can wash whatever that is out of your hair when you get to my apartment.’
‘Won’t I be in even more risk of being recognised if I do wash out the colour? What if someone does recognise me and tries to snatch me away from you for ransom?’
He was beginning to think it was a good idea. ‘Maybe I’ll let them,’ he said. ‘It would save me a whole lot of grief.’
She laughed. She actually had the audacity to laugh.
‘That wasn’t a joke, Princess.’
‘If I didn’t know better,’ she said, ‘I’d be starting to think that I’m getting under your skin.’
‘Don’t flatter yourself, Princess.’
‘Stop calling me Princess!’
He smiled around gritted teeth. ‘Now who’s getting under whose skin?’