The Prince's Bride (Modern Fairytales) Page 3

  Harry choked on his sip of coffee.

  His father frowned. “Are you certain it wasn’t a game?”

  “It wasn’t,” Leopold said flatly. “Not only did she not remember me, but she also ran out on me last night after we…spoke.”

  “How very American of her,” Harry said sardonically, patting his mouth with the edge of a napkin as he set down his coffee. But that did nothing to hide the narrowness of his eyes. “Well, then, back to the photos? We have another meeting at—”

  His father raised a hand, silencing the other man immediately. Leo tensed, because he knew what was coming—and he didn’t like it one bit. “Wait. Why would she run away from a mere conversation?”

  Leo cursed inwardly, but smiled. “I don’t know. How much sleep did you get—?”

  “You’re hiding something.” His father frowned even deeper, then his face lit up with intuition—which was the last thing Leo needed right now. “You were intimate with this woman last night, weren’t you?”

  “I…” He gritted his teeth. No matter how much he might wish otherwise, he couldn’t lie to his father. “Whatever happened is my business.”

  “Hmmm.” His father pointed at him. “When it affects you, it is my business. And I know my son, and the face he makes when he’s hiding something.”

  Leo gritted his teeth, nodding once.

  “Well, then, you know what you have to do.”

  Leo stiffened. If he did this to Alicia, she’d never forgive him, and he wouldn’t get a shot at that second chance with her he’d always wished he could have. “I can’t, not with her. She’s not like us. She won’t understand. And it’s such an outdated custom that really needs to be—”

  “It doesn’t matter who she is, or where she came from. You were with her, and you can’t risk that there might have been an heir created in the process.” His father picked up the pen on his desk and frowned at it before setting it down. “You’re well aware of our laws and customs, and you know that if a future ruler might have been created, a child that could possibly run our country one day, you have to detain the woman in question—no questions asked. It’s our way.”

  Leo clenched his jaw, remaining silent.

  If he brought her here under those circumstances, under outdated laws…

  No. No fucking way.

  He shook his head. “I can’t do it. Not to her. And I was careful. I always am.”

  “Did you sleep with her?” his father asked slowly.

  He cast a quick glance at Harry. His aide glowered disapprovingly at him.

  Leo swallowed. “Yes.”

  “Then she has to stay. She’s a flight risk.” His father frowned. “I outrank you, son. If I say something needs to be done, then it’ll get done, whether you like it or not.”

  Leo remained silent because it was true.

  He was the king, after all.

  His father rested a hand on his shoulder, sighing. “I’m sorry, but it must be done. Think of it this way. You’ll be under the same roof with her. Maybe it’ll give you that second chance you always wanted. I remember you pining over her back then.”

  That had obviously been a one-way type of thing. She didn’t remember him. Why would she? They were kids. But he’d never forgotten her. In many ways, she’d been his first love, and no one had ever lived up to the standard she set. He’d dated enough since then to know that even though they’d been kids, what they’d had was special. Crazy, but true.

  Leo didn’t say anything in reply.

  There was nothing to say.

  He never should have touched her last night.

  “Release a bulletin immediately, Harry,” the king said. “Under my command, not his.”

  “No,” Leo said, stepping forward. “If we’re going to do this, then I’ll take full responsibility for it. After all, it’s my fault she’s being forced to stay here.”

  And he’d pay the price.

  If his actions made Alicia hate him in the end? Well, then, so be it. He’d made his choice. She was free to make hers.

  Harry frowned. “We could just pretend it never happened. She’s an American. Who cares if there’s a baby, anyway?”

  Leo studied Harry. He’d always been a bit of a snob, but that was cold, even for him. “I do. And so will the people of this country.”

  His father crossed his arms and gave Harry the death stare. The one no one ignored, not even Leo. “Her nationality is a moot point.”

  “The bulletin, Harry,” Leo said, his voice hard with annoyance at his aide’s attitude toward Alicia. “Now.”

  After the other man picked up his iPad and nodded, Leo said, “Alicia Forkes needs to be captured, and brought to me, unharmed.” Leo tugged on his collar, knowing once he released his statement…there was no going back. “Immediately.”

  She was going to kill him.

  Chapter Four

  A little before dusk, Alicia made her way through the crowd, struggling to unwrap her buttered croissant as she juggled her coffee in the other hand. After a long night of tossing and turning and not enough sleep, she needed all the caffeine she could get.

  Something about having sex with a random stranger who may or may not have been selected by her subconscious simply because he reminded her of her first love did things to her mind. Like bringing back memories she’d tried to forget long ago.

  Good and bad.

  Being in love with Leo had been like riding a fast tidal wave through to the end, the kind that went higher and higher, until it crashed and you were left lying broken and trembling on the ground, wondering what happened. But when you rode that wave to the top, laughing the whole time with Leo at your side? It was freaking amazing.

  They’d been too young to know what life would bring them, or how cruel it could be when it was cut too short. After her father died, she wrote to him. Told him of her loss. And when she ran away from her cruel foster parents, she told him of that, too.

  And then he’d left her alone.

  In an airport.

  Waiting for him.

  Finding a table in the corner of the busy cafe, she settled in and bit into her heavenly croissant. The official royal music played on the television, and she ignored the all too common occurrence that kind of reminded her of the Capitol from the Hunger Games…creepy music and all.

  Setting her croissant down, she picked up her phone and swiped her finger across the screen. After bringing up the notes section, she pulled up her bucket list and placed a checkmark next to the second item: Have a one-night stand, and ditch him after.

  The first had been to visit a foreign country.

  Check, and check.

  The crowd inside the cafe gasped in union, and for a second it was as if they saw what she’d checked off and were as scandalized as she was about it.

  But then she lifted her head, frowning as a low murmur spread out among them. Alicia took another bite of her croissant and followed their line of vision. They all stared at the television with wide eyes, even the workers, so she turned, too, curiosity getting the better of her.

  It was a different guy on the screen this time, one who wore a military uniform instead of a suit, but that wasn’t what made her choke on her croissant.

  It was her picture on the TV that did that.

  Why is my passport photo on the television?

  “Ms. Forkes is not considered dangerous, but if you see her, please let authorities know. This order comes straight from the prince himself, and speculation has begun as to why His Highness wants the American brought to him unharmed—the royal office was very clear about that part. She is not to be injured, or seized by force. There is a financial reward for any tip that leads to the delivery of Ms. Forkes. The amount was unspecified.”

  Well…craaaaaaap.

  There went any hope she had of avoiding capture.

  She swallowed the soggy croissant that had been in her mouth for far too long and stared at the television, unable to believe this was actually happening. W
hat would the prince want with her? What had she done to garner such attention? Such ruthlessness?

  Such…such…

  Double crap.

  One by one, heads turned toward her, and at least twenty pairs of wide eyes focused directly on the most wanted woman in all of Randovia. Her.

  “It’s her,” a man whispered to another man. “I’m calling it in.”

  “I saw her first!” another man yelled, stepping forward. “I’m calling it in.”

  “No. I am,” a third man growled. “I know the prince, so he’d like the intel to come from me.”

  “Shoveling his walkways don’t count as knowing him, Marvin,” the first man said. “She’s mine.”

  “Over my dead body.” The other man stepped closer, and as a whole, the crowd shifted toward her. “I saw her first.”

  “No, I did.”

  Alicia gasped, unable to do much more than watch in horror as they fought over her as if she were a scrap of meat, and stumbled back, hitting the wall. Holding her hands up, she slid a step sideways toward the doors and said, “Please, everyone calm down. This has to be some sort of misunderstanding. Let me make a few calls, and—”

  A huge man who would’ve given an NFL linebacker a run for his money stepped in front of the only exit. “Not happening. Someone—anyone—call it in.”

  “But I didn’t do anything,” she cried, edging toward the door again, even though it was clear there was no way she’d be squeezing past the human brick wall blocking it. “Please. You have to believe me!”

  “Doesn’t matter. If the prince wants you, he’ll get you.” A woman eyed her nervously. “We don’t ask him questions.”

  “Obviously,” Alicia said, shoving her hair out of her eyes. The crowd had formed a circle around her, and despite watching tons of shows with awesome getaways in them, she didn’t possess any skills to make a getaway herself…so she sat back down.

  Was this something to do with her business? She’d come here with the blessing of the country’s government. She was here to help.

  No, there had to be a miscommunication.

  She picked up her phone.

  The woman frowned. “What are you doing?”

  Ignoring her racing heart—and images of Americans being tortured and never found in foreign countries—she hit the green call button. After two rings, Mrs. Fedorchyk picked up. “Hello?”

  Not wasting time, she quickly said, “I’m being illegally detained by the prince, and I have no idea why. The authorities are coming to take me to the palace.”

  Through the phone, Mrs. Fedorchyk gasped. “What? Are you okay—?”

  “Hey,” the woman snapped, yanking the cell out of her hand and hanging up on her boss. “Enough of that.”

  Alicia stood, her heart pounding, and tried to snatch it back. The other woman eluded her. “Give me that back.”

  “No.” The lady tucked it in her purse and stepped behind a bear of a man. “It’s the prince’s now.”

  Whoever this prince was, he was going to get a piece of her mind the second she met him. Despite her call back home to the only other person in this world who might care what happened to her—on a strictly business level, of course—she didn’t have high hopes of getting out of this mess without meeting him.

  And when she did?

  He’d find out he messed with the wrong American.

  The man who called the castle watched her closely. He talked fast into the receiver, gesturing with his hands, staring at her as if she was the crazy one.

  Whatever.

  In a situation like this, not that she’d ever been in one, it was best to just stay calm—or so she’d imagined. She sat back down and picked at her croissant, because if she didn’t try to act normal, she’d start crying. And she refused to give them, or their stupid prince, the satisfaction.

  “What are you doing?” another man asked.

  “Waiting for my ride,” she said drily. “I hope it’s a limo. Surely the prince can’t expect to illegally detain me without providing me with certain luxuries.”

  “She’s mad,” the woman whispered, stepping back.

  “No. I’m angry. And when I get in front of your precious little prince, he won’t know what hit him.”

  “Don’t you dare threaten him,” growled the man who had been on the phone. “You’ll have me to answer to.”

  The lady said. “And me.”

  “And me,” said the other man to her left.

  “First of all, people, it was an expression. He shouldn’t abduct innocent women off the streets,” she simply said, her heart hitting her ribs and pounding so fast she could barely breathe.

  “Clearly, he is doing so for a reason. He’s a kind, fair, and benevolent man, who will make a fine ruler one day—long live the king.”

  “Long live the king,” the whole room echoed.

  Alicia’s jaw dropped.

  I’m in freaking Wonderland. There’s no other explanation.

  The man who’d called the palace tipped his head. “They’re here.”

  She glanced out the window, swallowing hard. Sure enough, a group of soldiers dressed in the gray suits of the royal guard approached the door. They were young men, maybe in their mid-twenties, like her, and each one was more handsome than the other. If not for the fact that they were coming to arrest her…

  “Alicia Forkes?” the man in front asked politely.

  “Yes.” She stepped forward. “Can one of you please tell me what this arrest pertains to?”

  “That’s between you and the prince.” The first soldier held his hand out. “Come with me.”

  “Do I get a choice?” she asked drily.

  The man stared at her, his hand never wavering.

  “Can you at least tell me what I’m in trouble for?”

  “I don’t know whether you’re in trouble or not,” the man said. “Maybe the prince simply wishes to speak with you.”

  “I bet you say that to all the women your prince imprisons.”

  “I’ve never detained a woman for the prince before.”

  She shrugged, not meeting the man’s eyes. “Great. I’m special. Wonderful. Maybe this is the only way he can get a girl’s attention.”

  The man laughed.

  So did the rest of the guard.

  The crowd joined in, all elbowing each other and grinning.

  After the laughter died down, the man said, smiling, “The prince has never had trouble meeting women. Follow me. Let’s get you safely to His Highness.”

  Head held high, she walked out into the daylight, not bothering to argue since it would get her nowhere. A bunch of paparazzi snapped pictures and yelled out questions, all asking her why she was being taken. Since she had no clue, she slipped into the back of a black town car without speaking. If she did, she’d scream, and shout, and show them just how angry she was at this treatment.

  But she was saving all of that for the Prince of Randovia.

  That jerk was about to find out what happened when you picked on the wrong girl.

  Chapter Five

  “She’s in there?” Leo asked the head of his royal guard quietly, standing in front of the bright blue door that separated him from Alicia. His heart pounded harder than the time he’d issued a last warning to an enemy country. Entering that room might be just as dangerous to his health.

  The man hesitated. “Yes. But…”

  “What is it?” he asked, adjusting his dress grays. “Speak freely, Jonathon.”

  She’s on the other side of the door.

  Waiting for me.

  His gut tightened.

  He was known for his steady constitution. He never hesitated. Never faltered. Always knew the best way to deal with tricky situations, so that every party walked away satisfied. But with Alicia, he was a nervous and sweaty-palmed mess.

  But he also felt alive for the first time in years. Excited about something. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

  Which probably meant
it had been way too damn long.

  “She didn’t fight back, physically,” Commander Jonathon said. He tugged on his collar. “But she’s not happy, and I have a feeling she isn’t afraid to tell you as much.”

  He sighed and stared at the door, his heart thumping fiercely against his ribs, and he itched to barge in there, march up to her, and kiss her before she could say a damn word that might make him stop. They could pick up right where they’d left off last night—only without his pants wrapped around his ankles this time. “I’d expect nothing less. She has every right to be upset. I did detain her, after all.”

  “About that…” The commander shifted on his feet. “May I be so bold as to ask what she did to deserve such treatment, Your Highness?”

  Leo frowned and lifted his chin, giving his commander a hard stare. The public wasn’t aware how strict the royal house was with dalliances, and they never would be. The only reason this search for Alicia had been broadcasted was because they couldn’t risk losing her if she hopped on a flight. “No.”

  “But—”

  Leo frowned even more, giving his commander a silent stare.

  “Right.” The other man cleared his throat and bowed. “As you wish, Your Highness.”

  “Thank you,” Leo said shortly. “Please leave us.”

  “One more thing.” The commander reached into his pocket and pulled out an iPhone. “This is her phone. Someone at the coffee shop took it from Ms. Forkes when she called to let her office know she was being detained. At least, that’s what the people around her told the guards. Would you like us to contact her office and explain that she is in no danger from us?”

  Leo gritted his teeth. There might be some backlash from that, which, yeah, he deserved. What had he been thinking, literally abducting Alicia? Laws or not, he should go in there, release her, and apologize now. It was the right thing—the humane thing—to do. Holding his hand out for the phone, he said, “Yes, please do. I’ll take that and return it to her. She’s allowed any and all luxuries she requests from us. She’s not our prisoner.”