A Player for A Princess

Her internal struggle is plain on her face, from the tiny line piercing her forehead to the way her blue eyes dart around the grid like little birds. She’s flustered by my presence, and I love that I throw her off balance. I love that as strong as she is and as much as I’ve given her, I still have the upper hand.

She leans down as if to adjust her shoe, and the roulette ball wobbles. My eyes dart to the table, and I watch as the silver ball shimmies and then drops straight into red seven. So that’s their game.

It’s a clever scam, and one our security has dealt with before in Monagasco. Ours was a three-person job—one man placed the bets, a second distracted the dealer, and the third activated a radio transmitter from the next table over. It was actually a woman with the small transmitter hidden in her cigarette case. She pressed the button, and the metal ball dropped like clockwork into the corresponding space on the wheel.

Seth lets out a yell and slaps Zee on the shoulder. It sends her straight into my arms. I scoop her up, reveling in this familiar position. Her blue eyes blink up at me, round and full of… something very new. Is it shame?

“Zee,” I say, a crack forming in my wall of anger.

That bastard Seth jerks her away, and I’m ready to take care of him when she whips her arm out of his grasp.

“Cash me out,” she says to the dealer, and as soon as she’s handed her winnings, she practically bolts for the door.

I’m right behind her, but at that moment, a wad of garishly dressed tourists spreads out into the path blocking me.

“Excuse me,” I growl, trying to get around them, but we launch into a game of back and forth and by the time I’m away, so is Zee, speeding off into the night.

“Dammit!” I shout, but my irritation is cut short by a black SUV pulling into the circular drive and stopping in front of me.

The locks click open, and I see Logan in the driver’s seat. I’m in the vehicle at once, and we’re heading down the dark, two-lane road after her.

“I’ve been watching the door for her to come out,” he says, increasing our speed. “She was moving fast, but I at least caught their direction.”

“Good work—any idea where she’s headed?”

“None. They could be staying on the island, or…”

The way his voice trails off causes me to look up. “Or?” I demand.

“Or there are several piers hidden along this cove. They could have a charter at any one of them.”

I know how to contact her. I still have her cell number, but after the way she ran from me, after her not showing up in Tortola like she said, I’m not sure I want to alert her.

“I think it’s best if we head back to the airport.” Touching my fingers to my upper lip, I look out the window into the night.

“It’s probably the right call. We don’t know who might be watching us.”

“Right.”

We’re not the only ones looking for Zelda Wilder. My pulse ticks a little faster. I know the truth of that statement too well.

What are you thinking, Zee? Why are you running from me?

3

Captured

Zelda

Grapetree Point is a secluded beach with a curved bay and deep water close to shore. It’s hidden from the road and difficult to find, making it perfect for our needs. I follow the very narrow path full of brambles from where I paid the cabby out to the soft beige sand. A small charter is waiting in the low ripples just a few feet out.

I don’t want to board without Seth. I don’t even want to be seen out here alone, so I walk deeper into the grape trees rising above the foliage. Although it’s still twilight, the gnarled trunks and low-hanging branches increase the shadows and darkness. I run my fingers along the strange, knobby limbs dotted all over with deep purple fruit.

Reaching up to my forehead, I pull the silly wig off my head along with several of the pins used to keep it in place. Blonde tendrils fall around my cheeks and temples, and I lean my forehead against a bare spot on the tree. I exhale a shuddering breath as Cal floods my thoughts. I remember his eyes—the heat and the anger in them. I wasn’t prepared to see him, especially not on a job.

A harsh, shushing noise in the brambles changes my moment of shame to fear, and my eyes go wide, straining into the darkness. Someone is coming down the path fast, headed this way. I step back, further into the shadows, rounding my shoulders and hoping to disappear in the trees. Good thing I’m wearing black, although I have too much skin showing to be completely camouflaged.

Another step back, and a dry limb cracks like a gunshot. The shadowy figure stops. “Zelda? Is that you?”