The blackmail has come to a head, and there’s no way for me to protect any of us from it anymore. My presence will only make things difficult for you—I know that. And I can’t bear to put you in the position of firing me for what I’ve done, which would be the responsible choice. I only wanted you to know how much I have loved working for you.
It didn’t seem like quite enough—working for you. But there was nothing else she could put in the letter that would accurately describe the way her throat went tight and hot at the thought of not ever seeing Armin again, or reading stories to the girls on a lazy afternoon.
Sincerely,
Katie
There. It was written.
She swallowed the frustration and the sadness that had swept over her while she was writing it, folded it neatly, and put it back in her purse along with her pen.
Then she waited for Papazyan to arrive.
12
Katie felt the moment he came in the door.
It was possible she was overfocused on waiting for the man to arrive, but he was a creep. He had blackmailed her. And her skin crawled thinking of all the ways he’d made her complicit in harming the people she loved. Yes, she’d been trying to protect herself, and protect Armin and the girls, but she’d gone about it all wrong. It shouldn’t have come to a letter dropped off at the last moment before she disappeared. She should have gone to Armin immediately. That, at least, was clear from the moment Papazyan walked into the café.
Katie was looking into her cup of tea, gone lukewarm by the time the door opened and let him in, but she knew it was him by the unpleasant shiver that ran down her spine. It was only confirmed when she raised her eyes from the teacup to find him already smirking at her.
There was no way he could know what she was planning.
She sat up straight and kept her face as coldly neutral as she could. I’m done with you, she rehearsed for the hundredth time since she’d finished her letter. I’m not doing this anymore. You have what you have, and this arrangement is over.
Papazyan slid into the seat across from her with the air of someone in a tremendous hurry who had not, in fact, wanted to be at this meeting. He looked at her like she was an employee who’d been caught stealing supplies from the janitorial closet. “Time’s run out, Ms. Crestley.”
Well. That was a more dramatic opening than she’d been expecting, but she could roll with the punches. There was really no other choice.
Katie frowned at him. “You’re right, Papazyan. Time is up.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You misunderstand.”
“You misunderstand.” Katie took a deep breath and summoned her prepared speech. “I’m—”
“You’re going to be front-page news all across Stolvenia.”
She gritted her teeth. “What are you saying?”
“You’ve left me with no choice in the matter. For weeks, I’ve waited for you to provide me with something newsworthy, and you’ve failed on that account. So I’m running a different story.”
“You’re going to do it, then. Put a story about me in the paper.” Katie’s gut went cold. If Papazyan was going through with the threat he’d made, then she should have the letter sent by courier and get out of the country before—
No.
If the news really was about to break then she had to tell Armin face to face.
And she would, just as soon as this nightmare was over.
“About you, yes.” Papazyan looked disgustingly satisfied with himself. “You and the prince. A relationship with the nanny—how commonplace. How salacious. My readers are going to love it.”
Katie laughed, a hollow sound. “That’s completely false. You don’t think the fallout from running a story based on lies will be worse for you than for me?”
He shook his head. “It’s so charming that you think I’ll rely on your word. Oh, no. No, Ms. Crestley. You’re far from my only source, and I’m going to run everything, beginning with the deal you made with me your first week on the job. You can deny it all you want. It’ll only make it look like you’re covering for yourself.”
Other sources? Katie wanted to know who had been talking to him, other than her. She’d carried the weight of this on her shoulders for so long that it was crushing her, and all along—all along—there had been other people feeding him secrets from inside the palace? God, could she have been any more naive?
Papazyan leaned in, his voice suddenly dropping to a soft and sympathetic level. “You know, it’ll be better for you, Ms. Crestley, if you tell me everything you know. Right now, while we’re at this table.” He blinked at her. “If you do, I’ll give you partial credit in the byline.”