King's Ransom (Man on a Mission 2)

She glanced down at the engagement ring on her finger, the ring Andre had given her just a little while ago that had featured prominently in their engagement photos—a large oval tanzanite gemstone of a peculiar saturated shade of blue with a purplish hue shimmering around it, surrounded by an impressive circle of diamonds.

“The original ring belonged to my grandmother,” he’d told her as he’d slid it into place on her ring finger. “She had small hands, like you. But the central stone was a sapphire that paled in comparison to your eyes, so I replaced it with tanzanite.” He’d smiled that faint smile she loved. “But even this stone does not do justice to your eyes, Juliana. Nothing could.” After a deep breath he’d added, “I have been waiting eleven years to give this ring to you.”

Hearing his words in her mind reminded her that second chances were granted to a very, very select few. She was going to grab at her second chance with both hands and never look back, just as Mara had done. “Now it begins,” she said softly, then repeated the words in Zakharan, a smile wreathing her face.

A noise from the entrance to her bedroom made Juliana whirl around. Two men stood framed in the doorway. One man she recognized as one of the bodyguards assigned to guard her when she was outside her suite—Andre had introduced her less than an hour ago to the men on duty protecting her. The other was Andre’s cousin, clutching a pistol in his right hand, his left arm wrapped around his hapless victim’s throat. And the malevolent expression on his face was one she’d never imagined she would see there. Not in a million years.

Chapter 18

Five men stood in Andre’s private office. Four of them were absolutely convinced of Prince Xavier’s guilt. The fifth, Andre, insisted on going over the evidence against his cousin, his lifelong friend—what little there was of it—one more time.

“A court would never convict Zax,” he stated firmly. “Not without proof. Where is your proof?”

The other four men exchanged glances. Then Damon spoke. “No one else has a motive, Sire.”

“Motive is not nearly enough.”

Lukas added softly, “He is the head of the protection details, Sire. Yours as well as Miss Richardson’s. He has knowledge of your movements and hers few other men possess.”

“True, but knowledge alone is not proof.”

Lieutenant Marek Zale stepped forward. After he’d been pulled off the contingent assigned to guard Juliana, he’d worked behind the scenes coordinating her protective detail, and Andre already had it in his mind to promote the man once Juliana became his queen. “The incident with the car was not an accident,” Marek said now. “Of that we are sure. This brings us back to knowledge of Miss Richardson’s movements, Sire, something Prince Xavier would have.”

Lukas spoke up. “You know the light that fell was no accident. But I cannot see Prince Xavier having either the access or the time to accomplish this. A coconspirator would be necessary, most likely one of the crew who could be up there working on the lights and not be questioned. Someone who knew what scene was to be filmed, though, and who would be on that bed. There could only have been one target. And Prince Xavier has been on the set almost every day, ‘checking out the security.’ He would know the filming schedule.”

“The helicopter’s engine was tampered with,” the military pilot insisted. “But whether the target was you, Sire, or Miss Richardson, we cannot be certain, but either way...the intent was murder. Could Prince Xavier have done it? Yes. He has access to that restricted area. Military access. And he is a trained helicopter pilot—he flew one in Afghanistan. Not a mechanic, that is true, but still...he has knowledge of helicopters and how they operate. It would take specialized knowledge to disable the engine in such a way that it would fail only after extended usage. If the helicopter had crashed, there would have been nothing showing it was anything but a tragic accident. But he did not necessarily have to do it himself.”

“Each incident indicates someone with different skills,” Andre argued. “While the man who sabotaged the light or tampered with the helicopter engine could also have driven the car, it is unlikely the same man did both the light and the engine. So yes, I believe there is a conspiracy. But it does not necessarily include Zax.”

“But why make these attempts look like accidents?” Damon asked. “So much easier, so much more certain, to use a gun or a rifle to assassinate her or you if death was the only motive. Only someone who stood to gain by the death of either or both of you would want the deaths to appear accidental, so no suspicion would fall upon him. And should anything happen to Miss Richardson, Sire, or to you,” Damon said reasonably, “it could only benefit Prince Xavier. No one else. He is your heir.”