She grabbed my arm, probably because I’d gone from flushed to ghostly pale. “It isn’t what you think. Angel is my…code name. Work, remember?” She pointed between the two of them. “Rile and Angel.”
“I knew that,” I lied. Clearly, neither believed me, but at least, they allowed me to save face. “When do we leave?”
“The plane should be fueled and ready whenever you are.”
I excused myself and went to the lavatory as much to douse my face with ice-cold water as to use the facilities. Saying I was hot for Cortez was an understatement. Being close to him set my body on fire. Thinking about our one kiss—the best kiss of my life—made my pulse race.
I couldn’t help but wonder if we were traveling in the same plane we’d flown from London and whether I’d be able to lure him back into the stateroom.
When I came out, Teagon was standing outside the doorway, looking at something on her phone.
“Everything okay?”
“What?” she asked, shoving the phone into her bag.
“What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Teag. I’ve known you since we were kids. Something is up.”
“Otto von Habsburg is in the hospital in a coma.”
“What happened?”
“Someone tried to kill him.”
8
Rile
The reports out of Budapest were sketchy. Some said Otto von Habsburg was dead, others said he was still alive, but on life support. No one was reporting what had happened that left him in either state.
“When did this occur?” I asked Decker, who had been the one to alert me.
“Sometime yesterday.”
“Do the authorities have any leads?”
“Only that they believe he knew his assailant.”
My every instinct told me Konstantine had something to do with his cousin’s attack, but what would his motive be?
“Where are you now?” Decker asked.
“Teterboro Airport, about to leave for London. Teagon Evans and Kensington Whitby are traveling with me.”
“Angel?”
“That’s right.”
“I remember reading in the brief they were friends.”
“I’ve made arrangements with Z for Angel to cover Kensington’s detail indefinitely.”
“In London?”
“Yes.”