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Her voice shook and her eyes reflected all the things she wasn’t saying out loud. The upset. The shock.
He reached up and touched her cheek, ‘If you don’t want to go back, you shouldn’t have to go. You’re a free woman, Gabrielle.’
She blinked and he could see the tears hovering in the corners of her eyes. She pressed her hand up to her chest. ‘But I’m not. Not now. I haven’t been back to Mirinez for the last few years.’ She gave a sad smile. ‘Being a doctor gave me the life I wanted. I never wanted to rule. I never wanted to be Head of State. That was always Andreas’s job.’
‘But he’s bailed.’
His blunt words brought a hint of a wry smile to her lips. ‘He’s bailed.’
She sucked in a deep breath and looked over at her protection detail. It was almost as if something had just flashed into her brain.
He had the oddest feeling—like a million little men with muddy feet were stamping all over the next few hours of his life.
‘What does this mean for you?’
All the warmth and fun that had been in Gabrielle’s face earlier had vanished. She had that strange pallor about her—the kind that a patient had before they fainted.
He put his hand on her shoulder. Visions of the night he’d planned had just slipped down the nearest drain. The fancy hotel suite and room service he’d looked forward to sharing with Gabrielle would remain a figment of his very vivid imagination.
He could go back to the bar and get drunk with the others.
He could sign up for another mission, avoid taking that flight home—yet again.
Gabrielle squeezed her eyes closed for a second.
The words were out before he thought about them. ‘Gabrielle, if you need to go home, if you’re worried, I’ll come with you.’
She opened her eyes. They widened slightly. It was almost as if she couldn’t think straight.
She shook her head. ‘Don’t. Don’t do that. Don’t come with me. I can’t ask you to do that. It’s not fair.’
‘What’s not fair?’
She threw up her hands. ‘This. All of it.’ She glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice. ‘I don’t want to go back. I can’t ask you to come with me.’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘You haven’t asked. I’ve offered.’
She paused. He could see the hesitation in her face. But she shook her head again. ‘No, it just won’t work.’
He hated the expression she currently had on her face. She was saying no, but his gut instincts could tell she didn’t mean it. And Sullivan had always prided himself on his instincts. It was the one part of him that thankfully hadn’t dulled in the last few years.
He held up his hands. ‘Well, okay, then. I don’t even know where Mirinez is. But I’m sure I can find it on a map. I can still get there, you know—with or without you.’
She gulped. That edge of panic was still in her eyes and they were shining with unshed tears. He could sense the emotion in her.
He didn’t need to go to home. He’d put it off for three years. He could put it off a whole lot longer. It didn’t matter that he’d almost persuaded himself that this time he finally would go. It wasn’t like he really wanted to.
Part of him ached. And he couldn’t quite work out if it was entirely for the woman in front of him, or for the recognition that once again he was avoiding the one thing that he shouldn’t.
The thought kick-started him.
‘I’m coming with you, Gabrielle. You don’t need to say a single word. I know you’re shocked. I know this wasn’t in your plans.’ He raised his eyebrows and put his arm around her shoulders. ‘We’ll talk about the fact you didn’t tell me you were a princess later.’ He was half-joking. He wanted to try and take the edge off her nerves and worry.
She sucked in a breath. He could tell her brain was churning, thinking of a whole lot of other reasons to say no.
He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, ‘You need a friend right now. That’s me.’
Gabrielle was a princess. This was the woman he’d flirted with like mad for the last two weeks, had worked alongside and he’d dreamed of exploring beneath the confines of those clothes.
Were you actually supposed to do that with a princess?
Part of him wondered if there was some ancient law against those kind of thoughts—let alone any actions.
She tilted her chin up to his ear. Her voice was trembling. ‘Thank you.’
Every emotion was written on her face. She was scared. She was worried. She was overwhelmed.
This was a whole new Gabrielle. The one he’d worked with over the last two weeks had been confident, efficient and extremely competent at her job—even when under pressure and difficult circumstances. She had a cool head in a crisis.
This Gabrielle looked as if she could burst into tears.
Just how bad could Mirinez be?
He glanced over at the security detail, some still glowering at him as they talked in low voices. These were the people in charge of protecting Gabrielle? He wasn’t entirely impressed. The only one that actually gave him any confidence was Arun.
He gave a squeeze of her shoulders. What on earth had he just got himself into? ‘I guess it’s time to visit Mirinez.’
CHAPTER FIVE
FOUR HOURS LATER their plane left Charles De Gaulle airport. Their departure had been a whirlwind.
One of the security detail had sidled up to him with a suspicious glare and muttered to him in French, ‘Special Forces?’
‘Surgeon, US Army. I’ve done two tours of Helmand Province and spent the last three years with Doctors Without Borders.’
The man blinked at the quick response in his own language. He sauntered off again.
Sullivan was pretty sure that his details were now being fed through every security system that they had. He didn’t care. There was nothing for them to find.
The private plane was sumptuous. There were wide cream leather seats, a table in front of them with an attendant waiting on their every need.
The protection detail was on the same plane, but Gabrielle spent most of her time on the phone to someone in Mirinez, answering emails or staring out of the window forlornly.
As the plane descended for landing Sullivan leaned over and looked out. The vast picturesque landscape took him by surprise. Mountains, green fields, river and t
rees. As they skirted the edges of the coastline there was a huge array of harbours filled with bobbing boats and a number of cruise ships anchored in the ports. It seemed Mirinez was quite a tourist destination.
The plane banked to the left and they passed over a city, which was overlooked by a cream castle halfway up the mountain.
‘This is Mirinez?’ he asked. From her reactions he’d thought they’d be landing somewhere stuck in the virtual dark ages. From a few thousand feet up Mirinez looked like a playground for the rich and famous.
She nodded as she drummed her fingers nervously on the table. ‘Yes.’
His voice seemed to focus her. She pointed out of the window. ‘This is our main harbour. Chabonnex is our capital city. It’s the most popular tourist destination.’
He looked up towards the mountain. ‘And the royal family stays in the castle?’
She gave a wry smile. ‘Yes. That’s one thing that’s never changed in the history of Mirinez.’
Sullivan spoke carefully. ‘So, there’s just you and Andreas left?’
Gabrielle nodded. ‘Our father died a few years ago after a massive stroke.’ She sighed. ‘He wouldn’t listen. He liked the good life. He was overweight, had high blood pressure and cholesterol and wouldn’t listen to a word I said to him.’ Her voice softened. ‘I think, in truth, he just missed my mother.’
He felt a pang. ‘What happened to your mother?’
It took a few seconds for her to answer. ‘She had heart surgery. We thought it would be routine. She’d had a valve replaced due to rheumatic heart disease as a child. There had always been a question about whether my mother should have children.’ Gabrielle gave a little smile. ‘But apparently she’d been very determined. The heart valve needed to be replaced and she went in for surgery...’
Her voice tailed off and Sullivan didn’t need to ask any more. Cardiac surgery might not be his speciality but any surgery carried risks.
He wanted to reach over and squeeze her hand but the truth was he wasn’t quite sure what his role here was. He still wasn’t certain why he’d insisted on coming. A tiny part of him recognised that being here was easier than going home. Was coming here really just an excuse to avoid that?
