Page 23 of Palace of Betrayal

Bebe’s confession and the pain in her voice had slain him. Getting into her bed may have been a mistake but he couldn’t sit by while she broke her heart. His relationship with his father was strained, mostly by him, but he never doubted his father’s love for him. To know you’d been born to save a sibling was one thing but to have your parents treat you how she’d been, was criminal.

His hand tightened on the mug he was drinking from as anger spread through him in a slow burn. Everything he knew about this woman who was turning him inside out made more sense now. Her job, her need to stay professional, she was trying to fix a wrong she’d never committed.

Movement at the door to the balcony had him looking up to see Bebe standing there watching him. He could see uncertainty and wariness in her eyes, her hands were by her sides, her long legs teasing him beneath the t-shirt she wore. “Coffee?”

“Please.”

She moved to sit opposite him as he poured the coffee from the carafe, adding milk and sugar as was her preference.

Leo gestured to the man’s shirt she wore, with a grey AW on the chest of the black shirt. “Nice t-shirt.”

Bebe looked down and pulled at the shirt. “A friend gave it to me. We work together a lot and live in the same building. My machine broke so he let me use his. He must have left this in the washer because it ended up with my stuff and I claimed it.”

“You seem close.”

“We are. Waggs is a good friend.”

Jealousy twisted inside him, and he hated this Waggs guy that lived and worked with Bebe so often. Not that it should matter to him. After this was over, he’d probably never see her again. That had him rubbing a hand over his chest as a heavy feeling settled on him.

Leo nodded because she was waiting for a response, and he didn’t trust himself to speak.

“His wife and son are the loveliest, too.”

Bebe sipped her coffee, hiding her face behind the mug and he coughed into his fist to hide his embarrassment at being so obvious with his green-eyed monster. He was never this guy. At least, he never had been, and he shouldn’t be now. There was nothing between them except a red-hot attraction.

“We should head to the Marina today. I want to speak to the investigators. See if they know any more and check out the remains of the boat myself.”

Bebe nibbled on a dry pastry, the flakes falling to her chest, and he tried not to let his eyes follow suit. “That’s a good idea.”

“Whoever planted the bomb must have gotten on board somehow, and as there’s no footage we need to do this the old-fashioned way.”

“That’s another thing I don’t like. Whoever this is either hacked the cameras or is skilled enough to know to stay out of sight of them.”

“I think it’s fair to say we’re dealing with a highly trained individual.”

Bebe shook her head. “I don’t think it’s an individual. I think this is a small team of at least three.”

Leo sat forward, discarding his coffee now as he waited for her to continue. Watching this woman’s brain work was seductive. He definitely shouldn’t be thinking about sex right now, but she seemed to bring out that side of him, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. “What makes you say that?”

“Too many variables. You need someone inside the palace who’s high enough up not to get questioned, but the background checks show nobody other than you with the kind of skills needed to pull this off.”

“Well, we know it’s not me, so who?”

Bebe pursed her lips. “Originally, I’d have said Alain or Alwyn. But obviously, Alain is out. I don’t see Alwyn killing Alain. His son meant the world to him from what you say.”

Leo felt disloyal even thinking it, but it had crossed his mind briefly before he dismissed it. “Alwyn could still be involved, and his partner killed Alain to keep Alwyn in line.”

“Possible, but to what end? Alwyn is hardly the master criminal. He may be ambitious for the crown, but I can’t see him wanting anything from the auction.”

“No, but it could be a quid pro quo situation. The partner helps him get the crown and he helps them get the stone he needs for the auction.”

“So that leaves Wojcik and Brody James. They’re the new faces here.”

Leo didn’t want to consider his own blood was involved but he couldn’t rule it out. “So, if that’s true, my father is in danger. The only way the crown goes to Alwyn is if my father and I are out of the picture.”

“Exactly, but if we take your father out of the picture and put him in protective custody, we let the traitor know we know something and they could go underground.”

“We should bring my father in on everything.” It wouldn’t have been his first plan, but things were changing.