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She laughed, sitting back. “Who cares what it tastes like? Coffee is all about the caffeine. My daddy and all my brothers served in the military. Coffee was the consistency of sludge in our house, and heaven help you if you wanted cream or sugar. Now, I have a hard time drinking it anywhere but at home, because everywhere else makes it so weak. You should see the baristas’ faces when I order four or five espresso shots in a travel mug of coffee and down it in one go.”
I stared at her, making sure she wasn’t joking. “Do you know how much caffeine is in a shot of espresso? It’s a wonder your heart doesn’t jump right out of your chest.”
We turned into a manicured circular drive, passing an open gate at the entrance. I noted the two men in the guard shack, the high wall circling the, well, shit, it really was a castle. Old stone walls, turrets, and even arrow slits illustrated in vivid detail that this wasn’t a modern replica but a living part of history. It was well-maintained, and everything from the stone drive to the plants, even the structure itself, was straight, regimented lines and angles, with no softness to break up the severity of the estate. There wasn’t so much as a blade of grass or a leaf out of place. It was impressive, but it also had the hair on my neck standing straight up. Between the oppressive atmosphere and the security designed to keep everyone in, my gut screamed at me that it wasn’t a good idea. Once those gates closed, there was no way in hell I could get us out without major backup. I didn’t like it at all.
“Stay here for a second?” I asked Alessia as the car stopped and the driver placed it in Park. I didn’t wait for her to respond before hopping out and motioning for the driver to roll down his window. Before he could say anything, I reached inside and cut the ignition, then took the key and put it in my pocket. No way were we staying there without at least a vehicle I could access. The driver exclaimed in protest, but I cut him off. “You will stay in this car,” I barked orders like the marine I was, though at a fraction of the volume of my instructors at boot camp. “You will not exit this vehicle for any reason until we return, and then you will continue to drive us to the airstrip that Valencia has already paid you to deliver us to. Is that clear?”
“But I am supposed to just drop you off here—”
I shook my head at his protest. “No, Albrecht is not your employer right now, and Valencia has told us you alone are to be Alessia’s driver.” They’d told me no such thing, but it wasn’t the time for straight honesty. “You will stay here until she returns. Yes?” I wanted no chance of him not understanding me.
He looked at me, then over at the castle nervously, but nodded once the situation dawned on him. It wasn’t like he could go anywhere without the keys unless he was willing to walk. “Yes, okay. I’ll stay right here.”
“Good,” I said, tapping the window frame once before turning back to where Alessia was waiting. I opened the door, extending a hand to help her exit before taking my position a step behind her and to the side, wanting a clear view of what we were walking into. She strode to the front door like she owned the place, putting off the vibe that she didn’t have a care in the world, but I noticed the tension in her body—she wasn’t any more comfortable than I was.
Another man opened the door, clearly a butler or valet, greeting Alessia and ignoring me completely, which suited me just fine. He escorted her to a sitting room just off the door, letting her know Mr. Albrecht would be right with her. She waved the man away, pretending to be entranced by the priceless pieces of art scattered around the room. Everywhere you looked was an expensive, fragile, and in my opinion, gaudy piece of artwork designed to impress upon you just how important and wealthy Karl Albrecht was. Alessia ate it up, though. Or, maybe that was an act, too, I wondered, seeing a seriousness and sharpness in her eyes that didn’t match the wonder on her face.
Footsteps echoing down the hall alerted us to the fact we were no longer alone. “Alessia, my dear. How glad I am for you to join me today.” Karl Albrecht’s voice held a bit of censure, despite his words. He was dressed in another impeccably tailored suit, as clean-cut and perfect in his appearance as his estate was. And just as empty and off-putting.
“Mr. Albrecht, I’m so grateful for your understanding yesterday. My doctor just refused to sign off on anything other than going straight to bed rest, or I wouldn’t be able to work this morning. I pride myself on my dedication to my work, as I’m sure you do. I wasn’t about to let pleasure get in the way of my obligations, no matter how much I wished otherwise.”
She laid it on thick, but Albrecht seemed to eat it up, mollified by her words.
“Shall we start our tour? After all, obligations will tear us apart again soon, no?” He extended an arm to her, but instead of linking her arm around his, as was his intent, she laid her forearm on top of his, linking their fingers in an old-world gesture. He appeared charmed, but I wondered if she had done it to lessen their contact or because she could get free of the man quicker if needed. “You,” he didn’t bother to look in my direction, his voice cold and harsh as opposed to the congeniality he’d bestowed on Alessia, “can now go.”
I shook my head. Not that he could see it. “I have strict instructions from Valencia. No one, not even Miss Accardi herself, may dismiss me from my post until she has safely returned home and my assignment is completed. I’m sorry, sir. I will do my best to remain as unobtrusive as possible, but the model does not leave my sight.”
He turned to me, looking at me for the first time. The shock and anger that I, an underling, refused to do as I was bid didn’t surprise me, but the cold calculation and anticipation did. I steeled myself. He was a master chess player, and somehow, Alessia and I had made our first move. I didn’t pretend to understand everything at play, but somehow, by attempting to stay safe in a sea of sharks, we’d gotten the attention of the largest one.
“Very well,” he murmured, but his lips drew into a tight line.
“Come now,” Alessia said soothingly. “You’ll never know he’s there. Surely you must be used to the trials of having a guard. An important man like yourself must have someone to watch his back. Let us start this tour. I don’t have much time, and I don’t want you to waste a minute on someone who isn’t me.” That got his attention, as did the smile on her still-red lips.
For the next two hours, I followed them as Albrecht led Alessia through every hall, corridor, passageway, staircase, battlement, parlor, and sitting room imaginable. Through it all, she played her part, looking and exclaiming over every piece, gushing over its history or letting Karl drone on and on about its worth. But despite her act, she never dropped her guard. Her eyes never stopped as they took in every detail of every room we entered. Her wariness and unease triggered my instincts as well, and I felt like I was back on a mission, every moment seeming to both take an eternity and a blink of an eye as adrenaline pumped through me, keeping my instincts sharp when a mind might normally fatigue.
I kept to my word, never letting Alessia leave my eyesight nor letting us get separated by more than a few feet, much to Albrecht’s annoyance. The walk had circled us back almost to where we’d started, and Alessia’s limp had progressively worsened over the past fifteen minutes, telling me she was wearing out.
“Let us go into the garden patio for refreshments,” Karl said, the gleam in his eye returning as his guard from earlier stepped into view.
Alessia patted his arm, and I wondered if that was the signal she’d been talking about. “That sounds wonderful,” she said, turning to take a step in that direction.
I cleared my throat. Regardless of whether I was supposed to break it up, I would. “I’m sorry, Miss Alessia. But you will delay the flight if we don’t leave immediately.”
She frowned. “Is it that time already?” Opening her clutch, she rifled around until she drew out her cell phone. The screen was lit up with notifications and messages. “Goodness,” she said, ignoring Albrecht while she looked at her phone.
Albrecht looked beyond ticked at being ignored. “You have several hours before your event,” he tried to protest.
She looked up. “It’s going to take a while to get ready, and the executives have some meet and greets they need me to do,” she said earnestly. “But I really appreciate you taking the time to show me through your lovely home. I love being able to see history like this, so preserved and maintained.”
It was clear Karl didn’t quite know what to do in the situation. He wasn’t the kind of man to be left or placated, yet she was attempting to do both. His manners wouldn’t permit him to make a scene, yet it was apparent he would have preferred that to what society demanded of him. “Of course,” he gritted out. “Perhaps next time we will have more time together.” He raised her hand to his lips, kissing it perfunctorily before waving a bewildered butler over from his position at the door to escort us out.
Alessia made the last of the excuses, and we exited the residence with much less resistance than I’d feared. I waited until we were both inside the car before handing the driver the keys, telling him we were running late and to hurry. Even the guards at the gate, which was still open, looked confused as the driver waved at them through the window as we passed.
Before I could say anything after we hit the main road, Alessia typed in the password to her phone and handed it to me. “Can you text the pilot and let them know we’ll be there soon?” She kept her head down, not looking me in the eye. “I need a minute if you don’t mind.”
“Are you okay?” I asked as she stayed occupied, trading her shoes for the flats she’d left in the car.
“Oh, yeah.” She darted a glance at the driver, who looked very interested in what we were talking about. “I feel bad leaving so suddenly on Mr. Albrecht, but I’m glad we could tour the estate. Though I like Demetri Melnikoff’s art collection better, Karl’s estate was much more impressive, don’t you think?”
