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Her hands shook as she lifted the treaty and held it in her hands.
‘I am merely a concerned citizen of Santo Sierra, wishing to reassure myself my crown prince’s actions are altruistic, Miss Nichols. That is all...’
Joaquin’s words reverberated in her head and she clenched her teeth. She might only have known him for a few hours, but Jasmine didn’t doubt that Crown Prince Reyes Navarre cared deeply about his people and held only their best interests at heart.
It was Joaquin’s motives that were highly suspect.
Whatever happened, Jasmine didn’t have any intention of letting the document out of her sight.
Taking a deep breath, she folded the treaty, slipped into the hallway and made her way to the deck to retrieve her shoes. Clutching them to her chest, she made her way down the steps towards the gangplank.
The bodyguard materialised in front of her, large and threatening. His searching eyes stalled her breath.
With every last ounce of strength, she straightened and lifted her chin, all at once ashamed and thankful that her old skills were coming to the fore.
Never show fear, never show fear. ‘Can I get a taxi, please?’ she asked, praying he spoke enough English to understand her request.
For several seconds, he didn’t respond. Finally, he nodded and indicated the exit.
Despite the pre-dawn hour, people and cars rushed past on the road beyond the quay, the post-Carnival Rio nightlife as vibrant as it had been during the festival a month ago. Another set of bodyguards guarded the gangplank and exchanged words with her escort, who shrugged and said something that made the others chuckle. Jasmine tried to remain calm, regulate her breathing as she walked beside him.
Twenty minutes later, she stumbled into the foyer of the Rio Hilton. The night receptionist directed her to the bank of lifts without batting an eyelash.
When she reached the room, Joaquin Esteban’s burly sidekick held the door open for her. She entered. The diminutive man rose from a cream-coloured sofa, his hands outstretched in false greeting. Jasmine sidestepped him, her fists clenched.
‘What did you do with my stepfather?’ she demanded.
Joaquin paused, his hard eyes glittering before his sleazy smile slid back into place. ‘Why, nothing, Miss Nichols. He’s fine and currently enjoying the best hospitality at my home in London until our business is concluded.’
‘You broke his arm!’
‘Ah, that was rather unfortunate. My men merely wanted to make sure everyone understood what moves needed to be made. But he got a little...excited.’
Rage built inside her. ‘So you broke his arm? God, you’re nothing but a thug!’
‘I would caution against name-calling. You were on the prince’s yacht for over five hours. And from the looks of it you weren’t there against your will.’
Her skin crawled. ‘You were having me watched?’
‘I’m very vested in our deal. It’s imperative that you understand that.’ His eyes slid from her face to her handbag, the question in them undeniable.
For a wild second, Jasmine wanted to tell him she’d failed.
She wanted to turn back the clock; to return the treaty, return to the bed and the magnificent, captivating man she’d left in it. A man whose haunted eyes made her yearn to comfort him.
Even now she craved one more look, one more touch...
But it was too late. Defying Joaquin would be condemning her stepfather to a horrific fate.
And yet, she couldn’t just hand the document over.
‘You’re not merely a concerned citizen of Santo Sierra, are you?’
Joaquin shrugged. ‘No. Valderra is my home.’
Her mouth dropped open in shock. What on earth had she got herself into? ‘Why are you doing this?’ she whispered. Just then another possibility dawned, cold and unwelcoming. ‘Do you work for Prince Mendez?’
‘Enough questions. The document, please,’ Joaquin said coldly.
‘No.’ Jasmine shook her head and eyed the door. ‘I won’t give it to you.’
She whirled about and was confronted with the thick wall of muscle in the shape of the bodyguard. His beady eyes narrowed before he snatched the clutch out of her frozen grasp and removed the treaty from it.
Jasmine had been in enough fights to know which ones she stood a chance in and which ones were hopeless.
Joaquin’s eyes glittered as he perused the sheets, before rolling up the document.
‘Thank you, Miss Nichols. I think this concludes our business together.’ He started to turn away.
