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Angelina stood at military attention, and Alec could see—because he’d come to know her so well even though they hadn’t known each other very long in something as unimportant as time—that she was nervous at being asked by the king to stay. It wasn’t anything in her face or manner, or even her body language, but somehow he knew she was expecting the worst.
After the door closed behind the last person to leave, the king smiled unexpectedly. “Why is it, Lieutenant, you always fear I intend to reprimand you when I ask to speak with you? What have I done to deserve that reputation?” He didn’t wait for an answer he probably figured wasn’t forthcoming. “No, Lieutenant, I merely wanted to remind you of our earlier conversation regarding a fighting man’s instincts. And to talk to you about your cousin. She was like your younger sister, yes?”
A look of surprise crossed Angelina’s face.
“That information is in your dossier, Lieutenant. It is not a secret. It is one of the reasons Colonel Marianescu and Captain Zale picked you for the queen’s security detail. One of the reasons I wholeheartedly endorsed their selection. You understand what it is to lose someone you love.” He waited for that to sink in before adding, “That your cousin may not be dead, after all, that she may be in mortal peril instead, is something you will have to deal with. And if your cousin dies, you will have to grieve for her all over again.”
“I know that, Sire. I...” Angelina’s pale blue eyes never left the king’s face. “I have accepted it.”
“I understand how difficult it is to be detached when someone you love is in danger.” The king’s eyes—such a vivid green—seemed to darken with his words, and one hand clenched tightly. “How the desire for revenge can overwhelm even the best of intentions.” After a tense moment, he visibly, forcibly relaxed. “But I have faith in you, Lieutenant. This man Vishenko must face justice for his crimes, along with everyone else involved—they must be seen to face justice as a deterrent to others. Killing them is easy. Bringing them to justice is not. Do not let me down. Do not let your country down.”
Alec hadn’t thought Angelina’s spine could be any straighter, but at the king’s words, pure steel seemed to enter it. “No, Sire,” she promised, the light of determination in her eyes. “I will never let you down.”
The king’s smile returned. “Good,” he said. “Very good. Thank you, Lieutenant. That is all.” He waited until Angelina had left the room, with her soft yet military tread, and then he turned to Alec, whose eyes had followed Angelina’s exit. “Yes, Special Agent Jones? You wished to speak privately with me?”
It had to be said. “Forgive me for speaking frankly, sir,” Alec said slowly. “But I want to emphasize that while the US will cooperate fully in the investigation into the attempted assassination of your son and Vishenko’s involvement in it, our primary focus has to be the human-trafficking case involving the corruption and visa fraud at our embassy.” Alec put as much regret into the tone he used for his next words as he could. “Your son’s case—while understandably of paramount importance to you—is ancillary to our primary investigation.”
The king just stared at Alec for a moment without saying anything. “Do not take this the wrong way,” he said finally, “but if you ever have children, you will understand a father’s love for his child far better than you do now. You will understand the blinding rage a father can feel when his child is threatened...and the desire for revenge.”
A tiny pang went through Alec at the king’s words. A yearning for something he’d never realized was so strong in him. If I ever have children, he thought, his mind veering off onto a tangent with an impossible dream in the hazy distance. Angel. And children. If. If. If.
But the king wasn’t done, and Alec pulled his attention back with an effort. “But my son is only one,” the king said now, his face hardening and his voice turning frigid. “The Zakharian women who were trafficked are many. My subjects, Special Agent Jones. My people. Zakharians I have sworn to care for as if they are my children.” He paused until he knew Alec grasped the depth and gravity of his concern. “Both cases are equally important to me. As long as Vishenko pays for his crimes, that is all I care about. Do we understand each other?”
Alec’s admiration for the man in front of him rose once again. “Yes, sir. And for what it’s worth, if I have anything to say about it, Vishenko is going down. How he goes down is up to him. But he’s going down.”
