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“Put it on,” William instructed her.
She frowned at him, but obeyed. As Jennifer turned her hand, the overhead lights caught the sparkling pink-hued diamond and reflected it. Tristan could feel the rightness of her wearing that ring even from here. Could it somehow protect her like the ring was fabled to have done for other royal women in the past? Jennifer wasn’t in the family yet, but he wanted her to be.
Sadly, the ring had not protected his mum.
“Beautiful,” William said. “Keep it on for safekeeping. Wouldn’t want to lose that heirloom and my proof that King Nolan turned the kingdom over to me, the rightful successor, before he was killed in a cave explosion. Tragic.”
Tristan and his brothers had philosophized whether William was growing more insane after his crazy stunt trying to force Malik to kill Tristan, the king, and Henry with a bomb several weeks ago. This confirmed it. The man was an international criminal and thought he could take over Augustine without any repercussions from the United Nations, Interpol, the European Union, or their other allies.
“You pretended to be interested in the cure to set this all up?” Aliya asked Philippe.
“The cure has been a fascination of mine for some time, and I thought it might also bring me great wealth. I hate to let that dream go, but I think living on a tropical island will be a healing balm. I’ve enjoyed my time exploring with you, but yes, I did forge the map and the message.” Phillipe smiled, obviously very proud of himself.
“And this was much easier than leaving another note and instructions for Jennifer and having General Raymond and all his trusted troops lurking in the shadows,” William added. Then he cackled like a hyena. “Though of course I could have outwitted them, as I did when we framed Hattie Ballard for that weasel Franz Wengreen’s murder.”
“Henry will never support you,” the king said, his head tilted regally, his pistol pointed at William. Tristan felt a burst of pride for his father. King Nolan looked every bit the king and in charge of the situation. Though Tristan had no idea how they’d prevail against William this time.
Their guards were too far away to hear them and he doubted very much they could send an SOS on their phones from this cave. He was a fabulous shot. His dad and Curt were great too, but they would have to be perfect to take out Philippe, William, and William’s cronies, and they’d need a plan for who would shoot who. With Henry and Jennifer straight in harm’s way with guns to their heads, and Aliya in danger also, their odds of success and keeping everyone safe were close to zero.
Henry looked at King Nolan. These two men were lifelong friends and had worked so well together to help and lift the people of Augustine, creating an almost utopian society before William and Naomi had disrupted everything.
William had lied, cheated, manipulated, bribed, and killed to accomplish his diabolical plans. He’d come between the king and the prime minister for his own selfish purposes.
Henry looked absolutely miserable, but he said nothing.
“And neither will my people,” the king continued.
“Well, people are fickle, you know that, but it won’t matter much when Philippe’s well-disciplined troops, trained admirably by General Raymond—I have to give him credit there—are patrolling the streets and villages, slaughtering any rebellious parties on the spot.”
Tristan’s stomach turned over. This man would kill his own countrymen to achieve his evil purposes. Would Ray’s troops really perform such tasks?
“As for Henry supporting us, we not only have his wife and daughter in our possession, but Henry has a little secret he’s been hiding for eight months now. He’s proven to be reasonably compliant to keep his family safe and his wife from being prosecuted. Leslie is terrified of prison, and Henry is terrified of his wife or daughter being cut into little pieces. Pathetic.”
“Dad?” Jennifer squeaked. “Mum?”
Tristan’s neck burned. What could Leslie have done?
Eight months?
His mum.
“Henry?” The king’s voice was commanding but now filled with concern. His blue eyes were a mixture of steel and compassion that reminded Tristan of being a child and knowing he was in trouble.
Henry looked even more miserable. “Jenn,” he said softly, turning to look at her. “If only I’d sent your mum with you the day I sent you away. If only you’d never returned. Then William couldn’t have manipulated me for so long and everyone I care about wouldn’t be butchered by this monster.”
Tristan’s palms grew clammy.
Henry locked gazes with him and then with his dad. He murmured, “I’m terribly sorry. I should’ve chosen a different path. Nothing was clear to me at the time. I was a mess and Leslie was worse. But now I can see nothing is worth bending to William’s demands. If this maniac becomes king and hurts our people, I’ll never forgive myself.”
What had Henry done? Could he or Leslie possibly have … killed Tristan’s mum? Nausea threatened to choke him, and he had no clue what to say. His dad didn’t seem to, either.
“Brilliant genius,” William corrected. “I will keep Jennifer and Leslie alive, at least until Henry tries to betray me again, or any of them outlive their usefulness. Prime Minister Shule will be a necessary figure for the transition of power. It’s enough for the Augustinians to get used to a new royal family. I want them to have a familiar face with their prime minister.” William’s voice was benevolent, as if he were doing the entire country a favor. “I might even allow Jennifer to still become a princess.” His gaze raked over her. “Treven needs a well-connected and gorgeous bride to produce me legitimate royal heirs.”
“No,” Tristan roared as Jennifer cried out in dismay, her beautiful face pinched in horror. Tristan’s hand shook as he pointed his Ruger at William. He was a crack shot, trained by his incredible twin. He could kill the man and end all of this.
As if William guessed how close he was to pulling the trigger, he stepped behind Jennifer.
“Now.” William grinned. “Let’s get back to the big reveal so we can leave the royals here to die. The entire cave is wired to blow. I’ll take Jennifer and Henry back home, where Philippe and my trusted men will quietly kill the unsuspecting Raymond, Steffan, Derek, Malik, Chief Jensen, Major Chad, and the unworthy American princesses. We’ll keep Princess Sophie and my rightful granddaughter Sunny alive. I do so love comforting grieving widows. When Naomi isn’t watching.” His smile was creepy. “That bratty Kiera we’ll ship off to boarding school in Siberia.”
