“Ow.”
He’d been tightening the wrap automatically, not really concentrating on what he was doing—he’d wrapped hundreds of ankles as a doctor, and probably could have done it in his sleep—but stilled at her voice. “Too tight?”
She held up her thumb and index finger close together. “Just a little.”
He loosened it but not by much. If she had injured it, it should stay tight to restrict movement.
Not to mention, he definitely didn’t want her moving around this ship. Though he’d let her go now, he would find out the real reason she was here.
Because he doubted it had anything to do with the movies.
* * *
ANDA
Two years ago…
VRS Victoria, Purple-Class Command Ship
Location: Need to Know
Anda made her way down the semi-dark hallway to the medical bay. She’d only had the wrap on her foot for a few hours, but it was clearly too tight and throbbing painfully. Yet that wasn’t why she was going back to the med bay, it was just the excuse she’d use if she got caught. No, she was going back because it was time for her to continue her real mission on this ship.
Captain Ethan Santoro. He was her mission. A mission she’d been given by his very own brother Prince Marcello.
She didn’t know anyone in the royal family except Marcello, and she didn’t really know much about him either. So, she had no idea how the royal family interacted and communicated with each other, or how they really felt about each other. She knew the face they were to her and the rest of the world: loving, caring, and committed to Valleria.
Marcello’s latest mission suggested differently, at least for the youngest of his siblings.
It was the dead of night, but she knew that meant nothing on a ship, especially a command ship. She’d been briefed on the typical coming and goings she’d encounter and would need to work around. She only had one week to complete her mission and she had to make each hour count.
The doors to the bay were closed, but a quick check of the handle revealed them to be unlocked. Though earlier she’d seen locked cabinets where the drugs were presumably held, she’d expected the entire unit to remain locked when no one was present. Hmmm.
She stepped inside and closed the door, cringing at the creak and groan of the door. She paused, waiting, watching, but no one appeared so she continued on.
The entire bay was awash in dim lights. She’d gotten a good look at the layout of the majority of the bay when she’d been in earlier that day. She’d expected to be here in the dark, and that’s why she’d arranged her fall and supposed injury earlier, to earn a trip here and learn where everything was positioned so she could maneuver without light. She knew her fake foot ruse had not really convinced the Captain, but she was a great actress; she’d convince him of her pain yet.
The visit earlier had also given her a chance to meet the man of her mission. To say she’d been surprised would have been an understatement. He was extremely handsome, charismatic, and cunning…a heady combination.
His dark hair was reminiscent of so many of the other royals, and he had broad shoulders tapering into a lean waist, and his eyes…dark, dangerous, demanding. She sensed secrets hidden in their depths. She had plenty of her own when she looked in the mirror, and knew how to recognize it in others.
She didn’t know how long she’d get to look around, and the low lights didn’t work in her favor either. Anyone could look through the windows in the bay doors and see her, so she’d need to get under cover, too.
She turned right—the opposite direction of where she’d been earlier—and made her way around the bay. The Captain had come from this direction when he’d first met her, so there must be more rooms or spaces she hadn’t seen earlier.
She was right.
An unlocked office and a trio of closed doors greeted her at the back of the bay. An unlocked office with patient records tripped her internal alarm again, so she stayed alert as she entered. The room wasn’t very big, yet everything was organized but for the stacks of files on the desk.
She pulled out a slim flashlight from her pocket, turned it on, tucked it between her teeth and lips, and began to sort through the files first. She saw hers on top, but she bypassed it to look for anything out of the ordinary.
Marcello had not been clear on what exactly she should be looking for, but it was clear the Captain had not been originally scheduled to be on this ship. Marcello was concerned he might be doing something out of the ordinary, or he was being forced to do something even worse. There had been rumors of unsanctioned research being done on some of the ships—with sailors being used as guinea pigs—and Marcello wanted to ensure that the Captain was not involved in that or anything else. She’d told Marcello that sending her to a command ship would raise more questions than anything else, but he’d insisted so she was here. He was testing her, she was sure of it, and she wouldn’t let him down.
She scanned patient charts, but nothing seemed odd or off. She’d had some training in handwriting analysis and, though it wasn’t an exact art, she didn’t see anything indicative of fear or anxiety. His strokes seemed confident and crisp, not as if he were being forced into anything. Then again, if these were standard patient charts, he might have been fine writing notes on these. If she found charts of any ‘experimental’ patients, those might tell a different story.
She looked through the rest of the desk without success and moved next to the filing cabinets, which were locked.
A tingle of anticipation, of glee, coursed through her.
