Pivoting, Sebastian let him chew on the threat and returned to the table. Meredith gave him a small smile and reached for his hand. Her fingers were like ice, but he took it gratefully. It took hours, but the conversations begun in earnest with Meredith’sarrival finally began to wind down. Seeing his opportunity to withdraw, he leaned over to murmur, “When we’re done here?—”
She squeezed his hand. “I have a flight to catch.” Her reply caught him by surprise. “You have three more days of events, and I have an appointment I need to keep.”
He frowned. “What appointment?”
“Your mother invited me for tea.” Meredith smiled. “Besides, you have work to do.”
Utterly dissatisfied with her response, he made their excuses and escorted her to the door. Once in the hallway, his security team—and apparently hers, since the number present seemed to have doubled in size—fell in around them. He found a quiet corner and rounded on her. “What are you doing here?”
“I told you. I made my choice.” Despite her pallor, she wore a smile. “You told me I had the power to decide, so I did. I spoke to your brother. I spoke to your mother, and I spoke to Kate. You needed an opportunity. I wanted to help make it happen. I know what I want and where I want to be. I also know I’m done letting you dictate all the terms.” She glanced at her watch. “Now, forgive me, but I do have to go.” She kissed him and he dragged her back when she would have walked away.
“You have to leave right now?”
“Actually,” Kate interrupted. “She needed to leave fifteen minutes ago. We have a secure window and we’re taking it.”
Without another word, Meredith gave him another kiss and then she was off with a remarkably tight security formation guarding her. Sebastian stared after her before looking at Vidal. “You knew.”
“Of course,” he nodded. “But you told me you didn’t want to hear it.”
“Three days ago, on the yacht.” Sebastian glared.
“You didn’t change your orders.” Vidal grinned. “And she’s good for you. Shall we go?”
It was a plot—his whole family and his security were conspiring with Meredith. It infuriated him and, at the same time, filled him a private kind of joy. She’d come for him. Damn right, she was good for him.
By the endof the second night of official duties, Sebastian was ready to do the assassin’s jobs for them. He’d shaken more hands, made small talk in more languages, and drank nearly a cask’s worth of wine in small digestible sips along with a permanent headache, and aching hunger to speak to Meredith. Yet, each time he’d called her, she’d taken over the conversation, told him she loved him and gotten off the phone before he managed three sentences.
“Thirty minutes,” Vidal reported quietly. “The French ambassador is scheduled to meet with his mistress, and we’ll leave with him.”
“Excellent.” He glanced at the wine glass and avoided the impropriety of checking his watch.
“We have company.” Vidal adjusted his stance and Sebastian glanced at the etched mirror. Mikael Kachusov approached and he wasn’t alone. The shift rippling through the room was subtle, but unmistakable. The arrival of the colonel, the most senior member of the Kachusov family and the head of their political party—and current senior minister to Belaria—would make such a ripple.
Setting the wine glass down, Sebastian observed their progress from across the room. They were heading straight for him, a fact his security paid close attention to as three members of his detail joined Vidal. The diamond formation closed aroundSebastian and, one-by-one, the conversations around the room dragged to a halt.
Catching the Swiss ambassador’s eye, Sebastian shook his head once and the man inclined his head. The ambassadorial junket provided the necessary cover and security arrangements to bring Sebastian into the country, but the whole point was to meet with the Kachusov family. To go from attaché to colonel demonstrated a remarkable success.
“Breathe, Vidal,” Sebastian advised. “This is what we wanted.”
His bodyguard said nothing and remained impassive when Colonel Kachusov stopped in front of him. Cool defiance hardened Kachusov’s eyes as they met Sebastian’s gaze. “Your Highness.”
The two word greeting punctured one layer of tension fisting the room. “Colonel.”
“We would speak with you in private.Iwould speak with you in private and with His Highness, Grand Duke Armand.” What the request lacked in diplomacy, it made up for in dramatic flair.
“If you would permit us a moment to make arrangements for a private room?” Sebastian didn’t look away, but the hush the colonel’s arrival caused broke. Vidal didn’t move from Sebastian’s side and it took only a few minutes until a room was arranged.
An aide handed Sebastian a phone. He paced away from the colonel and waited a beat. Armand answered on the second ring. “He’s there?” His brother’s automatic awareness of the situation would have surprised him if Sebastian didn’t know his security reported to him hourly.
“Yes, and he’s ready to talk.”
“Is there any possibility this is a trap?” Cool appraisal tempered the emotion in Armand’s voice.
“There’s always a possibility, however, we’re in the Swiss Embassy.” Which reduced the chances to a more favorable level.
“Safety first, brother.” Armand exhaled a breath. “I wasn’t fond of this plan to begin with.”
“We dislike the alternative more.” When Armand didn’t disagree, Sebastian glanced toward the colonel and gestured to the room. At the door, they surrendered their cell phones. Sebastian would call Armand back on the landline.
