Evander laughed against his chest. “You’re terrible.”
Still he didn’t protest when Viggo kissed him and rolled him onto his back.
They made love into the early hours, each touch, each kiss, each thrust fanning their never-ending passion for one another. It was late when Evander fell asleep and later still when he felt Viggo slip out of his bed to return to his room.
CHAPTER 29
Willems cameto see them after they finished breakfast the next morning. He was already waiting in the private parlour when Evander entered the room ahead of the others, his rotund figure ensconced in the same armchair he’d occupied the previous day.
Evander slowed.
Something was different about the inspector today.
The bumbling affability he’d projected at their first meeting had all but vanished. In its place sat someone with sharp eyes and a stillness that spoke of coiled tension. Even his spectacles seemed to sit straighter on his nose.
“Duke Ravenwood.” Willems rose and shook his hand, his voice stripped of the previous day’s theatrical zeal. “I trust you had a productive evening.”
Evander studied him warily as he took the seat opposite him, not quite certain what to make of the man’s metamorphosis. “Inspector Willems. You seem rather subdued this morning.”
“Do I?” Willems’s mouth curved in a smile that barely reached his eyes. “Perhaps I’ve simply decided that we’ve wasted enough time on pleasantries.” He sat down and scanned theroom with shrewd eyes. “I’m aware you met with Princess Eloïse last night.”
Viggo tensed beside Evander. Fairbridge’s expression went carefully blank.
The others exchanged wary looks.
Evander narrowed his eyes. “How do you know that?”
“Because I’ve been assisting her in her investigation for the past two months.” Willems leaned back in his chair, all pretence of foolishness abandoned. “The princess is young and passionate, but she lacks the experience to navigate the treacherous waters she’s been swimming in. Someone needed to ensure her enquiries didn’t get her silenced. Permanently.”
Shaw drew a sharp breath. Rufus and Solomon frowned. Ginny’s face grew calculating.
Cold fingers danced down Evander’s spine.
He knew Willems meant every word he’d just said.
“You’ve been helping her,” Fairbridge said flatly.
“Yes. And keeping her safe.” Willems’s gaze was steady as he met their stares. “There are powerful people who would very much like to stop anyone asking questions aboutLes Prophètes Illuminésand the Crimson Codex. People within our own government. Getting rid of a royal is not something they would flinch at.” He shrugged. “After all, accidents happen all the time.”
Evander’s pulse quickened. “Who in your government?”
“I don’t know. Not yet, anyway.” Frustration flickered across Willems’s features. “I have my suspicions but every time I get close to identifying them, evidence disappears. Witnesses recant. Investigations are quietly shut down.” He fisted his hands in his lap. “Someone at the very top of Belgian intelligence is protecting whoever is behind these disappearances. My superiors have made it abundantly clear that pursuing this matter further would be unwise for my career.”
“But you’re pursuing it anyway,” Ginny observed.
“Some things are more important than careers, Lady Hartley.” Willems’s voice grew stony. “People are dying. Good people. Researchers, scholars, thralls. Anyone who gets too close to the truth.” He met Evander’s gaze. “I may play the fool, but I am not one. And I will not stand by whilst monsters operate with impunity in my country.”
A heavy silence settled over the room.
“You’re the one the princess told us about,” Evander stated quietly. “The contact who can get us into the Prague Library.”
Willems nodded slowly. “Yes. My cousin is an archivist there. He’s been aware of the secret archive for years, though accessing it is rather more complicated.” He withdrew an envelope from his coat pocket. “I’ve already sent him a telegram. He’s expecting you.”
Evander took the envelope. Inside was a brief message confirming that Johan Pavel would meet them at their hotel in Prague the afternoon of their arrival, in three days.
Evander looked up and met Willems’s gaze. “It seems the princess and you were confident we would assist you in the end.”
Willems’s smile was hard. “We have the same goals, do we not? We just needed to know if we could trust you.”
