“You think that’s what I want?”
“I know it’s what you want.” He gazed deep into her eyes. “It’s what you were made for. Shaped and refined by your father into the perfect spy. I admire you,” he whispered, looking over her face. “Very much.”
She buried the squirmy, uncomfortable feelings his words invoked. “What I want is to help Princess Sana. No woman should have to be treated like that by her father. Shut away, manipulated, just because she disagrees with him. She’s in danger, if she’s not already dead.” Gina couldn’t suppress a shiver. “No, I know she’s alive. He’s not lying about that.”
“You discussed the princess upstairs?”
Regina hesitated.
“Look, if you want to help her, talk to me. You have the crown prince’s ear.” The look in his eyes impliedmaybe more than his earand she resisted the urge to slap him again.
“Stop it. He’s disgusting. I’m only tolerating him to help his daughter. He’s agreed to let me see her.”I think, she added silently. “But if you’re not going to treat me with respect, then I’ll work on my own. I always have.”
Jeremy grinned. “You’re cold and calculating.” Now the teasing was back in his voice.
What? “No, I’m… I’m notcold?—”
“Did I say I don’t respect that? I do.” He ran a finger down her bare arm. “You have a lot to offer that your parents don’t see. They want to keep you safe, don’t they?”
“Well, of course they do.”
“What doyouwant, Regina? Do you want to stay safe? Play in the shadows, under your father’s thumb your whole life? I see so much more for you, Regina. I see a future where you are in control of your destiny. Where you make the calls and they’ll be good calls, I know it. I can see it. You don’t sit on your ass waiting for the slow wheels of politics to turn. You’re that woman’s only hope right now. Do you understand that?”
Regina shook her head. This conversation was getting away from her and she didn’t like it. “I’m not her only hope. There’s her mother and Nijah. There’s your team. Even my dad is working on the political side of things, trying to raise awareness?—”
“And yet, you’re the one who got the prince to agree to take her out of captivity to meet with her. Not us. Not your father. Regina,” he gripped her arms and stared intently into her eyes, “I know you don’t need them. You don’t even need my team. Or me. You’ve gotten further than we have all on your own. But, I’d be honored to have you on my team anyway.”
He dropped his hands and stepped back, his voice and expression cooling. “Look, it’s your choice. You can go lone-wolfing it again—which I know you’re capable of doing and probably prefer. Or, you can join me and that will lead to greater things for you.”
This felt like the biggest turning point of Regina’s life. He was cultivating her as an asset—that much was obvious—but Jeremy was offering her everything she wanted—a chance to make an actual difference, to save a woman’s life, then a chance at the CIA. Did it matter that she felt like she couldn’t quite trust him? She’d met spooks before, some she trusted more than others, but they were all working together for their country, right? And even if she didn’t fully trust Jeremy, she’d be working with Lachlan, who she trusted on instinct.
Regina nodded. “All right. I’ll tell you everything I know.” She held up her hand, “But you have to keep me on the team. I want a direct hand in rescuing her. I will not be sidelined.”
He looked relieved, almost boyish with excitement. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down.” Jeremy’s grin widened into a charming smile. “I promise, Regina, you will never regret working with me.”
* * *
Two days later, Regina received the text she’d been waiting for.
Come meet your new daughter, my little queen. She needs correction.
She smiled to herself even as she felt revulsion at his words.This is it. Jeremy had filled her in on the details of his plan to rescue Sana and how they dovetailed with Regina’s plan. She’d spent the last two days researching everything she could find about Princess Sana. She knew exactly what she would say and how she’d handle both Rashid and Sana.
Regina stepped out of the car the prince had sent to collect her from the diplomat’s mansion and was immediately flanked by guards. She grinned impishly at them, keeping up the façade that she was little more than a spoiled party girl, the prince’s current toy. One man spoke to another in the local dialect, calling her a whore who didn’t know her place. So, should she play the spoiled brat and add to the image she was building, tell them that she would have their heads once she was the new queen? Or, should she continue to play dumb so that people would tell her all their secrets without knowing it?
She opted for dumb. She had the prince around her little finger already. Why gild the lily?
“Cookie?” She pitched her voice loud the way some people did when talking to someone in a different language, as if speaking louder would somehow translate. She opened the box of lemon cookies she’d made for the princess and held it out.
The guards just sneered and one said, “The whore is offering us her sweets,” which made the other one chuckle. Regina laughed along as if she didn’t understand a word and thought they’d called her the most charming creature on earth.
Regina followed the guards into the palace and upstairs to a salon overlooking one of the gardens. The window was open and the ubiquitous smell of jasmine filled the room along with the harsh, hot-sand smell of the winds off the desert. The astringent smell of tea wafted from a pot on a small table, set as though this were a simple social visit. The guards left her there alone and she set the box of cookies beside the teapot. There was one special cookie in the box and she placed it just so and crossed her fingers that the princess would understand.
Rashid came in first and immediately crossed the room to Regina. She stood and bowed but kept a vicious smile on her face.
“Thank you for this opportunity,” she said, looking up through her lashes the way he liked.
“Thank you, little queen, for the entertainment.” He stroked her cheek as his eyes roamed her body—she’d dressed in skintight pants today, tucked into high leather stiletto boots, and wore a stylish corset belt over her crisp white shirt. Her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail. So cliché, but he seemed to approve of the severe look.
