Be Still My Heart by Jackie Ivie Read Free Book Online Page B

know? Listen up, then. Because I am
never
saying any of this again.”
    “I’m waiting.”
    She acted like it was nothing when it was ripping his guts apart. Stuart moved his vision to the black drapes to one side of him and squinted, bringing Rebecca to mind.
    “My parents died with I was eight. In a car accident.” His voice was dead-sounding. It was just as well. He’d already cried every tear over it. He didn’t need to add blubbering to his resume with Mary Sue over there.
    “Yes?”
    “They left a very large estate. A board of trustees to manage it. Lots of jealous relatives I’d never heard of. A little sister.”
    “You have a sister?”
    “No. Not anymore.”
    “What happened?”
    “She was murdered.”
    “Oh.”
    That was it. Oh. Stuart waited, and she didn’t say another word, so he put them into the empty air.
    “You read recent headlines, or just study history?”
    “Both.”
    “Then you had to hear of how co-eds just seem to disappear on Spring Break. Especially when they’re down partying in the islands. Without a guardian around. Because they’re mad at them and think they’re being over-protected.”
    “She was on Spring Break?”
    “Rebecca Emerson. Hear of her?”
    “Vaguely. Last year. She disappeared from a party, didn’t she? Her family spent hundreds of thousands to find her and bring her killers to justice. It was all over the news.”
    “Millions, actually.”
    “Didn’t they just find her body?”
    Stuart blinked repeatedly. It wasn’t stopping the emotion and he’d be damned before he admitted to any of it. He nodded.
    “She’s…your sister? But I thought you said Emerson?”
    “It’s my middle name. My mother’s maiden name. Rebecca used it to prevent all the weirdos that follow the Findlay money from bothering her.” He’d failed. His voice cracked with the pain of it and there wasn’t anything to stop it. He was a wimp now, too.
    “Prince Ada Majin killed her?”
    Stuart shrugged. The coat was tight enough to follow the move, but there was flexibility to the weave, as well. It appeared this Mary Sue person had a knack for dressing him, after all.
    “You have proof?”
    “Of course I have proof. I’ve never ordered and paid for a hit on anyone in my life. I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t certain.”
    “How certain?”
    “He was the main person of interest all along.”
    “True, but he’s rarely alone. It would’ve been very difficult to kill a beautiful American college student and hide her body with five bodyguards watching every move. Add to that, he’s fairly lazy. Loose. You know…flabby.”
    “You saying something with those words?”
    “Not at all. I understand revenge. Perfectly. The prince was a target his entire life. Someone was going to get paid for killing him sooner or later.”
    “You want to know her last text to me? The night she disappeared? I have it memorized.”
    The drape at his side was a blur. He wasn’t blinking any of the emotion into existence. Somehow that made it easier.
    “Yes.”
    “’I met a prince. A prince, Stuart. Prince Hussein Ada Majin. He calls me the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. And he’s rich. Our wealth means nothing to him. He goes by John. See you soon. Becky.’”
    “That’s him, all right. He uses that line.”
    Stuart put up his hand. “Don’t. Please.”
    “Thank you for telling me. And this changes things quite a bit actually. I’m afraid we’re cancelling our cruise.”
    “Our cruise?”
    “I had a yacht moved. Tonight, following my assignment, we were sailing. Now, we have to make other plans.”
    “Other plans?”
    “You still have four targets, Stuart. And I’ll handle them. Gratis.”
    “No. Absolutely no.”
    “The prince didn’t do it alone, Stuart. He was too lazy. And even if he had murdered her, there would’ve been witnesses.”
    “I said no.”
    “They didn’t lift a hand to help her, Stuart!”
    “If causing one death turns my entire life into