Wedded for His Royal Duty by Susan Meier Read Free Book Online Page A

would. But there was more to this than just how smart she was. This charade was life and death for her. She deserved to know the truth.
    “You can’t go back to the palace.”
    “The hell I can’t!”
    He sucked in a breath. “No. Really. This little tantrum you’re having right now actually ruins your father’s plan.”
    Her forehead wrinkled. “ My father’s plan? What does my father have to do with you suddenly being nice to me?”
    “Your dad didn’t leave your mom.”
    “Right.”
    “You are here, in Xaviera, because you are under my dad’s protection. Your dad discovered a plot to kill him and you. The wedding is to keep you in the public eye so your uncle doesn’t try to kill you or use you as leverage to bring your dad out of hiding.”
    She gaped at him as if only a third of what he’d said had sunk in. “What?”
    “Your uncle wants to be king. But he’s not getting your country’s throne unless both you and your dad are out of the picture. Your dad discovered he’d hatched a plot to have both of you killed in what would look like a terrorist attack on your palace, so he left Grennady, using a cover story that seemed believable. But he’s working back channels to get proof so he can have your uncle arrested.”
    * * *
    Eva just gaped at Alex as he pulled the car into an alley and virtually hid it between two tall stucco buildings.
    Killing the engine, he said, “You and I are now officially co-conspirators.”
    She shook her head. “This has to be a mistake.”
    “No. My father doesn’t move on something unless he’s positive it’s real.” He paused, giving her a curious look. “You’ve never had trouble, dissension among the ranks before?”
    “No.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
    “Xaviera’s had weird things like this happen at least eight times. Last year we had a pirate who invaded our island. Dom was the one who got rid of him.”
    “We’ve never been invaded, but there’s always been bad blood between my dad and his brother. They’re twins. My dad was born first. Uncle Gerard has always felt two minutes cheated him out of his destiny.”
    “There you go.”
    Understanding seeped in by degrees. Her dad hadn’t deserted them. But this was worse. She and her dad were in danger.
    “You’ve got to take me back to the palace. I have to tell my mom.”
    “Oh, no! No. No. No. My dad took me into his confidence because he trusts me. Now I’m taking you into my confidence because this is your life we’re protecting. Plus, you’re too smart. At some point, maybe the wrong point, you’d have figured out something was going on behind the scenes, and if you said something, asked the wrong question at the wrong time, it would ruin everything. You need to be a part of this. Your mom doesn’t.”
    “But she’s so upset!”
    “And that’s what makes this plan work. As long as she’s sad about your dad leaving her, but happy for you, trying to make this the best wedding ever, everybody will believe your dad left her. Besides, Rose is taking care of her.”
    “Does Rose know?”
    He shook his head. “You, me, my dad and a very few select members of his royal guard, people who are protecting your dad and helping with his investigation.”
    She sank back into the comfortable leather seat.
    He took her hand, kissed the knuckles. “My dad assured me your dad is safe, and that they will get to the bottom of this.”
    The warmth of his kiss lingered on her skin. But something more important made her smile. “You trust me.”
    “I guess I do. Especially since this is the first official thing my father has ever asked of me. You could make me look really, really bad if you blow this.”
    She glanced down at the console between them, where their joined hands sat. She’d never, ever had feelings like this before. She wasn’t just making friends with this gorgeous guy. They had become partners.
    “I don’t want to make you look bad.”
    “So we’ve got a deal?”
    She stared at