Ethan & Anda (Royals of Valleria #11) Page 2

  He shifted some of her hair. “I need to get this cleaned. We need to move you somewhere with better light. Can’t see for shit down here.”

  She tried to brush his hand away, but he held firm. She wanted him to hold on, but it wouldn’t do any good, not for her injury, not for anything else, either. “I’m fine. There are other people who need your help more than me.”

  He pursed his lips.

  “You know I’m right. What’s gonna happen when someone catches you helping the movie star instead of someone else who’s more important, or more injured? Or if they see you here at all instead of secured with the rest of the royals? Why didn’t you leave with them, anyway?” Though she knew the answer to the last already—he was always trying to prove himself to his family, to her, to everyone and he likely thought staying here would help him achieve that—it still wouldn’t do him any good to remain.

  He shouldn’t need to risk his life to prove his worth. Yet, didn’t she do the same time and time again? Risk her life for love of him and of her own family, risk everything to right the mistakes of the past, to prove she was worthy, too? But she wouldn’t be. No matter what she did, she wouldn’t be worthy of him or his love, if he even had any left for her after everything they’d been through.

  Ethan huffed a breath and ignored her questions. “What the fuck are you even doing here? You weren’t on the program to go up for auction tonight.”

  They’d had this fight before, and it wouldn’t be any different now. “I wasn’t supposed to attend, you’re right. But I happened to be in town and they needed someone who could blend in with the other celebrities up for auction. It’s the job.”

  “Don’t I fucking know it.”

  She grabbed his hand, yanked it from her face. Even in the dark and dim underbelly of the stage, she saw him. She always saw him. “There were other agents who could have helped tonight. If you think I was the first call, you’d be wrong. I heard what was happening and forced myself into position.”

  “Why, when you knew what might happen?”

  Because of you. Damn it, because of you! I wanted to keep you safe even though we’re over. “Does it matter? We don’t have time for this. I have a job to do, and so do you.”

  He was debating. She knew his debating face: scrunched eyebrows and lips in a thin line…he was still devastatingly sexy.

  The ground rumbled again.

  Her heart rate picked up, the adrenaline running through her fresh and new. They’d expected three from the threat they’d received, not four. Was this an aftershock? Or the start of more?

  Damn it. She had to leave, had to find who was responsible, had to help.

  She started to scramble up, picking up her gun and keeping it ready at her side; he didn’t stop her but helped her up. Her head rushed just a little, but she focused soon enough and remained steady.

  His lips were near her ear, pleading. “Don’t do what you’re about to do. You need medical attention. You don’t need to be out there saving everybody.”

  “Even if I’m trying to save you?” she said before she could think better of it. Her head wound must be dimming her senses, which was the last thing she needed.

  He inhaled sharply, and let it out slowly, the warmth of his breath on her skin a reminder of times past. Of moments when it wasn’t just his breath, but also his hands and his own skin against hers, moving, taking, demanding, worshipping, and loving her, at least with his body. Was it only her, or did he remember, too?

  She swallowed. “I have to go, Your Highness.”

  “Anda—”

  “Everyone okay! Anyone hurt?”

  They both jerked, and she hid the gun from view. They peered up through the hole and a bomb-squad-clad figure loomed above them.

  Damn it! Now how was she supposed to get away?

  Ethan spoke up first. “She’s fine. Just a minor head wound. Has anybody else been hurt? I’m Captain Santoro. I’m a doctor and can help those who are injured.”

  The man jumped, now realizing who he was. “Apologies, Your Highness, I didn’t recognize you.”

  She felt rather than saw the man’s wince. Saying you didn’t recognize a royal prince wasn’t the smoothest move but, knowing Ethan, he wouldn’t care.

  “I-I mean, I didn’t expect you, Your Highness. We believed all the royals had been ushered away.”

  Ethan didn’t take offense and just waved the comments away. “It’s no matter. Was that another explosion we just felt?”

  “No, Your Highness. We believe it was just part of the northeast corner of the building collapsing from stress after the earlier explosions.”

  The building had been designed as two theatres, one of which had removable seating and doubled as a ballroom—that was where they were. The other theatre was far from where they stood, but the ripple effect of the collapse would have been felt by them.

  Ethan nodded, likely thinking the same thing. “Anybody hurt?”

  “No, Your Highness, just superficial injuries. The King and Queen and the rest of the royal family are safe.”

  Long Live Valleria.

  The words echoed through her, too ingrained from her training not to be said in her head, but never aloud.

  “Help me get Miss Salamanca to safety, and then I’ll help you with the others.”

  “Shit! Oh, apologies. I had no idea it was her. Of course, we’ll be right down.” The man disappeared from view.

  Ethan reached around her, his fingers wrapping around hers and her gun. He wanted her to hand it over. She held onto it for a few seconds, debated whether or not to fight him on it, then released it.

  She pursed her lips in frustration. “You told him who I was on purpose.”

  He tucked the weapon behind him, arranging his jacket to hide it. “Yes.”

  “I have work to do.”

  “Not until your wound is clean.”

  She sneered his title. “Your Highness—”

  He tugged her against him and she froze in his arms.

  “I’ll do what it takes to keep you safe, Anda. I can find who did this, not you, not now. You’re hurt.”

  He could keep her safe, just as he’d done numerous times before.

  What he always seemed to forget was that she’d do whatever it took to keep him safe, too. She only hoped he forgave her for it.

  She kissed his neck, reveling in the scent and taste of him.

  “Anda…” he whispered.

  She used his distraction to get the pistol back…

  Then she whirled away and used the butt of the gun to hit him on the temple.

  He cried out and fell to his knees. “Fuck, Anda!”

  “I’m sorry. I really am.” She was sorry, for so much more than what she’d just done.

  She had to find who did this, had to save him the only way she knew how.

  She arranged the gun back in her holster, hiding it as best she could, and rushed towards the bomb squad as they came near.

  Like a veil covering her, she slipped into her actress persona. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re here! The Prince is hurt. You must help him first, I insist!”

  While the others rushed to Ethan, one lone man stayed with her and walked her out from the bowels of the stage. She kept up her part while her ears stayed pinned on Ethan, who was coming up with a handy story she could follow. Ethan was brilliant at coming up with excuses.

  After all…over the past fifteen months, he’d worked to become a secret agent just like her.

  Though not even his brother Prince Marcello knew it.

  2

  Then

  ETHAN

  Two years ago…

  VRS Victoria, Purple-Class Command Ship

  Location: Need to Know

  “Captain? Are you here? I have someone for you.”

  “On my way.” Ethan finished scribbling some notes on a patient chart, placed it on the stack to be filed digitally by his admin, and grabbed his white doctor’s coat as he headed out of his tiny office. He shrugged it on as he made his way to the main part of the ship’s medical bay.

  He was always surprised at how often injuries happened onboard ships, even command ships such as this one. But this was the Vallerian Royal Service Victoria, named after his grandmother and former queen, and was one of the fastest, strongest, and most highly targetable ships in the fleet. He wasn’t supposed to be on this ship, but he’d arranged the assignment change the day the Victoria was set to depart. Marcello had originally circumvented the chain of command and assigned him somewhere else, somewhere ‘safer for his baby brother’—Ethan called bullshit on that behavior; he hated when his family treated him like a fucking child.

  Command ships like this one were strategic to coordinating operations for the fleet. That meant several high-ranking individuals would eventually be on board, and there was one in particular he’d planned to meet.

  He walked past the main doors to the bay while straightening his coat. “Who do we have today…”

  His voice trailed off as he caught sight of a Petty Officer of the lowest rank settling someone on one of the beds, and not just any someone.

  A woman, and not just any woman.

  It was famed actress, Anda Salamanca, dressed casually, but expensively. Being a royal and having a sister in the fashion industry meant he understood the quality that money often bought, and this star of stage and screen definitely had it.

  As Miss Salamanca adjusted herself on the bed, her gorgeous raven hair shifted and caught the harsh fluorescents from above. She seemed to glow, even in the stark light of this windowless room. He’d always thought that glamour was something saved for award shows and movie premieres, yet here she was, dazzling them all.

  What was she doing here?

  “You’re the doctor i
n charge?” Her voice was even softer and more seductive then he remembered from her last movie. He’d always assumed that her voice must have been doctored in some way…no one could sound like that in real life.

  Protocol and an easy smile, both things ingrained in him since practically birth, came forward now as a reflex and habit, and he shifted into doctor mode.

  He reached the side of her bed and held out his hand, which she shook. Her hand was just as soft and smooth as her voice. “Yes, I’m Captain Santoro. I wasn’t aware we had a guest on board, Miss Salamanca.”

  She gave him a commiserating smile. “I am sorry. Though my arrival was approved very last minute, I was sure they’d informed everyone that I was coming. Yet, it seems that I don’t need to introduce myself?”

  “We’re all fans of your work, of course.” He gave her a look over and noticed her hand near her ankle. Twisted? Sprained?

  He turned to the Petty Officer. “You can return to your position.”

  The eager young man didn’t give up so easily; Ethan wouldn’t have either in his place. “Sorry, Captain, but I’m to escort Miss Anda around.” He stammered, “I-I mean Miss Salamanca.”

  The vixen just smiled. “Anda is just fine. Though I’m sure you can give me and the doctor just a few minutes? He may want to examine me.”

  The Petty Officer blushed. “Of-of course, Miss Salamanca. I’ll just be outside to escort you when you’re done.”

  After the man left, Ethan turned back to his patient. “So, tell me what’s wrong.”

  She gestured to her left ankle. “I think I hurt it.”

  “May I examine it?”

  She nodded and he began removing her boot and sock.

  All the men and women on board had pre-registered with him in the medical bay, so he already had access to all their medicinal allergies and other issues. Since she was not one of the ship’s company, he took her history verbally as he began to examine her ankle. Flexing it, twisting it, turning it, and watching her expressions while he did. Nothing seemed swollen or about to become swollen, no discoloration, no bruises.

  “How did it happen?”

  She winced as he prodded more forcefully. “Tripped. It’s funny. People always think I’m so graceful until they meet me in real life. I’m always tripping over everything.”

  “Did you hurt anything else?”

  She frowned and looked down at herself. “No. Why?”

  He gave her another easy smile, this one perfected in med school to relax patients. “If you stumbled, you might have fallen, maybe hurt your hand in the fall, or hurt something else.”

  She bit her lip, and the gesture reminded him so much of his sister Cat when she’d gotten caught doing something bad and knew she’d get away with it. Cat always got away with everything.

  “The truth is that the Petty Officer caught me and saved me from falling. He held on while I regained my balance, and then insisted on carrying me when it was clear I hurt my ankle.”

  He looked towards the door, then back to her. It wasn’t a question anyone liked asking, but he would absolutely ask it. “Did he…take any liberties with you?”

  She immediately shook her head. “No, of course not. He’s been the perfect gentleman.” She flashed one of those smiles he’d seen in photographs and magnified on screens. It was a smile many men dreamed about receiving. Seeing it firsthand, however, he recognized exactly what it was.

  A lie.

  How many of those smiles had he given? It was easy to lose count after the first few; there were just too many of them when you lived in the limelight. He may not even have noticed it but, as the youngest of nine siblings and one of the quietest, he was naturally observant of everyone and everything around him. Being coddled as the ‘baby’ of the family—and usually hating the attention that came with it—meant he’d watched people carefully for any indications that their focus was turning to him so he could move, or shift the conversation away from him. Not to mention, few were forthright with a royal, so understanding someone’s true motives and their nonverbal behavior was essential to public survival.

  All that meant he was instinctively noticing the woman in front of him and picking up on the unconscious cues she was revealing. Still, what could she have to lie about here, on this ship? Why was she even on this ship to begin with?

  He didn’t push her about the lie, or about the truth, but he could ask her some questions. “Well, it doesn’t look injured or swollen, so I don’t think it’s sprained. Let’s take a quick x-ray to be sure.”

  “I’m sure that’s not necessary.”

  Interesting. Was she afraid of what he might find or what he wouldn’t? “Are you refusing medical treatment? If you’re uncomfortable with me, there are two other physicians assigned to this ship, as well as a few nurses. They’re all men, and unfortunately unavailable at this time.” They’d been temporarily reassigned to a hospital ship near their destination. “However, we can also have you airlifted off the ship—”

  “No! I mean, that’s not necessary.” She shifted on the bed. “I’d rather not have an x-ray though.”

  Even more interesting. “Are you pregnant?”

  She spluttered a cough. “What?”

  “If you are, you needn’t worry about the x-ray. It won’t harm the baby, since I’ll only be x-raying your ankle and foot. I do have a lead apron, however, that you can wear while—”

  “I’m not pregnant!” She glanced at the doorway, then locked eyes with him and whispered loudly. “I’m not pregnant. I just don’t want the x-ray.”

  He could order one for her and she’d be required to have it done under his orders. Still, medically, she seemed to be fine. He’d seen enough fake injuries to recognize one now, even from one of the world’s best actresses.

  She wasn’t in the Navy, so he’d give her some leeway. “Did you sign a liability waiver before you came on board?”

  She nodded and pulled something small from her pocket, an electronic drive for storing information. “I have everything signed and saved here, with the originals filed by the Navy official I worked with to arrange this.”

  He slipped it into his pocket; he wasn’t fool enough to insert an unknown electronic device into their systems, even if she did seem genuine about the forms. “Who’s your contact?”

  “Oh, um, Betty? From the press office?”

  He happened to know a woman named Betty Andrews in the press office—as a royal, he had to deal with the Navy’s press office much more than most—but doubted Miss Salamanca had ever met her. He would, however, call Betty and follow up about this.

  He didn’t let on about his doubts. Instead, he went to his stash of supplies to get what he needed and slowly made his way back. “How long are you staying on the ship?”

  “At least a week. I’m going to be doing a new movie, playing a Naval officer, and I was able to arrange time on the ship to really get a sense of what goes on here. It’ll be great research.”

  He frowned but nodded, and began to wrap her ankle. “Hmm. Well, we can wait on the x-ray for now, but come back in the morning. If it’s worse, I’ll do one then. For now, I’ll put a wrap on it and give you some ibuprofen for the pain.”

  So many things bothered him about her explanation. First, the ship’s location was ‘Need to Know’. The press office, even the Chief Admiral, hell, even his own brother who was the Chief’s boss, should never grant access of this ship to a civilian unless it was of Naval or mission importance. Location of command ships had the utmost security clearance. Yet only someone with a high rank could place her on this ship.

  Second, even if what she said was true, and she was playing a role as a naval officer, they had all-female ships in the fleet; it made much more sense for her to shadow an officer on one of those ships, rather than this one which was predominantly male. Though there were some female admirals and mission-essential civilians who would be coming on board in a few weeks, it would be long after Miss Salamanca was gone.

  Third, even if she had secured time on this highly secret, mission-driven ship, why was she given a Petty Officer to escort her? Someone of higher rank, along with people from the security division and the press office, should escort her and ensure she didn’t end up someplace or see something that she shouldn’t.