Royal Wedding Threat Read Online Free PDF Page B

alluring, as well. That was another thing for her not to thinkabout.
    “What can I do to help?”
    Ava spun around to find the captain standing in her doorway, looking very uncaptain-like in his T-shirt. Instead he looked like any normal person, but with extra-strong arms that had wrapped around her and saved her from the car. The terror she’d felt in that moment tore through her again, and she shuddered to think how close they’d both come to horrificinjury, or worse. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
    “I never said I was.”
    “Can I get you an ice pack, then?”
    “You can get packed so we can get out.” The captain stepped into the small room, making it feel that much tinier with his wide shoulders occupying so much of the space.
    “How long do I need to pack for?”
    “A couple days should be fine. We can send a team back laterto get the rest. Just grab the necessities, or I’ll do it for you. We need to get you to safety as soon as possible. I need to figure out what’s going on.”
    Rather than let the captain make good on his threat to select her wardrobe choices for her, Ava tossed clothes into the bag. “What do you think is going on?” she asked as she darted toward her bathroom for everything else she’d need.
    “Somebody’s trying to kill you.” The captain’s tone was so grim Ava couldn’t help looking up as she stepped past him, then froze as his gray eyes locked on hers.
    “Kill me?” she repeated. On some level, she’d realized as much already, but hearing him speak the words so bluntly made it all seem real in a way she wasn’t ready to deal with yet.
    “Given the two attempts so close together,I’d say they’re in a hurry about it.”
    Ava felt her arms go limp as her duffel bag sagged toward the floor. Why would someone want to kill her? What was she supposed to do? Would they strike again at any moment? Overwhelmed, Ava hung her head.
    “Hey.” Captain Selini’s hand fell gently on her shoulder, a tiny gesture of comfort in the midst of the cold fear that gripped her. His stronghand sent an unwelcome tingle of awareness through her. Normally she’d have shaken him off, but his touch imparted comfort. And she desperately needed comfort, no matter how much she resented that fact.
    She looked up into his face, still surprised to see how handsome he looked at close range, when he wasn’t yelling at her, when she actually looked at him long enough to see past the silverflecks, which she realized now were probably brought on by the stress of his job or possibly as a result of arguing so many times with her. If it hadn’t been for her personal policy never to get close to anyone, she might have given in to the impulse to lean toward him, to bury her face against his strong shoulder and sob.
    But instead of inviting her to lean against him and cry, the captaingave her a tiny shake. “Get going. We need to leave in two minutes. Pull yourself together.”

FOUR
    J ason turned and left Ava alone to pack her bag. He needed to breathe—preferably in a room that didn’t smell floral and feminine. Still unsure how badly he’d been injured, he pulled his arms back and flexed his muscles again. Sore. Very, very sore. But nothing froze up or refused to move. Nothing felt broken.
    He examined what he could of the sparse apartment, searchingfor clues that might explain why someone would want to kill the wedding coordinator. An event gone bad, perhaps? Surely any offended party would sue before resorting to murder. Jason scoured the room and noticed a desktop with a smattering of documents littering the surface.
    Postcards of the kingdom of Lydia—unaddressed, unsent. Ava must have bought them to share with friends back home inthe United States. Brochures of various florists, musicians...nothing he wouldn’t have expected a wedding planner to have on her desk. But perhaps she’d offended one of the vendors represented on the brochures. Would an angry dressmaker resort to murder?