Royal Wedding Threat Read Online Free Page A

the hard way, enough that she didn’t usually forget. Trust led to pain. Always.
    And yet, for the moment at least, it seemed she needed him. His strong arm kept her upright, when otherwise she might fall. She felt so light-headed,the memory and the fear swirling together in her mind. What would have happened if Jason hadn’t stopped her from reaching her car? And why had someone planted a bomb there? Granted, she didn’t go out of her way to be nice to people—not anymore, not since the two people she most trusted on earth had taken advantage of her trust so horribly.
    But surely her newfound assertiveness hadn’t promptedthe attack. Perhaps she had become prickly, maybe even harsh. She’d only meant to keep people from getting too close to her. She’d never dreamed it would be enough to provoke someone to attempt to kill her.

THREE
    J ason watched the images on the security screens as Oliver replayed the relevant moments. As he’d feared, Ava’s car had been parked on the edge of the security camera’s range, with only the rear bumper in view. The vehicle she’d watched drive away moments after the explosion had been far beyond that. They didn’t get so much as a shadow.
    “That’s it?” Ava asked impatientlyfrom where she stood near his elbow. “You haven’t got a single image of any of it?”
    “You parked beyond the range of our cameras,” Jason explained, trying to keep the frustration he felt from entering his voice. The woman could be difficult to deal with on a good day. She was already upset enough.
    “I normally park closer, but that was the nearest spot when I arrived this morning.”
    Convinced the screens had nothing more to show him, Jason turned to face the wedding planner. Her tone might have been icy, but her eyes were round with fear.
    As well they should be. Among the many questions that vied for his attention, the foremost was whether the woman had been specifically targeted, or if her car had been randomly chosen for its position near the palace, but beyond therange of his cameras. Until he could answer with confidence that she had no more to fear than anyone else, he needed to take steps to keep her safe.
    “Stay here and review the footage,” he told her. “I have some phone calls to make.”
    Jason strode to his office, thinking quickly. There were apartments built into the rear wall of the palace grounds. Once used to house servants of the royalfamily, they continued to provide lodging for long-term guests and staff, even some of his guards. If he could secure a vacancy, the wedding planner could stay inside the safety of the palace walls, under the watchful eyes of his guards.
    “Where are you going?” Ava’s demanding tone carried down the hall after him.
    Jason mustered up his patience as he called back to her, “To my officeto make some phone calls.”
    “So you’re just leaving me? That’s it? I don’t have a car anymore. What am I supposed—”
    He raised a hand to shush her. “The phone calls are for your benefit. I’m trying to find you a place to stay.”
    “It was my car that blew up, not my apartment.”
    “You don’t need a car.” Jason reached his office and hurried inside, wishing he could close the door andkeep her out.
    “Yes, I do! I have a business to run.” She stomped into the office after him. “I’ve got a wedding in eight days and another in less than four months. I have work to do.”
    “The guards can drive you.”
    “Guards? I don’t want—”
    “I don’t care what you want. It’s for your safety. I’m going to find you a place to stay near the guards.”
    “I don’t want to stay near yourguards! They want to throw me in the river like a sack of kittens.” A note of despair carried through her bossy tone.
    “No, that was me, as I recall.” Jason hoped his admission might deflate her anger. For a moment, as he glanced at her to gauge the effect of his words, he thought he caught a glimmer of gratitude in her eyes—as