Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“Noelle,” I said slowly. “I need to write a few press releases.” I bit my lip and gave Kenji a nervous smile. “Do you think you can help?”
TWENTY-EIGHT
RYAN
Black bears are sometimes more wary of each other than they are of other big predators like wolves or mountain lions. Turns out, the real threat can come from the least expected places—like another bear competing for food or territory. Despite this, bears rely on their families, their mates, and their close allies, especially when facing the unknown. They know they need to trust their instincts and lean on the people they love.
—Bear Facts for Insomniacs, Episode 101
I wasn’t used to being so out of pocket, and I sure as shit wasn’t used to being cut off from Zane.
The text exchange I’d had with him before boarding the plane went a long way toward reassuring me. I couldn’t wait to see him. It had been too many days, and I was itching to hold him again.
After only ten days apart, I realized I was going to have to figure something else out for work. I couldn’t be apart from him like this. We needed to make a change so we could be together.
“You’re on edge,” the king said, crossing his legs as he turned toward me in one of the leather seats on the sleek Gulfstream. “I told Kasper not to insist on you joining us for this trip. You probably wanted a break after the tour.”
“Kasper?” I asked in surprise. “I assumed you were the one who insisted on having me be team lead.”
He shook his head and rattled ice cubes in his glass. The flight attendant jumped to attention and refilled his glass with more water without being asked. Gerhard nodded his thanks. “I already have a team lead. Kasper. He’s been with me a long time—you know that. I understand the need for hiring domestic security as well, but I certainly don’t need our security liaison to be someone who already has an assignment. The entire situation made me uncomfortable. You know I don’t like people making a fuss about me, Ryan.”
It didn’t make any sense. “Why would Kasper have told my boss that my involvement was required in order to give her the business? Do you think he was particularly worried? Is it those recent threats against you? Kasper mentioned something about it, back in Amsterdam.”
He shook his head again. “There haven’t been any threats that I’m aware of. Nothing over the usual amount of anti-royal malcontent. You know we found and tried the man who killed my father. He had mental health issues, which… I suppose anyone who shoots at another person has mental health issues, but I’m having trouble forgiving him. That’s simply a bridge too far.”
“I don’t forgive him,” I said bluntly. “Asger was a good man. No one had the right to take him from us.”
We shared a quiet moment, each of us remembering Gerhard’s father. Intrusive thoughts about Kasper broke through, though. “I’m surprised Kasper wanted to go to Majestic with the advance team,” I said. “Doesn’t he make a point of staying by you? He was superstitious to begin with, but I imagine Asger’s death made him even more so.”
“Yes.” Gerhard frowned. “It’s very unlike him. He almost never leaves my side when we’re out of the country. The only other time I can think was when he went to Los Angeles last summer to see a friend while I was visiting the shipyards in San Diego.”
His words were like pulling the plug on a bathtub, draining all the blood out of me at once. “You were in LA and San Diego last summer? When?” Those were the cities where the stampings had happened before Shaky Knees in October.
Gerhard’s frown intensified. “I never went to Los Angeles. Only San Diego. Let me see when that was.” He called over his personal assistant to ask. The older woman confirmed the dates, and my head began to spin.
Was it possible Kasper was the Stamper? No. He would have had to be in Atlanta in the fall. “Where was he in mid to late October? Did he come back to the States at all during that time?”
“Not that I can recall.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you asking me questions about Kasper?”
Before I could begin to explain, he added, “He might have been in London in October. I recall him taking a week of holiday around that time.”
Nerves made me restless. I had to remind myself not to jump to conclusions. Kasper, of all people, valued security. Surely he wouldn’t put my principal in jeopardy to suit his own needs.
“I need to know exactly when he was gone.”
Gerhard shifted in his seat. “First, you need to tell me what’s going on, Ryan. You look very upset. Has Kasper done something to upset you?”