Royalty in Death - an In Death series fanfic (J.D. Robb)

Chapter 7

"We have a tail.", Eve declared as she adjusted the mirror. Toggling the minicams installed behind the DLE, she ran the plate number. It was owned by Levinski.

"Does her fiancé know?", Eve asked Afef.

"No - as far as I know, since the disappearance was kept between us attendants. We didn't inform the royal family either."

He was sitting on the passenger seat observing Eve's navigation to the GPS while swiveling with a maxibus and a large truck.

"Levinski's dowry has been accepted by our king already, and a delay on the marriage can cause national scandals to the royal family. We, as a monarchical government, rely on our citizen's loyalty and support from the UN. If something like this wigs out, those country borders might launch some black propaganda and cause some upheavals. Levinski might light the candle to blow us into proportions."

A rapid cab honked her when it almost hit the gliding carts on the road.

"What's with this Levinski? Is he a big man in your country?"

"He can be considered as one, financially, since he owns three major oil depots in the region. He employs 40 percent of our nation's workforce, can oust them with a snap of his finger and replace them with those on our borders. Try to imagine what would happen to our economy."

Eve tried to, but unsure if she saw the picture. Economics is Roarke's forte, not hers.

"That's why you sent your princess here for what, political marriage?"

He snorted, "Lieutenant, whoever the Royal Highness' opted for marriage will always be political. You will never understand that."

She wanted to bicker, but she knew this would only lead to a nonsense argument. Who cares anybody wishing who to marry with anyway?

She glanced at him briefly when their tail was gone. "Now that we've lost them, where are we going next?"

Afef pointed the coordinates on the GPS system, and let her drove to the said location.

She was fuming when she realized that it was just four blocks away from the Skyline. She could have made the DLE maneuver in a different route instead of roving two miles for the tail.

An old man opened a door for them. He looked at Afef first, then Eve. The two were speaking in their own language she couldn't decipher, so she let Afef take the lead. 

They took the stairs and entered a room. It was full of machines she usually sees in a hospital, and at the center was a large bed with thin draped curtains. There was a bandaged woman with an IV drip pinned on her hand.

Afef motioned towards the bed and checked the rested woman. Her face has been skin-casted, with some scratches and discolorations on her exposed copper skin.

He whispered something to the woman in a foreign language. Her eyes squinted, fluttered then looked at Eve's face. They have the same eye color, like an amber stone in an old Irish whiskey, though only hers was in pain and confusion. It was difficult for her to speak or even move her head, so she just squeezed Afef's hand as he explained something.

"Lieutenant, the Royal Highness Princess Petun, the 35th Harminian Princess.", he introduced.

Eve didn't know what to do, whether to bow or kiss her hand. Either way, she was not planning to do that, so she just simply nod for acknowledgment. Princess Petun batted her eyes twice, as a sign of acceptance then closed them for rest.

"If you would like to engage your recorder for an interview, we have to do it outside the room, out of respect to the Royal Highness. I will confess everything, but please don't tell anyone about her whereabouts. The household believes she has been kidnapped, and apart from that, the rest assumes that she's well."

Eve looked at the bed and knew what the Princess has suffered. Smoke bombs in a closed room and murder swords slicked with poison. She'd be dead by now if she didn't fight for her life.

"How's her recovery?", Eve asked.

"With Dr. Berin's devices, the poison will be extracted completely from her body within 12 hours. The deep wounds can be treated in a day, and the remaining scars can be covered by makeup. However, her nerve receptors worry us, as she couldn't move her legs. She might not make it until her wedding.", the butler explained.

"Is that why you're telling me this? That she must disappear and then use me to divert the world's attention to my investigation?"

Afef loomed her with his dark, serious eyes. He knew there was something special in the Lieutenant, an air that was very nostalgic, potent, and overwhelming. And inside her, he could sense something greater.

"You're special, Lieutenant, and I could see the intense aura swirling around you. You have a gift from the Goddess, the wisdom, and judgment. Yes, I am sensitive.", he said when she balked then continued, "Your track records are the reasons. I don't trust strangers, especially if it's about the royalty's welfare, but you're an exception. That's why I'm willing to cooperate."

I'll be damned if he's lying, she sighed then shoved her recorder in her bag. They sat on the couch near the door.

"Tell me what happened."

"That day, the Royal Highness and Mr. Howe were talking about something important, something personal. I was tasked to reserve a conference room, in which I used your husband's name under her Highness' orders. I never pried about it. I didn't join them inside. Around four, Miss Mathilde came to deliver their meals, so I opened the door for her. Then I heard a loud crash. I knocked on the door several times and realized that the door was locked inside, so I used a knife to open it. And that's how I found Her Highness bloodied, fighting a masked person in a black suit. I was able to wound the person, I believe, and might have pursued him if it's not for Her Highness."

That explained the scratches she found on the knobs, the spots on the door, and the destruction of the room.

"Were you able to identify the killer?"

"I might have if I'm not pressed, given the situation. But I can tell that the attacker was a tall and well-built person, unsure if it was a man or a woman, and quite good with Hussars. Using it as a two-handed combat was untypical in some cultures, however, it was  a common practice in our country.", he said. "The target must be the Royal Highness."

She has to spend hours with Afef in order to gather some data for her hunt.

Driving towards home was the best part of her day.  

As usual, she left her vehicle parked in front of the foyer, threw her jacket in the newel post then bashed some creative words to another butler.

"It's a shame to have engagements with a pure-blood royalty when you're an ill-bred city employee.", Summerset snorted.

"It was enjoyable. We made plans on how to kill a bony, tight-ass butler without any blood spill. Oh wait, that's you."

Both were contented on that encounter.

When she was about to take the stairs, with Galahad sprawling on her feet, she heard Summerset's call "Roarke is in the library."

She found him lying on a sofa with a hardbound book and a glass of wine. She sat beside him then rested her head on his chest.

"Arabian Nights?" she uttered, peering the title on the cover.

"Hmm...want me to tell you the story?", he asked. He flipped the book close then slipped his other hand on Eve's shirt, thumbing her nipples.

"Then what, the ending will be told the next day?"

She was digging her hands on his shirt to contact with skin, so she yanked his trousers down to feel the hardened length on her hands.

"If you want to," he said as he nipped kisses on her throat, "We can have a never-ending story.", then slipped a finger inside her.

It was overwhelming to him how insatiable he was to Eve, how much in love he was to her that his heart would burst. Her smell, her touch, and her voice thrilled him, especially when she surrendered to her passionate desires.

These were the times they tend to forget everything as if they were alone in the world.