Dangerous Mating (A.L.F.A., #3)(13)

Slamming the door, she ran to another door. She didn’t see the guards, but heard the door open. This room had a twenty-person conference table in the middle. The room being somewhat narrow, and her not being narrow, she bumped into an antique buffet and went down. She rolled under the table, wondering if she could hide.

The door at the other end of the table opened. The swishing of clothes headed toward the door on the far side. The second door opened, then she heard someone yell a word she didn’t know, but the sound of moving clothes stopped.

Chairs clunked as they were moved around, scooted away from the table. She held her breath and squeezed her eyes closed and lay as still as she could. After several seconds of silence, the voice said another word and everyone left the room.

Air rushed out of her lungs. She reached up from where she lay curled up on the floor, pushed away from the table, and promptly rolled to the floor. She had extra padding, so nothing hurt, too much, when landing. After getting to her feet, she peeked into the room she just left and saw nobody. She rushed to another door, hoping to find the hallway to the lobby where she could walk out the front door. Bingo!

She stepped out at the same time one of the guards did two doors down. Shit! She dove forward into the room across the hall. The room was dark, no lights. Her hand slid along the wall which felt like books. She kept going, came to a corner. The door opened. She flattened herself against the wall.

Lights came on, but they were small spotlights shining on the rows and rows of books lining the walls. She was awed by the amount of leather and paper this room held. At the end of the shelf, she squeezed back, hoping they wouldn’t see her.

The small of her back rubbed against two small objects in the wall behind her. Wait, she wasn’t against a wall, but a double door. She quietly opened it and backed in. Her eyes stayed on the men on the other side of the room, searching for her. Her shaky hands eased the door closed with barely a snick. She blew out the breath she held.

A throat behind her cleared. She jumped and twirled in the air, then flattened against the doors, her heart beating way too fast. Standing behind a desk was the sparkly important man who had pointed and sent the men after her.

Perhaps this was her last time she couldn’t trust herself to do anything right.





Chapter Eight




Kari stood with her back against the double door staring at the man who would determine her fate. All this because she didn’t buy a ticket to get in? Time to beg. “I’m so sorry.” She unzipped her fanny pack. “Here, I’ll pay the admission price. Even more for a donation. I just had to use the bathroom very badly.” She stood in front of the desk, holding out money.

His brow raised, head tilted. “Are you American?”

Oh shit. If she said yes, would he kill her or throw her in jail? If she said no, could she fake an English accent? Her initial thought was to lie. But she knew her luck too well.

“Yes, I’m American.”

The man broke into a big smile, his arms spread wide. “Well then, welcome to my home.”

Her jaw dropped. Home? The only person in this town who could afford the kind of stuff on display would be the—oh, double shit. She was in so much trouble.

“I am Prince Goddard and this is my palace. What brings an American female to my doorstep?” The way he said “American female” sent a shudder through her. She smiled anyway.

“My boyfriend and I are touring.” The words sounded robotic even to her. She was so dead. On her first mission and gone missing, never to be seen or heard from again.

“Are you sure you’re not with the CIA?” he asked. Was he joking? A spot of red flashed in his eyes.

“No. We’re with ITA.”

The prince’s face took on a questioning expression.

“International Touring Agency. That’s the name of our group, I swear.” So much for being a strong spy. She wasn’t even being interrogated and she gave out information.

“That’s wonderful, Miss . . .”

“Oh, I’m Kari Tomlin.” She leaned forward and put her hand out to shake. He took her fingers in his soft ones and brought it to his mouth. Ever so lightly, he brushed his lips across her skin. Oh my god. She was in complete shock. Was this normal in this country for greeting females?

“We have so few American women come here. You are truly a treasure worth a fortune.” His smile seemed predatory. He looked at her like she was an object, not a person.

Someone knocked on the door. The prince said a word and the door opened. It was a guard. When he saw her, his eyes widened. The man spoke and quickly left, closing the door.

“Miss Tomlin, you’re just in time,” the prince said.

She narrowed her eyes. “In time for what, may I ask?”

“For dinner.” He smiled and opened his arms wide again. “You will be my guest this evening. We have a fantastic show I’m sure you’ll like. Yes, I think you will like it very much.” His eyes flashed red again. It unnerved her even though she wasn’t sure what it was.

Her head shook side to side. “Oh, thank you. That is so kind of you, but I should be going. My boyfriend will be worried.” Her phone buzzed in her waist pack. She stared at it, not sure if she should pick it up. The prince gestured for her to go ahead. She dug it out and pushed the icon for text messaging.