Page 102 of Royal Caleva: Luis

She did not return his smile. “What about Mikel? He should know,” she pointed out.

Mikel’s name brought darkness into the room. His head of security would be digging into the ugliness of who had done this to Luis, and how and why. Luis did not wish to face that yet, not when he was basking in the company of three people he loved with all his being.

The thought snapped his gaze to Eve’s face. Yes, he loved her. It seemed impossible in such a short time, but he knew his own heart. Before she had come into the room, he had felt incomplete.

He needed to tell her that…when he could stand up and take her in his arms and kiss her objections away.

“Raul, please let Mikel know I am awake,” Luis said with an inward sigh as the weight of being king settled onto his shoulders again.

Raul nodded and tapped at his phone, waiting a moment before saying, “He is on his way from the conference room.”

“Gracias, hijo mío,” Luis said, wishing Mikel had been somewhere farther away and feeling guilty for it. He should be grateful for Mikel’s devotion.

“If I might have some more water, please?” he said to Grace, wanting to savor a few extra moments of her solicitude before the world intruded.

He had time for three sips before the door opened to admit Mikel.

“Señor!” The word seemed to burst from his usually imperturbable security chief. Mikel approached Luis’s bed and bowed low. “I rejoice to see you awake. How do you feel?”

“Better now that I am surrounded by my friends and family,” Luis said in a non-answer. He had caught the combination of relief and guilt on Mikel’s face and did not wish to add to the man’s concerns. “Thank you for getting me to the hospital so quickly, my friend.”

“Do not thank me,” Mikel said, his face stark with regret. “Señora Howard called for help and also suggested that the doctors test for thallium poisoning. She is to be credited for your swift treatment.”

Luis caught the look that Eve cast at Mikel, a quizzical lift of her eyebrows and a sardonic smile. He would ask her about it later.

“I am fortunate to have an entire team of protectors,” Luis said before he forced himself to ask, “How is your investigation progressing?”

“I would not wish to trouble you with that now,” Mikel said, skimming his gaze over the others.

Luis half lifted one hand to wave a dismissal of Mikel’s discretion but laid it on the blanket again when he realized it was attached to an IV line. “If you have any answers, we would all like to hear them.”

“Of course, Su Majestad,” Mike said, his eyes blazing with ruthless determination. “We found the delivery mechanism for the poison. It was the book about fencing strategy that was given to you by Felipe Camacho.”

“Camacho was one of the group complaining about the military base,” Raul said, his voice hard.

Luis dredged up his encounters with the man but could remember nothing intense enough to incite murder. “He wanted to return to the imaginary good old days of Caleva, when honor and decency reigned. I don’t know why that would cause him to want to kill his king, especially in a way that would be so easy to connect to him.” Luis shook his head. “How did the book poison me?”

“Thallium poisoning can transpire through the skin,” Mikel said. “Random pages in the book are infused with thallium, so when you touched them, it transferred to your fingers and worked its way into your tissues and bloodstream.”

“I paged through it a couple of times before tonight.” He hadn’t actually read it since he had been distracted by thoughts of Eve. “I didn’t become ill until now.”

“The doctors can explain it more thoroughly, but evidently it built up in your system gradually,” Mikel said.

“It’s a heavy metal,” Grace added. “It gets more concentrated over time with additional exposure.”

Luis nodded to her. “That brings us to the question of Camacho’s motive. Surely neither the military lease nor the minor incidents Camacho complained about are reasons for murder.”

“When we find him, we will ask him.” Mikel’s face was like granite. “He left the country two days ago, but we are on his trail. I will let you know when he is in custody.”

Luis nodded. Mikel would be relentless in his pursuit of Camacho. The man didn’t stand a chance of escaping.

Suddenly, exhaustion swept over Luis like a wave.

“Perhaps you should call the doctor now,” he said, letting his heavy eyelids drift closed.

Eve saw panic cross Raul’s face as he pushed the call button.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “He’ll slip in and out of sleep as his body sloughs off the poison.”

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