Page 19 of Captured

“Ugh, no. Not that. Not exactly.” She wasn’t looking directly at Stefan, but she knew his face wouldn’t register any emotion at her words. Not relief, not revulsion, not curiosity. For all his suave good looks and powerfully built body, the royal cousin was the master of the non-expression. “He called me a little snake,once, and then the next time he showed up, he gave me a pin with a snake on it. A terrible thing to give a little girl, right?”

Stefan’s gaze had grown more intent. “A monstrous thing,” he agreed. “I assume you gave the pin back?”

She laughed a little grimly. “I’d been trained better than that. I accepted it as if it was a great honor, and that pleased him. His next gift was a diamond bracelet for my sixteenth birthday, and that of course was lovely. So for him, I think the snake pin was more sort of a power thing. He liked keeping me guessing.”

“Hence the gifts in the black-and-white boxes. Some good, some bad.”

“Hence that, yeah.”

They rounded the corner and entered a large stone gate to a drive that snaked up the side of the mountain. The Raptis estate was outside the capital city, but the countryside had already devolved into the forested paradise she’d only recently begun discovering. “Is this the only way out of the estate?” she asked.

“The only way for public transit. The grounds have other access roads, of course. Those are being watched covertly. We expect no trouble there.”

“Good.” Another wave of shame drifted over her. “Look, this all comes down to me trying to avoid a guy I don’t want to date. I’m sorry for putting you through this.”

“As I told you during your debrief with the queen, there are no apologies necessary for ensuring one’s safety.” He was right, hehadsaid that, while the queen had been searching Lauren’s face for any sign of weakness, any crack in her armor. Lauren knew she’d shown none. From the time she’d been a young child, it had never been the actual bad news that rattled her, it was always theexpectationthat bad news was about to come around the corner. That was what made her nervous. Once the trouble started, she could handle it.

She hoped.

“In addition, your presence here presents a liability to the Crown, should anything happen to you while you’re a guest in our country. We take that very seriously, no one more so than Queen Catherine.” Stefan waited for her to nod. “Finally, the fact remains that this Smithson made a suspicious delivery that got all the way inside the palace without being flagged, and that’s not acceptable. If you hadn’t noticed it, what would he have done, assuming he’s the one who sent the package?”

“He’d have sent another. Something more noticeable.”

Stefan’s lips twisted. “You speak as if from experience. He’s done that before.”

“A time or two.”

“How far did he go to get noticed?”

She swallowed, remembering the college boy Adam. Sweet and clueless and heartbreakingly obvious in his adoration as she’d tried to push him away after Smithson had reared his nasty head again. Sweet and clueless and in traction in a hospital bed not three days later, with never a suspicion as to how he’d gotten there, other than some hit-and-run asshole who’d clipped his bike. She’d known, of course. The large bouquet of black-and-white roses had been a bit of a tip-off. “Pretty far. As soon as I acknowledge him, though, he goes away. Sometimes he wants to see me, sometimes he merely wants to know I’m aware of him, but he goes away after that. Or at least he has up to now.”

“And now?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I haven’t heard from him in maybe five months. Every time a few months go by, I want to believe he’s forgotten me.”

“It would seem you are not all that forgettable. When did he rename his yachts?”

“I...” Lauren blinked at the sudden change of subject, but she rallied quickly. “Not long ago—maybe a year? He said he liked the sound of the word. I thought it sounded too much liketyphoon, but then I looked it up and saw it was a seriously creepy Greek god...”

She broke off, then grimaced as her words caught up to her. “Ah, no offense. I know your ties to Greece are pretty strong here in Oûros.”

Stefan smiled. “None taken. We don’t care much for him either.”

For some reason, that made her feel better, and she exhaled a shaky laugh. “I mean, right? Of all the gods he could have chosen...anyway, I honestly didn’t care. He was always looking to show off, and if this made him happy, then yay.”

“Yay, indeed. Here we are.” Stefan leaned forward and adjusted Lauren’s collar, where the tiny microphone lay embedded among the spray of crystals. “Raptis has woeful security, so he’s accepted ours with open arms. You won’t be scanned. Everyone else will be.”

They exited the car, and Lauren scanned the walkway, shocked at the wave of relief that washed over her as she recognized a familiar face. Her voice shook a little as she spoke. “I thought you were my date tonight, not him.”

Stefan glanced forward, then slid his gaze back to her. He gave her an uncharacteristic smile. “Dimitri is not your enemy, Ms. Grant, at least not tonight. And he’s almost as good in a fight as I am.”

“A fight?” Lauren blinked at him. “I can’t imagine you two getting in a fistfight.”

“Oûros is a small country, but we have big egos. Dimitri Korba possesses one of the biggest.” He winked at her. “Try not to stir up his pride.”

“I—” But Stefan turned from her to greet the owners of the home, Mr. and Mrs. Gaspar Raptis, whose house towered over them in multiple tiers of opulence. When Raptis realized thatLauren was the daughter of his “dear friends,” the Grants, his eyes practically lit up with avarice.

“Welcome!” he beamed, waving enthusiastically at the driveway. “Your parents, they are already here.”

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