Page 50 of Born a Queen

Chapter Twenty-Seven

It took two days for Raina to properly set up her forging equipment. She chose an office on the ground floor facing the sprawling back yard. It had double French doors and softer, more feminine decor. She suspected it was meant to be a woman's office, but she didn't think it had ever been used.

She set up all of her equipment, her perfectionism at the forefront as she made sure everything was flawless. As per her usual, she printed a couple of fake passports and driver’s licenses for herself, making sure that everything looked absolutely perfect. She beamed at the miniature picture of herself, pushed her glasses up her nose and set about finishing some of the contracts she had to leave behind in Italy.

Forging spoke to her. It was her art. It required precision, skill and a great deal of knowledge on world identifications. Passports were different from country to country. Many countries, including the US, used biographical microchips. They implanted the passports with chips that contained information on the holder. She also had to be sure that the picture used inside the passport contained the necessary biometrics; meaning they had to pass face recognition software.

She set out the tools she would need: glue, metallic stickers, ink pads and stamps. She picked up the first passport and carefully peeled away the binding thread. She used the intaglio printing process to create fine individual lines for the decorative border. As she worked, a sort of meditative state captured her. She lost track of time as she concentrated.

This passport would go to a Saudi princess intent on leaving her husband and her country. She had contacted Raina after learning that Raina was one of the top forgers in the world. The job was important to Raina, not only because the Princess was paying an exorbitant amount of money, but because Raina had learned bits and pieces of the princess’s current existence and it wasn't pretty. Raina was determined to do her best to help get the princess out of her situation by creating a document that would be undetectable as a forgery.

She leaned back in her seat, completely satisfied with her work. She closed the passport and pushed it inside an envelope, sealing the envelope. On the front was an address the princess had provided. The document would go to one of her loyal followers, a servant inside her Dubai penthouse.

"I think we need to set up some ground rules for you. It took me twenty minutes to locate you in this mausoleum," Mateo's voice drawled from behind her.

Raina jumped, not having heard the door open. She twisted around in her seat to look at him.

"Maybe we should set up some ground rules for you," Raina countered. "You seem to come and go at will. Maybe a bell around your neck so I know when you’re sneaking up on me?"

Mateo's lips twitched in amusement. "You want to know where I am at all times, mi amor?"

"Not really," she countered. "How about your ground rules include you knocking on doors?"

He took a few steps toward her, his dark eyes sweeping her from top to bottom. Raina felt self-conscious and quickly ran one hand over her thighs, smoothing her jeans and the other over her hair, tucking a lock behind her ear.

"If I were to knock on the door before entering, you would have time to gather yourself. I prefer to see you uninhibited, without the time for that sharp brain to come up with some kind of challenge for me."

Raina blushed as she imagined what he might see when walking into a room unexpectedly. Particularly, her bedroom.

She was about to say something tart in return when he stopped her, raising his hand and speaking. "I would like you to come outside with me."

Raina raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and stood. It wasn't like she had anything else to do. She had finished her last commission and was waiting for more to come in.

They left through the French doors of her office, which led straight out onto the pool patio. "This way," Mateo said, taking her arm.

Near the pool was an outdoor gym with weights, benches and mats. Raina had seen this area before while exploring the mansion, but she avoided it. She’d never really been a weightlifting girl. Her arms resembled sticks more than anything that might have real muscle.

Mateo escorted her onto one of the mats and then let go of her arm, standing opposite her.

"Fight me," he commanded her.

Raina frowned at him. "You want me to do what?"

"I want you to fight me."

Raina was beginning to believe that he was serious. She spent enough time with Mateo now to understand his various moods, not that there were many. He tended to be either neutral, serious or annoyed. Sometimes funny, in a dark sort of way.

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "If you recall, the last time I fought you, I lost."

Not only had she lost, but she'd ended up drugged and in Venezuela for a month, then two years on the run after that. If she learned anything from that experience, it was that she should avoid fighting Mateo.

He shook his head, frustrated. She sort of felt sorry for him. Mateo was a man of action, not words. He also held a great deal of power, which meant he didn't have to explain himself to many people. However, she fully intended to set the precedent that he would be 100% accountable to his future wife. Which meant explaining himself, if need be.

"Why do you want me to fight you?" she demanded. “We both know you can kick my ass. If you need an ego boost, go talk to Danny. He looks like he’ll present more of a challenge.”

Mateo was nearly a foot taller than her and weighed 100 pounds more. It was never going to be a fair fight between the two of them.

"When I picked you up on your university campus, you fought me," he said insistently, as if encouraging her to do it again.

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