Pregnant with the Prince's Child (4 page)

If he just could remember what exactly had happened. What had he been doing, what had he been thinking when he’d hit that IED? But it was gone—along with a few years of his life. He’d just lost it all. How did you do that? How did it happen? Whatever—it didn’t make a lot of sense, but it seemed to be true that it had happened to him. And there was a deep, dark hole in his soul because of it.

The woman moved and murmured something in her sleep. It sounded like “get away from me,” but it might have been something totally different. Still, it made him frown and wonder what was bothering her. He wanted to reach out and comfort her. And then he remembered. He couldn’t do things like that anymore.

He grimaced.

Think about something else.

He looked around the room. His usual bedroom was upstairs, but he’d stayed in this one a time or two in his childhood—mostly when all the Swiss cousins had come to fill the house for the holidays. The furnishings had a nice heirloom look to them, although he knew his mother had worked hard to make bargains into antiques during their poverty-stricken period in his late teens. It was nice to be in a familiar place after all that time in the sterile rooms at the hospital.

He hadn’t actually lived here since he’d gone away to university, more than ten years before. But he had a lot of childhood memories. It had been here on his eighteenth birthday that his parents had told him he was adopted. An admission like that was supposed to be a big shock in a young man’s life, but as he remembered it, he had nodded thoughtfully, taking it in as something less than surprising.

He’d always known he was sort of an ugly duckling in the wrong nest—though most would have disputed the “ugly” appellation. His parents were nothing like him. All through his childhood they had watched him in a sort of state of awe, their mouths slightly open, as though they couldn’t believe a child of theirs could act like that.

Not that they didn’t adore him. If anything, they’d loved him a bit too much, to the point where his brother, Kylos, their natural-born son, felt as though he had to do ever more outrageous things in order to get noticed himself.

So once they had told him the truth, he felt vindicated in a way. That small, illusive memory sense deep inside that only came out in dreams to tell him something was deeply, horribly flawed inside him had it right after all. He was in the wrong family.

And now someone at the royal castle had decided he might be one of the lost princes who had scattered into hiding at the time of the original rebellion that overthrew the monarchy almost thirty years before. He had no idea if there was any truth to it. If there was, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to participate. But his mind was too fuzzy right now to try to think it through.

The way he saw it, only two items were blemishing an otherwise charmed life for him. First, this damn injury that kept him drugged at the edge of disaster. And second, his loss of memory regarding the last few years of his life. Other than that, things were coming up roses.

He sighed and went back to sleep.

CHAPTER THREE

J
ANIS
woke to a cooler, darkened room. Someone had come in and turned on a side lamp, but the light it shed was minimal. They had also left a tray with a covered bowl. She rose and went over to take a peek. Chicken soup. She smiled. At least the butler took her seriously.

But the soup had cooled. How long had she been sleeping? She looked around for a clock and didn’t find one.

And finally, she looked at Mykal.

Her heart was in her throat again. Just looking at him sent her over the moon. She was in big trouble. How was she going to convince her traitorous heart not to love him? She began to pace the room, hands clenched into fists, thinking furiously, trying to get a handle on her situation.

Obviously, she couldn’t stay here. What had she been thinking? The need to make sure Mykal was safe had overwhelmed her good sense. See how he contorted her emotions? She didn’t dare stay and let that happen time after time, as it surely would.

She’d come with three objectives and not one of them was in the bag. That was a pretty poor performance. But how could she fight a man who was in such a precarious position? No way. She would just have to leave and hope she could get this close to him again later.

“Or else, send him a sternly worded letter,” she muttered to herself ruefully. “Arrgghh.”

All right, that was settled. She was leaving. She glanced at him again and winced. He was so darn beautiful. But he made her heart ache with a longing she didn’t need right now. She was going. Just exactly where, she didn’t know. These last few weeks in the prison camp, all she’d thought about was finding him and confronting him for all the misery she’d been through. It still hurt so badly to know he could have spared her all that if he’d cared enough to lift a finger.

But he hadn’t. And now he was the one in trouble. Why should she bother with him?

She shouldn’t. It was over.

She was deep in thought but suddenly her senses tingled. Someone was coming into the room behind her. The butler? Another servant? Before she could turn to see who it was, a male voice shot across the room like the flash from a flamethrower.

“Who the hell are you?”

The words hit her from behind but the man’s hand was on her neck before the words even registered. She didn’t have to think. She reacted on instinct and training, setting her foot and shifting her weight and grabbing the man by the neck. It was all a matter of balance and leverage. She’d done it so often it came naturally, and she slung him over her head, onto the floor. He landed with a grunt and lay very still. She gasped, wondering if she’d killed him.

But then a string of obscenities came pouring out of his mouth and she sighed with relief. Anyone who could swear like that still had a lot of life in him.

“Hey, I’m really sorry,” she said, sounding less than sincere. “But you shouldn’t touch a woman without warning like that.”

The obscenities didn’t stop, and suddenly she realized there was a background sense of chuckling going on. Turning, she found Mykal sitting upright and grinning from ear to ear.

“I see you’ve met my brother, Kylos,” he said, half-laughing. “Wow, as a guard, I’d say you fill the bill. I hope you stay forever.”

She flushed. The tiniest hint of praise from him and here she was, blushing. This was crazy and exactly why she couldn’t stay.

“Why the hell do you need a guard?” Kylos was grumbling as he clumsily pulled himself to his feet. “A nurse I could understand, but a guard?” He glared at her. “And why did you pick one who shoots first and asks questions later?”

She tried to smile, but it wasn’t easy. She’d never even known Mykal had a brother, and this man seemed so unlike him, it was eerie. His face was long and his skin was sallow and he tended to twitch as though he had an itch he was chasing. Where Mykal had been open and welcoming and warm—at least in the past—this man seemed cold and sly and calculating.

And if Mykal had this brother, what else did he have? He’d never told her anything about his family. Looking back now, she realized that their short relationship had been built on some pretty shaky ground. They’d existed in a fantasy bubble of their own. They’d kept their marriage a secret from most of the world, knowing they could lose their jobs if the intelligence service found out. It had seemed daring and exciting at the time. And it had only lasted a few weeks—barely time for them to get to know each other, much less discover anything about their respective families.

Crazy days—but as she remembered them, she couldn’t help but smile to herself. If it hadn’t ended so badly, just think where they might be now.

“The castle sent her over,” Mykal responded, sounding cool and cynical. “She’s probably supposed to keep me from killing myself by doing something normal.”

She was dying to ask what the castle had to do with this, but if they thought that was who had sent her, any questions on the subject might seem odd. So she decided to fulfill her role instead, raising her hand in warning as he seemed to be leaning forward with a bit too much vigor.

“Careful,” she said. “I’m sure the physicians have warned you against any sudden movements.”

He sent her an icy look before settling back against the pillows. “I heard their advice. I accept it—for now. They seem to think my life, as I’ve known it, is fully over with.” He looked at her in a way that implied an intimacy he couldn’t possibly think they shared, and then his gaze took on a challenging look. “Little do they know. This human hulk will rise again. And that’s a promise.”

“Not on my watch,” she said firmly, chin in the air as she looked back into his frosty eyes. “I haven’t lost a patient yet.”

“Well, that’s encouraging.” But his attention was fading and he winced. It was obvious he was still in pain.

Her heart lurched and she had to stop herself from moving toward him. She looked toward the doorway instead. Once she was out again, she wasn’t coming back. But then her gaze fell on the bowl of soup.

“You should be hungry by now,” she said, reaching for it. “I’ll go get this soup heated up for you. You probably want to talk to your brother anyway.”

He appeared surprised. “No, not really,” he murmured, but she was out the door.

There was no one in the kitchen, but the microwave worked fine and she was back in a flash, more determined than ever to wrap this thing up and take her leave.

“Can you handle this on your own?” she asked Mykal as she set the soup up for him on a bed tray.

He gave her a look but didn’t say anything. Taking the bowl from her, he proceeded to drink from it as though it were a large cup. She stood back and tried not to smile. Everything he did, every move he made, caused her to resonate like a tuning fork. The only problem was, each response was paired with a touch of fear at the same time.

His brother was hanging around grimly. He’d turned on the television, seemingly more for background noise than for any programming content. He made a face and gestured at Janis, making it clear he wanted to talk to her alone. She was tempted to go ahead and leave without letting him get his way, but she reluctantly hung back as he drew her aside in order to speak without Mykal overhearing.

“Listen, did they leave any medication for him?” he asked her urgently, leaning close. “I’ve looked all over and I can’t find anything. I was told they would leave something to help keep him quiet.”

She nodded, surprised at his intensity. “In the bathroom,” she said, pointing it out. “On a shelf in the medicine cabinet, I think.”

“Oh. Of course.” He looked as though he was starting off in that direction, then he hesitated, grimacing. “I guess that’s supposed to be
your
job, right?” He gestured toward Mykal. “Don’t you think you ought to give him something? He seems awfully wide-awake to me.”

“I think he’s allowed a little awake time,” she said, feeling slightly annoyed, then realizing she was talking through her hat. For all she knew, Kylos had talked to the doctors himself and knew much more than she did.

But actually, he didn’t act like it.

“Oh. Of course,” he said, fidgeting. He gave her an arch look. “But we wouldn’t want him to hurt himself.”

She frowned. “Don’t worry. I think he understands the possible consequences.”

She moved a little away from him. There was something definitely unpleasant about the man. Funny. Mykal had always been the sort of man who drew people to him. His brother seemed to be just the opposite.

“I think he can probably monitor his own need for the drugs, don’t you think?” she added.

He didn’t look convinced, but Mykal was holding out his empty bowl and she turned to take it from him and put it down on the top of the dresser.

“That ought to help make you feel a little more alive,” she told him.

He nodded, looking at her with a spark of interest in his eyes. “What’s your name, guard lady? What shall I call you?”

She took a deep breath. “Janis,” she said. And she didn’t give her last name.

“Janis?”

He was still frowning, thinking it over as though it might ring a bell. She held her breath.

And then he showed the hint of a smile. “Nice name,” he said. His eyes drifted shut again. “Will you still be here when I wake up, Janis?” he asked her softly.

She couldn’t answer that. After all, he’d told her to leave earlier. But he didn’t seem to remember that.

“I hope you will,” he said groggily. “I have some things I want to talk to you about. Later.”

“I…I’ll try,” she said faintly.

He held out his hand and she knew what he wanted. Quickly, she moved closer and took his hand in hers. He smiled and held on tightly, as though he really did need her to anchor his existence. Then his smile faded as he fell quickly into another deep sleep.

She stared at the hand she was holding, then pressed it to her heart and gazed down at him. He looked like a wounded warrior. Her heart filled with love for him. She couldn’t help it. No matter what he did, she couldn’t seem to shake it. And in truth, she didn’t really want to.

Their marriage had been short, barely two months, but oh, so sweet. They had been friends as well as lovers, but the love had been the best. She remembered the night he’d aroused such passion in her, she’d clawed his back with her fingernails. He’d laughed and teased her that he was going to go around without a shirt for the day so everyone could see what a hot woman he had. She’d been mortified, and so apologetic. But he’d just kissed her and before she knew it, they were making love again.

If they could go back to what they had created between them in the short time they were married, before it all fell apart…

But that was dreaming and in her experience, dreams very seldom came true. She’d grown up hard and tough, learning how to defend herself early. Her mother died when she was young and her father was a mobster. He’d been killed in a police raid when she was ten. Her brother, Rolo, had been the only real family she had left, though they had both gone to live with her uncle, Max Gorgonio. Rolo had been the only person who’d ever been close enough to gain her trust, until she’d met Mykal.

Trust. The word tasted bitter on her lips. What good had all that trust done when the rubber hit the road? It melted away like a springtime snowfall and left cold comfort behind.

“Hey, what’s the deal?”

She dropped Mykal’s hand with a start. She’d forgotten his brother was still here.

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “I was just…thinking.”

“Oh, yeah?” He gave her a doubtful look. “Well, I’ve got to go meet…uh…my lawyer. I’ve got to get going now. Are you going to be here for the night?”

Was she? No. She had to go. Staying wouldn’t accomplish anything. She looked back down and sighed. She hated to leave him, but what else could she do?

Kylos twitched, blinking rapidly. “If you are, you can keep an eye on him. But I want to be perfectly clear. I want to make sure he stays quiet, and in order to do that, I think we ought to keep him pretty drugged up.”

The way he’d phrased that gave her a bad feeling and she looked at him, curious. “Drugged up?” she repeated doubtfully.

“Sure. That’s what they did in the hospital, didn’t they? No one wants to take any chances with that shrapnel thing in his back.”

“Oh, I agree. But he doesn’t have to be out cold in order to stay quiet, does he?”

He shrugged and looked bored with it all. “Whatever it takes, honey. I’d just as soon you kept him groggy. He’s easier to handle that way.”

Her mouth dropped. What on earth was this man talking about?

“Hey.” He pinched her cheek and grinned at her. “Just play along for now and I’ll make sure you get a bonus when this job is over. I just need a couple more days and then…” He twitched nervously and looked as though he was afraid he might have said too much. “What I mean is, I’m really worried about my brother’s chances. He’s got big things in the works and we have to keep him calm. Get it?”

No, she didn’t get it at all, but she nodded. And at the same time, she had a sinking feeling. She wasn’t going to leave, was she? Not while this vulture was strutting around asking her to drug Mykal. She couldn’t allow that. Someone had to monitor the situation. She sighed. Maybe she would be here for the long haul after all.