Read Online Alec's Royal Assignment (Man On A Mission Book 3) by Amelia Autin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Amelia Autin
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Except for her trip to the United States searching for Caterina. But that had hardly been a pleasure trip.
“I was in The Hague a few years back. The Netherlands. The International Criminal Court is headquartered there. That was an experience, let me tell you.”
“How so?”
He expounded for a few minutes, then said, “When I was in The Hague, Liam was stationed in Rome, which is about the closest we’ve ever worked to each other except for the six months when we were assigned to guard Princess Mara together.”
“But you are still close to your brother. That is what you said, yes?”
Alec laughed. “Yeah. Even though we’ve rarely seen each other since we left home, except for the occasional Christmas holiday.”
“My cousin was—” She broke off.
“You said the other day you had a cousin who was like a little sister to you,” Alec reminded her. “What happened to her?”
Angelina thought about it for a moment before answering, choosing her words carefully. “She disappeared more than eight years ago. She was only sixteen.”
Alec stopped walking, tugging her back toward him. “Oh, Angel, I’m so sorry.” He cupped her cheek with his hand, his dark brown eyes full of sympathy. “She just vanished? Did she run away, or...?”
Angelina shook her head. “She went to America to model—she was so excited about it. But from the moment she stepped on the plane, I never heard from her again.”
* * *
Alec saw Angelina safely home, his mind working furiously. He performed a quick electronic sweep as soon as he entered the privacy of his apartment, then got on the phone with Trace McKinnon. “Angelina Mateja,” he said abruptly. “Lieutenant Mateja. Queen’s security detail.”
“What about her?”
“She had a cousin who disappeared roughly eight years ago. A cousin who supposedly went to the US to model but was never heard from again.”
McKinnon cursed softly, making the connection. “You think this trafficking ring has been going on for that long?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Can you see what you can uncover on the cousin?”
“You got a name?”
“Nope. I don’t even know if she has the same last name as Angelina. All I know is she was sixteen when she vanished, so she’d be around twenty-four now.”
“I’m on it. I’ll let you know what I learn.”
“Thanks. And McKinnon?”
“Yeah?”
“I didn’t tell Angelina anything. I could have pumped her for more information, but she’s too intelligent, too savvy. I didn’t want to raise her suspicions.”
“Among other things.”
Alec bristled. “What the hell does that mean?”
McKinnon laughed, not unkindly. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Even before they hung up, Alec knew McKinnon had been lying, and wondered if his attraction to Angelina was obvious to everyone...or if McKinnon was just more astute than most.
Probably the latter,
he consoled himself. McKinnon was a damned good special agent. He hadn’t gotten where he was with merely run-of-the-mill powers of observation and an average ability to assemble disparate clues. But that didn’t make it any easier to accept.
* * *
Sunday dawned, a bright and beautiful fall day with clear skies and a gentle breeze. A perfect day for the christening of Crown Prince Raoul Theodore Alexei Stepan.
As if God himself is smiling on the occasion,
Alec thought whimsically as he arrived in the Drago town square just as the sun peeked over the mountaintops to the east.
He wasn’t supposed to be here this early. In fact, he was supposed to arrive with the McKinnons, whose guest he was. But Alec had cried off, telling McKinnon he’d make his own way to the christening and meet them there because he wanted to experience the whole event as a spectator, not just as a guest. But that meant he was already dressed for the occasion in the formal morning suit he wore for official embassy events, right down to a carnation in his lapel.
Alec wasn’t the first to
“I was in The Hague a few years back. The Netherlands. The International Criminal Court is headquartered there. That was an experience, let me tell you.”
“How so?”
He expounded for a few minutes, then said, “When I was in The Hague, Liam was stationed in Rome, which is about the closest we’ve ever worked to each other except for the six months when we were assigned to guard Princess Mara together.”
“But you are still close to your brother. That is what you said, yes?”
Alec laughed. “Yeah. Even though we’ve rarely seen each other since we left home, except for the occasional Christmas holiday.”
“My cousin was—” She broke off.
“You said the other day you had a cousin who was like a little sister to you,” Alec reminded her. “What happened to her?”
Angelina thought about it for a moment before answering, choosing her words carefully. “She disappeared more than eight years ago. She was only sixteen.”
Alec stopped walking, tugging her back toward him. “Oh, Angel, I’m so sorry.” He cupped her cheek with his hand, his dark brown eyes full of sympathy. “She just vanished? Did she run away, or...?”
Angelina shook her head. “She went to America to model—she was so excited about it. But from the moment she stepped on the plane, I never heard from her again.”
* * *
Alec saw Angelina safely home, his mind working furiously. He performed a quick electronic sweep as soon as he entered the privacy of his apartment, then got on the phone with Trace McKinnon. “Angelina Mateja,” he said abruptly. “Lieutenant Mateja. Queen’s security detail.”
“What about her?”
“She had a cousin who disappeared roughly eight years ago. A cousin who supposedly went to the US to model but was never heard from again.”
McKinnon cursed softly, making the connection. “You think this trafficking ring has been going on for that long?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Can you see what you can uncover on the cousin?”
“You got a name?”
“Nope. I don’t even know if she has the same last name as Angelina. All I know is she was sixteen when she vanished, so she’d be around twenty-four now.”
“I’m on it. I’ll let you know what I learn.”
“Thanks. And McKinnon?”
“Yeah?”
“I didn’t tell Angelina anything. I could have pumped her for more information, but she’s too intelligent, too savvy. I didn’t want to raise her suspicions.”
“Among other things.”
Alec bristled. “What the hell does that mean?”
McKinnon laughed, not unkindly. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Even before they hung up, Alec knew McKinnon had been lying, and wondered if his attraction to Angelina was obvious to everyone...or if McKinnon was just more astute than most.
Probably the latter,
he consoled himself. McKinnon was a damned good special agent. He hadn’t gotten where he was with merely run-of-the-mill powers of observation and an average ability to assemble disparate clues. But that didn’t make it any easier to accept.
* * *
Sunday dawned, a bright and beautiful fall day with clear skies and a gentle breeze. A perfect day for the christening of Crown Prince Raoul Theodore Alexei Stepan.
As if God himself is smiling on the occasion,
Alec thought whimsically as he arrived in the Drago town square just as the sun peeked over the mountaintops to the east.
He wasn’t supposed to be here this early. In fact, he was supposed to arrive with the McKinnons, whose guest he was. But Alec had cried off, telling McKinnon he’d make his own way to the christening and meet them there because he wanted to experience the whole event as a spectator, not just as a guest. But that meant he was already dressed for the occasion in the formal morning suit he wore for official embassy events, right down to a carnation in his lapel.
Alec wasn’t the first to
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