Read Online King's Ransom by Amelia Autin - Free Book Online

Richardson. Zakhar would grieve should something happen to you here.” He touched two fingers to his forehead in an old-fashioned gesture that made Juliana think if he’d been wearing a hat he would have tipped it to her. Then he walked back across the street, apparently in the same direction from which he’d come.
    She watched the stranger for a few seconds, wondering why he seemed somehow familiar. Hollywood? On the plane here? She racked her brain, but try though she might, she couldn’t place him. Maybe it wasn’t his face she recognized, but the way he held himself tall and straight. Almost military in aspect.
Maybe he
is
military,
she thought abstractedly. He wasn’t in uniform, but maybe he was in the Zakharian National Forces and was off duty. He was the right age for it. All Zakharian men were required to join the military when they turned eighteen and serve for at least four years—it was the badge of citizenship, and most Zakharian men were proud to serve. Some even went on to make it a career choice.
    Only the royal family was exempt from the military service requirement, something Niko had accepted as his due when he turned eighteen. But Niko’s older brother, Zax, hadn’t, Juliana remembered. Neither had Andre. He’d insisted on joining the Zakharian National Forces and training with them just as hard as any basic recruit, despite his father’s vehement opposition.
    Andre had actually been in the military when she’d first met him, although his military service had had to be modified to accommodate his royal duties, of course, such as his presence at official functions. Lieutenant Marianescu—he’d steadfastly refused promotion to any rank he hadn’t earned—had been a member of the Zakharian National Forces the entire four years she’d known him and had still been on active duty when she’d left Zakhar.
Why remember that now?
    It wasn’t until Juliana turned and continued on her way to the royal cemetery that she realized she’d never asked the man who’d rescued her what his name was.
Damn! What was I thinking?
He knew who she was, but unless he came forward later or spoke with the press—neither scenario very likely, since he was Zakharian—she had no way to thank him again. With a little sigh of regret for her lapse of judgment she put the entire incident out of her mind.
    * * *
    The phone rang suddenly, and even though the man had been eagerly waiting for it the ring startled him. He snatched at the phone. “Yes?”
    â€œNo,” said the cold flat voice at the other end, a voice he recognized.
    He cursed, softly and fluently. “How?”
    Both men knew better than to speak incriminating words over the phone, so the only answer was, “Interference.”
    He slammed the phone down.
Andre,
he thought with a sudden spurt of anger. Whatever had prevented the successful execution of his plan—and he would find out the details later, in person—somehow Andre was involved.
I should have known.
    He couldn’t attempt something similar. Not now. Juliana’s death had to appear to be an accident, and two incidents of the same nature within a short time span would raise suspicions. He couldn’t let Andre suspect someone was deliberately trying to keep Juliana away from him—although he was.
    He controlled his anger, calming himself with an effort. One failure was not the end of the world; he still had time. And as the Russian had said, he had the money. When their father died, he and his brother had inherited a fortune that was exceeded only by Andre’s royal inheritance. Unlimited funds meant he had unlimited options.
    * * *
    Juliana had already memorized the dialogue for the deathbed scene scheduled to be filmed tomorrow. The king had been mortally wounded in the raid that finally recovered the huge ransom he’d paid sixteen years before and exacted vengeance for everything his