The Royal Treatment. Maureen Child
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Название: The Royal Treatment
Автор: Maureen Child
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Контркультура
Серия: Mills & Boon Desire
isbn: 9781472038180
isbn:
And in this office, with the door closed, the two men could talk freely, without worrying about being overheard or quoted.
Nodding, he said, “The king’s doctors seem to think there are encouraging signs. It seems he may be rousing from the coma.”
“That is good news.” Hell, it was great news. As a citizen of Penwyck, J.T. had been as worried about his king as anyone else. And being a member of the inner circle, he’d been a part of the coverup that had been so dangerous to his country. “So does this mean that Br—”
“No.” Franklin stood up, too. “The king’s brother will remain as temporary head of the country.” Pacing, he seemed to be carefully considering something as he said, “And frankly, the easier we can make this on the queen, the better. Her Majesty is inundated with problems and trying to keep things running despite Broderick’s interference.”
J.T. nodded and waited for the man to continue. It didn’t take long.
“The RET is doing what it can. But security here is up to us.”
The Royal Elite Team was probably champing at the bit to do something—anything. But when it came to palace security, the RII was in charge. And J.T. was just competitive enough to enjoy knowing that the members of the RET were clearly unhappy with the situation.
“I understand,” he said, though he wasn’t entirely sure he knew where Franklin was going with this.
The older man laughed shortly and stopped his frenetic pacing to stare at him from across the room. “I don’t think you do, or you wouldn’t be so agreeable.”
“What’s going on, Franklin?”
“I need you to distract your ex-wife.”
“That’s going above and beyond the call of duty.” Dumbfounded, J.T. swallowed back a rising tide of anger.
“You know her best. Know how to keep her off track. Keep her happy.”
If he’d known how to keep her happy, J.T. thought, they’d still be married. This was a bad idea. Real bad. And he didn’t mind saying so. “Won’t work. Jade’s not exactly my biggest fan.”
“Just buy us a couple of days.”
“And then what?”
“She’ll get her interview and you won’t have to deal with her again.”
Now that should be good news. But the fact was, J.T. had done nothing but think about her since seeing her outside the gates. She’d haunted his every thought, stalked his dreams and filled his mind until he couldn’t even draw a breath without imagining her scent.
Now that he’d seen her again after three long years, he wasn’t exactly in a hurry to be rid of her. And that surprised him as much as it would have her.
Vancour walked across the room slowly, keeping his gaze locked with J.T.’s. “I need your cooperation in this, Wainwright. Your king needs it.”
J.T. studied him. There was something in the other man’s eyes that hinted at the seriousness of the situation. Well, hell, they’d all been living in a pressure cooker for weeks. Ever since the king had collapsed unexpectedly.
Placate Jade.
From a purely male standpoint, that wasn’t such a tough assignment. There was so much history between them, though. So much hurt and pain and misery. Yet before the pain, there had also been…a connection between them that had been stronger and deeper than anything he’d ever experienced before or since.
But she also had an argumentative streak that would give the most patient man in the world the urge to throttle her. Just remembering how she’d stood up to him, shaken the iron gates and glared at him without an instant’s hesitation was almost enough to make J.T. smile. A man his size didn’t usually meet people who weren’t instantly intimidated. Jade never had been, though, and he’d always admired her for it.
She wouldn’t be an easy woman to manipulate. And if Franklin Vancour thought she could be bought off by a walk through the palace gardens, he was sadly mistaken.
Still…if all the palace required was a few more days’ respite, maybe J.T. could pull it off. Maybe he could keep her busy enough that she wouldn’t notice that she wasn’t any closer to the interior of the palace than she’d been yesterday. And, if he spent enough time in her company, perhaps the attraction he felt for her would die a natural death. Maybe this was what they both needed to completely end what they’d finished three years ago. Maybe they needed to spend time together again to realize that it was all really gone.
And maybe he was a masochist.
At any rate, it’d certainly be the most interesting assignment he’d been given since joining the RII.
He looked at Franklin. “A few days?”
The man nodded slowly. “At the most.”
“I’ll do my best,” J.T. told him.
“I knew I could count on you.”
A few minutes later, Jeremy was letting himself out of the security office and heading back to the guardhouse. Autumn sunshine spilled out of a cloudy sky and he told himself that he should enjoy it while it lasted. He had a feeling he was headed into stormy weather.
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