Royal Target (2 page)

For a moment, insecurity washed over her as she saw herself as an insignificant commoner pretending she belonged among royalty. Annoyed at her train of thought, Janessa turned her attention to the dinner in front of her, determined to enjoy herself as she engaged in conversation with the prince and the Navases.

Numerous questions were directed at Prince Garrett over the course of the meal, and Janessa could see him stiffening degree by degree as his posture once again became rigid and formal. She thought she could feel his impatience with the tedious conversation, but each time she looked at him, she saw only his perfect manners and an air of formality. Between dinner and dessert, a waitress arrived and served after-dinner drinks.

Janessa looked at the red liquid in the glass that was placed in front of her. It was possible this was a fruit drink, but since it was in a glass commonly used for wine, there was a good chance it was alcoholic. She turned to César and asked in Spanish, “What is it?”

“You’ll like it,” he told her absently.

Though she worked undercover for the CIA in many different settings, her religious standards were one part of her cover that never changed. The chief of police was aware that she was a Latter-day Saint, and in the past he and his coworkers had gone out of their way to serve her drinks that were in keeping with her beliefs. Yet she couldn’t help feeling wary of the drink in front of her. She asked César again, “But what is it?”

“Sangria.”

Leaning forward, Janessa spoke quietly. “Doesn’t it have alcohol in it?”

“You must drink with us,” César insisted, nudging her glass toward her.

Janessa shook her head, instantly aware that the prince was staring at her. Still, she spoke calmly to César, her voice low. “You know I don’t drink.”

“This is different. It’s for a celebration.” An edge came into his voice.

Felisa Navas leaned across her husband, her words slurring a bit as she added sternly, “You must drink. It is an insult if you do not.”

Janessa looked from Felisa to César, realizing that Felisa had already had too much to drink. Hoping to shift the attention away from herself, she was about to initiate a conversation with the prince when Felisa reached across her husband and pushed the drink closer to Janessa.

“You must drink with us.” Felisa’s voice raised another decibel.

Donald leaned forward, clearly becoming upset by the scene unfolding. He lowered his voice and demanded, “What are you doing?”

“I’m Mormon. It’s against my religion to drink, and I’m not going to get pushed into it,” Janessa told him in hushed tones. She sensed the prince’s surprise and wondered if he was familiar with her faith.

The Navases made one more attempt to convince Janessa to drink with them. César was calm, trying to explain that she was breaking custom, but Felisa was clearly angry. All the while, Prince Garrett looked on silently.

Finally, Janessa pushed back from the table and spoke in Spanish, her voice low in the hopes that she could avoid drawing any more attention to herself. “I am sorry if I have insulted you by not drinking this.” She waved a hand at the sangria. “But please understand that it is an insult to me that you would expect me to set aside my religious beliefs for a drink.”

Felisa gasped at her words, but Janessa turned away, intending to have Levi cover for her until she could trade places with someone working outside of the ballroom. To her surprise, Prince Garrett stood as well.

“I’ll escort you home.” He took her hand in his before turning his attention back to those at the table. “I hope you all enjoy the rest of your evening.”

With that, he motioned toward the door and accompanied Janessa out of the room.

Chapter 2

Garrett stepped into the hall and studied the petite redhead beside him. Her cheeks were flushed with color, her posture rigid. He couldn’t help but admire her for standing up for her beliefs, especially now that he could see how shaken she was. His mind was still trying to wrap around the news that she was Mormon as he laid a hand on her shoulder and asked, “Are you all right?”

Janessa nodded, turning to face him. “I’m fine. I can trade places with one of the others on security detail so you can go rejoin the party.”

“Are you kidding?” Garrett tugged at his collar to relieve some of the pressure from his bowtie. “You just saved me from another two hours of boredom. I owe you.”

Her posture relaxed somewhat, and she managed a small smile. “Would you like me to arrange for your car to take you back to your embassy?”

Garrett considered what she was offering, the peace and solitude he had wanted all evening. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be alone after all. “Perhaps you can suggest someplace else we can go. I don’t think I’m quite ready to call it a night.”

Janessa tensed, and Garrett could sense her reservations as she asked, “What did you have in mind?”

“Perhaps you know of someplace where we can get dessert,” he suggested.

Now Janessa relaxed and gave him the gift of a genuine smile. “I think we can manage that.” She stepped closer to one of his security guards that had followed them into the hall. She spoke in Italian, instructing the guard to inform Prince Stefano of his brother’s departure and to request a small contingent of guards to accompany them.

Garrett looked on, surprised at her easy use of his language. “Where did you learn to speak Italian?”

“I went on a mission for the Mormon Church to Italy.” Janessa motioned down the hall to the elevators. “We’ll take my car so that your brother can leave when he wants.”

“I imagine he will be here for some time. For some insane reason, he actually likes these events.”

Janessa just nodded as she stepped into the elevator. A few minutes later they emerged from the service entrance and were met by a member of Garrett’s security force. Janessa’s driver was already waiting for them outside, along with another car filled with security personnel.

Janessa’s driver opened the door to let Janessa and the prince into the back seat. He then climbed behind the wheel as Garrett’s personal bodyguard slid into the passenger seat. Janessa leaned forward, informing the driver of their destination.

Garrett expected her to choose some high-end restaurant nearby, but when the car approached one of the popular night clubs, he wondered if he should have gone back to the embassy after all. While the press often painted him as a man who spent his time clubbing, few people realized that he didn’t like crowds. To his relief, the driver continued down the street and pulled into a parking lot a mile later. He studied the glass-fronted ice cream shop, pleased with its simplicity and lack of clientele at this late hour.

Out of habit, he stayed in the car until his bodyguard opened his door and indicated that the security sweep had been completed. Janessa escorted him inside, apparently comfortable in the simple setting despite the fact that she wore an evening gown and her escort was in black tie.

Showing an unexpected warmth, she greeted the proprietor by name and led the way to a booth in the corner. Garrett slid into the seat across from her, somewhat surprised at how easily her professionalism had melted away. He nodded in the direction of the owner. “I gather you come here often.”

She carelessly lifted a shoulder. “Once or twice a month.”

“How do you know the owner?”

“I introduced myself to him the first time I came in.” Janessa passed him a menu. “After you taste the ice cream here, you’ll see why.”

Two of Garrett’s bodyguards stood by the exits, even though the place was nearly empty. A trio of girls occupied a booth in the center of the restaurant, and on the far side six teenagers were eating out of an enormous bowl filled with various flavors of ice cream.

Garrett motioned across the room. “I hope all of the portions aren’t that big.”

Janessa shook her head and laughed. “After the dinner we just ate, I think one scoop will do it for me tonight. The challenge is deciding what flavor.”

Opening his menu, he began to understand what she was talking about. Over three dozen flavors were listed inside. He was still deciding when the waitress came over to take their order, and he finally chose something at random.

As soon as the waitress left them, he turned his attention back to Janessa. “I gather you are stationed here in Caracas?”

Janessa nodded. “I’ve been in the country just over a year.”

“I have to admit, you don’t look anything like the security officers I’ve had in the past.”

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Janessa said as the waitress approached with their dessert. “By the way, thanks for helping me out tonight. I didn’t expect to get cornered like that by my friends.”

“It was my pleasure. Like I said before, you likely saved me from hours of boredom.” Garrett leaned forward as though telling her a secret. “And you also saved me from a rather awkward situation with Monique.”

“Does this mean we’re even?” she asked with a smile.

“Absolutely.”

Janessa picked up her spoon and scooped up a little of the ice cream the waitress had set before her. “You said earlier that you plan to return home after the summit. Do you know what you’ll do once you get there? Do you have duties waiting for you, or can you sort of carve out your own future?”

Garrett stared at her for a moment, more surprised by the fact that she thought to ask such a question than by the question itself. Reminding himself that he barely knew this woman, he kept his response neutral. “I’m still considering my options.”

She nodded sympathetically. “I imagine being royal is difficult, trying to balance the doors that are open to you with the limitations your title creates.”

“Not many people recognize the limitations,” Garrett stated simply. He took a bite of ice cream, and a slow smile crept over his face. “I can see why you chose this place.”

“I try to stop by every time I’m in this part of the city.” Janessa smiled.

“Where else do you suggest I visit while I’m here?” Garrett asked, relaxing back into his seat.

“Well, you probably don’t have time to go to Canaima and visit Angel Falls.” Janessa shrugged a shoulder. “That’s one of my favorite places, but there’s a lot of history right here in Caracas.”

Garrett continued to enjoy his ice cream while he listened to the charming redhead talk about the city and some of her favorite sights. She seemed at ease with him, reminding him of the friends he’d left behind in Washington, D.C.

When the waitress approached with their bill, Janessa glanced down at her watch. “It’s getting late. Would you like me to take you home?”

Garrett laughed as he lifted his hand and motioned for one of his bodyguards to take care of the bill. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

“Not tonight.”

* * *

Janessa couldn’t figure him out. Prince Garrett leaned back in his seat as they made their way to his embassy, somehow looking comfortable despite the tuxedo he wore. He chatted amiably about his country, then asked about her family. He was acting so incredibly normal that the whole scene seemed surreal.

Even more surreal was the fact that she was sitting beside him, somehow keeping up her end of the conversation. The stiffness she had first noticed in him had faded, and his demeanor was now friendly and relaxed. In fact, he seemed to have completely forgotten that she was present as a member of his security force, treating her instead like a casual acquaintance he had chosen to spend time with.

Janessa slipped back into work mode when the Meridian Embassy came into view along with a half dozen reporters waiting outside the main gate. She leaned forward and instructed her driver to circle the block to give the prince’s security forces sufficient time to eliminate any potential threats.

Prince Garrett waited until she turned her attention back to him and asked, “Can I expect to see you tomorrow?”

“I don’t know if I’m on duty tomorrow.”

He grinned. “Perhaps I should pull a few strings. Being royal does have its advantages.”

Janessa laughed. “You just want to make sure that Monique sees us together so she’ll leave you alone.”

“I’m a man who knows how to use his resources well.”

“Of that I have little doubt.” Her smile stayed put as she noticed that they were approaching the embassy once again and that his security detail was now in place. “Thank you again for helping me out this evening.”

“The pleasure was entirely mine,” Prince Garrett said as the driver opened the car door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Janessa responded automatically. “I look forward to it.”

Then, with a spree of flashbulbs, he climbed from the car and disappeared behind the embassy gates. As the driver pulled away, Janessa glanced back over her shoulder, realizing that she really was looking forward to tomorrow.

* * *

“Your behavior was completely unacceptable.” Donald drummed his fingers on his desk. “Imagine my surprise when I found out that this was not the first incident you’d been involved in.”

Janessa watched Donald open up her personnel file, afraid of what he might find there. She had thought the early morning summons to Donald’s office was to tell her she had been requested for Prince Garrett’s security detail. Instead, she found herself once again defending her beliefs. She held back a sigh, deliberately keeping her voice free of emotion. “I can explain.”

“I don’t even want to know what happened at the bathhouse in Japan. Obviously you caused a major stir if you were reassigned after only two weeks in the country.” Donald skimmed over the papers in her file. “And then you punched the ambassador’s aide in Paris.”

“He’s the one who made a move on me.” Janessa held up a hand as she made her point. “I tried asking him nicely to stop. He just wouldn’t listen.”

“You broke his nose!”

Janessa nodded, trying to look remorseful. A touch of humor still laced her voice when she spoke. “That was unfortunate.”

“This string of
unfortunate
incidents leaves me little choice.” Donald shuffled the papers on his desk, standing when he located the one he wanted. “Here are your travel orders to go back to Washington. Your flight leaves first thing in the morning.”

Sighing heavily, Janessa snatched the travel orders from Donald’s hand, muttering as she left his office. “So much for religious freedom.”