Page 42 of The Wanted Prince
I hoped it wouldn’t, and nobody’s phone would, not one phone in the village with a dial tone. But it did work, and our cab came, and we piled inside, and the thunk of the door felt like an ending. Saying goodbye to what could’ve been, in another life.
CHAPTER 16
ALESSANDRO
Our meeting with André was a big nothingburger.
“That was you?” he said, when I confessed what I’d done — spread a morsel of gossip that cost him his job. I hadn’t done it on purpose, or, no, I had. I just hadn’t considered I might get him caught. He’d had a party at his boss’s house while said boss was traveling, and managed to lose his boss’s three dogs. He’d rounded them up again and all was well… till I opened my big mouth and ruined his life.
“I always thought it was someone who was actually there.” André laughed, rueful. “Misspent youth, right?”
I studied his face for the hint of a lie. “You’re saying you didn’t know it was me?”
He shrugged. “Honestly, I can’t say I gave it much thought. I threw the party. Who cares who blabbed?”
“So why didn’t I hear from you after that? If you weren’t mad at me, why didn’t we?—”
“Because I moved here. We fell out of touch.”
There wasn’t a whole lot to say after that. André and I had never been that close, and now, making small talk, I could see why. We had nothing in common besides noble blood. No wonder he’d never thought to reach out.
In Paris, I thought we’d found our man: Rodrigo Alvarez refused to see us. We showed up at his building and tried to buzz in, and when he heard my voice, he cut me off.
“No.”
I started to argue, but he’d already hung up. When I punched in his code again, he didn’t pick up.
“It’s him. It’s got to be. He knows why we’re here.”
“Or he just really hates you,” Laura said. “What did you do?”
I hung my head, shamefaced. “I kidnapped him, sort of.”
“What?”
“In my lost year. I dragged him off to Belize. Swore I’d have him back for his bar exam.”
Laura winced. “I take it you didn’t?”
“He broke into my hotel suite and threw my clothes in the pool. I mean my whole suitcase. He just flung it in. Oh, and my watch, and my phone. My laptop. The man has rage issues, and now he won’t see us.” I tried his buzzer again, and again he didn’t answer. “Let’s sneak in behind someone.”
Laura nodded at the doorman. “He doesn’t look friendly.”
I cursed as I saw he was looking right at us, the big, clunky desk phone pressed to his ear. Rodrigo was warning him. We’d never get in.
“We should go,” said Laura.
“What? We’ve come this far.”
“No, we should go.” She elbowed me hard and I followed her gaze, and my throat went tight as I spotted a phone. I whirled as the flash went off, showing my back. Laura grabbed hold of me and we ran away.
That night, Laura sat up refreshing PrinceTracker while I mapped out Rodrigo’s schedule. I felt like a stalker delving deep in his socials, or as deep as I could since he’d blocked my accounts. His friends were less cautious when I reached out from my fakebook, immediately accepting my friend requests.
The next day, we ambushed him at his favorite lunch spot, and his face when he saw us lit up with pure panic. He stood up so fast his wine glass tipped over. It rolled off the table and smashed on the floor. Rodrigo jumped up and hurried away, but I cut ahead of him to block the fire exit.
“Got you,” I said.
“What do you want?” He wasn’t looking at me, but over his shoulder, back at the dining room. Hiding his face. When a waiter drew near, Rodrigo dragged me into the men’s room. He slammed the door, locked it, and wiped his face. I saw he was sweating, his face ghastly pale. At last, I had him.