Page 119 of Ruthless

“Gideon?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for not giving up on me.” Before he could respond, she added, “But if you ever again drug me, kidnap me, or inject something into my body without my consent, I will cause you severe physical pain. Understood?”

Looking suitably chastised, which she knew very well was a ruse, he answered quietly, “Understood.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Ile de la Lune

Amelie

Thank heavens for skilled makeup artists and excellent cosmetics. Without them, she was quite sure the people of her country would have serious concerns about the health of their future queen. While she looked well-rested, poised, confident, and ready to take on a kingdom, she was none of those things in reality.

The press conference was scheduled to take place in two hours. The specifics of what it was about had not been announced. Though there was speculation about the reason, no one outside the king’s inner circle knew for sure. The fact that two days ago, the king had announced the death of his last living son, and the knowledge that his only remaining heir was the princess had made the rumor mill sound a little more authentic.

For a country that had never been in a major war or conflict and was rarely in the news for anything, all the happenings over the past few weeks had brought out more press than anyone had expected. Louis, her father’s secretary, had mentioned that they’d had to change the venue for the announcement due to the number of media requests. Everyone wanted to know what was going on in the previously sleepy little country of Ile de la Lune.

Many of Eve’s OZ family would be in the audience as well. When she had called to tell Ash she would be leaving Option Zero, he had been incredibly gracious. He’d also told her that several of the team had remained in the area, wanting to see firsthand what a real queen looked like. She hoped she didn’t disappoint them.

Gideon couldn’t be here, for obvious reasons. She had left him early this morning to fly to Amelie. Silly, but leaving him had felt like a portent of things to come. Would this new development completely demolish all that they’d built?

She assured herself that wasn’t the case. Once Gideon was released from the hospital, he would come here to recover. Life would continue on for them, though not in the way it had before. It could never be what it once had been, but they were still together. They were still Gideon and Eve, and she was counting herself fortunate for that. She never wanted to be without him again.

What it would look like once Gideon was well enough to go back to Option Zero was anyone’s guess. Before she was crowned, she would have some freedom, so maybe things wouldn’t change all that much. At least not for a while.

And as queen, she would have a certain amount of flexibility to travel, but most of her time would have to be spent in her own country, taking care of her duties. Seeing him only occasionally and not knowing what danger he was in would be difficult. But this was the only way, wasn’t it? He’d given her no indication that he would want to give up his job with OZ, and she just could not bring herself to ask him. How fair would that be? Just because she had to leave the work that she loved didn’t mean he should. She never wanted to take that away from him.

In a way, she felt as though she were being pulled back in time. For over ten years, she had managed to escape her obligations. But now they were weighing her down with triple the heaviness. That feeling had only intensified when she’d been introduced to her two new bodyguards earlier today. What was the saying? The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. She didn’t know if that idiom fit this scenario, but it was a close description to what she was feeling.

“Buckle up, buttercup,” she snarled at her reflection. Going into this with a defeatist attitude would not help. She would serve her country and honor her family to the best of her ability. It might not be what she wanted for her life, but she could still do valuable things, just in a different capacity.

And she would still be with Gideon. Maybe not in the way she had hoped, but she would take what she could get.

A knock on her door had her anxiety ramping up. She was to have a meeting with her father in his private office, and then they would walk into the venue together.

She took one last look in the mirror. Her hair flowed over her shoulders in a dark fall of loose curls. She wore a dress in royal blue that hugged her figure but was sophisticated and modest. The sweetheart neckline allowed for a lovely string of pearls, which had been her maman’s. She had done everything she outwardly could to look like a future queen. Now she needed to work on the inside.

Pulling in a breath, she walked confidently to the door, knowing that once she walked through it, her life would change forever.

The instant the door opened, she took a small, startled step back, her breath catching in her throat. “Gideon, what on earth? You should be in the hospital.”

Dressed in a black designer suit, stark white shirt, and black tie, he was the epitome of sophisticated, gorgeous masculinity, and there was nothing she wanted more than to leap into his arms. Since that would likely make him hurt like hell, she held herself back. Plus, even though he was incredibly handsome, he still looked way too pale.

“We didn’t get to finish our conversation yesterday.”

“We didn’t?”

“Mind if I come in?”

“Of course not.” She stepped back, allowing him entrance.

They went into the living room, and she sat quickly, suddenly realizing that her knees were shaking. Had he changed his mind? Had he decided this kind of relationship, even though she wasn’t expecting him to give up his life’s goals, wouldn’t work for him? Had he come to say goodbye?

“There’s something you need to know.”

She took an unsettled breath, waiting for her heart to break completely open. “What’s that?”