Page 44 of Ruthless

“Did what you had to do.”

At the sound of their father’s voice, all three of them went to their feet. Standing at the door, the king had obviously heard Nicolas’s words, and the fire in his eyes told of his displeasure.

“Bonjour, Papa,” Alexandre said. “Come join the party.”

“From where I’m standing, it didn’t sound like a party. More like a trial.”

“That’s not what it was at all, Papa,” Nicolas said. “Lina is my sister, and I love her. However, that doesn’t mean—”

“As I am still the head of this family, I believe I am the one who decides who is and isn’t a part of it.”

His expression now one of regret, Nicolas turned back to Eve. “My apologies, Lina. I spoke out of turn. I love you, and of course you are a member of this family.”

Eve squelched her hurt feelings to watch the play-by-play between her oldest brother and her father. They were so much alike that they had often butted heads. With Nicolas being the heir to the crown, her father was always the hardest on him. She’d always thought Nicolas handled his position with grace and maturity, but the tension between them indicated the relationship might have deteriorated.

“Papa, why didn’t you tell me about the possible threats?” she asked.

Her father came farther into the room, and for the first time, she noticed that her uncle Jacques was behind him. Jacques was two years younger than his brother but actually looked slightly older.

Going to him, she gave him a big hug. He had always been her champion when it came to her family. Though he had been married four times, he had no children of his own and had always been heavily involved in his brother’s family.

“It’s good to see you, Lina,” Jacques said. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better.” She drew back, gave her father a quick kiss on his cheek, and then nodded toward the living room. “Have a seat and let’s talk about what’s going on.”

Once they were all seated, she took in her immediate family. They meant the world to her, and for Nicolas to imply that she was no longer a part of them hurt more than she could describe. She had thought they all understood why she’d had to leave.

She had never embraced being a member of a royal family, not like her brothers had. After what happened in Paris, she had wanted to be separated from it even more. But that most definitely didn’t mean she wanted to leave her family. With the exception of Gideon, these people in this room were the most important people in the world to her. She would do anything for them.

“All right,” her father said. “Since we’re all here, let’s discuss this.” He sent a hard look at Nicolas, adding, “And let’s leave the rhetoric for another day. Shall we?”

His mouth tight, Nicolas gave a small nod and said, “Of course.”

“Several months ago, our intelligence department picked up some chatter that made them believe a faction within the country is looking to destroy the royal family, thereby overthrowing our government.”

“Any idea who this faction might be or who leads them?” Eve asked.

“Not at this time. We didn’t take it seriously at first.”

“Some of us didn’t. Some did,” Nicolas said.

“Very well,” her father said. “I didn’t take it seriously. I’ve been the ruler of our country for almost fifty years. If I took seriously every threat against the monarchy I’ve ever heard, I would get nothing done. However, Jacques and your brothers encouraged me to see this one differently. They felt this one was too on point to ignore.”

“On point in what way?”

“The threat includes the entire royal family, including Nicolas’s family and even Alexandre’s ex-wife, Chloe.”

That name was rarely mentioned within the family anymore. The marriage had lasted three years, and during that time, both Alexandre and Chloe had looked miserable. It had been a poor match, and Eve had breathed a sigh of relief when they had announced the end of their marriage.

“What about me?” she asked. “Any threats or references?”

The looks of discomfort on her uncle’s and brothers’ faces were fascinating. The only one who didn’t appear uneasy was her father.

“Tell me,” she said quietly.

“They indicated that you were too broken to be considered any kind of a threat,” her father said. She detected the subtle amusement in his eyes and smiled to herself. No one who really knew her and what she was capable of would call her broken.

Aware that her family was waiting for her response to the insult, she shrugged and said, “It’s better if they do think I’m broken. What’s the plan to draw out the culprits?”