to kill what he thought was Ted’s heir?” She’d hit it squarely on the head, but she was still missing pieces of the bigger, crazier picture. “But then what? That doesn’t bring him any closer to the throne. I mean, unless he was also planning to kill Ted, his little brother, and the queen.”
Thomas nodded, and her eyes widened again. “Seriously?”
“Their plane was going to crash—not right away,” Thomas told her. “That might’ve been suspicious immediately following your death, but in a few months, yeah. Apparently, his plans changed when he got a tip from some oligarch buddies in Russia—about the coming attacks in America. He decided to use the chaos to kill the royal family in the ski lodge—it was supposed to burn with them in it. Of course, the queen got a tip, too, and when they escaped, he was back to hunting you down. Thankfully the mercenaries he hired were bush league.”
“Not all of them,” Tasha pointed out. “Did Hendrake actually confess?”
“No, but one of his top advisors kept records and made audio recordings. Great-Uncle H is in custody. The FBI is rounding up the rest of his New England army right now,” Thomas said. “You—and Ted—are safe.”
She slowly sat down on the edge of the bed as the reality of what he’d just told her sank in.
“I tried asking Ted why he came back,” Tasha told him, her eyes huge in her face. “I mean, why didn’t he just tell someone—my uncle or you know, the FBI—about the bomb shelter, and that he believed we’d be hiding there. He was pretty loopy, but he told me that he didn’t know who he could trust—or who’d be listening in on the phone call.” She laughed again—a hard exhale of air that had little to do with humor. “God, maybe he’s known about the threat from Hendrake for a while. He was always so worried, and I... I teased him relentlessly. I used to sing him the theme from Game of Thrones, and pretend I needed to taste his food before he ate anything.” She took a deep breath and exhaled hard again. “I owe him an apology.”
“I’m pretty sure he’ll forgive you,” Thomas said. “Look, I’mma go find a shower.”
“Why don’t you just use Ted’s?”
And yeah, this room had a door that led into a bathroom. “This room’s got a shower?” In his experience, which was mostly from VA hospitals, the rooms usually didn’t.
“We’re VIP, baby,” Tasha said.
That was one hell of a borrowed use of Ted’s royal we. Even if they both squinted, Thomas was not in that subset. Not even close. “Yeah,” he said. “I don’t think so.”
“I know he’d be fine with it,” she tried to reassure him.
But really, would he? He sure as hell wouldn’t, if he were Ted.
And now Tasha was looking hard at him, as if she were really seeing him for the first time since he’d come into the room. “Are you okay? I know this is supremely weird.”
Thomas didn’t get to answer—although he wasn’t sure what he could even say, considering their conversational restrictions—before the sudden sound of voices from the hallway made Tasha look over at the open door.
She rose from her perch on the bed. Thomas turned, too, to see a petite, gray-haired woman in a black pantsuit entering the room.
“Hallo!” she said cheerfully. “You must be Lieutenant King.” She pronounced it the British way—Lefftenant King. “I’m Andrea.”
Thomas forced a smile. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Goodness,” she said as she looked from him to Tasha. “Shall I run back to Lord & Taylor’s to get him trousers and a jumper? Perhaps an overcoat?” She checked an expensive-looking wrist watch. “The shop closes at eleven—but I’ll call and asked them to stay open.”
“That’s really not necessary, ma’am,” Thomas said. He held up his clean clothes. “I’m all set.”
From the look that Andrea gave his rolled up jeans and T-shirt, it was clear she didn’t agree. “Well, you look like you’re on your way out, so bon appétit.” She handed him the bag from the steakhouse.
“Oh,” Thomas said. “Thank you. I’m... Thanks.”
Andrea immediately got to work cleaning off the bedside tray.
“Oh,” Tasha said. “No, Andrea, I’ll get that.”
“I didn’t want to wake you before, dearie.” Andrea didn’t stop. “It’s already done.”
“Thank you,” Tasha said. “Um... Would you mind checking on the prince? I know the queen’s going to want an update.”
“As long as you’ve got everything you need,” Andrea said, but she was already halfway out the door with