Dane shook his head. “Like…someone was paying for her upkeep?”
“If that’s the case, they definitely overpaid. According to Cole, she was kept in horrible conditions,” Tal muttered.
“I think someone was paying them simply to keep her alive, Tal,” Coop said darkly.
This twisted plot was far worse than he’d imagined. Someone out there had paid to keep Alea tied up and drug addicted. Someone had wanted her held captive. But why?
“Where did that money come from?” he demanded of Riley.
The PI paused. “Directly from a Cayman account, which was closed shortly after Alea was rescued. I’m still looking for the records that indicate where and how the account was funded, but as you can imagine, the banking laws in the Caymans are beyond liberal.”
“So what you’re saying is that we might never know.” Dane scrubbed a hand over his hair. He’d let it grow after he’d left the Navy. Coop kept his in a military cut because it was easy, but that hair of Dane’s seemed one way he distanced himself from his past.
Riley squared his big shoulders like he was ready for battle. Though he came across a bit like a geek, he was obviously in good shape and possessed a little badass. “I will figure it out. I won’t stop.”
“He’s serious,” Law explained. “He’s pissed off now. He’ll never quit. It’s why Dominic sent us out here. We’re going to go through some of the palace records. Some of them are kept on paper.”
Riley shuddered. “That’s barbaric, but I have to examine those records.”
“Are you suggesting someone at the palace was behind the atrocity?” Tal asked, clearly horrified by the prospect.
“We have to rule out every possibility,” Riley said without a hint of apology in his voice. “I’ve already checked on everyone Princess Alea knew in New York, including all the employees at the embassy. I suspect that whoever is behind her abduction is someone she knows.”
“Will they try again?” a soft, shaky voice asked from the shadowed doorway.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Alea walked into the light and stood like a gorgeous statue in her gown, her hair caught in a soft chignon that Coop wanted to run his hands through until all that midnight softness flowed around her shoulders. Her face was a tense mask. She had obviously heard far more than they wanted her to.
Dane touched the comm device that rested in his ear. “Lan, you’re missing your charge, buddy.”
“No, I’m not.” Lan stepped up behind her. His face was closed off as though he was just waiting for Dane’s brutal judgment to fall down on his head. “It’s her life. She has the right to know.”
Coop winced. Hell, there was going to be a throw down now. He would be lucky if he managed to keep the ballsy Texan from losing his life, much less his job.
Alea walked into the room, her head held high. “I caught wind of this little meeting and I threatened Landon. He didn’t have a choice.”
Dane’s face had turned a spectacular shade of red. “What exactly did you threaten him with, Princess? Were you going to use your nail file on him? Maybe you were going to throw one of your high heels at him.”
“Don’t be condescending. I threatened to tell my cousins that he’d made a pass at me and have him fired if he didn’t cooperate.” Alea stood her ground even as Dane rose and stalked toward her.
Coop stood, too, because this could get out of hand very quickly. “Now, Dane. Hold up. We should listen.”
Dane towered over her. Her crazy-hot, four-inch heels were no match for his six and a half feet of pure muscle. Alea tilted her head back to look him in the eyes. “I didn’t give him a choice, so if you have a problem with me being here, you really should talk to me.”
Lan shook his head, and Coop knew he was about to do something stupid. “She didn’t threaten me. Besides, everyone knows I hit on her all the time. I haven’t gotten fired yet.”
“That’s not going to be a problem anymore, Nix. Consider yourself officially fired. You can pack your bags and be out of here by morning.” Dane turned to the rest of the room. “Gentlemen, I think we have everything we need. I’m sure the sheikh will cooperate fully with the investigation.”
Tal was sitting back in his chair, watching the drama unfold with curious eyes. “Naturally, I will help in any way I can.”
Alea wasn’t through with Dane. She stomped one of those designer shoes as she followed him. “You can’t fire Landon. I won’t allow it. Tal, tell him.”
The sheikh shrugged negligently. “Dane is in charge of security. He can hire and fire as he likes. But he might want to remember that there are more important things at stake than whether Landon followed orders.”
Dane turned and glared at Lan, seemingly trying to intimidate the younger man and waiting for him to break, to ask for forgiveness.
And Alea was now looking through one of the folders, her skin turning pale as she caught sight of the pictures taken of her in the hospital after her rescue. That frail, gaunt creature looked nothing like the stunning beauty standing before him now. Her hand shook as she touched the picture.
Lawson Anders stood up, shoving some file folders into his briefcase. “To answer your question, Princess, yes. My gut tells me that whoever is responsible will come after you again. They had a bleak future all planned for you, and it didn’t involve you being rescued and coming home. I don’t know why you weren’t killed, but if someone wants to wipe you off the face of the Earth, I suspect they won’t hesitate to snuff you out next time.”