And when they were no longer in public, he hadn’t only made her body hum, he’d made it sing.
Kate stepped to the side to avoid his hand and strode out of the examining room. Sam might not have changed, but she had. She was older, wiser and in complete control of her life. She could do this. Yes, she could.
Sam fell into step beside her. “What would you like to know first?”
Where did you go after your letters stopped? Did you ever think of me? Did you ever wonder what would have happened if only circumstances had been different? The questions clamored in her heart, but she asked, “Why are you taking orders from the king of Montebello?”
“I’m working as an adviser. He requested our government to provide someone with my training to help coordinate the efforts of the police and our navy in the search for a murderer.”
“The woman who killed his nephew, Desmond Caruso?”
“That’s right. How did you know?”
“I saw the artist’s sketch of the suspect in the paper today. It’s logical that the king would ask for high-level help.” She glanced at Sam. “And by someone with your training, you mean counterterrorism, I assume.”
“Right again.”
“Congratulations.”
“Why?”
“If you’re an expert in counterterrorism, then that must mean you’re in SEAL Team Six. Just like you always said you wanted.”
“There were plenty of things that I wanted, Kate.”
She could tell by his tone that he wasn’t referring to his career. But she wasn’t going to talk about this now. It was over. The past was gone, gone, gone. “And you succeeded,” she said, refusing to let the conversation get personal. “But how does all of this involve the prince’s baby?”
“That’s what I’m here to find out.”
They reached a set of swinging doors. Sam stretched his arm past Kate’s shoulder and pushed open the door before she could reach it. He didn’t touch her, but she could feel the warmth of his arm as it passed near her head.
She tried to attribute the shudder to fatigue. “I still don’t understand.”
“I started this assignment today, so there are a lot of details that need filling in, but here’s what I do know. Last year, Prince Lucas was in the States, flying over Colorado, when his plane went down. He was in bad shape for a while, wandered around not knowing who he was. That’s when he met a woman named Jessica Chambers.”
“Jessica. Jessie,” Kate said, remembering the reverent way the prince had said the name. “That would be the baby’s mother.”
“Right. The prince had an affair with Jessica before his duty brought him back to Montebello. Several months later, he found out she died in childbirth. Her, and the baby.”
“They thought the baby died, too?” she asked.
“Yeah. What makes it worse is he hadn’t realized she was carrying his child when he left. No wonder the poor guy is looking like he’s been hit by a truck.”
Kate stumbled.
“Are you okay?” Sam asked, catching her arm.
No, she was not okay. After five years of coping, it seemed as if every painful memory of her past was getting dredged up tonight. She wrenched free of Sam’s touch, her heart pounding as if she were still running. “I’m fine.”
He tilted his head, his gaze more golden than brown as he studied her. “We could grab a coffee before we question the Hanson woman. From the looks of the family reunion back there, the king will probably be busy for a while.”
“No, I’m fine. I just want to get back to…” She frowned, zeroing in on the pronoun he had used. “Before we question her?”
“Considering the way you were in at the start, I figured you’d want to see this through.” He glanced pointedly at his hand and then at the place on her arm where he had touched her. When his eyes met hers once more, his gaze was direct and much too knowing. “You always did like to see neat, clean endings, didn’t you?”
Whether it was an oversight by the renovators or had been left alone deliberately for the psychological effect, the room that served as the security office for the hospital looked as if it belonged in a previous century. One of the walls was bare stone, giving the chamber the chill of a dungeon.
“I want complete immunity. You promise me that, then I’ll answer your questions.”
Sam propped a hip against the edge of the table and shrugged. “Why would you want immunity if you’ve done nothing wrong, Miss Hanson?”
Gretchen Hanson tossed her mouse-colored hair out of her eyes with a flick of her head. She leaned back in her chair and attempted what she probably thought was a coy smile. “I already told you, I was trying to bring that child back to his father. I showed you baby Luke’s birth certificate. That proves who he is. You saw the names.”
The document had appeared genuine, Sam thought, and the date of birth was nine months after the prince had spent time at Jessica’s ranch in Colorado. Each detail Hanson had revealed during her questioning so far had supported her story of the baby’s identity, reinforcing what had been obvious to anyone seeing the prince and the baby together. “Considering the way you treated the child,” Sam said, “you shouldn’t be making any demands.”
“What do you mean? I’ve been taking good care of that baby. I deserve a reward.”
“That’s an odd way to care for a child, Miss Hanson,” Kate said. “Leaving him to fend for himself in the dirt of a flower bed on a cool October night.” She paced across the small room and stopped at the opposite side of the table from Sam.
He tamped down the twinge of irritation he felt at Kate’s movement. The room was small, but she had been careful to keep as much distance as possible between them since they’d arrived. She’d already made it clear that she didn’t want him to touch her, no matter how casually—she had jerked away as if she’d been burned when he’d touched her arm in the corridor. And she seemed to have no problem staying away from him.
Didn’t she remember being naked and screaming his name?
All right, this wasn’t the time or the place to revisit the past. His irritation was unwarranted, nothing but a bruised male ego. It was sensible of her to treat him like a stranger. He was finding it difficult enough to concentrate with Kate in the room. If she were any closer, he wouldn’t have a hope of doing his job.
Gretchen was continuing to protest her innocence. “I wasn’t going to leave him there.”
“Please, let’s not waste any more time,” Kate said, interrupting what was shaping up to be yet another whining plea. “We’ve gone over this before. I saw what you did and I heard what you said. You’re in deep trouble, Miss Hanson.”
Sam nodded. “Better listen to Lieutenant Mulvaney. Do you have any idea what the penalty for child abuse is in Montebello?”
Gretchen’s gaze flicked back and forth between them, her bravado fading. “I’m an American citizen. I have rights.”
“But you’re in San Sebastian, the capital of Montebello. It’s a very old, very traditional monarchy. And it’s not just any child we’re talking about, it’s the royal heir.” He lifted one hand toward the stone wall, deciding to use the setting to try a bluff. “I assume you’ve heard that there are dungeons under the palace?”
“What?”
“Those thick stone walls are centuries old and completely soundproof.” Sam lowered his voice. “No one can hear what goes on inside, but there are stories….”
“You