Page 5 of Inevitable
Fuck!I hated Lania. Most people who were previous special forces still did, even though it was considered a tourist meccathese days. The country was in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with pristine beaches and white sand beaches, which the tourists loved. To me though, it would always be a country that I’d taken way too many hellish trips to when it was a war-torn, small island nation consumed in civil war.
Back then, the rebels had taken hostages, and few of them had lived to tell their stories.
Even after the rebels had supposedly been eradicated, two women had been taken hostage by a few straggling rebels who had remained hidden on the desolate side of the island. Those women were now the wives of two of my billionaire partners who helped to run Last Hope.
Thank fuck we’d actually managed to rescue those two geologists who had been there for geological exploration.
I’d hoped to hell that I’d seen the last of Lanian rebels and Lania.
“What’s the concern?” I asked Brock abruptly. “Prince Nick assured me that all of the rebels were long gone and that Lania was a safe tourist destination now.”
I’d made it a point to become acquainted with Prince Nick a long time ago, and we still kept in touch.
“The rebels are gone,” Nate agreed. “But the king isn’t well physically now. There are a few political enemies who aren’t thrilled about the possibility of Prince Nick becoming the king. Some of them are resistant to the changes he’s made.”
Prince Nick of Lania was unofficially the reigning monarch because his father, the king, had become too demented to make decisions for his country.
I knew the modernization of his country hadn’t been popular with everyone, especially those who didn’t want to see the country become a true democracy in the future.
“We can’t get verification on this,” Brock added. “But we heard from confidential sources that there was an assassinationattempt on Prince Nick. We know that you have contacts in Lania, and that you know Prince Nick. We need information, Marshall.”
“I’ll contact him,” I assured Brock. “What kind of work was this woman doing in Lania?”
“She’s a marketing designer,” he replied. “She’s been working with Nick for a while now to improve Lania’s brand. He wants the world to see Lania as a safe, beautiful, and prosperous country after years of war. Their economy is growing fast from tourism.”
“Maybe she just got busy,” I suggested.
Brock shook his head. “No. She’s not like that. If she makes a promise, she keeps it. She knows we’d all be worried if she didn’t check in with us. Something isn’t right. I can feel it.”
“Are we talking about Emma?” Wyatt asked grimly.
Brock nodded. “Yeah. You met her when you visited here, Wyatt. You know her well enough to realize that she’d never just ignore checking in.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Wyatt replied, his voice concerned. “She’s definitely not a flake.”
“When is this woman due back?” I questioned.
“In a week,” Nate said gruffly. “We can’t wait that long. If Emma is in trouble, we need to find out now. We were hoping that you could help us get some intel, Marshall.”
“You really think this woman is in trouble?” I asked Brock with a frown. “We don’t even know if this assassination attempt is real, and what would anyone achieve by kidnapping an American woman?”
Really, the woman could be anywhere.
Maybe she was in Lania for work, but it did have amazing beaches and other things to do for leisure.
Maybe this female wanted a break and didn’t want to be found for a few days.
However, I couldn’t deny the fact that Brock’s gut instinct was always spot on.
“The kidnapping of an American could kill their tourist growth,” Brock mused. “Or maybe they just want her as leverage because she was with Nick.”
I supposed either of those things could be motives if someone really wanted to hurt Nick.
“I’m going to need all of the data you have on this woman,” I said. “Photos, license, and passport info if you have it.”
“Brock and I are getting ready to leave for Lania. I already sent all the info I have to your email,” Nate answered grimly. “We’d just like to get as much information as possible before we leave.”
That didn’t surprise me. If this woman was important to them, they were going to go after her. Whether she was in trouble…or not.
