“But you’ve spent the last ten years trying to destroy him—in this internecine battle—”
“Internecine?”
“Mutually destructive.”
“Ah.” His lips tugged up at the edges. “Well. Our rivalry has certainly been that. We’ve both lost millions of dollars bidding up the same targets for acquisition, sabotaging each other, planting rumors, political backstabbing. All of which Vladimir deserves. But I can hardly expect him just to take it without fighting back. No. In fact—” he tapped his knuckles aimlessly against the side of the car “—I’d have been very disappointed if he had.”
“Oh,” Josie breathed. “Now I get it.”
Frowning, he looked at her. “Get what?”
“You’re like little boys in some kind of quarrel, wrestling and punching each other till you’re bloody. Till someone says ‘uncle.’ The reason you’re fighting him so hard...is because you miss him.”#p#分页标题#e#
Kasimir gave an intake of breath, staring at her. His shoulders suddenly felt uncomfortably tight. He was grateful when his phone rang. “Xendzov,” he answered sharply.
“It’s happened, Your Highness,” his investigator said. “Even sooner than you expected. Your brother has started looking for Josie.”
“Do you know why?” he bit out, extremely aware of Josie watching him anxiously in the back of the car.
“It could be at her sister’s request. Or for some reason of his own. He tracked her commercial flight from Seattle to Honolulu. It’s just a matter of time until he finds her on this island. With you.”
Kasimir’s hand tightened on his phone. “Understood.”
“Who was that?” Josie asked after he hung up. “Was it about my sister?”
His lips tightened. “Change of plan.” He turned to her. “We’ll have to skip the cake.”
“Did you find her?” she cried. “Where is she?”
“How would you like a surprise honeymoon?” he said evasively.
Josie scowled. “Why would I want that?”
Ouch. He tried to ignore the blow to his masculine pride. “You’ve never wanted to go to Paris?” he said lightly. “To stay at the finest hotels, to have a magnificent view of the Eiffel Tower, to shop in designer boutiques, to...”
His voice trailed off when he saw Josie shaking her head fiercely. “I just want my sister—home safe. As you promised!”
Kasimir sighed, telling himself they’d have been tracked to Paris, anyway, when he was surrounded by the inevitable paparazzi. He flashed her a careless smile. “Fine. No honeymoon.”
“But do you know where Bree is?” she persisted.
“I might have a slight suspicion.” It wasn’t a lie. He knew exactly where Bree was, and he’d known since yesterday. She was at Vladimir’s beachfront villa on the other side of Oahu. Too damned close for comfort. It was a miracle that for almost a week now, Kasimir had managed to keep it quiet that he was in Honolulu.
“Is she safe?” Josie grabbed his hand anxiously. “He hasn’t—hurt her—in any way?”
Hurt her? Kasimir snorted. His investigator had seen Vladimir kissing her on a moonswept beach last night, while Bree, wearing a bikini, had been enthusiastically kissing him back. But at Josie’s pained expression, he coughed. “She’s fine.”
“How can you know?”
“Because I know.” Rubbing his throbbing temples, Kasimir leaned forward to tell his chauffeur, “The airport.”
They’d already turned down the street of his penthouse as the driver nodded.
“Airport?” Josie breathed. “Where are we going?”
Kasimir smiled. “Let’s just say I’m glad you have your passport...”
His voice trailed off as he saw Greg Hudson pacing on the sidewalk outside his building. He’d come to demand payment in person. A snarl rose to Kasimir’s lips. Damn his greedy hide. If Josie saw her ex-boss, it would ruin everything. Intuitive as she was, she’d quickly figure out who’d bribed him to hire the two Dalton girls. And why. Then, married or not, she’d likely jump straight out of Kasimir’s car, and that would be the end of his revenge.
Josie blinked. “Wait, are we back on your street?” She turned towards the chauffeur. “Could we please just stop for a moment at the penthouse, so I can pick up my bag before we go?” She glanced at Kasimir with a dimpled smile. “And I’ll grab the cake.”
The chauffeur looked at Kasimir in his rearview mirror, then said gravely, “Sorry, Princess.”