Trane stubbornly frowned while Lucan pulled up slide after slide of Seraphina in a pleasant restaurant setting, speaking with known radical environmentalists. They laughed, they sipped, they ate. It seemed perfectly congenial. And Trane refused to believe she knew the full extent of the group’s militantism.

Until the talking turned serious. They leaned together, the men jabbing the table with their fingers, Phina writing furiously in her notebook.

“There’s more.” Lucan flipped to another open tab. “She received a deposit to her account in the amount of $10,000 dollars this evening, shortly after the meeting.”

Trane’s heart stuttered. “It could be anything. Monthly allowance from her parents. Who gets deposits after banking hours anyway?”

But he knew Lucan was on to something. Even if she was unaware of the group’s true tendencies, being involved with them made her very, very dangerous to herself and to the crown.

“Lucan. We don’t know how much she knows.”

“She’s a risk no matter if she knows it or not.”

He dropped his head in his hands. “I know.” He let his head lower even further. He began to question her feelings for him. Could she be making use of an old relationship to stay close to the family? Get an in with her story and the designs of this group?

“It’s fortuitous she is staying with us.”

He snapped his head up. “Cause we can track her easier.” He shook his head. “That sounds so shady. It might be better to talk to her.”

“Oh, we’re gonna talk to her.”

“Whoa, now Lucan.”

“Don’t whoa me. If this were anyone else we would already be all over them.”

He was right. And Trane knew he had to let him do his job. Lucan was the best in the business.

“What do your instincts tell you?” Trane hated to even ask.

“She’s in over her head.”

Trane breathed out in relief.

“But she’s in.”

“And that’s the problem.” Trane stood up. “I’m leaving this up to you. This is the woman I love, brother.” There he’d said it. “I’m not going to carry suspicions and engage in spying. Not without just asking her first.”

“You won’t be the one asking, but if you would like, you can watch through the Plexiglas.”

“What?”

Trane couldn’t believe he was doing this. But Lucan needed his eyes and his perspective, as someone who knew Seraphina well. So he watched as Lucan welcomed her into his office, made small talk, and talked to her on the pretense of preparing for the ribbon cutting ceremony. They were going over security protocol.

“Your measures are much more active than ours.”

Trane could tell she was curious. Her hand went to the pencil in her hair and then she resisted and rested both in her lap. He chuckled. She loved her job.

They talked of bodyguards, ear pieces, Trane’s responsibilities for the event and where Phina would be standing. He deliberately left out several failsafe measures he always implemented. And led her to believe a few things that might not be true. Then he pulled up his laptop, and Trane leaned forward.

“We have been tracking some potential threats and want to screen all participants no matter how…close… to the crown.”

She swallowed and a soft pink colored her cheeks. Trane warmed to her. She cared. She wouldn’t deliberately put them in danger.

“I understand. What do you need to know?”

“We are expecting leaders of all Mediterranean nations as well as other major players in the world environmental scene. We need to know. Do you associate with anyone who would be a threat to the event?”

“I have many clients, Lucan. As I’m sure you know.”

“I could never be aware of the scope of your reach or every person you contact. Would you feel that any are militant in nature or could pose a threat to Torren or any other country participating in the summit?”

She eyed him for a moment and in the pause, Trane counted every heartbeat. “No.”

Lucan nodded and checked a box. “Are you aware of any money laundering efforts? Or have you received any unaccounted sums of money into your bank accounts lately?”

“No.” She pulled out her phone. “I’ll have my press pass, but I’m attending with Trane. Where would you like me to participate?”

That was a great question. Sitting with Trane would get her much closer than a press pass ever could.

“You’ll be with us, naturally, as Trane’s date.”

She sat back with a smile. “Thank you. “

“Don’t mention it. Just try not to take notes on international television. Or if you do, get a more sophisticated notebook.”

“There is nothing wrong with Gloria.”

“Gloria?” He held up his hands. “I don’t want to know.”

She stood. “Something the insatiably curious Lucan does not want to know? I hardly believe it.” She held out a ragged, well-thumb small spiral. “Gloria and I go everywhere together.”

“Something else I didn’t want to know.”

She widened her eyes. “Lucan.” Her laugh made Trane smile. She was one in a million, and so relaxed through what could have been an interrogation. She wasn’t hiding anything.

As soon as she left, Lucan entered the darkened room with Trane. “She’s hiding something.”

“What? How can you know?” This was the very opposite of what he had felt.

Lucan raised both eyebrows.

“Ok, you’re trained to know. But what?”

“She knows more than she is admitting, but she doesn’t feel like she’s in the wrong. And knowing her like we do, that means she doesn’t believe the group is a threat.”

Trane snorted. “I don’t plug her as overly naive.”

“No. But not thinking there is a threat from a known militant organization concerns me more than if she were colluding with them.”

“They aren’t exactly widely known.”

He shrugged. “They’re known.”

“What are they called?”

“The Environs.”

“Just like that? Environs? I haven’t heard of them.”

He waved his hand as if Trane’s awareness mattered little. Perhaps it didn’t.

Lucan held up a hand. “You can’t let her know anything is amiss. Don’t question her.”

“What? Lucan, I can’t deceive her.”

“Then work on not being deceiving, but if she thinks we suspect, she will cover more carefully. We need her to feel as comfortable and open as possible. Lulled into romance, sure of her place.”

A sick feeling filled Trane. “I will not be insincere in my feelings for her.”

He smirked. “You won’t have to. Everyone can see you love her. Just be honest.” He twirled his pen. “It’s what I’ve been telling you since you dated in high school.”

“And what if this all goes south?”

“Then we’ll have a couple broken hearts at the end of it all.”

“A couple?”

“She loves you too, Duke. It’s as plain as day.”

Trane didn’t even try to hold back his grin.

“Oh please. Leave me be with your love-sick ways. I had enough to worry about before my brother fell in love with a girl who hangs with terrorists.” He grimaced, but Trane knew under the worry, Lucan was also happy for him.

Trane held up his right hand. “I’ll do my best not to bring on a violent demonstration.”

Lucan’s eyes turned serious. “No, that’s what I’ll be doing. You just put on a summit and make sure Phina doesn’t suspect we are suspicious.”

“So much simpler if I were you. She reads every thought that crosses my mind. Says they’re written all over my face.”

“That’s what I’m counting on. Just keep being you, Trane.”