Lisa Childs - Ransom For A Prince

Was she dreaming? Perhaps she was still standing at the sink, her hands in soapy water while she watched his press conference and fantasized about him. But she was no Cinderella.

And this was no dream.

His lips were warm and real and surprisingly silky given the hard look of his mouth and the firmness of his jaw. He deepened the kiss, and she willingly followed where he led her. She kissed him back.

She had never known such tenderness and couldn’t believe that a man who’d fought as hard as he had to protect her was capable of it. Maybe it was gratitude over his saving her that drew her to him.

He said he wouldn’t hurt her and she wanted to believe him. But mostly she just wanted him.

But why would Sebastian want her? He was a prince. They had no future together even if someone wasn’t determined to kill her.

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Bestselling, award-winning author Lisa Childs writes paranormal and contemporary romance for Harlequin Books. She lives on thirty acres in west Michigan with her husband, two daughters, a talkative Siamese and a long-haired Chihuahua who thinks she’s a Rottweiler. Lisa loves hearing from readers, who can contact her through her website, www.lisachilds.com, or snail mail address, P.O. Box 139, Marne, MI 49435.

Prince Sebastian Cavanaugh —Desperate for information on his missing friend, this ruler and former military marksman offers a reward to bring the witness to him. He never imagines that the reward she’ll claim will be his heart and maybe his life.

Jessica Peters —The single mother has kept quiet about what she witnessed in order to protect herself and others. But when Prince Sebastian draws her out, he also draws out feelings she’d never thought she’d feel again and danger they might not survive.

Samantha Peters —The four-year-old has never known her father, but she wants to get to know the prince and find out if fairy tales can come true.

Helen Jeffries —The ranch owner needs money; but does she need it desperately enough to betray her friend?

Prince Antoine Cavanaugh —Co-ruler with his twin brother, Sebastian, of the island nation of Barajas, the former military interrogator will do whatever necessary to protect his brother.

Brenner —The chief of security for the corulers of Barajas may prove himself unworthy of their trust.

Dmitri —A hired gun who knows his mission in Wind River, Wyoming, will not end well for anyone.

Danny Harold —The reporter knows too much and perhaps reveals too much, as well.

Evgeny Surinka —All the man wants is his wife. And revenge…

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

“Mama, is he a real prince? Like in my stories, like the one who kissed Sleeping Beauty?”

Jessica glanced up from the sink of dishes to focus on the television on the counter nearest the farmhouse table. She had turned the channel to cartoons for Samantha to watch while the four-year-old ate her breakfast, but the screen displayed no animated figures. Just a tall man in a dark, tailored suit.

As a reporter announced that Prince Sebastian Cavanaugh had called this press conference at the sheriff’s office, a camera zoomed in on the royal’s face. It was all chiseled features—rigid jaw, aristocratic cheekbones beneath intense, dark blue eyes and his nose was just slightly bent in an arrogant tilt. She doubted it could have once been broken. After all, he was a prince—privileged and protected.

He was one of the five rulers of island nations in the Mediterranean, who had, along with their entourages, converged on Dumont, Wyoming, for a summit meeting two weeks ago. That meeting had yet to occur.

Jessica didn’t need to listen to the press conference to learn why; she already knew. Too well. Every time she closed her eyes she saw why: the flames illuminating the night sky, rising up from the charred metal of the limousine she’d been following from the Wind River Ranch and Resort. If only the fire was all she’d seen…

Her breath hitching, she blinked open her eyes and focused on the television again. And on the prince. She lost herself in the depths of those dark blue eyes as he stepped up to the mic at the podium set up in the sheriff’s office, which was located in the Wind River County Courthouse.

“Mama?” Samantha asked, her voice soft with confusion.

Jessica never ignored her daughter, but she still couldn’t tear her gaze from the screen.

“I am Prince Sebastian Cavanaugh, coruler with my brother, Antoine, of the island nation of Barajas.”

The little girl’s breath shuddered out with a gasp of awe. “He is a real prince.”

“Yes,” Jessica murmured—finally—in acknowledgment.

“Barajas,” Cavanaugh continued, “is part of COIN, the Coalition of Island Nations consisting of Kyros, Nadar and Jamala, that came to your country—and your particular county—for a special summit to discuss trade agreements that would benefit the United States as well as COIN.”

Cameras flashed in his face as reporters interrupted with questions. A burly man, perhaps one of the royal’s security detail, stepped closer to the prince and leaned toward the microphone as if to warn the media to back off. But Prince Sebastian turned to him, an intense look in his eyes, and the man shrank back. Then the prince turned that stare on the reporters and the questions stopped, an eerie silence descending on the crowded outer office.

“Since our arrival, we have been under attack.” A muscle twitched in his lean cheek just above the tightly clenched jaw. “There have been vocal protests of our visit to your country. And there have been physical protests. On our first night here, an explosion occurred which killed a man.”

Jessica flinched but kept her eyes open so that she wouldn’t see again that horror. But it didn’t matter. The image was forever burned in her mind, like the body had burned.

“We have recently been made aware that there was a witness to that explosion,” Prince Cavanaugh continued. “We need this witness to come forward as we believe he or she has vital information.”

Jessica gasped. How had they found out? Who else might know that she’d been traveling that same road and had come upon the scene? She shivered.

The camera zoomed in on the prince. While an aura of arrogance and authority clung to the man’s broad shoulders and rigidly clenched jaw, he buried that pride as his gaze implored the witness to share what she knew. “This is a matter of life and death. A friend of mine—” his voice was gruff with emotion “—has been missing since the explosion. I am offering a substantial reward for information that will lead to his return.”