Royal Wedding Threat by Rachelle McCalla

the call,still mulling over his choice of words. Normally, given that the attempts on Ava’s life hadn’t succeeded, he’d have referred to their enemy as an attempted murderer. But from what he’d learned so far, it seemed most likely the man who was after Ava had successfully killed before and wouldn’t back off until he’d killed again.
    As Jason explained the situation and hashed out security issueswith his father, Ava exited the bathroom, the jagged stripes of her zebra-print top replaced with a pink kitten-adorned T-shirt. She’d traded her once-crisp white slacks for a pair of worn, oversize blue jeans, and soft baby-blue slipper-socks covered her feet. Her hair had fallen into limp curls after the wind and sea spray had finished with it. Ava had obviously tried to comb them flat, but alreadythey were drying into floppy curls that framed her wide eyes, softening her usually severe look.
    Gone was her makeup, too. Instead of her usual war paint, Ava’s cheeks danced with freckles, and her pale pink lips looked fuller without the usual dark red veneer. She looked up at him with uncertainty in her eyes, all the usual fight gone, along with her perennial glare.
    Jason smiled ather. He told himself he needed to be friendly, especially given the questions he was soon to ask and how they were certain to upset her. But also, he realized with odd fascination, Ava didn’t look like her usual self. She looked more like the pretty girl in the picture he’d found on her desk.
    Ava caught her lower lip in her teeth and glanced around, clearly out of her element. This wasn’ta wedding. She wasn’t in charge. In fact, she was surrounded by Selinis.
    Just as Jason stepped toward her, his mother pulled her head out from where she’d been rummaging in the refrigerator.
    “Have you had supper? Can I get you something to eat?” Deborah asked.
    “That’s so sweet of you. I hate to be a bother.” Ava offered the woman a strained half smile. “Something warm, perhaps?I can’t stop shivering.”
    The summer evening hadn’t cooled much, but Jason suspected Ava’s chill came from the threats against her life and her fear of what would happen next.
    While his mother began fixing a bowl of soup and a warm cup of tea for the wedding planner, Jason grabbed the duffel bag she’d left in the enclosed porch. “I’d like to look at these documents more closely. Can youjoin me?”
    His mom shooed them out of the kitchen while she heated their soup and tea. Ava followed Jason to the family room, where his father occupied the large recliner. His mother’s chair was positioned on the other side of his father’s, nearest the kitchen. Ava hesitated between the sofa and the chair.
    Jason led her to the couch. “Sorry. You’ll have to sit beside me.”
    ThoughAva hesitated, she didn’t protest but picked up one of the pillows that leaned against the sofa arm, then perched in its spot, clutching the pillow tight to her chest as she watched him with wide eyes.
    Guilt swirled inside him. He reminded himself he’d done his best, and fortunately kept her safe thus far, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d soon be asking her very difficult questions.He’d have to choose his words wisely.
    * * *
    Ava watched Jason lower himself onto the sofa beside her. “Does your back hurt?” She realized he’d been hit plenty hard by the car that morning. No doubt rappelling down the tower and falling to the rocky ground below hadn’t helped any.
    “What’s wrong with your back?” Jason’s father asked before the captain could answer.
    “He got hitby a car this morning,” Ava answered when Jason merely shrugged and winced.
    While Jason’s mom shrieked and tutted from the kitchen, quizzing him on how badly he’d been hit and whether he’d gone straight to the doctor, Michael Selini got up from his chair. “I’ll get you a heat pack for that. Do you want any painkillers?”
    “Of course he needs painkillers,” Deborah insisted