A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, max2013, Pola, Cheryl, cameron1812, Paulina Ann, Erin, Destiny in Smoke, and Guest! Very much appreciated, and hopefully I can get back to sending you personal thank-yous next week. Only two more articles left to finish, and then I can come up for air! Thanks again to those who are reading.

Chapter 38

Before Iola could respond to Joe, her phone buzzed. She reached for it and stared at the screen. An incoming call from Cooper. Iola felt tears start to sting her eyes. She didn't want to lose him, but she had to be honest about what she might be facing with the crown prince.

"Hello?" Even though she tried to steady it, her voice was a little tremulous.

"Iola? What's the matter?" Cooper's voice was full of concern.

She took a deep breath, and shot a glance in Joe's direction. He was watching her.

"Well, I've had some troubling news," she began.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just that there's some concern about my safety. The crown prince of Rei Ta Viti is in the country, and he's made some threats against me."

"What?" Cooper sounded angry now. "Have they arrested him?"

"They don't know where he is yet. They got the information from one of his staff members."

"Where are you?" Cooper demanded. "I'm coming to get you."

"I'm at the studio. I'm safe here."

Iola shot another glance at Joe, then stood and walked across her dressing room to her bathroom. She entered, shutting the door behind her. She didn't want Joe eavesdropping any longer.

"I still think I need to come get you," Cooper said. "I don't want you alone."

"I'm not alone, and I have work here I need to finish," Iola said. "There doesn't appear to be an immediate threat. The prince had appendicitis with complications last week. The feds think he's still recovering. Their plan is to find him and deport him."

"I think their plan should be to arrest him," Cooper said.

"They can't. He has full diplomatic immunity." Iola took a deep breath. "Cooper, I want you to know that I understand if you think that being with me is too much of a risk for you. Please don't feel obligated. It's okay if you're not interested in having a girlfriend with a lunatic after her."

Cooper was silent. Iola continued in a rush.

"I know you have commitments that require you to be in public. Distancing yourself from me is probably safer. It's all right…really."

Cooper's voice was very quiet. "Is that the kind of man you think I am?"

"No." Iola was mentally kicking herself now. She'd insulted him. "I just don't want you to feel like you have to put up with this. It's not a normal dating situation, and I don't want you to risk your own safety. Joe said that as an actor, you wouldn't want to put yourself at risk for bad publicity—"

"Joe said?" Cooper's voice rose. "Joe, your ex-boyfriend who's still in love with you? He told you I would abandon you if you were in danger?"

"He thought you might not want to hang around someone who's so much trouble…" Iola's voice drifted off. That sounded so lame. "Oh, Cooper, I'm so sorry. This news threw me, and I don't want you in harm's way. I didn't mean anything by it. I know you're not that kind of man. Can you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive you for, love. I don't blame you. I blame Joe." Cooper's voice was tight and Iola could hear the anger. "Tell me this…do you want to be with me?"

"Yes," she said with no hesitation.

"Then we're together, no matter what else is going on. Listen darling, I have my own share of crazies who threaten me on a regular basis as well. I have active restraining orders against several women," he said. "And I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you this. Some of my more…er…ardent fans may resent you in my life. And while I don't think they would resort to violence, I suppose there is always that possibility. Do you want to back out of our relationship because of that? I'll understand as well."

Iola smiled. "I can handle the crazy chicks if you can handle the crazy prince."

"I would love to have a go at the crazy prince," he said. "I don't want you worrying. I'm going to look after you. I don't trust your government to do it, so I'll be contacting a security firm as soon as we ring off."

"Cooper, that's not necessary."

"It is." His tone was firm. "And I'll be by the studio to collect you this afternoon. I have a meeting in your building with the network shortly about a new series. I'll stop by the Daybreak studio when I've finished."

"Thank you," Iola said, her voice soft.

"You be very careful until then. Oh, and tell that pillock, Joe, to stay the hell out of our lives."

Iola smiled. "Don't worry. I have a few choice words in mind for him."

Cooper laughed. "I've no doubt. I'll be texting you to check in. Keep your mobile close."

"I will. Thank you."

"No thanks necessary," he said. "Stay safe, my love. I'll see you soon."

OOOoooOOO

The crown prince flipped through the morning paper in his New Jersey apartment. When he reached the lifestyle and entertainment section, he paused. There she was, in a full color photo taking up half the page…"Hollywood's New Glamour Couple: Cooper and Iola."

The prince fumed, indignation rising in him. How dare she? She was mocking his father with her behavior. She had soiled herself for her role as queen, and now she was compounding her sin by carrying on with some two-bit actor.

He scanned the article, skipping most of what he found superfluous, but then he paused. 'Through Cooper, Iola has discovered Brooklyn's Family Center, a charity serving underprivileged children throughout the borough. Morton and Armstrong spend two afternoons a week assisting at the center, doing hands-on work to help relieve the burdens of needy families.'

A slow smile spread across the prince's face. What a perfect place to carry out his plan.

The Family Center.

Nobody would forgive her for causing the deaths of innocent children.

Iola would be gone, and her memory would be forever tainted.

It couldn't get better than that.

OOOoooOOO

Joe looked up as Iola emerged from the bathroom in her dressing room. She looked angry. Good. Maybe she'd had a fight with Cooper and the relationship was over. She didn't belong with him, and the sooner she realized it, the better off she'd be.

"Well?" he asked.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Joe," she began. "But Cooper isn't the kind of man you think he is."

"Did you explain what's going on?"

"I did, because I didn't think it was fair to keep him in the dark." Iola reached for her briefcase and set it on the coffee table. "He didn't even consider leaving me. Not for a second."

Joe arched an eyebrow. "You told him everything?"

"Of course I did." Iola's voice rose. "Why are you such a jerk? Cooper has done nothing to indicate that he's anything but a kind, upstanding, honorable man. Why are you so suspicious of him?"

"I don't think he's good enough for you," Joe said. "You deserve better."

"Oh, and what would 'better' look like to you?" Iola closed her laptop and slid it into her briefcase.

"Somebody who's not in show business." Joe stood. "Somebody who doesn't throw money around to impress people."

"If you're referring to last night," Iola bit out, "Cooper did that as a favor to me. He knew how much going to that club meant to Vanessa and Callie, and he could get reservations when you couldn't. It was a kindness. Nothing more. He doesn't give a crap what you think about him. In fact, the last thing he said to me was to tell you to 'stay the hell out of our lives.'"

Joe snorted. "That's not going to happen. You're my assignment, and I'm sticking to you like glue. No matter what Armstrong has to say about it."

"And as soon as I get a free minute, I'm going to call Agent Young and request that you be reassigned." Iola headed for her dressing room door. "You've worn out your welcome, Joe. I'm done with you."

Joe froze at the look on her face. She was really angry. And she could get him reassigned. He knew it. That couldn't happen. He would go crazy if he wasn't the one protecting her. He couldn't trust anyone else to do it right.

Joe reached out and grabbed her arm. "Iola, please. I'm sorry. I overstepped. I won't do it again. Please don't shut me out of your life."

She stared at him intently for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. But I don't want you interfering in my personal affairs again. If I want your advice, I'll ask for it."

Relief washed over him. He still didn't want her with Armstrong, but right now his only focus was on keeping her safe.

"I'll do my best."

Iola opened her dressing room door. "I have a lunch appointment with an attorney I'm doing a package on later this week. She wants to talk with me now about suing the king of Rei Ta Viti. I'm not interested in that, but if it means she'll let me follow her around with a camera crew for our story, I'll listen to her."

"Sue the king? Can you even do that?"

"No idea. But she goes for the really big, high publicity, cases," Iola explained as they stepped into the hall and headed for the elevators. "And she wins them, too. She just took down a mob boss and got him prison time by suing the real estate company he owns."

"I read about that," Joe said. "She didn't even try to get him on any organized crime charges."

"No, that's too difficult. They cover their tracks well. She nailed him in a way the feds had never even thought to try."

They stepped out of the elevator into the main lobby of the building. "Oh, there she is."

Iola hurried across the marble floor, stopping when she reached a stern looking, middle-aged woman in a gray suit.

Joe hustled to catch up to them. He had to warn Iola about leaving him too far behind. As he approached, Iola smiled at him, and the woman gave him a hard stare.

"Oh, Deirdre, this is Joe Hardy, from Hardy Investigations. Joe, this is Deirdre Simpson."

Deirdre gave him a curt nod.

"Joe is a private investigator," Iola explained. "He's making sure nobody from Rei Ta Viti gets too close to me."

Deirdre looked him up and down. "Isn't he also your ex-boyfriend?"

Now it was Iola's turn to look startled. "How did you know that?"

"I have my own investigators, hon," Deirdre said. "If I'm thinking about taking on a client, I want to know everything about them before I agree to it."

Joe extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Deirdre shook it, and continued to stare at Joe. She was starting to make him feel like a bug under a microscope.

"You, too," Deirdre said, then turned to Iola. "He's still emotionally invested in you. Can't imagine Cooper Armstrong is happy about that."

Iola's mouth dropped open. "Cooper has nothing to worry about."

Deidre gazed at Iola for a moment. "No, he doesn't."

What the hell did she mean by that? Joe was starting to get irritated. Besides, Cooper Armstrong was not a topic of conversation he wanted to pursue. He glanced down at his watch. "Don't you two have lunch reservations?"

Deirdre gave him a knowing smile, then turned and began walking rapidly across the marble floor of the lobby. Her heels made a sharp tapping sound as she called back over her shoulder, "We can walk. Our reservations are at Chowder. It's only a few blocks away."

Joe and Iola hurried to catch up as Deirdre exited the building and started down the sidewalk. She paused and glanced back at Iola. "I've been doing some preliminary research on your case, and I think I may have a way we can get at the king."

Joe looked around, scanning the crowd on the streets. For some reason, the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He knew he had to get Iola away from here, and fast.

Before he could hurry her along, he heard the roar of a car engine.

His head snapped around to see a black sedan with dark tinted windows as it gunned through the intersection just behind them.

Pedestrians screamed.

The sedan slowed.

The passenger window lowered.

Joe grabbed Iola, and shoved her down next to the glass wall of the studio building.

He covered her body with his own as gunshots rang out around them.