He smiled at her. “Oh, it’s easy not to let him get to me. He’s like that roaring lion. He’s big and scary and likes to act tough, but especially when it comes to a member of another royal family, he has absolutely no bite.”
“I’m glad you can stand up to him. I don’t think I could.”
“But you can.” He kissed her softly. “You’re part of the San Majorian royal family now. He has no power over you, especially after the proclamation from my father next week.”
She patted his chest. “I’ll remember that, but if it’s all the same to you, I’ll let my knight in shining armor continue to fight the battles for me.”
Kensington gave her another kiss. “It would be my honor.”
Anabelle laughed and played games with her extended family. Some of the tension had finally left since Isaiah’s visit with no incident or real threat during the conversation.
The specter of her grandfather still hovered, but even that couldn’t dampen her spirits. She was legally Gracie’s mother, and she had so much to look forward to with her new family.
Before she knew it, the family reunion and anniversary party had arrived. The entire Sørensen family arrived at the cabin. A big pile of nametags had appeared on the kitchen counter along with a marker and a paper instructing everyone to write their name along with their relationship to Amma and Afi.
Whoever had done it earned Anabelle’s undying gratitude. It made it so much easier to hold an intelligent conversation when she didn’t spend the whole time trying to remember who this person was and how they were connected.
She, Kensington, Clari, Joel and a couple of other cousins about the same age played card games. Gracie ran around with her cousins, playing tag and blocks and other games. One of the tween girls took a special interest in Gracie and refused to leave her side.
By the time bedtime rolled around, Anabelle tried to convince Clari and Joel to take their room back, but they refused, saying it was better for Gracie.
Gracie was tucked back into the cot while Kensington and Anabelle both got ready for bed.
“Mama!”
Anabelle met Kensington’s widened eyes in the mirror as a thump sounded in the other room as Gracie’s panicked voice called out.
“Daddy!”
By the time the second call finished ringing out, Kensington was out the bathroom door with Anabelle following closely behind.
Anabelle almost couldn’t see around Kensington, but a man in black held Gracie with one arm around her middle and another clamped over her mouth.
Gracie kicked and squirmed and finally one foot connected enough that his grip loosened. Gracie managed to wiggle enough that he lost his hold all together.
Kensington tackled him as Anabelle snatched Gracie up off the ground and headed for the secret passage. At least they could hide there.
“Get Thor!” Kensington called as he rolled on the ground with the masked man.
Anabelle changed direction, clinging to Gracie. She threw open the door to the main portion of the cabin. “Thor! Help!”
She hadn’t realized there were still several people in the living area. One was the security officer.
He had already started for the stairs leading to her room when she screamed.
As she flattened herself to the side, Thor bounded past her.
Crashing noises came from the room, but Anabelle couldn’t bring herself to look. The other men and one of the women in the living area followed Thor, while the others formed a protective circle around Anabelle and Gracie.
Thor rushed back out, his phone in his hand. “...out the window,” he said into it as he skirted the furniture and headed for the front door. He described the build of the man in question, but didn’t stop to talk to them.
Security had been tight. How did the man get in? Would he get away without being caught?
Anabelle forced herself to ignore what was going on outside of her small sphere. Gracie’s cries were beginning to border on hysterical.
Holding her close, Anabelle spoke words of comfort to her little girl. A minute later, Kensington emerged from the room. She breathed a sigh of relief as he seemed relatively unscathed.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “Gracie?”
“We’re okay,” Anabelle reassured him. “You?”
He touched the corner of his mouth and the bit of blood there. “A bit banged up, but I’ll be okay. Maybe a black eye and definitely sore tomorrow.”
“Thor went outside.”
“He was talking to the on-site head of security. They’re chasing him through the woods. I hope.” The last word was barely audible as he sat next to her on the couch and wrapped his arms around both of them. “We’ve got you, Gracie girl. You’re okay.”
Gracie’s wails grew louder as Anabelle held her tighter.
Amma and Afi appeared in front of them. Amma laid her hands on Gracie’s head, and began to pray in her native Icelandic. Slowly, Gracie’s cries calmed until they were whimpers and then stopped all together.
Her even breathing told Anabelle the girl had fallen asleep.
“Good girl,” Amma whispered. “Rest.” She looked between Anabelle and Kensington. “Now, someone tell me why my great-granddaughter is hysterical.”
“Someone was in our room. Gracie managed to get loose then Kensington fought him, but he got out the window. Thor and the others are chasing him,” Anabelle told her grandmother.
The front door opened and Thor walked in. From the droop in his shoulders, Anabelle knew what he was going to say.
“He got away, didn’t he, Föðurbróðir Thor?” Anabelle tried to get it right, but knew she butchered the pronunciation she’d heard from the others.
Thor gave her a weak smile. “Technically, I’m your móðurbróðir - your mother’s brother. To everyone else, I’m their father’s brother, which is why you’re really the only who could use that. Just call me Thor. It’s easier that way.”
Sure. Whatever. She’d figure it out later. “But you still didn’t find him.”
“No. There was a boat waiting at the dock. Two guards were knocked out, but otherwise seem to be okay. We got our boat started and followed them, but a car was waiting near another dock. They took off down an abandoned logging road not too far away. None of us even knew it existed. I didn’t, and I grew up traipsing through these woods.”
“Thank you for trying, Thor.” Kensington sounded as weary as Anabelle felt. “I think we need to get back to Aberswythe Hall. It’s more easily defensible, and a trip back to San Majoria is likely in order as soon as possible. We don’t want any of you accidentally caught in the crossfire.”
Thor crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re family. We stand together.”
Anabelle looked around to see nearly two dozen family members with the exact same look on their face.
She and Gracie, once alone, now had two sets of formidable allies. As they joined forces, there was nothing that could hurt them. Between the Sørensens and the Cordovan Dynasty of San Majoria, she and Gracie couldn’t be safer.
Kensington wanted to curse. To hit something or someone. Specifically, two men. The two, or possibly three if there was a separate getaway driver, responsible for nearly taking Gracie away from them again.
He even wanted to pummel, a little bit, the men who let themselves be caught off guard, though he knew they would already pay a stiff price.
Instead, he kept his calm as they loaded a sleeping Gracie into the heavily armored vehicle they’d been using in Eyjania. Amma and Afi lead the family in a prayer over them, then promised to come visit soon.
The driver, once again, avoided the switchbacks that took the lives of Anabelle and Gracie’s parents, choosing to go the other direction back to Akushla, despite coming out on the wrong side of town.
Back at Aberswythe Hall, Gracie was tucked into bed in the same room he and Anabelle would sleep in - if they slept at all. A member of the security team was stationed inside the room for the moment.
Thor had followed them in his own vehicle, his sons staying behind with the rest of the family.
“We think they went out the other way,” he told them, pouring himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen. “We had teams stationed at the other end of the road, but no suspicious vehicles have passed. It’s possible they stopped in one of the towns near Lake Akushla, or took one of the other routes north, but those roads are little more than dirt tracks. It’s possible, but it doesn’t make sense.”
“Could they have changed cars somewhere? To something more innocuous?” Anabelle asked.
“It’s possible,” Thor conceded. “We don’t think it’s likely. Inconspicuous is good, but so is power if they feel threatened and need to get away from pursuers. It doesn’t seem like a trade-off they’d be willing to make.”
Kensington nodded. “That rationale makes sense to me. Where else could they be? Holed up in a house in town or on the lake with the car in the garage while they regroup? Possibly plan another attempt?”
“We believe another attempt is just a matter of time. Of course, we already believed that, and they still got the drop on us.”
It was a small comfort to Kensington that the men found unconscious were Eyjanian and not San Majorian.
Thor’s phone rang. He walked off to take the call then came back a minute later, his face grim. “We think we found them. Not quite how we wanted, but likely for the best.”
“How?” Anabelle’s hand slipped into Kensington’s.
“Dead. They appear to have driven off at the exact same place, more or less, that your parents did. There’s accidents there all the time, but it still seems a bit coincidental. We’ll be looking to see how it happened. It’s light most of the day right now, but it was at the darkest when it happened. Was someone coming toward them and the driver was blinded by their lights or what?”
Thor looked at Kensington, trying to communicate something with his eyes that Kensington didn’t quite understand. Finally, his gaze shifted to Anabelle. “That’s not all.”
“What?” Her grip had begun to loosen but it tightened again.
“None of this is official or even necessarily definitive yet, though our confidence is high. There was one man in the car dressed in all black with wounds consistent with the fight with Kensington. The driver was also dressed in black, and his clothes were wet like the driver of the boat likely would have been. He has a scar on his hand. But in the passenger seat was another man.”
Kensington watched Anabelle and knew the second she realized what Thor was trying to tell her. “My grandfather.”
“Yes.”
“And they’re all dead?” she confirmed.
“Yes.”
Her head dropped for a moment. “Then good riddance. And I can finally get access to the money my parents’ left me.”
“You’ll likely also inherit everything he has. You, and Gracie legally by adoption, are his only living heirs as far as we know.”
Anabelle shook her head. “I don’t want any of it. But, if that’s the case, the security teams or police have my permission to go through everything and use whatever’s there to bring down any criminal enterprises that might still exist. Just make sure I hear anything I might be interested in.”
“I’ll see about getting everything closed off so others can’t come in and destroy evidence, and we’ll go from there.” He took a long sip of his coffee. “It’s also a good thing you didn’t go out the secret passage. The light bulbs weren’t working and the path that leads to the woods has caved in sometime in the last few months. We’ll get it dug out and reinforced before long.”
“I almost went that way,” Anabelle told him. “But Kensington told me to get you.”
“I was already on my way, but I was on the far side of the room and didn’t hear it right away.” He pointed his coffee cup at Kensington. “You did all right for yourself. You’ve had training?”
“We all have. I need to talk to our head of security about training for Anabelle. I know Jordan’s had some since he married Astrid, but he was a hockey player growing up, so he already knew how to take a hit and keep going and how to give one, too.”
“You’re sure my grandfather is dead?” Anabelle blurted out.
Thor nodded. “Not officially, but yes. The car is registered to one of your grandfather’s companies.”
On one level, it bothered Anabelle how relieved she was, but mostly she was just relieved. One of the threats against Gracie was over.
Thor rested his elbows on the kitchen counter and looked at her over the top of his coffee mug. “You know, you remind me a lot of your mother. It shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. Some of your mannerisms, the way you bite your bottom lip sometimes, those are all things I remember from Clarice.” He walked around the counter to give her a hug. “I wish she had come to us rather than faking their deaths, though I understand why she did. I miss her, but I’m glad to get to know you in the here and now.”
Anabelle hugged her uncle, hard. “I’m glad I have all of you.”
32
As the wheels left the ground, Kensington let loose the breath he’d been holding. Gracie seemed no worse for the wear after the attempted abduction. One of the threats had been permanently neutralized without any action on their parts. A nationwide celebration of the changes in their lives was being planned back home.
Not only would his father finally confer the titles on both Anabelle and Gracie, making them officially members of the family, but Amma would be recognized and rewarded for her role in taking care of Gracie, as would Bertrand for the rescue. There would be a small commitment ceremony with Anabelle, a repeating of their wedding vows for the country to hear, and he’d finally give her the ring his mother helped him pick out the week before.
“Feel better?” Thor sat across from him, having been tasked by King Benjamin to coordinate with security forces in San Majoria to make sure the threats had been neutralized.
“Much. I do love Eyjania and wouldn’t mind being based out of there someday to let Anabelle spend more time with her family, where she grew up, but despite the good that came out of it, I’m ready for this trip to be over.”
“I don’t blame you.”
Kensington had spent a few hours here and there working on the aftermath of the Games, but needed to work in earnest on the flight home. Anabelle sat with Gracie the whole time and colored or read books and watched Gracie’s favorite Disney movie.
By the time they landed, Kensington had made a dent in what should have already been done. At the palace, they were greeted by his entire family, except Esther, who was still missing in action, and Astrid, who was resting. There had been no relapses just yet, but she was still under doctor’s orders to take it easy.
Her regular doctor had been out of the country on vacation before Kensington and Anabelle left for Eyjania. Though the replacement was well-trusted, they all decided to wait for the one who would care for Anabelle and the baby to return. He would be arriving at the palace later in the afternoon to check on Astrid and conduct Anabelle’s first exam.
After hugs were exchanged, Gracie took Kiara by the hand and started up the stairs.
“We go play!” she yelled to anyone who would listen.
Jacqueline Grace rolled her eyes and started after them. “I got it.”
“Thank you!” Anabelle hollered.
His sister would make sure the girls didn’t accidentally wander somewhere they weren’t supposed to. Sofia screamed for them to wait as she struggled to climb the stairs as fast as she could. She was doing better, but she was only two-and-a-half. It took time.
Jordan swooped in behind her, snatching her into the air. Sofia squealed as Jordan took the stairs two at a time.
Kensington rested his hand on Anabelle’s lower back as they followed at a more sedate pace.
“How is Gracie really doing?” his mother asked. “That had to be almost as scary as when she was actually taken.”
“She seems
to be fine.” Anabelle’s relief could be heard in her voice. “She’s slept in our room the last couple of nights, but she hasn’t had any nightmares. That’s something.”
“We’ve been praying.” His mother laid her hand on Anabelle’s shoulder as they reached a landing. “I know there’s no love lost between you and your grandfather, but it’s still not easy to lose someone. For years, he was the only grandparent you knew. I’m sure you loved him at one time.”
“I’m relieved more than anything, but it does bother me that I’m not more upset.” The weight settled back around her shoulders. Kensington could feel it all the way into her lower back. “I think I’m more upset by what could have been but wasn’t because of who he was, even if I didn’t understand that until recently.”
“That’s perfectly understandable.” They continued up the stairs.
“It means I’ll never take your family or my new family for granted.” Anabelle looked around. “Where’s my uncle?”
“He already went to security,” Kensington’s father told them. “They want to get this sorted out as quickly as possible.”
“With the scar guy dead, doesn’t that mean everyone who was part of the kidnapping are either in custody or dead?” Kensington asked his father.
“As far as we know.” He seemed to think about his next words. “The two men Bertrand subdued were found dead yesterday. Suicide. Your grandmother tentatively identified the woman who brought Kiara to the hospital as the woman who had been taking care of Gracie before her. She turned up dead yesterday after an altercation with another inmate. The woman she shared a cell with was undercover. The woman did admit to having Gracie and that Gracie wouldn’t stop talking about the Games. The theory that Gracie threw a fit long enough that they finally took her seems valid. It’s possible there’s someone else we’re not aware of, but we don’t think so. We hope not, of course, but we have to be sure.”
“Thank you.” The relief had found its way back into Anabelle’s voice.
“And the ceremony?” Kensington asked. “It’s next weekend, right?”
Crowns & Courtships Compilation Volume 1 Page 50