The Lion's Share (The Lion Princes Book 2)

by Leslie Chase

  But the delay did give her an idea.

  "I need to use the bathroom," she said quietly, meekly, to the guard on her left.

  "Wait ‘til you're on the train," he said. His voice was cold but more bored than antagonistic.

  "It's been all night," she protested. "You had me in the back of that car. Now it'll be another half hour before we can board the train, and I don't think I can hold it that long!"

  The two guards exchanged glances over her head, and she had to suppress a smile. This clearly wasn't a problem they were prepared for — which made sense, the Security Service were guards, not police. They weren't used to the reality of holding a prisoner for a whole night, and it showed.

  "Not our problem," the guard on her right said with a shrug. "Hold it or don't, I don't care."

  Asshole.

  "Jesus, Mike," the other said and rolled his eyes. "We're not meant to attract attention, remember? And do you think they're going to let her on a train after she's pissed herself in the lobby?"

  Thank goodness for some courtesy and common sense, Sophie thought, making herself smile at the man. Not that he deserved any gratitude, he was still kidnapping her, but she could resent him a little less than his companion.

  "Remember what happens if you try to escape, Ms. Havener," the man said, turning to her. "I'll be right outside the restroom, in any case."

  "Of course," she said quickly, nodding her head, the very picture of innocent obedience. "Please, I just need to go."

  He nodded, apparently satisfied, and took her arm to walk her across the station to the restrooms. One last stern stare at her and he let her go inside. Sophie sighed with deep relief as she looked into the mirror. Part one of her plan had succeeded. On to part two.

  It would be a lot easier if she had a good idea of what part two entailed, she had to admit to herself. It was more an outline of a plan than anything else, but she hadn't had the time to work it all through before she started. Improvisation would have to do.

  Fortunately, she still had her little notebook. It was full of reminders, notes of things that needed to be done and people who needed to be contacted, to-do lists neatly crossed out — but there were blank pages and a little pen tucked away with it, and that was the main thing. Tearing a page free, she wrote a note hurriedly.

  Luck was with her, and another woman entered the restroom just as she was finishing the note. Sophie turned on a tap, hoping the running water would stop the guard outside overhearing, and turned to her. She was a young, earnest looking woman, bleary-eyed and clearly not used to being awake this early in the morning, dressed in cheap clothes. A student from the city's university catching a train home, Sophie guessed.

  "Can I ask you a really important favor?" she said, speaking quietly and praying that the guard didn't have keen ears.

  The girl frowned, and Sophie couldn't blame her. I'd be taken aback too, she admitted to herself. But she's listening.

  "I really need to get this note delivered," she said, holding up the piece of paper. "Right away, this morning. It's more important than I can say. Please, will you do it?"

  "I can't," the girl said. "I've got a train to catch, you know?"

  "It's a matter of life or death," Sophie said, realizing how cheesy that sounded. It didn't help that it was literally true; it wouldn't sound convincing. She needed something else. "Look, okay, I'll pay you. More than a train fare's worth."

  Which would be easier if she had any money, admittedly. Sophie bit her lip and unclasped her watch from her wrist. It was a good watch, a present from her father. He'd always told her how important it was to be on time when in the king's service, and the watch was a reminder of that. Maybe it can help one more time?

  The girl looked at her, face scrunched up into a frown. "How do you know I won't just take the watch and ditch the note?"

  "Because you have a trustworthy face," Sophie said, praying that she was right. "And because I don't have a choice."

  A moment's pause, the only sound the running tap, and then the other woman's face lit up into a smile. "Okay, I guess this is the closest I'll get to being a spy or something. I'll do it."

  Sophie couldn't resist the impulse to hug the girl, and then shoved the note and watch into her hand. "Thank you! I owe you so much for this."

  The girl just grinned and shook her head. I don't care if she thinks I'm crazy, Sophie thought. As long as she does as I've asked.

  Sophie made sure to run her hands under the water before leaving. Just in case the men were paying attention, there was no point in leaving them a clue to spot. And then there was nothing to do except wait for the train to be ready, with her heart pounding. She couldn't even keep an eye on the restroom door and see where the student went. Paying too much attention was a risk she couldn't take, and it wasn't as though she could do anything to affect it now. Nothing except pray silently.

  It was mid-morning before Isobel sent word to Mattias, telling him that Penelope would like to see him. That had meant hours spent in the gym, exercising carefully. The urge to take out his frustration on something was all too real, but he didn't want to exhaust himself. Not before he got his hands on someone who was responsible for whatever was going on.

  And while he didn't know if he was being watched, he didn't want to take a chance on being seen too angry without an explanation. His plan rested on convincing the people keeping an eye on him that he wasn't suspicious — it wouldn't work if they watched him too closely. Assuming they were watching him at all.

  It was a relief to be moving with purpose again once he got the message. Thanking Isobel, he asked her to let Penelope know he'd be in town soon, and then changed quickly. This time, he paid no heed to the guards following him on the drive down from the castle. If he was going to be watched, at least this way he knew where some of the watchers were.

  The hotel Penelope was staying in was one of the oldest, most expensive, and most exclusive in Leotania. Its parking facility was discretely attached to the main building, and that suited him fine. The guards had to hang back a little as he parked and went inside, glad that Penelope had left word to expect him.

  Knocking on the door to her room, he growled impatiently, hoping that she'd be willing and able to help. His lion paced angrily, wanting to lash out at someone, anyone, and he could feel Sophie's connection to him thinning, stretching. Every second he waited, she was further away. He needed to be free to move, and soon.

  The door opened, and Penelope stood there, a crooked grin on her face. It didn't quite reach her eyes, which scanned the corridor behind him coolly as she greeted him,

  "Good morning, Mattias," she said, ushering him inside. "What's eating you? You look like someone's stolen your favorite toy, and I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

  He prowled in, eyes flickering around the room. No one else there, not that he'd expected anything else. His heightened senses pulled in more information than a human could possibly gather, and no one else had been in this room for more than a few minutes recently. Good, then I can trust her a little, he thought, turning back to her as she closed the door.

  Penelope's smiling face turned serious the instant the lock clicked shut.

  "Sophie's gone," Mattias said before she could say anything. "Someone's taken my mate, stolen her out from the castle. And that means my security can't be trusted; they may even be involved. I need your help to duck them."

  He'd expected a number of reactions. Agreement, or an argument, or even flat out disbelief. What he hadn't expected was that she might laugh. Penelope's laugh was crystal clear, and Mattias couldn't help glaring at her as she leaned back against the door, shaking her head.

  "This is not a joke," he growled. "She might be in danger."

  "Oh, yes," Penelope said, struggling for control. "I know, I know, I'm not doubting you."

  "Then what's. So. Funny?" Mattias ground out the words. It had been hard enough keeping his emotions under control until now, and being mocked was wearing on his last
nerve. He could feel the hair on his arms thickening under his shirt, his teeth lengthening as the shift started to take hold.

  Penelope held up a hand, getting her laughter under control, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, that wasn't kind. But it is funny that the two of you had the same idea. I know mates influence each other, but I've never seen anything like this."

  Mattias frowned, trying to follow what she was saying while he fought down his urge to smash something. Taking careful steps around him, Penelope went to the writing desk in one corner of her room and picked up a small scrap of paper from it.

  "This was delivered earlier this morning," she said, holding it out to him. "I suppose she didn't know who to trust, and she had my address."

  Mattias crossed the room in one fast pace, snatching the paper from her hand. Without even looking at it, he knew it was from Sophie. Her scent was on it, and more than that, he could feel it somehow. The bond between mates was strong enough for that.

  The note was written in neat but hurried handwriting. One side gave Penelope's address and room number, but it was the other side that held his attention.

  Ms. Walters, this is Sophie Havener. Please pass on this message to Mattias when you can. He's in danger. Cpt Praetor wants to control kingdom and will kill if he has to. He has threatened my family, and I can't risk their safety by telling Mattias myself, but he's not safe. Please help me warn him: Praetor is monitoring contact to him at the castle but you can talk to him alone. He has to leave the country now, get to safety.

  Sophie

  Mattias blinked, read the note again, and felt his muscles tighten. It wasn't the immediate rage that had threatened to consume him earlier. This was a quiet, deadly anger that could bide its time. Now he had a target, he no longer needed to lash out, and the lion in his heart was willing to wait for the right moment. The moment when he could pounce on the man who had threatened his mate's family.

  "How did she get this to you?" he asked, rereading the note again.

  "Someone hand delivered it this morning," Sophie said. "A student, she said that she was given the note at the train station."

  Mattias nodded at that. "So she's leaving by train."

  "And terrified as she was, she still thought of a way to warn you," Penelope said. "Fate picked you a good one."

  "Yes," Mattias said. "And I'm not about to let Praetor hurt her, or her family. Or keep us apart."

  "Of course not," Penelope agreed. "And you clearly came here with part of a plan. So how can I help?"

  Mattias grinned. "You and I are going on a picnic in the mountains," he said. "At least, that's what I told my guards. And my car has tinted windows. So you take a nice slow drive into the mountains and keep their eyes on my car, and I'll be free to go after Sophie."

  Penelope's grin was a twin to his, a predator's smile. "Good. You can take my car, then. I won't be needing it, and it'll save you trying to get another one. You might get spotted. But aren't you after Praetor?"

  "I'll get to him," Mattias promised. "But first I need to know Sophie's safe. Unless I miss my guess, Praetor is a vindictive man. If anything happens to him, he'll probably have arrangements in place to get his revenge. I won't take that chance with Sophie's safety."

  Penelope nodded, and grabbed a small bag she'd had ready beside the bed. "That makes sense. You go and look after your mate, and I'll lead Praetor's goons on a merry chase around the mountain."

  She threw her car keys to him and offered him her arm. It felt a little odd to take it, but Mattias knew they had to look right to any watchers outside the room, and so they made their way arm in arm to the garage, smiling fake smiles. Mattias wasn't sure how believable this would be to Praetor — he knew that Mattias and Sophie were mates. But a man like him wasn't likely to believe that someone would be faithful, and anyway, all they needed was to keep him guessing for a while. Just long enough for Mattias to reach Sophie and rescue this situation.

  Then, Mattias promised himself, he and Praetor would have a discussion that only one of them would walk away from.

  14

  The train journey hadn't been nearly as bad as Sophie imagined. There was a painful simplicity to it. Once they pulled out of the station, there was nothing she could do. Either her note would reach Penelope, or it wouldn't. If it did, the tiger shifter would either do something with it, or not. It was out of Sophie's hands, and that was somehow relaxing.

  So, not knowing what else to do, she slept. The countryside sped past outside the window, and the two guards kept watch. She wasn't going to be able to duck out of the train at any of the stations before Gerrenbad, so she didn't bother paying any attention to them. And in fact, she managed to sleep deeply enough that one of them had to wake her as they approached their stop.

  A car waited for them. Not one of the big, imposing cars the Security Service drove in the capital. This was just a local hired car, old and tired but still working well enough for the guards to ferry her out of the small town and into the valley where her parents' farm waited. It was, Sophie had to admit, idyllic out here. Calm and peaceful and beautiful, the perfect retirement spot. She shivered at the thought of the danger she had brought with her.

  The guards pulled the car up at the end of the drive and ushered her out.

  "Go on, girl, go to your parents," the more sympathetic of the two said. "We'll keep an eye on you, make sure you're safe."

  Not trusting herself to say anything, she picked up her bag and hurried up the stone path to the door. It took her a moment to steel herself to knock, and then the wait for the door to open felt endless. Finally, it creaked open.

  "Sophie! Darling, you should have let us know you were coming," Sophie's mother said, eyes going wide with surprise. Before Sophie could say anything, she hugged her tight and continued. "How on earth did you get any time away from your job? You must be swamped."

  Sophie didn't answer, just hugged back hard. It was a surprisingly emotional moment of reunion, one that she wasn't sure what to do with. She hadn't seen her parents in too long, and it was a strain to suddenly appear on their doorstep. Especially when they were all in danger. Her mother seemed to realize that and stopped the stream of questions, just holding her tight.

  Eventually they moved inside, and Sophie's mother started to chatter away again, comforting nothings that Sophie didn't follow. Looking around at the house her parents now called home, she saw that while it was a far cry from the imposing luxuries of Lionhead Castle, they'd made it into a cozy home. The low roof and simple decorations were nothing like the apartments they'd lived in before, but somehow it still suited them.

  The only familiar sight was a portrait of the late king, watching over the kitchen benevolently as Sophie's mother busied herself making tea. But even that was a little different — in the castle, such portraits were everywhere, almost inescapable. Here it was a personal touch, and the king looked uncharacteristically friendly, as though he was watching over an old friend. It was enough to make Sophie smile.

  "Just wait until your father sees you," her mother said, putting a cup of tea in front of her. "It'll be such a surprise for him. You really ought to have told us you were coming, but I suppose you have your reasons?"

  Sophie picked up the cup to cover her pause, sipping the tea and grimacing. Too hot, too soon. She blew on the surface to cool it and shook her head.

  "It's not that simple, Mom," she said. "Things have been complicated in the capital since you left."

  "Oh, I know that it can't be easy, but you're able to cope, I know you are," her mother said with simple pride that made Sophie blush. "Don't tell your father but I think you might be better at his job than he ever was."

  "I doubt that," Sophie said loyally. "Especially now. Things have gone wrong since the princes started to come back."

  Her mother frowned, spooning sugar into her own tea, and sat across from her. She shot a look out of the kitchen window, and satisfied that her husband wasn't immediately on his way back, leaned across to s
peak quietly.

  "Don't think that your father never had problems, dear. There were all kinds of things that nearly got to be too much for him, over the years. Why don't you tell me about it?"

  Sophie closed her eyes, inhaling the warm scent of the tea and letting it soothe her. Old memories of sitting with her mother, talking about anything and everything, welled up in her mind and she smiled sadly. At least she's not saying 'I told you so' yet, she thought.

  "I wish it were that simple, Mom," she said, shaking her head. "But I'm pretty sure things have gotten worse—"

  "Nonsense!" Her mother's voice was sharp but still loving. "Sophie, remember that when you and the princes were young, we nearly lost you. Killers tried to take you away from us, and they did kill two of the royal family. I know that you've had it rough, but you haven't had your own child put in danger by assassins. So don't say it's worse than what we've been through."

  Sophie had to smile at that. Her mother's fierce protectiveness was sweet, and the reassurance was good to have. But it wasn't enough. The assassins that had gone after the princes and her as children were gone now, dealt with, but Praetor and his people were worse. And while she didn't have a child to threaten, Praetor was still doing his best to compete with those killers as an asshole. He was threatening her parents.

  "I don't know if I can tell you what's going on," she said, thinking furiously. At least she could be confident that the house wasn't bugged like the castle was. The Security Service wouldn't have had the access to do anything here. "I certainly shouldn't tell Dad."

  "Tell me what?"

  Sophie and her mother both turned to the doorway, surprised by the interruption. Sophie's dad stood there, dressed in sensible farming clothes, grinning at their shock.

  "I saw the car pull up," he explained. "So I thought I'd come in and see who's visiting. We don't get many people looking in on us. So, what is it you're not going to tell me?"

  He crossed the room, bending over Sophie to give her a kiss on the forehead before fetching himself a cup of tea and sitting at the table.