by Eliza Ellis
She looked at him, her face only inches from him. “Do you want to get married?”
He cocked a brow and smiled. His arm hooked around her neck, bringing her lips within a breath of his. “Why, Princess, are you asking me to marry you?”
She punched him in the gut. Daemon let out a sound of surprise and fake coughed for her benefit. She turned her narrow look away, but her mouth grinned. “No, I wasn’t asking.”
“Oh…that’s too bad.”
Her gaze snapped back to his. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. He adjusted his arm around her shoulder and fingered her right earlobe. Her mouth opened slightly, and he heard her inhale. “Just that, if you were asking me to marry you, I’d consider it. It would be a way of always protecting you.”
She rolled her eyes and slapped his hand away. “I won’t always need protection when Bendola is finally in the people’s control.”
“Marriage isn’t just about protection, Princess. There are…other benefits.”
He watched her chest rise and fall, the muscles in her neck move up and down as she swallowed. Was she thinking what he was thinking? He was thinking a lot of things at once, one of them being how much fun they’d have married. It would never be boring with her. They could be in Bendola—or wherever she wanted—making a difference.
She rotated her head slowly, her eyes wide. His heart hitched in pain at the fear he read in her murky brown depths. He wanted nothing more than to eliminate it. His other hand cupped her cheek and drew her close. His mouth gently covered hers. She let out a slight sound of surrender followed by one of frustration. Daemon leaned back quickly. “What’s wrong?”
Her face had contorted into annoyance. She yanked on her seatbelt. “This thing is in my way.”
Daemon laughed. She unbuckled herself and then wrapped him in her arms. Their lips met again in a frenzy, neither one allowing the other dominance. Would it always be like this? Both of them fighting for control?
“Zuri…” he breathed. He lifted her legs up and over him, drawing her deeper into his arms.
“Yes?”
He kissed her again. “If I do this…”
She silenced him with her lips, pulling him ever closer until there was little space left between them. “I’ll do whatever you say.”
Yeah, sure. That was something she’d never said. “Promise?” She kissed him full on the mouth. Fire tore through his body. His mind went to mush. Okay, he believed her. His hands fought against his last shred of willpower to keep her clothed.
“I promise,” she whispered against his lips.
“Huh?”
She giggled. Her hands rubbed over his head, and then she held his face in her hands. Her gaze latched to his. “I promise to do whatever you say.”
He grunted in primal satisfaction. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say those words, Princess?”
“And all it took was you crossing the line,” she teased.
His eyes went to the ceiling. “It’s been torture, believe me.”
She laughed, and then her look became serious. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “I’m sure.”
“You can keep me safe?”
He shook his head. “I’ll be honest and say I don’t know, Princess. But I promised your father, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep that promise.”
She dropped her hands but didn’t wiggle out of his embrace. “I know that I owe you more than my father could ever pay.”
His gaze drifted south, and when he found her face again, she looked ready to punch him again. Daemon laughed. “I want nothing but the satisfaction of doing a good job. I’ve never lost a client yet, Princess. Payment or not.”
She bit her lip and looked away. “You must expect something. I’m asking you to go against your judgment.”
“That you are.” With one finger, he guided her face back to look into her eyes. “After all this is said and done, Princess? I’m expecting all of you.”
Her breath hitched.
He drew her close and held her in his arms. His eyes went to his tablet. A message from Roland stared back at him. This coup was getting out of control. Fighting in the streets. Mass chaos.
If he had to take a guess, Daemon would put his money on not surviving.
Chapter 17
Hours later, her body still hummed in anticipation of Daemon’s words of desire coming true. The thought of being with him threatened to rob her of all her focus. She had to tap into her discipline now more than ever and keep the goal in front of her: a free and truly independent Bendola.
She couldn’t give Daemon what he wanted, even if her heart desired the same. She wanted love more than anything, and if Daemon wasn’t prepared to give it, then he would have to settle for a monetary payment plan.
She’d worry about that later.
They had touched down hours ago and were traveling by boat across the maritime border into Bendola. Daemon thought it the safest way, especially during darkness. He’d been on the phone with his team and David for the last hour. The coup fighting had intensified in the capital. Although several military bases had refused the order to deploy to the capital and fight the rebels, President Gohi’s supporters fought back.
True to her word, she hadn’t left Daemon’s side, even though they were safely aboard the boat. She had made other concessions as well: never argue with the plan, move whenever he said so, and leave him behind if necessary.
She wasn’t sure about that last one. A fissure had torn in her heart when he’d explained that no matter what happened, if she had to leave him behind to get to safety, then she had to do it. No argument. The last time she’d done that, Joqi had died alone. She understood Daemon was well trained and could handle himself in a fight, but she couldn’t—wouldn’t—leave him. She told him yes, but her heart shouted no. She couldn’t lose Joqi, her father, and Daemon. She would forever question if it were worth it.
“Swear you’ll leave me.”
“I swear it,” she responded quickly.
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you.”
“Haven’t I always said I cared more about Bendola? That I would do anything for her?”
“If you hadn’t kissed me, Princess, I’d believe you.”
She would to, but she had kissed him, and couldn’t take it back. Her heart had erupted with love for this man. No matter how hard she tried, the fire continued to seep through her veins as ash threatened to rain down on what they could build together.
In a new Bendola.
I’m fooling myself. I’m fooling myself. It can’t be. It can never be.
She had turned to her father’s journal for comfort and read an entry that broke her heart. The lesson of emotional detachment in times of crisis; and in particular, war. The clouding of one’s judgment couldn’t be afforded. Too many tough decisions had to be made with the head and not the heart.
Daemon was right: she had to leave him behind. She could only pray she had the strength to do it.
Zuri, Daemon, and his men sat in the command center beneath the deck of the boat. Zuri’s gaze volleyed from the monitors displaying the fighting in the capital, to Daemon, who simultaneously worked on two laptops and spoke on a cell to a guy in the city. Zuri rubbed her arms, although the windbreaker she wore provided enough warmth.
Her heart had chilled since they had lost contact with David an hour beforehand. Zuri looked at the monitor showing the ship’s progress into Bendolan waters. They were minutes out.
David and a few of the men would meet them on the docks and usher them into the capital city. There was a safehouse a few miles from the shore, in the heart of the capital where the strongest fighting was occurring. Zuri would be based there, where she could receive real-time updates. Thankfully, she had Daemon’s technological resources.
According to the few news outlets that had reporters on the ground, the rebels and the military participating in the coup were gaining ground and only yard
s from the capital building. Rumor was President Gohi, believing a coup imminent, had fled the state, although that couldn’t be confirmed. If he had, that would make the government transition easier. He would be a hunted man by the international community.
Daemon dropped one phone into his lap and picked up another one. He put this one on speaker. “David, talk to me.”
David! He was still alive. Zuri’s frenzied heart settled slightly once her friend’s voice came through the speaker.
“We have the capital! We put out the word that Zuri is here, and there has been a surge in fighting. Zuri? Zuri, your father’s dream will come true tonight!”
Zuri grasped Daemon’s arm and leaned close to the phone. “I’m here, David. Please stay safe. We are almost there.”
“Five minutes out,” Daemon confirmed. He squeezed Zuri’s thigh.
“The space has changed,” David’s frantic voice came over the line. “Fighting along the fringe areas of the capital has shifted westward, and the site is compromised.”
“We have another—”
“No time, Daemon. I am trapped here, and we wouldn’t be able to reach you. I don’t have men to secure another route.”
Daemon cursed underneath his breath. “If we drop her off in the middle of it, you know what could happen, David.”
“You have my word, Daemon, I will not fail you.”
Daemon sighed. “You never have…” He looked at Zuri, who met his gaze. “I’m not kidding, Zuri. I meant it when I said do what I tell you. You made me a promise. Time to hold up your end of the deal.”
His stern expression demanded her acquiescence, and she willingly gave it with a nod. She wouldn’t allow her pride to get in the way of their victory, not when they were so close. Nor would she allow her desire for his safety to cloud her judgment. This was bigger than her, bigger than the two of them. There was no other way to get her safely inside the city. She had asked to be here, and this is what they had to face.
Tonight, she was resolved to put Bendola first. Nothing else would matter if her country didn’t gain its freedom. Failure meant a life on the run and her people demoralized. Would they have the strength for another battle? She couldn’t ask them to sacrifice any more if she wasn’t willing to give it all up for them.
They docked at the port, which appeared eerily quiet. Many of the ships that Zuri had seen there a few days before had gone. Daemon said many of them belonged to President Gohi and his friends.
On shore, black SUVs waited for them. Daemon ordered her inside one and she complied. He slid in beside her and the convoy was off. Several cars broke off and traveled in a different direction.
Squinting, Zuri watched them disappear down another street. “Where are they going?”
“Decoy,” Daemon said. “Maybe we can clear our path by getting a few people to chase them.”
“They’ll be in danger,” Zuri breathed. None of the men who worked for Daemon knew her. They couldn’t care about her cause.
“It’s the job, Princess.”
She stared at the side of his face, firm and resolute. How she had taken him and his men for granted. “Daemon…”
Their eyes met. He smiled and cupped her cheek. “Remember why we’re here.”
She kissed his palm before removing it from her face and straightening her shoulders. No emotion.
Five minutes later, the vehicles came to a hard stop after weaving there way around large crowds and avoiding some altogether. People had taken to the streets to get a glimpse of what freedom looked like in action. Guns were going off, and people used what they could to fight back: bricks, their own vehicles, and other sharp objects.
Zuri exited the vehicle when Daemon told her to. He held her close to his body, a shield between the fighting on the streets. They hugged the buildings. Daemon shouted orders to his men, and they made a semicircle of protection around them.
“David’s just ahead!” Daemon shouted into Zuri’s ear.
An orange ball lit up the night sky from an explosion a few blocks up the street. Zuri peered into the large crowds surrounding them, looking for David.
“We’re almost there!” Daemon yelled. “When I say go, Zuri, don’t look back!”
Zuri ducked as bullets zinged overhead and shards from explosions stretched in their direction. A wave of people flooded towards them. It was difficult to determine which side was which. Zuri clung to Daemon’s hard waist, and forced her feet to keep moving forward, over and around the debris that littered the sidewalk.
Her heart lightened when she saw David amongst the crowd reach for her. His expression changed to one of horror. Everything slowed down, and she felt herself being shoved—hard—toward David. She glanced over her shoulder, just in time to see Daemon fall to the ground.
Explosions rang in her ears. Her scream sounded muffled and far off.
“Move, Princess!”
She lost sight of Daemon as men from the resistance crowded around her. Arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her feet off the ground. “David!” she screamed.
Her heart quaked inside her. Not Daemon! She had to go back. Zuri twisted in the arms and shoved hard at shoulders that seemed to come around her. Her chest collapsed under the weight of the vest Daemon made her wear. Her heart shattered.
“David, please!” she yelled in his ear.
“Zuri! I cannot.”
“Go back! I’m ordering you.” She dug her heels into the ground. Hot tears burned in the corners of her eyes before scorching her cheeks. Not again! Daemon wouldn’t be Joqi. Lying in the street, bleeding out. Dying alone. How could she face his father with the news? His heir dead on a dirty city road, and she had left him to die.
She yanked on David’s arm. “Please, David, I can’t lose him!”
“The battle—”
“I will do it!” she said, knowing he needed someone to take command. “I will give the orders. Go! Please! Save him. I can’t have him die like Joqi. Please!”
David’s obstinate look faltered. Resignation filled his dark gaze and he nodded. He shouted orders to the men around her and they crowded in close. He turned, and Zuri kept her eyes forward. The men brought her safely into the shelter and to the general in charge of the coup. It took everything in her to hold back the tears, settle her fracturing heart, and receive the status update. She would be making the decisions. Daemon had to be put out of her mind.
Her first order was for someone to go find David.
The resistance was within yards of the capital building where the fighting was the most intense. Because of the shift in fighting, the eastern side was left largely undefended.
“The decoy convoy is also drawing the fight. It was a good idea.”
Daemon was full of good ideas she didn’t appreciate until it was too late to say so. Dread continued to harden her stomach. She swallowed bile and gave the order. She and a contingent of men would take the capital building from the eastern side and finish the battle.
She knew she had made a promise to stay safe, and she would to the best of her ability. But she had made a promise to Bendola and her people first.
There wouldn’t be any freedom without sacrifice.
Chapter 18
Daemon squinted as the bright light hit his eyes. Didn’t they land at night? When had the sun come out? The pain he had thought was in his dreams intensified. He groaned. It wasn’t a dream. He’d been shot.
More than once.
Again.
When he decided private security was the gig for him, he hadn’t anticipated getting shot. Yeah, the risk was always there, but it the likelihood was usually low. Many times, the worst he had to deal with were the fists of crazy exes or overly ambitious paparazzi. The last time he nearly took a bullet was in Northern Siberia two months ago.
That had been a rush of an assignment. And he had managed to get out with a one-inch scrape.
But Benola?
His head was pounding like someone had struck it with a hammer in the
same spot over and over. Did he get shot in the head? Fear struck him briefly before he talked himself down. He still had his sight, could Feel pain, and the fact that his thoughts were lucid meant he wasn’t a vegetable. He wiggled his toes and fingers. All twenty. At least I’m not paralyzed.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, the calm sea at Bendola’s shores came into view. The waves lapped against the sand. Even a boat was in the distance. He could tell by the stern that it wasn’t his. Who was offshore? It was like the coup had never happened. Was this even Bendola? Where was he?
He looked down and saw a white blanket covered him. He peeked beneath it. Bandages with splotches of blood were wrapped around his chest and his left thigh. The tell-tale sound of a heart rate monitor beeped. And a curtain hung from the ceiling, stopping just before cutting off his line of sight to the room door. He was in a hospital. The good one that overlooked the ocean. The fighting hadn’t reached this area of the city, and he was grateful that the hospital was still standing. How did he get here? When did he get here? How long had he been asleep?
“I see you are awake now.”
David stood in the doorway, a smile on his dark face. He looked quite clean, like he had showered. When did he have the time?
Zuri!
If David was here, that meant Zuri had to be alive. Didn’t it? Daemon’s nerves settled. David wouldn’t leave Zuri—not after he had promised to keep her safe. “What are you doing here? Where’s Zuri?” Daemon struggled to sit up, groaning at the pain in his chest. Lucky shot missed his vest and came in through his underarm. Those were the worst. “Does this hospital not believe in medication?” he asked sarcastically. He would have to call one of his men to sneak him some medicine.
David moved swiftly to Daemon’s bedside. He put his hands on Daemon’s shoulders. “Try not to move so much. You were shot in the chest. The bullet bounced around a lot in there, nicking your lungs. It’s a miracle you survived.”
“I’ve been shot before,” Daemon protested, pushing against David’s hands. He was determined to sit upright. He felt more vulnerable lying down. David eventually gave up and took a seat. Daemon set two eyes on him, looking at his friend through slits. He’d do anything for David, but he’d kill him if Zuri wasn’t safe. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said in a dangerously low tone.