Her Prince (Twisted Royals #2)

by Sidney Bristol

  The man looking up at her was vaguely familiar.

  “You’re Kade’s girlfriend, right?” the man asked.

  Shelby didn’t know.

  “Look, Kade’s lost a lot of blood, but the bullet went straight through. It nicked the…” He held up his hand and drew a heart on one side. “There’s an artery that comes out of your heart and goes over here. The bullet nicked that. It means he’s lost a lot of blood, but if they get him in there and patch it up, he should be fine. Kade’s a tough guy. He’ll pull through. Can we see about your arm now?”

  Then why had he looked dead on the gurney?

  Shelby wasn’t convinced, but she’d at least pretend, for the sake of Kade’s friends.

  That was where she’d seen this guy before.

  This was Kade’s unit. These were the people he worked with.

  God damn it.

  It was unfair. Wrong. And her fault.

  The ambulance driver helped her out the back of the truck and into the emergency department. They whisked her back, behind a curtain. A woman in Snoopy scrubs asked Shelby questions while another woman in Tinkerbell scrubs daubed the worst of Kade’s blood off Shelby’s skin. There was no small talk, no trying to cheer her up. They had to know about Kade’s condition. Which made the kid glove treatment make sense.

  At the end of it, Shelby got a giant Band-Aid, two stitches, and that was it.

  She wandered out of her curtained cell, into the waiting area where the paramedics were standing around.

  Kade knew these people. They were his friends. Loved ones. His chosen family. And she was taking him away from them.

  Shelby would never be able to forgive herself.

  Never.

  “Hey.” The driver caught sight of her first and waved her down. “They said it looks good. That he’s going to come out okay.”

  She stared at the man for maybe a few seconds too long.

  This had to be a joke or a misunderstanding.

  “Yeah, just lost a lot of blood. Man, for a second back there, I thought it was a lot worse.” The paramedic who’d cared for Kade shook his head.

  “I think Kade just took five years off all our lives.” The driver chuckled.

  Shelby just kept staring at them. Kade was going to be okay?

  Shelby knew she should feel relief, joy, something. But she couldn’t quite get there.

  He might escape death this time, but what about next time?

  “I…I need some air,” Shelby said.

  She shuffled barefoot out through the automatic glass doors and wrapped her arms around herself.

  Shelby wanted Kade to live. To be happy.

  What would that be like? She didn’t have the first idea. What did she know? How to forge art and con people. That was what she was good at. And she had a job to get to.

  She glanced over her shoulder at the digital clock mounted on the wall facing the doors.

  This business with Ogden had taken longer than planned. She was supposed to be on a plane headed for the United Kingdom and her new job tomorrow. The ticket should be ready and waiting for her.

  That was her life.

  And this was Kade’s. Here. Normal. Without her.

  She couldn’t risk him again. And that meant she had to stick to her plans. Besides, she wasn’t good at anything else and the people Shelby loved had a bad habit of dying.

  Kade felt like those old, frog in a blender, cartoon things his brothers used to get a kick out of.

  “You should still be in the fuckin’ hospital,” Ian said for the ten-thousandth time.

  Yeah, well, Shelby wasn’t there and he had a bad feeling about what she might do. Or what might have happened to her.

  Ogden wasn’t dead, only in custody undergoing surgery.

  The guy who’d organized the whole party scene was still missing, as were three girls. One of which was Jaxon’s friend, Freya. Yeah. That was not going over well. Last Kade had heard, Jaxon was still at the precinct, riding the cops’ asses about finding her.

  What if Shelby was one of them?

  What if, in all of the hoopla over capturing Ogden, she’d been quietly taken?

  Kade was the only one who’d truly miss her. Who cared. And that meant he had to get out of the hospital and back to looking for her, because he’d be damned if he let her go now.

  Fuck. I love you. Please, please don’t die?

  Those words with her tear- and blood-streaked face were on repeat in his mind.

  The hell he was going to lay up in some hospital while she was God only knew where.

  “Open the door, man.” Kade leaned against the wall. Soon enough he’d feel his shoulder.

  Ian paused, key in hand, and tilted his head.

  “You let someone stay at your place?” he asked.

  “Fuck.” Kade groaned and took his keys from Ian.

  Kade opened the door and staggered into his apartment.

  His two dickwad brothers sat on his sofa—a wonder they hadn’t sold that already—playing darts.

  “What the fuck are you two doing here?” Kade was in no mood to play nice with his brothers.

  “They let us out.” Sasha pushed to his feet. “What happened to you? Who’s your friend?”

  “I heard you ratted us out, little brother.” Anton hurled another dart.

  What the hell were they playing darts with? Where did they even find darts?

  Kade shuffled past the kitchen and frowned at the two-by-three canvas leaned up against the entertainment center. Four darts hung precariously from the thick material, marring the image underneath.

  An image he remembered all too well.

  He could still feel the paint on his skin.

  The way his body had heated at her touch.

  The small glimpse into the Shelby no one else saw.

  “What—the—fuck are you doing?” Kade’s shoulder throbbed and he could feel his pulse pounding in his temples.

  He stalked forward and yanked the darts out of the canvas.

  “What is that thing?” Anton snickered.

  She’d painted it.

  And why was it here?

  “Get out,” Kade said.

  “Come on, it’s a stupid picture. Don’t be like that. You’re our brother.” Anton lounged on the sofa.

  “I think you two need ‘ta leave. Now.” Ian’s accent was thicker. That was always a red flag.

  “No one asked your opinion,” Sasha said.

  The exchange in the kitchen faded from Kade’s mind.

  There was something on the back of the canvas.

  Kade turned it over and pulled a taped note off the back.

  He had a bad feeling about this. His stomach knotted up and his head felt a little light. He carefully placed the canvas where his TV used to sit, then perched on the entertainment set in front of it. If his brothers were going to throw darts, well, they’d have to go through him.

  He opened the folded note, Shelby’s curling, neat script filling the page.

  He didn’t need to read it to know what it said.

  Shelby saw herself as a parasite. A cancer. He’d seen it in the way she’d looked at him, how she spoke about herself. If only she could see herself as he saw her.

  He had to find her.

  “No, you fuck off,” Anton shouted, bringing Kade back into the moment.

  “Hey!” Kade bellowed over them all. He was so going to get another noise complaint.

  Sasha had Anton by the arm and Ian stood with his back to the door, arms up.

  “You two.” Kade pointed at his brothers. “I want you gone. Now. Get out of my apartment, get out of my life.”

  “But, Kade—”

  “No,” he snapped, glaring at Anton. He couldn’t charm Kade this time. “All you do is think of yourselves. What about your friend that nearly died? You don’t give two fucks about who you hurt, who might die. The only reason you’re out of prison and not facing federal charges is because I cut you a fucking deal. Me. And this is th
e thanks I get?”

  “We never asked you to be a rat,” Anton replied.

  “Yeah, well, I never asked for you to be my brothers. Get out.” Kade flung his arm toward the door. “If I see you again, I’ll make sure you never have another free day. Got it?”

  He’d given them chance after chance. But neither Anton or Sasha wanted to change.

  “We’ll see what Mom has to say about this.” Anton shouldered past Ian.

  Sasha gave Kade a long, cold glare before following Anton out the door.

  Ian closed the door.

  Kade sat back down on the entertainment set, all the strength leaving him.

  “That was—you okay?” Ian flipped the locks—lot of good that keeping those two out—and crossed to Kade.

  “Yeah, just my head.” Kade lifted his chin. “They didn’t take her.”

  The painting was proof that Shelby had walked out of the hospital of her own volition—and then what? Delivered him a painting of himself and a note?

  “She’s probably fine. You need ‘ta take care of yourself.” Ian peered around. “Done some redecoratin’?”

  “Sasha and Anton helped themselves.” Kade planted his hands on his knees. “I need clothes, and then I need a lift to Shelby’s.”

  “You sure—”

  “I wasn’t asking permission.”

  Kade made it into his bedroom, his sheets still rumpled. The memory of Shelby’s scent, the feel of her, was all too easily recalled in this room.

  “There’s a business card on the fridge. Call Rusty?” Kade called out over his shoulder.

  He had seen the agent briefly, just after surgery, along with a gaunt man. Johnny, maybe? Kade had no idea how that was playing out, but if anyone knew where Shelby was or what she was doing, it would be Rusty.

  Kade struggled through changing out of the sweats and T-shirt the guys from his unit had brought him. He got on a pair of jeans and his old, Firehouse Three shirt from when he was still living in Texas. By the time he had clothes and shoes on, he was beat.

  All this from a scratch on his shoulder.

  “Hey, man?” Ian leaned against the door. “Rusty finally picked up. He’s checking around. You okay?”

  “Will be as soon as we find Shelby. Just give me a second, will ya?”

  “You’re goin’ to pop those stitches open and then what? I ain’t no doctor.” Ian shook his head.

  Yeah, Kade was pushing it, but if Shelby got away, he had the sick feeling that he’d never see her again. Either because she’d go to ground, or because her past would catch up with her. And that meant he had to find her.

  “Rusty says a surveillance truck saw her get in a taxi outside the loft with a suitcase. He’s running her aliases through the database to see if she booked a flight, but she could have some he doesn’t know about.”

  “She’ll use one he doesn’t know about. Come on, we need to get to the airport. Or I do.” Kade pushed up to his feet, the room doing a slight spin around him.

  “You ain’t goin’ anywhere by yourself, man. Get your ass in my Jeep. I’ll call Taylor.”

  By Kade’s estimation, they’d had their run-in around sunset last night. He’d been in surgery, then recovery until the early morning hours. Shelby could already be gone, for all he knew, but he had to try.

  He grabbed his paramedic credentials and jacket from the closet. Just in case. If Shelby was already through security, he’d need a better plan than just showing up.

  Ian was glued to his phone, alternating between talking to his girlfriend Taylor, and Rusty. At least, that was Kade’s guess. He didn’t pay him much mind.

  What was he going to tell Shelby? Where did he begin?

  She wasn’t toxic, or a parasite, or a cancer. She’d had a bad go of things. That was it. She couldn’t spend her life persecuting herself. Yeah, she’d fucked up. She’d done some bad shit. But she’d more than made up for it. Better than any prison sentence, she’d made things right. At some point, she had to let herself off the hook.

  Shelby was a good soul. She cared about people. And he loved her. If that wasn’t enough, if he couldn’t talk her into staying, that was okay. But he wanted the chance to tell her, so that she’d know.

  “Rusty still can’t pin down if she’s at the airport or not. You sure you want to do this?” Ian asked.

  “Is there a terminal with a burger place in it? Not a fast food burger place, but a sit down, gourmet place?”

  “Uh, yeah, actually…”

  “Take me there.”

  Burgers. Fries. Shakes. The stuff of memories.

  Ian navigated them into the airport and to the terminal, all the while, Kade’s brain was spinning, losing traction, trying to come up with an idea.

  “There’s Rusty.” Ian pulled up to the curb.

  “What’s he doing here?” Kade couldn’t muster the energy to be angry with the man at this point. All he wanted was to see Shelby.

  “I don’t know.”

  Kade got out, one hand against the Jeep to steady himself.

  “You’re looking a little green around the gills,” Rusty said.

  “Yeah, well, fuck you, too. Found her?” Kade shut the Jeep door, but Ian didn’t motor off.

  “No, but Ian told me this was where you were going, so I thought I’d show up and help. I just want to say—thank you. And I’m sorry. For everything.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I just want to find Shelby.”

  “That’s what I’m here for. Come on.”

  Airport security was something else. The best Kade had planned was using his hospital badge to try to bluff his way through. But with Rusty, they got let through the back way, without having to wait. Which was good, because Kade really was starting to feel the strain of the last twelve hours.

  “Where’s the burger place?” he asked as soon as they entered the terminal.

  “Three gates that way. Want me to—”

  “No, I’ll take it from here.”

  If she wasn’t there, if Kade was wrong, he didn’t want an audience.

  He walked, keeping his eyes on the next gate, and then the next, until a neon burger sign caught his eye.

  Kade held his breath.

  If she was there… He wasn’t quite sure where he’d start.

  If she wasn’t there… He might embarrass himself.

  It was just a hunch. A feeling. Call it intuition or foreboding, but it was all he had to go on.

  His stomach knotted up with each step.

  His fingers were cold.

  His palms sweaty.

  She wasn’t going to be there, but he needed her to be.

  Kade peered into the restaurant. There weren’t many people there at this hour, so the woman sitting alone stuck out.

  Her hair was up, and she had a pair of big, sunglasses perched on top of her head.

  She stared at the tray of food in front of her, but hadn’t touched any of it.

  The look on her face, so full of pain and sadness, broke his heart.

  Kade turned and walked between the tables.

  She didn’t once look up.

  He pulled out the seat across from her and eased down into it.

  Still, she didn’t acknowledge his presence.

  Why?

  He remembered being in her shoes. The burden of doing the right thing weighing him down. Smothering him. He got it. But he couldn’t make her choose to give it up. To let him shoulder it with her.

  “I’ve been here before, you know?” Kade braced his arms on the table. It helped the room to not spin quite so much. “I ran away from basic one night because I was too good at it. I figured that meant I was a bad guy, that it was my blood showing through. Making me a killer. A bad guy. But it wasn’t. I was just in better shape than the rest. I’d done more fighting, more training than the others. That was all. It didn’t make me bad. Running away wasn’t a solution. Going back was possibly the best thing that ever happened to me. It put me on the path to more choices. It brough
t me here.”

  Shelby still hadn’t so much as blinked.

  Kade reached across and placed his hand over hers.

  “Going back then means I’m here now. Life is a series of choices, and I chose to drag my lazy ass out of bed to come find you, because you weren’t there when I woke up.”

  At those words, her face crumbled. A tear leaked out over her lashes. She covered her face with her other hand and gripped his fingers in her other.

  “I’m not holding it against you. I know that stuff has happened to you, and it’s been an intense journey, but I want you to know that I love you. And when you’re ready to come back to me, if you ever are, I’d like another chance. On our terms.”

  Kade wasn’t stupid. Just because he wanted her, because she loved him, it didn’t mean things would magically fit together. That they’d get to ride into the sunset and everything would be cheery and perfect. Life was messy. It was often hard. And if Shelby had things to do, healing that needed to happen, and she wanted space to do them, he’d honor that. So long as she knew she always had a place with him.

  The tears came faster now.

  He wanted to stop them, to say something good, but he was out of material. Everything he’d thought of he’d said.

  He opened and closed his mouth.

  She squeezed his hand.

  “Hey—hey.”

  Shelby stood, took a step and plopped down in his lap, burying her face against his good shoulder. She sobbed, her words lost between the tears. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. Just a little. His shoulder was damn close to hurting something serious.

  “I don’t want to leave,” she said in a small voice.

  Those were arguably the best words he’d heard in years. He closed his eyes and buried his face against her neck.

  “Then don’t.”

  “But…but everyone who loves me, dies.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing I’m a hard to kill bastard.” He cupped her cheek, swiping away tears. “I promise to do my best to not die, if you promise to give this a chance.”

  Fear was written so deeply into the lines of Shelby’s face. Was this what sent her running from him?

  Of course it was.

  Even at her so-called worst, she was still just trying to make up for her wrongs.

  “Can you give me a chance to love you and live?” He held his breath.