by Kat Mizera
38
Lennox
I scanned the street and each booth as I passed them. It didn’t appear the kids had been kidnapped or we probably would have heard from the kidnappers by now. At least that was the hope. None of this made any sense. As something of an outsider, despite my growing closeness to Sandor and the rest of the family, it felt like more than politics was going on here.
Anwar had killed his family to take power and he’d been king for eleven years before Erik had outed him as the murderer he was and taken his place on the throne. Though there were still some Anwar supporters, Erik had over a ninety-percent approval rating in the country, so he was popular, and Omar was technically a nobody. Because he was Skye’s ex-husband, my gut told me this was more about her than the royal family. He might have been in league with Anwar, but his end game had always been something else.
I had no basis for this, but my gut had never steered me wrong and I wished I’d told Sandor about the nagging doubts regarding Omar’s intentions. It was too late now, but I needed to assert myself more when it came to him. I wasn’t the timid type, but he was very much an alpha male and while he didn’t intimidate me, I hadn’t been comfortable telling him I thought he was on the wrong track. He’d changed me a little, I realized. Not in a bad way, because he was one of the kindest, biggest-hearted men I’d ever known. But our relationship had helped me explore my more feminine side and somehow that had carried over to our professional relationship, with me blindly following his orders, and that wasn’t who I was. Not professionally anyway. We had to talk about this going forward.
Despite my deep thoughts, I was still focused on the task at hand and I caught sight of two blond heads pressed close together. I hurried in that direction, my heart in my throat as I recognized them.
“Jessie! Joss!” I reached them in record time and they threw their arms around me, both speaking at once.
“—Luke said it was better if—”
“—and then there was a man—”
“—Maddie and Megan went the other way—”
“Okay, wait, stop.” I wrapped my arms around them, speaking to the rest of the team. “Twins found. They’re okay. I’m trying to find out more info.” I leaned down. “Where are the other kids?”
“We don’t know.” Jessie’s eyes were filled with tears. “We were buying hot chocolate and Megan said she was cold and wanted to go home. Luke tried to get a taxi but they wouldn’t stop for us because we’re kids.”
“Why didn’t you just call us?” I demanded in frustration.
“We didn’t bring our phones,” Joss whispered.
“You can track us with the GPS on our phones, so Luke said it was better if we left them home so no one could find us and we could have fun for a little while.” Jessie’s lower lip was starting to quiver.
I wanted to shake both of them, but instead, I said, “So how did you get separated?”
“There was a man and Luke was afraid he was following us, so we split up. Luke took Leni, Maddy and Megan went back toward the big Christmas tree, and we came here because there are a lot of people. We were going to find someone to let us use their phone.”
I took each of their hands. “You stay with me, no matter what, okay?”
“Okay.”
We walked a little further as my earpiece blew up with the guys talking to me, asking questions I couldn’t answer.
“I don’t know,” I responded. “They said they separated on purpose because a man was following them.”
“Axel, where are you?” one of the voices in my ear asked.
“I’m waiting at the top end of Floria Street,” he replied.
“Keep your eyes peeled for Luke and Leni—they went in that direction.”
“I’m on it.”
Xander caught up to us. “I’ll get them to the SUV,” he said. “You keep looking.”
I nodded and did a quick check to make sure Luke and Leni weren’t nearby before continuing along the row of stalls. The whole area wasn’t that big, but the pretty Christmas-themed booths were on both sides of the street, filled with cheerful lights, brightly colored merchandise, and delicious-smelling food. It was packed tonight, too, people filling the booths, the sidewalk, and the street. The street itself had been blocked off on all sides, so no cars could get in, but that just made it busier.
I was determined to find them. I didn’t know what was going on, and Sandor had gone radio silent, but my gut was telling me the rest of the kids were close. I just needed to zero in on their location, and it felt like I was getting closer. I often had a sixth sense about this kind of thing, and I kept turning in circles so I didn’t miss them.
“Lennox!” I knew Luke’s voice and whirled around, spotting him as he swung his fist at a man grabbing for him.
“I need backup!” I yelled to my colleagues. “By the Belgian waffles and the booth with the ten-foot snowman!” I jumped over a bench and threw myself at the man trying to wrestle Luke into a car that was pulled onto the sidewalk on the edge of the street. “Run!” I yelled to him. I saw the man reaching for a gun and kicked it out of his hand, following with a punch to the throat that left him gasping for air. Asshole was lucky I didn’t kill him.
“I’m here!” Logan came bounding over to me, looking down at the man on the ground. “We need to interrogate him. Axel, where are you?”
“I’ll be there in a minute, but I’ve got kids in the car.”
“I’ll be there in thirty seconds—don’t lose him.” Sandor’s voice in my ear soothed me the way the others hadn’t. I wasn’t worried about taking care of myself, but not knowing where the kids were had been nerve-wracking. I’d jumped into action when I saw this guy trying to grab Luke, but now that it was over, I was terrified because we’d come way too close to being too late.
Sandor pulled right up onto the street, ignoring the police that started yelling at him to move. He showed some kind of badge and they backed off. Then Erik got out of the SUV and there was chaos. Sandor handcuffed the man I’d taken down and threw him in the back while Erik grabbed Luke and Leni. We piled into the SUV with Leni on Erik’s lap and headed for the palace. Logan had found Maddie and Megan just before joining me, so everyone was safe, but the air was charged with electricity as the adrenaline started to dissipate.
It was eerily quiet as we drove. Luke had tried to talk to his father twice and Erik had silenced him with a glare. Leni was just sniffling against his chest, and Megan and Madison didn’t say a word. Casey was in the other SUV with the twins and I figured a lot of the same was happening over there. Sandor was driving, and Xander was in the far back with our prisoner, so I’d wound up in the passenger seat.
When I glanced at Sandor, he seemed strangely stoic, and I wondered what had happened with Omar. I tried to ask but he just shook his head, so I didn’t say anything else, waiting to see how this was going to play out. We were going to have to debrief the kids, which wouldn’t be easy, and that was probably on everyone’s mind.
We were still quiet when we pulled up to the palace, and I followed Casey and Erik up the stairs toward their suites. Sandor fell in behind us and Joe met us at the top of the stairs.
“Where’s the prisoner?” he asked.
“They’re taking him to one of the security briefing rooms,” Sandor said. “They’ll hold him there until I can interrogate him.”
Joe nodded and we all gathered in Erik and Casey’s sitting room.
“Do you want to tell me what you did?” Erik faced Luke with his hands on his hips.
“We just wanted to go to the Christmas market,” Luke said, looking down.
“Why didn’t you ask?”
“We did!” Luke’s head snapped up and he glared at his father with intensity in his green eyes. “We asked a bunch of times and it’s always the same answer! You’re too busy or it’s not safe or there’s no one to go with us or whatever. It sucks.”
“So you left the palace by yourself and dragged your sisters with yo
u?” Erik demanded.
“He didn’t drag us,” Leni whispered. “We wanted to go.”
“Whose idea was it to leave your phones behind?”
“Mine.” Luke stared at his father defiantly. “We just wanted to be kids for a little while and see some of the city without all the pomp and circumstance.”
“You’re the Crown Prince of Limaj—pomp and circumstance is your new reality.”
“Well it sucks.”
“How many times are you going to use that word?” Erik snapped. “It doesn’t make you sound cool. You just sound like a spoiled brat.”
“Erik.” Casey went to stand beside him. “He did something wrong, but this isn’t the time for that conversation. We have to talk about what they saw and who the man was that tried to grab him. Later, we’ll talk about the rest of it.”
Erik blew out a breath. It looked like he was counting to ten.
“It was fine until we stopped at that café,” Joss said. “We wanted more of that black and white hot chocolate and Mr. Kreshi was really nice. He gave us all some and asked us where we were going. We told him we were going shopping at the market and he told us to have fun.”
“Sonofabitch.” Sandor looked furious. “Either he betrayed us or Omar was watching—it’s fucking Sunday.”
“Then I saw someone following us,” Luke said. “I thought we should split up, that way they couldn’t get all of us. I told the girls to try to find someone who’d let them use their phone, but no one spoke English and then that guy drove up and tried to grab me. I told Leni to run but she screamed and then Lennox came. That’s everything that happened.”
“You think old man Kreshi told Omar?” Erik asked Sandor.
Sandor tapped his foot impatiently. “I’m going to talk to him but my gut says no. This was a crime of convenience. He told me Omar hangs out there on Sundays and the kids walked right in.”
“I’m sorry,” Luke whispered sadly.
“I know, buddy.” Sandor put his hand on Luke’s head. “I know.”
Sandor didn’t come to bed that night. I was up until three or four, sitting with Joe as we watched Sandor and Erik interrogate the man we’d caught, but they weren’t speaking English and I wasn’t proficient enough in Limaji to understand. Joe translated some of it, but the man wasn’t telling them anything important and I figured I needed a few hours’ sleep in order to be ready for the day.
I slept from about four to seven and then took a quick shower before heading down to the security briefing. Today’s was going to be a doozy, of that I was sure, so I got an espresso instead of regular coffee and was the first one there. Sandor didn’t even look up as I approached.
“Hey.” I spoke softly, wondering what was wrong with him.
“Morning.” He still didn’t look up.
What the fuck?
“Babe?” I kept my voice soft but my tone was insistent and he finally met my gaze, though the only thing in his eyes was irritation.
“We’ll talk later,” was all he said. And then he went back to whatever he was doing.
Well, if he was going to be an asshole this morning, I’d see his asshole and raise him a bitch. He’d been acting weird since last night, as if it was somehow my fault, and that was bullshit. The kids had snuck out, plain and simple, and when it came to kids, where there was a will, there was a way. I’d been pretty sneaky as a teen myself, so I had no doubt they’d made a plan and seen it through.
Erik joined us for this morning’s briefing and sank into the chair next to mine, giving me a tired but genuine smile.
“I wanted to say thank you,” he said. “I didn’t get a chance last night, but Luke told me how you tackled that guy and took him down even though he had a gun.”
“It’s my job,” I said quietly. “And my pleasure to work for your family. There was no way I was letting him take Luke, no matter what I had to do.”
“And you have no idea how much I appreciate that.” He squeezed my arm and I felt a little better. At least he wasn’t being a jerk.
39
Sandor
Security briefings were usually less than an hour. Today, we went past lunch and into the afternoon because we had so much to talk about. The kids hadn’t even really come up with a sneaky plan. They’d simply known the guards’ schedule, and ours, and they’d left during the shift change. When the guard at the back door went to lunch, his replacement signed in and promptly left his post to use the restroom. The kids had seen an opportunity and slipped out, telling the guard at the back gate they were playing hide-and-seek. Then they climbed the fence, went through the trees that lined the street, and were on their way to the Christmas market within five minutes. It had been ridiculously easy and that pissed me off even more.
The kids were all grounded and pouting in their rooms, we’d lost Omar once again, and there was no rhyme or reason to any of it.
“While I don’t condone what they did,” Erik said that afternoon, “the kids aren’t prisoners here. Yes, they have to follow protocol, but we have to be more cognizant of their needs. Going forward, we have to give them the tools they need should they ever find themselves on their own again. They need to learn their way around, learn the language, and, though it pains me to say it, we may need to put trackers in their shoes, backpacks, places they won’t know about. We can’t go through this again.”
“Agreed.” Joe nodded.
“On the flip side, we need to plan more activities. If they’re going to be living here full-time, I want the palace to be their home, not their prison.”
“That’s all well and good,” I said, “but until we find Omar, we have to be diligent.”
“I had a thought about Omar.” Lennox spoke up for the first time all day, and I glanced at her in surprise.
“Yes?” I asked her.
“You once mentioned luring him out. I think this is about Skye and she’s the person to use for that.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I snapped. I hadn’t meant to be condescending, but the way her eyes narrowed told me my answer had pissed her off. Well, too bad. I was in charge here and she didn’t know the players like I did.
“Maybe it’s not,” Erik said slowly. “She could be on to something. Omar has money and the intelligence we’ve gathered says he has a nice life in Paris. He’s so far removed from the throne, though he does have some royal blood, that that can’t be his goal. The only reason he has to continually go after us has to be personal. And I think it’s the fact that we took Skye from him, so to speak, when we helped her leave him.”
It made sense but now I was even more pissed that Lennox had thought of it instead of me, reinforcing the idea that I was too caught up in my feelings for her to be effective at my job.
“Well, even if that’s his motivation, we can’t use Skye as bait. She’s not trained for that kind of thing.”
“I could help her get ready,” Lennox said, meeting my gaze squarely. “And we’d all be nearby.”
“Every time we’ve gotten close to him, he’s gotten away, and I’m not willing to risk that with her.”
“I think that should be her choice,” Lennox said firmly.
“She’s right.”
I fucking hated when Erik went against me, but I couldn’t say that and right now I was annoyed with everyone, so I wasn’t going to get into a pissing contest about this.
“Then we can discuss it, but not today. We have to focus on getting the guards we have working here properly trained, and running drills to test them.”
“Fine.” Erik got to his feet. “You and Joe can set that up, but I’m beat and it’s almost Christmas. I need to talk with Luke because he’s pouting, and spend a little time with Leni as well. Let’s table most of the plans regarding Omar until after Christmas.”
Everyone dispersed but Lennox stayed behind, waiting until the room cleared before approaching me.
“Did you seriously call my idea ridiculous in front of everyone?” she asked me.
“I
did.” I looked up. I was spoiling for a fight and while I didn’t want it to be with her, she wasn’t going to let this go so I was most likely going to say something I regretted.
“Why would you do that?” she demanded. “Especially since you know I’m probably right. Whatever is going on has to be about more than hating Erik.”
“We don’t know that, and you need to stop taking everything so personally. When we’re working, I’m the boss and it’s my prerogative to do my job in whatever way I see fit.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Just what I said.” I drummed my fingers on the desk. “And starting now, we can’t be so familiar with Erik and Casey. It’s either ‘sir’ or ‘Your Majesty’ for Erik, and ‘ma’am’ or ‘Your Highness’ for Casey. I’m going to put out a memo.”
“Really.” She gave me a funny look.
“Why do you question every fucking thing I say?” I demanded, getting more and more irritated by the minute.
“Because you’re being a dick?” She faced off with me, her posture as rigid as mine. “So you want to fight? Is that what this is? You’re pissed and embarrassed that the kids got out so you’re going to take it out on me?”
Fuck. She knew me too well.
“Look, we’re both tired and on edge. Let’s talk later, okay? I don’t want to fight like this.”
“Fine.” She turned and walked out. I had a feeling she would have slammed the door if she’d been able to.
I didn’t get up to our suite until late, and after not sleeping at all the night before, I was tired. Lennox was still up, though, sitting on the couch doing something on her laptop. She looked up when I came in and gave me a small smile.
“Hey.”
“Hi.” I pulled off my hoodie and removed my gun and holster.
“I’m sorry about earlier.” She got up and came over to me, putting a hand on my arm. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“I don’t either.” I reached out and gently pushed her hair behind one ear. She was so damn beautiful, I often couldn’t think of anything else when we were alone like this. It was a huge distraction. Too much of a distraction. I loved her, but how could I risk everything I’d spent the last twelve years protecting? She didn’t just distract me, she completely overwhelmed me. The depth of my feelings for her was detrimental to everything I believed in, and what had happened yesterday only proved that I couldn’t have it all. I couldn’t protect the people I loved and love Lennox too. At least not the way she deserved to be loved.