“Wait, Gabriel!” His mother laughed as she shifted her ten-month-old daughter from one hip to the other, “Papa is coming! Move out of the way of the horses!”
Gabriel’s cousins joined him, all three boys running and jumping with excitement.
Riley looked at Savannah and shook her head as she laughed, “Every year!”
Savannah laughed in agreement as she watched her sons. One with russet brown hair and blue eyes like the father that he would never know, and one with the raven hair and brown eyes of the man that had raised them both.
Anton wasn’t always a present father, his job often keeping him away, but he was a doting one and their relationship was full of love and affection.
Drake often joked that it was the only reason Anton, aka Jason, had helped them escape. Because Savannah, whom he had kept in touch with after helping Drake stage her disappearing act, would have never forgiven him otherwise.
Anton came and went but Drake, Riley, and Savannah had made the small ranch their home. Located in the south of France, it was far out of the way of touristy destinations like Paris, Provence, Bordeaux, or Versailles. Well away from any place that a royal tour or diplomatic detachment might visit.
Drake and Savannah had already spoken fluent French while Riley had barely known two words in the beginning, but she had eventually learned to speak French like a native. As far as any of their neighbors knew, Drake and Savanna, aka Dominic and Sylvanna were from Normandy, and Riley, aka Ranae, was from Canada. All of the children were native speakers.
When the herd was back in their winter pastures, Drake trotted his horse to the yard and dismounted, “Who wants to help me untack Thunder?”
“Me! Me! Me!” all three boys jumped and squealed gleefully.
That night after dinner, baths, and bedtime stories, Drake climbed into bed and held his wife close as his kids, sister, and nephews slept safely just down the hall and gave silent thanks for whatever miracle had brought her into his life and allowed them to successfully escape the wrath of a jilted king.
Behind a false wall in the back of the walk-in closet in the master bedroom sat an old, scuffed-up duffle bag filled with cash, weapons, and forged passports giving them citizenship in a myriad of countries. While he hoped they never needed to use it, he was never without an escape plan, just in case.
After all, the statute of limitations on murder never expired. Â
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A/N: This is me officially giving up on predicting the length of this story. 🤷🏻‍♀️
My other stuff: Master List.
Riley jumped as the door slammed behind Liam. She turned back to Drake, “What do you mean I have no idea what I’ve just done?”
“I mean…you’ve only known the charming and polite Liam, the person he is when he’s getting his way.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that you don’t know what he’s capable of! Liam handles things…differently.”
“Differently how?”
“Okay, so take me for example. I’m a simple man, Riley. Straightforward. Nick pissed me off, I punched him. Tariq threatened you, I punched him. Simple. Out in the open. Resolved and moved on from. But Liam? He can destroy a person’s life from the ground up and they never see him coming until it’s too late.”
“Liam wouldn’t-
“Oh, he would, he can, and he has! I’m telling you…you don’t know him like I do! If I haven’t been fired, had my clearance revoked, and been shut out of all our systems by the time he makes it back to the office, I’ll eat my shoes.”
“But…you’re his best friend!”
“Who just betrayed him.”
“You didn’t-“
“As far as he’s concerned, I did and that’s all that matters. I told you, absolute monarchy.”
“What will you do if he fires you?”
“The job is the least of my concerns, Riley. I told you; I have money. I can get by without an income for a while. I can get another job, somewhere else, but…”
“But?”
“But I can almost guarantee he’ll have all my domestic assets frozen by nightfall. He can make it impossible for me to find another job, he can seize this property if he wants to and frankly if he decides to arrest me, I could spend the rest of my life in a prison cell.”
“But you’ve done nothing wrong or illegal!” She protested, “Surely a jury-“
“Doesn’t matter. There won’t be a trail. This isn’t America.”
“Why would he do any of that?”
“Because in his mind, I just took something that belonged to him. Liam Rys doesn’t do tit-for-tat. He goes for shock and awe. Slight him, he will raze your life to the ground.”
“I…I don’t believe you! He’s just hurt right now, he’ll calm down, you’ll see.”
Drake plucked his phone up from the coffee table where she had placed it and dialed. Putting it on speaker phone while it rang, he held it toward her so she could hear the conversation.
“Who are you calling?”
“Jason Toussaint, the Lieutenant in charge of cyber operations,” he answered.
The call connected, “Drake? What the hell is going on? I just got orders to lock you out of all systems.”
“Hey, Jason,” Drake spoke into the phone, “Has my employment been terminated?”
“Yes, and all security clearances revoked,” Jason answered, “What the hell is going on, cap?”
Drake gave Riley an I told you so look before answering, “Has the order been given to freeze my assets?”
“Yes, but I haven’t done it yet.”
“The assets don’t matter,” Drake answered, “but do that last.”
“All right. I’ll buy you as much time as I can, but be advised that your passport has been revoked.”
“Noted. Thanks, Jason.”
Drake hung up the phone and started pacing.
Riley watched him, anxiety spinning her mind in a million different directions. “What are we going to do?”       Â
Drake stopped pacing and turned to face her, “We need to go, now!”
“Where?”
“Anywhere that isn’t Cordonia or a country that has an extradition treaty with Cordonia. His reach ends at the border.”
“Okay, but how do we do that if you don’t have a passport?”
“We get creative!” He smiled reassuringly at her, “Don’t worry, I have a plan! Go pack your stuff!”
It didn’t take her long because she had barely unpacked. When she came back down the stairs, Drake was just hanging up the phone, “Who was that? Is everything okay?” Â
“I just found out from my contact in MiSHI that the person Tariq was working with is Bastien.” He said grimly, “And there’s only one person he takes orders from.”
“Who’s that?”
“Constantine.”
Riley’s heart dropped, “Liam’s father?”
“Yes, the fucking bastard! This makes it even more imperative that we get out of the country as soon as possible. If Constantine has determined that you’re not suitable marriage material for his son, he will go to any lengths to ensure he stays away from you.”
“Okay,” she took a deep breath as she nodded, “I’m packed, we can go!”
“Me too,” He pointed to a duffle bag laying by the door, “I’ll go grab your bags, you go grab some snacks from the kitchen so we don’t have to stop any more than necessary.”
“On it!”
“There’s a cooler under the cabinet closest to the fridge!” He called over his shoulder as he bounded up the stairs.
Fifteen minutes later their stuff was loaded into the back of a nondescript range rover.
Confusion pulled through her, “Where did that come from and where’s your car?”
“My car is stashed in the garage around back where this was parked. It won’t be easily seen unless someone is looking for it. And they won’t be. They’ll be looking for it out on the road, but they won’t find it because we’ll be in this!” He grinned at her as he dangled the keys, “It was my sister’s. They won’t think to look for her car. I doubt Liam even remembers she had a car before she left!”
“Savannah, right?” she asked as she slid into the passenger seat, “You told me about her. You never told me why she left.”
“Because some fucking duke used her and threw her away like she was garbage!” he climbed into the driver’s seat and put the car in gear as he spoke, “Made a big deal about how she was good enough to fuck but not good enough to marry. Then she found out she was pregnant and was afraid the guy would take her to court and get custody of the kid. And he would have won because he had all the money and all the power. So I helped her move away before anyone here even knew she was pregnant.”
“Jesus…that…that sucks, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay,” he shrugged, “Fuck that guy. She dodged a bullet if you ask me.”
He navigated the vehicle down the rutted-out path and eventually onto a better, but still rough dirt road. It took twenty minutes before they hit pavement.
“So…an officer in the Royal Guard, huh?”
“Yes, the youngest Captain in the history of the guard!” he told her proudly.
“I’m sorry you’re giving that up.”
“What?” he pulled his eyes from the road briefly to look at her, “It’s fine. I did what had to be done. I have no regrets.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because, if titles and money were what you cared about, mine weren’t going to impress you. I’m a captain in the Cordonian Royal Guard, not a crown prince or even a duke. I make good money and I have a small inheritance from my grandmother, but I can’t compete with billionaires.” Â
“I don’t care about your money, Drake.” She sighed, “I literally chose you over a crown prince, remember?”
That got a smile out of him, “You did, didn’t you?”
She smiled back, “I did.”
“I still can’t believe you did that!” his voice held a note of awe as his hand reached for hers.
She squeezed his back and smiled, “So where are we going?”
“To Hadley Airfield.”
“What is that and why are we going there?”
“It’s an old government-owned airstrip that’s still staffed by the guard, but used primarily for non-military purposes. Crop dusting, running supplies for research missions, shit like that. It’s a low priority for upgrades so it’s still pretty low-tech. I won’t need to swipe a key card to get in, just punch in a code that I’d bet money no one has thought to change, and even if they did, they’d have to physically send someone there to do it.”
“So…what? We’re going to steal a plane?”
He gave her a mischievous grin, “Yep.”
“Wait…seriously?”
“Seriously. An old one that can’t be controlled remotely. Then we’re going to fly right over the border into Auvernall. No extradition treaty and they have an international airport there.”
They would ditch the stolen plane and melt into the masses of people in Auvernall before hopping a flight to anywhere in the world and disappearing off Liam’s radar forever.
“And just who the hell is going to fly this plane?”
“I am!”
“You’re a pilot?”
His grin widened, it was downright cocksure as he answered, “Before I joined the guard, my prior service was in the Cordonian Royal Air Force, babe. Yes, I can fly a plane.”
Five hours later they pulled up to a rusted metal gate and stopped at an unmanned guard station. Drake rolled the window down and typed a code into the box. The gate made a loud buzzing sound and then slid open.
“Told you!” He gloated as they drove unimpeded into the airport.
“I never doubted you!”
He navigated the Range Rover through the airport to a row of metal aircraft hangers in the back. He pulled up next to a small office building and put the vehicle in park. “I have to go inside and check the logs.”
“Why?”
“I need to know which planes are fueled and ready to go. I need to know the flight schedule. The last thing we want is to take a plane with a mechanical issue, not enough fuel or to take off at the wrong time and crash into another aircraft.”
“Okay,” She nodded, “I’m coming with you!”
“No,” he shook his head, “You should stay in the car.”
“And what if someone comes to ask me what I’m going here?”
He rolled that around in his head for a few seconds before acquiescing, “All right. Let’s go!”
A bell tinkled as they entered the office. An air-conditioned blast hit them, a stark contrast to the heat and humidity outside.
A slender, blonde-haired man with a crew cut looked up from his seat at the desk, “Hey, you can’t be in here-“
Drake flashed his badge at the young corporal, “I need access to the flight schedule and maintenance records.”
“Yes, sir!” The corporal surged to his feet, stumbling over his own feet in his haste to produce the records.
After thrusting the requested documents into Drake’s hands, the young man glanced in Riley’s direction.
“Hey!” Drake snapped his fingers in the kid’s face, “She’s not your concern!”
“R-Right! Sorry!”
Drake flipped quickly through some pages on a clipboard before tossing them onto the desktop. He grabbed Riley’s arm and aimed her toward the door, “Come on, let’s go!”
The bell jingled as the door opened again and a lone figure strode through it, blocking the light so all Riley could make out was a silhouette.
Drake took several steps back, pulling Riley with him, “Bas? What are you doing here? How did you know-“
“You don’t think I remember Leo giving us the slip just like this when you were partnered with me during your training year?”
“Shit! Fuck!” Drake kicked at a pile of boxes, sending them toppling over. He pulled Riley closer and put his mouth to her ear so only she could hear, “When I tell you to go, you get in the car and go. Meet me at hanger forty-seven. Got it? Don’t talk. Just nod if you understand.” Â
She nodded as he discreetly pressed his keys into the palm of her hand.
“This place is going to be swarming with King’s Guards any minute,” Bastien flashed his badge at the corporal and told him, “Go on kid, get out of here before you end up in the middle of a shootout.”
The kid scrambled out the door without a backward glance.
Why are you doing this, Bas?” Drake asked, “I thought you believed she wasn’t good enough to marry Liam.”
“What I believe doesn’t matter, I have my orders, I can’t let you leave,” Bastien reached for Riley’s arm.
Drake moved quickly, pulling her out of his reach, “God damn it, Bas! I wish you hadn’t done that.”
“I’m trying to help you-“
“Go!” Drake spun Riley toward the door with one arm as the other shot out to clothesline the older man.
Riley hit the door running and didn’t slow down until she skidded into the Range Rover. She yanked the door open, clambered up into the driver’s seat, and threw the car in gear, leaving rubber on the asphalt as she careened out of the parking area.
Her eyes scanned the dingy metal hangers as she drove. They each had a number painted on them in now faded yellow paint. When she found the correct one, she drove straight into it and slammed the brakes on.
Flinging the door open, she rushed back to push the sliding doors of the hangar shut.
Maybe that would slow them down. She ran back to the car and started transferring luggage to the plane.
When she was done, she began pacing back and forth across the hangar. Minutes ticked by as she considered going back.
She started talking to herself, “What if he got hurt? What if he got arrested? Fuck!”
She made up her mind to go back if he didn’t appear within the next two minutes. Out loud she said, “Come on, Drake! Where are you?”
Footsteps sounded near the rear of the hangar, and she whirled toward it, ready to run.
Drake stepped away from a small door she hadn’t noticed before. He grinned at her, “I’m right here, Brooks. Miss me?”
“Oh, thank God!” She rushed into his arms, “What happened?”
“I had to knock Bastien out,” he said grimly as he caught her, “he wasn’t going to let us leave.” Â
“I’m sorry, I know you were close.”
“Yeah, well, he may have been my godfather and he may have loved my mother,” Drake said as he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, “but his first loyalty was always to the crown.”
“Well, I’m still sorry you had to hurt him.”
“It’s okay, he’ll recover,” he told her as he released her, “But we have minutes to get out of here before soldiers are everywhere. Let’s go!”
He took her by the hand and headed for the plane. He made it to the steps when she pulled her hand away, “Wait! I forgot-“
“There’s no time!”
“Your phone! It’s in the console!”
Shit! He was going to need that to reach his contact in Auvenall. “I’ll get it, you get on the plane!” He reversed direction and pushed past her.
He scooped the phone out of the center console and didn’t bother closing the door as he hustled back to the plane.
Riley was still standing at the bottom of the steps, waiting for him, instead of on the plane like he’d told her.
“Freeze!” The doors of the hanger banged open as soldiers poured into the room, scattering and taking up tactical positions around the area.
Drake pushed her in front of him, “Get on the plane!”
“But-“ she stumbled as he guided her body forward while her head moved around to see behind them.
“Riley! Drake!” Liam’s voice rang out as he stepped past the guardsmen.
Drake spun around, yanking a nine-millimeter Baretta from the waistband of his pants. He leveled the firearm at Liam while making sure to keep himself situated in front of Riley, blocking her from any potential gunfire.
Every assault rifle in the place was suddenly aimed at them as the king’s life was threatened.
“It’s okay, hold your fire!” Liam yelled at them as he held his arms out to the side to indicate that he himself was unarmed. He couldn’t risk Riley getting shot when they took Drake down. “Are you going to shoot me, Drake? Your best friend? Your brother?”
“Is that what you are?”
“You know it is,” Liam replied calmly.
“Did you tell Riley that I was obsessed with her? That I was unhinged?” Drake demanded.
Liam’s eyes slid to Riley’s face then back to Drake, “You have been acting erratically, Drake. Nick…Tariq…coronation night…this! Stealing a plane? Really?”
“Borrowing it,” Drake corrected him, “You can have it back once we’re safely out of the country.”
“This is treason, Drake. Come on, man. Be reasonable!”
Drake’s back pressed against Riley, eyes still trained on Liam as he moved backward, nudging her up the first step. In a low voice, he told her, “Everything I did, I did for you! You understand that, right?”
“Don’t move!” One of the guardsmen yelled as Drake edged Riley up another step.
A rifle clicked.
Riley’s gaze swung around the room to take in the ridiculous number of guns pointed directly at Drake’s chest. “No!” she pushed around and in front of him, placing herself between him and the guns.
“Riley, don’t!” Both men yelled.
She spread both arms out in the air, “I won’t let you shoot him! Liam, please! He’s your best friend!”
“I don’t want to hurt him, Riley, but-“
An officer stepped up next to Liam and whispered something in his ear.
Drake kept the handgun grasped in one hand while the other landed on her shoulder, “Riley, get behind me and get on the plane!”
“No! They’ll shoot you!”
“Riley-“
Liam’s features hardened, “Riley, you don’t understand-“
“No, I don’t Liam! Why can’t we just leave?”
“Well for starters, Bastien is dead, and we have some questions,” Liam replied grimly.
“What?” Drake stumbled back like he’d been struck, shaking his head, “No! No!”
Liam’s face reddened, and his voice was laden with accusation, “You killed him!”
“No! I just disabled him! He was alive when I left!”
“Then who killed him, Drake?”
“I don’t know, Liam, you tell me!”
“Are you insinuating-“
“I’m not just insinuating, Li! You had him killed so he couldn’t reveal your father’s part in the plot against Riley!” Drake accused, then after a moment’s thought added, “And possibly so you could pin it on me!”
Liam’s eyes darted from Drake to Riley, “You’re not buying any of this, are you?”
“I don’t know, Liam.” Her eyes narrowed, “When I chose Drake, you told me I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life. That sure sounded like a threat.”
“When I said you’d made a mistake, I meant by trusting him!”
“But Drake’s been telling the truth about you, Liam, I heard it myself!”
“From whom?” Liam asked in astonishment.
“Jason.”
“Who’s Jason?”
Her confidence wavered, “The Lieutenant in charge of cyber security…”
“There’s no Lieutenant named Jason in the cyber division, Riley.” Liam shook his head sadly then extended his arm toward her, “Come on, Riley, just take a few steps forward and all this can be over.”
Drake’s fingers dug into her shoulder, as he moved up another step, pulling her after him, “He’s lying, Riley! Can’t you see that?”
“No, Riley,” Liam moved his fingers in a come hither motion, “He’s lying! Just take a few steps forward and come here.”
“So…you didn’t fire him and revoke his clearance?” Riley asked, uncertainty coloring her voice.
“Of course, I fired him and revoked his clearance!” Liam exploded, throwing both hands in the air, “he abused his position and literally kidnapped you!”
“I rescued you, Riley!” Drake protested, “He told you himself, he wanted you on that plane that night!”
Riley’s mind spun with indecision. She still had questions, “What about his assets?”
Liam’s brows furrowed, “What about them?”
“Did you have them frozen? Did you revoke his passport?”
“Yes! Because I was trying to stop him from doing exactly what he’s doing right now! Once he gets you out of Cordonia, I won’t be able to protect you! But it didn’t matter anyway.”
“What do you mean, it didn’t matter?”
“I mean…he had no assets to freeze. Why is that Drake?”
Drake shrugged as he adjusted the Barretta in his grip, “I moved all my assets out of Cordonia two days ago, Liam.”
“And why would you do that if you weren’t planning this little escapade all along?”
“Because I know how you operate! I had to protect myself, and her!” He lowered his voice so only Riley could hear, “That’s why I told Jason to do that part last. So it took longer for Liam to figure out I was a step ahead.”
“Me?” Liam scoffed, “I think you’re the tactical genius here.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Drake said evenly as he moved up another step, pulling Riley up with him.
“I mean….I’m beginning to think maybe you were behind the whole setup with Tariq!”
“You think I sent him to do the thing I beat the dog shit out of him for? I never pegged you as delusional, Li.”
“Maybe you didn’t know about that part. Maybe that was all Bas’s idea.”
“Bas?” Drake snorted, “You know he only took orders from one person…your father! And we all know how badly he wanted you married to Madeleine! Speaking of Madeleine, are we sure she wasn’t in on the whole thing?”
“My father is far too sick to be meddling in my affairs. We all know the person Bas would have done anything for was you!”
“What?” Riley froze, almost to the top step.
“Think about it, Riley!” Liam insisted, “He contrived the entire scandal precisely because he knew what the protocol would be, he’s a trained, high-ranking officer after all! And he knew precisely what my reaction would be. He likes pointing out how well he knows me. He’s right. He does! He knew I’d want you out of the country and out of harm’s way while I investigated and cleared your name. It was the perfect opportunity for him to swoop in and play the hero, paint me as the villain. Which is exactly what he did, isn’t it?”
Panic laced Drake’s voice, “Riley, you’re not buying this, are you? He’s twisting everything!”
“How convenient that Bastien is dead,” Liam continued, “He was the only person that could have connected you to the scandal.”
“The only person that could have exonerated me and implicated your father you mean! That is convenient, isn’t it?”
“Riley, come here!” Liam’s voice cracked, betraying signs of his rising desperation.
“Riley, get on the plane…” Drake pleaded.
She hesitated as everything they had both said swirled through her mind. They both made persuasive arguments. She was never going to know the truth either way. How well did she really know either of these men?
There was one thing she did know for sure though, “Liam, I know one thing...”
“What’s that?”
“I know you’re a liar!”
His arm dropped as shock coursed through him, “What?”
“You told me you loved me! You told me you were going to marry me! You fucked me in the hedge maze and then you turned around five minutes later and got engaged to another woman while letting me be drug out of the palace under armed guard!”
“That was different! I’ve explained why! I have to think about Cordonia, Riley!”
“I understand that Liam. I do.” She nodded.
His body sagged with relief, “Good. Okay, come here,” he held his arm out toward her again.
She stepped back, her body pushing Drake up another step, “But…”
All the stress rushed back into his body, “But?”
“But I need a man who puts me first and Drake has proven he’s more than up to that task.”
Liam’s mouth fell open, “Even if he’s a liar and a murderer?”
“He’s not, Liam. You’re wrong about him!”
Drake took one more step back, into the plane then dropped the gun as he yanked Riley inside and slammed the door.
“Goddamn it!” Liam kicked fruitlessly at the ground.
“Sir?” The officer in charge of the scene approached him as the plane’s engine roared to life, sending half the contents of the hangar flying through the air.
Shouts of “Cover! Cover!” pinged off the walls as Liam was yanked backward and drug to safety.
Men scattered and dove out of the way as the plane taxied out of the hangar and onto the runway.
“Sir!” The commander yelled, “We can still stop them! We can aim for the pilot or the fuel tank!”
Liam watched as the plane picked up speed. He shook his head, “No, if the pilot’s dead, the plane will crash, if it loses all its fuel, there’s a chance it gets airborne before it runs out and plummets to the ground.”
He still wasn’t willing to risk her life.
“But sir-“
“It doesn’t matter,” Liam sighed as he watched the plane climb into the air. He still had one play left, “Get me Isabella Achilles on the phone. Now!”
“Fuck that was insane!” Riley laughed as she peered out the front window of the plane. She’d never sat in the cockpit before, but life with Drake was proving to be one adventure after the other.
“I’m just so fucking grateful you didn’t fall for his bullshit!” Drake let out a sigh of relief as Cordonia faded behind them.
Riley regarded him thoughtfully as she pondered rather or not to tell him that she still wasn’t one hundred percent sure about his innocence. She was fairly certain they had both been lying about parts of it.
She just preferred his lies to Liam’s.
She decided to change the subject instead, “Remember when you asked me if Liam had proposed on coronation night if I would have said yes?”
“I remember…”
“I would have said yes.”
His eyes slide sideways to take her in before returning to the instrument panel, “Why are you telling me this right now?”
“I would have said yes, and I would have married him. But only so I could have stayed in Cordonia, near you!”
He missed the switch he had been about to toggle as his eyes darted to her and had to make a second run at it, “What?”
“I didn’t understand why you were acting the way you were toward me, but I wasn’t giving up.”
“Not giving up? Riley, you acted like you hated me half of the time!”
“Look who’s talking,” she said wryly.
A short laugh broke out of him, “Okay, point taken!”
“But despite everything, here we are.” She reached across to rub his shoulder.
“Here we are,” he agreed.
“You’ve proven that you’ll never give up on me and I want you to know that I’ll never give up on you, either. We’re a team now!”
“Wait!” Drake’s head snapped toward her, “are we…are we talking about a relationship now? All I had to do was hijack an airplane and fight a battalion of King’s Guards to get you to discuss the future with me?”
“Hahaha,” she moved her hand back to her own lap, “But yes. I needed to know that you weren’t going to ice me out again before I let myself fully trust you. I think you’ve just proven your commitment to this relationship.”
Despite the fact that he had just committed felony theft of government property and possibly treason, Drake felt his heart soar and he convinced himself that everything was going to work out. “You just said we’re in a relationship.”
“Shut up and fly the plane, Walker.”
“Don’t change the subject! We’re a couple now! You have to start slipping love notes into my lunch bag or something.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Why not? Isn’t that a thing that couples do?”
“It’s not a thing that I do! Have you ever known anyone that actually did shit like that?”
“My mom used to do it.”
“Give you love notes in your lunch bag?”
“No, not me. But my dad worked late a lot, so we had dinner without him pretty regularly. My mom always saved him a plate and if we were going to bed before he was going to be home, she’d wrap the plate in saran wrap and leave a note under it for him.”
“Ah, that’s sweet.”
“Yeah, it was kind of a joke between them. She was really bad at other forms of communication. Never answered the phone, didn’t respond to letters-“
“Probably because she was busy with you and your sister. I bet you were a real hellion.”
“You make a solid point. My point is that even though she didn’t do any of that other stuff, she always left that note under his plate when he was late.”
“Sounds like she loved him very much.”
“She did,” he agreed, “You wouldn’t do that for me?”
“No.”
“No?” he cried in mock indignation.
“Okay,” she laughed, “I’ll make a deal with you. If I’m ever preparing a meal for you that we’re not going to eat together, which by the way, is never going to happen because I don’t like to cook. Why the hell would I cook if we’re not even going to eat it together? If you have to work late, take out is a thing that exists. But if I did….then okay, I’ll leave you a damn note. Happy?”
“You make me happy,” He told her, “Note or no note.”
“Good! Because if you want love notes in your lunch, you have to start changing my oil and shit, right? Isn’t that a thing that couples do?”
“Do you have a car?”
“No, but that’s not the point. I want to know that if I had a car, you would change the oil for me!”
“Tell you what. I’ll buy you a car and then I’ll change the oil in it. How’s that?”
They continued their discussion about what people in relationships were supposed to do until they were circling an abandoned airstrip in Auvernall a scant forty-five minutes later. “We’re going to land here, off everyone’s radar. I have a friend who left a jeep nearby that we’ll use for transportation. I’ll keep in touch with my contacts back in Cordonia and if the airport isn’t safe, we’ll cross the border into Greece by train or on foot.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought this all through.”
His jaw clenched, “Yes, but not because I was planning to have to get you out of the country all along as Liam implied. I’ve always had an escape plan just in case.”
“Have things with Liam been that bad?”
He shook his head, “Never. We’ve always been close. But as I said, I’ve seen what happens to others who cross him and it’s always wise to have an exit strategy, even if you never need it.”
“Okay then.”
He put the plane down on the runway and brought it to a stop just outside the empty terminal. He glanced at his watch, “It’s almost nine p.m. local time, late enough for the darkness to give us some cover, early enough that it’s not suspicious to be out on the roads.”
Riley gazed at the distance between the plane and the runway, “How are we getting out?”
“Gravity,” he smirked at her.
“What about our luggage?” she asked as he opened the door.
“We’ll toss it down,” he told her since there was no landing ramp, “Then I’ll jump down after it, then you’ll jump, and I’ll catch you!”
The suitcases went first, followed by Drake. He landed on his feet, made a visual sweep of the area then looked back up and held his arms out, “Okay, it’s your turn!”
She took a deep breath and then leapt out of the plane, completely trusting in his ability to catch her.
She thudded into his arms, knocking him back, but he kept his feet under him as he caught her then lowered her to the ground, “Told you I’d catch you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
He let himself get distracted by that kiss. He should have heard them sooner, but he was lost in the sweet ocean of bliss that was Riley Brooks.
The sound of boots on pavement penetrated his consciousness and he pulled his head away while tugging her body closer to him as he assessed the danger.
Auvernese soldiers melted out of the night and descended upon them, pulling them apart.
They reached for each other but to no avail.
Riley was pulled out of Drake’s grasp as she twisted her body around, trying to keep him in her sight.
“Riley! Riley!” He broke free and scrambled toward her, making it only a few feet before he was intercepted and wrestled to the ground. They zip-tied his hands behind his back as he struggled to get back up. A rifle butt struck him in the back of his head. Riley screaming his name was the last thing he heard before waking up in a jail cell.
“But….we don’t have an extradition treaty with Auvernall,” Drake sat in an eight by eight cell holding his aching head in his hands.
“We do now,” Liam said cooly as he adjusted his cufflinks without a care in the world. As if he hadn’t just imprisoned his lifelong best friend in a jail cell.
“How?” Auvernall and Cordonia had been trying unsuccessfully to come to terms for years.
“I signed a betrothal agreement with Auvernall. My firstborn child will marry one of the Achilles twins.”
“You don’t have a firstborn child!”
“Not yet,” Liam gave him a victorious grin, “But I’m confident Riley can help me with that.”
“No!” Drake yelled as Liam turned and exited the cellblock, “No!”
“Riley, come on love. Please. You have to eat something!” Liam pleaded. He was perplexed by her behavior. It had been two weeks and she was still being truculent and unreasonable.
“I don’t want anything to eat, Liam,” she glared at him from her seat by the window, her food untouched on the small table across the room, “and I want out of this fucking place!”
“The palace?” he asked in surprise, “is something not to your liking? I can have the kitchen make whatever you want. Or is it the room? Would you like a bigger one? Just tell me what you need!”
“It may be a palace, but it’s a fucking prison for me, isn’t it?”
“Of course not!”
“So, I can leave? Call a car around and go to the airport right now?”
“Riley, it’s not safe yet! I’m still investigating-“
“Right.” She turned away from him to stare out across the palace grounds.
Liam sat down behind her, his hand brushing the hair from her neck, “Please tell me what I can do to make you happy.”
“I want to see Drake.”
Liam sighed, “Why, Riley? What purpose would it serve?”
“I need to make sure he’s all right!”
“He’s fine,” Liam dropped his hands away from her body and stood up, “You still believe in his innocence?”
“Yes.”
“I have something to show you.”
Liam knocked softly on Riley’s door. It was late and he hoped he wasn’t waking her.
“Come in,” she called.
It had been a month since her little escapade with Drake and he was sure she was starting to come around. “Have you given any more thought to my proposal?”
“I have,” Riley sat at her dressing table, brushing her hair.
“And?”
He had broken his engagement with Madeleine. Tariq had publicly cleared her name. His father was dead, and all his objections to this union with him. All the obstacles between them had been removed.
All but one.
She laid the brush carefully on the table in front of her and turned to face him, “I want to say yes, Liam, but I have conditions.”
“Name them!” He bent down and grasped her hands in his, bringing them to his mouth to drop kisses along the backs of them.
“I want to see Drake-“
Liam dropped her hands and jolted back, “Why? I thought we had put this to rest! He-“
Riley stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders, “If you’ll listen!”
“Okay….”
“I want to tell him about the engagement personally.”
Liam watched her face, looking for traces of deception. He was hesitant to grant her request but eager to put a ring on her finger. “If you go, I’m coming with you!”
“That’s fine,” she replied serenely as she retook her seat and picked up the hairbrush, “Set it up. Once the visit is accomplished, we can make an official announcement to the world.”
“I’ll arrange a visit for tomorrow morning!” He promised.
“Thank you,” she resumed brushing her hair, “Please close the door on your way out.”
“Hey! Wake up!” The guard banged on the bars of his cell.
Drake lifted his head and looked around, “Riley!” He was on his feet in an instant.
She smiled at him, and he was sure he was dreaming. She was even more beautiful than he remembered and for a moment he forgot to breathe.
Then Liam stepped up next to her and his heart plummeted. But what had he expected? Liam was never going to let her wander down to the cells alone.
He was lucky he hadn’t been summarily convicted and executed and he knew it. Liam had probably been too busy working overtime to sway Riley back to his side to fast-track his murder trial.
“What do you want?” He stepped away from the bars, pretending that the sight of her didn’t set his heart on fire.
“We’re here to inform you of our engagement,” Liam wrapped an arm around Riley and pulled her closer to his body.
Drake’s eyes were guarded as they flicked from one to the other, “So?”
“So, I’ve shown her the security footage from the airport office. She knows what you did.”
“Videos can be faked,” Drake said with a shrug. His eyes locked on Riley’s, “and Liam has access to the best cyber experts. It’s called a deep fake, look it up.”
“She’s not buying your lies anymore. Right, love?”
Riley finally spoke, “Drake, do you remember in the plane I told you that if Liam had proposed to me at the coronation, I would have said yes?”
His eyes dropped to the floor in defeat, “I remember.”
“Do you remember everything I said after that?”
His head snapped up and his eyes locked on hers again, hope that he didn’t dare show surging through him, “Yes.”
She smiled at him again and his heart nearly exploded. Her voice betrayed no emotion as she said, “Then you understand.”
“Come on love, let’s go.” Liam guided her away from the cell.
She glanced back one last time, “And Drake?”
“Yes?”
“I’ll see about getting you some correspondence in here. I remember you saying how much you liked your mother’s notes.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. I’ll be looking for them.”
“Turn it off!” The prisoner yelled as he hurled the book he’d been reading across the room to smack into the TV screen.
The guard on duty glanced up at the screen where the king was announcing his engagement, “It’s just a press conference. What’s your problem?”
“His problem is he’s the psycho who kidnapped her and tried to smuggle her out of the country!” the second guard answered, “why do you think he’s in here?”
“I heard he murdered one of you!” one of the other prisoners in the dayroom interjected with a maniacal laugh.
“Shut your pie hole, Trotter!” The first guard admonished, “Or you’ll go back to your cell!”
“Okay, fine!” Trotter threw his hands up in the air, “I was just saying. He also beat the crap out of that duke over her!” He jabbed his finger in the air toward the flat screen hanging on the wall.
“I know that guy claimed he was totally at fault,” the second guard said, “Unwanted advance or whatever, but I heard he was coerced by the king to lie.”
“Why would the king do that?” the first guard asked.
“Have you seen her?” the second guard leered, “And I heard she’s a real wildcat in the sack!”
Drake launched himself at the guard, tackling him to the ground before he had a chance to react. All the rage he had been unable to unleash since finding himself locked up combined with the helplessness he’d felt watching her with Liam during their visit the day before boiled over as he attacked the guard with ruthless vigor.
“Shit!” the first guard yelled as he fumbled with his walkie-talkie to summon backup before attempting to pull the prisoner off his compatriot. Something he wasn’t able to accomplish until backup arrived.
“Goddamn it, Walker!” the first guard panted as he finally got the cuffs on him, “What the fuck was that?”
“Don’t fucking talk about her like that!”
“Okay, okay,” the guard chuckled as he pulled the prisoner to his feet, “you must have a burning desire to see the inside of solitary confinement. Let’s go!”
Drake smiled back at the guard that was being helped to his feet. He’d spend a day or two in solitary for the assault but he didn’t care. It had been worth it.
“What are you up to today, my love?” Liam greeted her with a kiss before sitting down to breakfast.
“Exploring the palace!” she replied enthusiastically.
“Really?” he was pleased with the turn her disposition had taken. She was happy again. The spring was back in her step and the sparkle was back in her eyes. She was once again the girl he had fallen in love with.
She was finally over Drake; he was sure of it.
“Are you sure? I could have the driver take you into town if you wanted.”
“No thank you,” she smiled at him, “I discovered a second library yesterday! It’s a little dusty, but there are hardcover first editions in there of some of my favorite authors!”
Liam smiled as she prattled on about books. Offering to let her go into town had been a test and she had passed. She no longer wished to leave the palace. Drake had failed to poison her against him.
After breakfast, Liam headed to his office while Riley spent a few hours in the small forgotten library in the east wing, pouring over old palace blueprints. There were so many secret passageways. She wondered if Liam was aware of them all.
Just before lunch, she wandered into the kitchen. Plucking a grape from a bowl of fruit on a marble countertop, she sauntered over to where an attractive younger woman was preparing food.
“Hey, Siobhan,” Riley greeted her.
“Hello, Your Grace,” Siobhan blushed at the attention.
“I told you, call me Riley!”
“Yes, Your-Riley.” Siobhan’s flush deepened from pink to crimson under the queen in waiting’s gaze.
“Working on lunch for the prisoners again?”
“Yes, but you don’t have to-“
“Nonsense! I have nothing better to do and I enjoy food preparation. It reminds me of summers with my grandmother,” Riley told her as she started measuring out the pasta into containers, checking the names on the trays against any food allergies as Siobhan had taught her on one of her previous visits.
“Okay, then, I do enjoy the company,” the younger woman gave Riley a shy smile as she turned to stir the sauce.
The two women chatted amicably as they worked. The rest of the kitchen staff had grown accustomed to the queen in waiting’s presence during the hour before lunch was served and they no longer paid any attention to it, focusing on their own work instead.
Siobhan sighed as she watched Riley slip discreetly out a side entrance. She quite enjoyed her company and was still a bit astounded that someone in her position would hang around to help with food preparation. Especially for prisoners.
Of course, she never stayed long. She was always gone before the guard came to collect the food trays.
“Hey, Bruno,” Riley looked up from the book she’d been reading when the older guard popped in to check on her.
The closer it crept to the wedding, the more cautious Liam became with her safety. That’s how it was worded to the guards anyway.
“Yes, Your Grace?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Do you know a Lt. Jason Toussaint?”
“The guy in cyber security? I don’t really know him. Why?”
“No reason,” she kept her voice neutral as she dropped her eyes back to the pages of her book.
Jason Toussaint was alone in his room when a sealed envelope slid under his door. He opened the door and looked up and down the hallway but whoever had left it was gone.
He closed the door and opened the envelope.
“Meet me in the hedge maze at midnight.”
“So, you do exist,” she greeted the blonde soldier that stood in front of her.
“I exist.” He eyed her suspiciously. She was the reason his friend was sitting in a jail cell.
“How far are you willing to go to help Drake? Because I have an idea…”
“I’m listening…”
A sealed envelope was slipped under her door at the prearranged time. Liam was tied up in meetings all day.
She was alone but she locked herself in her bathroom as a precaution as she rifled through the contents.
In her hands was proof that Constantine was in fact behind the setup and Liam knew. Emails, payoffs, and orders to redact statements and seal documents.
She couldn’t use any of it. She couldn’t expose Jason, who had only held onto his job after she had spoken his name to Liam because he had not done anything other than answer a superior officer’s questions about his employment status.
Not that any of it mattered. So, what if the previous king had set her up? He was dead and the scandal had been resolved in her favor. No one would care and Liam was above the law even if he had broken one, which he hadn’t.
She couldn’t get caught with it either. That would derail everything.
She had just wanted to be sure.
She peeked out to make sure no one was in her room before making her way to the fireplace and tossing the contents into the flames.
“Liam, are all these guards really necessary?”
“Yes, my love. They’re here to protect you.”
“From what?”
“Anything. Everything! I have enemies. Being a public figure puts you automatically at risk. There are crazy people in the world, Riley. You should know that. You’ve already been kidnapped once.”
“Indeed, I have…” she mused as she looked at him, “When you put it that way, I’m not sure I feel safe even in the palace!”
“That’s what the guards are for.”
“I’d feel better if I had something to protect myself with…just in case.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know…pepper spray, a stun gun, something!”
“All right,” he acquiesced, “if it will make you feel better, I’ll get you a stun gun and Mara can teach you some self-defense moves if you’d like.”
She rewarded him with a brilliant smile, “Yes, I’d like that very much. Thank you!”
“Hey, I haven’t seen you before. Where’s Fred?” the guard called to the unfamiliar janitor waiting to be buzzed in to clean the dayroom.
“He called in sick,” the man replied, “They sent me to fill in.”
The guard eyed him up and down. He had on the coveralls of the janitorial staff and the proper ID badge hanging from his pocket. His eyes took in the name and photo then went back to the man’s face. Everything checked out. “All right. Go on in. But be quick!”
“Yes, sir!” The janitor shook his head vigorously to indicate understanding.
“What the fuck is this?” the guard manning the security feed asked as he thumped the panel.
“What is what?”
“The feed just flickered off and back on.”
The guard that had buzzed the janitor in peered at the screen. The guy was mopping the floor. He decided to go check on him just in case.
He opened the door and scanned the room.
The janitor looked up, “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Just hurry up! You’ve got ten minutes! You have to be out of here before we bring the prisoners in for their TV time.”
“Okay, boss!”
Ten minutes later he had completed his task and was standing next to the guard station as the prisoners were escorted, single file, into the day room.
The guards buzzed him through the door. He glanced back over his shoulder just before it closed behind him.
Drake looked up at the sound of the door buzzing just in time to see a man step through and glance back. His eyes locked on Jason Toussaint dressed as a janitor for a brief instant before the guard shoved him through the dayroom door.
The notes had started arriving taped to the bottom of his plate. They were small scraps of paper, with short messages. The first one had simply said, “Not safe to respond. Working on a plan.”
Subsequent notes ranged from “I love you” to “keep your head up” and then pieces of a plan began to arrive, one scrap of paper at a time. Until one day a keycard showed up with a note that simply read, “tonight.”
“Have you enjoyed your visit, Lady Hana?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I have! It’s been so good catching up with you and Riley both!” Hana threw her arms around Liam and hugged him.
He chuckled as he hugged her back, “Are you sure you can’t stay a little longer?”
“As much as I’d love that, my mother’s birthday is next week and I have to get home and oversee the party preparations. But I’ll be back for the wedding!”
Once the marriage was accomplished, he would be able to relax. She was going to love the private island he’d picked for their honeymoon and with any luck, she’d come back pregnant.
She had been keeping him at arm’s length citing traditional American wedding customs, apparently, abstinence in the weeks before the wedding made the wedding night itself more intense and promoted marital bonding or something.
He was getting impatient. If not for Cordonian customs and council requirements, he would have dispensed with all the pageantry and eloped with her. Â
A/N: So it's not a three-shot, lol. I know, you're all shocked! Mini Series then. Four maybe five chapters. We'll just see how it goes.
My other stuff: Master List.
The SUV tires crunched on the gravel as it pulled into a small parking lot in front of a darkened restaurant. A metal sign that read “Mama Rita’s” swung from a chain above the front door.
The SUV pulled around back and stopped next to a deep maroon Devore GT with a black racing stripe down the center.
“What are we doing here?” Riley asked nervously, “Where are we?”
“We’re just switching cars,” Drake explained as he opened the door and hopped out. He pointed a key fob at the Devore and the trunk popped open.
The driver exited the vehicle and started pulling her luggage out of the back and transferring it to the trunk of the other car. She recognized him, “Marco, right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he grinned at her as he pushed the trunk closed, “and for what it’s worth, I was there that night the shit went down with that duke…I know you weren’t having an affair with him or whatever that reporter is claiming.”
“Thanks, Marco.”
“You’re welcome. Good luck with everything,” he waved at her as he headed back to the SUV.
“Wait…you’re leaving?”
“Yes, I have to get back to my duty station before my next shift.” He told her as he climbed back into the driver’s seat and closed the door.
“Aren’t you on duty right now?”
“Technically no,” he responded, “Just doing a favor for a friend.”
“Thanks for that, by the way,” Drake called as he pulled the passenger door of the Devore open.
“Anytime, Walker,” Marco gave him a wave as he backed out of the parking spot.
Riley watched the taillights as they disappeared around the building, leaving her alone with Drake. A prospect that both frightened and excited her.
“Come on Brooks, let’s go.”
She turned slowly toward him ignoring the frisson of desire that sparked through her at the sight of him, “No.”
“No? What do you mean no?”
“I mean no, Drake! I’m not getting in the car with you!” She turned and started walking across the parking lot.
“Riley! Get in the car!” He roared.
“No!” She said over her shoulder.
“Riley!...Shit! Fuck!” He kicked the car and then ran after her, trying for his most pleading tone, “Riley….Riley, please, please, please get in the car!”
She stopped and turned to face him, “I said no, Drake!”
“Why the fuck not?”
“I’m not sure I should get in a car with you without knowing where we’re going and why!”
Shock spilled across his features, “I’m trying to help you!”
“Help me, Drake? Help me? Did I ask for your help? I don’t even know what the hell is going on! I was drug out of the coronation by one set of guards, intercepted by another set and now I’m just supposed to get into this car with you and go God knows where with you? And literally, no one knows where I am?” She was on the verge of a panic attack.
“Okay, okay…” he held both hands up in front of him in the universal sign for surrender, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t realize…” he trailed off as confusion then surprise darted across his face, “Riley…are you afraid of me?”
“I...I’m not sure…maybe…”
“Why? I mean, I know we’ve had some dustups, but what have I ever done to make you think I’d hurt you in any way?”
His facial expression was so bewildered and so hurt that her heart rate dropped back to normal as she replied, “Nothing to me, specifically…”
His face cleared as understanding dawned on him, “You’re talking about Nick and Tariq.”
“Well, yeah…”
“All right, let’s talk about it then, okay?” he waited for her to nod before continuing, “First of all, I need you to understand that I don’t usually just go around hitting people, I would never hit a woman and I have never punched a man that didn’t deserve it!”
“So, when you came into my room that night-“
“I heard you scream, Riley! I would have never just walked into your room otherwise! When I saw Tariq with his hands on you…” he paused as he struggled to get his emotions under control. His fists clenched at his sides and his lips pressed tightly together. His entire body was thrumming with tension as he replayed the events in his head.
“Hey,” Riley reached out tentatively and touched his arm, “It’s okay, I’m not really mad about you kicking that idiot’s ass.”
“You’re not?” He blinked at her in surprise.
“No,” she shook her head, “He kind of had it coming if you ask me.”
Drake barked out a disbelieving laugh, “But Liam made it sound like you were upset by the...how did he put it….oh yeah, all the violence you’d witnessed.”
“I mean, it was a lot, Drake. I just don’t understand why you did it.”
He looked taken aback as he said, “I did it for you, Riley! He hurt you! He was touching you without your permission!”
Her eyes widened, “That’s it?”
“That’s it? What do you mean, that’s it? Isn’t that enough? He had no right to put his hands on you!”
She smiled at his agitation, “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” The truth was she had liked the feeling it gave her watching Drake swoop in and come to her defense. Like a flock of butterflies were trying to burst out of her chest.
Her smile drew one of his own, as he asked, “Why are you smiling?”
“No reason...just…if you got that worked up over the idea of someone else hurting me, I guess you’re not likely to do it yourself.”
His smile disappeared, as his hand brushed her cheek, “I would never do anything to hurt you, Riley!”
She looked down at the ground and then back up at his face, “Okay, I believe you, but…”
“But?” He dropped his hand and stepped back.
“But Nick wasn’t hurting me, Drake.”
He raked a hand through his hair with a sigh, “No, no, he wasn’t.”
“So, what was that about?”
He tipped his head back to stare up at the moon as he collected his thoughts, “I saw him as a threat. He was a stranger, with no security clearance to enter the area he was trying to enter, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
It was at least part of the truth.
“Okay.”
“Okay, what?”
“Okay, I’ll get in the car with you, but you have to promise to tell me what the hell is going on!”
Relief rushed over him like a river crashing over the edge of a cliff face, “I promise!”
He talked as he drove, “I guess you know by now that pictures of you and Tariq somehow made it into the papers.”
“Yeah, I saw that, briefly. About two seconds after everyone got the notification I was being drug out of the ballroom!”
“Right. Didn’t that seem strange to you?”
“Yes! It was an extreme overreaction and I don’t understand-“
“No, not that part! The part where it only took the guard two seconds to react to something that was allegedly a surprise to everyone?”
“Oh…I…now that you mention it, I guess that is strange…”
“Because it wasn’t a surprise to everyone.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean there were guards on standby waiting for the signal to take you into custody. The limo to take you to the airport was waiting outside before that story dropped and the plane ticket was purchased a week ago.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Not important. What’s important is that these arrangements were made by someone with the authority to issue orders to not just the regular palace guards, but the King’s Guard! Which means that someone high up and close to Liam is responsible for it. And it also means the thing with Tariq was a setup. Who took those pictures, Riley? Someone knew he was going to be there!”
She sat back in her seat in shock, “Why would anyone want to do this to me?”
“Because you’re a threat.”
“To who?”
“To anyone that doesn’t want the monarchy to change! Liam is too enamored of you and there are those that see that as a threat.”
“But I’m not a threat to anyone!”
Drake laughed, “Tell that to all those noblewomen drowning in jealousy and resentment at having spent their entire lives training to marry a king only to have a foreign interloper, a waitress no less, swoop in at the last minute and steal him right out from under them.”
“I…never thought about it like that…so, you think it’s one of the other suitors?”
“Maybe, but probably not. Trust me, there are factions that would go to great lengths to keep the monarchy from what they see as corruption.”
“Corruption?”
“Yes, corruption from any ideas that are too modern, too liberal, too…American…”
“Shit…”
“Exactly.”
They pulled off the pavement onto a dusty backroad before turning down a long, twisting private drive. At the end of the drive was an unassuming two-story cabin nestled in a clearing next to a small lake.
“Sorry, it’s not a palace or the Beaumont estate,” he said as he unlocked the door and ushered her inside, “but you’ll be safe here.”
“I’m actually a little sick of the inside of the palace,” she admitted.
“I thought you liked the glitz and glamour, being catered to like a spoiled rich girl.”
“Do you always have to insult me?”
“Sorry, habit.”
“But why is it a habit?”
“I do it for the same reason I call you by your last name.”
“Which is?”
“None of your business. Now come on and I’ll show you to the bedroom.”
They were halfway up the stairs when she stopped, “Wait, did you say the bedroom? As in, there’s only one?”
Drake’s face flushed red as he pushed past her, “Yeah, but don’t worry. I was planning to sleep on the couch.”
“Oh! I…” she hurried up the steps after him, “I don’t want to put you out of your own bedroom! Wait…is it your bedroom? Whose cabin are we in?”
“It’s my cabin, Brooks,” he told her as he pushed open the only door on the left-hand side of the small upstairs hallway.
“What are those? They aren’t bedrooms?” She gestured to the three doors on the other side of the hall.
“Technically, yes, but they don’t have beds in them. The one at the end has a pool table in it, the one in the middle is a bathroom and the other is full of boxes of my dad’s old stuff,” he told her.
“I guess you don’t get much company, huh?” She smirked at him as she entered the master bedroom.
“I know that’s a crack about me not having any friends, but the answer is no I don’t because I actively don’t want any.”
Very few people knew it even existed.
He had never brought a woman to it before.
“Wow,” she breathed as she looked around the room. It took up most of the second floor, a fireplace graced the center of the room, and the bed was huge.
Her appreciation for it caught him off guard. “You like it?”
“Yes, I love it! It’s amazing! Why are you surprised?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “It’s not a palace and there are no servants.”
Annoyance pulled through her, “You know I lived in a two hundred square foot apartment in New York, right?”
“Yeah, well, I figure you’ve gotten used to a different lifestyle by this point.” He muttered.
“Do you really think I’m that fucking shallow?” she snapped.
“I don’t know. Are you?” And just like that, the attitude was back in his tone.
“Why did you even bother to bring me here and try to help me if you have such a low opinion of me, Drake? Huh? Why? I don’t get it. I don’t get you!”
“Me? I’m an open book! You’re the one that-“
“Open book? How the hell do you figure that? You’re the most inscrutable, closed-off, judgmental, hostile, cynical person I’ve ever met and you have a fucking outrageous temper with a hair trigger! Frankly, I don’t see how you’ve survived at court all these years!”
His jaw set, “Tell me how you really feel, Brooks, don’t hold back.”
“I’m just saying-“
“I know what you’re saying, and you’re the one judging me right now! Maybe being at court all those years made me this way! Did you ever consider that?”
“Maybe your problems at court were caused by your bad attitude! Did you ever consider that?”
“Says the woman who was fucking nice to everyone and still got set up, slandered, and drug out of the coronation by armed guards!”
“Oh, fuck you! How do I know you’re even telling me the truth about any of that?”
“Why the fuck would I lie about any of that?” He asked in astonishment.
“I don’t know, Drake, you tell me! Maybe Liam was right, maybe you are obsessed with me! Maybe this wasn’t a rescue, maybe this was a kidnapping!”
“Are you fucking serious right now? Turn on the fucking news! You’re all over it and no one is defending you!”
“Oh, and how am I supposed to do that, Drake? Huh? You took my phone!”
“You know what? I’m going down to bring in the rest of your luggage and check the propane tank. Give you time to calm the fuck down.”
“Calm down? Calm down? You want me to calm down, Drake? Get me a fucking phone!” She pulled her shoes off and flung one at him.
“You’re welcome for the save by the way!” He yelled as he stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind him. The shoe thudded into the closed door and bounced onto the floor.
“Fuck!” She threw the other shoe at the door for good measure.
She needed to get a message to Liam. She needed contact with the outside world. She needed to see what the news was saying. She needed Hana.
But first, she needed a long, hot bath to wash this day off her.
She locked the bedroom door and made her way to the master bath. There was a cast iron claw-footed oval-shaped bathtub, long enough for her to stretch out in and be completely underwater.Â
There was amazingly enough hot water to fill it. That fact that there was women’s body wash, shampoo, and conditioner gave her pause, but then Drake’s little rescue/kidnapping scheme had to have also been planned in advance, which meant that the King’s Guards weren’t the only ones that had known that story was going to break ahead of time.
How long had Drake known and why hadn’t he warned her?
She had questions and she needed answers, but as she soaked in the steaming bath, she found herself fighting to keep her eyes open, so she climbed out, dried herself off, and climbed into the bed.
The mattress was soft, and the bed was piled high with fur-lined blankets and a goose-down comforter. She was asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.
A/N: Okay, so definitely a three-shot because I didn't manage to wrap up anything here lol.
A/N2: This is not the first time the Tariq situation has been reimagined, it's not even the first time I've reimagined it. But it was important to this story arc. The fallout from this night pushes Drake to a desperate move.
My other stuff: Master List.
Applewood….
Drake stood outside Riley’s door at the Applewood estate, hesitating with his hand halfway to the door. He shifted from foot to foot as he tried to decide the right way to apologize.
He had been a dick the last time they’d spoken, and he wanted to make it right if he could. He had no idea how to explain to her why he had reacted the way he had.
He couldn’t just tell her the truth, that she made him crazy with frustration and desire. That she made him feel things he’d never felt before. That watching her with Liam and the other members of the court, any one of which could give her all the things that he couldn’t, made him feel inadequate, invisible, and irrelevant.
That he lay awake at night tormented by thoughts of her. That she haunted his dreams. That he was indifferent, or even hostile to her, because letting her see anything else threatened to bring everything crashing down on all of them. That every little crack in his armor was dangerous.
That he wanted her with a burning passion stronger than anything he’d ever experienced before, and he was terrified of the feeling. That he was scared of the churning emotions inside him, afraid of what he might be capable of when it came to her. That he was no longer sure where his own boundaries lay.
The truth was that Nick had just been a convenient scapegoat, a perfect target for all his rage and agony, a man in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The problem was that all that rage and agony was still there.
He couldn’t tell her any of that.
Just as he was about to think better of it and walk away, he heard a scream from inside the room.
He reacted without thought, throwing the door open and charging into the room.
There was Riley, in her underwear, arms crossed defensively across her body with Tariq pawing at her like a slobbering pug-faced bulldog.
He made it across the room in three long strides. He gave no warning. He ripped Tariq away from her and flung him across the room, sending him tumbling over a chair and thudding into the wall.
Drake hopped the overturned chair in one fluid motion before Tariq could regain his feet and dropped his body onto him, straddling him.
Tariq’s head turned from one side to the other in a futile attempt to avoid the blows Drake pelted down on him. His arms covered his head as he twisted to the side.
Tariq managed to buck Drake off as he slid his body to one side and flipped onto his stomach. He pushed up on all fours and started to scramble to his feet.
Drake lunged for him, grabbing him by the ankle and jerking his body back, sending his face crashing into the floor.
Tariq flipped onto his back and kicked at his attacker, catching Drake in the face.
“Mother fucker!” Drake yelled as the blow sent him careening backward. He recovered quickly but Tariq was already on his feet and sprinting for the door.
Drake propelled himself upright and gave chase. He launched himself at the fleeing man just as he made it through the door and into the hallway.
They both hit the ground and skidded across the carpet to crash into the far wall.
“Get…off….me!” Tariq grunted as he kicked at Drake again.
Drake sat back on his knees and drew his fist back but before he could swing, he found himself being pulled from Tariq’s body.
He struggled against the hands restraining him, his attention laser-focused on the man using the wall to pull himself upright.
“I want him arrested!” Tariq bellowed, “He assaulted me!”
“I’m gonna do more than assault you, you sorry mother fucker, let me go!” Drake jerked free and dove for Tariq.
He was intercepted by two guardsmen. “Settle down son!”
Drake blinked at the familiar voice and ceased his attempts to break free, “Bas? What are you doing here?”
“Saving your sorry ass from a murder conviction apparently,” Bastien quickly gave orders to secure the scene and keep everyone separated as he hauled Drake into an empty bedroom and plunked him unceremoniously into a chair, “Talk me, son. What the hell just happened?”
“I interrupted a fucking sexual assault, that’s what!”
“Is it your accusation that Duke Lambros was the perpetrator of said assault?”
“Is it my accusation? What the hell, Bas? It’s what happened!”
“Okay, okay, and where did this alleged assault occur?”
“Alleged? Fuck you, Bas!” Drake stood up abruptly, “Where’s Riley? I need to see her; I need to make sure she’s okay!”
Bastien put his body between Drake and the door, “That’s not possible right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s being questioned right now. She’s a witness.”
“Witness? She’s the victim!”
“Okay, okay, we’ll get it all sorted out.”
“Who’s questioning her? Because the last thing she needs is another fucking man-“
“She’s with Mara, she’s fine. You need to worry about yourself right now, son.”
Drake blinked as a tiny sliver of self-preservation kicked in, “Myself? Why?”
“Having the head of the King’s Guard as your godfather definitely works in your favor, but my power only reaches so far. And I know Liam is your best friend, but still…”
“But still what?”
“You did assault a duke, a member of this court, here on a royal invitation!”
“I didn’t assault him!” Drake’s fingers pulled at his own hair, “I was defending Riley!”
“Well that’s the story he’s telling.”
“That’s not what happened! Ask Riley! She’ll tell you!” Drake’s arm flung out toward the door.
“We will, we are,” Bastien assured him, “you need to calm down right now. Don’t dig the hole any deeper.”
“Bas! You know me!” Drake paced away from his godfather, “You know I wouldn’t just attack a man for no fucking reason!”
“Not usually,” the older man agreed, “but you’ve been…. volatile lately. Want to tell me what that’s about?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Drake snapped.
Bastien opened his mouth but before he could speak the door opened and Liam entered the room, “What the hell is going on? I was about to go to bed when I got a call that there was an assault in the palace?”
“Yes! Riley was assaulted but I stopped it!” Drake hurried back across the room to where Liam and Bastien stood just inside the door, “Have you seen her? Is she okay?”
“I just came from her room, she’s fine, just a little shaken up from all the violence she witnessed.” Liam turned his head from Drake to Bastien, “I understand that Tariq is telling an entirely different story?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Bastien replied, “and that’s a bad thing for her because it’s her word against his and she’s a commoner and a foreigner.”
“I saw it happen!” Drake interjected, “I’m a corroborating witness!”
“No offense son, but your testimony doesn’t mean much right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, it wouldn’t be hard to find witnesses to testify to your erratic behavior lately which makes you an unreliable witness at best!”
“Why are you acting like this is my fault? Like I’ve done something wrong? I was the good guy in this scenario!”
“I’m trying to help you, son!”
“How is this helping me?”
“You’ve assaulted two members of the nobility this week, Drake. Beaten both of them pretty badly too. I’m just trying to keep you out of a jail cell!” Bastien was reaching the end of his patience.
“Fuck you, Bas! You’re always taking their side!” Drake swung a hand toward the doorway, his gesture meant to convey the entirety of the nobility, “You don’t give a rat’s ass about me!”
“You know that’s not true, I have always-“
“You have always tried to play dad to Sav and me because you have a thing for our mother. Don’t think we don’t see that!”
“Okay, lash out at me if that makes you feel better. But I am telling you in it’s everyone’s best interest to let this whole thing drop!” Bastien turned to Liam in frustration, “See if you can talk some sense into him!”
Bastien slammed out the door and Drake turned to Liam, “Li, we can’t let this drop! Tariq should pay for what he did!”
Liam regarded his childhood friend with a mixture of concern and trepidation, “You do understand that if Riley presses charges, so will Tariq, right? Then there will be a very public trial in which certain….things…will be brought to light.”
“What things?”
“Can we sit?” Liam gestured to the chairs at the side of the room.
“Okay,” Drake took a seat and clasped his hands together, resting his arms on his knees as he leaned toward Liam, “What things?”
Liam settled into the chair across from Drake as he collected his thoughts, “There have been some…concerning allegations about your behavior toward Riley, that could be construed to show you have an inappropriate fixation on her and that the attack on Tariq was a symptom of your borderline stalking behavior.”
Drake went ashen, “What the hell, Li? You know me better than that!”
Liam’s face betrayed no emotion as he asked, “Do I?”
“Seriously? We’ve been best friends since we were four years old!”
“Did you tell Lord Baxter that you were Riley’s head of security?”
“You mean the guy from the club the other night?”
“That’s the one.”
“I was just trying to convince him to leave! It was expedient! I-“
“Did you tell him to stay away from her?”
“He wasn’t authorized to be in the-“
“Forget the VIP lounge, did you tell him to stay away from Riley specifically?”
“Yes, but-“
“What were you doing outside her door tonight, Drake?” Liam’s voice held an edge Drake had never heard before.
“What?”
“I asked what you were doing outside Lady Riley’s door at eleven o’clock at night and I expect an answer.”
“I wanted to apologize for the other night.”
“For the attack on Lord Baxter?”
“No. I’m not sorry for that!”
“Right. Then what part were you going to apologize for?”
“For being an ass to her about it!”
“In what way were you an ass to her, Drake?”
“I just said some things…”
“What kind of things?”
“I may have accused her of inviting that Nick guy to the VIP section just to get a rise out of me.”
“And why would that get a rise out of you?”
“I…”
“I’m going to ask you again, Drake. Is there something going on between you and Riley?”
“No…not…no!”
“So, Tariq…”
“He put his hands on her, Li!”
“Yes, she told us that.”
“Good, good!” He relaxed back into his seat with a sigh.
“But…”
“But?” Drake sat up straight in agitated confusion.
“There’s not a scratch on her, Drake! It wasn’t an assault as much as an unwanted advance. Boorish, yes. Grounds for the beating you gave him? No.”
“You didn’t see-“
“You’ve known the man all your life, Drake! Do you really believe he’s a rapist?”
“I….I mean….if you had seen what I saw, Liam-“
“You saw him touching Riley?”
“Yes!”
“And that was enough to send you into a murderous rage?”
“I wouldn’t call it murderous…” He mumbled thudding back into his seat again.
“I think it would be best if you stayed away from her completely.”
“What?” Panic sliced through him. He couldn’t just never see her again.
“You heard me, Drake.”
“You have no right to dictate who she spends her time with, Li!” Drake leapt to his feet, “You don’t fucking own her!”
“I don’t think I own her, Drake,” Liam said grimly as he rose from his chair, “But you seem to think you do and that’s a problem for everybody.”
Astonishment hit Drake in the chest, “What the hell does that mean? I don’t think I own her, or anyone else for that matter!”
“Nonetheless, all things considered, I think it’s best if you keep your distance from her from here on out. Do that and I think I can convince Tariq not to press charges.”
“If I’d kept my distance tonight, Tariq could have…he….”
“I can assure you he won’t go near her again either. I’ll see to that.”
“If you care so much about her, you ought to be as horrified by Tariq’s behavior as I am, and she should have a guard detail!”
“Excuse me?”
“Why doesn’t she have her own guard detail?”
“Because none of the suitors have a guard detail,” Liam stared at him incredulously, “that’s not a thing…”
“Yeah, well, as you so eloquently pointed out, she isn’t used to all this bullshit and she’s far too trusting! Maxwell brought her here, but you encouraged her to stay so it’s your fucking responsibility to make sure she’s safe!”
“Drake, I understand this was upsetting but-“
“Upsetting? Upsetting? You told me you wanted to marry her, Li!”
“What’s that got to do with-“
“Why aren’t you upset, huh? Do you even love her? Or is she just the shiny new thing at court? She was attacked under your own roof tonight!”
“I can assure you that her well-being is of tantamount importance to me! I don’t appreciate-“
“I’m done with this conversation!” Drake stalked to the door and yanked it open.
“Where are you going?” Liam followed him into the hallway where several guardsmen still milled around.
“If you’re not going to ensure her safety, I will!” Drake called over his shoulder as he marched down the hallway.
“What does that mean? Where are you going?” Liam turned his head when Bastien walked up next to him, “What the fuck is he doing?”
“I don’t know, sir. Do you want me to detain him?” Bastien asked.
“No,” Liam sighed, “Just…keep an eye on him. Don’t let him do anything else stupid. And keep him away from Riley!”
Coronation Night….
The guards hustled her toward a waiting limousine, but they were interrupted by a separate contingent of guards.
Riley’s eyes darted between the two groups as she tried to discern what was going on. There was obviously a disagreement, voices were low but intense as an argument ensued.
After several long minutes of back and forth, the one that seemed to be in charge turned to the men on either side of her and jerked his head toward the new group of guardsmen, “Let her go! We’re officially transferring custody of the asset to the Guard Dogs!”
“Wait…the what?” Riley’s head spun around in confusion as she was passed from one set of guards to another.
As she was handed off, the young guardsman who grabbed her left arm took pity on her and tried to explain, “Dog is an acronym, it stands for Deconfliction Operations Group.”
The full official name of the unit was the Cordonian Royal Guard Deconfliction Operations Group. But no one ever said the Cordonian or Royal part when talking about the military regiment responsible for protecting the capital, the palace, and the royal family; it was commonly referred to as just the Guard, so the Guard D.O.G. became the guard dogs in Cordonian military vernacular.
“Okay…” she said as she was guided to a black SUV idling several yards behind the limo, “but what does that mean?”
“It’s a team that coordinates things between units; flights, troop movements, shit like that. So, when missions overlap or platoons are geographically close to each other, the chance of accidents or,” he did air quotes with the fingers of his free hand, “incidents are significantly decreased.”
That cleared up exactly nothing. “Right. But what does that have to do with me?”
“No idea, ma’am,” he gave her an apologetic smile as he placed her in the back of the waiting SUV, “that’s above my paygrade!”
“Do you at least know where I’m going?"
“I don’t know that either. Our orders were just to intervene and keep you from going to the airport.”
“And who did those orders come from?”
“The head of special units.”
“Which is who?” she demanded.
But the young soldier was gone, closing her door, and walking away.
The other door opened, and Drake slid into the backseat next to her, “Hey, Brooks.”
“Drake? What are you doing here?” She hadn’t seen him since the attack on Tariq. The brutality of which had both shocked and alarmed her.
“Keeping you in Cordonia,” he gave her a soft, warm smile as if their last two encounters hadn’t been marked by violence and conflict.
“What do you mean?”
“Hold on,” he leaned forward and murmured something to the driver. The car rolled forward as the partition between the front and back seats rose.
“I mean…the palace guards were instructed to take you to the airport tonight and put you on a plane back to the states.”
“How do you know that?”
“Friends in low places, Brooks. Friends in low places.”
“But then who are these guys and why-“
“These guys are just following orders. The important thing is, you’re safe now.”
But was she?
She had no idea what had happened. One minute, Liam was talking about a future with her and the next he was engaged to someone else and she was being dragged from the ballroom by armed guards.
She had been the subject of a territorial dispute between two guard units and she had no idea whom either one worked for or what any of it had to do with her.
She pulled her cell phone out. She would text Liam. He would explain it.
“Whoa there, Brooks,” Drake pulled the phone from her hand and tossed it out the window.
“What the hell, Drake?” She made a swipe for her phone, but it clattered to the road behind them as the SUV pulled through the palace gates and turned toward the highway.
“That can be tracked, and I can’t keep you safe if I can’t keep your whereabouts secret, can I?”
“Safe from who? From what?”
“I don’t have all the details yet, but I will. Don’t worry.”
She was worried. She was very worried.
She was in a foreign country, with no friends or family or access to her own bank accounts.
In one fell swoop, she had been separated from the Beaumonts, Liam, Hana, and her cell phone.
And now she was alone in the back of an SUV going God knows where with a man whose intensity absolutely terrified her. Â
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Drake Walker is annoyed that Maxwell Beaumont invited their waitress back to Cordonia with them. Not because he doesn’t like her, but because he likes her a little too much.
The longer the social season stretches on, the closer his raging jealousy pushes him to the edge of complete self-destruction.
Now that scandal has rocked their world and threatened her continued presence in his life, how far will he go to protect what he desires most? Â
A/N: This is from my follower appreciation prompt wheel event from November 2022. I told you guys I hadn’t forgotten about it!
A/N2: This was supposed to be a one-shot but of course, it got a little out of hand. Much like Drake in this one lol. This will be either a two or a three-shot I’m thinking. No plans for a whole series, just when I passed 5k words with no end in sight, I decided to split it up.
A/N3: This takes place during the social season but is a complete AU from anything else I’ve written. I’ve added/made up events that are not in canon such as the Derby Gala and the Capricorn nightclub (things you have seen in other series if you read all my stuff).
A/N4: You may recognize the opening sequence. I originally wrote it for this story, then stole it for chapter 4 of Unexpected, then stole it back because I had further ideas for it here.
My other stuff: Master List.
This one came from @lovingchoices14 and the prompt was for Drake x dark x jealousy.
Masquerade Ball…
“What were you doing with Liam in the hedge maze?”
The voice came out of the darkness, right in her ear, though she’d heard no one walk up behind her.
She spun toward the voice, prepared to fight. Her open palm swung out, but her arm was captured mid-swing.
A low chuckle accompanied the grip around her wrist, “Whoa there, Brooks. No need for violence.”
“Drake? Fuck! You scared the shit out of me!” Relief spilled through her followed by confusion, “Wait…what are you doing out here? How did you know-“
“Don’t change the subject. What were you doing with Liam in the hedge maze?” he asked again.
She jerked her arm free from his grasp, “None of your business!”
“Hmm.” His eyes slid down her body and she shivered.
She could damn near feel his eyes touching her physically, “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?” He blinked and the physical weight of his gaze was gone.
She shook her head, maybe she had imagined it, “Nothing, never mind.”
The Derby Gala…
On the plane ride over, she’d said he was more her type than Liam, that she didn’t normally go for the stuffy, rich guys. Yet there she was, dancing and flirting with a roomful of them. Again.
He swirled the whiskey around in his glass as he watched her from the bar at the edge of the ballroom.
The more she seemed to be enjoying herself, the more agitated he became.
His mind replayed every flirty interaction between them, from the plane ride over to how it felt lying next to her in the snow in Lythikos.
When he had pulled her up from the ground and caught her in his arms as she stumbled into him, something inside had sprung to life and despite his best efforts since, had refused to die.
When she’d slipped her hand into his and proclaimed it was for safety, he’d told her that they should both be careful. He hadn’t been talking about the slippery walking conditions.
Inviting her to meet him in Olivia’s wine cellar had been a mistake. Wanting her was a mistake. Entertaining the notion that she might return even a small fragment of the feelings he harbored for her was tantamount to treason. The jealous rage that stirred in his chest when other men touched her, watched her, looked at her like they wanted to devour her was dangerous.
He knew that he absolutely, positively, most definitely should turn around and walk out of that ballroom. He should go to his quarters and mute his desire for her with good whiskey and bad porn.
If he had a fraction of common sense and self-preservation, that’s exactly what he would have done.
What he did was slam his glass down onto the bar, jump to his feet, and storm out onto the dancefloor.
“Excuse me, but I believe the lady promised me this dance.”
“Oh, I…uh…but-“
He didn’t give the young nobleman a chance to protest before he had swept her to the other side of the floor, out of his reach.
“What are you doing, Drake?”
“I’m cutting in, what does it look like?”
“I thought you said you couldn’t dance.”
“I said I don’t dance, I never said I couldn’t,” he mumbled.
“Okay…if you don’t dance, then why are you doing it now?”
He pulled her body tight against his own, his fingers digging into the small of her back, “You know why.”
“I…don’t…”
“Riley….”
Time stood still.
The use of her first name shocked her. His nearness clouded her judgment as they stood in the middle of the dance floor, not moving. The heat from his body as it pressed against hers, his scent washing over her, and the thump of his heart under her hand as it rested on his chest all conspired to make her temporarily lose her grip on sanity.
The feel of their bodies pressed so closely together left no misunderstanding about the state of his arousal. His arms wrapped so tightly around her telegraphed his need with perfect clarity. The pleading in his eyes as he stared down at her sent butterflies swooping through her stomach. In that moment, he was something she had never seen from him before.
Vulnerable.
Her hand moved to tangle in his hair. His body went completely rigid.
He leaned down.
She stretched up.
His lips stopped a fraction of an inch from hers.
She licked her lips and closed her eyes.
He stepped back and released her.
Her eyes flew open, “What are you doing?”
“We can’t….I shouldn’t….”
“Drake-“
He raked a hand brusquely through his hair, “Is this what you want, Brooks?”
“What?” She blinked up at him in confusion, thinking at first that he meant the two of them.
He gestured around the ballroom, “This? Fancy balls, expensive dresses, pretentious food… bowing and scraping to the nobility? Is this what you want?”
“Not exactly…”
“What do you want?” His gaze burned into her like he was searching for the answers to life itself.
“I…don’t know…”
“Well, figure it out, and soon, for all our sakes!”
“What does that mean?”
But he had already strode off the dance floor without answering her.
Capricorn Night Club….
Drake stood in the darkened nightclub chatting with one of Liam’s guardsmen, his eyes scanning the room, always on the lookout for her.
His eyes locked on her as she walked toward the VIP lounge in the exclusive nightclub Liam had dragged them to.
She smiled at him as she passed. A satisfied grin broke out across his face at the attention, his head turning to track her movements as she made her way from the main part of the club into the cordoned-off hallway leading to the VIP section.
A man that bore a passing resemblance to Liam followed behind her.
Drake’s head swiveled from Riley to the Liam look alike as his hand shot out and thumped into the dark-haired man’s chest, “Whoa there, buddy! Where do you think you’re going?”
“Oh, it’s okay!” the man pointed at the door Riley has just disappeared through, “I’m with the lady!”
A harsh laugh escaped him as he shoved the man backward, “Like bloody hell you are!”
“I don’t know who you think you are,” The man huffed, “but you can’t just-“
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are-“
“My name is Nick, I’m a-“
“It was a rhetorical question, dumbass!”
“I’m a count! You can’t just-“
“I don’t give two fucks who you are! I’m the head of her security,” he lied, ”Your title means shit to me and you’re not getting in there!”
Nick’s face reddened as he insisted, “I was invited!”
Drake stepped into his personal space and jabbed a finger into the other man’s chest, “You don’t hear well, do you? I don’t care what she said or what she did, you’re not getting near her!”
“Oh, I get it…you like her! Well,” Nick brushed at his chest as if Drake’s touch had sullied it, “you might have a little crush, but she obviously doesn’t feel the same way because she invited me back to-“
Drake’s voice had dropped dangerously low as he emphasized every word, “I told you, I don’t care what she did. You’re not getting through that door!”
“Who’s going to stop me? You?”
Drake threw his head back and laughed. This mother fucker had no idea who the hell he was messing with.
Months of having to sit idly by while he watched Liam court her rankled inside him. Having to additionally watch as any wanker with a title was able to fawn and paw all over her had only pushed his ire higher. He was a powder keg ready to go off and this tosser had just given him an acceptable target.
“I fail to see what’s so funny-“ Nick’s words were cut off by Drake’s fist. Blood spurted out of his mouth and nose as he staggered backward.
Nick made the mistake of swinging back.
Drake ducked the sloppily thrown uppercut and rammed head-first into the other man’s chest, taking him to the ground in the process.
Four guardsmen pulled him off Nick while he rained punches down on him. As he was pulled from the other man’s body, he managed to deliver one last kick as he told him, “Stay the fuck away from her!”
“This…this is an abuse of power! Of your position! I could report you!” Nick spluttered as two other guardsmen helped him to his feet.
Drake stopped struggling and shrugged off the guardsmen as he drew an arm across his mouth. The smile that slowly crawled across his face was full of amusement and malice as he drawled, “Oh yeah? To whom? The crown prince? The man determined to marry her?”
Nick paled, his eyes shooting from Drake’s face to the guardsmen scattered outside the doorway.
He found no sympathy and no hope of an ally in any of their faces. His shoulders slumped in defeat, “I…I didn’t realize…”
“Come on, guy,” one of the guardsmen clapped him on the back, “let’s go get you an icepack and I’ll walk you out of here.”
“Jesus, Drake!” the young guardsman he’d been chatting with earlier shook his head, “What the hell was that?”
“Nothing, Marco. Sorry. I’ll see you later. I have something I need to take care of.”
Drake stormed into the VIP lounge with rage boiling through his veins.
He found Riley standing at the ledge that overlooked the dancefloor, chatting and laughing with yet another simpering self-important nobleman.
“Excuse us, please,” he gave the man a brief glance, then to Riley, “We need to talk.”
“About what?” she asked as she stumbled to keep up with his long strides, something she had to do because his hand had a firm grip around her upper arm.
When they reached a private corner, he stopped and spun her around to face him, “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Riley, but it stops now!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” She jerked her arm away and rubbed the spot he had dug his fingers into.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” he yelled, “Flaunting that Nick guy right under my nose!”
“Not everything is about you, asshole! I’m allowed to make friends!”
“You knew damn good and well he was never going to get past Liam’s guard detail, so the only reason I can fathom for you inviting him to follow you back here is that you wanted to get my attention! Well, you’ve got it! So, what’s your game, Riley?”
“Oh, wow! You think really highly of yourself, don’t you? How was I supposed to know you’d be skulking around outside the door to the lounge?”
Drake reached for her, and she flinched away from him. All of the anger whooshed right out of him as shock and shame punched him in the gut.
Did she think he would hurt her?
“Riley…I’m sorry, I-“
“Is everything okay over here?” Liam’s eyes flicked back and forth from Riley to Drake in concern.
“Everything’s fine,” Drake said from between clenched teeth, “just tell your little girlfriend here not to be inviting strangers into the VIP area. It’s a hassle for the security team.”
Before Liam could answer, his phone chirped. He pulled it out and glanced down at the screen. His brows drew together in confusion then he looked up at Drake, “Did you assault someone trying to get into the VIP section tonight, Drake?”
“What?!” Riley gasped.
Drake’s eyes stayed locked on Riley’s as he shrugged, “Guy needs to learn to take no for an answer. He was sniffing around somewhere he had no business being.”
Liam rubbed his eyes with a sigh, “That’s what the security team is for, Drake. You should have left the guy to them, it’s literally their job.”
Drake’s eyes finally left Riley to give Liam his attention, “I’d say I’m sorry,” before sliding right back to Riley, “but I’m not.”
Liam noticed. “What the hell is going on between you two right now?”
She returned his gaze defiantly, “You got that right!” Then to Liam, “Drake is just being extra annoying tonight.”
Liam touched Riley’s shoulder, “Excuse us for a moment?”
“Sure, I should go find Nick and make sure he’s okay.”
“Too late for that, Brooks,” Drake smirked, “He’s already been escorted from the premises.”
An exasperated cry escaped the back of her throat as she tossed her head and stomped her foot before storming away.
Liam watched her go then turned back to Drake, “Is everything okay with you?”
“I’m fine, Li! That guy just-“
“I’m not talking about him. Could you go a little easier on Riley? For me?”
“What?”
“She isn’t used to all these restrictions, Drake! She makes friends everywhere we go, she doesn’t mean anything by it. Remember the night we met her? She took four total strangers on a tour of the city!”
“Yeah, well…maybe she should learn not to be so trusting.”
“Perhaps. But still. Just dial it back a bit, all right?”
“Yeah, all right, okay, I’ll try to ease up a little.”
“Good man! Thank you!” Liam clapped him on the shoulder, “And you're sure everything’s okay with you?”
“I’m fine, just had a bad day. I’m going to go find some whiskey. That always helps.”
He was spiraling out of control and he knew it.
He was at the bar four shots in when he saw her approaching. He turned away from her hoping she’d take the hint.
She didn’t.
“Drake, what the hell was that about earlier?”
“Go away, Brooks,” he signaled the bartender for another drink.
“You can’t just go around beating people up!”
“I can and I will,” he finally turned toward her with the fresh drink in his hand, “if you were so concerned about that guy’s wellbeing, you shouldn’t have used him to provoke me.”
“I wasn’t using him to do shit! I just thought he was funny, and I wanted him to meet Maxwell!”
Drake threw the drink back, then stood up, “Whatever. I don’t have time for this. I have shit to do.”
“Oh, yeah? Like what? What do you do, Drake? Other than hang around and harass me?”
“I do things, Brooks,” he replied tightly as he tossed a handful of bills onto the bar top. Â
“What things?” she challenged, crossing her arms with a skeptical smirk.
He tried to walk away but she was blocking his way. He stopped in front of her, “Things you don’t need to worry about!”
“Right. Because those things are nonexistent!”
“Is that all you care about? Career? Position?” he leaned closer, bringing his mouth to her ear as he whispered the last word, “Money?”
“I don’t care about any of those things!” She spat at him, “but dating broke, unemployed losers hasn’t exactly gotten me anywhere in life, has it?” She shrugged, “I’m trying something different right now, that’s all.”
He drew back. His jaw clenched. “Is that how you see me?”
“What?” Her pique drained away as her mind scrambled to catch up with the sudden change in his demeanor.
His feelings were hurt.
“A broke, unemployed loser?”
“No! That’s not what I-“
“It’s fine. I’m used to entitled stuck-up bitches looking down on me. Just didn’t expect it from you!”
She watched him walk away, a mixture of regret, fury, and frustration swirling through her.
The accusation stung.
The truth was, she’d been fighting her growing attraction to him since they’d met. But he ran so hot and cold, she had no idea how he felt about anything. Sometimes they got along. Most of the time he acted indifferent to her existence. Occasionally he was downright hostile to her. But then there were moments like Lythikos and the Derby Gala. Every time she thought she had him figured out, he did something that threw her a curveball.
He was frustrating, infuriating, and obnoxiously attractive. Every time he came close to her, her body ignited with an incendiary heat, one that she was sure she couldn’t, and shouldn’t trust.
Drake Walker was dangerous in more ways than one. He was angry, unpredictable, and confounding. He acted like a jealous boyfriend one minute and as if he barely liked her the next.
He was also intelligent and funny when he decided to let his guard down a little and show it. There were times when she suspected there might be an actual heart under all that bluster and sniping.
She utterly hated the fact that his mere presence provoked reactions in her body that she didn’t seem to be able to control and she was beginning to worry about just how much of a problem he was going to be.
Warnings for this chapter: Language, threats of violence
Word Count: 4,756
A/N: Well here we are at the last chapter finally lol! All eight chapters plus the epilogue clocked in at 30,463 words, and I wrote it in three weeks!
My other stuff: Master List.
Liam and Riley waved to Hana as her limo pulled away from the palace and headed toward the airport.
“I have to get to the council meeting,” Liam glanced at his watch, “but I have time to walk you back up to your room.”
“Thank you,” she took his arm with a smile, “I was thinking that maybe I should start moving my things into your room.”
“Really?” It was a welcome surprise. He would have had her move in with him weeks ago, but she had wanted to wait.
“The wedding is only two weeks away. I think it’s time,” she told him as they climbed the grand staircase together.
“I think that’s an excellent idea! Shall I cancel my meeting and help you?”
“No need for that. I’ll pack a few things tonight and you can help me with the rest tomorrow. One of the guards can carry things over.”
“Excellent! I’ll have Bruno carry your things and let you into the room. I’ll bring champagne tonight when I return so we can celebrate!” He told her as they stopped in front of her door.
“Can’t wait!” She threw her arms around him and hugged him.
He kissed her goodbye, gave orders to the guards then sauntered off to his meeting humming happily to himself.
Riley slipped into her room and quickly threw a few essentials into a small tote bag. She then pulled out her biggest suitcase and haphazardly threw random items into it until it was full.
She opened her door with a smile, “Hey Bruno. I’m ready. Could you carry the big suitcase for me?”
“Certainly, Your Grace.”
The heavyset guard with the thick jaw and shaved head retrieved the suitcase and escorted the duchess to the king’s room as he’d been ordered. He pressed his keycard to the sensor and opened the door for her.
She smiled at him as she moved past him with her tote bag, “You can just put the suitcase anywhere.”
As soon as Bruno was out of the room, Riley darted into Liam’s walk-in closet and rummaged through it until she found what she’d been looking for.
Drake’s duffle bag. It had been confiscated from the airfield in Auvernall and for some reason, Liam had kept it. Riley had seen it one day when they were having a private lunch in his room and she had spilled tea on herself.
Rather than go back to her room to change, Liam had offered her one of his shirts. When she’d followed him into the closet to retrieve it, she had seen the bag peeking out from behind a dirty laundry hamper.
It was a nondescript black leather duffle bag and she might not have noticed it if not for the fact that it was scuffed up and dusty in a closet, in a room that was otherwise pristinely clean and tidy.
She’d made Liam turn around when she changed shirts so she could get a closer look without him noticing. Sure enough, the tiny bit of gold embossing on the side bore the initials DW.
She had no idea why Liam had kept it, but she knew it had carried everything they had needed to escape the first time. She pulled the bag out and unzipped it, quickly sorting through the contents. A few changes of clothes, a gun, and several stacks of cash.
She carried the bag to the bed and emptied her tote bag into it then zipped it shut. The fewer bags she had to carry out of there, the better.
She opened the door and peeked outside. Bruno was standing guard in the hallway.
“May I help you with something, Your Grace?”
“Yes, I think I twisted my ankle, could you come in here and help me to a chair?”
“Oh, yes and I’ll call for the doctor!”
“Get me to a chair first, please.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
Bruno lifted her easily and carried her to a chair. He lowered her into it, “Is this okay?”
“Yes, thank you. Could you take a look at it for me?”
She extended her leg, and he took a knee as he rolled her pants leg up, “Tell me if this hurts.”
“You seem like a really nice guy, Bruno. I’m so sorry.”
“For what, Your Grace?”
“This!” Before he had a chance to register what was happening, she produced a stun gun from behind her back and hit him in the side of the neck with it.
His body jerked several times then he fell over.
She quickly stepped over him, grabbed the bag from the bed, and hurried out the door and down the hallway.
Underneath the palace in the detention area, the lights flickered off.
“What the hell?” The duty sergeant tried to look around, but it was pitch dark.
“Is there an outage?” one of the junior guards asked.
“Just wait,” the sergeant told him, “Either it’ll come back on, or the backup generator will kick on. Fifteen seconds, tops!”
Sure enough, thirteen seconds later the lights flickered back on but when he glanced through the glass of the guard station, his blood ran cold, “What the fuck is going on?”
All of the cell doors were open.
“Sarge?” The guard at the monitors called, “The cameras are all down!”
“We have a situation!” The sergeant thundered, “The prisoners are out! Grab your riot gear and let’s go!”
He yanked the door handle, but the door didn’t budge, “What the holy fucking hell is going on here?”
“I don’t know,” the guard at the monitors answered, “But Peterson and Franks are out there!”
“Call for backup!”
“Sir…all the coms are down!”
“Shit! Fuck! Get this goddamn door open, now!”
As the duty sergeant railed fruitlessly at the door, the two guards that had been walking the cell block when the power went out were busy gathering up prisoners. It wasn’t so bad. There were only four of them and they were all unarmed.
They easily corralled three of the prisoners back into their cells and secured the doors.
“Where the fuck did Walker go?” Peterson asked.
“I don’t know,” Franks scanned the hallway then pointed, “Dayroom. Has to be.”
The two men moved carefully down the hall, weapons drawn. They inched toward the dayroom door.
Peterson pushed the door open, “Hey, Walker! You in there?”
No answer.
“Cover me,” he said over his shoulder before stepping into the dayroom.
He found himself in a chokehold with the barrel of a gun digging into the side of his head. His gun skidded across the floor, out of reach even if he could have broken free. His hands dug at the other man’s arm, desperate for air.
“Step the fuck back Franks or I’ll splatter your buddy’s brains all over this fucking room!”
“Shit!” Franks yelped as he leapt backward out of the room, “How the hell did you get a gun?”
The answer was that Jason had taped it to the back of the TV mounted on the dayroom wall, but Drake wasn’t going to tell them that. What he said instead was, “Put your gun down, slowly!”
The guard complied.
“Now step backward, and keep going until you reach the first open cell.”
Franks walked backward while Drake walked forward, pushing Peterson in front of him. He kicked the gun on the floor to the side as he passed it. When they were standing in front of a cell he instructed, “Now go inside.”
Franks backed into the cell, “You’re not going to get away with this you know.”
“I like my chances,” Drake grinned at him, “Now step all the way back to the far wall.”
As soon as Franks was touching the back wall, Drake shoved Peterson into the cell behind him and slammed the door, “Now, Peterson, slide your keys out here.”
He needed them to get off the cellblock. The keycard Riley had sent him worked everywhere in the palace except the door in and out of the cells, and no keycards were allowed on the cellblock. That was on purpose. Security. It made it harder to do exactly what he was about to do.
Once he had the keys he smirked at the guards, “Now your clothes.”
“What?”
“I said give me your clothes! I can’t walk around the palace looking like a prisoner now can I?”
“I’m not giving you my clothes you sorry piece of-“
Drake cocked the hammer of the gun, “You can give them to me, or I can shoot you both then come in and take them. Your choice. I’m good either way.”
“Fuck!” Peterson’s eyes darted down the hall to the guard station where the sergeant was still yelling and pounding on the door. With a sigh of frustration, he peeled off his clothes.
Once he was dressed in the guard’s uniform, Drake holstered his weapon and hurried to the cellblock door. He gave the guards locked inside the guard station his middle finger as he passed. “It’s been real. Hope you all choke on a bag of dicks and die!”
Using Peterson’s key, he let himself through the door. He hurried to the end of the hallway then slowed and composed himself before stepping through the door at the other end and into the office portion of the detention center.
He stumbled through the door, pointing behind him, his voice laced with panic, his head down, cap pulled low over his face, “We need help! The prisoners are escaping!”
Men scrambled to their feet, grabbing weapons and scurrying down the hallway. The second the last man was through the door, Drake hauled ass across the room and swiped the keycard.
He sprinted up the stairs, making the first floor as he heard guards giving chase behind him. Footsteps pounded behind him and orders to halt rang through the hallways. He stayed far enough ahead of them that no one could get a clear shot off. Barely.
He knew where he was going and they didn’t.
He flew down the corridors and skidded around corners, weaving and twisting his way through the familiar halls until he found the door he was looking for.
He ignored the shouting as he hurtled around one last corner and dove into a small unused office, slamming the door shut behind him. He locked it and slid the desk in front of it.
By the time the guards got through the door, the room was empty.
“Where the fuck did he go?”
Drake was running through the secret passageways, on his way to freedom.
 “What do you mean a prisoner has escaped?” Liam was apoplectic, “Which prisoner?”
He already knew.
“Drake Walker, sir.”
“How?” He screamed at the Lieutenant standing in front of him, “What kind of utter incompetence is going on down there?”
“He had a gun, sir, and-
“How in the holy hell did he get a gun inside a jail cell?”
“We don’t know sir, but he obviously had help from the outside.”
“What help from the outside?”
“The power went out, the security cams and coms went down, the cell doors opened on their own and the guard station door locked.”
Liam stared at him in shock, “How is any of that possible?”
“I don’t know sir, he must have help from someone on the inside. Someone with access to all our systems.”
Liam spun to his personal guard, Alec, “Get Mara up here now! We need every person with access to our systems interviewed right now! Starting with Jason Toussaint!”
“Yes, Your Majesty, on it!” Alec talked into his com, but it was dead. With a frown, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed but the call dropped immediately, “Sir? All communications are down.”
“Riley!” Liam pushed away from the conference table. The council meeting was over, they could see themselves out.
“Sir?”
“I need to see Riley! He won’t leave without her! He’s going to try and abduct her again!”
Liam stormed through the palace followed by a small contingent of guards. He burst into his room to find Bruno lying on the floor, disoriented and groggy.
“Alec, Wake him up!” Liam ordered, “The rest of you go search the palace! They couldn’t have gotten far! And someone get me Mara and the doctor!”
By the time Mara appeared, Bruno was sitting up holding his head and groaning as the doctor looked him over.
“How the fuck did he get out of the detention area, Mara?”
“He took a set of keys off one of the guards.”
“The guards have physical keys, he got through the other door that required a keycard!”
Mara typed furiously on a tablet, “Let me see if I can access that. I’m sorry sir, we’re locked out of half of our own systems!”
“This is a fucking nightmare! How? How is that possible?”
“I can track keycard access and the keycard that was used to exit the detention area tonight was issued to….” Her eyes flicked up to his, “I’m sorry sir, it was issued to Lady Riley.”
“No…” Liam shook his head, “No, she wasn’t in on this, he took her! Again!”
“Your Majesty?” Bruno spoke up.
Liam whirled around to face him, “What happened to you? Was it Drake Walker? Did he knock you out?”
“No, sir….” Bruno answered slowly, “It was Lady Riley…she had a stun gun…”
Liam stumbled back like he’d been hit, “Shit!”
He started pacing as his mind spun furiously. If she had been planning to leave him all along, why ask to move into his room? If she was going to be gone within an hour, why that particular subterfuge? Why had she wanted access to his room?
He stopped pacing and turned toward the closet.
Did she know?
He had thought it odd she’d made him turn around to change that day considering he’d seen her naked plenty of times.
He crossed the room and pulled the closet door open. Shoes and boxes had been moved around. The duffle bag was missing. Now they had two guns and a stack of cash. He had removed the fake IDs and sent them to the cyber division to get him information on the fake identities Drake apparently had. He had been told they were all dead ends. By Lt. Toussaint.
With a disappointed sigh, he shoved the door shut. Turning to Mara he asked tightly, “Do we know where Lieutenant Jason Toussaint is?”
He should have fired him when he’d had the chance, but Mara had assured him that Jason had given out no classified information and he had done his job locking Drake out of their systems and freezing his assets. The man had behaved exactly as a soldier loyal to the crown should have.
Liam should have listened to his gut instinct.
“No, sir,” Mara replied, “But it looks like he last swiped his badge in the garage and one of the sedans is missing. It wasn’t checked out.”
“Do we have access to the GPS transponder?”
Mara typed for a few more seconds, “Yes, sir. It’s at the airport.”
Finally! A fucking break!
“Has Lady Hana’s plane left yet?”
“Our phone system is still down, sir. There’s no way to call and find out.”
“Then we’ll go there. Send every available guard unit, let’s go!”
With sirens blaring, they made it to the airport in record time, but it was too late.
“I’m sorry Your Majesty,” the clerk said, “But that flight took off five minutes ago.”
“Can we force them to land?”
“You’d need to talk to the tower.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Get me to the tower!”
It took another ten minutes before Liam was standing in the control tower.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, the pilot isn’t answering.”
“What do you want to do, sir?” Mara asked.
He hesitated only a moment, “Get the Chinese Premier on the phone and fuel the royal jet!”
They had to be on that plane. Why else would the pilot be ignoring them?
Fifteen hours later Liam stood on the tarmac at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, “What do you mean they’re not on the plane?”
“I mean they’re not on the plane,” the commander of the Chinese forces told him.
“Maybe they’re hiding! Did you search it?”
“Twice.”
“Where’s Lady Hana Lee? I want to speak to her!”
“She went home, sir. We had no legal reason to detain her. She’s broken none of our laws, nor yours, and the fugitives you’re seeking were not on her plane.”
Liam stifled the string of obscenities that sprang to his tongue and forced himself to speak civilly as he inquired, “May I please have a word with the pilot?”
“I’m sorry. Once we realized there were no fugitives stowed away, we had no reason to hold him.”
Liam wanted to punch someone but punching a Chinese Colonel would not bode well for future diplomatic relations. “He didn’t answer our communications nor our request to return to the airport in Cordonia.”
“He claims he was getting nothing but static on his radio,” the colonel shrugged, “either way, he still did nothing illegal.”
Liam wanted to push the issue. If he could only speak to the pilot, he might be able to get some sort of answer out of him, but he knew the Premier was granting him a courtesy and he could only push it so far. Instead, he made one final request, “Do you mind if I have my men search it?”
“Be my guest, but there’s no one in there.”
An hour later Liam had to admit that they had never been on the plane. Which meant that he had just wasted sixteen hours on a wild goose chase. It would take another fifteen hours to get back home, giving Riley and Drake a thirty-one-hour head start.
They could be almost anywhere in the world by then.Â
Sixteen hours earlier….
He could barely breathe by the time he made it to the rendezvous spot. He hadn’t exactly been keeping up with his cardio in prison. He bent down, hands on his knees, sucking in air.
“Drake!”
He looked up to find her running toward him, he straightened just in time to get nearly knocked off his feet when her body hit his with the force of a linebacker.
“Riley!” He pulled her tight against him as tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes, “I didn’t think I’d ever get to touch you again!”
“Like I was going to let that happen!” She was laughing and crying at the same time.
“How did you-“
“No time! Let’s go!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the passageways.
Jason guided the car right out of the palace’s front gate. The alarm hadn’t been sounded yet; Liam was likely just finding out that Drake was gone.
As soon as they were out of sight of the palace, he pulled over long enough to let the couple out of the trunk.
“Geeze that was tight!” Riley complained.
“I didn’t mind,” Drake smirked at her.
“Shut up and get in the car, Walker!”
“Oh, she’s bossy,” Jason laughed, “And also right, hurry up!”
They all piled into the car and Jason drove the exact speed limit to the airport where they parked the crown-issue sedan and climbed into an ancient SUV he had left parked at the airport earlier that day.
“She’ll run and she’s got no GPS and no computer boards in her so she can’t be hacked or tracked!”
The car they left behind could be tracked though. That was the whole point. Liam would assume they were on the plane with Hana. They had learned the hard way that it wasn’t prudent for Liam to know where they were going.
They had to disappear.
“I can’t thank you enough, Jason,” Riley said as they drove.
“I’m just repaying a debt,” he told her as his eyes met Drake’s in the rearview mirror, “He saved my life in Rivala.”
“Nothing you wouldn’t have done for me,” Drake responded, “But how the hell did you pull all of this off?”
“Well, as you know, Riley’s the one that figured out how to send you notes with your lunch.”
“Yeah,” she smiled proudly, “all I had to do was befriend the kitchen staff. Then once I figured out that Jason existed, I found out from the janitorial staff which room was his and slipped a note under his door to meet me in the hedge maze! It’s amazing the shit the people cooking and cleaning know and have access to!”
“And no one from the aristocracy would have a clue,” Drake nodded, “they seem to think rooms clean themselves. I’m impressed!”
“Well, you may remember that I was a waitress,” she tittered, “And I remembered something you said about friends in low places.”
“Ahem,” Jason cleared his throat, “I had a little something to do with it.”
“Oh, yeah,” Drake agreed, “I know all the technical stuff was you, and the gun in the dayroom.”
“Yes. Planning the break for the night Hana was leaving was Riley’s idea and it was inspired! She’s one smart cookie!”
“She is!” Drake kissed the top of her head again. He couldn’t stop touching her. “What’s next? How are we getting the hell out of the country?”
“Boat,” Jason told him as he pulled into a deserted beach.
“Okay, sure…” Drake said carefully, “But we can only go so far in a speedboat…”
“Oh, ye of little faith!” Jason laughed, “Don’t worry, I have a plan! Our ride is waiting out there, come on!”
They transferred what little luggage they had into the boat. There were just two duffle bags, Drake’s and Jason’s. “I still can’t believe you got my bag back!” Drake marveled.
“Liam had it in his closet,” she told him.
“And you were in Liam’s closet why?”
“Are you fucking serious right now, Drake?”
“Ye-okay, no, sorry.” Getting out of the country took priority over what she had or hadn’t done with Liam while he was locked up.
Drake and Jason pushed the boat out into deeper water and then jumped in. Jason started the motor and they zipped away.
“We just have to make it to international waters,” Jason said, “and the majority of the guard should be on its way to Shanghai right now.”
“So no extra patrols or anyone looking for us out here,” Drake surmised.
“That is correct,” Jason grinned at him, “so all we have to do is dodge the regular patrol and I happen to have memorized the schedule.”
“Goddamn, you’re a good friend to have!” Drake grinned back.
“This is just like old times!” Jason laughed.
“Dodging patrols, slipping past borders, completing our mission, and making it back home in time for dinner!” Drake chuckled quietly.
“Were you in the Cordonian Air Force too?” Riley asked.
“No,” Jason answered, “French Navy, but Walker and I were paired up on several special ops.”
“Damn,” Riley said, “I just realized that you gave up your career too, I’m sorry.”
The men exchanged looks.
“What?” She asked.
“Should we tell her?” Jason asked.
Drake shrugged, “It’s your secret. Do what you want.”
“What?” Riley demanded again.
“My name’s not Jason and my career isn’t over. I burned my cover in Cordonia but I did it to save an asset.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My name is Anton Severus and I work for the French government. They’ll simply reassign me should I choose to remain active.”
“Wait…you’re a spy?!”
“Yep. My hair is not even actually blonde.”
She turned to Drake in astonishment, “I thought you recruited him?”
“All part of the cover,” Drake revealed.
“You knew? You helped a foreign government spy on your own country?”
“I traded secrets.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he’s a double agent,” Jason interjected, “or was.”
“But why?” Riley was still reeling from the revelation.
“I already told you, Brooks. Always have an escape plan.”
She couldn’t argue with his logic because Jason, or rather Anton, the French spy, had indeed been their escape plan. But it still engendered a lot of questions.
“So was Liam right not to trust you?”
“Liam did trust me. I was perfectly placed in both governments, both sides knew I had to trade a few of their secrets to get the information they wanted from the other. And I was making a killing financially from it. I was set for life. That’s what I gave up for you, Riley. Literally everything!”
She drew him toward the side of the boat away from Jason and lowered her voice, “Drake, if we’re going to have a future together, I need to know you’re telling me everything.”
“I literally just told you that I’m a spy, Riley!”
“I know. And I know that Liam lied about almost everything.”
“Almost?” He eyed her, suddenly wary.
“Yeah, almost. Listen. I know there were no security cameras in the airport office, Jason told me.”
“Right. I told you, very low-tech. No way they bothered with security cameras!”
“Yes, well, even so….”
“Just spit it out,” he sat back and stared at her defiantly, “You think I killed Bastien, don’t you?”
“I’m pretty sure you did.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Remember when you made it to the hanger, and you told me that even though he was your godfather his first loyalty had always been to the crown?”
“I remember….”
“You spoke about him in the past tense, Drake! You said was, not is and that was before Liam told us he was dead!”
“Huh,” Drake’s jaw set, “Let me ask you a question….was there ever a funeral?”
“What?” she blinked in confusion.
“A funeral, you know, a body. Did anyone ever see a body? Was there any kind of memorial service? An obituary? Anything?”
“N…no…not that I saw….”
“So how do we know he’s even dead?”
“They locked you up for it!”
“And never scheduled a trial. As eager as Liam was to get rid of me, why didn’t he push for that? He’s king, he could have moved it to the top of the docket. I was never indicted, Riley. A trial was never scheduled. Where’s the body?”
Riley turned away from him slightly as she mulled that over. Her mind spun as she considered the very real possibility that she might never know for sure what had happened in that room.
But did it matter?
She turned back to stare into his eyes as her hands rested on her midriff. There was only one thing that mattered now.
Three hours later the sleek black speedboat pulled up next to a Voyager class cruise ship on its return trip to its home port: France.
A ladder was lowered from the deck by two French Naval officers who had boarded the ship earlier that day under the authority of the French government.
Riley, Drake, and the bags went up first. Jason stayed behind to drill a hole in the bottom of the boat before climbing up the ladder. They couldn’t risk an abandoned boat washing up on shore and tipping off the Cordonian authorities. Let them scour flights, trains, and highways.
The trio was escorted to the helipad where they, along with the two French officers climbed on board.
Two hours later they landed in Marseilles. Riley sat in a small, cramped waiting room while Drake and Jason were debriefed by French authorities.
She was dozing in a chair when they finally came out.
“Hey baby, wake up,” Drake said softly.
“Umm…sorry,” she mumbled as she pulled herself upright and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“Nothing to be sorry for,” he murmured as he stroked her hair, “If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be sitting in a Cordonian jail cell.”
“If it wasn’t for me, you’d never have been in one to start with.” She reminded him ruefully.
“It was worth it!”
“Really? Because you could have just let them deport me then come and found me in New York.”
“Hindsight,” he said, “Now come on, we’re staying in a French safe house tonight.”
“And tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow you get to meet Savannah!”
“Mmm, perfect,” she yawned as she stood and stretched. Tomorrow she would meet his sister. Tomorrow they would get new identities. Tomorrow she would tell him about the baby growing inside her.
His baby.
Tomorrow was the beginning of the rest of their lives.
