“When we first saw you at the lodge in Utah, we renewed those vows. We will die for you.” Maxim spoke with such fierce pride that it made her chest tight.
“And what if I want you to live for me instead?”
It was clear none of them had expected that.
“What if we called in some help and set the bait, like you planned?” She was no master tactician, but she had a few ideas.
Nicholas sent her a sympathetic look. “Elena, we can’t risk anyone else. You’re too important.”
“If I’m so important, then listen to me. I have people I can trust who can help. Let me call them. The more people you have helping you, then the less likely it is we’ll die right?”
“You won’t be here long enough for that, no matter what Dimitri is getting you out of here after we draw them in.” Nicholas tried to cut in gently but his words didn’t reassure her at all.
“You want me to hide?”
“Until it’s safe to go public, yes,” Maxim said.
“Your genes are an academic matter,” Leo added. “They are nothing without the story. It is the story the government fears and a story must go public. But you can’t go out there in front of a hundred cameras until we know we’ve gotten rid of the main threat and sent a message back to the Kremlin. Then it will be your turn.”
“My turn?”
Nicholas nodded. “You must become the true descendent of Anastasia—not just as a quirk of your DNA, but to see it as your blood right. The entire world must know you for who you are and accept it as fact.” The thought made her dizzy, and she clutched the robe between her fingers, wishing it were a suit of armor.
“The whole world,” she said, half to herself.
“It’s the only way we can make you untouchable.” Leo lifted his computer screen and showed it to her. There was a website that listed a United Nations event.
“We would start here. Announce your heritage to the world at this event. You would step in front of the cameras and become the most protected person on the planet.”
She couldn’t stop the shiver that came with that knowledge. It created an image in her mind of being everywhere, of being a true force in the world. The right person, with the world’s spotlight on them, could sometimes accomplish more than even politicians. She thought of the causes she could champion, the lives she could change . . . if she was brave enough to take that step.
“We just have to keep you alive long enough to get you to that dinner.” Maxim’s dry tone echoed with grim humor. “Should be easy.”
“So, tell me your plan,” Elena said.
They only had a brief amount of time to discuss things before Dimitri returned, and there was a lot to do if they were to pull this off and avoid as many casualties as possible. She didn’t want to think about losing even one of her new friends.
Royce stared at his phone; the screen faded to black after the call ended. He sat at the antique desk in one corner of his bedroom, feeling the weight of recent events in a way he’d never expected.
Kenzie watched him with open concern. “What is it?” She lounged on his bed, hair pulled up in a messy bun. She was tapping on her keyboard as she worked on a presentation for one of their classes. She was so damned adorable. But at that moment, his mind was on other things. Life-and-death things.
“That was Elena,” he said, still processing her words.
Kenzie abandoned her laptop and sat up, swinging her legs off the side of the bed to look at him. “My Elena?”
He got up from the desk and began to pace. “Yes . . .”
“Okay, you’re freaking me out. What’s with the pacing?”
“Elena said a bunch of Russian agents are in the US looking for her. They don’t know her location yet. We need to help draw them in, take them out if we have to, so that Elena has time to get to the United Nations.”
“The UN? Why?”
“She’s going to announce to the world who she truly is. They think she’ll be safe then with the media spotlight on her.”
Kenzie’s eyes widened. “That’s what the dress is for, isn’t it?”
Royce nodded. He hadn’t wanted to tell Kenzie the full plan. The less she knew the better, at least to keep her safe. But now they were all in this mess knee-deep.
“How bad is this, Royce?”
He let out a sigh and rubbed his temples. “Think every James Bond villain, but on steroids. What we faced with Vadym’s men is child’s play compared to what’s coming after Elena.”
Kenzie swallowed hard. He came over to her, cupping her face in his hands. She reached up and curled her fingers around his wrists, clinging to him.
“What do we need to do?” she asked.
“Me, not we. You aren’t getting anywhere near this.”
A protest formed on her lips, but he leaned down and silenced it with a kiss. He would never let her get near danger like that again. When he finally broke the kiss, she was hazy-eyed with desire. She blinked and her eyes narrowed.
“I hate it when you do that.”
He grinned. “Do what?”
“Make me forget about whatever you just said. I’m serious, Royce. I want to help.”
“I know, babe. But if you really want to help, then I need you to fly to New York. Get the dress finished and accept an important package mailed to Emery’s offices in Manhattan. Then contact every major news outlet and tease them with the story of the century that will be happening at the UN gala. The eyes of the world have to be on her or it won’t work.”
Kenzie was silent for a brief moment. “Fine. But if you get hurt, I will kill you.”
He held up his phone. “I’ll be all right. I’m calling
