“Am I? Because if they’re coming after me, they could go after them too. Roman is a better target.”
“I’ll get Sparrow on it. She’ll contact their people, and we’ll figure it out. You and your family will be safe.” I just hoped to hell I wasn’t lying like I had the last time.
That scream echoed in my mind again, and I cursed myself.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” London said.
“But it is, and we can’t stay here for long. There are people after you, and if they knew where to try and run you off the road, then they’re watching you. They might have access to cameras and surveillance, so this is just going to be a temporary stop. We’re going to need to get you to someplace safer.”
“Okay,” she said before rolling her shoulders back and looking like the fierce princess I had met the night before. “As long as my brothers are safe, that’s all that matters. I’ll listen to you. Still, Rian has a safe place for me to go. If there’s someone actually after me.”
“Bullets, London. And we’ll see about you going to this Rian’s.”
“I heard you the first time. I’ll go along with this because not doing so would make me an idiot. However, I’m not just going to kneel and do everything you say.”
Visions of her kneeling filled my head this time, but I did a better job of hiding my reaction. “You’re going to listen, princess. Because I’m the one who’s going to keep you alive.”
“I’ll listen to you because I’m not stupid. But you don’t have to act like an asshole.”
“Baby, I’m always an asshole.” And then I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, needing some air.
Somehow, I was her protector. I was the one who was going to have to keep her alive.
I just had to get her off my fucking mind first.
Chapter 7 London
I thought a bed was for resting.
I’d been in here too long.
But the scalding-hot water had felt like such a reprieve after the call from hell. I wasn’t sure what I expected from Roman. I honestly should have known. He loved me; I knew that. Deep down, deep inside, when I looked really hard, I could see it, but damn, he really thought he was my father and not my brother.
One advantage of the shower was that it washed away the tears and I didn’t have to crumble in front of Kannon. He already made me feel unsettled and my skin far too itchy. I wasn’t going to add tears to the mix.
To make it all worse, I’d sneakily checked my emails. I knew what Kannon had said. I knew that prolonged usage of the phone and checking email could let someone know where I was. But I needed to check in with work.
Before I left home, I’d emailed my boss Brianne and let her know I had to pass on Brazil due to travel plans.
Travel plans, right. I was an adult. No way in hell could I say, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry I can’t take this huge step in my career because my brother forbids it.’ I couldn’t say everyone admired my talents just as long as I anonymously submitted for galleries and didn’t put my name on any of it. I couldn’t very well say that my brothers supported my ‘hobby’ as Roman called it but balked at me having a real job that didn’t involve twiddling my thumbs.
No. I couldn’t say any of that, so I’d said none of those things. Only that she should keep me in mind if she had anything near Paris in the next week. And low and behold, she’d emailed me back that some kids in the city of éité, right outside of Paris were using art as environmental protest.
It was a risk, yes. But lucky for me, I had a whole new team of bodyguards. After all, I’d done that dozens of times, gone on assignment with hulking goons surrounding me. It wouldn’t be any different now.
Except someone shot at you.
Despite the steamy heat, a shiver ran up my spine. There could be danger, but that’s what Kannon and his team were there for. I didn’t want to add to the risk of their jobs, but I’d listen to all protocols, and we were heading out anyway.
And I really, really needed to feel like me, even if only for five minutes with my camera. Not the me my aunt told me to be. Not the me my brothers demanded I be, but the real me.
All I wanted was to be free, to find a purpose that wasn’t wearing a crown and cutting ribbons. You’ve found it.
Except to Roman and Aunt Rebecca, it wasn’t suitable. But I knew there had to be some kind of middle ground. I’d seen other royals achieve it. I just had to figure out my way.
I’d put my life into my charities and to helping others, but at the same time, it wasn’t enough. Nobody saw past the tiara.
And now I was in the position of securing a royal line for my country. What complete and utter bullshit. What I wanted to know was why no one was rushing to pull out the mail order brides for Breck or Wilder. Women fell over them constantly. Surely one of them could have impregnated someone. Hell, knowing Breck, he probably already had.
I turned off the water and slicked my hair back. Kannon had mentioned that we might be heading out after I took a shower, and I was trying to focus. I couldn’t quite believe that this was what was happening in my life. I’d dealt with threats before. I’d had to deal with security since the time I could crawl. No, long before that, when I was an infant, safely tucked into my mother’s arms with security on either side of
