Dieter sat beside her. “What can I do to help?”
She sucked in a shuddering breath and whispered, “I would like a small gun.”
The train coasted under their feet, nudging them back in the chairs as it accelerated. “I don’t like my principals to be armed. If there is an attack at some point, I don’t want you to become a target because you’re returning fire. I can rescue a live hostage.”
“It’s not for that.”
“Then what?”
She buried her face in her knees again, and her legs muffled her whisper. “What if Pierre finds us? What if he does something to you and then takes me to Monaco?”
“And you’ll—what? Shoot it out with his highly trained Secret Service agents?”
Flicka tucked her head between her knees and whispered, “No.”
“Then why would you—” Horror formed in Dieter’s head.“Oh.”
She nodded.
“No,”he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion. He wrapped his arms around her slim form, sheltering her from that terrible end. His fingers found her delicate jawline and silky hair.“Don’tdo that. Don’t eventhinkabout that. If anything happens, if we get separated,you stay alive.”
She shook her head.
“Yes,you will. If he gets you, I’ll be theresoonto take you out. It may take a few days to put together the operation,but I will.I’ll move Heaven and Earth, and I’ll swoop down out of the sky and take you out of there.You stay aliveand wait for me.”
“What if youcan’t?”she asked. “What it he—then, what? Then I’m locked up there forever, breeding heirs for him.” She shuddered in his arms. “Which means that he’ll rape me until I’m pregnant over and over again, until I die.”
“I’ve already set up a dead-man switch,” Dieter said. He’d hoped he wouldn’t have to mention this. “This morning, I wrote a series of emails. If I don’t sign into a certain account for two days running, emails will go out to my Rogue Security captains, and they will know exactly what has been happening.You will not be abandoned.”His intense whisper hissed with his promise. “If something happens to me, the whole operation continues exactly as planned, except that Magnus Jensen will be the one leading you out. He was our driver today. He’ll take you to Wulfram, and you’ll be safe with him. Understand?”
Flicka laid her head on his shoulder, and her satiny cheek brushed his. “The Prince’s Palace is a medieval fortress. You can’t just barge in and haul someone out.”
“It was built during medieval times, the Dark Ages. What year was it?”
“In 1191, and it’s been standing ever since. It’s a fortress. It’s a stronghold. No one can get in there.”
“It’s amedievalfortress, built during themedievalera to withstandmedievalweapons and tactics. It can withstand horse-mounted swordsmen. It was built seven hundred years before Carl von Clausewitz wroteOn War.It was built before helicopters, paratroopers, shaped charges, automatic weapons, flash-bang grenades, tear gas, or night-vision goggles. I can get in there and take you out in five minutes, but it might take a few days of operational planning.”
“I’m scared,” she said, huddling closer to his chest. Her head was bowed and tucked under his chin.”
“Our first priority is to keep him away from you. We’re going to Paris to consult with the prenup lawyer to figure out the most expedient way to divorce him or annul this marriage. It might be that simple, you know? Wulfram is a devious man. He might have an annulment agreement in there. If we can trigger it, all of this will go away. If Pierre tries to take you, it’s kidnapping. His royal immunity won’t matter because your brother has enough connections tomakepeople care. While I’ve been standing at his back, I’ve heard several heads of state nervously ask him not to lose their number.”
Flicka nodded, the silk of her skin sliding over his palm.
Dieter lifted her jaw to look into her eyes. Tears lined her lower lids, and the green of her eyes glowed more brilliant. “And you’re a celebrity in your own right. You don’t have to protect Pierre Grimaldi’s reputation. If you vanish, people will ask where you are. Social media is the law, these days. If you have WiFi access for a few seconds, tweet or post that you’ve been kidnapped. Don’t be vague. Tell the world you’re a prisoner. Add some searchable hashtags. Burn him to the ground.”
Flicka blinked her elven eyes, and he could see the gears turning in her head. She looked less frozen already.Good.
Her arms slid up his shoulders and encircled his neck.
He said, “I will come for you. Even if I’m dead, the Rogue Security machine will take over, and we will get you out.Stay alive.”
She nodded, and her eyes looked less desperate.
The horror of Flicka threatening suicide faded, leaving Dieter with the realization that he was holding her tightly against his chest, his arms wrapped around her. Her arms clutched his neck, and her soft lips were very near his.
Flicka looked back and forth between his eyes.
He didn’t move.
