“There was an incident last night as you know,” Jakob continued. “A group of men broke into the castle grounds. We believe they were sent by a criminal organization called the Ruecrags.”
Her brow furrowed. “The Ruecrags? The same ones that Bryn told me about? Her husband had the same issue with the group.”
“Close. Sven had to deal with the Skelvarns, who are basically the parent gang to the Ruecrags. They’ve been a thorn in my family’s side for years. Smuggling, extortion, blackmail. They operate in several provinces as renegades. Ruthless, organized, and very fond of making statements.”
Mallory swallowed. “Okay…”
Jakob stopped pacing and faced her directly. “What you don’t know is that after you went home the first time, the Ruecrags ramped up their game and the theft and crime exploded. We caught one of them who said the sudden surge was because their first plan had failed. This guy wasn’t much more than a boy, and he was low enough in their organization that he didn’t have many details. But what he did know pointed to you.”
“Me?”
He nodded. “They were going to kidnap you and ransom you so they could finance their little gang for a long time.”
“Who did they think was going to pay that much in ransom? My parents don’t have that kind of money.”
“I have no idea, but unfortunately, due to our, uh, connection, I believe they were planning on coming to me once they had you under wraps.”
“Would you have paid them?” Her question was nothing but a mere whisper.
He cleared his throat. “Let’s not get distracted. There’s more. Back to the break in last night. When we searched one of the intruders, we found a phone,” he said. “On it was a message.” He hesitated. “A message about you.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “What did it say?”
“She’s back in town. Find her.”
The room went even quieter than it had been. A log popped in the fireplace and sent up a faint puff of sparks.
Mallory stared at him, her face unreadable.
“So, once again, we believe they intend to kidnap you,” Jakob said bluntly. “To use you as leverage against me. Or to hold you for ransom.”
For a heartbeat she didn’t react at all. He briefly wondered if there was magic that would allow him to read her mind. His dragon had been quiet lately but Jakob hadn’t had time to figure out why.
Then she let out a shaky breath. “Kidnap me?”
“Yes.”
“But why me?”
“Originally, I’m not sure. But now, I believe it’s because you matter to me,” he said softly. “And they know it.”
Color crept into her cheeks.
“They’ve targeted people close to my family before,” Jakob continued. “Friends. Associates. Anyone they think they can use. That is the danger I tried to warn you about. But their original plan had nothing to do with me, it was before we even met, so it makes this whole situation even more confusing.”
Mallory looked down at her hands.
“So… last night,” she said slowly, “when you came to get me…”
“I was terrified,” Jakob admitted. “I thought they might already have you.”
Her throat moved as she swallowed again.
“I had no idea,” she whispered.
He waited for more. For questions. For fear. For outrage. Instead she simply nodded.
“Thank you for telling me,” she said.
