Page 63 of Meet Cute the Virgin

Killian leans closer. “The king didn’t want her raised royal.” I don’t believe that to be the reason. It was about more, about him in the end.

“He wanted her hidden.” I scroll down. Victor was supposed to hand her over seventy-two hours after retrieval. He went dark for three weeks, then resurfaced in Maryland with a daughter and a legit birth certificate. There had to be a person really fucking high up in the chain of people to work all those details out. There’s no way in hell he could’ve pulled that off alone.

“He kept her.”

“He chose her,” I say. “And then he reached out.”

Killian straightens. “To the king?”

“Off-books and encrypted. It was buried in diplomatic traffic.” He had to have had help, but it’s not surprising. The man had gone on to be the head of the FBI. I pull up the transmission logs, dated three weeks after the extraction. “Victor sent word. The package was secure. In a caring and loving home. Return was no longer an option.”

The study door suddenly opens. My Lily stands there in one of my shirts, hair mussed, her eyes still filled with sleep. They made it out of the vault finally. She blinks a few times.

“You’re both staring at screens,” she says. “Should I be worried about anything?”

I hit a button that turns all the screens black. “Come here.”

She crosses the room barefoot, and I pull her into my lap without thinking. Killian glances away, giving us privacy.

“Did you find something?” she asks, her head resting on my shoulder.

“I found why Victor kept you,” I say. “And why the king let him.”

She pulls in a deep breath, holding it. “And?”

I turn the screen on in front of us so she can see. “The king sent a response to Victor about you.” I highlight the decrypted text. “‘Keep her safe.’”

She stares at the screen, at her birth father’s words from beyond the grave. “So he didn’t want me back.” I can see a hint of disappointment and longing in her eyes.

“He wanted you alive,” I say defensively. I can’t fathom anyone not wanting Lily. It simply does not compute. “He knew the queen would never stop hunting if she thought you existed. It would be better if you were dead to the world, safe in Maryland, than a princess in the crosshairs.”

“So Victor kept me because the king let him.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” I gently correct. “Victor pretty much told him to fuck off. Which I don’t blame him for. Victor kept you because he loved you.” I kiss the shell of her ear. “And the king let him because he loved you too. Different ways. Different sacrifices.” I run my hand up and down her side, hating that I can’t change anything for her. That I can’t take this pain away. Lily must read my mind.

“I’m not upset about how this played out.” She gives me a soft smile. “I mean, I’m here. This is where I want to be. Besides, here I am a princess already.”

“That you are.” I let out a low chuckle. She’s never going to let any of us forget it.

“And now what?” she asks. “The queen knows I’m not dead. So now she’s gunning for me.”

“Someone had to fill her in on it,” I say. “Someone who knew the extraction happened but was not fully sure where you went.”

“We need to find who talked after all this time,” I say. “Someone just handed her proof you survived.”

Lily slides off my lap, standing straight, the sleep now gone from her eyes. “Then let’s find them first.” She straightens my shirt that’s swallowing her small frame, but her jaw is set with that stubborn determination.

Killian has already shifted over to another computer, pulling up personnel files, cross-referencing anyone with access to Victor’s old missions who might have talked. “I’ll start with the extraction team. See if anyone had financial irregularities, family pressure, or anything that could turn them.”

Lily’s mouth forms a perfect O.

“And I’ll trace the queen’s recent contacts.” I stand to stretch the tension from my shoulders. We’re far from done gathering intel, but there is now a more visible path. The more information we can uncover, the easier it will be for me to protect Lily and end the threat to her. “Someone fed her this.”

Lily nods. “You seem to have it handled.” She gives me a tentative smile, already moving toward the door. “I’m going to leave you all to it and go check on Teddy. She’s probably reorganized the vault by crown size or gemstone color by now.”

“Tell her I said good job,” Killian calls after her, not looking up from his screen.

Lily lingers in the doorway, hand on the frame, looking back at me. “Tristan?”