Page 70 of Under Arthur’s Protection

“Gwen?” I said, loud enough to drown out the voices in my head. My voice. My father’s voice. “Did he hurt you?”

Gwen was breathing too quickly. She was going to pass out if this kept up much longer.

I barely slowed for the next corner. No one was behind us, but I couldn’t get out of this city fast enough. “I need you to talk to me.”

She sniffled and sucked in a breath, then slid her hands down. “About what?”

“Anything.”

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere safe.” But where?

Chapter 23

Arthur

“The hotel’s safe,” she whispered. “Right?”

Probably not. If they’d been ready for us at the archive, they might come for us at the hotel. I needed to make calls, but my right hand throbbed every time I moved my fingers, and my left was busy with the steering wheel. Gritting my teeth, I pulled my phone from my pocket with my injured hand, unlocked it, and held it out to Gwen. “Call Lance.”

“You didn’t answer me.”

“He’s in my contacts. Put it on speaker.”

She took the phone. She held it long enough for the screen to lock.

One more fast turn. Which Arthur Penn was going to get through to her? Barking orders hadn’t worked in the parking lot, and it wasn’t working now. The quiet voice from inside the archive worked. “Please, Gwen? I need you to dial Lance for me.”

She nodded quickly and held the phone up to my face to get past the lock screen. She found Lance’s number and made the call.

It rang once, twice, three times. Where was he? He’d better not be in bed with the fucking translator while I was dealing with this.

He picked up on the fifth ring. “What’s up?”

I leaned toward the phone, keeping my eyes on the road. “We were attacked at the⁠—”

“Attacked?”

“Yes. At the archive. Three men came after us when we left.”

“Is Gwen okay?”

Gwen sucked her lips in and blinked rapidly. The tears were about to fall again.

“She’s fine. We both are,” I lied. “But you need to get out of the archive right now. Call the crew, get airborne.”

“Got it.” He became muffled, making apologies to whoever was in the room with him. “Where am I going?”

“I don’t know. Not England. Not France. Have the pilot make the call.”

“That’s not a plan, Arthur.”

“It’s what I’ve got.” The road curved, and I took it too fast, forcing Gwen to brace against the door. “Until we figure out who they were or why they came after us, I don’t want you in either country.”

“And what about you two?”

“I’ll handle it. Just get in the air.”