A Royal Engagement: The Young Royals Book 1 (32 page)

The was a loud smash and I jumped and then screamed as everything went dark.

"Alyssa," Jordan's sing-song voice sent chills up my spine, "Princess Alyssabeth, come out, come out wherever you are."

I held my breath. Jordan's terrorising had come to an abrupt end with the loss of the light.
 
It was deadly quiet and I had to suppress a shiver.
 
I was night blind from the brightness of the cabin and I squinted my eyes closed hoping to get my pupils to expand as quickly as possible.
 
I was tied hand and foot, I needed every advantage I could get.

"Alyssa," he called again in the dark, his voice not as cheerful as it had been.

I heard his shuffling feet come closer to the kitchen and I tried to shrink down to as small a target as possible.
 
My heart pounded in my ears and I was sure he would be able to hear it.
 
I kept my breaths even, I didn't want to give my position away with a badly timed noise.
 
I had my back to the cupboard doors, my knees pulled up in front of me and my arms wrapped around my legs.
 
If he was going to hit me with the poker, my legs would bear the brunt of it and I could tuck my head under my arms to give me some form of protection.

I knew I wouldn't last long if he found me, but I couldn't risk trying to move either.
 
I didn't know where he was in the cabin and I couldn't move fast.
 
I needed a miracle.

The scraping of a chair along the floor and a muttered curse alerted me to his position.
 
He was just on the other side of the counter at the dining table where I had been previously sitting.
 
There was only one exit out of the kitchen and it was right past Jordan.

The cabin had a wooden door in the front, which was on the opposite side to where the kitchen was, through the small lounge area.
 
The dining room had a glass sliding door that led out onto a small wooden deck and overlooked the lake.
 
The cabins were surrounded by dense forrest and were hidden from the main thoroughfare by a long, wooded drive.
 
There was no way anyone could accidentally stumble upon us and no one would know to come here looking for me.
 
There was no escape.

"Princess," Jordan's voice had taken on a hard edge. "Where are you?"

I didn't answer, I didn't know if I could even if I wanted to.

The cacophony of splintering wood and broken china started up again and I could only imagine that Jordan had started swinging the poker around again in his frustration.
 
I opened my eyes and was glad to see that I could make out shapes in the gloom.
 
I had no idea what time it was or how long it would be until sunrise.
 
I didn't even know why making it to sunrise was important, my situation wouldn't be any more improved by having sunlight.

There was a loud shattering and the sprinkle of glass as it fell to the hard floor.
 
I jumped with the sound and my head hit the cupboard door hard.
 
I yelped with the pain and silence descended like a fog.
 
He'd heard me.

I held back the whimpers that threatened to escape from my throat and tried to change my position as quietly as I could, shifting along the cupboards, heading for the other corner.
 
I saw his silhouette as he walked towards the kitchen, the glass cracking under his footsteps.
 
He held the poker up over his head like a baseball bat, ready to strike.
 
He felt his way around the counter and stopped in the gap, blocking my only escape.
 
I was huddled in a dark corner, but just like me, he was getting his night vision and it wouldn't be long before he would be able to make out my shape in the darkness.

His eyes scanned the small square area, starting in the corner I had previously been huddled in.
 
Maybe if I kept still long enough, his gaze would sweep past me without seeing me.
 
I prayed that I was invisible, I begged God to please get me out of this situation.
 
And then his eyes stopped, right on me.

"Alyssa, darling," he said taking a step towards me, "Why didn't you answer me?"
 
he raised the poker higher and I dropped my head and covered it with my arms waiting for the first blow.

Noise behind him made him turn and a bright light clicked on.

"Freeze!"

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jordan looked startled for a moment and then he stepped forward and swung the poker at me. I ducked my head and heard the rapport of a firearm and then felt the glancing blow of the poker across my forearms.
 
A dull thud followed and then the pounding of feet and voices yelling to one another.
 
I stayed curled up in a ball, not yet ready to face the reality of the situation.

I felt a hand on my arm and smelled the familiar scent of the one person who had been a constant in my life.

"It's okay Lys," Meredith whispered to me, "You're safe.
 
It's over.
 
We've got you."

I began to shake with the acknowledgement of the trauma I'd just been through.
 

"Are you hurt?" she asked, her hands skating over me looking for injury, "Do you hurt anywhere?"

"Just my head," I mumbled.

Meredith checked the spot on the back of my head where Jordan had hit me and swore lightly before giving a report to someone standing behind her.
 
Then she gathered me close to her, the harsh nylon of her kevlar vest scratching my face.
 
I tried to wrap my arms around her and realised I was still tied up. I sobbed/laughed and held up my wrists to her.
 
She smiled down at me and produced a wicked looking knife from a scabbard on her thigh and sliced through the bindings.
 
I threw my arms around her as soon as I could and pulled her close.

I heard the noise going on around me.
 
The commands from Benjamin, the moaning from Jordan as they secured him.
 
He wasn't dead, but he had been shot.
 
I listened to the rest of the team stomping through the cabin, systematically checking each room and opening every closed door.
 
All the while I stayed buried in Meredith's shoulder, trying to stop myself from falling apart completely.

"Okay Lys,"
 
Meredith said, "It's time to move.
 
Can you stand?"

I nodded and gathered my legs under me.
 
She helped me stand and when I was secure on my feet, I looked up.
 
There were torches to light up the darkness and I was surrounded by my security team, all kitted out in their kevlar vests and armed to the teeth.
 
Their faces were drawn, more serious than I had ever seen them, except for the day they had stormed my lecture theatre.
 
Jordan sat on the ground, his back up against the kitchen cupboards, his hands cuffed behind his back and his shoulder bleeding profusely.
 
His face was a grimace of pain and as I looked at him, I felt nothing.

Meredith herded me out of the small cabin and into a waiting SUV.
 
She climbed in behind me and leant forward to instruct the driver.
 
I settled back into the leather seat and closed my eyes, allowing myself to feel safe.
 
The car started to move and I had to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

"How did you find me?" I asked wearily.

She tapped something on my wrist.
 
The bracelet she had given me for my birthday.

"It has a tracking device in it," she said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's okay," I said.
 
If it had been any other day, any other circumstance, then I probably would have been angry, but how could I be when it saved my life?
 
"What happens now?"

She blew out a breath and slumped back into the seat beside me.

"Benjamin had time to have a quick look at the flash drive.
 
From what I saw inside, it's an expanded version of the dossier.
 
It has far reaching implications and there is going to be a lot to sort through."

She was holding something back and I thought I knew what it was.

"Jordan killed Jacob," I said, a statement not a question.

She took a moment before answering.
 
"We think it was the General's plan and Jordan was the one to execute it.
 
There are a lot of inconsistencies in the police investigation, so we're pretty sure that if the Police Chief wasn't in on it, then he was coerced to cover it up.

"But why?" I asked the one question that had been plaguing me through the whole thing, "What did they have to gain?"

"Power.
 
Money.
 
They figured that if they could block your ascension by requiring you to be married, you would jump at the chance to marry Jordan.
 
He would then have become the Head of State and his father's puppet.
 
Not to mention the Royal treasury would clear both of their debts.

Money and power.
 
The two things that had the potential to corrupt otherwise good men.

When Meredith nudged me, I realised I had fallen asleep.
 
I opened my eyes blearily to see that we had arrived back at the palace.
 
The old stone building blazed with light and the front stairs were a mass of people.
 
Police cars with their strobe lights lit the scene like a disco, flashes from cameras punctuated the early morning as reporters jostled for position behind roped off lines.
 
My head started to throb.

"God, do I have to go out there?" I whined.

"Uh, there's something I didn't tell you," Meredith said uncertainly.

I turned to look at her and she swallowed before looking down at her lap.

"Jordan leaked a story to the papers that you were eloping with him."

"WHAT!"

"Yeah, and, um, we're pretty sure he was the source of all the other leaks too."

"Son of a..." I shut my mouth and breathed hard through my nose.
 
I counted to ten in my head and closed my eyes briefly.
 
"Okay," I said calmly when I opened my eyes.
 
"They need to see me a little battered and bruised so that it will completely dispel the rumours.
 
I assume we'll have a briefing and then a press conference?"

Meredith nodded as the car door was opened.
 
She climbed out first and I took a breath before sliding out after her.
 
I ignored the rise of voices as the saw me, lifting my hand and smiling tightly.
 
I moved quickly, keeping close to Meredith as I was surrounded by more security and hustled into the Palace.

The noise dimmed as the large doors closed behind me and I took another deep breath.
 
There were a lot of people waiting in the entry way for me; my staff, my Ladies in Waiting, and they all wanted reassurance that I was alive and unharmed.

I hugged and greeted and made soothing noises, ensuring everybody knew I was okay.
 
What I really wanted to do was have a scolding hot shower and then crawl into bed, but bed, at least, would have to wait.

"The doctor is waiting for you in your room," Meredith whispered to me, steering me away from the crowd.
 
"He wants to check out that bump on your head.
 
Your maids are waiting to help you shower and then Benjamin will be waiting in the conference room for you for a debrief."

"Great," I whispered back, "Please get me out of here."

She gripped my elbow and started to barge unceremoniously through the crowd.
 
I let her guide me, following in her wake as she shouldered past people.

"Lys!"

I stopped, his voice arresting me.
 
I turned and searched the crowd before my eyes landed on him.
 
As soon as our eyes connected, he started making his way towards me.
 
The crowd seemed to part around him, letting him through and I couldn't tear my eyes from his.
 
And then he was there in front of me.
 
Will.

I fell into his arms and he drew me close.
 
I buried my nose in his coat, the smell of sandalwood enveloping me and making me feel safe.
 
I gripped his lapels and felt his head dip to kiss my hair.

"Thank God you're okay," he murmured, "I don't think I could have survived losing you too."
 
His arms tightened around me and I relished the feeling of him surrounding me.

Meredith tugged on the back of my shirt, "Come on, Lys."

"He's coming with me," I said grabbing his hand and pulling him through the crowd.