“Of course I am.” I hold her cheeks and look into her eyes. “Do you think I’d ever let anything keep me from you?”
“I thought you died with my dad.” She sniffs, and my brow furrows.
“Who told you your da—” My words are cut off by the sound of a gun cocking behind me.
When I turn around, I see the guard has his weapon trained on me, right in the middle of my chest.
“Marco, no!” Sienna pleads from behind me. But I’m so big, I cover her completely.
“You think you can come into my castle and take her?” Marco shakes his head as he tries to smile. “The king is dead, and she’s mine.”
This man trying to make a claim on the woman I love will not be tolerated. He’ll die for uttering those words, and I’ll do it with my bare hands if I have to.
I take a step forward, ready to feel a bullet hit me, when out of the corner of my eye I see movement.
“She’ll be a useful toy to sit at my feet while I’m the one that rules,” he hisses.
“Never,” I seethe, and then the gun goes off.
Sienna screams, but I don’t feel any pain as I look down and see I’m unharmed. I turn around and she reaches for me, checking me over to see where the bullet hit.
“He missed?” she asks in disbelief.
We both look back to see Marco in a pile on the floor with a bullet between his eyes. Then out of the corner of my eye, I see a woman step into view holding a gun.
“Margaret!” Sienna shouts and rushes to her. The older woman holds her steady as she looks at me.
“Is this him?” she asks, and Sienna glances between us and then nods.
“Get her to safety,” Margaret says as she looks out the window. “I don’t know how much time you have.”
“No, we can’t leave you,” Sienna says, pulling her hand.
“There’s no time, child,” Margaret says.
“Sienna.” I draw her attention back to me and nod. “She’s right, we need to get out of here before the rest of the guards or your father’s enemies find out what’s happened.” She swallows hard but then nods. “Your dad told me there’s a safe here and only you know about it.”
“Yeah, but he never told me the code.” Her face falls as she thinks it over. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
I walk over to her and pick up the locket around her neck. Gently, I open it and pull the picture back.
“Kai, what are you doing, stop!” She tries to take it out of my hand, but then she notices the numbers engraved into the gold. “Oh my god.”
“He told me where to find the code,” I say, and she looks up at me with wide eyes. “Hurry.”
She takes my hand, and together we go into her bathroom. There’s a large, glass-encased shower in the corner. She grabs a small statue next to the tub and walks into the shower with it. When I look at her in confusion, she points to the wall.
“It’s here,” she says as she rears back and then brings the statue down onto the tiles. The porcelain shatters, and behind it is a black box with a keypad on the front.
“Holy shit,” I say as she looks at the code and then smiles.
“It’s their anniversary.” Tears threaten to spill, but she takes a deep breath and enters the numbers.
My brave beauty is being so fucking strong right now, and all I want to do is get her to safety. I’m close behind her as she opens the safe and pulls out the small black canvas bag inside.
“This is it,” she says, and I take her hand.
“Let’s go.”
When we exit the bathroom, Margaret is there waiting with a duffel bag and pet carrier in her hand.
“It’s the best I could do,” she says, and Sienna throws herself in Margaret’s arms and I take the stuff. Inside the carrier, a little orange kitten meows quietly, and I hold the crate under my arm to keep it safe.
“Go, there’s no time,” Margaret says, and they whisper words of love to each other.
Margaret goes out of Sienna’s bedroom, and I take her hand. “This way,” I say, taking her back to the balcony.
“How am I supposed to climb down?” She looks over the edge, and I can see the terror in her eyes.
“You’re not climbing, I am,” I say, picking her up and carrying her on my back over the edge.
The kitten meows but doesn’t seem too bothered once Sienna talks to him. Once we’re on the ground, I keep her on my back as I crouch down and through the bushes. Leo told me the route to take to go undetected and where to exit the property.
It’s a long way to the edge of the estate, but with adrenaline and the overwhelming need to protect her pumping in my veins, I make it in no time.
Once we’re to the wall, I scale it the same way I got in and wait for the patrol light to pass us. Sienna has a death grip around my neck, but I don’t care. That lets me know she’s alive and safe, and that’s all that matters.
Up ahead I see the signal and then I’m running through the grass. My lungs burn from the run, and it feels like there are wolves nipping at my heels. The rear car door opens, and I leap inside a second before it takes off. Sienna and I fall across the back seat, and I breathe for the first time in what feels like hours.
Sienna sits up on the seat and pushes her long hair out of her face. “Sugar,” Leo says when her eyes land on him, and then she launches herself into his arms.
“Dad!” she cries, and I look up in the rearview mirror at Sam, who nods at me.
“We did it,” I pant and close my eyes in relief.
Chapter Thirteen
Sienna
One week later…
Standing in front of the mirror, I hold my locket between my two fingers. I take a moment to remember my mom, and my eyes water knowing she would have loved to be here today. It’s days like this that I miss her most of all. What girl doesn't want their mom beside them on their wedding day?
“You're breathtaking, honey,” Margaret says as she comes to stand behind me. “You look so much like your mother.” I blink rapidly, trying not to cry and ruin the makeup Margaret put on me. I turn around to face her.
“Thank you for being here. You’ve really been an amazing stand-in mom for me over the years.” I lose the battle, a few tears escaping.
“Oh honey.” She pulls me in for a hug. “You're the daughter I never had and one day soon I’m sure you’ll make me a grandma.”
“Yes.” I nod. I love the idea of our kids calling her "Grandma.”
“Now, let's get you cleaned up.” Margaret grabs a tissue and pats my cheeks with it to stop my makeup from running.
“My turn?” Dad asks, stepping into the room.
“I just got her to stop crying,” Margaret teases with a smile on her lips.
“The last thing I ever want to do is make my daughter cry.” He walks over toward me as Margaret slips out of the room, leaving us alone. It’s still hard for me to believe my dad’s here in front of me. My Kai gave me that, and he saved us all.
“I see so much of your mother in you.” He leans in and places a kiss on my cheek. “I know she would have given her blessing to this wedding. Love always won out for her.”