I’m starting to not care.
“Piper!” I yell. I see her, twenty feet away, getting pushed toward the studio exit by Elliot. For one white-hot second, I lose all the years of bodyguard training and just bull-rush the crowd, shoving, barking, doing whatever it takes to close the distance to my omega.
Not just my client. Not anymore.
She’s my omega.
And Elliot’s—and he has her.
I blink and scan the crowd for the prince I lost sight of. Does Elliot have them both?
My heart sinks as I find Kellen twenty feet away posing for selfies with superfans that have him basically pushed back against a wall. I force my way through the few people between he and I.
“Enough,” I growl and draw my weapon. I won’t fire. Not here. But this crowd needs to disperse.
Kellen meets my gaze with gratitude brightly shining in his eyes. I put myself between Kellen and the crowd and bark at them again. “Get back.”
Elliot’s voice is in my earpiece. “North exit. Go now.”
Kellen shifts behind me in the direction of the exit. Elliot’s trained him well. I move with him as the crowd finally listens. We manage to make it to the emergency exit within a few seconds. Just before we disappear through the door, I meet Raelynn’s gaze over the crowd. A question hangs there in her wide-eyed gaze:Is Piper okay?
I nod an affirmative. She better fucking be. Because if Elliot let fans hurt her, I’ll kill him.
Kellen exists through the door. I follow and shut it behind us. Piper stands only a few feet away. Her lips are parted but relief floods her eyes when she sees me.
My chest uncoils just a little bit seeing her. Danger is still here. But Elliot pulled through, and for that I’ll be ever indebted to him.
Elliot appears with a heavy old shipping pallet that must have been laying around out here. The shoulders of his tailored suit bulge as he moves it in front of the door to bar it from the outside.
Elliot grunts as he steps back. “We need to go.”
I point to the SUV I drove Piper here in. “Car’s right there.” It’s not a bullet proof royal limousine, but it works just fine.
I push Kellen gently toward the SUV. Elliot does the same with Piper, guiding them toward safety. Elliot sits up front with me and our charges fall into the backseats. In under a minute, we’re loaded up and driving away from Reverie Rest heading back to the palace.
“What thefuck?” Piper exclaims.
Kellen rubs the back of his neck. “I think they were just excited. They wanted photos and to?—”
I watch through the rearview mirror as Piper shakes her head.
“No,” she says. “Never assume there’s no ill intent. Don’t they teach you that?”
“We do,” Elliot answers for Kellen. “But I agree with Kellen’s assessment of the crowd, despite their numbers.”
“And aggressiveness,” I comment. “Pushing into the studio was a step too far. How’d they even know you’d be coming here?”
Kellen and Elliot exchange a glance. Kellen was expected, but only the four of us, the queen, and Raelynn knew.
No one has a real answer. Everyone who knew has a vested interest in keeping Kellen and Piper safe, and continuing this PR stunt.
Which means someone else is at play, and the danger is still very real.
After everything, the manor is silent.
I spend a full half hour prowling the second floor checking windows and security cams, resisting the urge to run a perimeter sweep every five minutes. Elliot is off-shift, presumably asleep, or plugged into some military-grade comms system in his room, but I doubt he’s any less on edge than I am.
I lost Piper today. And I cannot stop hating myself for it.
