Page 19 of Paradise Ties

“Okay, get me shrimp salad and a side of onion rings. Oh, and maybe some fries.”

Jace smiled at her. “Anything else?”

Lucy grinned back. “Nah, that’s it.” Jace nodded and kissed her lightly before he walked away.

“Jace, wait up, I need to ask you something,” Will called as he rose and jogged after Jace and Jack. Drew stood as well and headed over to talk to Mara and her friends.

Lucy sat down beside Aubrey and Celeste. “I need to talk you about the flowers,” Lucy said and saw Zin roll his eyes before standing.

“I’m going to grab a drink from the bar. You want anything, Pixie?” he asked Celeste, cupping her cheek. The love in his harsh face was enough to make Lucy melt.

“A strawberry daiquiri would be nice.”

“Only for you would I order such a froufrou drink.”

Celeste smiled at his retreating back. “I think you scared them all off with more wedding talk.”

“Who knew men could be so scared of a little wedding talk?”

“So, what did you want to talk to us about?”

“The flowers—”

“Are handled. Everything is being delivered to the hotel at eight o’clock. I’ll meet them and Aubrey and I’ll make sure they’re held in the cold store until twenty minutes before the ceremony, so they’ll stay fresh.” Celeste smiled when she finished.

Lucy laughed. “Well, okay then.” She knew she’d been somewhat of a bridezilla, but it was important to her that nothing spoiled this day.

“Hey, is that Princess Taamira al-Kamali?” Aubrey asked, nodding her head at a woman on the other side of the pool heading towards the luxury day beds. The guard following her was paying more attention to the women in the pool than the one he was guarding.

“Yes, it is,” Lucy said slowly as she watched two other guards move in behind the Princess.

The air around the pool seemed to freeze as the hair on the back of Lucy’s neck rose. Her mind processed several things at once—the five men from the airport stood in different positions around the pool area and pulled out automatic weapons, and four men dressed as staff members did the same. A spray of bullets hit the pool area as screams filled the air. Lucy’s eyes found Jace, who looked at her with horror and fear etched on his face. The movement of his lips was silent but Jace’s voice screaming her name in her head was not.

Chapter 9

“Get down!” Jace yelled and everyone dropped to the floor, he and his friends included. The gunfire stopped but the screams were loud and terrifying. Hands over his head, he looked at Lucy, his eyes running desperately over her as he tried to see if she was okay. His heart stuttered in his chest and then beat once more as he found nothing to suggest she was injured. He turned his gaze to Aubrey and Celeste and let a sigh of relief shudder through him at finding them safe.

Raising his head and turning slightly, he looked for Jack, who was on the ground beside Will. Zin was a few feet away, his eyes not leaving Celeste and the fury in them promising retribution. Drew was down beside Mara, his hand on her head and his body half-covering hers. He looked over at the tennis courts where he’d last seen Liam, Smithy, and Astrid and couldn’t see them anywhere. Jace hoped they were safe and could raise the alarm. The silence of the pool terrace was littered with the sounds of crying and fear.

A large man with dark hair, thick muscles, and a scar running down his face from the brow to the edge of his chin began to speak. “Do as we say, and you will not be hurt. My men will come around and collect all phones and media devices. Do not disobey me or you will die.”

The warning was clear and Jace had zero doubt in his mind he meant every word. Unfortunately, none of the men wore masks and their identities would be easy to find. Which all added up to the fact that these men had no intention of letting any of them leave there alive.

The men began to move the people around the pool into the bar area, zip-tying their wrists and making them sit against the wall. Drew stuck with Mara and her friend, putting his body between them and the gunman as best he could.

“Up,” a pale man said, Eastern European if he wasn’t mistaken, motioning for him, Jack, Will, Zin, and two other men at the bar to stand.

Jace rounded his shoulders, making himself look small, and watched as Jack, Will, and Zin did the same. It wasn’t easy for Jace to appear weak and non-threatening when every pore in his body demanded vengeance for daring to hold a gun to Lucy, but his training prevailed.

They were shuffled to the same wall as the others but to the other end, away from the women they so desperately wanted to protect. The zip-tie didn’t bother him, he knew he could get out quickly if he needed to.

Jace watched in silence as two of the men walked around with a bucket, shoving their automatic weapons in people’s faces and laughing as they screamed and dropped in their phones. He saw Lucy tip her phone in but not her watch. She was calm and collected but was giving nothing of her training away, bowing her head in a submissive, scared manner.

He glanced at Jack, who was watching the corner of the bar. Jace followed his line of sight and saw two of the men were leading Princess Taamira into the centre of the room. She, it seemed, was the target.

The sounds of distant sirens didn’t seem to deter the men, which meant there were safeguards in place that allowed them to feel the threat of police storming inside was minimal.

“Jace?”