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“You can’t help anyone if you’re dead,” West snapped. “I need to get you to safety first.”
“What about Ming Tao? Do you know where my brother is?”
“Yes, Charlie and Ed are with your brother and a team of palace guards. They’ve got him in a vehicle, but they are taking a long route to the palace. Crowds have too many of the main roads blocked.”
“Thank God.” Jin sighed. He rested his head against the brick wall and closed his eyes. His legs felt like they were about to give out with this bit of good news. At least his brother was safe. It was likely that reports of the chaos had reached their father. Either he or Shen Xiao Dan had stepped in to take momentary control or Ming Tao would step up the moment he was in a secure location. He could focus on getting somewhere safe with West and then getting word to the rest of his security team on where to find him.
“Okay. Kairo has an idea of how to get us through the crowds to a pickup. Alexei and Gabriel are on the move to intercept us. I—” West stopped talking. Jin’s eyes popped open to find his lover standing with his back to him, his body almost completely blocking him from view as he pointed his gun at the alley opening.
It was only then that he registered heavy footsteps running toward them. A couple of seconds later, a large man in a military uniform appeared.
“West, wait!” Jin shouted, grabbing his shoulder. “That’s Defense Minister Zhan Bo Wen! It’s okay!”
“Are you sure?” West snarled.
Zhan Bo Wen held up his hands. “Dianxia! I’ve been searching everywhere for you! We have a small safe zone set up for you until we can get you to the palace. You must come with me.”
“Dianxia?” West whispered, his voice desperate as he continued to hold the gun on the man.
“It’s okay. He’s been my father’s stoutest supporter for years. He wouldn’t do anything to harm Gaoxing.” Just as he pushed off the wall to approach the defense minister, West threw out his free hand, holding Jin back.
“Where is this safe zone?” West demanded.
“There’s an empty store two blocks from here. We’ve commandeered it while we wait to get a vehicle through the crowd for a pickup.”
“A store two blocks from here has enough guards to help protect Dianxia?” West repeated, and Jin guessed he was doing it for Kairo and the rest of the team’s benefit over the earpieces.
“The crown prince will be safe there,” the minister replied, his tone stiff.
Jin clenched his teeth, waiting for his lover to make the call. He wanted to force his hand, but West was in charge of his safety, and he was the only one of them tapped into anything that resembled a source of information.
“Fine. Let’s go. Now,” West bit out.
West only partially lowered his gun as he reached back with his free hand and captured Jin’s wrist again. His lover felt more like a feral animal protecting his mate than a sensible human. It made Jin’s heart ache, and he longed to wrap his body around him, reassuring him they were going to be okay.
But there was no time for that. The best reassurance for West would be to reach safety.
They scampered after Minister Zhan Bo Wen, moving at a brisk jog rather than their earlier frantic run. The old general was still in pretty good shape, even if he had gone a little soft in the middle. The weight on Jin’s chest lightened with every step. Minister Zhan would have at least a handful of police or royal guards with him to help West in his protection duty. With any luck, Alexei and Gabriel would either join them or retreat out of this mess.
As they reached the dark storefront that was covered over with papers announcing that it was available for lease, Jin’s heart squeezed. Shouldn’t there be a guard or officer standing by the door? Or at least lights on?
At the door, the Minister didn’t hesitate to plunge into the shadows that blanketed the interior. Both West and Jin followed much slower, with West keeping Jin behind him as he raised his gun.
Just enough thin light from the exterior streetlamps leaked into the store, revealing a dusty open floor and walls lined with empty shelves. There was a counter at the rear of the building with a dirty glass display case.
But there were no police officers or royal guards. Just the three of them panting in the tense silence.
“How is this a safe zone?” West snapped. “Where are your guards?”
Jin’s fingers tightened in the back of West’s coat and he tugged, trying to pull his lover back toward the door. Everything about this felt very wrong. His brain was still arguing that Minister Zhan Bo Wen was a trustworthy man, but something about this situation was setting off alarm bells. He felt safer running on the street with West as they tried to work their way to the palace or his friends.
