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Madeline rushed down the stairs and out through the garage and side entrance. Two more guards met her. She told them she was going for a run around the lake and that Captain Levi and Lieutenant Mason would come soon to check on her. Thankfully, they let her go.
She jogged down the steep road that circled the castle, wove through the trees, and finally came out at the barricade next to the village. Two more guards questioned her. She repeated her explanation and shifted impatiently while they checked in with Captain Levi. Finally, they cautioned her to be careful and allowed her to leave.
Madeline shook her head as she ran through the village and to the trail that circled the lake. She ran all the time in Traverse, which had a thousand times more people than this quaint village and actually a few criminals. Crime was low in all of Augustine, thanks to Chief Jensen and General Ray. There was nothing to worry about in this picturesque valley.
She understood the guards had to be overprotective of her because she was the king’s guest. What would happen if she agreed to marry Nolan? Would she ever go for a scenic jog by herself again? That made her chest tight. She loved Nolan and she could easily see herself loving his family. She already did. But was she ready to love all of his past, his responsibilities, and his restrictions?
The sliver of a moon had disappeared, and she left the lights of the village behind. She slowed so she didn’t trip on the dark trail, but her thoughts raced.
Nolan asking her to marry him played through her head over and over again. It had been intense and romantic and overwhelming. She had no idea how to wrap her mind around all of it—reconciling herself to him loving her and, of course, him still loving his wife, dumping all her jealousy, and dealing with the responsibilities that would come with being queen.
Her mind wandered as she plodded through step after step. She sensed an obstacle in front of her and dodged to the side. The barrier moved with her, and she screamed.
A man’s arms wrapped around her and yanked her into a hard chest. “No screaming, beautiful lady, or I’ll cut your tongue out.”
Madeline yanked backwards and had to fight not to scream at such a horrific greeting. The man smelled of out of doors and pine needles. Had he been hiding in a tree? With as dark as it was, he wouldn’t have needed to hide. He was huge, probably the same height as Nolan or Chad but twice as thick, and none of it was fat.
“What do you want?” she demanded. Why hadn’t she brought along one of the many pepper spray canisters Chad had left at her home in Traverse?
It was too dark to see him clearly, but his hands that held her so close dipped lower than she was comfortable with. “What I want … you see, that’s sadly not the issue here. Because I want to see exactly how the future queen kisses, but my boss, you see … No. What I want is unfortunately not our purpose this early morn.”
Madeline’s heart was going to burst from her chest. She shoved at him with her fists and fought to squirm free. “Help!” she cried, even as she knew there was no one close enough to help her.
The man grabbed her cheeks and squeezed hard. Pain ripped through her jaw, but she couldn’t squeak out a word. He released her and yanked her in, burying her face in his burly chest. “There now. No reason to cry for help. I’m not going to have my way with you, not until we both accomplish our purposes. But maybe someday …”
“Let me go,” she gritted out, getting a mouthful of his cotton shirt.
“Not until you agree to my request. I don’t want to hurt you, and my boss says I can’t have you … Yet.”
Madeline’s stomach turned over. She’d had men hit on her often, and a few had touched her or tried to kiss her without her consent, but nobody had been so foul and held her against her will like this brute.
“Let me go, or I’ll …”
“You’ll what?” He chuckled, low and deep. She felt it through her body.
How much longer until Levi and Mason would come? Too long, she was afraid.
“Don’t worry, beautiful lady. My request isn’t difficult. I simply need you to get the king outside without his bodyguards. I’ll take care of the rest. Then maybe you and I will have a chance to be alone.”
She squirmed and tried to dig her fingernails into him. He held her so tightly she couldn’t budge.
“Do you understand what I need?”
“I understand,” she bit out, not that she planned on doing it. As soon as she could escape or Levi and Mason came, she’d run to Nolan and make him promise to increase his security and to stop his morning hikes until this brute was caught.
“I’ve been waiting at the village for so long, waiting for you. I watch you hike with the king every morning. So fit. So pretty.” His voice was full of longing now, and Madeline knew she would vomit if he kept talking like that and didn’t release her. “Maybe I’ll just have a sample of what the king’s woman tastes like.”
He released one of his hands from her back, grasped her chin, and yanked her face up to his. Madeline’s stomach protested as horror raced through her. Vomit gagged her, and she threw up right in his mouth.
The man yelped and shoved her away.
Madeline coughed on the disgusting taste of her own bile, but she didn’t take the time to catch a breath. She whirled and raced back down the trail. It was so dark she could hardly see where she was stepping.
The man cursed and yelled foul, horrible things at her, and then his footsteps thundered behind her.
No! She wanted to scream or cry out, but she couldn’t waste the oxygen. She could hardly breathe with her throat coated with a horrific taste and her heart pounding out of control.
Her foot caught on a root, and she flew forward. With a scream, she splayed out on the trail, scraping her hands, arms, and knees.
