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“We’ll just fly over the borders,” Chad said. “No worries. We’ll call in a military training exercise, which means we need my copter. Unless you want to jump continents. Then we might need to send somebody back for passports and let Malik fire up his jet.”
“I don’t know that we need to fly anywhere beyond Europe,” Sophie said, amazed they would not only leave the country with her, but the continent if she asked. “But I can’t risk staying in Augustine.”
“Would this man go after your parents, or is he focused on you and your daughter?” Chad asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past him to threaten them to get to me and Sunny. The man has no scruples. He has to win at any cost, is terrifyingly brilliant, and I believe he’s after the crown as well.”
They flew over open fields, but the city of Traverse gleamed up ahead, the river a bright ribbon of blue and the ancient buildings sparkling in the evening sunlight. She loved their city and had lived there since she graduated from the small high school of Henley, a village in the mountains north of Traverse.
“You said that before,” Malik said.
“Yes.”
“I hate to pressure you, Soph,” Malik continued, “but you’re going to need to tell us who this man is, why you think he wants the crown, and why you think he has men loyal to him on our police force.”
The helicopter jerked, and all the men looked back at her.
“Fly the helicopter,” she begged.
Chad steadied the helicopter, and they descended toward the airport. He spoke into the headset but on a different frequency. She could see his lips moving but couldn’t hear what he was saying. Probably communicating with air traffic control again.
“You suspect the police force?” Lieutenant Mason, the guard next to her said as if in bewilderment.
“Can we get settled somewhere safe with my parents and Sunny and then I’ll share what I know and we can figure out a plan?” Her heart beat high and fast. How was she going to share all of this without Malik figuring out who the father of her baby was?
She didn’t know that she could. Would he be angry at her for lying, or could they finally bury the past and move forward? None of that could matter while Sunny was in danger.
“Thank you for helping me,” she said to all the men as they descended toward the ground, but she focused on Malik’s blue eyes.
“Anytime, Soph,” Malik whispered, his look full of meaning and promise.
She loved when he shortened her name.
“Anytime, beautiful,” Chad said suavely into the headset.
Usually Sophie would laugh at Chad’s flirtations, but she didn’t like the way Malik stiffened. She hadn’t set him straight that she and Chad had gone on dates but weren’t … dating.
Everything was such a mess right now. What did that matter?
Sunny was the focus. Protecting Sunny and somehow not allowing William Rindlesbacher to accomplish whatever terrifying scheme he was hatching. That man always had a nefarious plan. Sophie worried she was playing right into his schemes, but she didn’t know how to stop him.
Sunny had to be safe.
Sophie’s heart rate picked up. Everything was terrifying right now.
Maybe it was time to confide a whole lot to Malik.
Chapter Four
Malik watched as Sophie’s adorable little girl hurtled herself from her grandfather’s arms and into her mum’s. Sophie’s entire body relaxed as she held her daughter.
“Mum, you ruined your pretty dress,” the child scolded.
“Forgive me,” Sophie said, closing her eyes and resting her cheek against Sunny’s curls.
Malik couldn’t peel his eyes from the pair. Sophie was a mother. It was still mind-boggling to think of that. It also hurt that she’d fallen in love with kind-hearted, soft-spoken Jonathon while Malik was away at school, lied to him for months, and then dumped him when he returned for the summer so she could get engaged to Jonathon. She hadn’t even admitted to him who the father of her baby was. Worried about how he’d react?
He wasn’t going to worry about that right now. Sophie and her daughter and parents being safe was all that mattered. Hopefully she would finally reveal who she was so terrified of and they could work with Jensen and Ray to take this person down. Was it the person who’d killed her fiancé? She’d said William. Was it William Rindlesbacher? Malik didn’t spend a lot of time in Augustine and was a little out of touch, but what other William could it be?
