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The man only groaned.
Footsteps approached from the castle just as the man in Malik’s grasp went slack. He released him and then shoved him out of the copter. The man splayed on the grass as his dad, brothers, and the guards hurried up, guns drawn. Malik hopped out of the helicopter.
“Nice work, bro,” Derek said.
Chad stood and ripped the injured man to his feet, pushing him toward the door. “Secure this one for me too,” he instructed the guards, shoving him into their waiting grasp. Then he winced and balanced on one leg. “You’re all okay,” he said, looking over his dad and T. “Henry?”
“Inside with a guard,” the king said.
Chad nodded, relief evident in his eyes.
“You were actually worried about me,” T teased. “I’m so touched.”
Chad rolled his eyes but chuckled. “You should be.”
The two guards secured the unconscious man and the one with the bullet in his shoulder with zip ties, removing the men’s phones and all their weapons and handing everything up to Chad.
“Let’s get going,” Malik said. “Dad, can you watch these two until the guards come for them?”
“Of course.” His dad pulled him into his arms. “I’ll be praying. Bring your girl and her daughter and parents back safe.”
“Done.” He hoped his confident response was true in so many ways. Could he bring them back safe? Did Sophie even want to be his girl, or was she with Chad? He didn’t want to doubt her or their renewed love, but seeing her in Chad’s arms earlier had been a solid hit to his long-repressed hope of loving each other.
They climbed into the helicopter.
“You okay?” he asked Chad, who had limped back to his seat at the controls.
“I’ll walk it off.” Chad shrugged and focused on his pre-flight checks.
“Where were you hiding a pistol?”
“I always keep one underneath my seat.”
“Good man.”
Chad paused and looked him over. “As are you.” He smiled slightly. “I knew you could never hurt them.”
“Thank you.” In that moment, Malik knew he had Chad’s respect, but the battle for Sophie’s heart was still going strong.
Chad finished pre-flight and within moments they were soaring over the castle. Malik saw movement on the road; guards in side-by-sides were almost up the hill to the castle gates. Good. His dad would have plenty of help and protection soon. As long as they weren’t loyal to William. He pushed that thought away. They couldn’t distrust everyone, and to his knowledge, it was some of the policemen who were under suspicion of helping William, not the royal guards or military.
The ride back seemed to take forever. He and Chad filled Derek, T, and the two guards—Ned and Jacob—in on William’s plan to have Malik kill the king, T, and the prime minister in exchange for Sophie, Sunny, her parents, Levi and Mason’s lives. He wished they could openly discuss all of William’s schemes, the information the man had revealed earlier, and the blackmail of the prime minister with his wife as bait, but even with trusted royal guards it was smarter not to share everything.
They finally cleared the Alps and approached Wengen. As they rounded the bend, the house appeared, light spilling from the windows. Where was Sophie? Had William hurt her? Touched her? Malik would rip him apart if he had.
Landing on the pad by the garage, they all spilled out of the helicopter, armed and ready. He waited impatiently for Chad to shut the copter down. He only wanted to see Sophie, know she was all right, and take out William once and for all.
None of them spoke as they crept toward the garage entry. Chad held up a fist and they all paused. He motioned them back a few steps and said, “It’s too quiet. There should be guards monitoring the exterior.”
Malik’s stomach turned over. Chad was right. Something didn’t feel right. “I need to get to Sophie.”
“You think I don’t feel the same?” Chad snapped.
Malik wanted to punch his friend.
Chad ignored him and pulled out his phone, clicking on the security app. “They took out the cameras from Faith’s security in the main room, but they missed the one in the entryway and the basement.” He paused and watched the film. “It’s too quiet in there too. They could just be resting, but …” He shook his head. “We’ve got to find and disable the exterior guards before we go take on the guards in the house.”
“They know we’re here,” Malik argued. “If we don’t go in, William will be suspicious. I think you and I should waltz in and confront William. T, Derek, Ned, and Jacob can come in other entrances and surprise the guards.”
