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Hope’s jaw tightened, and she glared at her sister. “Oh yeah? They can try to stop me.”
“Ah, crap,” Faith muttered.
Hope strode to the walk-in closet and grabbed her suitcase. She would go back to Wengen and then get on the first chartered flight out of Bern tomorrow. She’d schedule a helicopter to pick them up from Wengen first thing in the morning.
She pitied the poor guard that tried to stop her from leaving the castle. She’d take on the general prince himself if she had to.
If Faith didn’t want to come …
It would grate on her to leave Faith behind. Since her mom left, then her dad, and especially since Grace died, she’d appointed herself as Faith’s guardian.
But Faith was an adult. Her sister might be whimsical, but she could take care of herself and everybody loved her. She would be fine here in Augustine.
Hope would not be.
She tried never to be selfish—her focus was always Faith and all of her employees—but right now she had to survive and somehow get more oxygen to her lungs. That meant getting out of this castle before Chad returned, and out of Switzerland before he came for her.
What if he followed her to America? He’d never done that before. She’d have to deal with how to push him away if he actually showed up.
It was a moot point, probably. In the five thousand miles between Augustine and California, there were plenty of nurses, actresses, and millions of other beautiful women to cross his path and make him forget all about Hope.
Chapter Ten
Chad paced next to his mum’s bed. Her color looked better, and the last blood tests had shown the Flumazenil was working and the Alprazolam was leaving her bloodstream. The nursing staff were flushing her with fluids as well. He wanted her awake. He wanted to know what she remembered and why she’d been with Roger in the first place, and then he wanted her blessing to get to Hope. She’d be happy to give it. His mum was the only person who knew about his three-year obsession with Hope. What did it say about him that he hadn’t even trusted Tristan? He could blame it on pride because Hope had rejected him before they could truly date. Now he wished he would’ve talked to Tristan about it and had his friend’s insight and support.
He wanted to hold and kiss Hope. Their phone conversation had his blood pumping, and he longed to be close to her.
It irked him that blonde nurse had come into his space, whispered to him to get him to lean in, and then boldly kissed him out in the hallway earlier. He’d been out of sorts, shocked by her audacity, and hadn’t pushed her away. He’d been relieved that his mum was going to recover and stunned at the nurse’s cheek. To think he would encourage or want to kiss someone he didn’t even know, especially at such a sensitive time… Even if he hadn’t been committed to Hope, he wouldn’t have encouraged that. Thankfully Hope would never see that kiss as media cameras were not allowed in the hospital. He’d tell her about it, of course. He wanted no secrets between them.
“Chad?” his mum croaked out.
“Mum!” He rushed to her bedside, staring at her beautiful face and forcing a charming smile. “You gave us a scare there.”
She gave him a partial smile. “Water?”
“Oh, yes. Just a moment.” He hurried out into the hallway. “My mum’s awake. Can we get some water?”
“Only ice chips, handsome, unless you want to barter with another kiss.” It was that same brazen nurse. Steffan had called her Shaylee. He’d told Chad she hadn’t left him alone until he married Hattie. Steffan had spoken with her privately about how inappropriate it was to come at Chad and kiss him while she was at work and when Chad didn’t even know her. Chad didn’t think she listened very well.
“I’d appreciate the ice chips, but please don’t come on to me again. I am in a committed relationship.”
She narrowed her eyes. “We’ll see.”
Chad turned and headed back to his mum. This wasn’t his battle, but he would pass the exchange along to Steffan. If something like that had happened at his military facility, the person responsible would be on probation at the very least.
His mum had pushed her bed up to partially inclined. She was never one to sit or wait around. “What happened?” she asked him. “Why am I in the hospital?”
“You were drugged, Mum.”
Her eyes widened, but he could see she remembered something.
Shaylee walked in with the ice chips. “How are you feeling, Ms. Prescott?”
“Not stellar. Thank you.” She took the cup and immediately spooned some ice chips into her mouth.
“Can I get either of you anything else?” Shaylee winked at him.
“No, thank you,” Chad said.
