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She flew through the garage and made it out the side door just as the rotors shut down. Rushing for the helicopter, her heart leapt as Chad pushed the door open, dropped to the ground, and ran to meet her.
“Hope!” His voice was ecstatic to see her, and his emerald green eyes backed it up.
“Chad!” She threw herself against his perfect chest.
He caught her in his arms and held her tight. “Are you all right?”
“Roger and Ramone are inside.” She spoke quickly into his ear, somehow terrified that her words would carry, and even more terrified they’d walk out that door. She pushed him back toward the helicopter. They could follow her outside at any moment. “They have a gun to Faith’s head. I told them you were the pilot coming from Bern. They want to use us to hurt the royals. Can you pretend to leave and come for us?”
“Yes.” He kissed her swiftly.
She wanted to savor his kiss. Even if she was heartbroken that he’d kissed that nurse, she didn’t know if either of them would survive today. She couldn’t sacrifice Faith, but she could sacrifice herself.
She would never insert their toxin into the castle’s heating system, no matter what Roger said its purpose was.
“Don’t worry, love. Go.” His emerald eyes reassured her, but then he released her and leaped back into the helicopter.
Don’t worry, love.
The second he turned away, she was terrified again. All she could do was worry—and she wasn’t his love.
But there were more pressing issues. If Roger or Ramone walked outside and saw it was a military helicopter and not a commuter from the airport, they’d know it was Chad.
She sprinted back into the side garage door. Roger almost ran into her. She couldn’t let him go outside. Slamming into him, she didn’t succeed in knocking him down, but at least she pushed him back away from the door frame. She shut the door behind her before he could reach it.
“What are you doing, girl?” he demanded. Thankfully, he didn’t have a gun out.
“I’m sorry. I’m just so anxious about my sister. I’ll do anything to keep her safe.”
He straightened his buttoned shirt and arched a brow. “Anything?”
Her stomach squirmed. He was sleazy.
The helicopter rotors grew louder as Chad lifted off.
“Let’s go back inside,” she said. “I want to see that my sister is all right.”
“Wait a minute.” He caught her arm and jerked her to a stop. His dark gaze swept over her. Her skin crawled. “You didn’t call anyone while you were out there, did you?”
“No. I sent the pilot off.”
“Give me your phone,” he demanded.
Hope pulled her phone from the pocket of her workout shorts. She held it up to her face to open it and then shakily placed it in his palm.
The helicopter noise receded as Chad flew away. She relaxed and at the same time was terrified. She was alone with Roger. Where was Chad going to land? Would he get back quick enough to save Faith?
Roger released her arm, looked over her recent calls, clicked on her text button, and then lifted his eyebrows. “You haven’t called or texted anyone. Did you sprint out of here to correspond with the helicopter pilot?”
“He didn’t speak English,” she lied. “I gestured him away and pretended I was sick.”
He studied her, obviously not trusting her. “It seems you didn’t respond to Major Chad this morning.” He gestured back to her phone. “Is everything all right between you?”
“Yes.” She nodded, hoping he wouldn’t glimpse the truth.
She was a confident executive. She’d faced down board rooms. Throwing her shoulders back, she gave him a confident glare. “I slept in after the craziness of last night and was just getting my workout started when you interrupted. I hadn’t looked at my messages yet.”
He studied her, and she refused to squirm or look away. Finally, he nodded as if that made sense.
