Prince's Dirty Little Secret (A Royal Secret Baby Romance) (15 page)

"Jenna," he says sharply. "Do not tell me you believe this man's lies. He is cunning. He will wait until we are gone, and then he will hang our baby from the flagpole. If we play by his rules, we are guaranteed to never see Josh again."

"Okay, then what?" I'm feeling panicked.

Nikolai looks at me grimly. "This changes everything. I have to go up against him. Man to man."

I can't believe this. It's coming down to a father-son confrontation, with our baby's life hanging in the balance.

"What if we follow the tunnel?" I say. "Our baby is down there." But I'm really just looking for a way to de-escalate the situation. I'm terrified that there might be a fight with our baby in the middle of it.

"No," says Nikolai. "Wherever our baby is, I guarantee you he is no longer 'down there.'"

"Why not?"

"Jenna, the tunnel leads out of the country."

I don't even ask any more questions. I'm utterly beside myself right now, and anger is exploding throughout my body.

"You," I say, snarling at Nikolai. "You let this happen. This is all because you brought us here." Deep inside, I know that it's not the truth, but I just can't help it right now. I need to lash out. I need someone—something—to blame other than myself.

"Goddamnit, Jenna. I did everything to keep you and the baby safe."

"If you'd just let me go, let me stay in America, we wouldn't be in this mess right now."

"And the people of this country wouldn't be on the verge of gaining freedom, and you would be a struggling single mother."

"I wouldn't be struggling."

Suddenly, I blurt out something that's been lurking in the back of my head. "I'm leaving."

Nikolai cocks his head, a mixture of anger and confusion on his face.

"I'm leaving when this is all over. And I'm taking Josh with me."

"I've put my neck on the line for both of you," he growls, and now he's seething too.

"You can't stop me," I say. "I'm going to take our baby back home where he can grow up in a normal life. Not in a fucking Game of Thrones live action set."

"You cannot leave," he says, switching tactics. "I forbid it." The look on his face says he's terrified of losing me, and the truth is, I'm terrified of losing him too. But a mother's love has to come before everything else.

"So you're gonna stop me? I thought you were changing your tune. Letting people do as they please instead of ordering them around all the time."

"Fine," he says. "Leave if you must. Do what you have to do. But I am getting that baby back even if it means losing my own life."

He storms out of the secret room, leaving me standing up against the corner.

I'm angry, but I try to calm myself. What more is Nikolai to do, anyway? He's already pledged to rescue our baby at any cost, and if there's one man on earth who I believe is capable of following up on that promise, it's Nikolai. But I fear that now I'm going to lose both of the men in my life.

I slump back down to the ground, holding my pounding temples in my hands. I should really go to the palace doctor and have him take a look at my head, but I'm hoping it'll pass after a good night's sleep.

Shit, now there's something I haven't had in a good long while. And I don't know if I will tonight either, considering that there doesn't seem to be a single square foot in this palace that's truly safe.

Ashley is probably wondering where the hell I am right now, and what the hell I'm doing back here with the prince, after he managed to get me fired from my dream job at EDGE.

The truth is, I think I'm in love with him. And I think if he can save our baby from this crazed, insane king, that he's going to make a fine father.

Do I really want to leave? Am I really prepared to go back to my old life, with no job, no real home, and no prospects for a better future? Or am I going to stay here and stick it out with Nikolai, for better or for worse?

That's what being together with somebody is all about, right?

Yes, that's what it's all about. I start to perk up—just a little bit—because if anyone can navigate this maze of treachery and get our baby back unharmed, it's Nikolai.

I can't hold this against him.

Gritting my teeth and pulling myself up by the bootstraps, I stand up from the ground, this time using my own two feet, with no help from anyone else. I duck out of the safe room, pass through the closet, and find Nikolai in the main study. He's standing in the corner of the room, his chin cradled in his hand, deep in thought.

I step up behind him, sliding my hands around his body. I move them up his chest—god it feels good—and put them around his shoulders. I smash my cheek up against his back, wanting to feel every part of him against every part of me.

After all, his parts mixed with my parts, and they produced a beautiful outcome. A tiny little outcome who is now in dire need of our help.

"I'm sorry," I say.

He speaks without looking over his shoulder. "It's alright."

I remove my hands from his chest and put them on his back. I massage him, and I can feel how tense all of his muscles are. They're all knotted up from the stress he's been experiencing the past few weeks. I work on the knots, applying pressure.

"So," I whisper, "What do we do?"

"We have to strike now," says Nikolai, speaking slowly. "There's no time left. We have to strike hard, and we have to strike early. Before the King comes after me, too."

"Whatever happens," I say, "don't let our baby be harmed."

"I won't. I think…" his voice trails off and I can tell he's deep in thought. He thinks for a moment longer, then speaks.

"Yes," he says, his eyes brightening. I see lightbulbs going off in his head. "I know exactly how we're going to do this. Listen closely."

CHAPTER 10

^"
W
e have to do what he wants."

"What?" I say, confused. I'm talking a million miles an hour. "No. Like you said, we can't trust him, he has Josh and he'll wait until we've left the country and then—"

Nikolai cuts me off. "No. We only have to make it
look
like we're doing what he wants."

I furrow my brow. "Go on."

"Jenna, my father will not harm Josh before we're out of the country. I guarantee it. Until then, he needs Josh as insurance to keep us from making a move against him. He values his own power above all else."

"Okay…" I say, listening intently.

So we pretend to cooperate. While he thinks we're leaving the country, we are really preparing to take him out."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"We use his own tactic against him. The tunnels. There's an escape tunnel in my father's quarters, like the one in mine. It exits in a mountain range in Transylvania. Amongst a network of caves, where one can disappear for a long, long time."

I see where he's going with this. "So we enter on the other side, and then burst into the King's quarters, catching him off guard?"

Nikolai nods. "Exactly. We exit the castle through my tunnel, and then re-enter it through my father's tunnel. But only the palace's chief architect knows the exact exit point of my father's tunnel. And he is sworn upon the crown to secrecy."

"Well," I say, my voice hardening, "then we force the secret out of him."

I've never felt so mercenary before. Normally, I would never agree to, much less propose, a plan involving force or violence against another person. But my baby is at stake. And I'm realizing that there's almost nothing I wouldn't do for my baby.

Nikolai eyes me warily. "I am surprised you would endorse such an action."

I give him a hard stare, my expression grim. "Is there a better way to get to him? When he's alone, unprotected?"

"No. Everywhere he goes he is accompanied by a contingent of armed guards. He is only alone when he is in his quarters."

"Then we do it," I say. "We pay the palace architect a visit. Find the entrance to the tunnel. Sneak up on the King when he's least expecting it… and smash him." I slam my fist hard against my open palm.

Nikolai nods grimly. "Very well. It is decided."

It'll either be the King… or our baby.

W
E SPEND
the next hour packing two duffel bags with a week's worth of supplies. We get dressed for a desert excursion, both of us wearing cargo pants and rugged jackets.

When we finish, Nikolai slides out his desk drawer and picks up his stainless steel revolver. He checks the cylinder. It's still loaded.

He looks in my eyes. "You are fully committed to this line of action? You realize that if we fail..." His voice trails off.

"I know what happens if we fail," I say. I've read about it a dozen times in my classes. Covered it at EDGE. In failed coup d'état attempts, the perpetrators end up hanging in the town square. Or worse. But there's no choice for us now. Not when our baby's life is on the line.

Neither one of us says it, but I know we're both thinking the same thing: we just hope that Josh is still alive and well right now.

He has to be, I tell myself. Nikolai's right. Josh is the best bargaining chip that the King has for getting Nikolai and I out of his country, so he can find a new successor and ensure that his legacy and regime will live on after he's dead and gone.

If something's already happened to our baby... No. I can't think about that. It makes me wanna double over and puke when I do. We have to assume the best.

"Okay," says Nikolai. "Then we go. Now. But stay at my side, no matter what. Don't leave my sight."

I nod. Part of me is terrified to get into this. But there's no safer place for me in this palace than by his side.

He unlocks the door to his quarters and steps out into the hallway.

I follow him through the palace halls and we take an elevator up to the third floor. I expect it to be as opulent as the main floor, but it more closely resembles an office building. The ceilings are low, the floor covered with dull blue industrial carpet, and everything is illuminated by harsh fluorescent lighting. It's obviously not a place for royalty.

We keep our heads down, moving down the hallways quickly. I sneak glances at the offices we're passing.
Office of the Groundskeeper. Office of the Palace Engineer
. Finally, we get to the one that says
Office of the Palace Architect.

Nikolai looks at me. "Ready?" I nod. He bends down and gives me a quick kiss on the mouth. I try to will the moment to last for hours, but it's over nearly as quickly as it began.

Then, Nikolai knocks on the door.

"Come in," says a voice.

We enter the office. It's barely larger than a cubicle. There's a middle-aged bald guy of Molvanian descent sitting behind a wooden desk. A computer and a stack of blueprints sits on his desk, a magnifying glass atop them.

"My prince," he says, bowing his head. He steals a glance at me but says nothing.

"Drake," says Nikolai, "Good to see you again."

"Yes my prince," says the man, bowing his head again in deference. "The pleasure is mine."

"I need a favor," says Nikolai. His lips are pursed tight, his jaw tense, as we wait to see if the man will cooperate with us.

"Of course, my prince."

"The GPS coordinates of my father's Transylvanian tunnel exit. I need them."

The man looks off to the side, blowing air between his lips, taken aback by the request. "My prince. I am not authorized to disclose that information to anyone."

"I realize it is classified," says Nikolai. I can hear the tension in his voice.

"My prince," says the man, staring down at his desk, "I must humbly request that you do not burden me with a request I cannot fulfill."

I interject into the exchange between the two of them. "A child's life is at stake."

The man looks up at me quizzically. "What?"

Nikolai nods. "My child."

The man is clearly taken aback by what he's hearing, but after a brief moment of contemplation, he shakes his head again. "I beg your forgiveness, my prince. I wish to remain in your favor, but my oath is to the crown."

I hear Nikolai sigh softly, and I know he doesn't want to do this. But he does.

In one swift motion, he reaches over the desk with a thick, muscled arm, and wraps his fingers around the man's neck. The man's hands fly to his throat, trying to free himself from Nikolai's grip. But he can't.

"My prince," he tries to say, but the words come out choked.

"Tell me," booms Nikolai's voice. It's deep, resonant, authoritative, and it strikes fear even into my heart. I can only imagine the thoughts running through this man's head right now.

"I... cannot," the man gasps, clawing at Nikolai's grip.

"Give me the gun," I say. Nikolai shoots me a look of surprise, but he maneuvers his arm so I can pull it out of his waistband.

I wrap my hand around the grip, cocking the hammer with my thumb. I press the barrel against the man's temple.

"This is about my baby," I hiss at him. "Your life means nothing. I'll do it, I swear."

He looks at Nikolai, as if to question the truth of what I'm saying.

"I will not stop her," says Nikolai.

"I-okay," the man gasps. Nikolai loosens his grip on the man's neck, and he gasps deeply.

"Get me the blue folder in that filing cabinet," he says, his voice shaking.

I set the gun on the top of the filing cabinet, open it, and find the blue folder. I toss it down onto the desk.

The man opens the blue folder, shuffles through it, and then pulls out an envelope. It's sealed with wax in the shape of the North Molvanian royal sigil.

"The coordinates are in there," he says, rubbing his neck. "If they audit me and find a missing envelope, I'll be hung."

"You will not be hung," Nikolai says. "You will have my favor when the King falls."

The man stares at Nikolai, trying to decide if he's serious. Nikolai must notice it too, because he adds, "The King's reign is about to end. Change is coming."

Then he leans forward toward the man, until their faces are just a few inches apart. "Now, forget any of this ever happened."