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12
Adam
“Goodness!” Duchess Arianna gasped as she inspected Sam’s arm. “I’msosorry. I should have warned you that my fans can get really enthusiastic.”
Sam smiled, always so sweet and kind. “Please don’t worry about me. Everything worked out in the end. All that matters is that you’re safe and you got to your meeting on time. How did it go, by the way?”
We were back at the penthouse. While the duchess went on and on about how she managed to secure two new investors for her business, the rest of us were huddled together by the elevator doors, still collectively disappointed in today’s performance.
Disappointed that we were careless enough for someone to be able to get their hands on Sam.
“Sam gave a description that matched my brother,” Liam said, voice low. “Are you sure you haven’t heard anything?”
Charlie tucked his iPad beneath his armpit. “Nobody in my network’s been able to confirm anything. It could have been a coincidence.”
“There’s no such thing as coincidence in our line of work,” Kris grumbled. “I’ve heard whispers.”
“Go on,” I urged.
“There’s a new player on the market. One who acts of his own self-interest. There was a kidnapping not too long ago in Spain. A distant cousin to the king, held for ransom for over a month.”
“Why didn’t I hear anything about it?” Liam asked.
“The royal family wanted to keep it under wraps. They wound up shelling out fifty million Euros.”
Charlie huffed. “Understandable that they’d keep quiet, then.”
“In and out in under three minutes. Military precision.” Kris’ jaw tensed. “SEAL-level precision.”
“And you’re telling us this now?” I gritted my teeth, doing my best to ignore the burning sensation in the back of my throat. “This would have been very useful information to have before we put Sam out there.”
“Like Charlie said. Nobody’s been able to confirm it. I didn’t see any point in worrying about ghosts.”
Liam’s shoulders stiffened. We all fell silent. We didn’t know if Terrance was alive or not, so Kris’ comment was kind of in poor taste.
“What do we do now?” Liam asked, never the kind of guy to linger when it wasn’t necessary.
“The duchess has another meeting tonight, but I’ve convinced her to meet with her potential investors at the hotel’s restaurant downstairs.”
Charlie nodded; his approval clear. “Good. The less we have to worry about the principal in transit, the better.”
“I’ll cover the duchess,” Kris said. “Keep an eye on her. I’ll need two of you to support.”
“I’ll do it,” Liam offered.
“Me too,” said Charlie.
“And Sam?” I asked.
“We’re not going to need a double if we’re not going anywhere. She can have the night to recover.”
I gave Kris a knowing look. He wasn’t going to say it out loud, but it was his way of looking out for her. After what happened today, we were all on the same page.
We needed to keep Sam safe.Safer.
The boys saw Duchess Arianna downstairs while I stayed in the penthouse. Technically, I was on-call. Just in case. But that didn’t stop me from putting together a very stiff drink. Whisky on the rocks. It burned all the way down my throat.
“Adam?”
