Page 50 of Royal Salvation

Her hand on his arm was soft. “Justice, who was on the phone?”

He was seconds from lying to her when something in her face stopped him. He’d told enough half-truths to this amazing woman, and it was time he came clean and behaved like a protector, not a lovesick fool. “Playboy. He has my father.”

Her sharp inhalation of breath made him want to reach for her, but he held back, knowing if he touched her now, he’d crumble.

“Oh my God, this is all my fault.”

He did reach for her then, the guilt in her delicate voice made his gut clench, but he dropped his hand before he could feel her skin under his fingers. “No, Lucía, this isn’t your fault. It’s him and his sick, perverted evil. I do need to get into your emails though because he sent proof of life to your work email.”

“Of course.”

Bishop made his way back over to them. “Hurricane and Val have this situation under control and the police will go with your mum to the hospital so she can get checked. Val is also calling Caleb to meet them there.”

“What did Bás say?”

“Watchdog puts the call in the UK, but it was pinged all around the world, so difficult to say for sure. He’s calling the rest of the team and putting everyone on standby. We should probably move in case he comes for Lucía.”

Reaper shook his head. “He won’t. If he’d wanted her, he could’ve grabbed her here. This is a game to him. He wants me to hand her over to him. It’s all part of it.”

Bishop pursed his lips and dipped his head in agreement. “Let’s check that email then.”

He and Bishop followed Lucía to the room where he’d spent so many nights revelling in the passion they shared, the absolute perfection of what they were together. He ignored the rumpled sheets, proof they’d stayed up all night exploring every erogenous zone on each other’s bodies and concentrated on the computer she was loading up.

In less than a minute he had the evidence he needed. A short video of his father, which must have been taken directly after they’d left. In it he was bound and gagged, his defiant glare on the camera, but Reaper could see the toll it was taking on his already weakened body. “They can’t be far.”

Reaper could smell the scent of her perfume as she moved closer as if she needed his comfort as much as he needed to give it. Damning the weak man he was, he lifted his arm so she could slide into the curve of his body. He closed his eyes for a second as the world tilted as if righting itself and he knew it was her making his universe spin correctly. She was his strength, not his weakness, and he was a fool to push her away. Yet he couldn’t see a way they could be together, so he dropped a kiss to her head and gently let her go.

The confusion and hurt in her eyes sliced him like a blade to the heart but he didn’t see a way out of this without her getting hurt and he hated that. She didn’t deserve any of this. She was the very best of people and he’d give anything to take away the pain she was feeling.

A ping on his phone had him looking down as a text message came through. Reaper paced away, not wanting Lucía to see but knowing he had to tell her. Frustration at always being on the back foot with this situation made him lash out his fist slamming into the wall of the bedroom. “Argh.”

“Justice, what is it?”

He turned to see Bishop watching him closely, his posture calm but ready and Lucía looking more afraid than ever before, and he knew he’d done that. “He’s taking my father to the UK. To Whitmore to be precise. He must have grabbed him just after we left my dad’s house.”

He saw the colour leave her face. “Oh my God. My friends.”

“That means he’s only going to be a few hours ahead of us. We need to get the team to Whitmore, now. We can leave Lucía at the base or with Eidolon.”

Reaper knew Bishop was right, but he also knew how stubborn the woman glaring at them both was.

“Excuse me, do not talk about me as if I’m not here. I won’t be foisted off on someone else. Those people are my friends and if they’re in trouble, I need to help them.”

“Bishop’s right. You’d be safer with Eidolon or at our base. Nobody will find you and you’d be out of danger. I should have done that first, instead of bringing you here. That was a mistake and one I regret deeply.”

He saw the way his words pierced her soul, inflicting a wound he didn’t mean as she was taking it all wrong. He didn’t regret it for the reasons she was thinking but because he’d put her in danger, and for the sake of what? His own need to see her here in his home with his family and the people he loved. He’d stopped thinking like a guard and had begun to think like a man in love and he was a fool. He’d spent his life running from commitment and love and he’d gone and fallen in love with the one woman in the world who he should be running from the hardest. In doing so, he’d gotten his mum hurt, his father kidnapped, and both their hearts broken.

“I see. Well, I’m eternally sorry your family was dragged into this mess, Justice, but I won’t run from this. I ran away once and I’ve spent every single day since regretting my cowardice.”

He heard the tremble in her voice and knew it was time to tell her the truth. “Bish, can you give us a minute?”

Bishop nodded. “I’m going to go and speak with the local PD and check on Val and Hurricane.”

Reaper knew Valentina would be handling things, he’d heard her barking orders at everyone. They all thought she was laid back and sweet, but that woman had Italian blood flowing through her veins and spine of steel.

Reaper stepped toward Lucía and saw her flinch as he reached for her, his hand dropping as she raised her head like the Princess she was.

Pride filled him for the courage and bravery she was showing. “Lucía, I need to tell you something.”