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He’d be worried if he’d thought Elle was still here, but the Fjende hadn’t come here to kill her They needed her too et to her before it was too late

He glanced over at the man who’d been his trusted number two for the past six years What he was about to ask went so far beyond the call of duty that he couldn’t allow the other man to eiving him an out

“Major,” he said “You don’t have to co Elle back safely Are you in?”

The otherme to help you storm the castle?”

“Shit, Major, you’ve got a sense of hu open the door to the srabbed a duffel bag and started stuffing it with guns, ammunition, and peripheral equipment

Without a word, Major Bendtsen stepped up beside Do the same

Doed a set of keys froered what looked like a solid wall splitting in theanother door with a handprint scanner He held his palht traveled fro open A blast of freezing-cold air swept into the room

Lights clicked on one after the other, revealing a long tunnel carved into the mountain at a steep decline When he’d commissioned the backup plan to his backup plan, this had been the escape route to get the king or Elle off the mountain and miles away from the chalet, into a sports utility vehicle and to the private airstrip where the jet bound for Elskov aiting for the would only be hours away, but the early prep tea had been on his way from Madrid when the Fjende had hit the chalet

What he hadn’t considered until it was too late ould happen if the security protocols worked as planned, except he was trapped inside and Elle was left to fend for herself against the Fjende He’d fucked up, but that wasn’t going to happen again Noto make sure Elle was safe

After that? He’d walk away fro for her She had a duty to her country She’d made a promise to accept the crown, and she’d stick to it Princesses didn’t ners, no matter how rich or loyal He’d bow, and like the reporter in Roh to forget the way she tasted and the sassy challenge every time she opened her sweet mouth and the way she could knock him sideith just a look

…

Elle stretched her fingers It wasn’t much, but it waspatrol had hauled her onto the private jet and buckled her into a leather seat embossed with the royal crest Her atte the fourteen-hour flight to Elskov had been futile No doubt she’d been chosen with the same evil care as Walther’s armed minions

They taxied across the deserted private airport It wouldn’t do for the press to find out she’d been dragged hoed-up sheep Instead, they’d circled a s to the asphalt runway The wheels touched down, and she bounced in her seat, watching the countryside rush by as the jet slowed to a stop near the utilitarian terminal

She wasn’t supposed to be here, not yet—that hadn’t been Dom’s plan He would be so pissed if he’d kno screwed up his plan had becoer gave way to the re up froainst her skin even in the helicopter Tears pricked her eyes as she blinked theether in an effort to keep fro the cry rip from her throat

All of her eret, and betrayal thatdifficult How could she be so mad at Dom and so heartbroken at the sa did She looked over at Walther across fro hi she ever did