Page 124 of Royally Tempted

“And we’re not going to letanythinghappen to her,” he said fiercely. “I swear it.”

Chapter 13

Ishould have been therefor her.

It was the only thought going through my head as the plane rumbled towards New York; averydifferent plane ride than the one before. The three of them were on cell phones, making calls with stony faces and terse voices, trying to assess the situation.

Finally, Hunter put his phone down, walked towards me, and wrapped his arms around me.

“We’re going to handle this, I swear.”

“I should’ve been there,” I murmured into his chest.

“What exactly would you have done? Stopped them yourself?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t doubt you would have tried,” he said tightly.

Sean’s phone rang and he snatched it up.

“Yes?”

His eyes went wide.

“Shit, hey, hang on, I’m putting you on speaker.”

He looked up. “It’s Luke and Jordan.”

I lurched to my feet. “What?!”

“Ari?” Luke’s voice came on through over speaker, his voice jagged and harsh.

“Luke! What’s—”

“They have her,” he growled. “They’ve fuckinggotSasha.”

“She called me,” I sobbed. “Right as they came, she called me. She said you two—”

“They called her and told her that so she’d panic. No, no one fucking has us except we’re Goddamngroundedin London.”

“Luke? It’s Hunter Black,” Hunter said suddenly. “Whatever you need, we’re here.”

“Hey, Hunter. Hang on, I’m putting Jordan on too.”

There was a beat before another line clicked in.

“Hi, guys.”

“Tell us what you need, man,” Damien growled.

“We’re being kept right now by London police. They’re not letting us leave.”

“What?” I hissed. “Why the hell are they keeping you?”

“Liability,” Jordan said, his voice like gravel and ice over the phone. “We’re fuckingsuspects.”

“You’re kidding me.”

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