Page 16 of Royal Guard

“These guys aren’t crazies,” I spat. “They’re trainedsoldiers. And someone’s feeding them information. You had satellite surveillance of this whole damn thing, right?”

“Of course,” said Gibson. “Standard protocol.”

“Well someone’s leaking it to the assassins. I saw them call someone up and ask them which pipe we’d gone into.”

Gibson’s eyes flashed with fury. “If there’s a leak, it’s not in my office!” He pointed towards the highway. “I’ve got eight agents dead!”

I glared at him. But I believed him. A leak at the FBI would explain a lot, but not all of it. It wouldn’t explain how the assassins smuggled two guys onto a plane. And Gibson seemed like a good guy.

Wherever the leak was, though, the result was the same. I looked at the Princess. “As long as the leak’s there, she ain’t safe. You put her in a convoy, they’ll hit it. Take her to the airport, they’ll put a bomb on the plane. They’ve been one step ahead of you from the start.”

“Well, what would you suggest?!” Gibson snapped.

I glared back at him. Thing was, I didn’t know what to suggest. I was way out of my comfort zone. International conspiracies? Traitors, assassinations? I’d never felt more like a big, dumb, ground-pounding grunt.

But then I looked at the Princess again. She’d turned and was looking up at me, terrified. Those big green eyes were begging me to take it back, to tell her she was going to be okay. I nearly did. I could feel the muscles of my neck pulling, ready to shake my head.Ah, forget it. I’m sorry. I’m probably wrong.But—

But I wasn’t wrong. I could feel it in my gut, like I had in Gibson’s office. Something was rolling forwardhere, something huge and powerful that wanted to crush the Princess like a bug.The system.Politicians, governments, forces you can’t fight. Just like when I’d been kicked out of the Marines. And it was bellowing for me toget out of the way.These people had already killed eight FBI agents and put a plane full of passengers at risk: they’d kill me without a second thought. But it was her they wanted. All I had to do was shake my head, let the FBI take her, and I could head back to my life.

And tomorrow, I’d hear about her death on CNN.

I felt my jaw set.The hell with that.I looked at her, nostrils flaring with fury, and felt the sudden swell of loyalty and thepulltowards her hit at the same time. Even like this, even filthy and dressed in ragged clothes, she was so beautiful it hurt. The need to protect her welled up inside me, unstoppable, and then it tightened down to a tiny, diamond-hard nugget of Texan stubbornness.

I didn’t care if the system wanted her dead.

I didn’t care that I was just one guy.

I wasn’t going to let it happen. Not to her.

The words were out before I knew what I was going to say. “I’ll do it. I’ll protect her.”

10

KRISTINA

I’d been sinking fastinto the cold, dark place that haunts me in my nightmares.If the FBI can’t keep me safe, who can?!Suddenly, America, which had seemed so exciting just last night, was a terrifying, alien place. I just wanted to be back in the palace, sinking into a steaming bath scented with oils, with guards outside the door and more down the hall and thick stone walls and a perimeter and my parents and—

And then he said he’d protect me.

And I drew in a shuddering breath.

“What?!”said Director Gibson. “Are younuts?I can’t let her go off with you! What would you even do with her?”

“Get her off the grid,” said Garrett in that deep, Texan rumble. “She’s gotta disappear. Only way she’ll be safe. Then I’ll figure out a way to get her home.”

My breath caught and a big swell of emotion made my eyes prickle with heat. He’d already done so muchfor me. Now he wanted to put himself at risk to save me. But...could I trust him? I’d known him less than a day.

I looked at Jakov and Emerik. They’d protected me so well, back in Lakovia. Emerik was like an uncle. His obsession with etiquette and tradition could be frustrating but I knew he was only trying to look after me. And Jakov was like a hot-headed, protective brother, scarcely older than me and ready to body slam anyone who threatened me into the dirt.

But they were outnumbered. And this strange country wasn’t their home. It was Garrett’s.

I wavered...right up until I looked into Garrett’s eyes. I gasped when I saw the fire there, the protective fury. It wasn’t like Jakov’s, quick and hot, impulsive. It wasn’t like Emerik’s, a steady flame held in a gilded lantern for decades. Garrett’s was like looking into a volcano: a never-ending supply of scalding determination. Hewouldprotect me. No matter what.

I nodded. “Mr. Buchanan, I accept your offer.”

Director Gibson’s eyes bulged. “What?! I can’t allow this! You’re coming back to our headquarters.”

I could see him nodding at other FBI agents to come over. He seemed like a good man. He was only trying to do his job. But Garrett was right: someone on the inside was helping the assassins. And the FBI was part of that system.

---