Page 15 of The Prince's Secret Twins

So no. No. No touching. She pulled back, shaking her head.

He looked confused for a moment, but thankfully, dropped his hands. “Tila, you and the babies aren’t safe here.”

“Of course we are.”

If she’d blinked, Tila would have missed the look of concern in his dark eyes. But he hid the expression quickly.

“You’renotsafe, love. You need to come with me. I’ll keep you and the babies safe. But we need to leave. Now.”

Leave her home? Was he crazy?

“Nope,” she replied firmly, even shaking her head. “Not gonna happen, Joran. I’m done.” She would have sliced the air with her hand, but she was still holding Laith. “We’re done. We’re no longer going to…”

Her words trailed off as another black-clad leg came through the window. A stranger emerged and looked around. The man was heavily armed, just like the guys last night. A third man climbed through the window. The tiny room was now crowded with large men, plus her and Laith. Rafi was somehow still sleeping in his crib, oblivious to the terror surrounding him.

“Joran, what’s going on?” she demanded, pulling Laith closer.

Joran nudged her out of the small room, but Tila didn’t want to leave Rafi alone with heavily armed strangers. She kept looking back over her shoulder, but Joran kept her moving until they reached the narrow hallway.

“Tila, I’m not just a regular soldier,” he said in a soft, firm, voice.

“You’re not?” she asked, her attention flitting from Joran’s serious expression to the men who seemed to be…! “What are you doing!? You can’t just take that stuff!” They were shoving diapers and clothes into a small black pack as they ignored her protests. The men grabbed more diapers and wipes, then climbed back out the window.

“Honey,” Joran said, pulling her attention back to him.

Tila ignored Joran, pulling at him, trying to see around him. “Make them stop! Diapers are expensive! Why are they taking them?”

“Tila!” he snapped, his tone harder now. She stared up at him. “We need to leave immediately. I’m the Crown Prince of Lativa, love. You and our sons are in danger here. I need to get all of you to a safer place. Do you understand?”

Prince? He was a prince? Of Lativa? Okay, she’d known that Joran didn’t live in her town. She would have seen him atthe store or the coffee shop. Everyone knew everyone in her tiny little town. But she’d assumed that he was at least a member of the Uftar military!

“You’re…what?” she asked, still confused.

He gripped her upper arms and this time, she didn’t pull away. “I’m Crown Prince Joran Al-Sintra of Lativa, Tila. You and our sons are in danger. I need to get you to safety.”

No. Absolutely not! She hadn’t had a wild affair with a prince!

He bent down so that their eyes were at the same level. “Tila, we need to move quickly. I have a car waiting outside. There are car seats already installed. We need to get out of here, right now. You and our sons are in danger.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “If you won’t help me, I will have to carry you. But I need you to hold one baby while I carry the other out to the vehicle. Can you do that?”

Tila considered for a long moment. “We’re not in danger. We can’t be.”

“You are,” he insisted. “Just now, a strange man was trying to break into your home. We stopped him. We have him tied up and will call the police for questioning. Will you trust me?”

She didn’t. Trust him, that is. But she’d seen the leg come through the window, heard the strange grunts. She understood the scuffle outside the window moments before Joran had come through.

So instead of arguing, she reacted on pure instinct. Tightening her hold on Laith, she nodded. “Get Rafi!” she hissed, already moving towards her bedroom. “I just need–”

“Don’t pack anything, we don’t have time. We need to move fast. Just put some shoes on and go to the front door. Don’t turn on any lights.” The lights in the hallway and the babies’ room went out. The house was suddenly very dark.

“Joran, you’re scaring me,” she told him, hugging Laith to her chest. She watched as Joran gently lifted Rafi into his arms. Miraculously, the tiny boy continued to sleep, his little mouth forming a moue as if he were dreaming about his next meal.

Joran cradled their son against his broad chest and the image startled Tila. The only people she’d seen holding her sons were herself and the nurses right after delivery. Seeing Joran holding Rafi made her want to cry.

“Tila!” Joran urged, jerking her out of her daze. “We have to move, honey.”

Tila heard the urgency in his tone and reacted automatically. She hugged Laith to her chest as she rushed over to the front door. She kicked her slippers off and shoved her bare feet into her sneakers. Then she turned, glanced around her newly cleaned home and wondered if she’d ever see it again. Something deep within her whispered the answer was no and that saddened her.

“Tila, love, you need to hurry,” Joran urged. She found him standing in the open doorway, cradling their son. Tila moved towards him, then paused briefly when she found a large SUV idling in her driveway. For some reason, the fact that the dome light didn’t come on when the door opened bothered her.

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