Page 47 of A Valiant Prince

I look down at her. “Anna,” I scold.

She shrugs. “I have a feeling things are going to get crazier before they calm down,” she says.

I sigh and lean down to kiss her head. I let the smell of her shampoo fill my nostrils. It smells like home and that’s when I realize that no matter how insane the world is around us, I love this woman, and if I’m with her, then it’s all fine. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly against me, feeling her in my arms, breathing her in, listening to the soft sound of her breath, and looking down at her so my vision is filled with only Anna. If only I could taste her right now, then my sensory overload would be complete perfection.

“We need to pack,” she says, squirming in my arms. I let go of her, and she heads over to the closet. I watch as she pulls out her suitcase and starts placing items inside it.

“Logan?” she says, looking down at me on the floor.

“Right,” I say as I stand and go to grab my own suitcase.

We pack in silence, working around each other like a well-choreographed dance. When we finish, Anna looks down at the box on the floor.

“Bring that with us,” she says.

“Why?” I ask her.

She shrugs. “Intuition, a hunch, just put the lid on it and make sure Pete packs it in the car,” she says as she lugs her suitcase and carry-on bag down the hallway. I follow her and pretty soon the car is loaded, and we are on our way to Cleveland.

It takes us a little over two hours to get to the airport. No one says much in the car. Every single one of us deep in our own thoughts. And I can’t blame us, what we’re about to do is…crazy.

Pete pulls up to an area of the airport clearly reserved for celebrities because it is not the main departure gate. We are quickly processed through customs and led by an airport employee to a transport car that takes us to a hangar where I see a jet, a private jet. I want to make some snide comment about rich people and their planes, but then I remember that I’m now one of them, so I shut my mouth. Not surprisingly, Anna does not.

“Whose plane is this?” she demands as we walk up to it.

“A good friend of Jack’s,” Pete says. Anna stops walking and glares at Pete.

He rolls his eyes. “Bryce Gallagher. He owns a private security firm and consults with several intelligence agencies,” Pete says.

Anna’s eyes widen at the name, which I don’t recognize. I shrug and get on board the plane, making myself cozy. Anna walks in behind me and eyes her surroundings before choosing a seat next to me.

“Everything OK?” I ask her.

“Yes,” she says.

“Who’s Bryce Gallagher?” I ask.

“He’s…well, a sort of legend. We’ll be safe on this plane,” she says but doesn’t elaborate. I decide I’ll search his name later. We’re served drinks as the pilots go through their pre-flight check. It isn’t long before we are flying, and everyone is on their electronic devices. I settle myself into my seat and close my eyes, hoping to catch a little sleep before we arrive because god knows I won’t be sleeping once we get there. The thoughts of the trap we are setting bounce around my mind. I can’t shake the feeling that this is a bad idea, a dangerous idea that could get us all killed. I ponder what my father would think of that and that makes me think of Pops and Nana. I wait till the seatbelt signs have been turned off before getting up and walking over to Pete.

“Yes?” Pete asks me.

“My grandparents…” I start but he holds up his hand.

“Are being watched. Don’t worry. Jack’s on it,” Pete says.

“Oh, alright then,” I say as I walk back to my seat.

“Everything OK?” Anna asks me.

I laugh. “If running back across the ocean while trying to evade and then draw in a killer is OK, then I’d say everything is just perfect,” I grumble.

Anna looks up at me. “I’m sorry,” she says. I suddenly snap out of my doom and gloom.

“For what?” I ask.

“I feel like going to you…maybe I should have just alerted the authorities,” she says.

I want to groan. “We’re not seriously back to that are we?” I snarl.

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