Page 96 of Broken Crown

When another shot thunders through the air followed by an ear-piercing wail, I stiffen, my heart pounding in my chest.Silas is momentarily caught off-guard, too, his grip on my arm loosening.But he recovers before I can attempt to free myself.

“Move,” he hisses into my ear, pushing me along the corridor, not allowing me to stop even when another shot rings out.

And another.

And another.

Reaching my office, Silas kicks the door open, using me as a human shield.A familiar figure whirls around at the sound, gun raised, ready to fire.

Until his gaze lands on me.

And the knife held to my throat.

“If I were you, I’d drop your weapon,” Silas sneers, digging the blade even harder into my flesh.“Unless you want the princess’ next breath to be her last.”

ChapterThirty-Six

Creed

“Stay down,”my father orders softly as he slows the car to a stop, the sounds of the city filtering into the SUV when he lowers the window.

I hear a subtle beep, indicating he’s most likely at the staff entrance to the Gladwell Palace complex.After a few seconds, he urges the car forward at a slow speed before putting it in park a minute later.

“Anything look out of place?”I ask, desperate to see something,anythingthat tells me Esme’s okay.

“Not…really.”My father’s voice certainly doesn’t instill any confidence in me, and I try to sit up, but he pushes me back down to the floorboard.

“But—”

“You need to stay hidden,” he says, his words clipped and urgent.

“What do you see?”

“Nothing.I just… It could be nothing, but I have a feeling in my gut that something’s off.I’ll go check it out.”

“I’m coming with you.”I start to rip the blanket off me again.

And yet again, he pushes me back to the floor.

“There are cameras everywhere.You’d better believe they’re watching every single one of them for any trace of you.”

“I know how to avoid them.How do you think I’ve snuck into her apartment all the times I have?”

“Of course.”I can hear the exasperation in his tone.But there’s also a hint of humor.“All the same, it’s too big of a risk right now.You need to stay hidden until we can figure out why someone’s trying to frame you.Understood?”

I want to protest.Tell him Kane Kingsley is most likely trying to frame me because I found out he killed Adam.Which is why my father shouldn’t go into Esme’s apartment without backup.

“If I don’t make contact in three minutes, you can come in,” he offers after a few moments, sensing my hesitation.

I part my lips once more, on the verge of insisting I go with him.But my father’s just as stubborn as me.Probably more so.I’m wasting time by arguing with him.

“Fine,” I agree reluctantly, still not liking anything about this.

“Good.”He opens the door, his feet crunching on the gravel as he steps out.The last thing I hear are his retreating footfalls before silence surrounds me.

I strain to listen for any indication that everything inside is okay and I was worried unnecessarily.I’d feel better if I could at least see something.But I promised I wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks.Removing this blanket while sitting in a compound swarming with security would most certainly do just that.So I stay hidden.

Until the unmistakable sound of a gunshot reverberates in the night air.

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