Page 41 of Baby Daddy Protector

“Already on it, sir,” my bulky bodyguard said. “We should be getting a signal right about… now.”

Aerial views of a rather barren-looking landscape soon appeared, with waves pounding the shores of the slender peninsula in the distance. The drone gradually grew closer and a house appeared, appearing as desolate as the area around it. There was one access road in and out. My gut tightened with stress and yearning. Part of me wanted Es to be there, just so I’d know for sure where she was. The other part of me hated the fact that Silvester was such an asshole to leave a pregnant woman to fend for herself in some isolated cottage. She could be hurt. She was surely tired and hungry and thirsty. There’d be hell to pay when I got my hands on that bastard Silvester.

“Sir, I’ve got it!” the guard at the computer said. Deacon and I rushed back over to the screen to see a shot of the same SUV that had taken Es out of the city, now departing from the house on the peninsula. With the windows tinted black, it was impossible to see who was inside, but I doubted they’d take Es all the way out there only to turn around and bring her right back again. I inhaled deeply and shut my eyes, focusing on my gut instincts. Deacon was right. I should’ve been listening to my gut the whole time. And my gut was telling me Es was there, in that house by the beach.

“She’s there. I know it.” I turned to head back to the maps. “Now, we need to figure out a rescue plan.” I riffled through the maps until I reached one with a detailed layout of the peninsula. “I’d love nothing more than to swoop in by helicopter and get my wife, but that might only put her in more danger, especially since Silvester most likely left at least one guard there to watch her. He’s evil as hell, but he’s not stupid. Deacon, what do you think?”

“Water’s probably the best route.” Deacon studied the same map of the peninsula. “Leave from this port, enter the water several hundred yards off shore so the boat can hang back, and approach the house on foot from the beach. Take them by surprise. Guards won’t be expecting that.”

I felt a bit of my tension ease as I looked up at my best friend and trusted teammate. His plan was one we might have used in the SEALs. We trained in water for just such missions. I needed Deacon with me. “You staying to help?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Perfect.” I turned back to address the room at large. “Guards, gather round. We’ve got a princess to save. Here’s what we’re going to do…”

THIRTY

Iopened my eyes much later. My neck was sore from dozing in such an awkward position, and my throat felt dry as sandpaper. The sun had set, and a chilly breeze blew through the drafty old house. The room I was sitting in was dark now, and shadows lurked in every corner. I yawned then tried to stretch, forgetting about my hands and ankles being restrained. The tape pulled tight against my skin, and I cried out in pain. As if in agreement, the baby kicked hard, its tiny feet thumping a drumbeat on my too-full bladder.

Ugh. I squinted through the empty room at the bright yellow light shining out from beneath one of the doorways. Someone else was here! Slowly, voices began to trickle into my consciousness, and my pulse raced. Someone was here, and maybe they could let me up to use the restroom. That thought was quickly followed by another, more sinister one—someone was here and maybe they’d decided it was time to kill me.

My breath caught as panic took hold.

No. I took a deep breath. Well, as deep as I could, considering my awkward position.Okay. Okay. Think, Es, think. What would Z do in this situation?

Thinking about my beloved husband helped calm me. It also helped steel my resolve to get the hell out of here and make sure Silvester never got his hands on my throne or the chance to hurt anyone I loved ever again.

Right. Z was a trained SEAL. He’d consider his options, make logical choices, have a plan. I checked quickly around me but found nothing to assist me in escaping. The best I could hope for then was to perhaps discern exactly who was in the next room and what they were doing so I could figure out my next move. Satisfied with that step, I squirmed in my chair, slowly inching forward across the hardwood floor until I was close enough to hear what the voices were saying.

Two men were talking. One voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

The other, I recognized immediately.

Silvester.

He’d come back, apparently.

The other man could be one of the henchmen he’d had with him before, I supposed. But his voice sounded a little too cultured for that. I strained to hear better, catching words and phrases.

“Are you sure parliament is on our side?” the other man spoke.

“I’ve spent months cultivating my relationships with politicians and select, important business owners while you were off making a mess of things in the States,” Silvester said, irritation clear in his tone.

“Raybourn was with her constantly in DC, whenever she left the townhouse. He has sharp instincts, too. He knew when to hustle her out of somewhere like that haunted house.”

“He’s hardly that fantastic. He must be blaming himself now for letting the dear princess get taken. Such a pity.”

Z would be doing that, but he’d be acting, too. Taking charge of a rescue attempt.

The other man said something I couldn’t make out, other than the word coronation. They better be talking about mine, not Silvester’s. My people wouldn’t allow him to waltz off with the crown without asking questions about what happened to me.

Silvester was a pompous jerk. He just assumed he’d win, that Z and I would be so easy to defeat.

“Do you hear that?” Silvester asked.

My breath froze and my eyes widened. Had I made noise moving my chair closer? Had—

Then I heard something as well. A faint sound that could have been a motor or just a shift in the wind. Then it was gone. What had it been? Whatever it was, it came from the side of the house facing the water.

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