by Mia Carson
She said she would and arranged the ropes on her lap so it looked like she was still tied up. A gunshot echoed through the com, and she jumped. Wonder how many ashes he’ll add to his tattoo after today, she mused and worried Matt wouldn’t come back from the darkness.
***
When he reached the gate, Matt, with his rifle slung over his shoulder, didn’t stop when the guard called out to him. He lunged forward, grabbed the man by the shirt and yanked him out of the shack. Dorian raised the butt of his rifle and quickly knocked the man out before he could call for help.
“Those crates,” Matt said, nodding to them. “The dock is on the other side.”
“Get up there. I’ll scout out another spot to call targets from.”
They walked to the center of the crates and split, Matt going left and hustling towards the stack of four shipping crates. Dorian disappeared to the right. Grunts of pain echoed to him, but no gunshots yet. Matt stayed low and lay flat on the crates, set up his rifle, and put his eye to the scope. He moved it from one boat to the next set up at the dock until he spotted one crawling with men. The rest of them were completely deserted. He checked the faces of the men, spotting Orion, another guard from the palace, and finally Ambrose. He was on the phone, his face drawn in anger.
Before he could get a clean shot, the man stepped out of sight. Matt moved to Orion instead, and once Dorian said he was in position, Matt lined up his shot and pulled the trigger. The man’s body dropped to the deck of the boat, and panic ensued shortly after. That’s for being a traitor, you bastard.
“I count seven,” Dorian said. “Three more on the dock.”
“Take care of them,” Matt said and moved his rifle until he found his next target. He moved up to the man’s head and pulled the trigger again. “Six on deck,” he said and ejected the spent shell.
Dorian muttered something about keeping score, but Matt didn’t hear him. He listened for Daphne through the com. She stayed quiet, and he watched a man drop dead on the dock.
“They’re starting to scatter,” Dorian told him. “Should I let them go?”
“Daphne?” he asked. “Live or die?”
She hesitated. With a sigh, she said, “Let them go. You don’t need all this blood on your hands.”
He wanted to argue but let the two men from the dock flee. Ambrose poked his head back around, his gun aimed towards the crates, and fired. The shots were too low and ricocheted off the metal around Matt. He didn’t flinch. He popped off a shot back, but it missed the man’s head by a few inches and he ejected the shell angrily.
“Come on, you bastard,” Matt muttered. Two other men charged forward, their guns firing towards Matt, but one was dropped by Dorian and the second went down when Matt fired. “Four. Daphne, what do you hear?”
“Nothing… It’s quiet—no! Get your hands off me!”
“Daphne! What’s happening?”
“Let me go! Matt!”
“Shut up, you bitch,” Ambrose shouted.
Matt stared through the scope, and when Ambrose came back into view with his gun aimed at Daphne’s head, his entire body exploded in fury.
“Put down your weapons,” Ambrose called out to the dockyard. “Do it or I’ll kill her!”
“Matt,” Daphne whispered, and Ambrose yanked hard on her hair. She reached back, trying to get free, but he smacked her with the gun, and she staggered.
“Matt, can you get a shot?” Dorian asked quietly. “I’m blocked. I can’t see.”
He scooted forward, his hands the steadiest they’d been in years, and put his eye back to the scope. He breathed in and out slowly, forcing his heart to settle back into a steady rhythm. Ambrose yelled again, but he ignored it. Breathe, in and out, just breathe.
“Daphne, stand very still.” In the scope, he saw her nod subtly, and her body froze. “Look to the crates,” he whispered, and her eyes moved up to where he hid out of sight. “Do you trust me?”
He watched her chest heave as she took a deep breath and said one word: “Yes.”
Ambrose’s face scrunched into a snarl, but Matt’s finger was on the trigger. He squeezed, and the shot echoed across the dockyard. He sank to the deck beside Daphne, dead with a bullet hole in his forehead. She staggered backwards, her face pale.
“Matt, the others are running,” Dorian said. “It’s safe.”
“Daphne, I’m coming,” he told her. “Can you hear me?”
“I’m… I’m fine,” she breathed. “I’m fine, Matt.”
But she wasn’t, and he scaled down the crates as quickly as he could, slinging his rifle over his shoulder, and sprinted around the crates to reach the dock. He didn’t even see the dead bodies as he raced down the dock.
“Daphne!”
She clung to the railing of the boat, her hands as white as her face. “Matt. Matt!” Daphne rushed off the boat and jumped into his arms. He crushed her to his body, picking her up off the dock, breathing in her sweet scent mixed with the salty air.
“I was so scared,” he admitted. “God, I thought I was going to lose you.”
“Not yet,” she whispered and leaned back enough to see him. He kissed her, desperate to feel those soft lips on his and know she was really there with him. Gently, he put her back on her feet and examined every inch of her bruised, cut face.
“Bastard,” he snarled. Carefully, he brushed his fingers over the red and purple coloring on her cheeks, but she took his hand.
“They’ll heal. You’re a good shot, anyone ever tell you that?” she said with relief. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Dorian said, behind him, “but Jeremiah texted. Dion is at the palace.”
Matt’s entire body stiffened, and Daphne’s eyes turned lighter than he’d ever seen before. “How fast can we get there?”
“You want to go back there?” he asked her hesitant. “Daphne, are you sure?”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t guarantee I won’t kill your cousin on sight,” he snapped honestly.
She squeezed his hand. “I might not stop you, but they need to know the truth. I can’t leave until they know it all.”
She had a point—not that Matt thought her parents nor anyone else deserved to have Daphne in their lives, but he knew he couldn’t stop her. “An admission might help,” he said. “The earbuds—they record. I have it on my cell.” He glanced down at the clothes she had on from last night, torn up and dirty. “Do you want to change first?”
Daphne shook her head. “I’m done hiding,” she said. “Get me to the palace, Matt, and let’s end this.”
“You heard the princess,” he told Dorian. “Get ready for a fight.”
Dorian grinned. “I should hang out with you more often. Retired, my ass, Matthias.”
Matt frowned, but Daphne laughed loudly. “Sorry, but I really hope this is not a regular occurrence. I’m not sure if I can take much more of this.”
“You won’t. After this, I’m taking you away. Far away,” he said and kissed the top of her head. “Then, Daphne Eridian, I’m going to marry you so no one else can ever have you.”
Her face went blank before it brightened into a smile and she leapt into his arms again. He would’ve been content kissing her the rest of the day, stripping her bare and showing her everything he hadn’t been able to say before she’d been taken from him, but like she’d said, they had one more thing to take care of.
Chapter 15
Barefoot, wearing her mini skirt, halter crop top, and bruised and scratched, Daphne strode through the main gate to the palace, ignoring the protests and calls of the other guards as Matt and Dorian followed her.
“Princess, they’re armed! I can’t let them in,” the man argued. “My God! What happened to you?”
She whirled around on him, no more smiles, and glared. “I am Princess Daphne Eridian, and these two men are my personal bodyguards,” she stated. “They are here to escort me inside. Do not try to stop
them or me again.”
The man bowed his head and backed away but didn’t leave. He called on the radio to let the rest of the guard know the princess had returned, then fell in line behind them. She paused when she neared the main doors, but Matt squeezed her shoulder and her confidence rushed back. She was in the right here, and no one was going to tell her what to do again. Servants gawked at their princess marching through the palace as more guards swarmed around them, but she pushed through. Matt and Dorian didn’t waver from her sides.
“The king and queen, where are they?” she called out in the main foyer.
“The surveillance room, my lady,” Marie yelled from the main staircase.
Daphne gave her a brief smile. “Thank you, Marie.”
She turned for the lower stairs and kept up her steady pace. The entourage of guards stayed with the three, but she didn’t care. The more who witnessed this, the merrier, as far as she was concerned. Halfway to the surveillance room at the end of the hall, the door burst open and her mother ran out, yelling at her for scaring them. Daphne didn’t stop walking, and when Alexandria reached for her, demanding to know where the hell she’d been and why Matt was there, Daphne told her to shut up.
“What? What did you just say to me?”
“I said to shut up, Mother,” Daphne said calmly. “Do I look like I just ran off somewhere? Is that really what you think?”
For the first time, Alexandria really looked at her daughter, the bruises on her face and the scratches, and her torn and dirty clothes, and her mouth fell open in horror. “Daphne? Your beautiful face.”
“I’ll explain, but Matt and Dorian stay with me, understand? They’re not going anywhere.”
She walked on, leaving her mother sputtering and hurrying to keep up. Calix waited impatiently in the doorway, tapping his toe and his arms crossed over his chest. “Daphne—”
“Don’t,” she snapped. “Whatever you’re going to say, don’t, Father. Not yet. Where’s Dion?”
Calix’s mouth hung open in shock. He shut it as his eyes narrowed on Matt and Dorian. “Why is he here? How dare you return to this palace! I demand you leave at once!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Matt said firmly. “I’m charged with protecting the princess, and that is exactly what I’ve done while you sat here twiddling your thumbs. Sir.” He bit off the last word harshly.
“She ran off!”
“No, I was kidnapped from the palace,” Daphne informed her father as she pushed past him into the room as Calix spluttered in disbelief behind her. Dion stood near the front, talking to several of the guards. “Dion, I’m so happy you’re here.”
He whirled around and stared, wide-eyed, at her. “Daphne? Thank God you’re safe. Everyone was so worried,” he said and hurried towards her.
When he was a step away, Matt rushed forward and decked him in the jaw. “You bastard! I should rip your throat out!” He punched him again and sent him to the floor. Dion called for help, but Jeremiah told the others to hold off. Matt picked up Dion by his shirt and continued to beat him over the yelling of Calix and Alexandria.
“Matt. Matthias,” Daphne said and touched his shoulder after the fifth punch. “We need him able to talk.” Fuming, he nodded, and hoisted the man to his feet.
His face bloody, Dion glared defiantly at Daphne. “You have no proof, you bitch. No proof of anything!”
“Proof of what?” Calix stormed. “Will someone tell me what the hell is going on in my palace?”
“I told you,” Daphne said and took the cell phone Matt pulled from his pocket. “Dion and Ambrose kidnapped me last night and plastered those photos all over the news. He was going to kill me.”
“It’s all lies!” Dion yelled, but Matt shook him hard enough for his teeth to rattle.
Alexandria’s hand covered her mouth as Calix’s opened and closed like a fish out of water. “Daphne… What are you saying? This is madness! He’s your cousin!”
“And he wants the throne,” she argued angrily. “You know this—both of you do.”
“I don’t understand,” Alexandria whispered. “Daphne, we would have known if you were kidnapped.”
“Obviously not,” she said gently, trying to reign in her rage. “You’ve been too busy controlling my life to realize the actual danger I was in.” She tossed the phone to Jeremiah. “Play the file that’s up, and make sure everyone can hear it.”
Jeremiah bowed his head and hurried to the computers behind him. Calix and Alexandria closed in around their daughter, asking her if she was really alright and what she was talking about. They didn’t believe it was possible for something so horrible to happen after all they had done to protect her, but she told them to be quiet and listen. Jeremiah turned the audio up, and the room was filled with Ambrose’s last few words to Daphne.
The second they heard him say Dion had ordered him to kill Daphne, Calix turned to his nephew and Daphne saw him hit a new level of rage. The audio cut off right after she’d been slapped across the face again, her mother wincing at the sound, and Calix charged at Dion.
“You greedy little cretin! You were going to kill my daughter!”
“Your king is speaking to you,” Matt snarled and gave Dion another good shake.
He spat at Calix’s feet and cackled but didn’t speak. He didn’t get a chance. Calix brought his fist back and hit Dion hard enough to knock him unconscious. Matt let his body slump to the floor, and Alexandria called for one of the guards to find Agnes.
“Daphne,” she said gently, taking her daughter’s hand. Tears filled her eyes as she cupped her cheek. “I’m so sorry… We thought… We just assumed you ran off.”
Daphne smiled at her mom but stepped backwards. “I’ve wanted to—so many times, I’ve wanted to just leave.”
Alexandria and Calix stared at her, wide-eyed. “But you’re in line for the throne. You’re the princess,” her mother argued.
“Yes, of a kingdom which believes I’m a shut-in because of you two.” She took a deep breath and tugged her earlobe. Alexandria automatically reached up to stop it, and Daphne swatted her hand away. “No, I’m done being controlled by you. I know it hurt when Marietta died, but you locked me away. You took over my life. I won’t allow it anymore.”
“Oh, Daphne, stop this,” Calix huffed. “We did nothing of the sort.”
“Sorry, but you did,” Dorian said, stepping forward. “I live out there. I hear what everyone says, and they all believed Dion would make a better heir because of your actions.”
Alexandria laughed nervously. “No, that’s not possible.”
“Will you stop thinking you’re right all the time?” Daphne yelled. “Jesus!”
“Is that why you slept with this man?” Calix growled and pointed accusingly at Matt.
“That man saved my life, Dad, and I love him,” Daphne admitted. “I love him, and whether you like it or not, I’m going to be with him.” She held out her hand, and Matt immediately took it, moving to stand by her side.
“You can’t,” Calix commanded. “I won’t allow it.”
“The hell you won’t,” Matt snapped. “I won’t give you a choice.”
“And I don’t care anymore,” Daphne said gently, gaining strength from Matt. He showed her what she wanted from life and who she could be. Nothing was going to stop her from getting it, and even if they tried to keep her, the look on Matt’s face said he’d take them all on and take her away, no matter what. “You either get me with Matt and a change of how things are done here, or you find a new heir.” Her parents could only stare, both at a loss for words, and Daphne let out a deep sigh of relief. “While you decide, I’m going on a small vacation with Matt. I’ll be at our private estate in the Caribbean. You can find me there once you’ve made up your minds.”
Alexandria stretched forward and pulled her daughter into a hug. “Daphne, my sweet girl, I’m sorry. Please stay, we can work this out,” she begged.
Daphne pushed her away, kissed her cheek,
and said they could call her but she was leaving. “And I suggest you send someone down to the docks to fetch Ambrose’s body,” she added. “Might find a few other things of interest as well.”
“No,” Calix argued, moving towards her. “I forbid this!”
Matt stepped between him and his daughter. He didn’t say a single word, but Daphne knew exactly what her dad saw as he took a hurried step backwards, his face showing uncertainty and fear. Matt backed off, slowly, and turned his back on the king and queen.
Matt smirked at her and asked, “Are you ready to go?”
“To start a life with you?”
“I’m not letting you go back on your answer,” he said and kissed her knuckles sweetly.
“Wasn’t planning on it. Let’s go. We have a plane to catch.” And together, they strode out of the surveillance room, down the corridor, and out of the palace. A weight lifted from Daphne’s chest, and for the first time in her adult life, she knew no matter what came next, she’d handle it with Matt by her side, holding her heart as she held his.
Epilogue
Two Months Later
The sand was warm and soft beneath her feet as she curled her toes into it. Daphne took a deep breath of the ocean air, the wind blowing her hair back around her head. After two months of being alone on the private Eridian estate with Matt, she was far more relaxed than she’d ever been. Every day was a new adventure somewhere around the islands. And every night they explored each other’s bodies, taking their pleasure to new heights until they passed out in each other’s arms.
Then there was the wedding that took place on the beach only a week ago. Daphne grinned, glancing down at the simple sapphire and diamond ring on her finger, sparkling in the setting sun. She’d informed her parents of her decision, and though they’d tried to convince her to wait, she refused. This was her life, and it was time she started living it.
Two strong arms closed around her, and she leaned back into Matt’s warm body, his chest bare from another long day spent on the beach.
