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“Screenshots or it didn’t happen.”
I disconnected and stared at my phone like it could bite me. Then I pulled on my big-girl pants and wrote out a text from my pseudonym account.
PennyAllen: How did you enjoy the animal show earlier?
The message displayed as read almost instantly, but there was a pause before a reply came in.
Highlandspilot: How do I know who this is?
Ever the cautious bodyguard. I snapped a picture of my face.
Highlandspilot: Ah, my regular Disney princess, taming birds with biscuits in her pocket.
Ha, so observant. No one else had seen me lay my trails.
PennyAllen: Actually, it was chopped nuts, stolen from the kitchens.
He was typing, but I quickly fired off another text before I could lose my nerve.
PennyAllen: Are you busy?
Highlandspilot: I have nothing else to do in London except take care of you.
Butterflies fluttered in my belly, and I took a deep breath, momentarily lost in his interesting choice of words. Then an idea came to mind. A glance out of the window showed me dusk neared on the warm summer evening.
PennyAllen: Can we meet up to talk?
Highlandspilot: Tell me where to come in the palace.
PennyAllen: It would be boring if it were that easy. See the location setting on my profile? In twenty minutes, it’ll turn on just for you. Find me.
Then I switched the phone off, bit down on a huge grin, and skipped to the wardrobe to find a wig.
Chapter 14
Raphael
Goddamn it. My fifth message to Alex went unanswered. It didn’t even display as read. I’d even tried calling her but with no reply, and now, I stood outside one of the side exits of Ossington palace, pacing the pavement under the eye of a watchful guard.
If she was going rogue, I wanted to catch her in the act, but the building had multiple exits she could slip out of. I had half a mind to message Riss, except I wasn’t sure what Alex was doing. Not enough to involve the whole team.
Plus, I had to confess to myself an alternative motive.
I shoved my hands into my jeans pockets, scowling at a group of tourists who blocked the pavement.
This evening, I’d get Alex alone, even if just for a short while. The thought had my chest tight, and apprehension mixed with a sharp spike of excitement that had me pacing all over again.
It felt like I was going on a date. I’d rapidly changed my shirt and put on aftershave.
I didn’t even attempt to process why my mind had gone there.
For the fiftieth time, I refreshed her profile, willing a reply to have come in. Nothing. But then, the indicators changed to show me she’d read my messages. With my heart in my mouth, I tapped the location icon.
It displayed a map with a green flashing dot.
Holy fuck.
I scanned the road names around her beacon with urgency. She was on the other side of the palace and moving quickly. Gritting my teeth, I took off at a sprint and pounded the pavement, hugging the palace boundary and passing the formal frontage.