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“Just a little bit more, sir, I promise.”

“Declan?”

Dec turned around. The princess had come up behind him. She hadn’t spoken to him since their last break.

“Declan.” She ran the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip. “You said a helicopter will pick us up.”

“Yes.”

She nodded. “Where will it take us?”

Dec frowned. “I don’t know.”

“To your base in California?”

“A Black Hawk couldn’t do that kind of distance.”

“I know that. What I meant was, is that our final destination? The States?”

It was a good question, but he didn’t have the answer. “It’ll be someplace safe.”

“Someplace safe,” she whispered.

Something in her voice worried

him. The look of her worried him too. She was pale. Damp with sweat. A lock of hair hung over her eye. Without thinking, he pushed it back.

“Why are you asking? Is there a place that wouldn’t feel safe to you?”

“I just—I just—” She took a deep breath. “I’m just wondering where we’ll be going, that’s all.”

Of course she was wondering. Any bride whose wedding had been delayed would want assurance that she was going straight into the arms of her groom.

Dec’s mouth twisted.

“Don’t worry about a thing, Princess,” he said with a cold smile. “I’m sure the United States government has no interest in depositing you anyplace but in your bridegroom’s lap.”

He swung away from her and shouldered his gear. He could feel her staring after him. His guys were watching him too. So what? Was he supposed to treat her as if she were special?

His job was to get her out.

If she didn’t like the way he was dealing with her, fuck it.

Something cold and wet splatted against his forehead. He looked up and saw a sky that had filled with rainclouds. Shit. The forecast hadn’t included rain, but weather was always unpredictable when you were up this high.

“Let’s move,” he said sharply.

The only good news was that they were on the last few miles of a journey he already wanted to forget.

* * *

The rain turned into a steady downpour.

They stopped just long enough to put on ponchos. There weren’t enough to go around so Alex and Nick gave theirs to the ambassador and his wife.

Aidan tried to give his to the princess, but she refused it.

“Thank you,” she said, “but I’m fine,” even though any idiot could see she was soaked and shivering