Page 15 of Ruthless Prince

I sighed. “Sorry for what? That you obviously don’t believe me even though you say youdo?”

Jamie looked uncomfortable. “I believe something is going on with you, Willow. I just want to get to the bottom ofit.”

I tilted my face to the ceiling and smiled humorlessly. “Ah. I get it now. You believe I’ve had some sort of mental break that’s made me go on a crazy attention-seeking spree. But that’s all. You don’t believe I have an actualstalker.”

He raised one palm. “I know you aren’t an attention seeker. Like I said earlier, stress can make people do all sorts of things that are completely out of their character. Someone might do something totally wacky and not even realize it untillater.”

I gritted my teeth. “I didn’t do any of this. Iswear.”

He nodded slowly. “Okay. If you say you didn’t, then I believe you didn’t,” he said, looking me right in the eye. “We’ll keep investigating, and we’ll find out who actually did it. I’ll make sure ofit.”

My shoulders slumped with relief. “Thankyou.”

He excused himself for a moment as a different man appeared in the doorway. When he returned to the sofa, he didn’t sit down. “They’re saying your room is ready for you now,” he said. “The forensics team took all the photos and swabs they need, and the maids have cleaned up the mirror. Everything is just as you left it earlier thisevening.”

“I don’t know if I can go backthere.”

Jamie held out a hand. “We’ve added two extra guards to the regular detail outside the room, and we’ve also posted two guards on your balcony,” he said. “Trust me, you’ll be safer in there than a gold bar in FortKnox.”

“Okay.” I managed a weak smile and let him help me up. “I guess I should try to get somerest.”

“You’ll feel better in the morning. We’ll have the forensic results by thentoo.”

He escorted me back to my bedroom, and I allowed him inside to do one last check. “Let’s see,” he said, peeking under the white dust ruffle on my bed. “No one hiding under here.” He briskly crossed over to my walk-in robe and poked his head inside. “No one in hereeither.”

“I get it. The room is clear,” Isaid.

“Sorry. Just trying to make you feelbetter.”

I flashed him a faint smile. “I do feel better. Thanks forhelping.”

When he was finally gone, I took a quick shower and put on my satin nightdress. Behind the curtains on the far right side of the bedroom, I could see two bulky shadows from the new Secret Service agents who’d been posted out on the balcony to make sure no one tried to break inagain.

Jamie was right. I was perfectly safe in herenow.

I climbed into bed and closed my eyes. My limbs turned heavy, releasing all the tension of the day, and my heart slowed to a peaceful beat. Sleep finally arrived like a warm, invitingblanket.

My dreams were serene at first, filled with soft light and pleasant music, but they soon shifted to dark and twisted scenes. I had a terrible nightmare in which a faceless monster crushed my chest with rocks until my ribs and lungs collapsed, and I awoke from the imaginary ordeal with a jolt, fighting forbreath.

Try as I might, I couldn’t drag any air into my lungs. I couldn’t make a sound, either. My eyes finally adjusted to the inky darkness, and my brain turned alert again as adrenaline drove out any remaining sleepiness. That was when I realized my mouth and nose were covered by a largehand.

There was a man in a black and silver skull mask right on top ofme.

4

Willow

Aprimal soundrose from my throat, immediately stifled by the heavy hand over my mouth. Terror settled into my body like sharp claws in my chest as my blood turned to ice. At the same time, my face grew paradoxically hot with panic and my stomach felt like pure acid eating away at myinsides.

Adrenaline flooded my veins as my fight or flight response finally kicked in. I couldn’t get up and run, so my only option was tofight.

I kicked, clawed and squirmed, trying to get the masked man off me, but he was too heavy. Immovable. I kept kicking anyway, hoping all the agitation would knock him off balance or confuse him. Then I tried to roll out from under him. He let out a low chuckle at my efforts and slammed his free hand into my right side. Nausea rose in my throat as sharp pain shot all over my abdomen, and hot tears of frustration sprang to myeyes.

I was taller than most girls and probably stronger too, but that didn’t mean I could outmatch the strength of a man. Try as I might to defend myself, I was pitifully weak and powerless against almost any one of them. I couldn’t give up right away, though. Couldn’t let this asshole win soeasily.

I won’t, I won’t, Iwon’t.

With a strength I didn’t even know I possessed, I lifted my head off the pillow and slammed my face against my attacker’s mask, taking his hand with me and using it against him. Pain spread like fire across my forehead from the impact of the blow, but I didn’t care. Considering I’d hit my assailant somewhere around his nose, he was probably hurting more than me rightnow.