Page 104 of Trained Royal

“I doubt I’ll sleep after all this,” Sophia said. William wrapped his arms around her, reassuring her.

Kieren opened his mouth to speak when his phone rang. “Hello?”

“It’s Brett. How is everyone?”

“Shaken, but we’re in one piece, as I said.”

“All right, smartass. I’ve sent Jade, Isaac and Owen to your location. They will help get you to us.”

“Is that a good idea?” he asked.

“I want everyone in one safe room where we can protect them better. Once we’ve spoken with the people we locked up, we can decide from there.”

“Was it Tobias?”

Brett sighed. “Yes. And Aaron. I have no idea how they got through, but someone got to them. We need to find out who and how.”

“They’re still alive?”

“For now,” Brett growled. “I don’t know for how long once His Majesty gets hold of them.”

Kieren snickered, despite the seriousness of the situation. “I wouldn’t bet against Andrew at this point.” Patrick frowned at him, and Kieren smiled. There was a knock at the door. “Are they here already?”

Brett was quiet for a moment. “Yes. Check the camera, just in case.”

“See you shortly, boss.”

Kieren let go of Patrick and headed for the door, checking the screen and seeing the three people Brett had sent. He unlocked the door, and the guards piled in. They closed the door again.

“We just want to check you’re okay before we make our way back,” Isaac said.

Kieren glanced at the group. “Any injuries or anything that we need to know about before we get out of here?”

Everyone shook their heads, and Kieren faced the guards. “We’re good to go.”

“Let’s get to it, then.”

This time, Kieren and Jade took the rear, with Gerald in the middle and Isaac and Owen in the lead. They didn’t go directly because they wanted to ensure they weren’t followed. Even with Brett’s assurances they had all the bad guys, Kieren didn’t want to take any chances.

By the time they arrived at the primary safe house, he was strung tight. They needed to get to the bottom of this. This was a nightmare of epic proportions. He had never imagined Charlotte would be bold enough to send an assassination squad to Sandringham to take them all out. Yes, it had been a chance to have everyone under one roof, but he never truly believed she would attempt something like that. It blew his mind.

If she was willing to try this, what wouldn’t she try?

****

Chapter 31

Frederick

Freddie clenched his fists and paced at the back of the safe room. Not being allowed to help protect the others had set aflame a ball in his stomach, and he hated it. Yes, he was the heir, but he was as strong as the rest of them. He could protect them. He gritted his teeth and moved back and forth across the space.

Someone spun him around and pushed him into the wall beside the filing cabinet, partially hiding him from the rest of the occupants. It was only when his back met the wall that he saw Damon looming in front of him.

“What?” Freddie glared at him and tried to step forward.

Damon pressed a hand to his chest and slammed him back again. “Stay there,” he said through gritted teeth.

“What the fuck, Damon?” he whispered. “Let me go.”