“What are we going to do?” Casey whispered, her eyes filled with concern.

  “Keep moving,” I said through gritted teeth. “We’re not safe here. The tunnels are fortified but we have no idea if they’ll stand up to something like a bomb. We need you out of the tunnel and in the safe house.”

  I pushed to my feet and picked up my pace. Luckily, the contractions were about ten minutes apart, so I could make time in between. On the flip side, I had a feeling they would start coming sooner than every ten minutes and we needed to get to the ladder that led to the street as quickly as possible.

  “Sonofabitch.” I looked down at the small puddle of water that had just formed at my feet.

  “Your water broke,” Casey said softly, her eyes meeting mine. “Lennox…”

  “I know,” I said. “Just keep going. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner I can get to a hospital.”

  The next contraction came eight minutes later, and I had to put one hand flat against the wall to breathe through it. I was usually hyper-focused when I was on a mission, especially one like this where lives were at stake, but it was hard to do when it felt like someone was ripping through your midsection with a knife.

  When I could move again, I got to a secluded panel and punched in the code to open it. We’d hidden a small arsenal of weapons inside and I grabbed as much as I could carry, handing Courtney a few grenades and Casey a .357 Magnum, which was her weapon of choice at the range. There was only one bulletproof vest and I handed it to Casey.

  “How am I supposed to put that on?” she asked. “I’ve got the whole backpack thing going on and if we stop, I’ll have to take Levi out, take it off, get that on, and then get him in it and on my back again. We’re going to lose a lot of time.”

  I hesitated but nodded. “All right. Let’s get to the exit and then—” I doubled over, a groan escaping me. This contraction was stronger, harder, and I couldn’t straighten up. I unwittingly sank to the ground, my back against the wall as I struggled to breathe through it. “Fuck.”

  “Jesus, Lennox, what do we do?” Courtney squatted beside me.

  “Take Casey and go. Get her to the exit. She knows the code to open the hatch at the top.”

  “I can’t leave you!” she protested.

  “You can and you will.” I gripped her by the front of her shirt. “My job is to get her and the baby to safety. I don’t know if I can right now, but you can. And I’m counting on you. Marine to marine.”

  “Lennox, no…” Casey was standing over us, her eyes wet with tears. “We can’t just leave you to⁠—”

  “You have to,” I interrupted in a firm tone. “You have to think about yourself and the baby.”

  “What about your babies?” she whispered.

  “Sandor will get here,” I whispered back. “I know he will. And it’s not me they’re after. Now, go. We’re wasting time.”

  Casey and Courtney exchanged a look.

  “Then this stays here.” Casey put the bulletproof vest over my belly and held up a hand when I tried to protest. “Don’t even try. Either the vest stays with you or I do.”

  Our eyes locked and I knew when to back down. I was currently her bodyguard, but she and I were cousins through marriage and friends by choice. She would fight to protect me and my unborn babies almost as hard as I’d fight to protect her and Levi. “Go. Now.”

  I watched them disappear down the dimly lit tunnel and then made sure my weapons were primed and ready to go. I pulled out my phone and hesitated. If I called Sandor and told him where I was, he would panic, and I didn’t want to distract him. But damn, I didn’t want anything to happen to these beautiful babies we’d made together either. For the first time I felt a hint of fear, and it took a lot to scare me. Two tours in Iraq had made me pretty tough, both inside and out, but this was different.

  These were my babies.

  Sweet, innocent twin baby boys who had no idea about anything. They didn’t deserve to die because a group of terrorists had nothing better to do than attack the leader of a small eastern European country.

  Sometimes I hated people.

  Finally, despite my reluctance and scattered thoughts, I made the call. To my surprise, it went straight to voicemail, which was unlike Sandor, but meant he was in the middle of something.

  “Hey, babe.” I tried to keep my voice neutral. “I need you to pick up Casey and Levi at the extraction point of the newest tunnel. They should be getting there any minute now and Casey knows to go to one of the shops we know, or the safe house. I had to stay behind. Seems me and my big belly couldn’t make it up that ladder in my condition, so it would be good if you came and got us, okay? I love you. See you soon.”

  3

  Sandor

  It had been a bitch of a day so far. I was glad Erik was out of the country, but Luke was in a mood, Lennox hadn’t been herself this morning, and now the palace had been attacked. I’d been off-site at Parliament House, where both Daniil and Elen were working today, so I’d taken on their protection duty. Marcus and Jonas had been at the school with Erik and Casey’s kids--Luke, Leni, Joss and Jessie—and I’d hadn’t thought twice about leaving Xander and Lennox to keep an eye on Casey and the baby at the palace. We had dozens of members of the Royal Guard protecting the front and back gates, as well as every entrance into the building.

  Joe and Ace had gone on the trip with Erik, and Axel was watching over Casey’s oldest daughter Sasha in Las Vegas while she finished college, so we were a little short-handed, but it had been manageable.

  Until today.

  No one had been expecting another attack on the palace and Xander had gone radio silent after sending out the alarm text. It was protocol that we didn’t communicate directly in the middle of an attack for everyone’s safety, but now I was in a panic. I’d heard from Marcus that they’d secured the kids at the school and were en route to a safe house, though he wouldn’t tell me which one. That was another one of our policies, but it had been several hours and I still hadn’t heard a word from Xander or Lennox.

  After a Royal Protector named Logan had been killed last summer, we’d tripled our attack preparedness routines and I’d thought we were ready for anything.

  Apparently not.

  We were in the SUV heading to a safe house when my phone beeped, letting me know I had a voicemail. When the fuck had my phone rang and why hadn’t I heard it?

  “Play that voicemail for me, will you?” I asked Daniil, since I was driving.

  He grabbed my phone and put it on speaker.

  Lennox’s voice calmed me a little since she sounded calm.

  But then I froze, my hands tightening on the wheel.

  “… seems me and my big belly couldn’t make it up that ladder…”

  Oh fuck no. I turned right at the next light and hit the gas.

  “Detour,” I said. “I have to get to her. You guys can drop me off and I’ll⁠—”

  “We’re not dropping you anywhere,” Daniil interrupted me. “Are you kidding? If Lennox is in trouble, we’re all going.”

  “But Elen⁠—”

  “I’m fine,” she said quickly. “I’m armed and dangerous.”

  I cut a glance in her direction. “Armed?”

  She patted her purse. “Xander said it’s mandatory.”

  I was barely listening at this point, zipping through the streets of downtown as I headed for the extraction point of the tunnel Lennox had mentioned. I was worried about Casey and Levi, of course, but I was terrified for Lennox and the babies she carried.

  The calmness of her voice meant she was anything but, and the fact that the strongest, most physically able woman I’d ever known couldn’t get up that ladder meant something was wrong.

  Not to mention the fact that she’d abandoned Casey and Levi.

  She wouldn’t have done that unless she had absolutely no choice.

  I slowed down as we approached the alley, scanning the area for anything suspicious, and then stopped the SUV.

  “We stay together,” I told Elen and Daniil.

  “There’s Casey and Courtney,” Elen whispered.

  “Courtney!” I called to Courtney instead of Casey on purpose, just in case anyone was watching or listening. Casey wasn’t a common name in Limaj, which would draw attention to her.

  “Lennox is still down there,” Courtney said as she rushed towards us. “We were about to go to the safe house.”

  “Take them,” I said to Daniil. “Elen too. I’m going back for Lennox.”

  “I’m going with you.” Courtney met my gaze. “Marines don’t leave anyone behind. Ever.”

  I hesitated. Courtney was an unknown beyond her friendship with Lennox and the rumors of her affair with Daniil, but she’d just put her life on the line to protect Casey and Levi, so I figured she’d earned a chance.

  “Let’s go.” We opened the hatch and I went down first. It was dangerous, because it was hard to climb down and keep an eye out for anyone who might have gotten into the tunnel, but I had to get to Lennox so it was a chance I was willing to take.

  I got to the bottom and took a look around. Everything appeared quiet and empty as I waited for Courtney. She was only a few seconds behind me, and once she was on the ground we headed into the tunnel. It only continued about five hundred yards beyond the exit point, ending in a mini- and currently unfinished safe room, but that type of construction took time and we’d had a lot on our plates.

  I paused and looked in that direction, a noise getting my attention.

  “Did you hear that?” I asked Courtney.

  She nodded.

  I pulled my gun and we went toward the safe room. The next sound we heard was a distinct moan and I moved faster. My training told me to slow down and be careful, but my heart was screaming with fear for the woman I loved and the babies growing inside of her.

  Courtney and I locked eyes as we approached the door and she pointed her gun, showing me she’d have my back. It wasn’t latched, which meant either Lennox was in bad shape or had already been found. And I didn’t like either of those options.

  “Lennox?” I called her name quietly.

  “Sandor!” Her cry was soft and filled with unmistakable pain.

  “Babe.” I lowered my gun and ran inside. She was on the floor, on her side, a bulletproof vest over her stomach. I dropped to my knees, putting my hand on the side of her face. “Are you in labor?”

  She nodded. “They haven’t moved in a while, Sandor… my water broke a long time ago…”

  “All right, let’s get you out of here.”

  “There’s no way you can carry her up that ladder,” Courtney said quietly. “And you can’t throw her over your shoulder because of her stomach…”

  She was right, and a combination of anger and frustration shot through me. I was strong but not strong enough to safely carry her in this condition while scaling a wire-rung ladder that went up thirty feet.

  “I don’t know the situation inside the palace,” she said. “But we have to get her out of here.”

  “I’ll try to reach Xander.” This wasn’t protocol, but we had no options, and Lennox was deathly pale.

  “Hey. I was just going to text you.” Xander answered right away. “Is Elen okay?”

  “She’s fine. But we have a situation with Lennox.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “We’re in the new tunnel and she’s in labor. Is it safe to get her in an SUV?”

  “No. They went to the garage first, thinking they’d stop anyone trying to leave. When they didn’t find anyone, they threw some grenades to disable most of the vehicles and have been going through the palace room by room, floor by floor. I’m barricaded in one of the safe rooms but I don’t know how long I can stay here. Once I got upstairs and saw that Casey and the baby had gotten out, I made my way up here.”

  “Any idea how many there are?”

  “A lot. At least a dozen of the Royal Guard have turned on us, man.”

  “Son of a bitch.” I paused. “I’m going to have Joe round up the military, a group I think we can trust, and I’ll get Ace and Daniil to come for you.”

  “Take care of Lennox. I’ll be fine for now.”

  “I’ll be in touch.”

  I disconnected and turned to Courtney. “I have to carry her. On my back. We’ll use rope to tie her to me in case she can’t hold on, but we can’t go back through the palace.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “I need you climbing behind us in case she starts to fall.”

  “Let’s go.”

  I didn’t know this woman, not really, but she didn’t hesitate, didn’t even seem afraid. And frankly, I had no choice.

  I searched through the safe room and found the supplies I needed, hoping the ropes would be enough to hold me, her, and even Courtney if things went wrong. We’d be all right the first fifteen feet or so. After that, each rung of the ladder got narrower and a little more dangerous. We’d simply run out of options.

  “Everything is going to be okay, sweetheart.” I lifted Lennox in my arms.

  “I’m…okay,” she breathed. “There’s another contraction coming… once it’s done make as much time as you can because we might have to stop when the next one hits.”

  “Got it.” I put her down and held on to her as she breathed through the contraction. Her stomach was hard against my hand and I closed my eyes, hoping to somehow lend her even a smidge of my strength.

  “Okay, this is it.” She nodded, taking slow, shallow breaths.

  It was awkward as hell, but with Courtney’s help, I got her on my back, her arms around my neck, her legs halfway around my waist. Her belly was just too big for her to rest comfortably against me but we had to make this work. I threw the ropes up as high as I could, fastening them securely. If she let go and her body weight took me down with her, hopefully the ropes would hold us.

  If we were lucky, Courtney would be able to get out of the way.

  I climbed the first ten or twelve feet without any trouble but when Lennox’s arms tightened around me, I knew the next contraction was upon us. I stopped climbing and held on to the ladder.

  “I’m here, love,” I whispered. “Breathe. As soon as you’re done, I’m getting us to the top. Hold on just a little longer. I love you.”

  “Go!” She hissed once the contraction had passed.

  I’d never been a climber but I scaled that ladder like freakin’ Spiderman, moving as fast as I dared and punching in the code at the top. I pushed open the door and had just gotten onto the street when another contraction hit. Lennox was on her knees, her face red from exertion and she squeezed my arms.

  “I’m going to call a cab,” I told her, looking around.

  “No, that’s crazy,” she said, shaking her head. “Mr. Gelinas...”

  I glanced at the direction of the shop and called to Courtney. “Stay with her. The owner of the shop over there knows us, and he may have a vehicle I can borrow.”

  “Of course.” Courtney instantly dropped down beside Lennox, holding on to her and I jogged to the store.

  “Sandor.” Mr. Gelinas didn’t look surprised to see me. “Is the queen okay? What do you need?”

  “Do you have a car?” I asked him. “My wife is in labor.”

  “Yes, of course!” He immediately pulled a key ring out of his pocket and took off a key, tossing it to me. “The black Volvo next to the dumpster.”

  “Thank you!” I ran back outside and saw the car immediately. I scooped up Lennox and speed walked to the Volvo, helping her into the back seat with Courtney. Then I got in the driver’s seat and pulled down the alley like a bat out of hell.

  It took less than ten minutes to get to the hospital and I barely had the car in park before jumping out and opening the door to grab my wife. “We’re here, babe. Everything is going to be fine.”

  She turned tear-filled eyes to me and I froze because Lennox didn’t cry. At least, she never had in the year and a half I’d known her. “Sandor. The babies aren’t moving.”

  4

  Lennox

  The ride to the hospital was a blur. I must have passed out when Sandor put me in the SUV because the next thing I knew I was on a gurney being wheeled away. From Sandor. I wasn’t afraid of much, but being in labor in a foreign country, when my babies hadn’t moved in hours, and my regular doctor was nowhere to be found, scared the fuck out of me.

  “Sandor!” I cried out his name as one of the nurses tried to shush me, but I batted her hand out of the way. “Sandor!”

  “Babe, I’m here.” He pushed past the orderlies and reached for my hand.

  I was fairly sure the nurse told him he wasn’t allowed to come with me, but I wasn’t yet fluent in Limaji and I was way too stressed to focus on anything but the pain in my abdomen right now.

  “I swear to god,” I panted, “I’ll get up off this gurney and have them in the lobby if they don’t let you come with me.”

  Sandor spoke quietly to the nurse, who was shaking her head, and I started to get up. “I want Dr. Cabarra,” I said.

  “He’s off today,” Sandor told me in between arguing with the nurses. “This isn’t the hospital where he practices, but babe, the babies aren’t moving… we need to get them out as soon as possible.”

  I hissed through a contraction, my knuckles white as I gripped the sheets. “Sandor, I don’t give a flying fuck what the rules are—you’re a god damn prince! Tell them you’re coming with me or I’m getting up.” I was already sitting up. Maybe I was being irrational, but we had a birthing plan in place, a doctor I loved, and money. The idea that they wouldn’t allow Sandor to come with me wasn’t acceptable, no matter how dire the situation.

  It appeared that the word prince got everyone’s attention and then all hell broke loose. Doctors were called, the emergency room nurses were shooed away, and suddenly everyone spoke English. Sandor was beside me, holding my hand, as they asked a million questions and someone offered to call my doctor in.

 

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