Royal Line (Tattered Royals #1) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,67
deal with it on my own like I always did. Today hadn’t been the first time I’d been stabbed or shot, and sadly, it probably wouldn’t be the last.
My job was dangerous. That meant I always needed to be on top of things. I hadn’t been recently, and I knew exactly why.
London sat on a bench, her eyes wide, her face pale, and her whole body wrapped in a blanket.
The minute she spotted me, she stood up, pushed past Olly and the others, and came to me. She stopped right in front of me but didn’t reach out to hold me, and I didn’t know whether I was happy about that or disappointed. The indecision told me that what I was going to do later was the right thing.
“You’re okay,” she whispered.
“I am.”
“Good. I can’t believe.... I can’t believe all that just happened.”
I couldn’t either, but I wasn’t going to focus on that. I couldn’t.
“You’re fine. We’re going to get you home. Your brothers have sent a plane.”
Her voice was soft when she asked, “They did?”
“Their baby sister was kidnapped and almost killed. They want you home, London.”
I heard the bitterness in my tone, and I felt more than saw the reproachful looks from Olly and Sparrow, but I ignored it.
I was so fucking scared, so worried about everything that just happened. And I didn’t want to have to deal with it. I needed to get in and get out, just to make sure London was in safe hands.
“We need to head out.”
There were others all around us, and I knew she wanted to say something, but I couldn’t let her.
We needed to go. In hindsight, I suppose the longer I was with her, the more I wanted to stay. And I couldn’t.
She needed to go home to her family. She needed to be a princess and a royal. And I needed to go back to what I was good at.
Protecting, killing, and bleeding.
None of which would work with London’s life.
“Kannon, can we talk about what just happened?”
I looked at her then over at my team. “Olly, come on, let’s go.”
“Kannon.”
I ignored London and turned, knowing that she would follow because there was nowhere else for her to go.
We got into the SUV and headed toward the hangar where a private plane would be waiting to take her home, to her world that was far away from mine.
A private plane, royal galas, everything that wasn’t part of my life.
She sat next to me in the back seat as Olly drove us. My arm was in a sling, so I couldn’t do it myself. I just gritted my teeth and told myself we would get through this quickly, and then I could get on with my life and get away from London.
“Is your head okay?” I asked, breaking the silence I longed to keep.
She turned to me and swallowed hard. “I’m okay. I have a mild concussion, but they don’t know if it occurred during the initial accident or now.”
“You also have a few lacerations and abrasions,” I said, ignoring her words. Because I needed to scream, shout, punch something.
Someone had dared to hurt her.
And I wanted blood.
But I couldn’t have it. I had to walk away from the situation and let others handle it. As soon as I returned her to her brothers, London would no longer be mine to protect. When that happened, that meant everything between us was done.
That meant never seeing her again.
And that would be for the best.
It would just be a memory, a blip.
She was only a client.
I swallowed the lie. She looked at me as if she didn’t understand me.
Hell, I didn’t understand myself.
“What is wrong with you?” she asked, her voice low.
“Nothing, princess. We’re getting you to safety. That’s the job.”
I heard Olly mumble under his breath, but I ignored him. I didn’t care that I was the asshole here. The more of a dick I was, the easier she would be able to walk away. And that would be best for both of us.
We pulled into the hangar, and Olly went out to ensure everything was still safe. We might’ve caught her kidnapper and those who had helped Rebecca make plans, but it was never a good idea to let your guard down. Others could be there, waiting.
There could have been a second conspirator in play.
I slid out of the car and went around to the other side to open the door for London.