I pulled back. "What?"
"I have a house in the country. Well, it's more like a fortress," he said, laughing. "We'll go there for the time being."
"Are we in danger?"
"I don't know," he said. "I spoke with Max, Richter, and Lynette. We agreed that I would go to the country with my closest advisors until we can figure this out."
"Okay," I said. "I'll do whatever you need."
"There's one small issue."
"What's that?"
"We can't bring your parents."
That felt like a hammer blow to the chest. "Why? I can't leave them here."
"They're safe here," he said, "but we can't risk bringing them."
"Do you think they're involved?"
"Of course not."
"Then why not bring them?"
"Because I don't want to be accused of anything. It's bad enough that I'm bringing you. Frankly, I had to insist, and quite loudly."
"Trip," I said softly, "I can't just leave them behind."
"I promise on my life, nothing will happen to your father and your stepmother."
"I know you wouldn't let it, but I would feel horrible leaving them. I just-I can't."
"You will," he insisted. "I need you, Bryce. You already provided me with good counsel when I was in an angry state and couldn't think properly. I need you close by right now to keep me centered."
I stared at him, completely taken aback. I didn't think I had done anything special, but apparently I had. I couldn't believe he was saying that he needed me, but there it was.
Could I really leave my parents behind? Trip would keep them safe; I was sure of that. He would never let them get hurt. But I would be such an awful daughter if I left and they were forced to stay behind.
I was so torn. Trip needed me, but I wanted to be a good daughter.
"It will only be temporary," he said. "We can bring your parents when things calm down. A few days at most."
I frowned. "That's a little better," I said.
"Please. Come with me."
I looked into his intense eyes and knew that I had no other choice.
"Okay," I said. "Let me say goodbye to my parents."
"Good. Pack now. George will bring them in. I'll be back to get you soon."
Trip turned and quickly left.
I sighed, shaking my head.
This whole trip had gotten so far away from me. I couldn't really believe it, but it was happening. I had never expected to go from a normal American girl to being so involved with the king so quickly.
But events were moving so fast, and I couldn't slow them down. I couldn't slow down myself, or else I'd risk getting left behind.
I began to pack. I'd say goodbye to my father and Lucy, and I knew they'd understand.
They'd be safe here. They had to be.
The better question was, would I be safe with Trip?
My stomach felt empty, and worry filled the rest of me.
20
TRIP
The wind bustled gently through the leaves on the trees as I walked slowly down the lawn. Ahead of me, a stream bent between a copse of bushes, and suddenly I could hear helicopters chopping overhead.
The country compound was like that. One second it was an idyllic and quiet space, and the next it was full of security agents and machines destroying whatever peace I managed to find.
There wasn't much peace anywhere, as it fucking turned out. Maybe I liked it that way; maybe I thrived on the violence. But my people didn't, and I needed to put them first.
Somebody had tried to kill me. That was about as much as we knew a day after the event. The assassin's name was Roger Clark, and as far as we could tell he only had minor ties to the rebels in the south. How he became an assassin and how he got into the castle were still a mystery.
But they were mysteries we were going to solve. My team was already poring over the security records, and if someone had used their access that day, we would know about it.
I could handle a little attempt on my life. I was a king after all. It came with the territory. But what I couldn't handle was getting Bryce mixed up in everything, too.
She'd been quiet since we'd left the castle. I couldn't tell if she was angry about leaving her family behind or if she was still upset about the attack. I assumed it was a mixture of both, and that was understandable either way. There was nothing easy or simple about surviving an attempt on your life, especially the way it had happened that night.
Just after I finally felt her body, that bastard had to appear. It was almost as if someone had timed it perfectly. Almost as if someone were trying to pin it on a certain American girl of note.
I shook my head. No. I couldn't let myself go there. Speculating wasn't going to do a thing about it. Speculating wasn't going to solve the mystery. It was only going to drive me fucking mad.
Although, I was already going fucking mad.
I fucking hated being at the country house. I hated the peace and quiet, and I hated that security was all over my ass. Of course they were going to be, considering someone had tried to kill me, but I couldn't stand being treated like I couldn't take care of myself.
Obviously, I could. I was the one who had taken care of the killer, not my security team.
I sighed, shaking my head. I looked back over my shoulder and waved at Al and the boys. They were hanging back a bit farther than they wanted, but they were always within sight.
I gestured and Al quickly came over to me, stopping and bowing slightly. He was clearly angry with himself for failing me and had been going really hard on the royal respect shit all day.
It was getting on my nerves.
"Al," I said, "for the hundredth time, stop bowing."
"Yes. Whatever you command, Your Highness."
I sighed. "Get me Max," I said. "I want an update."
"Right away." Al gestured at his team and a man was dispatched.
I leaned up against a tree, enjoying the shade.
"Have you seen Bryce today?" I asked Al.
"No, Your Highness," he said.
"How did she seem, when you last saw her?"
He was silent for a second. "Upset, Your Highness."
"Stop saying ‘Your Highness,' damn it," I said.
He nodded. "Yes, sir."
That was good enough. I probably wasn't going to get better.
"Do you have any experience with this sort of thing?"
"What thing, sir?"
"Helping a civilian get over something like that."
"Not exactly," he said after a short pause. I raised an eyebrow, interested.
"Tell me," I said. "If you want."
"It was my sister," he said. "It's not an easy story to tell. She went through something during the border skirmishes ten years ago, when your father was still alive. It hit her pretty hard."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"I was patient."
I nodded. "I can do that."
"But many people are fine," he said quickly. "I don't know Bryce, sir. She seems strong. She might be okay."
"How's your sister now?" I asked him.
"She does well, sir. She got her life back."
"Good." In the distance, I saw a golf cart coming toward us. Al's man was driving, and Max was next to him. "Thank you, Al."
"Of course, Your Highness." He bowed again and rejoined the security team.
I sighed. He was going to keep doing that until he did something important, I was willing to bet. Could be a while at this rate.
Max climbed off the cart as soon as it pulled up next to me. "Your Highness," he said.
"Stop with that," I said. "Trip today, please."
"Okay, Trip. You wanted an update?"
"Please."
"Our team has gone through the records, and so far we aren't finding anything out of the ordinary. We're looking for anyone who checked in or out during the two hours before and after the assassination attempt, and so far everyone is coming up clear."
"Bad news," I grumbled.
"Except for one thing," Max said. "There was one minister who came and went multiple times during that period: Nicolai Corvin."
I raised an eyebrow. "Corvin? He's not important."
"No, he isn't. But we're doing some investigating anyway, just in case."
"Very well. Any known connections to the democrats?"
"None that we know of. They wouldn't be easy to find at any rate. These men aren't stupid."
"No, they aren't," I said, shaking my head. "Good work."
"Thank you, Trip. Is that all?"
"One more thing. How is Bryce?"
"She seems well, honestly."
"Where is she?"
"In her room at the moment. I was going to bring her some lunch soon."
"I'll bring it to her."
"Are you sure? There are meetings you may need to attend."
"She was nearly killed because of me, Max. I can't neglect her now."
"Very well. They can be postponed."
"Good. Let's head back."
He nodded and we headed over to the cart. I let Max sit up front, since he was quickly becoming an old man. I sat in the back, in the least comfortable seat, but that was no big deal. I could handle discomfort.
It was failure that I couldn't handle. I couldn't fail my people, and I couldn't fail Bryce.