Prince Incognito. Rachelle McCalla

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СКАЧАТЬ yet, to use a threat against her life to control the man who’d rescued her from the sea—rocked her world far more than the angry waves stirred up by the low-hovering helicopter’s rotors.

       But her uncle David’s behavior fit with his personality, even if it was extreme. And her parents—they’d been acting odd since before the trip to Lydia, and even more so once they’d arrived. Their broken promises compiled a strong case against them. Obviously neither of them was about to challenge David’s demands.

       No, she couldn’t expect either of them to help her any more than they’d spoken up to defend her when uncle David had slammed the gun under her jaw. The only person who’d reacted had been the soldier.

       The thought of him sent a trickle of comfort through her. She recalled how gently he’d swept the matted hair from her face as he’d propped her up on the life preserver. He’d not only untangled her leg from the rope, but he’d massaged her tight calf muscle, almost as though he’d known the rope had bit into it, causing it to cramp. And then he’d held her, so firmly and so securely, as he’d pulled her back onto the boat.

       She couldn’t recall a time when she’d felt so protected.

       With the shoes on, she stood, and her mother gave her a cursory hug, as she had so many times when Lily headed back to school for the semester. “Please call and let us know what’s happening.” She looked at David, not even blinking at the gun he brandished. “I don’t suppose you can tell us where you’re headed?”

       “North Africa. We need to get going or we won’t have enough fuel left to make it there.” David shoved her toward the ladder.

       Lillian looked up at the thunderous bird hovering above them, its dark shape blending with the night sky, making it look infinitely large. She wasn’t particularly keen on ladders or heights, especially ladders ascending to nowhere, with gun-bearing soldiers awaiting her on top.

       “Climb up.” Her uncle’s voice grew impatient, the threat of his gun reinforcing each word.

       She told herself not to be afraid, not because she felt she could trust her uncle, but because she knew the nameless soldier was up there, and she hoped he could protect her. She grasped the nearest rung and began to climb.

      * * *

       He tried to shift his body into a less-uncomfortable position, but the soldiers had used a thick zip tie to bind his wrists behind his back, so he had only limited use of his arms. Shifting his back against the cool metal wall of the helicopter, he stared at the soldiers who sat on the other side of the luggage netting, guns resting across their laps, pointed at him.

       No one moved. The bird hovered, waiting for the man who’d pulled the gun on Lillian—Lillian’s uncle David.

      Please keep her safe. He found himself praying, though he hadn’t realized he was a man of faith. A movement in the doorway caught his attention, and he turned in time to see Lily’s wide-eyed face rise into view, her hands white and trembling as she gripped the doorframe and crawled in.

       His heart plummeted. They’d brought her along. She looked terrified. What were they going to do with her?

       Her uncle David followed with the gun, the door closed, and the helicopter moved forward through the dark sky.

       Lillian turned to face her uncle. “Where should I sit?”

       “Here.” He spun her around so that her back was to him, grabbed a zip tie from the nearest soldier, and strapped her wrists together before shoving her through the opening in the luggage netting.

       She fell forward, tried to catch herself, slammed her shoulder into the sloping back wall, and slid down to the floor beside him, her arms restrained behind her back.

       He wished he could reach out to her and help her in her efforts to sit. She rose halfway up, bracing herself against the steep slope of the back wall as though trying to put some distance between them, but there wasn’t room in the cramped stowage space.

       Lillian slumped down again, her face against his arm. A silent sob shuddered up through her, and she sniffed.

       He wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t want to get her in more trouble by doing so. The soldiers on the other side of the netting had their guns pointed their way, but other than that, didn’t seem to be paying them much attention. Her uncle had disappeared into the seat next to the pilot, and seemed oblivious to his niece or anyone else behind him.

       The inside of the helicopter was dark—too dark to make out any details. And the ambient noise of the flying craft drowned out whatever the soldiers were muttering about to each other.

       He could only assume it would do the same, masking his words to Lillian. “Are you all right?”

       “Fine.” Her voice sounded small, and her sniffles reverberated against him. “I’ll try to move over, out of your way.”

       “Don’t worry about it. You can lean on me. If you stay close, we can talk without being overheard.”

       She fell silent. Probably trying to decide if she even wanted to talk to him.

       “I’m sorry I got you into this mess. You should have left me in that alley and not looked back.”

       “Would that have made my uncle less of a horrible man?”

       “His horrible actions wouldn’t have been directed at you, then.”

       “Then I would never have known how awful he was. I might have continued thinking of him as a respectable person.” She shifted her face around, bracing her cheek against his arm, until her head was tipped up enough that her words were aimed at his ear, and he could hear her clearly, though she kept her voice low. “I would rather know the ugly truth than live in the comfort of a lie.”

       “You sound as though you’ve thought this through.”

       “I’ve had to do a lot of thinking lately.” She stopped fighting her position and left her cheek pressed against his shoulder. “And I think we need to figure out what’s going on, and get away from my uncle as soon as we can.”

       He liked the way she thought. “I agree. Unfortunately, I’m afraid I won’t be of much help in sorting out what’s going on.”

       “You don’t remember anything?”

       “I remember you. You pulled me from the alley, you gave me water when I was thirsty and you bandaged my face after I pulled you from the ocean. That’s the total sum of my knowledge at this point.”

       She sighed.

       “Sorry I can’t be of any more help than that, but it does make me indebted to you, considering you’re the only person I’ve met this evening who hasn’t attacked me.”

       “Do you know anything about North Africa?”

       “Why?”

       “That’s where we’re headed—unless my uncle lied to my parents, which wouldn’t surprise me.”

       “This helicopter can only travel about 500 miles without refueling. Assuming it came from Lydia, the northern coast of Africa would be about as far as it СКАЧАТЬ