Chapter 35 #2
“That was quite the shot, Prince,” I tell him, grinning when he turns slightly pink. “I knew you were something special.”
Voices and thundering footsteps echo from the stairwell, and a moment later, five of my fellow agents burst onto the roof with their guns at the ready. After my disaster of a conversation with Virek, I don’t know why they’re here, but I don’t care.
As soon as an agent takes over guarding Helena, I holster my gun and head for Sander, walking straight into his chest without slowing. He wraps me up in his arms in a hold so tight that I can barely breathe, and I hug him just as fiercely.
“We did it,” I whisper into his chest.
“Let’s never do that again, yeah?” he whispers back, his face in my hair.
“Fine by me.”
“You trusted me to make that shot. Why?”
As much as I want to stay right where I am, I pull back enough to meet his gaze. My hand brushes his jaw, and I smile when he closes his eyes and leans into my touch. “Because I know you, Sander.”
“Oi, Storme!”
I reluctantly turn to face Agent Kennewick, who’s in a sort of death glare match with Blackmere. “What?”
Kennewick wrinkles his nose. “What are we doing with him?”
Folding his arms, Blackmere gives me a scowl that dares me to feed him to the wolves. I don’t think he’ll fight us if I say we need to take him in, though, which is as surprising as his help was from the start.
Though Sander growls a little in his chest, I shrug. “Lord Blackmere was a victim in all this,” I say, fighting a grin when Blackmere’s eyebrows rise high. “My lord, we could probably use your testimony against Lady Vardane, but I’ll let you decide if that’s something you’re willing to do.”
Kennewick looks skeptical but accepts my response. “If you’ll follow me, my lord. Unless, er, you don’t want to?”
With a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes, Blackmere nods and follows the agent to the stairwell without looking at Sander or me.
Sander chuckles. “Strange man. But he’s the only reason I knew where to find you, so I owe him one.” He runs his fingers through my hair, and I wince when he hits a tender spot on my head. Swearing, he gently pushes my hair aside to examine the place Helena’s hired muscle hit me. “What happened?”
I grimace. “Helena’s man knocked me out.
Not that one!” I add quickly when Sander growls and takes a step toward the man who guarded me.
The guard is already in handcuffs, but I hope he doesn’t get into too much trouble.
“He helped me,” I tell Sander. I have to force his face back to mine. “And I’m alright. I promise.”
Sighing, he lowers his forehead to mine. “I should have been here with you.”
I would have liked to have him nearby, but I’m positive he’s the reason the strike shifted to something quieter. “How did you change Rowen’s mind?” I ask.
“It wasn’t his mind I had to change.” With a wince, he pulls his head back and says, “The people needed to believe a silent march would be enough, so I went out into the city with Rowen to show my support. But it took me too long to get back to you, and—”
“Agent Storme,” a cool voice says in my earbud. Sander must hear him too because the prince stops talking and furrows his brow. “A word?”
I groan until I recognize the voice. “Director Torvik!” Pulling free from Sander, as if the RIA director can see me, I press a hand over my rapidly beating heart and try to sound calm. “I didn’t know you were back in Candora, sir.”
“Yes, well, I arrived an hour ago to find the Royal Intelligence Agency in quite the uproar. Am I correct in understanding you went unsanctioned into a hostile situation with only a member of the royal family as reinforcement?”
My stomach drops; I’m pretty sure I’m about to lose my job. “Er, yes, sir.”
“Is it also true that Agent Virek told you to stand down on multiple occasions?”
I might be sick. Sander grabs my hand, worry wrinkling his brow, but I can’t look at him while my life falls apart. “Yes, sir.”
“And he ignored rather irrefutable evidence that you brought him?”
“Er.” A flicker of hope bursts to life in my chest. “Yes?”
Torvik sighs, and I can picture him leaning over Callum’s desk, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I worried this would happen,” he mutters, and I almost wonder if he’s talking to himself rather than to me.
“Virek has a good head on his shoulders, but he lacks instinct. Storme, I’d like you in my office first thing tomorrow. ”
As a paramedic team rushes from the stairwell toward Helena, I glance at the sun cresting the horizon. “Tomorrow, sir?”
“Give Agent Doyle any crucial information we need to move this investigation forward, and then I think you deserve a day to rest before we talk. I’ll see you tomorrow, Storme.”
“Yes, sir.” Exhaling shakily, I lean my hands on my knees and try not to pass out as a million emotions hit me all at once.
It almost sounds like he wants to talk about offering me the promotion again, and I should be excited by that.
Elated. Instead, I’m just overwhelmed as I process everything that happened this morning.
I’m alright. Sander’s alright. I didn’t get shot, the city isn’t in shambles, and the anti-royalists are getting a fair chance. “Vitte,” I whisper as my strength leaves me.
Without a word, Sander scoops me up into his arms and carries me to the wall that lines the edge of the rooftop. He slides down and sits with his back against the wall, holding me to his chest as his body relaxes beneath me. “All good?” he whispers, pressing his forehead to mine again.
I close my eyes, focusing on the feel of his arms around me and how safe I feel right now. No matter what happens next, this right here is all I need. “All good.”