Chapter 8 Sebastian
Sebastian
Sebastian’s laser focus remained on the car traveling behind him—or, better yet, the car beyond.
They’d left the main house in a caravan of vehicles, too many to allow for chance.
Vidal rode with Meredith, but she’d still been glassy-eyed and her shallow panting weighed on his mind.
Shock wasn’t pretty and she’d suffered a tremendous one.
“We’re almost there, sir. So far we have an all clear.
Greek authorities are sending investigators and have requested permission to access the house.
” The bodyguard in the front seat was on permanent assignment to St. Christos, one he’d accepted because Armand arranged for his family to live there as well. Hans—his name is Hans.
“Within reason. The assault didn’t take place within the house.” The destruction to the garden was considerable. His mother would be heartbroken if she saw photographs—no, Armand wouldn’t allow it.
“Understood, Your Highness.” Sometimes, his title had benefits. He didn’t feel like explaining himself and, thankfully, the men didn’t question his orders. Cooperation in security went both ways, so he let them do their jobs.
“Status on Miss Blake?” It was the second time he’d asked on the short drive and he waited for Hans to contact the other vehicle.
“Shaken, Your Highness. Vidal says she is maintaining a brave front.”
Which meant she was still awake. He took it as a good sign. They’d already told him the extent of O’Connor’s injuries. He’d been wounded in service to the family, and they would take care of him.
But Meredith was about to have another ugly shock and one he wished he could spare her.
His right eye pulsed, and he concentrated on the path ahead.
The helicopter waited for them, the men surrounding it not just bodyguards.
Retired military, they were armed to the teeth.
Another part of his life he wanted to spare Meredith from—the darker, unkind reality of a life lived under siege.
As soon as the car halted, the men created a physical barricade.
Sebastian slid into the turtle formed by the men.
A similar maneuver would shield Meredith, but he had to wait until he was inside the helicopter to see her.
He took her hands and tugged her into the seat next to him.
They were airborne before he’d finished buckling her in the seat.
Her sharp gasp told him she’d seen O’Connor strapped to a gurney and secured along the opposite wall with one of the medics attending him.
Of the guards on the island, only Vidal and one other, Beaumont, joined them for the ride.
Their pilot was also retired military—British Armed Forces, and a skilled fighter pilot.
Hopefully, they would not need to call upon his particular talent set. Catching Meredith’s icy hands in his, he rubbed them slowly. “O’Connor is unconscious. He’s lost a lot of blood, but his respiration and pulse are steady.” He glanced at the medic for confirmation. The man nodded his assent.
“But there’s so much blood—” Meredith swallowed and Sebastian looked at O’Connor. He’d taken two bullets. Unfortunately, the one to his shoulder had punched straight through. They’d at least had the foresight to cover it with a sheet, but it was dark with the seepage of blood.
“Look at me,” he told her, needing her focus off the injured man because it wasn’t helping her. When she turned her glassy eyes at him, he found a small smile. “He will be fine. The injuries look worse than they are.”
“It’s my fault,” she whispered. “If I hadn’t gone out there…”
“No.” He refused to let her blame herself. “It was not your fault. It is the fault of the men holding the weapons and those that ordered them there.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes and he cupped her cheek.
So many things they never said to each other and he’d always intended to tell her…
when the time was right. He’d never imagined that their affair would bloom so beautifully or with such depth.
Nor did he predict she would read into his desire to protect and shelter her from the ugliness filling the moat around his life as shame.
Worse, she thought he only had one use for her.
Anger burned in his gut. That she thought so little of him—of herself—infuriated him. But this wasn’t the time to redress their egregious misunderstanding.
“You should have the freedom to go where you want, when you want,” he told her, and he meant it. “That is who you are…” His woman possessed dreams, goals, and a desire to pursue them. How the hell could she accomplish them locked in the gilded cage of a life with him?
The flight was one of the longest of his life, but he kept trying to warm her hands and distract her.
When she finally leaned her head against his shoulder, he rested his cheek against her hair.
The yacht was already en route towards the islands.
He’d kept it nearby so he could sweep her off for a romantic impulse.
The yacht’s personnel, as with the island staff, were all military.
Also, constant roaming made it much harder to pinpoint.
They rarely traveled the same routes and they avoided major ports.
As soon as they touched down on the yacht’s landing pad, Sebastian picked Meredith up and took her below decks.
The physician was there to meet O’Connor, and they swept him toward the medical bay while Sebastian carried Meredith to his suite.
While the yacht technically belonged to the whole family, it was his home away from home. Sebastian lived onboard more often than not. For the most part, he used it to escape the burdens of public life, and it was where he’d first realized how much he loved the woman in his arms.
She roused when he set her down on the bed, but a nurse followed him and Sebastian backed off to let the woman check her vitals. Vidal knocked on the open door.
“His Highness is waiting for your call.” The unsubtle reminder that Armand wanted him in contact the moment he was aboard aggravated him.
The nurse glanced toward him. “Her pulse is improved, Your Highness. Doctor Kiriakis will be with her shortly, but I can stay with her until he arrives.”
Sebastian focused on Meredith. “Will you be all right for a few minutes? I need to contact my brother.”
The watery smile she gave him didn’t do much to reassure his concerns, but then she said, “You should call him and let him know you’re all right. Do you mind if I take a shower?”
Awkwardness aside, it was the first glimpse of his Meredith since the shooting. “Of course, anything you need.” And he said the last to the nurse as much as to Meredith. “I will be back very shortly—”
“Would you check on Terry?” Meredith slid to the edge of the bed and sat.
He didn’t care for her pallor or shakiness.
He cared even less for her request, but clamped down on his jealous response.
In all fairness, the man had been injured in their defense and her entreaty wasn’t unreasonable or indicative of anything beyond compassion.
“Of course,” he said, grateful for the ability to add a smoothness to the response he certainly didn’t feel.
Unwilling to leave her on such a note, however, he leaned in and brushed his lips to hers.
She didn’t pull away. Instead, she slid her arms around him.
He fought the urge to crush her to him and kick everyone out of the room.
“Will it take long?” Her whisper was so low, he knew it was meant only for him. The need in her voice eased one of the bruises on his heart.
“As swiftly as I can. Shower,” he told her gently. “Try to eat something and cooperate with the nurse and the doctor.”
She made a face and squinted at him. Her wrinkled nose promised rebellion later, and he accepted the challenge so long as she took care of herself in the meantime. “Yes, sir, but only if you promise to do the same.”
He chuckled, and it dislodged another rock from his heart. “As soon as I return.” Glancing at Vidal, “Would you have them send in a meal?”
A hint of a smile softened the man’s tense face and he inclined his head. “Of course.”
Forcing himself to leave Meredith, Sebastian strode out of the cabin and nodded to the man stationed just outside of it.
For the time being, they would maintain heightened levels of security.
The increased caution meant neither he nor Meredith would be left unattended.
Raking his fingers through his hair, he stripped off his shirt as he walked.
“What have we found out so far?” Sebastian asked, as he traded the garment for a clean shirt from his onboard valet.
“The helicopter was abandoned on one of the channel islands, and Greek authorities are on site. They didn’t have time for a proper cleaning job, so we’re hopeful.
The rounds were military grade. We’re lucky the winds were higher and the rotors threw off their aim.
” Vidal followed him into the onboard office.
“At this time, we’re looking for at least three men.
Two witnesses have stated they took a speedboat, most likely headed to one of the larger islands.
We’ve dispatched a small detail to see if they can pick up the trail. ”
Sebastian shared a look with him. Quietly, oh so quietly, he and Vidal had made a few decisions after the stabbing. Armand insisted on downplaying everything. Instead, he ordered the family to show restraint, but the Belarian general and his people only grew bolder, not less.
“I want one alive. I want to know exactly who is giving the orders.” They needed confirmation.
Vidal inclined his head. “Agreed.” Instead of leaving Sebastian to his privacy, however, his bodyguard hesitated.
“What?”
“Have you considered sending Miss Blake back to the States?”
“I will not send her away.” It was a selfish choice, but their relationship sat at a precarious point—too damned precarious.