Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
R ome kept his hands clamped on the wheel as he drove through the city, heading back to the Marina District.
Rain poured down, the sky a heavy gray, with clouds the color of bruises. The bad weather had cleared the streets, people taking cover.
“The photos from the shoot should turn out well,” he said.
In the passenger seat, Sofie bounced a little and smiled. “They’ll really help us raise awareness of the exhibition. The more people who buy tickets, the better.”
He grunted. He hated the idea of anyone seeing the beautiful, sexy shots of her.
The song on the radio ended, and a news report started.
“Another jewelry robbery took place in San Francisco today,” the announcer said.
“Oh, no.” Sofie turned the volume up.
“A house in Nob Hill was firebombed, as thieves targeted jewels that were scheduled for the Glittering Court exhibition,” the newsreader said. “The jewelry exhibition is being spearheaded by Princess Sofia of Caldova. The thieves made off with a tiara, worth millions of dollars.”
“ Bastards ,” Sofie muttered.
Rome watched her sink back in her seat, her gaze turning inward. There was something working in that head of hers.
“You want to share what you’re thinking?” he asked.
She shook herself. “Just thinking some very unkind thoughts about thieves.”
“What about Robin Hood?”
“Robin Hood is excluded. He’s a thief with honor.”
Rome grunted.
She turned in her seat. “You don’t admire the mysterious thief? Even a little?”
“He should leave it to the cops.”
She arched a brow. “Do you always follow the letter of the law exactly?”
Rome’s lips twitched. “No. Sometimes you have to color outside the lines to get a job done.”
She nodded. “Exactly. Robin Hood returns stolen jewelry. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“Maybe your thief will get this tiara back, too.”
She nibbled her lip. “I hope so.”
Something in her voice made him narrow his gaze. “You know something about this theft?”
“What? No .”
He was about to question her some more when movement in the rearview mirror caught his gaze.
A dirty, gray SUV was following them. The streets were pretty empty, thanks to the storm, but the SUV was staying right behind them.
Rome took the next turn.
The SUV followed.
He glanced over. Sofie’s belt was on. Ahead, another SUV turned from a side street in front of them. It was the same gray, and make and model, as the one behind them.
Fuck . Boxed in.
Rome’s focus narrowed. He had to keep Sofie safe.
He thumbed a button on the wheel. He felt Sofie glancing at him.
“Yeah.” Vander’s deep voice answered.
“It’s Rome. I’m driving the princess back from City Hall, and we picked up some friends.”
Sofie gasped, and looked back.
“Two gray Escalades have boxed us in.”
“I’ve got your location,” Vander said. “I’m on my way with Saxon and Rhys.”
“I’ll try to lose them. Weather’s shit, Vander.”
“Yeah. Lose them if you can, or stall them. See you soon.”
Rain splattered against the windshield.
“Rome?” There was fear in her voice.
He reached over and squeezed her hand. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Really? It doesn’t feel okay.”
“Hold on and keep your head down.”
He sped up. The Escalade ahead of them braked, while the one behind them accelerated.
Rome dodged around the one in front and yanked the wheel.
The X6 responded like a dream. It shot down the street, and ahead, traffic thickened a little, but he turned another corner.
“They’re following,” Sofie said, voice tense.
He sped down the street. Thankfully, this one was nearly empty.
The Escalade was right behind them. Rome braked hard, then jerked the wheel.
Sofie screamed. Their sleek SUV skidded on the wet road, and he whipped them through a 180-degree turn.
He stomped a foot on the accelerator, then they careened down the wrong side of the road, past the pursuing SUVs. Then he jerked them back to the right side of the road.
“Oh, my God!” Sofie pressed one hand to her chest, the other braced on the dash. She let out a laugh. “That was incredible .”
Rome shook his head. He couldn’t rattle his princess.
But they hadn’t gone far when he saw the SUVs pull in behind them again.
Fuck . Where the hell were Vander and the others?
Rome turned again, then suddenly, a garbage truck pulled out of an alley, blocking the street.
He slammed on the brakes, the SUV skidding to a stop.
“Oh, no,” Sofie said. “This isn’t good.”
“No.” Rome gritted his teeth. Come on, Vander.
The two SUVs stopped behind them. Through the driving rain, he watched the doors open, and several men get out.
They were all wearing black masks over their faces.
Shit .
Ahead, two men leaped out of the garbage truck. They wore masks, too.
Rome opened his door. “Stay here.”
“Rome. You’re outnumbered!”
“I don’t think so. It’ll be okay.”
He’d deal with whoever the hell was trying to hurt her, and do whatever he needed to do.
The rain hit his face and immediately soaked into his jacket. The guys from the garbage truck reached him first. One was big and muscled, but it looked more for show. He’d be slow. The other was smaller and leaner.
Rome looked back and assessed. The other four guys were advancing slowly. No one had pulled any weapons.
He stayed silent, and saw the guys from the truck shift restlessly.
“The woman’s coming with us,” the big one said.
“No,” Rome replied.
Over his mask, the man’s brow creased. “There are six of us, and one of you.”
Rome shrugged. “I don’t care. She’s not going anywhere with you.”
The man beside the taller guy slammed his fist into his palm. “This should be fun.”
The other four were hanging back for now, but the two from the truck advanced.
Rome just breathed slowly, and waited. The lean guy moved in. Even with a mask on, Rome could tell the guy was grinning.
The man charged, fist swinging.
Rome sidestepped, and rammed his fist into the man’s lower back. He yelped, and Rome whipped his elbow up into the guy’s face.
With a crunch of a broken nose, he went down, hard. He made a gurgling noise.
The big guy tensed.
Rome just stared at him.
“Fuck you.” The big guy lunged.
Two punches and a kick, and the guy hit the road and curled into a ball. Rome had been right. He was slow.
The rain intensified and Rome’s clothes were drenched. He turned and saw Sofie’s face through the window of the SUV.
The four men behind him advanced. One pulled a handgun.
Fucking hell. Rome wrenched open the X6 driver’s-side door. Bullets pinged off metal, and he ducked down.
“Rome!” Sofie yelled.
“Come on.” He pulled her out.
Bent over and curled around her body, he pulled her around the front of the SUV.
He scanned, hearing more gunshots. He spied the entrance to a narrow alley.
He gripped her face. “I need you to run.”
Her eyes widened. “What?” Rain drops dripped down her cheeks.
He shoved his phone into her wet palm.
“Run. Don’t look back. Call Vander.”
“I can’t leave you!”
“I won’t let them hurt you.” He kissed her hard.
A bullet shattered the windshield and she cried out.
Rome pulled his own weapon. “Go!”
She hesitated, then turned and ran.
Rome fired on the attackers, buying her some time.
* * *
Sofie ran, rain pelting down on her. She stumbled down an alley and came out on another street.
A car drove past, spraying her with water.
She looked back, and spotted the shadow of someone chasing her down the alley.
God .
She turned, running down the sidewalk. Her low heels and dress were not good for running.
Was Rome okay? It had been him against multiple attackers. Pain and worry twisted in her gut.
She tripped, and fell on her hands and knees.
Ow . She had to keep moving.
She heard the wet slap of footsteps running behind her. She had to get somewhere safe so she could call Vander, and get help for Rome.
Pushing up, she turned and started down another alley. The bulk of a dumpster appeared, and she ducked down behind it.
She heard someone pause at the entrance of the alley.
Heart pounding, she curled into a ball and didn’t dare breathe.
Then, she heard whoever it was move off.
She shivered. Her dress was soaked and stuck to her skin. The white fabric was smeared with grime. She pushed her sodden hair off her face.
Carefully, Sofie peered around the dumpster. The ripe stench of rotting food was almost overwhelming. She couldn’t see anyone through the sheets of rain.
She pulled out the phone, her hand shaking, and saw Vander was the first contact. She pressed it.
“Rome, we’re almost there.” Vander’s voice was sharp.
“It’s not Rome, it’s Sofie.”
“You okay, Sofie?”
She heard the sound of a gunning engine through the line.
“Rome—” her voice cracked. “He made me run. There were six of them. He took two down, but they had guns—”
“Calm down, Sofia. Easy.”
Panic was slick in her veins. “They were shooting at him, Vander.”
“Don’t worry about Rome. He can handle himself. Let’s worry about you. Leave the phone on. I’m going to send someone to your location.”
“All right. But you need to help Rome.”
“Hang tight, Princess.”
She swallowed. “You promise you’ll help Rome?”
“We’re almost to him. Keep your head down.”
“Okay, Vander.” She sank back against the brick wall.
Then she heard a scrape.
She froze.
Oh, God. Her heart lodged in her throat.
A big body loomed over her.
“There you are.” The man grabbed at her.
Fear driving her, Sofie threw herself sideways and scrambled to her feet.
The man lunged, and Sofie spun and ran deeper into the alley. She kept her hand clenched on the phone.
Soon she was panting, running as fast as she could.
“There’s nowhere to go, Princess.” Hard arms wrapped around her from behind and lifted her off her feet.
She kicked and jerked. “Let me go!”
“Nope.” He shook her. “We want that sparkly tiara and you’re gonna help us get it.”
“Not happening,” she yelled. “You’ll regret this.”
“If you think that big bodyguard of yours will help you, he ain’t coming.”
The words were like a punch to her gut.
Anger welled, growing into a horrible churn. They’d hurt Rome.
Her brain shied away from the thought. She lifted her legs, then kicked at her attacker.
He grunted and stumbled.
Sofie grabbed his hair and yanked.
“Bitch!”
She scratched at his face, thinking of Tori. Thinking of Rome. She dislodged his mask, shoving it over his eyes. She raked her nails down his cheek.
He roared and dropped her.
Sofie ran.
She pumped her arms and legs. She’d lost her shoes, and sharp things pricked at her feet.
She didn’t stop.
The rain was still falling, and there was another crack of thunder that made her jolt.
She wasn’t stopping.
She wasn’t giving up.
She had a life to live, and a man she was totally entranced by. She wouldn’t let anyone jeopardize that.
Sofie spilled out of the alley and turned left.
Where the hell was everyone? The driving rain was keeping people off the sidewalk.
She heard the man coming after her.
Her chest was burning, a sob welling in her throat.
The man was gaining on her. His heavy, wet footsteps were getting closer.
A hand sank into her hair.
Ow . Ow . Tears pricked her eyes, and the sting in her scalp was horrible. She turned and rammed her fingers into his eyes.
He slapped at her, the blow catching her chest and sending her stumbling backward. The phone flew out of her hand. No .
Sofie caught herself, spun, and ran again.
And rammed into a hard chest.
“You okay, Princess?”
Oh no . Not another one.
She looked up. Blinked.
The tall man wore a suit, and even wet, he was smoking hot. She thought his hair was light brown, but it was hard to tell in the rain. It was well cut around a handsome, aristocratic face, and gorgeous green eyes.
“I’m Saxon Buchanan. From Norcross.”
Relief punched through her. “I’m okay.”
With a nod, Saxon pushed her behind him.
“Fuck off, asshole,” her attacker growled. “This is none of your business.”
Saxon cocked his head. “It’s very much my business. You get off knocking women around?”
The man lifted his hand, fingers curling into a fist. “I said, fuck off.”
“I don’t think so,” Saxon drawled. He sounded like he was having a polite conversation at a party.
The man advanced.
Sofie sucked in a breath.
Then Saxon moved .
He slammed several blows into her attacker.
Wow . He looked…almost elegant. He whirled, planted a kick in the man’s gut. The guy groaned.
Saxon followed through with two punches, then a vicious chop to the back of the man’s neck.
Her attacker dropped to the wet sidewalk, tried to pull himself up, then flopped down.
Saxon pulled something from his pocket, then tied the man’s hands behind his back.
Sofie shivered. She was cold. Nervous energy jittered through her body.
“You’re safe now.” Saxon rose.
She nodded. “Rome? Is he okay?”
“I’m sure he will be. Rome’s faced a lot of tough situations.”
She grabbed Saxon’s shirt. “Please, I need to know. I lost the phone—” She glanced around, but there was no sign of it.
Saxon eyed her, then nodded. He pulled out his cell phone.
“Vander? Yeah, I got her. She was busy beating up a bad guy.” A faint smile crossed Saxon’s handsome face. “Yeah, okay.” He ended the call. “Rome’s fine. They’re on their way.”
Sofie couldn’t quite believe it, wouldn’t, until she saw him.
A violent shiver wracked her.
“Come here, Your Highness. You’re freezing.”
Saxon pulled her to his hard chest. He was wet, but warm. She held on.
“Thank you for the rescue.”
“You were doing a damn good job of rescuing yourself, Princess.”
She felt a spurt of pride. “Please, call me Sofie. That’s what my friends call me.”
“You did good, Sofie.”
Saxon smelled good, and he was so warm, heat pumping off him. She held on until she heard the screech of tires.
Two black X6s jerked to a halt beside them. She saw Vander leap out of one, his face set with a dark look.
Sofie shivered. That man was a little scary.
Then another door slammed, and she swiveled to see Rome.
All she saw was Rome.
He looked fine. His dark gaze zeroed in on her like a laser.
She broke free of Saxon and ran.
Then she was in Rome’s arms.
He lifted her off her feet, holding her against his chest. He was hot as well, and she pressed her face against his neck.
“I’ve got you, Sofie.”
She gripped him tightly, and finally, she felt safe.
“I’m taking you home,” he said.