Chapter 12 #2
It opened, and she stepped into a lovely ballroom. It wasn’t as grand as the Garden Court, but it had an ornate ceiling, and equally pretty—if smaller—chandeliers. The place was filled with empty, round tables.
“ Princess .”
The husky whisper echoed in the air around her.
She whirled, heart pounding. She couldn’t see anyone.
“Who’s there?”
“ I told you that we were meant to be together ,” a man whispered.
Her stalker.
Her stomach dropped to her feet.
Stay calm . She couldn’t see him anywhere. His voice was just a whisper, and didn’t sound familiar.
She heard a muffled thump, then smoke started rising.
She backed up. She gripped the door and tried the handle. It was locked. She yanked on it but it didn’t budge.
The trickle of panic was like acid in her veins.
She was trapped.
Smoke filled the room and she coughed. She edged along the wall. There had to be another door out of here.
“ Sweet, sweet Sofia. With hair like a sunset .”
The eerie whisper chilled her blood. She wanted to snap back at him, but she didn’t want to help him pinpoint her location.
She bumped into a chair. Her chest was starting to burn and the smoke was stinging her eyes.
She kept moving.
Her fingers touched another door and her pulse leaped. But when she tried the handle, it was locked as well. She stifled a cry of frustration.
A window, then. She glanced through the smoke and saw faint light. She’d jump if she had to.
“ You can’t escape me. I can see you .”
“You’re a coward,” she said. “Come out and face me.”
“ We’ll have so much fun. Your neck will feel so good under my fingers .”
“You’re sick.”
“ You shouldn’t have let your bodyguard touch you, Sofia. You’re mine .”
She froze, staring at the smoke. “What?”
“ I’ve been watching you. I’ve always watched you .”
A nasty taste filled her mouth. He’d been watching her and Rome.
“ He can’t have you .” The whisper was furious now.
Sofie dropped to her knees and crawled. There was less smoke down here, and she could breathe a little bit easier. She could see a bit better too.
She crossed the room, dodging chairs and tables.
“ I’m going to find you ,” her stalker whispered. “ You’ll die here, by my hands. It’s time .” Now his voice was excited. “ I can’t wait to watch you fight, and smell your fear, show you a sweet death .”
Bastard . Fear was ugly and slick inside her, but she let her anger drown it out.
She was getting out of here. She was getting back to Rome.
She reached the far side of the room and saw a window. She rose.
She knew they were one floor up, so she wasn’t sure she’d survive the fall in one piece. She looked back. But if she stayed in this smoke-filled room she was guaranteed to die.
Glancing around, she noted that the smoke was thinning, and for a second, she saw a menacing shadow of a man. She also smelled a sharp chemical smell that was vaguely familiar.
Her pulse went crazy. It was now or never.
She grabbed a chair, and swung it at the window.
Glass shattered.
“ Princess! You can’t escape me .”
The shadow came at her. She swung the chair again.
It connected with something and she heard a groan.
She didn’t stop to look.
Heedless of the broken glass, Sofie scrambled out the window.
There was a wide ledge outside and she rose, walking along it. She kept her back pressed to the building.
Oh. God.
Down below, she saw cars on the street, and a cable car rattling past.
A fire truck was also coming down the road, sirens blaring.
Sofie kept moving, and then saw the curved metal-and-glass awning over the entrance to the hotel.
She could drop onto that, then lower herself down to the street.
She kept moving. Finally, she was in position. Gut churning, she took a deep breath. She prayed the glass panels would hold under her weight.
Releasing a breath, she jumped.
Sofie landed on the glass awning like a starfish, her arms and legs spread.
She heard shouts, and her knee throbbed where she’d banged it. She crawled to the edge of the awning, then rolled over the side.
She dangled there, holding on by her fingers for a second before she dropped.
She hit the sidewalk hard, her bones rattling. Ow .
“Miss, are you okay?”
She looked up and saw a firefighter in full gear.
“Please.” Sofie scrambled up. “There was a man chasing me. And smoke in the Garden Court.” She thought of Rome. “My bodyguard is hurt.”
“Calm down.” The firefighter paused. “You’re bleeding.”
“A man was chasing me.” She felt a little dizzy now. “He wanted to kill me.”
The firefighter looked at her face. “You’re…Princess Sofia.”
She nodded.
“Come on.” The man took her arm gently. “We need the police and a paramedic.”
“I have some other guards here too.” She looked around, but didn’t see Mike or Dan.
As they neared a throng of police cars and ambulances, a man broke away from the police cruisers. He wore a dark suit, with a badge clipped to his belt.
He looked an awful lot like Ryder Morgan. A slightly more clean-cut, but still outrageously attractive version of the paramedic.
When the man saw her, his eyes widened. “Princess Sofia?”
She nodded. “Please, I need help—”
“Where’s Rome? And your other guards?”
“Rome—” Her voice cracked. “They attacked him. He went down and told me to run.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I don’t know if he’s okay.”
“We’ll find him.” The detective took her arm.
She grabbed at his jacket. “You’re related to Ryder, aren’t you?”
The man nodded. “I’m his brother, Detective Hunter Morgan. Wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”
“Detective, my stalker found me. I…jumped out a window.”
The detective looked up, scanned, and saw a broken window. “Rome’s going to be pissed. Come on, we’ll get someone to look at your cuts. I’ll also call Vander.” Detective Morgan waved at some uniforms. “Dixon, Carr, I need you guys to guard the princess.”
The uniformed officers—one man and one woman—jolted, staring at her. Sofie started to shake.
“You’re safe now.” Detective Morgan took her to the back of one of the ambulances, barking orders at some of the paramedics.
“Princess Sofia.” Mike shouldered through the crowd, Dan on his heels.
“Watch her,” the detective said to the guards and the uniforms. “No one gets close.”
Sofie grabbed the man’s arm. “Detective Morgan, please, Rome—”
“Call me Hunt.” He met her gaze. His eyes were a deep green flecked with gold. “I’ll find him.”
She nodded.
Hunt strode toward the hotel.
As the paramedic started work on pulling tiny shards of glass from her hands, all Sofie could think about was Rome.