Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
R ome opened his eyes and groaned.
His head was throbbing, and his mouth was as dry as the desert. Where the hell was he? He smelled smoke and heard agitated voices, screaming.
Was he in Afghanistan? Libya? Had the mission gone bad? Was his team okay?
“Rome?” A man knelt beside him. “Take it easy.”
Rome sat up and Hunt’s face swam into view. The detective’s brow was creased.
“Hunt?” He looked past his friend and his gaze focused on a huge chandelier.
Everything rushed back in like a flood.
“ Sofie .” He gripped Hunt’s arm.
“She’s safe. She’s downstairs, with your guards and a couple of uniforms. She’s worrying about you.”
All the air rushed out of Rome.
“The paramedics are patching her up,” Hunt added.
Rome whipped his head around. “She’s hurt?”
“Like I said, she’s fine. Just a few cuts.”
“Cuts?” Rome heaved himself to his feet. He had to see for himself that she was okay.
“Rome, take it easy.”
Fuck that . He fought off the dizziness and fog of whatever drug they’d hit him with. He walked across the mostly abandoned dining room. There were a few cops helping crying people out.
“You hurt?” Hunt stuck close by.
“Assholes drugged me.”
“Hell, you need to get checked out.”
Rome grunted. What he needed was to get to Sofie.
Hunt muttered under his breath as they moved toward the doorway. A trio of firefighters rushed past them.
“She’s in danger,” Rome said.
“I know. Like I said, I’ve got two officers on her, and the Norcross guards. I called Vander.” Hunt paused. “She was chased by someone.”
“What?” Rome’s muscles went rigid and jerked to a halt.
“He attacked her in the ballroom upstairs. I assume he orchestrated this whole mess and took you down to get to her.”
Shit . She must’ve been terrified. This had to be her stalker. Rome’s head filled with mental curses. The fucker was going down.
“She hit him with a chair, broke a window, and jumped out.”
Rome’s heart did a hard squeeze. He ran through the hotel schematics in his head and met Hunt’s green gaze.
“You’re telling me that she jumped out of a second-floor window to escape the asshole terrorizing her?”
Rome’s deadly tone made Hunt wince. “She’s fine. Settle down.”
Rome rushed into the lobby, shoving through the crowd of people. Outside was chaos. There were crying guests, most of them red-eyed from the smoke.
Police cars and ambulances filled the street. Rome scanned, then spotted a small form in purple at the back of an ambulance. Two officers, Mike and Dan, and Vander, were standing nearby.
Rome didn’t say anything. He jogged through the throng, heading straight for her.
He bumped into someone.
“Hey, watch—” The man saw Rome’s face and wisely sidestepped out of the way.
As Rome approached, Sofie sensed him coming. A paramedic was wiping blood off her hands.
When she saw Rome, she leaped to her feet and pushed the man away. Her gaze locked with Rome’s.
Then she was running.
She dodged a couple and broke into a sprint.
Rome caught her, wrapping his arms around her.
“Rome. Oh, God. Oh, God .”
“Shh.” Rome dropped to his knees, and pressed his face to her hair. It smelled of smoke.
“He was hunting me…” Her voice broke.
“I’m sorry, beautiful. I should’ve been there.”
She lifted her head. “You were hurt.” She cupped his cheek.
“I’m fine. You okay?”
She nodded. But he touched the new bandages on her hands.
Her fingers stroked his cheek. “Just cuts. I’ll heal.”
If her stalker had succeeded, she could be dead.
Rome’s gut rebelled. No fucking way. He was not going to let her be hurt.
“Rome, we’ve got reporters around,” Vander murmured.
And Rome had the princess clutched to his chest like she was his.
She was his, but they didn’t need the world to know.
He rose with her in his arms.
“Rome, the stalker… He mentioned that he’s been watching the house. I…I can’t go back there right now.”
Dammit . Rome met Vander’s gaze. “I’m taking her to my place. No one will expect her to be there. I’ve got a good security system, and we’ll get more guards assigned outside. At least until Sofie has had a chance to calm down from this.”
Vander nodded. “Do it.”
“Can you organize some of her stuff to be brought over?”
“Sure thing.” Vander handed Rome a set of keys. “Go. Get her out of here.” He pointed to Mike and Dan. “They’ll tail you.”
Rome got Sofie into an X6.
“How many of these does Vander own?” she asked.
“A few.”
As they pulled out, he watched the guards fall in behind them, driving another X6. He scanned for anyone else following. He took a circuitous route to his place.
“My condo isn’t very big.”
She glanced over at him. “I don’t take up much room.”
That wasn’t what he meant. “My condo only has one loft bedroom. It’s not far from the Norcross Security office.”
“Okay,” she said.
Hell, she’d been born and raised in a palace. “It’s right for me, but—”
“Rome.” She rested her hand on his thigh. “It’s fine. I’m excited to see where you live. Do you think I’m an elitist snob?”
“No. But you’re royalty, and I’m not.”
She withdrew her hand, her mouth moving into a flat line. “I thought I was just Sofie to you.”
He cursed and grabbed her hand back. “You are, but I can’t pretend the differences in our backgrounds don’t exist.”
“They don’t matter to me.”
He felt those words deep.
Then he shoved all this aside. He needed to focus on keeping her safe, not worrying about the differences in their bank accounts and houses.
He reached his building, and saw her looking out the window at the old factory building and its prominent clocktower.
“It’s called the Clocktower Lofts. It was once the headquarters of a printing company.”
“It’s fabulous .”
He parked in the garage and led her upstairs. As they waited for the elevator, it opened and a man in a business suit stepped out, swiping at his phone.
“Hey, Rome,” the man said.
“Ed. This is Sofie.”
The man lifted his chin for a second, and his gaze narrowed. “You look familiar.”
She just smiled.
Ed shrugged. “Got to run, Rome and Rome’s girl. Big trading deal.” Ed strode off, still swiping his phone.
They rode up in the elevator, and Rome led her to his condo. He unlocked the door.
Suddenly, he felt nervous. He watched as she walked in, looking around. Then she grinned.
“Rome, I love it.”
The loft was all white, with wooden floors and beams, along with black pipework. It had high ceilings that he loved, and stairs leading up to his loft bedroom. He scrutinized her face and all he saw was happiness. She meant it.
She walked over, studying the exposed brick wall in the living area and his bookshelves.
“The perk of working at Norcross is that Easton helps us invest our money. I would never have afforded this place back when I was in the military.”
“It’s got such good light and character. It’s really great.”
Huge, narrow windows faced an internal courtyard, so the place never lacked for light.
“Let me check in with the guards.”
She nodded and kept wandering. Rome made a short call to ensure Mike and Dan were in place, and monitoring everyone entering and leaving the building. He slipped the phone back in his pocket.
“Kitchen and bathroom are at that end.” Rome pointed past his black dining table. “Why don’t you shower and—”
“You could join me.” She shot him a sexy smile.
“I could.” He felt his chest lighten for the first time in hours. “Let’s—”
There was a knock at the door.
Rome frowned. “Vander can’t have gotten to your place and back that quickly.” Rome checked the peephole, then rolled his eyes.
“Rome?” Sofie asked.
He swung the door open.
The doorway was filled with three women.
Gia Norcross lifted a hand and smiled. “Hi.”
* * *
Sofie shifted and looked at the three attractive women in the doorway. She recognized Harlow instantly.
Rome scowled.
“We heard what happened at the Palace Hotel.” Harlow barged past Rome. “We wanted to check that you’re okay, Sofie.”
Sofie lifted her bandaged hands. “A little banged up, but I’m alive and breathing.”
“God.” Sympathy crossed Harlow’s face. The woman opened her arms, then hesitated. “Is it okay to hug you? Is that against royal protocol?”
Sofie felt a rush of warmth. “It’s fine. I could do with a hug, although I still smell like smoke.”
Harlow gently wrapped her arms around her. “I’ve just been through some scary times with a bad guy after me. I know how much it sucks.”
Sofie hugged the woman back. She had Caro, and for many years, she’d had Tori, but she didn’t have lots of close girlfriends.
It was hard when she traveled so much, plus being a princess didn’t make it easy.
People had to be vetted, and even then, lots of people just wanted her for her money and influence.
Harlow patted her shoulder.
“You have Norcross Security looking after you,” the tiny, curvy brunette in a killer blue suit said. “So, you’ll be fine.” The woman smiled. “I’m Gia Norcross.”
“Oh, it’s a pleasure.” Sofie gingerly shook hands. “Your brothers are—”
“Hot. Gorgeous. Badass. I know, believe me, growing up with them has been a trial.”
Sofie liked Gia already.
The final woman stepped forward. “I’m Haven, Rhys’ girlfriend, and Gia’s best friend.”
Sofie shook the other woman’s hand. She was another brunette with a slender figure and a pretty face.
“Don’t you three work?” Rome grumbled.
Gia waved her arm. “Take a chill pill, big guy. We were all worried about you and your princess.”
“Please, call me Sofie.”
Gia smiled. “Sofie. Besides, I own my own business, so I can make my own hours.”
Haven tucked her hair back behind her ear. “And mine and Harlow’s boss drove us here.”
Harlow smiled. “Easton’s parking the car.”
“It’s nice of you to check on us,” Sofie said.
“I’ll make tea,” Harlow said.
“Tea?” Gia exclaimed. “The woman needs a cocktail.”
“It’s too early for cocktails,” Rome said.
Gia headed for his kitchen and looked back over her shoulder. “It’s never too early for cocktails.”
“I only have beer,” Rome said.
Gia spun, undeterred. “Well, luckily, I have a bottle of wine in my bag.”
Sofie watched Gia open her huge—and super cute—handbag and pull out a bottle of white wine.
Rome made a choked sound. “What else do you have in there?”
When Gia opened her mouth, Rome held up a hand. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.” He sighed. “I have some wine glasses from my mom and sister’s last visit.”
He stalked off to the kitchen with Gia. Soon, Sofie found herself on Rome’s comfy gray couch, sipping a glass of Chardonnay.
There was another knock at the door, and Rome let Easton in.
The billionaire nodded at Sofie. “I’m glad you’re okay, Sofie.”
“Thank you.”
The oldest Norcross brother sat in a black armchair, then pulled Harlow down to sit on the arm. He kept a tight hold on her. With a smile, the blonde dropped a kiss to his lips. They looked beautiful together, and clearly happy.
Gia leaned forward. “So, tell us everything.”
Rome moved behind the couch and rested a hand on Sofie’s shoulder. “She doesn’t need to relive it. She needs to shower, change, and rest—”
Sofie reached up and touched his fingers. “It’s okay. You need to know the details. It was my stalker. He’s here.” She shuddered. “And it might be good to talk it out. Get it off my chest.”
There was another knock at the door. Rome huffed out a breath and went to open it. Vander walked in with two of her suitcases.
Sofie froze. “Who packed my stuff?”
“I did,” Vander said.
Sofia blinked, having trouble picturing badass Vander Norcross packing her clothes. And her underwear.
Oh, God.
She prayed he hadn’t thought to check under the bed. All her Robin Hood stuff was stashed there.
Vander also handed over her handbag. “Recovered this from the Palace Hotel.”
She took it. “Thanks, Vander.”
“Up here.” Rome led his boss up the stairs to the bedroom with the suitcases.
Once the men were back, Sofie sipped her wine. “So, the luncheon started off fine…” She launched into the story.
Rome sat beside her and when she reached the part about being trapped with her stalker, he tensed. Harlow, Haven, and Gia made shocked exclamations. Easton and Vander scowled.
“God, Sofie,” Harlow murmured.
A muscle worked in Rome’s jaw. “It could’ve turned out very differently.” He could have lost her.
She grabbed his hand. He tangled his fingers with hers.
She turned her head, conscious of the others watching them. Vander looked impassive, Easton looked amused. All the women were smiling, not even bothering to hide their glee.
Gia looked pointedly at Rome and Sofie’s joined hands and winked.
“We need to step up work on finding the stalker,” Vander said.
Sofie jolted. “But that’s beyond the scope of just guarding me.”
“Don’t care,” Rome said. “I’m going to find the asshole.”
“Rome also shared… About the jewelry thefts being linked.” Vander gave her a pointed look, but was careful to keep the identity of Robin Hood to himself. “I think the Black Fox gang deserve a closer look.”
Sofie pondered. “You think my stalker is part of the gang?”
“It’s a possibility,” Rome said. “I want to check it out.”
She straightened. “I want to help.”
He looked like he wanted to argue.
“I know more about them than anyone.”
Reluctantly, he nodded. Then he glanced at their guests. “I think it’s time for Sofie to rest now.”
“That sounds like our marching orders.” Harlow stood and hugged Sofie. “Feel better.” The blonde ran her tongue across her teeth and rolled her eyes at Rome.
Sofie grinned, enjoying the playful teasing.
Rome showed everybody out.
“I like your friends, Rome.”
He grunted. “They grow on you. Like mold.”
She giggled, and then her stomach growled.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“I didn’t get to eat much before the luncheon got interrupted.”
“I’ll see what I’ve got.” He headed for the kitchen.
“Actually—” she fiddled with her hair “—I’d love a burger and fries.”
He smiled and pulled out his cell phone. “I can order you a burger, Princess.”
“And fries.”
“How do you stay so slim?”
“Princess secrets.”
He ordered. While they waited for the food, she showered and changed. The bandages made it a bit tricky, but she was just really glad that apart from a couple of deep cuts, her hands weren’t as bad as they could have been.
They ate the burgers on his couch and watched Netflix.
Apart from Rome regularly checking in with the security guards outside, Sofie felt like they were just a normal couple, doing normal things on an easy night at home. Just the two of them.
She leaned into him.
It was perfect.