Page 28 of A Fierce Princess

He slowly nods but doesn’t speak.

“I think your mother met your father while she was working as a journalist in Europe. I think they secretly fell in love and conceived you. I think they secretly wed. And then I think something drove them apart, and she left with you when you were only a baby,” I say. “I don’t know why your father hasn’t reached out to you. I don’t have those answers.”

“Why would someone want to kill me?” he whispers. “I’m no one.”

“Correction…you’re the heir to a kingdom, the next in line for the throne of Montelandia. That alone is a reason to kill you,” I say.

He looks at me, his eyes wide with surprise.

“You came here to save me?” he asks as his brows knit together.

I nod and then laugh bitterly.

“It was stupid at first, a schoolgirl fantasy of James Bond come to life. Then I met you…and…I’m so sorry, Logan. I should have just alerted the authorities. I’ve done that before when I see these things, but something stopped me…I can’t explain it. I…” I trail off as I look at him, tears in my eyes.

“Thank you,” he says, he leans forward and kisses my forehead. He lingers for a long moment and swallows. When he pulls back, he looks determined.

“So, who is trying to kill me?” he asks.

“You believe me?” I ask him, partly shocked because I just dropped the motherload of all information on him. I’m actually surprised that he’s handling it so well.

He sighs. “Well, you sort of just shocked the fuck out of me, if I’m being completely honest. This information is going to take days to fathom, but clearly, you were worried about my well-being, or you wouldn’t even be here. So, let’s hear it,” he says.

I clear my throat. “There’s a man…an assassin. His name online is Martin Mayhem. He goes by ‘M.’ He’s good. He normally kills cartel leaders and the like. I’ve seen his name before, and I’ve never seen any intel that any government agency knows who he is. He’s completely off the grid. I only stumbled upon all this by accident, a needle in a haystack. And because of that, I could see he was offered the bid. I could track him briefly until he left. He used an alias I’ve seen associated with him, Kenneth Jones. He left Dubai the day before we left with you,” I explain. I pause, trying to get a read on him, but he just stares at me. “I don’t know who hired him. It’s a false IP address that links to a false account that links to a server that is untraceable, almost like it was deleted after the message was sent, which could be the case. They are paying millions for your death, whoever it is. That’s what keyed my interest. It’s not normal to see bounties on the heads of normal citizens and especially not at that price point.”

His eyes widen when I say millions. “You’re telling me that someone wants me dead so badly that they are willing to pay millions of dollars to have it done and they’ve hired one of the best assassins in the world to do it?” he asks.

I shrug. “Fifty million to be exact,” I say.

His eyes are nearly popping out of his head now. I touch his arm, concerned.

“Logan, are you OK?” I ask. The words are out of my mouth before I realize what a stupid question that is.

He swallows. “I’m…processing,” he says slowly. I nod and stay quiet while he lets all of this sink in.

“So, to sum up, things, I’m a prince, an heir to a throne of a European country, and someone is paying an assassin fifty million dollars to kill me,” he reiterates.

“Yeah, I suppose that about sums it up,” I say.

He runs a hand through his hair and stares back at my computer screen. “And M’s on Nassau, right now?” he asks.

I shrug. “I don’t know, but I assume so,” I say.

“Shit,” he says.

“Yeah, that also about sums it up,” I say.

“Does anyone else know anything about this?” he asks.

I shake my head.

He reaches out and cups my cheek. “Susanna, this is dangerous stuff. You shouldn’t be involved in it,” he chastises.

I glare at him. “You think I can’t handle myself?” I say, a little too loudly.

“No, I—”

“Just because I’m a princess and small, doesn’t mean I can’t kick someone’s ass. So, don’t even start with me,” I growl.

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