Page 54 of A Fierce Princess

“One more time, and then Uncle Eddie and I need to go,” my dad says from the edge of the pool.

I squeal in delight and swim back to my Uncle Eddie. He launches me across the pool, and I swim up to the surface again, giggling and spurting out water.

“One more time?” I ask.

“Anna,” my father warns.

I pout and Uncle Eddie laughs.

“Maybe Sten can launch you a few more times,” he says as he looks toward his brother who is reading a book on a lounge chair.

“In a little while, Princess,” Sten says with a wink. I grin at him.

“Practice your breaststroke,” my father suggests. I nod and swim to the edge, grabbing my goggles and putting them on.

“Holy fuck,” I mutter.

I go back through the data, not believing what I’m seeing. My mind doesn’t want to believe what I’m seeing. Uncle Eddie would never hurt us, unless…

I back up the data on my secret server and then erase any history of my work from the current one. I double secret server everything I do. I know now, that I need to talk to my father, I just don’t know what I will tell him.

I walk out of the room and down the hall. I hear voices in the distance, noises in the garden through the open windows, but I’m in a fog. My mind is spinning a million miles a minute. Every event of the last ten days is on autopilot in my brain.

It’s not until I physically cannot go farther, that I realize Logan is blocking my path.

“Anna?” he asks, and I have the distinct feeling this is not the first time he’s said my name in the past minute. “Anna, are you alright? You’re as white as a ghost.”

I shake my head. No, I’m definitely not alright.

He doesn’t press me, but instead scoops me up in his arms and carries me to my chamber. I don’t even have the wherewithal to tell him to set me down. There’s a security guard down at the end of the hall but he doesn’t turn toward us. I grip on to Logan’s shoulders as though he were the last raft in a vast ocean.

He doesn’t release me when we reach my room. Instead, he sits down on a sofa with me in his arms.

I finally look up into his worried eyes. “Why aren’t you playing with Auggie?” I ask.

“You didn’t come back, so Auggie and I split up and went looking for you when you didn’t respond to our texts,” Logan says. “We were worried.”

I close my eyes and muster my courage. “I…found something,” I stammer.

“What?” he asks, confusion twisting his facial features.

I clear my throat and sit up slightly. “I was running a search to see if M followed us. He did. He’s been here since yesterday. I just happened to be online when someone tried to message him. I was able to trace the message to a street of houses,” I say to him.

“And?” he pries.

I look down, my eyes fill with tears.

“Anna?” he asks, pushing my chin up so that I’ll look him in the eyes.

“Y-your father,” I whisper.

“What?” he asks.

“The only house I recognize on that street belongs to the royal family of Montelandia,” I say.

“How did you…” He trails off.

“I recognized the pool. I ran a quick check, and it’s the house. The other few are owned by some movie stars,” I explain.

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