Page 56 of The Heart of the King

“No. I’m stuck. My dress is stuck.” She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand.

Edward hollered that he was going to get the security teams.

“That’s okay. We’ll tear it or cut it loose.”

Hazel shook her head. “I don’t want to cut it.”

“It’s all right.” He knelt on one knee next to her. “We can get you another dress.”

“My foot is stuck, too.”

David pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight. The light in the room wasn’t very bright. Sure enough, her foot was wedged between something and the outer wall, likely just inches from the open ocean.

Pounding footsteps preceded pounding on the door. “David, let me in,” Daniel demanded.

David reached for the door, but found it wouldn’t open. “Hang on. It’s stuck, but if you try to force it, you’ll hit Hazel. She can’t move at the moment. I’ve got to get her foot unstuck.”

“Work quickly and carefully,” Daniel told him.

“I will.”

Fortunately, he’d picked up a habit a long time ago that would serve him well. He pulled a pocket knife out and opened it, keeping it well away from Hazel as he turned back to her.

“I’m going to have to cut your dress, sweetheart. Then maybe we can work on your foot a bit better.”

She nodded through her tears.

“Hold still.” It took a few minutes, but eventually, he managed to cut the dress away from its prison.

He closed the knife and reached out to brush her tears away. “You did great, okay?”

“It’s my fault,” she whimpered. “I wanted to play hide and seek. Sofia didn’t, but came with me anyway. I got stuck in here. She found me. Then we were both stuck.” Her sobs intensified. “Are you mad?”

David leaned over and pressed a firm kiss to her forehead. “I’m not mad, though we will have to have a long talk about safety on the yacht. What you did wasn’t safe, but I’m not mad.” He smiled at her. “Now, let’s try to get your foot loose.”

He moved his flashlight and stretched out the best he could to see what held her foot in place underneath a small shelving unit of some kind.

It didn’t look like it should be wedged so badly unless something else hid under the shelf too.

When he tilted his head to look at the bottom of the shelf, he saw it and froze as his blood ran cold.

Things had gone from bad to worse.

And it was going to be up to him to save them all.

20

Edward carried Sofia into the salon where Astrid reached for her daughter and held her close.

“Where’s Hazel?” Jazz demanded.

“She’s stuck, but David is with her. Her dress and foot got caught,” Edward explained. “Daniel and the others are on their way to help him.”

Astrid sat with her daughter. “What were you doing, Sofia? Why did you leave?”

Sofia glanced at Jazz. “Zell wanted to play hide and seek. I found her. The ship rolled, and she slipped. Her foot got wedged under a shelf, and her dress is stuck on something.”

“Sofia, you know better.” Astrid reached out and brushed the girl’s hair back. “This is Hazel’s first time on a yacht, but you’ve been on ships and ferries many times. What is the first rule?”

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