Page 52 of Some Like It Scandalous
Richard?
“Your Highness, you need to return to the tower… I’m instructing security?—”
“No, I need to go to the hospital.” Armand glanced at the driver. “Find out where they took him and get us there now.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sir, I have to insist—” Peterson rarely took that tone with him, the man didn’t give him orders.
“I said no. I’m going to the hospital. Send more men over if you have to, and get me a status on his condition?—”
The security chief cut him off. “Mr. Prentiss was run off the road. LAPD on scene have already confirmed multiple hits to his car, it went down an embankment and rolled. I really need you back at the tower.”
“As soon as I see him.” He hung up on Peterson. “Go.” He snapped at the driver. One of the guards slipped into the passenger seat and the others raced to the sedans.
“He’s on his way to County General,” the guard said over his shoulder. “They airlifted him. We can be there in twenty minutes.” Tires squealed as the SUV lurched into motion.
Ice rippled through Armand’s veins. He protected everyone…
Everyone except his best friend.
Chapter 15
Anna
Anna didn’t even close the door to the apartment. She punched the elevator button and punched it again. And again. Her finger tapped the down button repeatedly until the doors dinged and it opened. Inside, she slipped her purse strap over her shoulder and hit the lobby button. Her insides were knotted so tight she could feel the tension snapping in her muscles. She hit the lobby button again. “C’mon.”
The elevator halted three floors below and she bit back a scream as the doors opened. Kyle Johnson stood there, his expression fierce. “Miss Novak. You don’t have any trips planned today.”
“No. But my friend—Charlie’s friend—Richard Prentiss was in a car accident. Charlie’s going to the hospital, I need to be there for him.”
Kyle shook his head slowly. “Ma’am, that’s not the best idea. We’re already stretched thin with the prince’s presence at the hospital and securing Mr. Prentiss and the scene?—”
“You don’t understand. Richard is Charlie’s best friend in the entire world. I’m going to that hospital and you can go with me and I’ll do exactly what you say to stay safe or you can get the hell out of my way. But if you plan to make me stay here, kidnappingis against the law…” Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence. She couldn’t believe Richard had been hurt. Charlie couldn’t be taking it well—and no matter how cool and remote he was that morning, this was his best friend.
She had to be there.
The security guard held up a hand. “Okay, okay. Breathe.” He pulled out his cell phone and stepped into the elevator. “This is Johnson. I need three unmarked and call in Fisher and Williams. Yes, Miss Novak is joining His Highness at County General.” Inside the elevator, Kyle inserted a key and typed in a code. The doors slid shut.
Anna couldn’t stand still, her right foot tapped impatiently.
“The press already know about the accident, but they don’t have any details. They know His Highness is at the hospital, which means whoever caused the accident may as well. The FBI is on scene, as are LAPD. It could take us a little finessing to get in the door. Stay at my side, and keep your head down until I deliver you. No arguments, if it’s not safe, we’re leaving, understood?”
Her stomach twisted with nausea. “I understand, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Mr. Prentiss is a good guy. He didn’t deserve this.”
The elevator doors opened to the garage. Like the day Kyle arrived to rescue her from the house, an SUV waited between two sedans. Two men in each sedan and a driver in the SUV. The garage security officer held the door open and Kyle held her elbow as she slipped inside. They closed the door and Kyle spoke to the other guard before he climbed in.
“Let’s go.” Kyle ordered the driver and gave her a reassuring nod.
The forty-five-minute drive from the tower was nightmarishly long. She sat on the edge of her seat, wearing a sore into the inside of her lip from chewing it. Kyle checked withthe detail at the hospital twice—Richard was in surgery and they had nothing new to report.
Flashing blue-and-red lights on the top of three black-and-whites and tape kept the press back from the emergency entrance. The cars pulled right up to the ER and Kyle glanced back at her. “Stay.”
He stepped out first, his eyes hidden behind dark shades. He scanned the area and glanced at the two men exiting the building, dressed identically to him—they seemed to know each other.
He opened her door and the flashbulbs went off and questions were shouted. She did exactly what Kyle told her to do, walking right next to him, shielded on all sides. The three men stayed with her to the elevator and they rode up in silence.
