Whenever-kobo (5 page)

“We can’t stay here,” Prince Callum said, his voice sounding clearer as he moved to stand by me. “They’ll smoke us out.”

The words were crazy. Prince Callum’s Irish accent and royal title added to the madness.

“Smoked out? Like we’re freaking venison after a hunting trip?” Austin snorted and then his voice changed. “My parents.” He spoke through clenched teeth. “They’re in the audience.”

I hadn’t seen my family, but they had to be out there.

“Your kin are safer away from you,” Prince Callum said. “I’m afraid you’ve joined me as a target until we can get this
birther
speech straightened.”

I wanted to protest his calling my speech the
birther speech
, but I kept my mouth shut.

“Who are those guys?” Austin asked.

A thrumming feeling in my veins made me want to run, do anything but stand here and wait. I paced a step, but couldn’t see enough not to bump into the others, so I stilled.

“The royal family’s always a target,” Sean said. “Now, with that girl Hayley’s speech, you’re targets too.” The hard sole of his shoe tapped the concrete floor in a repeated thump. “All of you.”

“That wasn’t my real speech. My speech was on football.” I felt more than a touch defensive. I knew it was stupid, but I needed to make my point. “My genetics trivia was a last-minute substitution, not a call to arms.”

“Shh.” Lisette’s voice came out a calm whisper, unlike my own angst-ridden tones. “If they don’t know we’re down here, let’s not alert them.”

She was right. I sank to my butt, wrapped my arms around my shins, and dropped my forehead to my knees. The fabric of my cotton slacks pressed into my brow, offering a moment that felt real. Sitting there in damp clothes made the space even colder.

“Where does this room lead?” Prince Callum asked, using a quieter tone. “What’s on the other side?”

I wasn’t in drama, but I tried to think; to put aside thoughts of what was happening on the other side of that stage and my worry over my family. I prayed they’d missed this somehow. And Rhys and Christian…they hadn’t followed us. I hoped they’d gotten out under the cover of smoke. Stop. Focus on the moment. Focus on Prince Callum’s question. What was on the other side of the prop room? “I have Chemistry fourth period. The drama kids are always complaining about how the lab smells go through the vents and interfere with their deep breathing.” A puff of chill air blew over me through the vents and I knew we had to go through the lab. I knew it with a weird certainty. “The vents. We can escape through the air vents to the lab.”

“Got it.” Austin hurried toward the wall and shined his phone, revealing the large metal covering. He pried at the top, uncovering a dark hole. “Move.” We bent double to go through. I braced my hands on my thighs, backed into the hiding spot, and breathed in the dusty air. Prince Callum and Austin had an even harder time fitting into the vent. They pushed the grate back in place, concealing us.

A loud clang sounded. Scraping and kicks followed, warning that someone was struggling to get through the trap door. We all stilled.
Quiet. Stay quiet
. I wiped the back of my hand underneath my nose, trying not to sneeze.

Austin powered off his phone, and the small space got even darker.

A man’s accented, guttural voice said, “I’m getting it open.”

I instinctively ducked my head, even though he couldn’t see me.

Prince Callum’s strained voice was barely above a whisper. “We have to move. Where does this go?”

“We need roof access,” Sean said. “We shouldn’t be underground. Why’d we go this way?”

“You didn’t have to follow us, dude,” Austin said.

I wondered if royalty got called
dude
often.

“Royal security arranges secondary exits. For this trip, it’s a chopper on the roof,” Prince Callum said. “So, we need to get up to the roof.”

“Where was your security back in the auditorium?” Austin asked.

“They were there.”

“Someone’s getting fired,” Austin said.

I knew how to get where we needed to go. “There’s a white ladder that runs from the pool to the rooftop. Coach uses it.”

“That’s what we’ll do then.” Prince Callum moved toward the other end of the space. He and Austin pried at the edges of the second vent. Metal bolts pinged to the floor, and we fell out into the lab.

The normalcy of the room was shocking. The familiar odor of books and chemicals floated through the room. The big windows let in sunlight. Our single sprouting bluebonnet plant sat in the windowsill. That planter had sat there since sophomore biology class when we first planted the seeds that refused to germinate. It had become something of a joke among the senior class—slower than the bluebonnet. The blue blooms this spring had better be amazing for all the waiting we’d been doing. With all that was going on right now, I just hoped we’d all be here to see it flower. I touched the soil. Dry, powdery. It needed water.

Sean bumped into me, his attention on his phone. “I’ve texted the pilot. He’ll be ready when he spots us.”

“We’ll make it,” Prince Callum said.

“Only if your team on the roof is better than your security in the auditorium.” Austin pursed his lips, and conceded, “Maybe they’re at least slowing the gunmen down. We’ve gotten this far.”

Gunmen. Geez. I hurried to the door and peered out the rectangular window. The hallway lay clear and silent.

Lisette spoke from the other side of the room, while peering through the blinds. “There are police cars in the parking lot. A ton of them.”

“Good. More distraction.” I twisted the doorknob and with no more thought than that, ran all out, down the hall toward the indoor pool. My lungs took in the humid chlorinated air as I neared the area, and I led everyone inside with quick steps, breaking a key school rule – running by the water. I skidded around the end, almost lost my footing, and righted myself, before making it over to the corner to the white metal ladder that led to the roof.

“Straight up,” Austin said. “You guys go. We’ll stay behind and hide.”

Sean shook his head in sharp denial. “We’ll be staying together until this is sorted. You’re all in danger. Thanks to the girl.”

Geez. Sean was one step away from getting shoved into the water. See how fast he’d run while soaking wet.

Austin’s gaze shifted to the door, and he gave a jerky nod.

Prince Callum stretched out a hand to me. “We’re trained to escape and to fight.”

“I’d have thought they’d have taught you diplomacy. Use your words.”

“You think that would have worked against their guns?” Prince Callum snagged my hand. “A
bad
speech?”

I narrowed my eyes and stepped closer.

“I was taught that princes are right.” He placed my palm on the first rung. “We stay together and your chances improve.”

Debatable, but I didn’t want to go backwards. I put my other hand on the next rung and climbed.

The others followed. Their shoes thumped on the rungs behind me and their hands slapped against the metal rails. At the top, a white hatch blocked the way out. I leaned in and pushed. The metal gave way and bright Texas sunlight and hot, humid Texas air blasted down on me, ending the goose bumps on my arms. I scrambled out and spun around full circle, letting the warmth cover me.

Sirens sounded from the streets as normal competed with abnormal. Tipping the scales to abnormal, a large black helicopter squatted in the center of the roof, its mechanical blackness standing out against the normal pale blue Texas sky, framed by the top of Dragon Stadium.

The second Prince Callum appeared, the thump of the helicopter’s blades started. Instead of running for escape, Prince Callum knelt beside the hole, helping everyone free. He didn’t have a ton of self-preservation instincts, but I admired his actions.

The door on the side of the helicopter slid open and two men jumped out, waving for us. We ran toward them, ducking against the wind. Prince Callum reached them first. He held up five fingers and motioned to the interior.

We jumped in, and before we were secured, the chopper lifted straight into the air. I grabbed hold of a headrest. Wind whipped around the interior. The rotation of the blades deafened me. The crew shouted, but I couldn’t make out their words. They dove toward Prince Callum, concentrating their efforts on him with the focus of first-time parents on a newborn. One man secured his seatbelt and a different crewman covered his ears with a headset.

Austin grabbed the back of a seat, and the muscles in his arms bulged with the effort to stay in place. I had a weak grip. Another upswing sent me flying into Lisette. My elbow connected with her side. She winced and slid out of reach, both of us losing our holds. We flailed around, like an un-choreographed, uncoordinated hip-hop squad. “Sorry.”

They secured Sean next. Each person they triaged ahead of me was one less I was banging into. After what felt like two years of flight, but probably was only five minutes, hard hands grabbed me. Prince Callum. He pulled me onto his lap, which made a guard turn immediately to us.

“I’ve got her,” Prince Callum said.

The guy accepted that and strapped Lisette in next, hooking her to a net on the wall. She grinned and mouthed something about “Catch of the day,” but I couldn’t quite make out the rest.

Sitting this close to Prince Callum, I could no longer think of him as
Prince
Callum. I dropped my head to his shoulder and blocked out the view from 10,000 feet. I breathed in his cologne. The wonderful way he smelled made me feel giddy and safe at the same time. My fingers tightened. His hand dropped to my hip. Whoa, I thought, but I didn’t tell him to move it.

The trip after that went fast. When the helicopter slowed, I recognized our location, Trallwyn’s regional airport, though I’d only ever driven by before now. The small airfield south of Trallwyn consisted of metal buildings, small planes, and an expanse of concrete. Our aircraft lowered and I jolted against Callum’s chest, making him tighten his arms around my waist.

Once we landed, I stood on shaky legs while everyone released themselves from their restraints and the crew opened the side door. Callum hooked an arm around my waist and lowered me down to the ground, jumping down behind me.

Two men ran toward us. When they reached the chopper, they turned outwards, scanning the horizon. We ducked under the rotating blades and ran again, with the guards pacing us.

One man’s shouts filtered through the ringing in my ears. “Everyone to the plane.”

Heat waved off the ground and my clothes felt dry now, as if I’d been tossed through a human-sized dryer. The men kept moving, herding us toward the sleek white jet with
Gulfstream G550
stenciled on the paint. Sean ran up the steps, followed by Austin.

I hung back. “I’m not getting on. I’ll go to the terminal and call my parents.” I stepped aside for Lisette and hit Callum’s unmoving figure.

“You’re not safe,” Callum said.

“My family has private security,” Lisette said. “I’ll stay with Hayley.”

Callum glanced out at the road and made an impatient sound. “She’s going with us.” He bent and scooped me up over his shoulder. My breath whooshed out and my arms flapped down, flat on Callum’s back. The muscles moved under my palms as he climbed the jolting steps toward the plane.

Lisette boarded the plane behind us, obviously deciding she didn’t want to stay behind by herself. A crewman closed the main door.

“Callum. Put me down.”

“It’s
Prince
Callum,” Sean said, from a leather recliner.

“When he’s got me upside down, it’s just Callum.”

Callum lowered me to the carpet and let go.

I breathed in, expanding my ribcage and abdomen like we did in choir so I’d have ample oxygen to yell.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

Are you kidding me? I shoved my hair out of my face and stared at him. I didn’t know what his expression meant, but the power and intensity froze me for a moment, locking me to him somehow. He took a step toward me, but then the pilot’s voice came through the intercom, stopping him.

“Aircraft secure. Take your seats.” The engine came on, underlying his words.

Callum turned away, and he opened and straightened his fingers.

Flashing back to the helicopter ride, and not wanting to be flung around again, I scrambled for a chair, going for speed; as if the music had stopped and a chocolate cake was at stake. I sank into the cream leather and snapped my seatbelt.

This was no over-crowded passenger liner from the movies. There were no middle seats, and the cream leather and carpeting smelled new. Austin dropped down near Sean, who was twisting his hands over and over on his lap. Austin ignored him and began screwing with the gadgets in the armrest.

Lisette grabbed a seat with similar speed and clicked on her belt. Secured, she rubbed her forehead, her brown eyes worried. “I left my bag on the stage. Do you think someone will get it?” She glanced at the window. The guards fanned away from the plane, which had taken on a slow rolling motion. She grabbed up her mass of blonde hair and twisted the curls into a knot at the back of her head. “Where are we going?”

No one answered her. We had no clue.

The guard checked the latches on the cupboards and moved toward the front. “We’ll arrange secure transport back to your families as soon as we land. If one of you were hurt, it would do unimaginable damage to the reputation of the royals.”

Callum kicked at my foot. He mouthed, “Unimaginable damage.”

I kicked back.

Austin adjusted his big body and looked out the window. “Is there a meal on this flight? Where
are
we landing? Bush? Hobby?”

The guard’s eyes brightened for a moment. “We can arrange food, but we’re not touching down again until we reach Irish soil.”

The only time I’d heard the words
Irish
and
soil
in the same sentence was on one of the pieces of trivia I’d studied on the potato famine, though modern Ireland had its own share of news. They hadn’t even known who their royal family was until my parents’ generation. They’d tested the DNA of aristocrats against kings buried in ancient crypts and discovered that the wealthy Cétchathach family was descended from the high kings. So with their DNA, they proved they owned the throne. With today’s escapades, the royal family would be making worldwide news again.