Page 121 of One Last Stand

“Sheesh.” He shook his head. “You’d think after what happened to Ziggy—”Wait. “How is Ziggy?”

“She was in ICU when we left,” Boo said. “I just went up to check on her, and someone checked her out of the hospital.”

Silence, again, in the room. “Who?”

“Dunno. The nurse said it was some guy. He came in with his own medical team and took her away.”

More silence.

“York?” Shep asked.

“Who?” Boo said.

He shook his head. “Nobody.” His feet hit the floor, and he reached for his coat. “I’m going to the embassy.”

“Shep—” Moose stopped him with a hand on his arm. “We all have a flight out of here in a couple hours. You should be on it.”

“I’m not leaving without London.” He shook his arm away from Moose’s grip. The movement shot heat through him, but they’d doused him with pain killers, so maybe he wasn’t exactly all there. Still, “We’ll be there.”

“You sure you don’t need help?” Axel said, but Shep held up a hand to him and Moose and Boo and even the nurse who ran down the hall after him. She said something in Montelenan, but he ignored it, came out into the lobby, and then pushed through the doors.

The castle sat on the hill, a fresh layer of snow dusting the parapets, the black gothic roofs. In the city below, the snow had turned to slush, cars splashing through it. The hospital sat blocks from the embassy, but he had the map in his head, thanks to the tour that London’s father had given him, and he now set out for it, not hurting at all, thank you.

Except maybe his heart.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, head down, and stalked to his pounding heartbeat.Let’s get off this mountain and go home.

His words, not hers. Maybe she’d never meant to return to Alaska with him. And maybe he was the jerk here for expecting that, but . . .

But heknewLondon. Or maybe he only knewLondon. The person she’d talked about last night, the one ignited by justice . . .thatperson he’d only gotten glimpses of.

Brutal and raw glimpses. Like the way she’d fought Tomas in the snow. And he’d nearly come unglued when Tomas hit her.

And when she hit him back.What?—

And then there was—well,everything. Her tackling him into the river and running out of the fortress in her bare feet and glissading with him down a mountain and . . .

He’d never forget her the night of the ball, so beautiful she’d taken his breath away. Delaney Brooks.

But she had this other side, too, the Laney Steele side.

And maybe it wasn’t fair of him to suppose she could only live as one version of herself.

Still—

He stopped at the gate. Looked at the guard. “I don’t have ID, but call the ambassador.”

“No need, sir. She’s expecting you.” The man buzzed him in.

Huh.

He came into the courtyard, wet with fresh, melted snow, and only then did he realize the nip in the air. A guard opened the door to him, and he went in, passed through the security checkpoint, and by the time he reached the stairs, Mitch stood there.

“She’s in Sofia’s office.”

Shep nodded.

He put a hand out to stop Shep. “But you’re supposed to be on a plane.”