Page 81 of One Last Stand
Meanwhile, London looked at the guard, spoke in Montelenan, and they exited the lobby, back to the tunnel. Shep had picked up his robe, and after another elevator ride and another walk down a corridor, they gave them to the guard, who escorted them out of a side entrance, to a courtyard outside the palace. Light sprayed down onto the cobblestones. A driveway led into the mountain, probably to the entrance of Cryptex. Stairs descended from the area, down the mountainside to the village.
Commoners once again.
At least it had stopped raining. He started for the stairs, but a horn beeped from a nearby parking area. An embassy SUV sat in the lot, and a door opened, the light shining from an inside dome. “Your ride, ma’am.”
Oh.
“Prince Luka must have called the embassy,” London said, a hint of chagrin in her voice.
It was better than the hike down the mountain, although he felt like a child being collected from the principal’s office as he climbed inside the SUV.
They drove down the mountain, into the city, through the pools of light that splashed on the wettened streets, and finally through the embassy gates.
As they climbed out, Shep held out his hand to her. She took it.
“Prince Luka has nothing on you.”
His mouth tightened at the edges.Yeah, well,it wasn’t a competition.
Really.
They went inside and then upstairs and stopped by the private living area where Mitch and Ambassador Sofia sat on the sofas. The smell of dinner came from the nearby kitchen.
Mitch put down the paper he was reading. “Get caught in the storm?”
“Something like that,” London said. “But I did get my Cryptex appointment, so you can cancel it. Oh, and we’re going to the ball, Mother, so yes, I’ll need one of those dresses.”
Her mother smiled. “I knew you’d come around.”
He waited for a retort from London, but she nodded and walked down the hall to her room.
He followed her. “You okay?”
She turned around. “Perfect. I was trying to figure out when and how to get into Cryptex to upload the virus. I caught the code the guard entered as he let us in, and it looks like you just need to press the buzzer under the desk to get into the inner rooms. Tomorrow night, after I get the bio card, we’ll sneak in and upload the virus and be gone, and all this will be over.”
“What about”—his voice lowered—“that assassin?”
She held up a finger. “Working on that.” She smiled at him. “I can’t wait to see what you look like in a tux.”
“Wait, London—I don’t dance.”
“There’s a time for everything.” Then she rose up on her toes and kissed him. Quick but sweet and,okay, fine. Maybe he didn’t need to worry about the stupid prince. As if he’d been worried. Which he definitely hadn’t.
“I’m going to take a shower and warm up. See you at dinner?”
He nodded, then headed to his room. A chill clung to it, so he started the fire in the hearth, then headed to the bathroom, filled it with steam from the hot shower, and started to feel the ends of his fingers and toes again as he stood under the spray.
He came out of the bathroom dressed in a towel around his waist, the steam following him out, the bedroom warming.
And there, in one of the chairs, sat York. He wore black jeans and a dress shirt and now stood up.
“Um, maybe I’m confused. This is my room, right?”
“Sorry, mate. Of course, but . . . I need a word with you.”
“Yeah, me too,mate. Did you know we were shot at out there in the woods? Your assassin group or whatever still has a hit out on London.” And he couldn’t believe he’d entered a world where those words not only emerged from his mouth but were comprehended and maybe even normal, because York just nodded.
Whatever. “They’re going to keep coming, aren’t they? Until you guys stop them.”