Royally Kidnapped by the Prince novel Chapter 22

KENNEDY

A hum—buzz. Pressure. 

A little shaky. 

What happened? 

I was drinking wine. Seconds later, I saw a glimpse of those familiar dark eyes before my world went dark.

I licked my lips. My throat was dry as a desert. 

The humming continued. Typically, I stretched in bed before I got up, but this bed seemed small and uncomfortable for my back.

Blinking my eyes open, I finally realized that I wasn’t in my bed. I quickly rose to my feet only to get tugged my ass back, slumping to the chair.

All my senses woke up—the humming and pressure. Oh, my God.

I was secured in a seat belt. 

My heart was in my throat. It suddenly registered to me. I held and tried to unbuckle when a clearing of a throat stopped me.

“You won’t do that if I were you.” 

My head snapped to the voice at the far-end corner, grinning at me.

Filled with anger, I unlatched my seat belt and aimed a lethal glare at Lud. “What did you do to me? Did you drug my wine?” Oh, my god! Did—?

“Technically, it was not your wine. And you should be careful next time, love.” He shrugged even if I was about to strangle his trunk-sized neck. 

“Where am I, Lud?” I stopped in front of him.

Relaxed, he knocked on the wall. “Where are we?” He blinked as if he just realized something. “Oh, we’re currently twenty-thousand feet above the ground.”

I kicked him in his shin. “Turn this freaking plane around, Lud! I wanna go home.”

He faked his flinch, and he still found everything funny. “We can’t change course, or we crash in the middle.”

“And why is that? We were not in Bermuda Triangle, are we?”

“Fuel insufficiency?” He seemed not sure. His eyebrows up to his hairline.

“You are lying.” I propped my hands on my hips, ignoring my hammering headache. “Why in the hell did you kidnap me after you sent me to the airport?” 

“That was the last mistake I did, love. If I turned this plane back to America, I would not just lose my job. I wouldn’t be able to find any work again. Your boyfriend made sure of that.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, asshole!” I moved to the cockpit door and knocked loudly. “Turn this freaking plane now, or I will jump. Your choice.”

“Kennedy?”

I froze. My hand hung in the air. 

“Please, have a seat, or you’ll get hurt. There’ll be a little turbulence ahead,” Ash said calmly.

I turned around. My face was flaming in anger. “I thought you’re nice. Why did you help this jerk kidnapped me?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Lud answered instead.

“I'm not talking to you, asshole. I will sue you both,” I threatened the two big bad wolves, but it didn’t even stir them even a little.

“Better than heads detached to our bodies, don’t you think?” Lud spoke again.

I clamped my lips together, confirming what I’d suspected. When the jet started to shake, I settled to the empty seat beside Ash. “Just send me to the US Embassy as soon as we land. I promise I will not file a complaint. I will call Thayer and tell him that it was my fault that I managed to escape and that I hit you both in the head.

“Do you really think he would believe you? I just got fired before I flew to the US, and that was my last warning. Sorry, love, but I can’t help you again. My life and career depend on this mission.”

“Mission? I am your mission?” My eyes stung. My chin trembled. “So you would just hand me over to him?” I turned to Ash, so stoic beside me. “You can’t do this to me. I have a family, friends, and a career back home. I already failed and won’t ever get my promotion, and now, do I also have to lose my job? Don’t you have a heart?” I held his strong arm. His muscles clenched around my grip.

“Hands off, Kennedy. Please?” His voice was the opposite of his face right now.

I swallowed in defeat. I was scared of height, and never in my life, I tried parachuting. I was not an adrenaline-junky to try those life-threatening sports. Right now, even if I wanted to get back home, there was no way I would jump off this jet.

“I thought we’re friends. I guess I was wrong. It was all but freaking jobs. I get it you both are just doing this is to pay the bills, but I never thought you’d come this far. But abducting a poor woman? This is so low, dude. You swore an oath to serve and protect, and this is a serious criminal offense.” I sniffed and wiped the tears on my cheeks. I turned to face the window and watched the scattered clouds against the wing. “I hate you both.”

I was far from home, and I couldn’t do anything to help myself escape.

Ash and Lud went eerily silent, and there was no way I would talk to them again.

“Would you like something to drink?” A pretty stewardess interrupted the awkward silence surrounding the jet.