The penthouse door slid open with a quiet hiss as one of the suited bodyguards swiped a keycard.
A soft chime echoed in the hallway, and Kathy stood frozen at the threshold. Her heart thudded in her chest as she tried to process what the hell was happening.
A shooting. A prince. Her one-night stand.
Pregnant.
Zane's fingers brushed against hers, gently curling around her hand. "Come on," he said quietly, urging her inside.
She moved on autopilot, letting him lead her across the marble-tiled floor into a stunning open-plan penthouse filled with soft cream furnishings, floor-to-ceiling windows, and an expensive silence that seemed to mock her.
Kade, the bodyguard with sharp eyes and a clipped tone, stepped forward. "We'll be staying here until it's safe to leave for the airport. The jet's already on standby." he said.
Zane nodded with a sigh. "Any idea who was shooting at us?" he asked.
Kade shook his head. "Not yet. We're running point on surveillance footage. My team's already investigating." he replied. He gave a short bow and stepped out, leaving the two of them alone.
Kathy stood in the middle of the room like a lost child. This couldn't be real, right? Someone was playing a cruel joke on her.
She turned to him slowly. "So let me get this straight. You're a prince. And I'm married to you." she mumbled.
Zane offered a slight nod, one corner of his mouth tugging in amusement. "Yes." he said.
"You're a damn liar."
He chuckled and shrugged. "Okay. Whatever helps you sleep at night. At least, you're safe." He grumbled.
She narrowed her eyes at him. This was infuriating.
"You told me you were working when we met at the bar! Client troubles, remember?" she fired at him.
She wouldn't have shared her problems with him if she had known that he was a prince. Hell, she had just realized that dating Charles had been the worst decision of her life.
Zane arched a brow, walking past her to the minibar. "Last I checked, hosting a billion-dollar charity gala was still considered work." he responded.
"Oh, fuck this," she snapped, striding toward the door. But before she could touch the handle, two bodyguards blocked her path.
Her eyes flared. "So I'm a fucking prisoner now?!"
Zane sighed behind her. "No, Kathy, you're not. You've been seen with me. That means whoever planned the attack knows about you. That makes you a target. I'm trying to keep you safe." he explained in a slow voice as if he was talking to a child.
There was no way she was a target.
She wasn't famous. She wasn't rich. She didn't have any secrets worth killing over. For all they knew, she could be some random girl that happened to be sitting at the wrong table, at the wrong place, at the absolute worst time.
She wasn't part of this world of princes, guards, bullets, and whispered code words.
She just needed to get back to her real life. Her normal life. Back to the apartment with the broken bathroom tap. Back to the endless coffee-fueled meetings and fake smiles at work. Back to handling the fact that she was pregnant with a stranger's child.
Not this.
Not… whatever this was.
She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "This is ridiculous," she muttered.
Zane turned, eyes sharp, jaw tight. "It's protocol."
"Protocol?" she scoffed, standing. "For what? Dragging complete strangers off the street because they happened to sit next to you?"
Zane walked over slowly, hands in his pockets, calm in that infuriating royal way. "You're not just a stranger anymore, Kathy. You're my wife."
"That was an accident!"
He tilted his head. "Still legal."
"Sure," she said bitterly, arms folded across her chest. "And you think I'm working with them too, right? Is that it?"
He hesitated for a beat, then spoke with carefully chosen words. "Protocol requires that we rule out every possibility. I don't think you're a threat. But I'm also not taking chances."
She spun on him, angry and trembling. "Last I checked, you were the one who walked over to me at the café. Trust me, I wouldn't stage a public shooting just to get back at an egotistical prince." she said.
Zane rolled his eyes. "Kathy, believe me, if I thought for one second you were working with them, I wouldn't be here. You'd already be in handcuffs or worse. And I'm still not letting you leave. Not until it's safe." he said.
"Oh, wow. Comforting," she muttered.
He stepped closer, voice low. "I'm serious. You're not the target yet, but now that they've seen you with me, that could change."
She swallowed hard. "So what, I'm collateral damage now?"
"No," he said firmly. "You're someone they might use against me."
"Well, isn't that just great," she said with a bitter smile. "I didn't ask to be married to a prince. I didn't ask for bodyguards or bullets or running from people in black suits. I didn't ask for any of this!"
"I know," he said quietly. "But here we are."
Before she could respond, Kade reentered the room holding a sleek black tablet. "Zane, it's a call from your brother. Says it's urgent."
Zane gave her one long look, before he took the device without another word and walked toward the couch.
Kathy collapsed onto the opposite couch, every nerve in her body still firing from the panic, the confusion, the raw disbelief of it all.
He looked so normal now. Relaxed even. As if gunfire hadn't just erupted around them twenty minutes ago.
He looked like a man with too many secrets. She knew his kind. Dangerous.
She stared at him and whispered under her breath, "He was supposed to be my client."
She had been on that cruise to bag three potential clients for the fashion house. And he, Zane Moretti, had been one of them. Her third client. She'd failed to secure him, but apparently succeeded in accidentally marrying him.
Karma really was a bitch.
"I'm sorry, Beau, say that again?" Zane's voice brought her focus back.
Kathy blinked, watching him sit up straighter, a hand running through his dark hair.
"Princess Katherine is dead," the voice on the other end said clearly. Zane's brother. "She was found a few hours ago in her private quarters at the institute."
Kathy didn't know who the princess was. But she knew from Zane's sudden stillness that she was important. Of course, she was a Princess.
Even Kade had gone rigid.
Zane stared into the screen of the tablet, eyes unreadable. "Shit," he muttered. "Does Father know?"
"No," Beau said. "Just the Royal Guard and me. It's your call, Zane. You need to tell her parents and make the official announcement."
Zane stood slowly and stared at Kade with a distant look, before turning back to the screen. "Do you know what this means, Beau?"
"I do," Beau replied gravely. "We have to prepare for the fallout. Maybe even war. The Scottish treaties are hanging by a thread. Princess Katherine was our only diplomatic link."
Zane's jaw clenched. "We can't afford this. Not now. Not with Father ill." he said, and Kathy could hear the fear in his voice.
Whatever was going on was not good.
"Agreed. The royal guards are on alert. You command them, so they wouldn't make a move until your return."
Zane nodded once. "Good. Keep this between us. No one else must know, not even Father. I'll fix this." he said, ending the call.
Zane stood still for a moment, then slowly turned his eyes on Kathy.
She immediately sat up. That look, something in it made her stomach tighten. Her hand went to her belly on instinct before she could stop herself.
"What?" she asked suspiciously.
He turned his eyes sharply to Kade who arched a brow and sighed. "I'll be in the other room if you need me…" he said, picking up the tablet and walking off.
Zane cleared his throat and pursed his lips. "How would you like a new arrangement?" he asked her.
Kathy stared at him, blinking as if she hadn't heard correctly. "A new what?"
Zane didn't repeat himself right away. He just sat down and held her gaze, his features composed, but his eyes told a different story; heavy, conflicted, pressed under layers of decisions and responsibility.
"What's worse than being accidentally married to a prince and getting shot at on the same day he asked for an annulment?" Kathy mumbled.
A smirk curved on his lips. Then, he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, fingers loosely interlocked.
"We're already married," he said smoothly. "What's worse than staying married… at least for a few months?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"What if," Zane continued slowly, almost like he was savoring the words, "you became Princess Katherine."