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"James," Eleanor tried to catch her breath as she raced back to the hotel in her pumps. "I need you to come pick me up. Liam is in trouble. Do not say anything to anyone until I tell you otherwise."
"Yes your highness, I'm on my way."
Getting back to the penthouse, Eleanor frantically threw her belongings back into her suitcase and anxiously waited for her security detail to arrive.
There wasn't a bone in her body that wanted to return to the palace, however she would do absolutely anything for her twin. He was in danger.
James knocked on the door as Eleanor involuntarily lunged at him and hung her arms around his shoulders. He held his embrace soothingly patting her back.
"There, there Princess. Everything is going to be okay. Can you tell me what's going on?"
She silently handed her cell phone to him as he read the text from the unknown number.
"I see," he calmly spoke returning the phone back to her. "I will come with you. You are not doing this alone."
Returning to the palace Eleanor was greeted by her mother and her Uncle Cyrus. She could tell that there was some tension between the two of them.
"Darling, you have had me worried sick. James told me of your whereabouts.. but who knows what you must have been doing the past few days," Helena spoke putting her hand on her hip.
Eleanor rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Well, here I am. I gotta go," she tried to push by them as Cyrus backed her up with his hand on her shoulder.
"Not so fast Princess. With the given scenario of Ted Pryce and the state of emergency that our country is in, we need to stay together. I must keep a close eye on you. You leave and you go when I say you can," Cyrus threatened. "Now go find your brother and tell him the same."
Eleanor didn't respond as she grabbed her luggage and pushed through them up to her room.
She couldn't sleep that night. No matter how many sleeping pills she took her eyes remained wide open staring at the ceiling. Who was going to be waiting for her at the park tomorrow? What does the 'Domino' group exactly consist of? Is Liam hurt? To top it all off, the fact that Jasper was down stairs just below her made her insides turn.
Eleanor's alarm clock woke up her up the following morning. She jolted up in her bed feeling as though she had been hit by a bus. The combination of an ecstasy come down, lack of sleep, and the threat of her brother's overall well being wasn't ideal.
Before hopping into the shower, she glanced at the clock telling her she had exactly 2 hours before she had to be at the park. She purposely underdressed with a big grey sweatshirt and a blue baseball cap.
Emerging from her room, she peaked up and down the halls. She didn't hear her mother, or Cyrus, or anyone of importance. She did however make eye contact with James who was waiting outside of her room.
He gave her a silent nod and quietly led the both of them out to a car that was waiting for them.
"Where to your highness?" the driver asked.
"Um- Regal Central Park please," Eleanor's voice squeaked. She was absolutely terrified. She fought off the craving to drink as she knew that would be a terrible idea. Eleanor needed to be prepared for anything and on her toes at all times today.
There was a deafening silence in the car ride as she picked at her fingernails and read from her cell phone. The last text that she had received from Liam was last night at 6:07 P.M.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she read it.
"I know I screwed up, Len. I can't chase you forever. But just know that I love you more than anyone on the planet. I would die for you! Please come home."
They approached the vast park which was filled with vibrant green trees and fields that looked like they went on for miles.
"I'll be right here in the car. You text me, and I will be there in one second. I will be watching you with binoculars as well just in case. Good luck, Princess."
"Eleanor," she corrected him trying her best to give James a smile.
She exited the limousine instantly putting her hoodie over her head. It was a brisk morning and the trees were blowing in the wind.
"I'm here," Eleanor texted the number.
"The bench by the pond."
Looking around the massive park, she was able to spot the glimmer of water in the distance. She made her way to the pond consciously knowing that her security detail was closely following and watching her.
Eleanor approached one single man sitting on a bench from behind. She hesitatingly stood next to him as she observed his appearance.
"Good morning, Princess." He had blue eyes, short brown hair, a goatee, and a look of vengeance in his gaze. She didn't recognize the man whatsoever.
"Where's my brother?" Eleanor asked as she hugged her body from a cold blast of wind. "What do you want?"
"Have a seat," he patted the spot next to him. She apprehensively sat down next to him completely avoiding eye contact.
"Ever heard of a woman named Dominique? She was my older sister. I called her Domino when we were young.. I actually named my daughter after her."
"Yes.. I believe I know of the name," Eleanor glanced over to him after a long pause.
"Your grandmother ruthlessly murdered her," the unidentified man spoke through clenched teeth. She could sense a shakiness in his voice.
"Right. And your family murdered at least a couple of my kin as well.. I believe it was my older brother, and most recently my father, the King of England. What is it that you want?" Adrenaline pumped throughout Eleanor's body.
"You sure are a daring one, Princess, aren't you? You've got quite the mouth on you."
"Where is Liam?"
"He's safe, for now."
"What is it that you want from me? Money? You already had your revenge. My father was a great man-"
"Ah, ah.. not so fast. Ted Pryce was the one who killed your father. But the idiot didn't follow through with the plan."
Eleanor felt anger burning inside of her. Quite frankly, she wanted to slap him as hard as she could but she refrained.
"What plan exactly?" she gritted her teeth pushing a piece of hair out of her eyes.
"To take down your whole family; one by one. And to the best of my knowledge, your dearest twin is next on the list."
Eleanor felt the color wash from her face.
"Liam never did anything to you, he's innocent. You told me you would let him go if I came this morning." She yelled abruptly standing up.
"Actually, I said that it would be best for the Prince's wellbeing if you should show up. You have simply given him a few more hours to remain alive." The man gave an evil chuckle as he stood up next to her.
"I wanted to give you a fair warning, Princess. Once we are through with your twin, you're next. And then onto that bitch of a mother of yours, or Queen as she calls herself. You can transfer the message back to your embarrassment of a family."
Eleanor backed away from him. She frantically reached for her phone out of her pocket attempting to dial James' number. The man slapped the phone out her hands and held her by the throat.
"We're not done here yet, your highness.." He backed her toward a tree as she gasped for air. She felt the blood rush to her head as he got closer to her face.
Within a matter of seconds the screeching sound of a car approached them. The anonymous man instantly sprinted back toward his own car.
Jasper busted out of a limousine behind them shooting at his car as he drove away. Eleanor stood in shock watching the action unfold in front of her.
"Get in the car, now!" James shouted emerging from another limo himself, ushering the Princess into the car. After she was safe in the car, James joined fire with his colleague.
The opponent drove away with a shattered windshield and quite a few bullet holes lodged in his car. James stopped shooting and slowly put his gun back in the holster. Jasper still had his gun drawn.
"Honestly, what the fuck?" Eleanor scolded Jasper as she wound the window down. Seeing that the unknown convict had left she threw the door open and strutted toward him. "Would you please stop following me already? I believe that James could have easily handled this on his own."
He made a side glance at her before she shoved him with all of her power. Her full strength only made him slightly budge a few inches to his side.
"Be a good Princess and get back in the car," Jasper demanded under his breath without looking at her. His view was still focused on to the suspect's car in the distance. Eleanor gave a long glare before flipping her hair and walking back toward the limo.
"Liam and I spoke of a girl named Domino," Jasper uttered as he scrolled through several profiles on a computer screen. "She was around our age. She has to be this man's daughter."
James and Eleanor looked on with anticipation sitting closely behind him. The three of them were safely located in the now familiar security room located in the tunnels of the palace.
"There." Jasper eventually pulled up a profile of an attractive young blonde with emerald eyes similar to Eleanor's. Her address and a full list of information on Dominique was displayed next to her picture.
"Are you sure this is the girl Liam spoke of at our birthday party?" Eleanor asked wheeling the chair closer to the computer.
"That would be my sister," an unfamiliar voice spoke behind them making the Princess instantly spin her chair around.
Brittany stood in the doorway with a man twice the size of James and Jasper combined. The humongous man punched Jasper in the face as he collapsed onto the keyboard.
"I told him we would come for him if he went back to your side," Brittany sighed glancing at Eleanor.
"Jesus, does the kid really deserve to get punched in the face so often?" Eleanor extended her arm toward her former bodyguard.
James slid his hand toward his holster as Eleanor put her hand on his. The last thing she wanted was for James to be harmed in this moment.
"What do you want Brittany?" Eleanor pleaded gazing up at her, still grasping onto James' wrist.
"You know exactly what I want," Brittany hissed. Within a few seconds the large man held a gun straight at the Princess.
Before James had the chance to reach for his gun, an ear deafening fire was shot.
The bulky man collapsed onto Eleanor's lap. She screamed, shoving his lifeless body to the ground. Eleanor looked up unexpectedly meeting her uncle's gaze with a gun in his hand.
"I knew things were getting all too boring in this palace." Cyrus casually entered the room with at least five bodyguards standing behind him. "If anyone is to kill my niece.. or my nephew.. it will beat my beck and call," he whispered with his teeth pushed together. A slight smile formed on his face.
Eleanor rolled her eyes.
"I thought I told you not to leave the grounds without my permission, Princess."
Eleanor glanced at her security detail. James was just as dumbfounded as she was herself. She could say many things about her uncle.. but nonetheless he never ceased to amaze her.
"Why does the cute body guard always have to get hurt?" Cyrus nudged Jasper's body with his hand as he let out a grunt. Cyrus approached Brittany as though she was a piece of meat in his lion's den.
"Now as for you, you dirty bitch," he seethed placing his index finger on his lower lip. His bodyguards proceeded to pull her up by the back of her arms."Take her away boys."
The security removed the dead body and took Brittany who was belligerently thrashing back and forth in her handcuffs out of the room.
Jasper finally raised his head placing his hand on his cheek with an extremely confused look on his face.
Cyrus straightened his jacket. "Now then. Where shall we retrieve my little brat of a nephew?"
"Honestly, this is insane," Eleanor strutted in her room with James close behind. "How and the hell am I supposed to trust my maniac of an uncle? We can't work with him."
"Eleanor if I may disagree, perhaps his majesty has true intentions for once. From what we just saw I'm quite confident that he is not working with Domino. He is probably our greatest chance at finding your brother."
How much does Cyrus even know about Domino? How did he know Liam was missing?
Whatever it was, time was running out and she did have to agree with James. Maybe Cyrus actually did have a heart.
With impeccable timing as always, Jasper wandered into her room looking at the both of them.
"Hill, may I speak to the Princess in private for a moment?"
"Okay Frost. But we must move as soon as possible now that we have the details to Dominique's whereabouts." James showed himself out of the room.
"Do you believe me now?" Jasper held an icepack in his hand walking toward her. "When I got back to the palace last night Brittany was waiting for me in my room. She threatened that if I were to go around you or help find Liam, she would have me killed. There are people in this palace working for Domino. We have to be on high alert Len. Brittany was simply blackmailing me and tried to get between us.. because she knows I would do absolutely anything to keep you out of harm's way."
"Ah.. a crazy ex-hookup, that's always fun. Oh, and it feels pretty good to be blackmailed doesn't it?"
Jasper ignored her comment. "But I could never, ever stay away from you. No matter how crazy you are," he smirked as she crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.
"You sure are ballsy, bodyguard.. and a little crazy yourself." Eleanor casually walked before him and took the icepack out of his hand, placing it on his cheek.
"Only for you, my Princess." She stared into his intense blue eyes. Jasper simply made her knees weak.
"I.. I'm sorry that I didn't trust you," Eleanor painfully tried to spit out. "I don't know what I would have done if-"
Jasper placed his hand over the icepack and threw it on the table next to them. He assertively grabbed onto her hips bringing her up against his body. Tilting her head back he slowly kissed her giving her instant butterflies in her stomach.
"You know, if my brother wasn't in dire danger right now I wouldn't mind ripping your clothes off right here, right now," Eleanor whispered against his lips. His eyes lit up with excitement as he grabbed onto a portion of her hair and deepened the kiss.
"Ahem," James cleared his throat re-entering her room.
"Jesus James how long have you been standing there?!" Eleanor hissed, still held tight up against Jasper's body. She looked up at Jasper's face seeing him blush for the first time.
"Please forgive me your highness." James couldn't hold back an awkward smile who was also blushing himself. "But his majesty is calling for you. The cars are ready."
Jasper looked down at Eleanor, still wrapped in his embrace. He gave her a soft peck on the lips.
"Let's go get Liam."
