Amy roused to consciousness when the frigid ice truck doors opened and two men grabbed her arms and forced her out of the ice and into the heat of a kitchen. Her chapped lips burned and she was colder than she’d ever been.

Before she could scream for help, they dragged her up the backstairs and into a small hall. The numbers on the door made her assume this was a hotel, and the two men who manhandled her threw her into room 312.

Her vision blurred in her icy face, but she realized another two men were in the hotel room, slightly older than the twenty-somethings who’d driven her here. She stared at one who reminded her a little of the older man she met in London with the same calculating blue eyes. She massaged her arms, lifted her chin and met his gaze. "It was freezing in there."

The man bowed like she was royalty. "The ice truck was all we could get, Your Highness."

She dropped her hands to her side, warmth stinging her fingertips. "I'm not a royal."

"You're marrying one." He shrugged.

She took a step backwards. Her heart raced, but all she had as a weapon was making herself as human to them as possible. She let out a sigh. "Well that's good to hear. I thought you were going to stop the wedding."

The man with blue eyes crossed his arms. "Ms. Fields, we cannot let you marry the prince. You must understand that."

Her heart raced. If these men were connected to her report then she understood they were here to cause problems. She swallowed and lowered her gaze, to appear weaker. "Are you following my analysis? If so, we need to discuss some of your tactics, including my kidnapping. There is no way stopping my wedding would somehow bring the Aussas down."

He took a step toward her. "I disagree, ma'am."

Ma'am wasn't her name. She wasn't a person with that, and in self-defense class they stressed that any potential victim needed to humanize themselves as much as possible if they wanted to get away. She hugged her waist and decided she'd play on their sympathies. "You shouldn't. Lucio's only marrying me because my sister in unavailable. He doesn't truly care about me. He can marry someone else tomorrow and nothing you do to me will matter."

The second man in the room said, "You actually believe that?"

She turned and met his green eyes which seemed the rarest color of emeralds and noticed his thin blonde goatee, committing it to memory for Lucio. "Absolutely. Tell you what. Let me explain my analysis to you and help you gain real insight into causing the most damage."

Both men looked at each other and then headed toward the connecting door. "Let us discuss this, alone. Wait here."

The space was small but clean, probably a three and half star hotel room, with a full bed and a small window. She refused to move and hoped she could figure out an escape. "Do I have a choice?"

"No." The man with blue eyes slammed the door, leaving her alone.

"I didn't think so," Amy muttered to herself. She raced to the window and unhooked the locks as she stared at the fire escape, which led down to the alley. She tried to lift the frame, but it wouldn’t budge. She used all her might, wondering if it had been screwed shut to keep her prisoner. The blue roof of the palace seemed so close. When would Lucio realize she was gone? She pushed the frame up with the heels of her palms but it wouldn’t move. She folded her hands at her waist.

The door behind her opened and the two men came back in. Mr. Blue eyes crossed his arms again. "What are you doing?"

"Looking at the castle." She backed away from the window.

They walked toward her and it felt like her heart fell into her stomach. "Plotting an escape?"

She had to humanize herself so they wouldn’t kill her. Amy wiped nonexistent tears from her face. "And where would I go? I can’t marry a man who wishes I was my sister. It might be better if you end my life than send me to that torture."

The man who would fit into any coffee shop scene said, "You're not what we expected."

"You paid me to analyze Avce." She dared to gaze at both of them. They had to see her as a victim if she had any chance to get out of this. Her skin no longer felt frozen to the bone from the ice truck, but she felt an electric storm in the air that was probably just her nerves.

The blue-eyed man said, "My father just confirmed that information."

She'd been right. There was a connection. Thank heavens. "Your father was who I met in London? What a cold, rainy day. I offered him a cup of tea, but he’d been in a hurry for the report. I don’t want to return to the palace. Is there any way you can help me return to England?"

The blue-eyed man motioned with his head for the second to follow him. "We have to discuss this further."

She reached for her pearl necklace that wasn't there but lowered her head to appear meek. "I'll be here, waiting."

When the men went to the hall, their voices in muffled whispers, Amy slipped the chain on the interior lock on the door. The men heard what she’d done and started to shout and pound on the thin wood.

Amy picked up the lamp on the nearby nightstand and slammed the heavy base into the window glass itself—there was always more than one way to get around a problem. Taking care not to impale herself on the broken glass, she crawled through to the black metal escape and used both hands to get down as fast as possible.

Wood splintered and she imagined the men breaking down the door but she couldn't stop.

She made it to the bottom step and jumped out into the middle of the alley, then ran around to the main street.

Footsteps landed in a thump behind her. Adrenaline kicked into gear. She'd have to find help—there was no way she could run all the way back to the palace.

Like something from a movie, a silver sedan slowed at the corner, the passenger window rolled down and her friend's voice called out, "Get in."

Her chance at freedom. She jumped into the passenger's seat as she heard the male feet thundering toward her. She locked the door and said, "Suzie! I'm so happy you're here. Whose car is this?"

"It's a rental." Suzie jammed her foot down on the gas pedal, locking all the doors.

Amy pointed behind them. "The palace is that way."

"We can't go there." Suzie answered fast and turned a corner away from the hotel.

She stared out the window at the four men who chased her. They stood on the corner she'd left, but stared in all directions. At least the men had no idea where she was. Her heart thundered in her chest. Safe—Suzie had saved her again. "Why not?"

Suzie's soothing voice held a melancholy note. "Your sister has been in Lucio's room for over an hour when I left the palace. We should head back to London."

Lucio and Evie? She flashed back to the library, and her heartache. But no, Lucio had picked her to be his bride when he could have gone back to Evie. She didn’t believe it—it didn’t make sense.

She shrieked when her friend almost hit a man crossing the street. She grabbed hold of the passenger seat and closed her eyes. "Suzie, slow down. You're going awfully fast."

Suzie said, "You need to be safe."

No. Her skin prickled with alarm. The street might be safer than here. "Pull over and let me out."

Suzie held onto the steering wheel and didn't even glance at her as they made their way out of town. "I can't, Amy. You shouldn't be here. Trust me."

There had to be something she could do, but behind her she heard helicopters and what sounded like storm troopers. She unhooked her seatbelt and looked in the rear view mirror. The royal army had descended on the hotel. Lucio had to have sent them for her. "Wait. It sounds like the army is storming into the hotel we just left."

Suzie swerved onto a narrow side street. "Hold onto your seat."

Amy unlocked her door. This was too much. Lucio was there to save her. She screamed at her friend, "Stop. Suzie. I want to get out."

Suzie glanced at her. "Amy, when I told you to marry a rich man, I didn't mean Lucio Aussa."

"Why?" Amy's stomach was in knots. She had a feeling Suzie was knee-deep in trying to ruin her wedding. Was her best friend jealous?

Suzie heaved a sigh, her grip tight on the wheel. "Because I paid for the report."

Amy sat back in her seat while the scene outside turned more pasture and less city. She stared at the profile of her best friend—a woman it seemed she didn’t know at all. "But you flew here for my wedding."

Suzie reached out and brushed her hand against hers. "Look, Amy, we were friends. I genuinely liked going out to the bars with you in London, but friendship only goes so far."

Amy jerked her hand back. If she stayed in this car, she'd be in more trouble. "What do you get out of all this?"

"Money. I like money." Suzie answered fast.

The answer made little sense. Suzie had always said she free-lanced for her living expenses. Amy inched toward her door, fingers on the handle, out of Suzie’s sight. "Who’s paying you? Anarchists generally don't have cash."

Suzie shook her head. "Now that is true. You're too smart for your own good."

Amy opened the door and saw the road under the tires and how fast they were going. "Not smart enough, obviously, or I’d have seen right through you."

"Don’t be stupid now—you will hurt yourself. Close the door," Suzie ordered, swerving on the road.

She had to jump. Hopefully the dirt was soft because the tarred road wouldn't be. Amy said a little prayer and launched toward the side of the country road.

"You're crazy." Suzie's voice carried in the air.

The dirt was hard. Her shoulder felt like she was on fire the second she thumped into the packed gravel. Her head spun.

Suzie's car sped down the road, away from her. How could she have been so wrong about Suzie? The woman she thought was better than her sister had turned out to be even worse.

And no one else was here to get help from.

Roll out of the way. Her body wouldn’t follow commands. Her right leg was numb.

The spinning in her head spiraled out of control. Amy pressed her forehead to the ground and ordered the spinning to stop. It didn’t work. She closed her eyes against the pain. "Lucio, please find me soon. I don't feel well."

And then everything was black.