“What? Absolutely not,” Chey said.

“Hell no,” Jeremiah added.

“I know. Of course that won’t happen. But we need to figure out a game plan and fast. We should get Mattias up here, or all of us use one of the conference rooms or something so we can work it out. Away from the advisors and guards and liaisons for now,” Leander said.

“What do they want with me if they have Sander?” Elias asked. His question was a reasonable one, he thought. He wasn’t king, didn’t have nearly the draw and power that Sander did. In his mind, the attackers were wasting their time with him.

“Whoever is behind this sees Emily, your sister who was sworn in as heir to the throne, as easily toppled from her position if she ascends to power. They think they can overtake her, thereby overtaking Latvala in the process. It’s looking more and more like the Russians may be behind this after all,” Leander said.

Emily, yes. In all the chaos Elias had forgotten about Emily’s ceremony.

“These people think they’re going to get their hands on my children, using Sander as bait. Clearly that won’t be happening, but we can’t just let Sander die. I know what his decision would be, that he would sacrifice himself to save his kids, but I won’t sacrifice him to these heathens. Call whoever you trust to help, Leander. Get Sander back,” Chey said.

Leander sent several text messages and pocketed his phone. “That’s the problem, Chey. I don’t trust anyone except Mattias and one or two others right now. We’ve got a leak somewhere, a traitor in the ranks, and it’ll be almost impossible to weed him or her out before our time’s up. We need another way.”

“Instead of using Sander as bait, why not use me as bait? Let them think they’ll get what they want, but capture them and force them to lead you back to Sander.” Elias had no idea where the words or the idea came from. It seemed a logical, sane choice, however, given the alternative. He had to believe that Leander and the others could come out on top in that situation.

“No.” Chey sounded adamant. “Too many things can go wrong.”

“Unless we get someone to crack—and I seriously doubt that we will in three hours—our options are very limited,” Leander said.

Elias met Leander’s gaze across the room. He understood without asking that Leander was considering his suggestion.

“But he’s got his arm in a cast and a head wound, not to mention the other smaller injuries,” Chey said. “He can’t fight back, at least not like he normally would. What if it comes down to that? We’d be putting him in a precarious position and at a deficit, no less. No. Just no.” She shook her head and waved off the idea.

“I think we should do it. Start planning now. We’ve only got three hours and we’re going to need every moment to beat these people at their own game. I’m willing. I’m not afraid to put myself in a precarious position for him, Chey,” Elias said.

“If we fall back on finding the mole in the ranks, it could take hours. Hours we don’t have. Even if we got the person to break after an hour or two, we still have to gather a strike team and travel to the location to free Sander. They could be anywhere, even across the border. Can’t take our military over the border without permission, which eats up more time,” Jeremiah added.

Chey rubbed her forehead while she paced.

Elias understood her distress, even if he felt distanced from it. The drive to act, to do something, was as strong as his need to breathe. He wasn’t sure what was compelling him to make these decisions; he only knew it felt right. This was what he would have done before the accident, he was sure of it. That knowledge only fueled his desire to follow what his gut instinct was telling him.

In the midst of negotiations, the door opened and Mattias stepped in.

“Just in time, Mattias,” Leander said.

Elias locked gazes with his uncle. The sleek, sophisticated man with dark hair and dark eyes did not spark an immediate memory. Nothing about him was familiar, which was disappointing in the extreme. The only reason he knew it was Mattias was because Leander had called him by name. Otherwise, Elias would have passed him on the street like any other stranger. He banished the thoughts of amnesia from his mind.

There were bigger things to worry about at the moment.

“Hello,” Mattias said. He closed the door and paced deeper into the room. “First, we have no updates about the questioning. Although we’ve narrowed down the list of probable suspects, no one is talking yet. That gives us precious little to go on.”

“Elias has just suggested using himself as bait,” Leander said.

“And I don’t think it’s a good idea at all,” Chey added.

The tension in the office ticked up another notch. Elias could feel it on the air, see it in the posture of everyone present. He was tense, too, but ignored his physical discomfort in favor of making a plan.

“Everyone has already admitted we don’t have much time. This seems like the best, safest route.” Elias met everyone’s gaze in turn. Jeremiah, Leander, Chey, Mattias. He attempted to reinforce his belief that the plan was a good one with a direct, forthright stare.

Mattias strolled past both desks, hands in the pockets of his pants. He wore a gray suit and polished shoes, and moved like a man who could handle himself.

Like Sander, Elias thought. Both men were equally confident and self-contained.

“I know you don’t like the idea, Chey, but it does have some merit,” Mattias said after several minutes of silence. “This whole operation, with the use of explosives and the deaths of so many guards leads me to believe that these people will kill Sander in three hours if we don’t do something about it. I’m sure you agree that his life isn’t worth risking.”

“Of course not. But you’re asking me to trade one life for another.” Chey swept a hand toward Elias. “He’s not a hundred percent. He can’t defend himself properly if necessary.”

“I know Chey,” Mattias said quietly. “That’s why we’ll be there. He won’t have to defend himself if we get the upper hand.”

“And if you don’t? Things go wrong all the time. That’s my husband and my son we’re talking about.”

“And it’s my brother and my nephew. Trust me when I say we’ll be pulling out all the stops on this one.”

Elias followed the conversation between Mattias and Chey like a ping-pong match. Back and forth, one after the other. Each made good arguments, and he didn’t interrupt again to assert his position on the matter.

He understood that it wouldn’t ultimately be up to him to decide what the outcome would be.

“I’ll be there, too,” Leander said.

Chey continued to pace. Finally, after several minutes of agonizing silence, she paused next to the fireplace and faced Mattias. “Do what you need to.”

“Excellent,” Mattias said. “Elias, Leander, let’s start making plans.”