It was around noon when they reached the airport. A man was waiting for them at the first checkpoint. She had to scoot over when he joined them in the back seat. After the way her body had burned when Cash carried her to the car in the first place, she wasn’t ready for another round of boiling in her own skin just yet. Too bad though, because she was going to get it anyway.

“Thanks for the help, Hawk,” Cash said to the newcomer.

He turned to them and smiled. “No problem. You know how Gina loves weddings.” He held out his hand and Ella took it. “Pleased to meet you, Your Highness. I’m Jack. Or you can call me Hawk. My wife is looking forward to meeting you.”

“I’m pleased to meet you as well—and please call me Ella.”

He nodded. “Ella. I passed your sizes on to her. She has a few things for you. We’ll pick up more in Vegas.”

Ella didn’t know what to say. Thank you didn’t begin to cover it—but what else did one say? When she’d given Viking her sizes while he’d been on the phone with this man during the ride here, she’d had no idea how much trouble he would go to for her.

“Thank you so much. I will pay you back.” She didn’t know how, but her pride dictated she say it. How could she be a royal princess and have nothing? It was the truth, but she’d figure something out. She’d get a job. Somehow.

“It’s not a problem,” he said. “Gina loves shopping. And I’m pretty sure she won’t allow you to pay us back, so don’t worry about it.”

Before Ella could object, they pulled up beside a plane. There was a set of stairs pushed up to the open door at the front of the fuselage, and Ella felt her jaw dropping open. She closed it before anyone noticed.

It was a big plane. When these men had said that she and Cash would be traveling on someone’s plane, she’d been thinking Learjet. Not a huge plane like people rode in every day. Her uncle used to have a jet, but he’d had to sell it. And it had been nothing like this one.

Everyone piled from the vehicle. Cash wouldn’t let her set her bare feet on the tarmac, so she had to wrap her arms around his neck and let him hold her close once more. Oh, the things it did to her heart to be held like this.

And not only her heart. Her insides tingled, and her sex ached with the beginnings of arousal. Embarrassment flooded her, creeping on hot feet across her skin. She kept her eyes downcast, afraid that someone would see how silly and virginal she was.

“This is where we leave you,” Viking said. “Good luck in Vegas. And Ella…”

She lifted her eyes to his and tried to smile.

“I know all this seems a bit crazy, but you’re one of us now. We’ve got your back.”

“Thank you.”

“Wish we could be there to see you take the plunge, Money,” Cage said.

“Shut up,” Cash replied, his chest rumbling. “And tell Cowboy to go to hell when you see him. I know he’s laughing his ass off right now.”

Cage laughed and reached out to shake Cash’s hand. “You know it, brother.”

The men said goodbye and got into the Suburban to go, but not before handing off Cash’s duffel and her wedding dress to someone waiting to take them onto the plane. Hawk nodded toward the gangway. “Go ahead and take her up. I’ll be there in a second.”

He went over to talk to some men standing nearby. Ella shifted in Cash’s arms as he headed for the steps. “I can walk up on my own.”

“The stairs are rough,” he told her without breaking stride. When they reached the top, he set her down so she could at least enter the plane on her own power. She appreciated that.

She stepped inside and a flight attendant appeared, smiling broadly.

“Please continue into the main cabin,” the woman said. “There are some light refreshments available, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Ella murmured her thanks as she held tight to the ends of the shirt she’d tied at her waist. She felt like a beggar instead of a princess—which was nothing new, unfortunately. She had never felt like a princess in her life. She felt even less of one as she passed into the spacious and richly appointed main cabin. The seats were gray leather, club chair style. The walls gleamed with chrome and polished zebrawood accents, and there were murals of album covers. Oh my God, she recognized those covers…

Ella looked away and her gaze landed on a blond-haired woman standing with her hands on her hips as she faced down a small boy who gazed up at her with apple-red cheeks and flashing eyes.

Gina Domenico?

“No, Eli, you are not getting any more M&M’s right now. Stop asking.”

“But Mama,” the boy whined.

“No, sir.”

“Daddy?” he asked hopefully as Hawk strolled in behind them.

Daddy?

Ella might be sheltered, but she had a digital music account. And Gina Domenico was one of her favorites. Right up there with Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and Beyoncé.

“Are you seriously asking me if you can have something after your mama told you no?” Hawk asked the little boy in a gruff voice.

Eli thought about it a second. “No, sir.”

“That’s what I thought. Now go play with your nanny and stop giving your mama a hard time.”

A young woman stood in the hall behind Gina. She took Eli’s hand as he tromped over to her, and ushered him away. Gina turned with a bright smile.

“Hi there,” she said, coming over and enveloping Ella in a hug before she knew what was happening. “You must be Ella. I’m Gina.”

Ella was a bit bewildered, but she returned Gina’s smile. Gina was famous, yet she seemed so genuine and happy. Not at all the mega talented pop star with the world at her feet.

“Yes,” Ella replied, happy with herself for not stammering. “Thank you for having me.”

“Honey, it’s no problem. Glad we can help.” Her gaze drifted to Cash. “Nice to see you again, Cash.”

“You too,” he replied. “Thanks for letting me hitch a ride again.”

Gina’s smile was bright. “Oh sweetie, you know I’d do anything for a wedding.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Cash grumbled. “This whole thing was probably your idea.”

Ella tried not to be starstruck while they bantered, but it wasn’t easy.

Gina laughed. “I can’t take credit, no. But it sounds to me like the boys know what needs to happen to keep you out of trouble and protect Ella from her deranged family. Sorry, honey,” Gina added with a look at Ella.

For the first time all morning, Ella laughed, though it was a small sound. “It’s okay. They are deranged.”

Gina studied her. “I’m thinking you’re ready to trade those hideous sweatpants in for some real clothes, am I right?”

Ella nodded. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate Cash’s generosity in loaning them to her, but she felt self-conscious in his clothes.

“Then come with me. I’ve got a selection of stuff in your size. We’ll find just the thing to get you started. Soon as it’s settled, we’ll be on the way.”

Ella let Gina usher her toward the back of the plane. But she couldn’t stop herself from looking over her shoulder at Cash. Just for a second. Her heart throbbed as their gazes met. His was intense, probing.

She couldn’t tell if he was merely angry about the situation—or if he regretted he’d ever met her.

---

“Quite the mess,” Hawk said after Gina and Ella were gone.

Cash gave himself a mental shake and turned away from his contemplation of the hallway they’d disappeared down. “Yeah.”

“Drink?”

“Beer?”

“You bet.” A few moments later, a flight attendant appeared with two beers. Hawk handed one to Cash and then held out his bottle to clink.

Cash took a long drink. “Not what I expected when I drove out of town yesterday. I should be standing in a trout stream today. Up to my ass in cold, clear water, casting my flies and waiting for a bite.” He shook his head. “Dammit, why’d I stop?”

Hawk snorted. “Because it’s how you’re wired. Because there’s no way in hell you could have kept on driving when she needed you. If you’d let it happen the way it was going down, you wouldn’t have a right to call yourself HOT.”

The truth of that statement squeezed his throat. He took another swallow of beer. “Yeah, I know. Damn.”

“Come on, Cash. It’s a mission. You’re marrying the woman for a mission. Might be a real wedding, real paper, but it’s all in the pursuit of keeping her safe from those assholes who tried to force her into marriage. And then there’s Fahd—need I remind you what that fucker has his fingers in?”

“No, I know he’s a trafficker. Arms, women, drugs. Oil isn’t enough for him apparently.”

“And neither is the other stuff. He wants to be king of Qu’rim.” Hawk nodded in the direction that Ella and Gina had gone. “She’s a princess, even if she’s a princess in exile. He wants that tie to an old monarchy to boost his claim when the rebels overthrow the current regime.”

The rebels in Qu’rim had been trying for a while—hell, they’d even taken the capital city of Baq for a couple of months before they’d been routed and pushed back. The situation was ongoing and not likely to be solved anytime soon. King Tariq bin Abdullah was still king, though the rebels fought to end his tenure daily. If they had a viable candidate in Sheikh Fahd? They’d fight harder—and they might succeed.

Cash couldn’t imagine Ella as a part of that world. She was too sheltered. Too gentle. “Seems like he might find it easier with a princess from his own part of the world.”

“True. But Capriolo lies in the Mediterranean, directly in the path of the shipping lanes for Fahd’s oil. I’m sure he envisions favorable trade conditions, perhaps even the possibility of a refinery.”

“I thought her family was in exile.” None of this made any damn sense.

“They are—but if she were to become queen of Qu’rim? Capriolo would have incentive for trade, certainly. Especially if Fahd were to unite the tribes and put a stop to the instability in the region.”

Cash blinked. “You don’t really think that’s possible. Not with the Freedom Force still running rampant.”

Hawk shook his head. “Nope. But I think it’s what Fahd thinks—and he’s willing to acquire her, same as he’d acquire a car or a racehorse. He has other wives—what’s one more added to the harem?”

Cash didn’t even want one wife. He couldn’t imagine several. “How would Ella be queen if he has a harem?”

“He’d probably make her the first wife. There’s a hierarchy, but he’d twist it to suit his own agenda.”

Cash hated the idea of Ella married to Fahd. It bothered him that he cared, but hell, he did. “He’s gonna be pissed when she resurfaces.”

“Probably.”

“I don’t see an endgame to this one, Hawk. Men like Fahd don’t give up easily.”

Hawk’s mouth was a grim line. “Exactly right. Which is why she needs us. The minute she ran away, she put a target on her back.”

“She needs witness protection, not a marriage to me.”

“Possibly,” Hawk said. “But you’re all she’s got.”