Free Courted: Gowns & Crowns, Book 1 by Jennifer Chance Page B

to sift through her dresser drawers, “that boy is going to pay.”
    “You’ve got that right.” Nicki strode back into the suite, her scowl deepening. “Rifled every single bit of our clothes in there—bathing suits, underwear, you name it. We’re going to have to wash everything in bleach. Nothing else except our passports seems to be taken, though. Thank God Lauren warned us about not bringing jewelry.”
    “They weren’t after money,” Frannie confirmed, hefting an ornately beaded bag and waving it at them. “There’s still five hundred dollars left in here—and it was sitting out. Just our passports. They didn’t even try to make it look like a normal theft.”
    “But why? To steal our credit information?” Nicki scowled. “Seems like an awful lot of hassle to go through to cap some random Americans.”
    “Except we’re not random Americans, not anymore.” Em wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. Her eyes went to the television screen, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn it on. Instead, she pulled out her phone, stiffening her resolve to make the call. “We’re the evening news.”
    Her phone rang in her hand, surprising her so much, she dropped it.
    “What the hell!” Nicki growled. Lauren turned around at the unexpected ringtone and spied the device, narrowing her eyes as Em snatched it back up. Em swiped on the phone and held it to her ear.
    “Hello?” she managed.
    “Oh, good.” Kristos’s rich voice sounded even more foreign over the phone, and the lurch of her heart warred with the anxiety spinning through her stomach. “You hadn’t called, and the men—”
    “Someone broke into our room!” Em blurted, gripping the phone. “They took our passports, our IDs. We can’t travel anywhere without them.”
    There was the shortest of pauses on the other end of the line, then Kristos was back in her ear. She could hear the sound of his footsteps, striding quickly, then breaking into a run.
    “Stay on the phone with me, Emmaline. All your friends are there?”
    “What? Yes,” she said, nodding as three pairs of eyes stared at her. “Yes, we’re all together.”
    “Then stay in the room. If you aren’t dressed for walking, do that now. I’ll have the security detail meet you at your rooms in five minutes to get you out. All of you.”
    “But we can’t go anywhere, Kristos,” Em said, shaking her head though he couldn’t see her. “They took our passports.”
    “Passports can be arranged,” he said tersely. “In the meantime, pack whatever belongings you have, get into clothes you all can move in, and do not open the door to anyone but the GNSF.” She could hear him draw in a long breath, then let it out, clearly trying to manage his temper. “Allow me to welcome you as guests of the royal family of Garronia.”

    “Go now,” Kristos barked, his phone still at his ear. “And keep me posted.” The on-site detail at the Hotel Garronia would get the women to the garage without issue, but they still needed to get them safely to the palace.
    He turned, scowling at Stefan and Cyril. “Their passports were taken. Security at that hotel must be completely nonexistent.”
    Stefan lifted his brows, apparently unconcerned. “‘American Princess’ trumps any news story this week. The people looking for more information were eager, and money was easy to come by. I’ll alert my contacts in the media that the news will break. I don’t think it’s reasonable to try to keep it off the air. Too many outlets. It will get out no matter what we do. We can only manage the story from this point further.” His gaze slid to Kristos, and something approaching irritation did flash across his face then. “You had to go and kiss her again. You couldn’t leave well enough alone.”
    Kristos rolled his eyes. “Like you’re the poster child for restraint.”
    “Enough.” Cyril raised his hand. “I’ll discuss their situation with the US embassy in Athens. Expedited passports