A Fervid Fixation Chapter 6: Conflagration
Series: A Fervid Fixation
Fandom: The Royal Romance
Pairings: Riley x Drake
Rating: MA
Warnings for this chapter: Language
Word Count: 4,159
A/N: This is me officially giving up on predicting the length of this story. 🤷🏻♀️
My other stuff: Master List.
Riley jumped as the door slammed behind Liam. She turned back to Drake, “What do you mean I have no idea what I’ve just done?”
“I mean…you’ve only known the charming and polite Liam, the person he is when he’s getting his way.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that you don’t know what he’s capable of! Liam handles things…differently.”
“Differently how?”
“Okay, so take me for example. I’m a simple man, Riley. Straightforward. Nick pissed me off, I punched him. Tariq threatened you, I punched him. Simple. Out in the open. Resolved and moved on from. But Liam? He can destroy a person’s life from the ground up and they never see him coming until it’s too late.”
“Liam wouldn’t-
“Oh, he would, he can, and he has! I’m telling you…you don’t know him like I do! If I haven’t been fired, had my clearance revoked, and been shut out of all our systems by the time he makes it back to the office, I’ll eat my shoes.”
“But…you’re his best friend!”
“Who just betrayed him.”
“You didn’t-“
“As far as he’s concerned, I did and that’s all that matters. I told you, absolute monarchy.”
“What will you do if he fires you?”
“The job is the least of my concerns, Riley. I told you; I have money. I can get by without an income for a while. I can get another job, somewhere else, but…”
“But?”
“But I can almost guarantee he’ll have all my domestic assets frozen by nightfall. He can make it impossible for me to find another job, he can seize this property if he wants to and frankly if he decides to arrest me, I could spend the rest of my life in a prison cell.”
“But you’ve done nothing wrong or illegal!” She protested, “Surely a jury-“
“Doesn’t matter. There won’t be a trail. This isn’t America.”
“Why would he do any of that?”
“Because in his mind, I just took something that belonged to him. Liam Rys doesn’t do tit-for-tat. He goes for shock and awe. Slight him, he will raze your life to the ground.”
“I…I don’t believe you! He’s just hurt right now, he’ll calm down, you’ll see.”
Drake plucked his phone up from the coffee table where she had placed it and dialed. Putting it on speaker phone while it rang, he held it toward her so she could hear the conversation.
“Who are you calling?”
“Jason Toussaint, the Lieutenant in charge of cyber operations,” he answered.
The call connected, “Drake? What the hell is going on? I just got orders to lock you out of all systems.”
“Hey, Jason,” Drake spoke into the phone, “Has my employment been terminated?”
“Yes, and all security clearances revoked,” Jason answered, “What the hell is going on, cap?”
Drake gave Riley an I told you so look before answering, “Has the order been given to freeze my assets?”
“Yes, but I haven’t done it yet.”
“The assets don’t matter,” Drake answered, “but do that last.”
“All right. I’ll buy you as much time as I can, but be advised that your passport has been revoked.”
“Noted. Thanks, Jason.”
Drake hung up the phone and started pacing.
Riley watched him, anxiety spinning her mind in a million different directions. “What are we going to do?”
Drake stopped pacing and turned to face her, “We need to go, now!”
“Where?”
“Anywhere that isn’t Cordonia or a country that has an extradition treaty with Cordonia. His reach ends at the border.”
“Okay, but how do we do that if you don’t have a passport?”
“We get creative!” He smiled reassuringly at her, “Don’t worry, I have a plan! Go pack your stuff!”
It didn’t take her long because she had barely unpacked. When she came back down the stairs, Drake was just hanging up the phone, “Who was that? Is everything okay?”
“I just found out from my contact in MiSHI that the person Tariq was working with is Bastien.” He said grimly, “And there’s only one person he takes orders from.”
“Who’s that?”
“Constantine.”
Riley’s heart dropped, “Liam’s father?”
“Yes, the fucking bastard! This makes it even more imperative that we get out of the country as soon as possible. If Constantine has determined that you’re not suitable marriage material for his son, he will go to any lengths to ensure he stays away from you.”
“Okay,” she took a deep breath as she nodded, “I’m packed, we can go!”
“Me too,” He pointed to a duffle bag laying by the door, “I’ll go grab your bags, you go grab some snacks from the kitchen so we don’t have to stop any more than necessary.”
“On it!”
“There’s a cooler under the cabinet closest to the fridge!” He called over his shoulder as he bounded up the stairs.
Fifteen minutes later their stuff was loaded into the back of a nondescript range rover.
Confusion pulled through her, “Where did that come from and where’s your car?”
“My car is stashed in the garage around back where this was parked. It won’t be easily seen unless someone is looking for it. And they won’t be. They’ll be looking for it out on the road, but they won’t find it because we’ll be in this!” He grinned at her as he dangled the keys, “It was my sister’s. They won’t think to look for her car. I doubt Liam even remembers she had a car before she left!”
“Savannah, right?” she asked as she slid into the passenger seat, “You told me about her. You never told me why she left.”
“Because some fucking duke used her and threw her away like she was garbage!” he climbed into the driver’s seat and put the car in gear as he spoke, “Made a big deal about how she was good enough to fuck but not good enough to marry. Then she found out she was pregnant and was afraid the guy would take her to court and get custody of the kid. And he would have won because he had all the money and all the power. So I helped her move away before anyone here even knew she was pregnant.”
“Jesus…that…that sucks, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay,” he shrugged, “Fuck that guy. She dodged a bullet if you ask me.”
He navigated the vehicle down the rutted-out path and eventually onto a better, but still rough dirt road. It took twenty minutes before they hit pavement.
“So…an officer in the Royal Guard, huh?”
“Yes, the youngest Captain in the history of the guard!” he told her proudly.
“I’m sorry you’re giving that up.”
“What?” he pulled his eyes from the road briefly to look at her, “It’s fine. I did what had to be done. I have no regrets.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because, if titles and money were what you cared about, mine weren’t going to impress you. I’m a captain in the Cordonian Royal Guard, not a crown prince or even a duke. I make good money and I have a small inheritance from my grandmother, but I can’t compete with billionaires.”
“I don’t care about your money, Drake.” She sighed, “I literally chose you over a crown prince, remember?”
That got a smile out of him, “You did, didn’t you?”
She smiled back, “I did.”
“I still can’t believe you did that!” his voice held a note of awe as his hand reached for hers.
She squeezed his back and smiled, “So where are we going?”
“To Hadley Airfield.”
“What is that and why are we going there?”
“It’s an old government-owned airstrip that’s still staffed by the guard, but used primarily for non-military purposes. Crop dusting, running supplies for research missions, shit like that. It’s a low priority for upgrades so it’s still pretty low-tech. I won’t need to swipe a key card to get in, just punch in a code that I’d bet money no one has thought to change, and even if they did, they’d have to physically send someone there to do it.”
“So…what? We’re going to steal a plane?”
He gave her a mischievous grin, “Yep.”
“Wait…seriously?”
“Seriously. An old one that can’t be controlled remotely. Then we’re going to fly right over the border into Auvernall. No extradition treaty and they have an international airport there.”
They would ditch the stolen plane and melt into the masses of people in Auvernall before hopping a flight to anywhere in the world and disappearing off Liam’s radar forever.
“And just who the hell is going to fly this plane?”
“I am!”
“You’re a pilot?”
His grin widened, it was downright cocksure as he answered, “Before I joined the guard, my prior service was in the Cordonian Royal Air Force, babe. Yes, I can fly a plane.”
Five hours later they pulled up to a rusted metal gate and stopped at an unmanned guard station. Drake rolled the window down and typed a code into the box. The gate made a loud buzzing sound and then slid open.
“Told you!” He gloated as they drove unimpeded into the airport.
“I never doubted you!”
He navigated the Range Rover through the airport to a row of metal aircraft hangers in the back. He pulled up next to a small office building and put the vehicle in park. “I have to go inside and check the logs.”
“Why?”
“I need to know which planes are fueled and ready to go. I need to know the flight schedule. The last thing we want is to take a plane with a mechanical issue, not enough fuel or to take off at the wrong time and crash into another aircraft.”
“Okay,” She nodded, “I’m coming with you!”
“No,” he shook his head, “You should stay in the car.”
“And what if someone comes to ask me what I’m going here?”
He rolled that around in his head for a few seconds before acquiescing, “All right. Let’s go!”
A bell tinkled as they entered the office. An air-conditioned blast hit them, a stark contrast to the heat and humidity outside.
A slender, blonde-haired man with a crew cut looked up from his seat at the desk, “Hey, you can’t be in here-“
Drake flashed his badge at the young corporal, “I need access to the flight schedule and maintenance records.”
“Yes, sir!” The corporal surged to his feet, stumbling over his own feet in his haste to produce the records.
After thrusting the requested documents into Drake’s hands, the young man glanced in Riley’s direction.
“Hey!” Drake snapped his fingers in the kid’s face, “She’s not your concern!”
“R-Right! Sorry!”
Drake flipped quickly through some pages on a clipboard before tossing them onto the desktop. He grabbed Riley’s arm and aimed her toward the door, “Come on, let’s go!”
The bell jingled as the door opened again and a lone figure strode through it, blocking the light so all Riley could make out was a silhouette.
Drake took several steps back, pulling Riley with him, “Bas? What are you doing here? How did you know-“
“You don’t think I remember Leo giving us the slip just like this when you were partnered with me during your training year?”
“Shit! Fuck!” Drake kicked at a pile of boxes, sending them toppling over. He pulled Riley closer and put his mouth to her ear so only she could hear, “When I tell you to go, you get in the car and go. Meet me at hanger forty-seven. Got it? Don’t talk. Just nod if you understand.”
She nodded as he discreetly pressed his keys into the palm of her hand.
“This place is going to be swarming with King’s Guards any minute,” Bastien flashed his badge at the corporal and told him, “Go on kid, get out of here before you end up in the middle of a shootout.”
The kid scrambled out the door without a backward glance.
Why are you doing this, Bas?” Drake asked, “I thought you believed she wasn’t good enough to marry Liam.”
“What I believe doesn’t matter, I have my orders, I can’t let you leave,” Bastien reached for Riley’s arm.
Drake moved quickly, pulling her out of his reach, “God damn it, Bas! I wish you hadn’t done that.”
“I’m trying to help you-“
“Go!” Drake spun Riley toward the door with one arm as the other shot out to clothesline the older man.
Riley hit the door running and didn’t slow down until she skidded into the Range Rover. She yanked the door open, clambered up into the driver’s seat, and threw the car in gear, leaving rubber on the asphalt as she careened out of the parking area.
Her eyes scanned the dingy metal hangers as she drove. They each had a number painted on them in now faded yellow paint. When she found the correct one, she drove straight into it and slammed the brakes on.
Flinging the door open, she rushed back to push the sliding doors of the hangar shut.
Maybe that would slow them down. She ran back to the car and started transferring luggage to the plane.
When she was done, she began pacing back and forth across the hangar. Minutes ticked by as she considered going back.
She started talking to herself, “What if he got hurt? What if he got arrested? Fuck!”
She made up her mind to go back if he didn’t appear within the next two minutes. Out loud she said, “Come on, Drake! Where are you?”
Footsteps sounded near the rear of the hangar, and she whirled toward it, ready to run.
Drake stepped away from a small door she hadn’t noticed before. He grinned at her, “I’m right here, Brooks. Miss me?”
“Oh, thank God!” She rushed into his arms, “What happened?”
“I had to knock Bastien out,” he said grimly as he caught her, “he wasn’t going to let us leave.”
“I’m sorry, I know you were close.”
“Yeah, well, he may have been my godfather and he may have loved my mother,” Drake said as he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, “but his first loyalty was always to the crown.”
“Well, I’m still sorry you had to hurt him.”
“It’s okay, he’ll recover,” he told her as he released her, “But we have minutes to get out of here before soldiers are everywhere. Let’s go!”
He took her by the hand and headed for the plane. He made it to the steps when she pulled her hand away, “Wait! I forgot-“
“There’s no time!”
“Your phone! It’s in the console!”
Shit! He was going to need that to reach his contact in Auvenall. “I’ll get it, you get on the plane!” He reversed direction and pushed past her.
He scooped the phone out of the center console and didn’t bother closing the door as he hustled back to the plane.
Riley was still standing at the bottom of the steps, waiting for him, instead of on the plane like he’d told her.
“Freeze!” The doors of the hanger banged open as soldiers poured into the room, scattering and taking up tactical positions around the area.
Drake pushed her in front of him, “Get on the plane!”
“But-“ she stumbled as he guided her body forward while her head moved around to see behind them.
“Riley! Drake!” Liam’s voice rang out as he stepped past the guardsmen.
Drake spun around, yanking a nine-millimeter Baretta from the waistband of his pants. He leveled the firearm at Liam while making sure to keep himself situated in front of Riley, blocking her from any potential gunfire.
Every assault rifle in the place was suddenly aimed at them as the king’s life was threatened.
“It’s okay, hold your fire!” Liam yelled at them as he held his arms out to the side to indicate that he himself was unarmed. He couldn’t risk Riley getting shot when they took Drake down. “Are you going to shoot me, Drake? Your best friend? Your brother?”
“Is that what you are?”
“You know it is,” Liam replied calmly.
“Did you tell Riley that I was obsessed with her? That I was unhinged?” Drake demanded.
Liam’s eyes slid to Riley’s face then back to Drake, “You have been acting erratically, Drake. Nick…Tariq…coronation night…this! Stealing a plane? Really?”
“Borrowing it,” Drake corrected him, “You can have it back once we’re safely out of the country.”
“This is treason, Drake. Come on, man. Be reasonable!”
Drake’s back pressed against Riley, eyes still trained on Liam as he moved backward, nudging her up the first step. In a low voice, he told her, “Everything I did, I did for you! You understand that, right?”
“Don’t move!” One of the guardsmen yelled as Drake edged Riley up another step.
A rifle clicked.
Riley’s gaze swung around the room to take in the ridiculous number of guns pointed directly at Drake’s chest. “No!” she pushed around and in front of him, placing herself between him and the guns.
“Riley, don’t!” Both men yelled.
She spread both arms out in the air, “I won’t let you shoot him! Liam, please! He’s your best friend!”
“I don’t want to hurt him, Riley, but-“
An officer stepped up next to Liam and whispered something in his ear.
Drake kept the handgun grasped in one hand while the other landed on her shoulder, “Riley, get behind me and get on the plane!”
“No! They’ll shoot you!”
“Riley-“
Liam’s features hardened, “Riley, you don’t understand-“
“No, I don’t Liam! Why can’t we just leave?”
“Well for starters, Bastien is dead, and we have some questions,” Liam replied grimly.
“What?” Drake stumbled back like he’d been struck, shaking his head, “No! No!”
Liam’s face reddened, and his voice was laden with accusation, “You killed him!”
“No! I just disabled him! He was alive when I left!”
“Then who killed him, Drake?”
“I don’t know, Liam, you tell me!”
“Are you insinuating-“
“I’m not just insinuating, Li! You had him killed so he couldn’t reveal your father’s part in the plot against Riley!” Drake accused, then after a moment’s thought added, “And possibly so you could pin it on me!”
Liam’s eyes darted from Drake to Riley, “You’re not buying any of this, are you?”
“I don’t know, Liam.” Her eyes narrowed, “When I chose Drake, you told me I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life. That sure sounded like a threat.”
“When I said you’d made a mistake, I meant by trusting him!”
“But Drake’s been telling the truth about you, Liam, I heard it myself!”
“From whom?” Liam asked in astonishment.
“Jason.”
“Who’s Jason?”
Her confidence wavered, “The Lieutenant in charge of cyber security…”
“There’s no Lieutenant named Jason in the cyber division, Riley.” Liam shook his head sadly then extended his arm toward her, “Come on, Riley, just take a few steps forward and all this can be over.”
Drake’s fingers dug into her shoulder, as he moved up another step, pulling her after him, “He’s lying, Riley! Can’t you see that?”
“No, Riley,” Liam moved his fingers in a come hither motion, “He’s lying! Just take a few steps forward and come here.”
“So…you didn’t fire him and revoke his clearance?” Riley asked, uncertainty coloring her voice.
“Of course, I fired him and revoked his clearance!” Liam exploded, throwing both hands in the air, “he abused his position and literally kidnapped you!”
“I rescued you, Riley!” Drake protested, “He told you himself, he wanted you on that plane that night!”
Riley’s mind spun with indecision. She still had questions, “What about his assets?”
Liam’s brows furrowed, “What about them?”
“Did you have them frozen? Did you revoke his passport?”
“Yes! Because I was trying to stop him from doing exactly what he’s doing right now! Once he gets you out of Cordonia, I won’t be able to protect you! But it didn’t matter anyway.”
“What do you mean, it didn’t matter?”
“I mean…he had no assets to freeze. Why is that Drake?”
Drake shrugged as he adjusted the Barretta in his grip, “I moved all my assets out of Cordonia two days ago, Liam.”
“And why would you do that if you weren’t planning this little escapade all along?”
“Because I know how you operate! I had to protect myself, and her!” He lowered his voice so only Riley could hear, “That’s why I told Jason to do that part last. So it took longer for Liam to figure out I was a step ahead.”
“Me?” Liam scoffed, “I think you’re the tactical genius here.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Drake said evenly as he moved up another step, pulling Riley up with him.
“I mean….I’m beginning to think maybe you were behind the whole setup with Tariq!”
“You think I sent him to do the thing I beat the dog shit out of him for? I never pegged you as delusional, Li.”
“Maybe you didn’t know about that part. Maybe that was all Bas’s idea.”
“Bas?” Drake snorted, “You know he only took orders from one person…your father! And we all know how badly he wanted you married to Madeleine! Speaking of Madeleine, are we sure she wasn’t in on the whole thing?”
“My father is far too sick to be meddling in my affairs. We all know the person Bas would have done anything for was you!”
“What?” Riley froze, almost to the top step.
“Think about it, Riley!” Liam insisted, “He contrived the entire scandal precisely because he knew what the protocol would be, he’s a trained, high-ranking officer after all! And he knew precisely what my reaction would be. He likes pointing out how well he knows me. He’s right. He does! He knew I’d want you out of the country and out of harm’s way while I investigated and cleared your name. It was the perfect opportunity for him to swoop in and play the hero, paint me as the villain. Which is exactly what he did, isn’t it?”
Panic laced Drake’s voice, “Riley, you’re not buying this, are you? He’s twisting everything!”
“How convenient that Bastien is dead,” Liam continued, “He was the only person that could have connected you to the scandal.”
“The only person that could have exonerated me and implicated your father you mean! That is convenient, isn’t it?”
“Riley, come here!” Liam’s voice cracked, betraying signs of his rising desperation.
“Riley, get on the plane…” Drake pleaded.
She hesitated as everything they had both said swirled through her mind. They both made persuasive arguments. She was never going to know the truth either way. How well did she really know either of these men?
There was one thing she did know for sure though, “Liam, I know one thing...”
“What’s that?”
“I know you’re a liar!”
His arm dropped as shock coursed through him, “What?”
“You told me you loved me! You told me you were going to marry me! You fucked me in the hedge maze and then you turned around five minutes later and got engaged to another woman while letting me be drug out of the palace under armed guard!”
“That was different! I’ve explained why! I have to think about Cordonia, Riley!”
“I understand that Liam. I do.” She nodded.
His body sagged with relief, “Good. Okay, come here,” he held his arm out toward her again.
She stepped back, her body pushing Drake up another step, “But…”
All the stress rushed back into his body, “But?”
“But I need a man who puts me first and Drake has proven he’s more than up to that task.”
Liam’s mouth fell open, “Even if he’s a liar and a murderer?”
“He’s not, Liam. You’re wrong about him!”
Drake took one more step back, into the plane then dropped the gun as he yanked Riley inside and slammed the door.
“Goddamn it!” Liam kicked fruitlessly at the ground.
“Sir?” The officer in charge of the scene approached him as the plane’s engine roared to life, sending half the contents of the hangar flying through the air.
Shouts of “Cover! Cover!” pinged off the walls as Liam was yanked backward and drug to safety.
Men scattered and dove out of the way as the plane taxied out of the hangar and onto the runway.
“Sir!” The commander yelled, “We can still stop them! We can aim for the pilot or the fuel tank!”
Liam watched as the plane picked up speed. He shook his head, “No, if the pilot’s dead, the plane will crash, if it loses all its fuel, there’s a chance it gets airborne before it runs out and plummets to the ground.”
He still wasn’t willing to risk her life.
“But sir-“
“It doesn’t matter,” Liam sighed as he watched the plane climb into the air. He still had one play left, “Get me Isabella Achilles on the phone. Now!”
A Fervid Fixation Chapter 6: Conflagration.
This will not be the last chapter after all. Go figure.
Tagging under the cut
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