The Rogue's Captive

5 - Road Trip

~Jenetta’s PoV~

Only two days after my father’s announcement, I stand outside the pack house in the early morning, watching my belongings being loaded into the vehicles parked there. It’s so early, the sun hasn’t quite reached the top of the mountains in front of us yet. It will creep up them slowly, like someone slowly raising a window shade, as it comes further over the horizon in the east. For now, the tops of them still lay hidden in shadow, and the dark, forbidding peaks send a shiver through me as I pull my cardigan tighter around me with my one free hand.

“Why can’t I just fly?” I asked my father the day before when he said I’d be travelling by car. I know his plane was destroyed in a terrible accident last year, but surely, the western king could send one. I’d go on one of the freight planes if I had to, that’s how little the prospect of spending five days in a car appeals to me. I don’t imagine it would appeal to anyone.

“It’s better this way,” was all he would say in reply. “You can use the time to learn about your new home. I’ve had my team put together a full briefing on the kingdom for you.”

That’s considerate, I guess. I do want to know about where I’m going and the man I’m going to be meeting there, and I hold that file tight to my chest while the last of my cases are loaded into the vehicles.

“Are you ready, Miss Jenetta?” The man in charge of my transport bows to me politely, clearly eager to get going now that everything is loaded. The early start is necessary to avoid travelling through the Horseferry Pass at night. The narrow mountain road that connects our territory to the surrounding regions is dangerous at the best of times. The high, steep cliffs that rise up on both sides block the sun even at the height of day, and directly beside the road, a steep drop to the riverbed below ensures that even one wrong turn could end in disaster.

I suppose I’m ready, except for one thing. “Have you seen my father?”

No one is there to see me off; not my father, not Patrick, and not Evie, though I don’t particularly want to see her anyway.

A grimace tugs at the man’s mouth. “He sends his apologies, Miss, but he was called into an important meeting. He said he will call you tonight when we reach the first stopping point to check in.”

That’s something, I suppose. I’m not sure why I expected a sentimental goodbye, but it stings all the same that a meeting is more important than me.

“What’s your name?” I ask the man as he leads me over to the black SUV that will be my home for the next five days. If we’re going to be spending that much time together, I ought to know what to call him.

“Geoffrey, Miss.”

“And how did you get stuck with this job, Geoffrey?” I can’t imagine he’s thrilled about it either.

He doesn’t complain, though. “It’s my honor to escort you. I think you’re the one stuck with me, not the other way around.”

His kind smile helps to ease the sting of being abandoned by everyone else, and as he opens the door for me, I take one last look back at the only house I’ve ever lived in, the only home I’ve ever known. For the briefest of moments, I could swear I see my mother in an upstairs window, her hand raised in a farewell wave, but the image quickly fades, receding back into my imagination that produced it in the first place.

Inside the vehicle, three other people are already waiting, though no one sits in the middle beside me. While Geoffrey gets in the front passenger seat, another man sits in the driver’s seat, and he gives me a friendly nod as I do up my seat belt. “Good morning, Miss Jenetta. I’m Edward but you can call me Eddie. Have you ever driven through the pass before?”

When I shake my head, he gives me a sympathetic smile.

“Hopefully, you’re not prone to motion sickness. It can be a bit of a hair-raising ride, but I’ve done it many times before. You’re in safe hands.”

“Thank you.”

After giving him as warm a smile as I can muster under the circumstances, I turn around to greet the two women sitting in the back seat behind me. I was told I’d have two ladies to accompany me and act as my attendants, at least while I got settled in my new home, and I assumed they would be two of the women who already worked for me on the pack house staff, but these women are strangers to me. I don’t recognize either of them.

“Hi. I’m Jenetta.” We might as well start with our names, since we’ll be stuck in this car for the best part of the next week.

“Marie,” one of them says shyly, her brown hair hanging straight down on either side of her face like a pair of parted curtains, while the other one, a curvier woman with bouncy blonde curls, answers more confidently.

“Angie. Did you bring any food with you?”

“Uh… no? I mean, someone packed some food, I think.”

I was told everything would be taken care of, that I only had to turn up, but perhaps I should have asked more questions. I’m used to all our staff in the pack house, all of whom know me and can anticipate what I need, but in my new home, I’ll have to start over and I should start thinking more about the practicalities.

As we’re speaking, the cars pull away from the house. There’s a big 4x4 truck at the front of the convoy, loaded with equipment in case we need to clear any debris off the road in the pass. Rockslides are common, I’ve heard. Next, is our vehicle, and behind us are two more vans containing my suitcases and more men as protection in case we run into any trouble.

It seems like a lot of trouble for just one person, but trouble has unfortunately been common in our region for some time now.

“The kitchen packed meals,” Angie agrees. “But it’ll all be healthy, boring stuff. If you want snacks, I brought some contraband! Do you want some now or later?”

Gleefully, she pulls the duffel bag from her feet onto her lap and zips it open, giving me a glimpse of the shiny contents: bags of chips, chocolate bars, and cookies.

I don’t even remember the last time I had a cookie. My father had Evie and I on a carefully cultivated diet, and my first instinct is to refuse, until I remember that he’s no longer around. Even if he disapproves, he can’t do anything about it, so I extend my hand instead. “Could I have one of the chocolate chip cookies, please?”

“Of course!” Angie rips the package open, giving me two, and taking one each for herself and Marie. As we all take a bite, she keeps talking. “You must be excited about your mating. Imagine being mated to a prince! What’s he like?”

The cookie in my mouth suddenly feels drier at the reminder that I know nothing at all about the man I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I have a file here with some information on him, but I’ve never met him.”

Angie’s lips set into a pout at being deprived of any good gossip. “Well, is he hot, at least?”

Again, I have no idea. “There might be a picture in here. Let me look.”

Shoving the rest of the cookie in my mouth, the crumbs melting on my tongue, I flip through the documents in my hands. There are a lot of official reports, a few news articles, and finally, towards the back, a family portrait of the whole family. It’s not much, but at least I can see him.

“Here.” I hand the picture to the backseat so they can both see. “That’s him on the right, next to the queen.”

Angie snatches the photo from my hand and the two women crowd eagerly over it. “Oh, he’s very handsome,” Marie offers, giving me a tentative smile that I think is meant to be encouraging.

“Not bad,” Angie says, but she sounds less convinced. “A bit pretty for my tastes. I like a man who could break me in half when he…”

Geoffrey clears his throat from the front seat. “We’ve got about four hours until we reach the pass. There’s a small inn just before it where we can stop and have a comfort break before we set off through it. Is that alright?”

“Yes, that’s fine, thank you,” I reply, trying not to smile at the timing of his interjection. He could obviously hear every word being said.

Over the next few hours, I don’t have much time to look at my file. Angie keeps up a steady stream of chatter, and soon, I feel like I know her better than people I’ve known for years. Geoffrey and Eddie also chime in when they can, and Marie occasionally throws in a hesitant comment or two. There’s a sense of camaraderie in the car that heartens me, lifting my spirits. Maybe a new adventure will be good for me after all.

When we stop at the inn Geoffrey mentioned, he sticks close to me, keeping an eye out for any danger even though the place is practically deserted besides the older man who runs it.

“What’s your usual position in my father’s staff?” I ask him as we wait for the others. Eddie is getting a fresh cup of coffee while Angie and Marie check out the baked goods. The drivers of the other vehicles all stand outside, having a cigarette.

“I don’t work directly for the Alpha, Miss. I’m normally in charge of requisitioning farm equipment for the pack.”

That seems like an odd choice for someone to put in charge of what my father assured me was a very important strategic partnership, and Geoffrey acknowledges that with an almost sheepish smile.

“I was surprised when I got the call for this, but very honored too. I must have impressed somebody to be chosen.”

“I’m sure you did,” I agree, but a little knot forms in my stomach, a feeling that something’s not quite right.

Back in the car, I find excuses to question the others on their last positions as well. Eddie drives supply trucks to and from the territory, but under the supervision of one of the Deltas, not my father. Angie and Marie are both orphans who were training to be teachers before they were offered the chance to go with me.

I know the team was put together quickly, but it still feels odd to me. As much as I like all of them, why wasn’t anyone with diplomatic experience chosen?

Once we enter the pass, there’s no more time for me to ask questions. The road is just as treacherous as I’ve always heard, and Eddie asks us all to be quiet so he can focus on the road. Peering out the window, I can see the sheer drop down to the riverbed below, and even though I’m not afraid of heights, I shuffle my weight a little closer to the center of the vehicle anyway.

It’s early afternoon but it feels much later with the mountains blocking out the sun above us. Hairpin bends and steep inclines mean we don’t move very quickly, and I find myself gripping onto the armrest even though Eddie is doing an admirable job of staying in control.

A particularly steep section has us going even slower than normal, and I glance back over my shoulder at the bigger vehicles behind us, the ones with all my belongings, thinking that they must be having an even harder time of it.

It’s when I look away that it happens. As the road levels out, there’s another sharp corner, and as the lead vehicle goes around it, there’s a loud boom, a shockwave of sound that ripples through us, and Eddie slams on the brakes as the truck in front of us explodes in a massive ball of flames. As he swerves, we come dangerously close to the side of the road and the long, deep drop that waits on the other side.

Eddie swears. Angie screams, and Marie starts to cry while Geoffrey grabs a gun that he must have had stored at his feet.

“What’s going on?” I ask, my voice sounding far steadier than the frantic beating of my heart. “Did they hit a rockslide?

“Rocks don’t blow up like that,” Geoffrey says grimly. “That was a planned attack.”

An attack? Who would attack us? Why? It takes a minute, but I make the connection. “Are they after me?”

My father has enemies, I know that. Anyone in power does, he always says.

Geoffrey doesn’t answer me, but I can see it in his eyes. It’s what he thinks too. “Stay here. I’ll get out and…”

He doesn’t even get to finish the sentence before we hear shots ringing out.

“Get down!” he orders us all, but we soon realize they’re not shooting at our car, but at the ones behind us.

They’re specifically leaving us alone. Whatever they want must be in this car, and I have to guess it’s me.

Whoever’s attacking us is willing to kill, obviously, and there’s only one I can think of to protect the people with me.

Making up my mind, I take control. “I need you all to listen to me very carefully. Trust me and do what I say, and I’ll do my best to protect you.”