Mateo sat shivering and rocking back and forth inside the service tunnel beneath the bridge with tears rolling down his cheeks while Willem performed CPR on Maia.
They barely made it out of the car before the bomb hidden in the well of one of the tires blew up. Maia went into shock when the car started filling up with water and panicked when he and Willem struggled to break the car windows to get out.
Mateo clenched his eyes shut at the memory of that terrifying moment. The sound of police sirens were still blaring overhead and he could hear the crowds of people still gathered near the spot where the car fell over the edge.
Guilt ravaged Mateo's mind as he listened to Willem trying to get Maia to breathe again. This was his fault. He never should've brought her here with him. He knew there was a chance something could happen like this, but he always thought it would've been something he could protect her from, but instead she nearly died in what should've been a fatal accident.
Maia choking and sucking in a panicked breath tore Mateo from his thoughts as he scrambled across the ground to her.
"Mateo," she croaked, reaching for him.
"I'm here," he said, gathering her in his arms and pressing his face against her wet, mangled hair. "I'm right here." He kissed her head. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault," she whispered, shivering as she curled her fingers into his shirt. "We're okay."
"Yes we are, but that wasn't an accident," Willem said, wiping a hand over his brow as he slumped against the tunnel wall. "I don't know how that bomb went undetected or when it was planted in the car. I'm sorry, Your Highness. I messed up tonight."
"It's okay, Willem. If you didn't act as fast as you did we wouldn't have made it out," Mateo said, rubbing Maia's damp hair between his fingers. "Is there a service room down here? Maia needs a blanket or warm clothes."
"I-I'm f-fine," Maia said with her teeth chattering. "G-give Willem a m-moment."
"No, you're not," Mateo said, caressing her cheek. "You're freezing and you don't have any shoes."
"I'm sure there's a service room not too far into the tunnel," Willem said, wincing as he stood. "I need to call Lars and tell him we're alright, but we're going to be down here for a while. I don't want anyone, but him, to know you've survived at the moment."
"W-why?" Maia said as Mateo hooked his arm under her legs and stood. "Everyone's going to think we died."
"That's the point," Mateo said, holding her close as he followed Willem down the dimly lit cavern. "We need to figure out who's behind this even though I have a good idea who it was."
"You think it was Jorien?"
"I do or Arnaud Haro. Either way, I don't think my brother is innocent in this attack."
"My thoughts exactly," Willem said, punching in a key code on a steel door. The light on the keypad turned green and he let out a sigh of relief as the lock released. "There should be an emergency phone and hopefully the bridge workers keep their medical supplies stocked."
Mateo sat Maia on the small couch in the corner of the room while he searched through the cabinets for something to keep her warm. He tugged out a thick safety jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders before he shrugged on a jacket too.
"How long are we going to hide out in here?" Maia said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I have to at least tell my sister I'm okay. She's going to be freaking out when she sees the news."
"I know, but hopefully we won't be down here for long. There's a safe house we can go to in the countryside," he said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her head. "Once we get there we can tell your sister you're safe."
"And you're going to send me home, aren't you?" Maia murmured as a sob choked from her lips. "I don't want to leave you."
"We don't need to talk about that right now," Mateo said, pulling her legs over his lap and massaging the back of her neck as she cried against his chest. "I'm not letting you out of my sight any time soon, liefje," he whispered, kissing her head. "But I will make sure you're safe."
He didn't have the heart to tell her that the moment they crashed into the sea, he decided then that it was too dangerous for Maia to be with him anymore.
He had to get her out of the country until he dealt with his brother and there was no doubt in his mind that he needed to do whatever he could to keep Maia and his country safe, even if that meant letting her go.
Maia woke to sunlight streaming in through a small cottage window and the sound of hushed voices from outside the room. She frowned sitting up in the bed and dragged a hand over her face. The last thing she remembered was being holed up in the service room with Mateo and Willem. She must've cried herself to sleep and they must've been picked up by Lars and taken to the safe house.
She pushed the blankets off of her and slipped out of the bed. She looked down at the oversized t-shirt she wore and slipped her feet into a pair of black slippers beside the bed. A white robe hung over the small wooden wardrobe in the corner next to the window that looked out over a field of corn and wheat. She shrugged the robe over her shoulders and shuffled out of the room toward the voices arguing in the living room below.
Maia peered over the railing at Mateo sitting with his head in his hands across from Willem while he spoke in hushed tones about what he needed to do next.
"She's your fiance, Your Highness, if you go through with this without her by your side it's not going to look good for either of you," a gentleman, who she assumed was Lars said over the black satellite phone on the table. "I know you want to protect her, but sending her home to live in isolation and solitude until you reveal yourself isn't a life you should force her to live either."
"Lars is right." Willem nodded. "You're better off doing this together. You need to show the people that you're standing together against Jorien, Gesina and Arnaud's conglomerate," he said, leaning forward on his knees. "Furthermore, you need to ask Miss Jefferies what she wants to do. This happened to her too."
"I know, but I don't want anything else to happen to her," Mateo said, dragging his hands through his hair. "She almost died and you want me to force her to stand with me against the people who tried to kill her?"
Maia clenched her fist. "I didn't almost die. I'm fine and they tried to kill us, Mateo," Maia said as she stomped down the stairs. "I knew you were going to do this."
He looked up at her and her heart clenched at the dark circles under his eyes and guilt plaguing his depths. "Can you blame me?"
"No," she said, sitting beside him and taking his hand. "But I'm not leaving."
"Maia." He sighed.
"Don't 'Maia', me. I'm staying," she said, looking away from him to Lars. "Have you talked to my sister yet?"
"Yes, I called her when we got here," Willem said. "She's aware of the situation, but she'd like to hear from you when you're ready."
"Right," Maia said, reaching for a bottle of water on the table. "Does she want me to come home?"
"Surprisingly, no." Mateo grumbled. "I thought she'd be on my side about this, but she's in agreement with Willem and Lars. She said it's for you to decide and for us to work it out."
Willem nodded. "She also very eloquently said, 'fuck Prince Jorien and long live King Hendrik'."
"She's not wrong about that," Maia said, squeezing Mateo's hand. "Would you mind giving us a moment of privacy?"
"Of course, Miss Jefferies," Willem said, standing from his chair and taking the phone. "I'll finish up with Lars outside. Take as much time as you need."
Maia waited for Willem to leave the small cottage before she slid her hand to Mateo's cheek and gazed into his tired eyes. "I know you don't want me to stay."
"That's not true. I don't want you to go anywhere, but I also don't want to put you in any more danger because of me," he said as his lip trembled and tears welled in his eyes. "I-I thought I was going to lose you last night."
"But you didn't," she whispered, kissing him softly. "I'm right here," she said, wiping the tear that rolled down his cheek. "Last night scared me too, but not enough to run away from you or this life. We have the upper hand now. Your brother and that conglomerate think we're dead. There's nothing more they can do to you or me, but there's everything we can do to them," she said, caressing his cheek. "We can make this our happy ending, mijn prins."
"This will only end in me becoming king," he said, pressing his head against hers. "Will you still be happy then?"
"Yes," she said, kissing him again. "But will you be?"
"Yes," Mateo said, bringing her hand to his lips. "As long as I still get to be your muse." He placed a kiss on her ring. "And you choose to be the queen by my side."
"I don't think I could choose another muse after you." Maia smiled. "And there's nowhere else I'd rather be," she said, gazing into his eyes. "You're my match, Mateo and I know this isn't going to be easy, but I want this life with you."
"This isn't going to be easy and I'm not sure how we're going to pull this off," he said, sighing. "But I promise when this is over, I'll spend my days being worthy of you."
"You already are," she said, kissing his cheek. "All I want is the freedom to write my happily ever afters with you by my side."
Mateo smiled, kissing her softly. "You'll always have that, liefje."
"I'm so sorry to interrupt," Willem said, walking into the cottage. "But you have a few unexpected visitors."
"Maia!" Demetri called out as he pushed passed Willem with Gerrit and another gentleman following after him.
"Demetri!" Maia said, standing as he crushed her with a hug. "How did you know where to find us?"
"I'd like to know the same thing," Willem smirked, crossing his arms. "Prince Hendrik, Gerrit, Cornelis, would you like to explain yourselves?"
"Gerrit and Cornelis have always known about the safehouse. I told them about it when we were kids." Mateo shrugged. "But I didn't think you'd remember where it was or think to come here."
"It was all Nelis,"Gerrit said, slapping a hand on Cornelis' back. "He's the one who remembered this place."
"Yeah." Cornelis nodded. "I saw everything last night," he said, sliding a hand to Mateo's shoulder. "I'm so glad you all made it out of that and I knew if you did, you'd be here."
"I didn't want to believe him," Demetri said, wiping the tear that rolled down his cheek. "I didn't think there was any way you three made it out of the car especially after Gerrit and I saw the explosion."
"I'm so sorry you had to see that," Mateo said, shaking his head. "And I'm sorry we made you worry."
Demetri squeezed Mateo's shoulder. "It's okay now that I know you're alive."
"I told you Willem wasn't going to let anyone take out Maia or Mateo like that," Gerrit said, threading his fingers through Demtetri's. "You had nothing to worry about."
"So, what are you planning to do now?" Cornelis said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Because everyone in this room knows who did this to you and I fucking hope you're not going to let your brother get away with this again."
Mateo sighed, looking down at Maia as he grasped her hand. "No, I'm not, but we haven't had time to think of a plan yet."
"I've got one," Cornelis said, nodding to the door. "It's tied up in the back of my truck."
Mateo frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Gerrit dragged a hand over his face. "Nelis caught one of the guys that crashed into you last night."
Maia's eyes grew wide. "What?!"
"Why the hell didn't you start with that?!" Willem roared.
"Show him to me," Mateo said, gripping Maia's hand and her heart clenched at the deadly gaze in his eyes. "Now."
A/N: So, that was a bit of whirlwind. Getting out of that crash pretty much unscathed, except for Maia nearly drowning 😬I can't blame Mateo for wanting to send Maia straight home after that, but also get what Maia wants to stay. She's not running scared and what would she do until Mateo revealed himself....also how badass is this reveal going to be!! Mateo and Maia busting up Jorien and Gesina's spot 😈 I'm here for it! I'm also here for Demetri, Gerrit and Cornelis' entrance and one of the culprits tied up in the car - I giggled a lil at that, but curious what this person ahs to say and whether on not Mateo is about to show us his darker side....for real this time.