The Royal Contract

Once the words were out, there was no turning back. 

She had no regret. 

She was not afraid.

But she was desperate.

She knew she had to convince him to help her escape with Alex. There were just no other options left for her. She did not care what happened to her, but she could not let Alex die in the hands of that lunatic. 

She believed that their family might be using all their resources to find them, but she was running out of time. By the time they found them, it might be too late.

"Are you insane?" The big man looked at her menacingly. As if she had asked him to commit a capital crime. "Your highness, you don't know what you are asking?" He was stunned, not expecting that she would ask him that.

He looked at her as if she had gone mad. She should not be asking criminals like him to help her escape. That was dangerous and plain stupid. 

She was lucky she did not try that stunt with his other teammates. Or else their boss would hear all about it. Then, what? He would make sure that she would learn her lesson.

Fortunately, he would not tell on her. He did pity her condition, especially her husband. As much as he would like to help her, he could not. He had a job to do. That was to guard her and make sure she did not escape.

"Please, if you will hear me out. I know you will agree with my suggestion." She pleaded with him, not surprised at the way he reacted. But she knew it would not be that easy to convince him.

She just suggested he betrayed his boss and risked his life for them. Come to think of it, she realized that it was indeed a big ask. Nevertheless, she was not going to give up easily.

Maybe she should offer him something to compensate for his effort to help them. It should be a reward that would be hard for him to refuse. Money, freedom from criminal prosecution, what else?

"I am sorry. I can't help you. If Nick finds out or catches us, he will surely kill me, including my family." Samson declined, shaking his head from side to side, indicating his answer was no.

He could already imagine the implication of what she was suggesting him to do. He could not risk his life and his family for them. No matter how much he wanted to help her.

He would not have chosen this line of work if he had a choice, but fate had not been kind to him. When he entered the team, the first thing he learned. There was only one way out. Death.

"I am willing to pay you a lot of money. Make sure that your family will be set for life. Just help us get out of here." She begged him, even kneeling before him as tears stopped dropping from her eyes. 

She had to use all possible ways to convince him in the small time frame she had. She could not let this opportunity go to waste. 

She saw a glimpse of conflict in his eyes. It was as if he was struggling between his choices. She could feel that he was a good man. He just did not have many options back then.

She encountered many like him in her line of work. People were driven to desperation because of the various circumstances that led them to make bad decisions.

"It is not just the money. Nick is paying us more than enough. But betraying him meant I would be risking my family as well, not just my neck." Samson told her in a low voice. 

He did not want anybody to hear that he had talked to her about escaping. Although he had not agreed with her suggestion. It was still a capital offense and punishable by a painful death.

He looked at her as she knelt before him, her cheeks covered in tears. He could feel his heart was melting, seeing the anguish on her face. 

He wanted to envelop her in his arms and tell her everything would be ok, eventually. However, that would be a lie. Knowing his boss, she would only be facing a future that would be worse than death. Her husband would be lucky if he died soon enough.

"But if you don't help us, Alex will surely...die." She said the last word in almost a whisper. "If that happens..." 

She could not even finish the sentence. This time, it was not an act anymore as she sat down on the floor, with her eyes staring at the wooden surface.

She could feel her body tremble and her heart smashed into tiny pieces, just thinking about what could happen to Alex. Her earlier resolution that she could find a way out of this was starting to slip off her fingers. 

Seeing the expression on his face, she began to lose hope. He was too afraid to help her. She could see it in his eyes that he wished he could, but his fear was overpowering him.

She did understand that he was thinking of his family as well. He was just like her. It was not his fate that he was worried about, but his loved ones.

"I will put protection on your family. I will do anything to keep them safe." She continued out of desperation. "Samson, please, you are my only hope." 

However, she knew she was making false promises. She could not guarantee that she could keep all of them safe from the clutches of Nick. 

She wished she did not have to force him to choose between her and his family, but she was running out of options. But she would definitely try to help him and his family if only he would agree with her. 

"I am sorry again. But I don't think you know who you are dealing with." He started pacing the floor, rubbing the palm of his hand on his face as if he was conflicted with something.

He wished he could help her. He had never wanted to be a part of this at the very start, but he had no choice. He was opposed to taking her against her free will, but he was just a mere soldier. He had to do what was commanded of him.

He could kill a man even with his bare hands. However, he could not harm an innocent woman or hurt her in any way. He was just not built that way. He could not help but think of his mother and sisters.

"What do you mean?" She was confused by the way he was acting. She finally had stopped the tears from falling, wiping her eyes and cheeks with the back of her palm.

She wondered what he was talking about. She knew Nick well enough to know that he was a scumbag, an evil person, and a menace to society. What else was she missing?

"It is not just Nick." He finally answered her, stopping in front of her. "He is not my real boss. I was sent here to watch over you. Make sure that Nick will not be able to touch you or any of these men."

He finally admitted, but he knew he was taking an enormous risk by telling her this. But he wanted her to understand why as much as he liked to help her, he could not.

His boss would not take it lightly if he betrayed him. He would never be able to hide from him, even if the police protected him.. The only way he would get away from him was in a coffin, buried six feet under the ground.