by Kat Mizera
“In the stories I grew up with, the Royal Protectors are like a cross between the musketeers and James Bond, so you’re a bit of a rock star here in Limaj.”
He laughed, long and deep, shaking his head. “That is so far from the truth, sweetheart.”
“You took an oath to serve the royal family, with your life. That’s pretty badass.”
“Badass, yes. Rock star? No.”
We walked into what appeared to be a private dining room and Xander immediately lifted a hand, waving. Princess Elen was next to him, smiling, and for a moment I was blinded. She was beautiful, wearing a pretty blue summer dress that showed off her baby bump and matched her eyes.
“Hi, I’m Elen.”
“Your Highness, I’m so honored to meet you.” I inclined my head.
“Please, call me Elen. You called my husband in the middle of the night looking for help, so I feel like we’re already friends. Come, have you met everyone?” She led me around the room.
Natalia came in with a Royal Protector I hadn’t seen before and he was introduced as Jonas Germano. Prince Daniil, another Royal Protector named Marcus, and a man named Ace and his fiancée, Shannon, rounded out the group. I was having trouble keeping up, but as we settled around the table, I felt right at home.
“So what do you think of the inn?” Elen was asking me.
“It’s lovely,” I said, hoping there was sincerity in my voice.
“You don’t have to bullshit these people,” Axel said quietly. He was sitting to my right and gave me a little nudge under the table with his thigh.
“You didn’t like the inn?” Xander looked surprised.
“It’s not the inn itself,” I said cautiously. I trusted Axel but we still owed the royal family everything and I didn’t want to seem ungrateful. “Of course, the physical building is beautiful and the original architecture is stunning. The history itself is fantastic, but running a bed and breakfast, a café, all of that… That’s not, well, it’s not… I’m more into computers and such.”
Xander arched a brow. “Really? In what capacity?”
I shook my head. “Don’t get me wrong, my family is eternally grateful that the royal family is affording us the opportunity to make a living after the café burned. It’s just me that’s a little disenchanted. That’s all. I’m sure once it’s up and running, it’ll be lovely.”
“Have you gone to university, Solange?” Elen asked.
I shook my head sadly. “We couldn’t afford for me to come here to Hiskale. Everything I know about computers, coding and such, I taught myself.”
“Why didn’t I know this?” Axel murmured under his breath.
“Perhaps we could find you a job at the new school,” Elen said thoughtfully. “We need someone to set up the computer system. Jonas is handling most of it but it cuts into his Royal Protector duties. Maybe you could spend a little time with him and—”
“I’m sorry.” I spoke quickly, though it killed me to interrupt. “You’re so very kind and it sounds wonderful, but my parents can’t run a bed and breakfast on their own. They need me. I couldn’t possibly leave them to do it alone.”
Elen chuckled. “It’s going to be weeks before the inn is ready for customers, and Erik has hired a construction crew to handle the work. All your parents have to do is supervise. You’ll have plenty of time to show Jonas what you can do and, frankly, it would be a relief to have someone devoted to the school and not pulled in twenty different directions.”
“Can’t you just hire someone local?” I asked. “I’m sure there are skilled people who’d love the job?”
“We could, but finding people we trust takes time.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” I protested. “How can you trust me?”
Xander chuckled. “We dug up everything there was to learn about you and your family within a few hours of when you called me. You don’t think we sent the king up there without checking you out first?”
I flushed. It had never occurred to me they would do some kind of background search. Was I naïve or what?
“Well, we did miss one thing,” Axel said quietly. “I had a chat with Kostya today. Seems he’s the reason the Brat started raising the taxes.”
“What?” I turned to him. “You talked to him? What did he say?”
“Drugs,” he told me. “And the fact that he was fucking the kingpin’s daughter. When he dumped her, she ran to her daddy, and he’s pissed.”
“Are you kidding me?” I stared at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I just found out a couple of hours ago.”
“God, he’s so stupid.” I shook my head.
“He wouldn’t be the first young guy to sleep with the wrong man’s daughter,” Xander said. “The men I interrogated said their boss would kill them if they talked, and I didn’t push it because Sandor said we needed to deliver them back to their boss alive. The fact that we caught them should have been enough. However, it looks like we’re going to have to try something else.”
“I think diplomacy may be the next step.” Prince Daniil spoke up. “If that doesn’t work, well, we’ll figure out something that may be a little less pleasant. We were trying to keep things civil leading up to Sandor and Lennox’s wedding. They don’t get back from their honeymoon for another week, so let’s make sure nothing happens while he’s gone or we’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Fucking Brat.” Natalia shook her head. “I grew up in Ferdinbrag and we heard rumblings about them but they seemed more interested in the northern factories, not local shops or cafés. I believe King Anwar padded their pockets and used them more as spies so they didn’t need the money as long as they kept him apprised of what was happening. With King Erik in charge now, he has no use for those kinds of services so they had to make up the money somewhere. Kostya probably—”
“Lied.” Axel suddenly shook his head. “Jesus Christ. He lied right to my face and I bought it.” He looked chagrined.
“What?” I was confused.
“He became their spy. It wasn’t drugs or a woman, he was spying. Jesus Christ.”
“He was spying…on the people of Vinake?” I couldn’t wrap my head around what he was saying.
“The last two years have been rough. He was desperate to help when you guys were about to starve to death, so he went and probably offered himself to them in exchange for food, supplies. Now it makes sense. The whole thing with the girl and drugs didn’t sit right with me, but now I get it.”
“So he was telling the Brat what?”
“Probably what was happening at the factories, how much product they have, supply chains…”
“Or conversely, keeping track of any uprisings they could use against us,” Prince Daniil said.
“Kostya isn’t a traitor!” I whispered in frustration. “He’s young and immature, but not a traitor. He would never…” I was horrified and embarrassed.
“Young man his age, in dire circumstances,” Xander said gently. “He was desperate, afraid his family wouldn’t survive another winter. I’d bet my last dollar he didn’t realize what he was getting into.”
16
Axel
I was an ass for saying what I was thinking out loud. I hadn’t considered what it would do to Solange to hear that Kostya had been working with the Brat as a spy. It was probably better not to lie to her, though. Women didn’t like secrets and while I didn’t know what we were doing with whatever this was between us, it was way too early for me to fuck it up. Especially not over Kostya. And definitely not before I’d had a chance to make love to her in a bed, like a fucking lady. Fucking was great, and going down on a pretty girl up against a tree in the woods was all sorts of fun, but never having done it in a bed was a crime. One I planned to rectify sooner rather than later.
“Kostya wanted to go into the military,” Solange said after a moment. “But Mama said we needed him at the café. It’s not completely true, of course, since we could have hired someone. She just did
n’t want him to leave and put himself in danger, but that’s what he needs. Discipline, a paycheck, something to make him believe in himself.”
“And when he’s well, we can make that happen,” Daniil said, meeting her eyes. “If you think that’s what would be best for him, it would also get him out of harm’s way while we handle the Brat.”
“I know that’s what’s best for him,” she said, “but he may need to be convinced.”
Daniil winked at her. “Leave it to me. I’ll take care of it.”
Elen deftly changed the subject, asking Solange about her trip to Greece and talking about her own honeymoon in Tahiti. Solange seemed to relax and forget about Kostya for the time being and I itched to reach for her hand. I was running the gamut of emotions lately, and it was getting ridiculous. One second I couldn’t wait to sleep with her. Then I couldn’t stop thinking about her. A minute later I decided she was better off without a guy like me. Five minutes after that I was going down on her in the woods. I really needed to make some type of decision.
We’d sort of made a decision earlier, just before I’d gone down on her, but deep down I’d still had my doubts. She was so sweet, and deserved so much more than a half-broken man like me, but maybe she’d realize that on her own. Then she would be the one breaking my heart, instead of the other way around, which would be okay. I was willing to take on that possibility in order to have her for a short time, in whatever way she wanted.
Before I could change my mind, I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “What happens if I kiss you in front of people?”
Her mouth opened slightly as she turned to look at me. “I’m…not sure what you mean?”
“I mean, will you get in trouble with your parents?”
She chuckled. “I’m an adult. There’s nothing they can say. But I’m not sure what this means for us…”
I leaned over and pressed a quick kiss on her lips. “You’re about to find out…”
“Hey…” Xander was staring at us with narrowed eyes. “Did you just—”
“Xander.” Elen smacked his arm.
“But, but, he kissed her!”
“You never saw people kiss before?” Natalia asked him, smirking.
“I think he’s going into big brother mode,” Elen told me with a faint smile.
Since Xander already knew I’d had a fling with Solange, he was playing this up to keep Solange from being embarrassed, by putting all the attention on him. Which was both funny and unnecessary.
“We’re on a date,” I said, sliding my arm along the back of her chair. “People do that on occasion, in case you’ve forgotten now that you’re a married man.”
“I remember dating,” Natalia said with a grin. “Not since I got shot, though.”
“You got shot?” Solange asked her.
“Protecting me,” Elen said. “I’d been kidnapped. They rescued me in Vinake, actually.”
“Oh, I heard about that,” Solange said. “We didn’t realize it was you who’d been kidnapped.”
“We’ve been trying to cut back on bad press,” Xander said.
“Why do you think I’m the computer nerd of the group?” Jonas said. “It’s safer.”
“Are you a Royal Protector?” Solange asked him.
He smiled. “I am. My specialty is cybersecurity, though, so while I’m skilled in hand-to-hand combat and weapons and all that, my focus is eventually going to be protecting the royal family from cyberattacks, and the government’s computer network from hackers. Once we have a full staff, that is.”
“Things like social engineering and DDoS attacks?”
“Exactly.”
They went off on a tangent about network security and I was pretty impressed. Solange was no virgin when it came to computers and I wondered if Elen’s offer was really feasible. I’d thought she was just being nice, but there was actually something there. Solange lit up when she talked about computers, much more so than when discussing cafés and bed and breakfasts. The royal family usually only hired the most skilled people, with advanced degrees and years of experience. I didn’t know what Elen had in mind, but the new, exclusive private school she’d mentioned was where the kids in the royal family would attend. It was an international baccalaureate school that would be opening in the fall and Elen had been busting her ass to have it ready to go.
Shannon was going to be the new headmistress and they were struggling to find qualified candidates to work there. From teachers to the administrative staff, everyone had to be fully vetted and their backgrounds checked thoroughly before they would be granted access to the children in the royal family, including Crown Prince Luke. Jonas had been in the process of setting up a secure internet network in the school, but it took a lot of time he didn’t have, and with something as sensitive as the school records, hiring Solange to help might be a win-win.
Solange, Shannon, Jonas and Elen moved off to one side of the table after dessert, talking about the school and computer things, and I went to the sideboard to get myself another cup of coffee.
“You changed your mind, huh?” Xander leaned against the sideboard and smirked at me.
“Shut up,” I grumbled under my breath.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Duh.”
“I’m telling you, there’s something in the water here.” His eyes danced with mirth and I chose to ignore him. For Solange’s sake, if not my own.
“Look, it’s a couple of dates,” I said, taking a sip of coffee. “We’ll see what happens. I’m sure before long, a pretty thing like her will get bored with a guy who doesn’t have much time for her.”
“If you believe that, you don’t know nearly enough about women,” Ace said, shaking his head.
“He knows nothing about women,” Daniil said, smirking.
“Says the man who used to be married to a man,” I shot back. Daniil and I were close enough for him to know I was kidding and he obligingly shot me the bird. Daniil was bisexual and had been married to a man, but had been single since his divorce.
“Another one bites the dust,” Ace chuckled, singing under his breath.
“Would you guys cut it out?” I asked quietly. “Jesus, we’ve had two dates.” Did going down on her count as a date? I wasn’t going to ask. Instead, I wandered over to where she was talking with the others and she looked up with a smile.
“I think we may have a potential network administrator,” Shannon said with a smile. “She’s going to go with Jonas the next time he goes up to the school to work on the computer system, and once Solange has had a chance to talk with her parents, Elen and I are going to figure out the best way to keep her busy until Jonas can train her.”
“It’s temporary,” Solange said quickly. “Something for me to do until we figure out what’s happening in Vinake.”
My gut told me she was far more excited than she was letting on, but I wouldn’t say anything until we were alone.
“That’s great,” I said aloud. “You ready to go? I have an early shift tomorrow and I thought we might take a walk before turning in?”
“Sure.” Solange nodded.
“I’ll see you for breakfast,” Shannon told her, smiling.
“Thank you. Good night.”
We bade everyone good night and headed out. Solange took my arm as we walked and looked up at me. “What was with kissing me in front of your friends? Is that some antiquated way of staking your claim?”
“It was more my awkward attempt at letting you know I’m not playing games with you. I don’t want the basis of our relationship to be me sneaking into your room at night for a quickie.” I paused. “Although I’m totally down for that too.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “I see.”
“You’re okay with this?”
“I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
“I did want to go on a walk, though. Thought I’d show you all my favorite places in and around the palace.”
“Okay.”
I took her hand an
d led her down the stairs and over to the other side of the palace. Though there were central portions of the building, like the main kitchen, the formal ballroom, security offices and some of the conference rooms, the palace was split into two portions. The north side was the king’s wing, with the family’s private quarters, offices and guest suites. The south side was the royal family’s wing, and that’s where the rest of us lived. Sandor and Lennox had the biggest suite of rooms, with three bedrooms, a living area, a small office, two bathrooms, and a pool. The other suite of rooms was supposed to be Xander and Elen’s, but they’d moved to a private residence fifteen minutes from the palace, so it was now empty and there was something special about it I wanted Solange to see.
“Where are we?” she asked as I unlocked the door.
“This is an empty suite of rooms,” I replied. “Xander and Elen were going to live here but they moved to Elen’s childhood family home.”
“Who lives here now?”
“No one. The king said it’ll be used for special guests, families and such. In the meantime, there’s a view I want you to see.” I walked towards the double doors that led out to a patio.
“Aren’t we on an upper level?” she asked, looking around in confusion.
I smiled. “Yes. But remember, this is literally a palace. There are four swimming pools on the grounds. One is the king’s private pool, the second is an Olympic-sized indoor pool for use by everyone in the winter, the third is attached to Sandor and Lennox’s suite downstairs, and this is the fourth.” I opened the doors and let her walk out ahead of me.
“Oh, Axel, it’s amazing.”
17
Solange
The view in front of me took my breath away. There was an infinity pool that went to the edge of the patio and overlooked the city. The cathedral in the center of Hiskale was lit up and it was magnificent. The city itself, from up here, was a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, and movement.
“You like it?” Axel put his arms around me from behind, and rested his cheek against mine, his beard tickling my skin.
