by Kat Mizera
“So how do you get past the panic?”
“Push through, man. Just take a deep breath and remind yourself why you’re there. Why you’re with her.”
“Then I guess I’m going to move her in with me.”
“I look forward to getting to know her better.”
“Who do I talk to about getting some new furniture ordered?”
“Tell Jesper what you need and he’ll hook you up with the right people.”
“Thanks.” I headed for the door. “I’ll let you get back to your Sunday. See you in the morning.”
“See you later.” Sandor hesitated and then called after me. “Make sure you know what you want, Axel. Women like her are the kind you keep, not the kind you play with. Especially not here in Limaj.”
I froze. Solange had warned me of this, the old-fashioned thinking, and I’d forgotten about it until now. I turned back to him. “She said something about preparing myself for the inevitable questions about marriage. Is this a decision I have to make now?”
“No, but her parents are going to talk to you about it and that was the point of my warning. Lennox is American, so it was a little different for me, but Solange is a native, and what? Twenty-four? Her family is going to be thinking in terms of finding her a husband now that she’s in a big city, and more than that, the fact that she has access to the royal family. I know exactly what her parents are thinking—they’re probably angling to set her up with Daniil.”
My mouth fell open. “Really?”
“Absolutely. So now that you’ve stepped in and essentially made it so no one else can have her, the expectations are going to be high.”
“Am I making a mistake?” I asked him. “I’m crazy about her, but it’s been like five minutes… I’m not ready to marry her. We might move in together and realize we can’t live together or the newness wears off and we don’t have anything in common.”
“Do you believe that?”
“No, but it’s possible. And, honestly, I’ve never planned to get married. I might make an exception if this works out, but it’s way too soon to know.”
He scratched his chin. “I need to ask you something personal, and you don’t have to answer, but it makes a difference in the advice I give you.”
“Shoot.”
“Was she a virgin?”
I sighed. Jesus, that was personal as fuck. But Sandor was a friend and he knew his country and the customs better than I did. My silence spoke volumes so I didn’t have to say the words and he responded in kind.
“She was,” he said knowingly. “Her parents are probably horrified and—”
“Actually, they’re not,” I said. “She told me her mom thought she needed to stop sleeping with so many men before she gets a reputation. Meaning her mom had no idea she was still a virgin, and Solange didn’t correct her because her feelings were hurt that her mother thinks that about her.”
“Well, you dodged a bullet there, but I’m telling you—marriage is going to be expected. You need to back out now if you don’t think that’s the direction you’re going.”
“I’m not not going in that direction,” I protested.
“Look, as long as you and Solange are on the same page, it shouldn’t be a problem. There will always be gossip and her parents will probably be a pain in the ass, but this is your relationship, not theirs. Do what you think is right, just keep these underlying expectations in mind.”
His phone buzzed and he dug it out of his pocket with a frown. “Shit. There’s trouble in Vinake. Emergency security briefing.”
27
Solange
With Axel called away to an emergency meeting, I had time to myself and I decided to go visit my parents at the inn. I hadn’t been there in over a week and wanted to see what they’d done to it, not to mention spend a little time with them. I figured I was in for a lecture, but that was okay. I could handle it. There were some wonderful things happening in my life and I hoped my parents would eventually be happy for me.
I tried to call for a taxi but the guard at the front gates said that wasn’t allowed and before I knew it, one of the palace staff was driving me to the inn. It was an odd feeling to have those kinds of conveniences available to me, and even easier to get used to.
I walked through the unlocked front door of the inn, calling out to my parents.
“Solange!” Mama looked up from where she was kneading dough in the kitchen. “Samuel, look who’s here.”
“Hello, my love.” Papa kissed my cheek and Mama blew me a kiss since her hands were messy and she was covered in flour.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
“Is this a trick question?” she asked with a smile, and I smiled back. She loved to bake and we both knew it.
“The kitchen looks amazing,” I said, looking around. The room had been outfitted with top-of-the-line appliances, new floors and granite countertops.
“You should go look at the guest rooms,” Mama said. “They’re ready to go and we have our first guests coming tomorrow! They’re American, a couple on their honeymoon.”
“How exciting.”
“How was your weekend with Axel?” Mama asked, a twinkle in her eye.
“It was lovely. I had sushi.”
“It was good?” Mama asked dubiously.
“It was incredible. There’s a sushi restaurant here in Hiskale and we’ll have to go there one night.”
“Perhaps I can learn to prepare it.”
I decided not to push back on this since her first instinct would always be to cook versus eating out. I also opted not to mention that Axel and I were moving in together. We were having a nice visit and I didn’t want to spoil it.
“Will you stay for dinner?” Mama asked.
“Sure.”
“You should have brought Kostya.”
“Perhaps he can have someone at the palace drive him over,” I said. “Let me see what Axel is doing.”
“If he’s free, invite your young man for dinner.”
I glanced at her curiously but nodded, sending Axel a text.
SOLANGE: Are you still in your meeting? My parents have invited you to dinner.
AXEL: We just got done. When do you want me there?
SOLANGE: Any time. Can you bring Kostya as well?
AXEL: Of course. See you in an hour? I need to do a few things first.
SOLANGE: I’ll tell Kostya to be ready.
I looked up and smiled. “They’ll be here in an hour. Let me make sure Kostya is ready.”
I was a little nervous about this family dinner situation, but I figured it was time for my parents to get used to us being together. I’d sent Axel a quick text telling him not to mention us moving in together yet, so hopefully nothing too uncomfortable would come up. I had to be sure, though, because my mother could be a ball-buster when she wanted to be.
“Mama, please be nice to Axel,” I said as I cut tomatoes for a salad.
“He’s our guest. Why wouldn’t I be nice?”
I cut my eyes to her and raised my eyebrows. “Hello. This is me you’re talking to. I know you far too well to fall for this innocent act.”
She snorted. “You’re a grown woman and you’re going to make your own mistakes. As long as he’s kind to you and treats you like a lady, I have nothing to say. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do.” The truth was, I probably didn’t, but at this point, I’d been given opportunities of a lifetime that I wasn’t going to throw away because of bouts of insecurity. Even if things didn’t work out with Axel, I had a new job, and I refused to do anything to put that in jeopardy. Now that I’d had a taste of freedom, I never wanted to go back to my life in Vinake.
Axel and Kostya arrived a few minutes later and I hugged my brother before leaning up for a chaste kiss from Axel. He smiled at me and then turned to my mother, holding out a bottle of wine.
“I hope red wine goes with what we’re eating.”
“Yes. Thank you. Red win
e is nice with roasted lamb and potatoes.”
“Sounds and smells delicious.”
“Did you hear about what’s going on in Vinake?” Axel asked me as I poured us all a glass of wine.
My mother nodded even though he hadn’t been talking to her directly. “Yes, I speak to Mrs. Freela this morning. It is not good.”
“What happened?” I asked.
He shook his head. “The Brat is pissed that we’ve essentially shut them down in Vinake. They burned three abandoned buildings in town with a strict warning that the textiles factory will be next if the people don’t start paying what they owe. Luckily, the fires didn’t spread, but that’s only because there was a thunderstorm that slowed them down. I don’t know that they’ll be so lucky next time.”
“Is there anything we can do?” I asked quietly.
“We just don’t have the manpower to send a team up there,” Axel said. “But Sandor is going to sit down the chiefs of police from Vinake, Ferdinbrag, and a few more cities. The government is going to offer bonuses and incentives for departments that stay on top of the Brat.”
“They’re afraid,” Mama said. “Mr. Freela was the old police chief. You remember when he was killed two years ago? It was very suspicious. We now believe the Brat were responsible. They sent a message by doing this.”
I translated for Axel, who shook his head. “I’ll pass that on to Sandor. That’s important to know.”
“Perhaps there need to be repercussions for police who look the other way,” Kostya said.
“We’re trying positive reinforcement first,” Axel replied. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll go the other direction.”
Everyone was quiet for a while, ruminating the implications of this news. I hated the idea that our friends and extended family were in danger, but I had faith in the king and Prince Sandor. They would help. I knew it in my gut.
We chatted for a while and my mother was truly on her best behavior. She didn’t ask embarrassing questions or put Axel on the spot, so I was caught off guard when Kostya derailed the whole evening.
“I’ve joined the military,” he announced in between bites of food. “I report to basic training the first of April.”
Papa froze and Mama slammed her fork down on the table so hard, everything jumped.
“Kostya! What have you done?” she demanded. “This is unacceptable.”
“For who?” he asked. “You guys don’t need me here, Solange has her own thing going, and the only way I’m ever going to get anywhere in this world is if I do something like that.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Mama said firmly. “You must tell them you made a mistake. I will talk to Princess Elen and—”
“No, you won’t.” Kostya shook his head. “Mama, I know you worry, but I’m a man. I’m not a child anymore and I need to do this. Plus, you know, it’s the law here.”
“You can defer again. We’ve gotten the deferments every year since you turned eighteen.”
“But I don’t want another deferment.”
“This is because of Magda,” Mama said angrily. “I will speak to her father! You must not do this. I won’t allow it!” She got up and stomped out of the room. A moment later a door slammed.
“Way to drop a bombshell,” I told my brother.
He sighed, glancing at Papa. “Are you mad too?”
Papa shook his head. “No. I’m proud of you. But your mother… She worries. She doesn’t want to lose you.”
“Papa, I need to do this.”
Papa and Kostya spoke in hushed Limaji for a while and I slid my hand under the table, seeking out Axel’s. He met my gaze and we exchanged a look that spoke volumes. How we absolutely weren’t going to bring up moving in together. How we needed to make this an early night. How we couldn’t wait to be alone together. It was weird how we were already to a place where we read each other’s minds.
We left an hour later, with Mama refusing to come out of her room, Papa promising to talk to her, and Axel driving us home in one of the palace SUVs. Kostya was subdued, and I didn’t blame him, but I wanted him to know how proud I was.
“It’s going to be okay,” I told him as we pulled into the palace garage. “Mama will come around. You’ll see. She doesn’t like change, but once she gets used to the idea, she’ll see how good it will be for you.”
“I hope so.”
Axel and I took the elevator up to the floor where my room was located and I used my key card to open the door. “Are you coming in?”
“Yeah. I need to talk to you about something.”
28
Axel
Solange turned to me worriedly. “Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, of course, but it looks like I’m going to be away for a few days. Maybe a week or more.”
“Are you going to Vinake?” she asked automatically.
“I’m heading up to Braksa, but I’ll be in Vinake as well.” I reached for her, pulling her close. “We’ve got to get the compound up there ready for winter and for whatever’s coming with the Brat. Sandor thinks they’re going to escalate and we have to be prepared to help the people.”
“I could make some phone calls, talk to people, see if we can gather some intel.”
I chuckled at her use of the word “intel,” but shook my head. “We don’t know who might have been recruited to pick up where Kostya left off. Right now, for everyone’s safety up there, no one can be trusted.”
“You might want to tell my mother that,” she replied.
“You could mention it,” I said seriously.
She sighed. “Why do you have to go?”
“I started the project of debugging and stripping the compound, and now that the new snowmobiles have arrived, I’ve got to get everything finalized. I have some other things to do as well, so I honestly don’t know exactly how long I’ll be gone.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, that sucks, but the good news is that I’ll be extremely busy this week getting student registrations done, so we probably wouldn’t have seen each other much anyway.”
“I know.” I leaned over to kiss her, wondering how I was going to survive a week or more without touching her. I was addicted to her silky skin and the way she said my name when she was ready to come.
“Do you have anything you have to do tonight?” she whispered against my mouth.
“Nothing specific, no.”
She pulled off her blouse and shrugged out of her bra. “Well, whatever we do tonight will have to last us at least a week.”
I bent my head to nuzzle her breasts, cupping them with my hands. “Then we should get started.”
I left early the next morning. I’d slept with Solange but got up around four to get back to my room, shower, pack a bag and hit the road by five. I’d left without waking her or even leaving a note, which didn’t occur to me until I was driving, so I was going to have to make a point of texting her as soon as I stopped for gas.
I was way out of practice with this boyfriend stuff, and living together would force me to up my game. Luckily, she’d said it would be better to wait until I got back before we made the official move, so I had a little bit of a reprieve. It’s not that I didn’t want to do it, or that my feelings had changed, but it felt like there was a lot of pressure for us to make the relationship work. On top of that, we were both distracted by work things and didn’t have a lot of time to focus on the personal things that would make or break us as a couple. And if Lennox was pregnant, I was going to be busier than ever.
Casey’s oldest daughter, who was an adult in her early twenties, was here in Limaj now but was going back to Las Vegas any day now. Sasha was in college so one of the Protectors would have to go with her, leaving us down yet another man. Natalia was still in training, and while she was competent and learned quickly, after being shot earlier this year, Sandor wasn’t in a rush to put her in harm’s way again.
The six of us that were the most experienced and had the most responsibility were Sandor
, Ace, Xander, Lennox, Marcus and me. Logan was a full-fledged Royal Protector but had the least experience, and while Jonas was pretty badass, he was the technology wizard and we needed him focused on cybersecurity. Technically, Joe had more skill and experience than all of us, which was why he ran palace security, but he was older now and slowing down. Sandor had asked him if he’d be willing to do field work while Lennox was pregnant, and Joe had agreed, but that didn’t really get us anything because he and Lennox would essentially just switch places.
There were two more protectors in training, but Sandor had said it was safer all around for us to keep their identities under wraps, and it would be at least a year before they joined us, if not longer. All of which put a lot of pressure on Xander and me. Sandor had been working on the new intelligence agency, Modern Intelligence, or MODIN, which was supposed to be the Limaji version of the CIA, but trust was still a huge issue and our numbers were small. So that had been put on the back burner while we’d dealt with weddings, the situation with the Brat, and all the other distractions this summer.
I got to the compound around noon and it was a dreary fucking place. I had the option of sleeping here but decided I’d make the trip back and forth to the small rooming house in Braksa because it was eerie as fuck and there wasn’t reliable internet or cell service. Not that I was afraid—I’d been in much scarier places in the Middle East—but there were no amenities and I needed to get a lot done, which would be easier if I had access to food and Wi-Fi. One of the things we were doing this week was having an electrician come out to wire the place. It had run on generators when it belonged to Omar, and while we still had that option, it took a lot of fuel to run a compound this big, so we wanted regular electricity too.
I lost myself in work, going through the place once again, making sure we hadn’t missed bugs, surveillance equipment, booby traps, or anything else that might make our lives difficult should we have to use this place as a sort of military stronghold. I’d left a box of peanut butter granola bars in the pantry last time I was here and I went in search of one just before it started to get dark, but both the granola bars and the bottled water I’d left here seemed to be missing. I looked around in frustration, but couldn’t find them anywhere. It didn’t seem likely that Marcus had eaten them all when he’d been up here last week because he’d only been here for the day, overseeing delivery of some of the new equipment.
