“Die, bitch!”
“You are the vilest piece of shite!”
“Skank!”
“I hate you!”
“This is for Theo!”
“Unworthy trash!”
The media lapped it up, doing nothing to help, recording and moving around like this was a movie scene.
A gurgle choked in my throat, pain freezing me, not able to gain footing with so many attacking me. I curled into a ball, cheers and hoots echoing in my ears as someone tossed a yogurt on me from the café, spattering over my face, followed by an apple, then scalding tea.
My cries stuck in my throat, not able to catch my breath as a handful of people spit, jabbed, kicked, or threw things at me. Red liquid dripped in my eyes, forcing me to shut them.
“Stop! I called the police,” a woman cried from the store.
No one stopped.
A haze formed around me, and I felt darkness sucking me into the vortex, needing to escape the pain.
“Spencer?” His voice was like a beacon, lifting my lashes, drawing my gaze through the crowd, seeing Lennox step out of the flat building, his form stiffening when he spotted me. “Spencer!” My name bellowed out, ringing through the morning air like a bell. He sprinted to me, his expression twisted into pure determination and fury, his shoulders expanding with rage. “Get. The. Fuck. Away. From. Her!” His demand boomed through the crowd like a vengeful angel. “NOW!”
His size and anger jolted fear through the mob; they gasped and drew back from me.
“Oh my god, it’s him! It’s the bodyguard! So, it really is true!” The blonde gasped in disbelief.
Her words sliced through me like a knife. She attacked me—all of them did—and they hadn’t even been sure of my guilt. They still didn’t know me or the truth but were willing to punish me for something that had nothing to do with them.
“I. Said. Move.” Lennox growled with vibrating wrath, dropping down to my side. Everyone stumbled back, except the husky guy.
“Why?” He tried to loom over Lennox. “You’re no better than her, wanker.”
Lennox peered up to him. “I will fuckin’ kill you without you even having the chance to blink.”
“What the fuck—?”
In a flash, Lennox popped up, his fist smashing into the guy’s face, sending him flying into the crowd. His body fell to the ground with a loud thump, blood spraying from his nose. Lennox knocked him out cold. His friends gaped, their gaze darting nervously between Lennox and their friend. But no one moved to defend him.
Lennox dropped next to me, his hands going to my face. “Spencer…” He gulped, terror lighting up his fierce tiger eyes. I tried to speak, but nothing came out.
Sirens in the distance jolted the mob awake. Shouting and running, the crowd took off, suddenly afraid of the costs of their actions.
“Stay with me, Duchess.” Lennox’s fingers rubbed over my cheeks, coming off drenched in my blood. “Don’t you dare go anywhere.” His Adam’s apple bobbed, prickling fear in my gut, as if what he was looking at didn’t match the emptiness inside. I didn’t feel pain; I couldn’t feel anything. Nothing in me seemed attached; I felt like I could float away. The only thing keeping me here was him.
Swirls of white and blue lights glowed behind his head, igniting his beautiful hazel eyes. I tried to reach up, to touch him, but again nothing happened. Darkness crept into my vision, and suddenly I felt beyond exhausted.
Sleep…
“No! Stay with me, Spencer.” I heard him call to me, but I couldn’t obey. The fight was no longer mine as I drifted into the peaceful nothing.
Chapter 25
Something picked at my tranquility, prying it open, drawing me out of serenity. A steady beep harped in my ears like a mosquito buzzing around. My lids were sticky and heavy, as if they were lined with paste. It took several tries to pry them open.
I blinked, my brain slowly absorbing my surroundings. Sterile and white, I took in a hospital room, the hisses and clicks of medical equipment beeping out my heartbeat, oxygen being pumped up my nose. What I assumed was a morphine drip in my arm, numbing me enough to feel warm and toasty, disguised the pain throbbing through my bones.
My gaze shifted to two figures passed out in chairs on either side of me. Landen was folded up like a pretzel in one, snoring. Lennox was in the other, his hand curled around mine, his head tipped back against the chair. His stubble was thick, his clothes wrinkled, his expression both stern and exhausted, even in sleep. He was drop-dead sexy, but I saw nothing but the soul underneath, creating a flood of love to submerge my chest, making it swell with air.
I loved him so much. My thumb twitched, stroking his fingers, needing to feel his skin. His head bolted up before his eyes even opened, trained to react instantly to a threat or warning.
“Spencer?” He croaked, swiveling to me, his gaze full of hope. “Hey, you’re awake.” He swallowed back an emotion that looked like relief and anguish, his hand squeezing mine. “Bloody hell.” He swallowed again, his gaze devouring my face.
My lips parted, but as if a desert had moved into my mouth, scratching down my throat, my voice got stuck at the back of my throat.
“Here.” He picked up a glass of water next to my bed, holding it as I suckled from it like a newborn. His gaze wouldn’t stop running over me with a softness I had never seen before, tapping a nerve at the back of my neck.
“How—how long?” I whispered hoarsely.
Lennox rubbed his knuckles over my face, brushing through my hair. “Over a week.”
“Wh-aat?”
“You had swelling in your brain. Internal bleeding.” He swallowed roughly again. “There was a moment we didn’t know…if…”
If I would live.
I nodded, my lashes flicking to the side, staring at my cousin.
“He wouldn’t leave your side, either,” Lennox said. “Your whole family has been here, but I convinced them to go back to the hotel and get some rest and promised I would call them when you woke up.” He let go of my hand to reach for his cell. “I should—”
“No,” I croaked. “Not yet.”
My family was a lot to handle, and I needed a little more time to prepare myself.
“I don’t know them well, but not once have they brought up the scandal. I think this actually woke them up to what was really important. They want you to be all right. They love you, Spencer. Take it from me. You are lucky to have them.”
Peering back at Landen, I knew I was. As much as they could be a pain in my arse, they were still my family, and I loved them more than anything.
“I have been sitting here all week, going through every possibility of why…why you left the flat without me, why you didn’t wait.”
“Lord William.” I pushed through my teeth.
“What?”
“He wanted to meet me.”
“Without me.” Lennox’s jaw jumped with a nerve. “That bloody wanker…”
“It’s okay.” I placed my hand on his. “He wanted to talk to me. It’s over. My family, me…we’re off the hook with him.”
Lennox’s eyebrows curved up in doubt.
He had every right to mistrust William, but I knew in my gut Lord William was earnest in this new leaf. I felt like I saw him finally close the door on his revenge when he walked away from my Aunt Lauren. There was always the possibility he could return to stir up drama in our lives, but right now, I believed he was doing the right thing…for his son.
Was my family completely in the clear? No, we still were broke and owed money on our land, which we still didn’t have means to pay for. But that was their problem to solve. I would no longer try to protect them from their own bad decisions.
“Fuck, Spencer. You scared me.” Lennox shifted closer to me. “I almost lost you. I-I can’t go through that again. To see you in this bed, in a coma…” His eyes glazed with liquid.
Damn, that must have been excruciating, having Gracie down the hall in her forever slumber. “It’
s not your fault.”
“I should have been there.”
“I’m not your charge anymore. And I don’t need you to watch over me like a helpless damsel.”
“Really?” He motioned to me.
“No.” I reached up to his face, my arms shakier than I thought. “We are equals. You can’t constantly protect me from the world.”
“Spencer.” Leaning over me, his voice went low and gruff. “I will always watch over your body…very closely.” His mouth grazed mine, about to kiss me, when footsteps clipped at the entrance, jolting Lennox up defensively.
My head fell to the side, my eyes rolling over the tall, fit figure, dressed in his usual impeccable suit. What the hell was he doing here?
Suddenly, another guard I recognized slipped to the wall right across the room.
Peter, Eloise’s guard.
A figure, dressed in a cap, jeans, sweater, and huge hooded jacket that engulfed her petite frame strode in my room with confidence you couldn’t cloak. No disguise could hide the Princess of Great Victoria.
“Eloise?” I rasped, my mouth dropping in surprise. “Wha-what are you doing here?” She was one of the last people I ever imagined seeing here.
She nodded at Dalton. He looked to me first, dipping his head. “I am so happy you are all right. I was very worried about you.”
“Thank you, D-man.” I blinked back my emotions.
He tipped his head at Lennox, giving him a smile before stepping out of the room, shutting the door.
“He wouldn’t let me come without him.” Eloise tossed out as if she had to give reason to his presence. “He’s exhausting to fight when he gets like that.”
Lennox and I stared at her, her gaze drifting down to my cousin, who still snored from the chair. Landen was the person who could sleep anywhere and anytime, with commotion going off around him and never even roll over.
Eloise shifted on her feet, feeling our focus on her. She sucked in, lifting her head. “You are probably wondering what I am doing here. I never thought I would want to see you again.”
I flinched but nodded my head in understanding.
“However, after what happened to you…” She motioned to me. “When Dalton told me you almost didn’t make it, I no longer felt like I hated you. What happened to you was beyond horrific, and it only occurred because of us. Because you fell in love and out of love with a prince, the world feels they have the right to condemn you.” Her lashes fluttered. “They could have killed you.” Her voice cracked, but swiftly she rolled back her shoulders, tucking back any emotion in her voice. “The group was caught on the store video camera, and I will make sure they are made examples of. I will make it known the Royal House does not tolerate this kind of behavior, no matter what. Theo has made a statement about the breakup, saying it was mutual, and happened before the video, and to respect you both during this private and awful time.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank Theo for me.”
She nodded, staring at the floor. “I understand, Spencer…more than you know.” Her lashes lifted to mine. “But he’s my brother. My support will always be with him.”
“As it should be.” I shifted, trying to sit up more. “I am sorry. You don’t know how much. Hurting your brother will always haunt me, but hurting you is also a deep regret of mine. For what it’s worth, I am so sorry. Your friendship meant more to me than anything while I was there, and I hate that I lost it.”
“Yeah.” Her lips rolled together. “I don’t have many girlfriends, as you know. But this is probably the last time I will ever see you.” She cleared her throat, her princess persona switching on. “I’ve come here, not just as an ex-friend, or at my brother’s suggestion—as you know, there was no way he could personally come down here—but for my father and the Royal House as well.”
My gut twisted, knowing this incident probably only angered the King. Another mess for him to clean up.
“No matter what we say, the attacks on you physically and in the media won’t stop.” She glanced at Lennox, both sharing a look, making me curious as to what was being said about me now. “Everywhere you go will end up a media frenzy. It won’t stop; they will hound you, pursue you, chase after you… next time you might not be so lucky.”
Lennox’s fingers curled into my blanket. I twined my fingers through his, trying to ease his tension.
I saw Eloise’s gaze take in our linked hands, but instead of anger, I saw a flinch of sorrow. Longing.
“Money has been transferred to this account.” She abruptly stepped forward, pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket. “We advise you leave the country. Find a place where you can disappear for a while.”
“What?”
“We are not saying forever, but for the foreseeable future…” Eloise’s eyes softened, her head tilting. “It’s for the best, Spence. You are not wanted here.”
I sucked in, feeling the stab.
“This country will destroy you. Rip everything from you and laugh as they squash you. I know it’s harsh, but for your safety, please leave. Enjoy your life with Lennox. Don’t ever look back.”
She set the piece of paper on the rolling tray.
“I don’t want the house’s money,” I snapped, hating they could still dictate my life.
“Don’t be stupid.” She shook her head. “Take it. Start a new life. Away from all this bullshite.” Envy dripped off her face and words. She quickly hid it, taking in a breath. “Goodbye, Spencer.” She whipped around, rushing through the door. Dalton was right there waiting for her, his gaze giving away his concern as she brushed by him.
He gave each of us a nod before the two guards disappeared down the hall after the princess.
Lennox picked up the paper.
“I can’t take that money.”
“Yes, you can.” He peered at me. “She’s right. It’s not safe for you to stay here.”
“How bad is it out there? What are they saying about me?”
“That’s not important.” He moved closer to me. “Do you want a life with me?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then let’s go. Start over.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know; we’ll figure it out.” He leaned over me, his mouth close to mine. “There’s nothing but heartache, tragedy, danger, and pain here. I was a breath away from losing you. I will not let that happen…do you get that, Spencer? Not on my watch and not to them.” He flicked his head toward the door, indicating the outside world. “I would not survive if anything happened to you.” His lips grazed over mine. “I’ve lost too many I’ve loved. I can’t lose you.”
Could I? Could I leave all this? But what did I exactly have here? My family, yes, but there was no doubt we’d probably lose our home. I had no friends, schooling, job, or ties here. No future. Who would risk taking me on? I would be a liability to any job, school, or new friend. No one would want me, my life always under threat.
“So how about it, Duchess? Want to run away with me? Leave all this bullshite behind?”
Take it from a miserable old man at the end of his life. No matter what people say to you, don’t make our mistakes. We could have left this all behind. Been happy.
“Probably the morphine talking, but,” a small smile curved up my mouth, no doubt about the answer screaming from my heart, from my soul. “Fuck. Yes.”
Lennox’s mouth crashed down on mine. The feel of his lips shot hunger and warmth through my veins, bringing me back to life.
“What? What’s going on?” Landen snorted, popping up, turning our heads to him. Rubbing his face, he peered around as if he had no clue where he was. His gaze landed on us, eyes widening with such an innocent, happy expression. “Hey! Look who is finally awake!”
A snorted chuckle hitched up my nose, laughter pouring through my healing body like light. Ignoring the pain striking in my body, I grabbed my cousin, yanking him on the bed with Lennox and me.
I had no idea what was in front of me. No doub
t there were many bumps in the road and moments that might break me, but with these guys at my side, I knew I could get through anything.
Fuck the fairytales. I might not live happily ever after, but I would live fiercely. An adventurous, exciting, full life with many ups and downs with the man I loved.
Epilogue
Two years later
Heat soaked through the canvas walls, curling over my frame like a blanket, sweat already trickling down my half-naked body. The tank and knickers I was wearing were already stuck to my skin. The thick smell of dirt, animals, baking earth, and a scent unique to Africa filled my nose like the most delicious coffee, pulling me out of dreamland. The excited chirping and baying from Ebele nearby parted my lids to the early morning, a smile forming on my lips.
Ebele was our newest orphan elephant, coming to us at only a few weeks old. I had spent a week sleeping in her pen to make sure she survived the night and let her know she wasn’t alone. Her mother had been slaughtered for her ivory, leaving the calf traumatized and heartbroken. She didn’t eat for three days. After losing two prior baby calves before her, I was determined to keep her alive. Life and death came with the territory, especially here, but it still broke me in half, like I lost a family member.
Roars from the lions and lionesses and crazy bird-sounding chirps from the cheetahs told me they were about to be served their breakfast.
Rolling over in the large empty bed, I snuggled into my pillow, knowing I had at least another hour or two before I had to get up after working the late shift last night. But hearing the animals, I also understood sleep was pointless, their excited cheers for food made me want to jump up immediately and be out there with them.
Peering around the large permanent tent cabin, I couldn’t help but grin. Decorated for Christmas, the room was about as far from my life two years ago as you could get. Built a few feet off the ground because of the rainy months here, the wood floor was worn and creaky. The sizeable one-room tent held a fourposter bed, dripping with netting to keep the bugs out, a desk, rug, book stand, two wardrobe cupboards, and two side chairs, which seemed to be used more for my clothes rack than to sit. The roof went up to a tall peak, with a light dangling from above. A small deck with chairs was built at the front, where I had spent many nights watching the animals roam around as the sun descended on the South African horizon, drenched with purples, oranges, reds, and golden yellows. I had never seen a sunset or sunrise more breathtaking than I had here.
Royal Command (Royal Watch Book 2) Page 28
