by Katie Knight
As the pilot came over the PA system, telling them to ready for takeoff, Esme was unable to stand it any longer.
“What’s wrong?” she asked again. “And don’t say it’s nothing, or I’ll poke you.”
Z gave her a side glance, one brow raised, entirely too handsome for his own good in a black turtleneck to match her own and soft, wool trousers she’d help pick out from the tailor. “Poke me? Seriously? What are you, twelve?”
“No,” she huffed, gripping the armrests of her chair tight as they zoomed down the runway. She’d never been a huge fan of flying and takeoffs were the worst. Plummeting through space, being forced back into your seat by the pressure, the sickening drop of your stomach as you broke your earthly bounds and soared heavenward. The pregnancy only made it worse, and she swallowed hard against the rising bile in her throat, eyes squeezed shut.
“Hey, princess,” Z whispered, his arm warm and strong pressed against hers. “Breathe.”
She did, exhaling all her pent-up stress and anxiety and then inhaling cool, cabin air. After several minutes, her ears popped, and her stomach settled, and she felt much better. She opened her eyes again to find Z watching her, his head cocked and his blue eyes warm.
“You good?” he asked. “Got pills and crackers in my briefcase, if you need them.”
“No, I’m better now. Thanks, though.” She shifted in her seat as he started flipping through his papers again. “I can tell something’s bothering you. You might as well tell me because you know I won’t let it go until I find out the truth.”
He snorted. “Yeah, I know. Fine. I think there’s a leak somewhere in our entourage.”
“A leak?”
“Yeah. An informant.” He restacked his papers then sat back. “I think someone here has been in contact with Silvester’s people in Prylea, tipping them off to where we’re going and what we’re doing, maybe even tipping off the press too. That’s the only reason I can come up with for how they found out about your pregnancy and about the king’s condition. Everyone at the doctor’s office and at the hospital was fully screened beforehand, so I know it wasn’t them.”
“But all the people around us have been with us for years.” She blinked several times, shocked. “We trust them.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t.” He reached over and placed his hand over hers on the armrest. “Unfortunately, there’s more, princess. I talked to the police before we left. Apparently, that fire at the haunted house on Halloween wasn’t an accident. It was deliberately set.”
Esme opened her mouth to respond then closed it, unsure of what to say. So now not only were the people she trusted betraying her family, someone was trying to kill her as well. Without thinking, she placed her free hand over her abdomen, over her unborn child, knowing she’d do anything to protect her baby.
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, princess, but I’m pretty sure we’ve got a mole. Well, not a mole exactly. More of a hacker on the technical side, feeding information through social media or emails. But as of yet, I haven’t been able to find the weak link. There’s no common denominator.” He squeezed her icy fingers in his warm ones. “I’ve asked my security team to step up the guard around you until we can confirm the sex of our child. If it’s a boy, then we’ll have to step things up even more, I’d say, to keep Silvester away.”
The weight of the world suddenly fell upon her shoulders. Between the pregnancy and coping with her father’s illness and impending demise, Es hadn’t really given much thought to her own safety. But now it was staring her in the face and requiring her to take action.
Tears stung the backs of her eyes again, but she blinked them away. She would not cry, no matter how badly she wanted to. If only her mother were there, she’d know what to do, how to handle all of this.
She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. Puffy white clouds drifted past the windows of the plane, obscuring the view of the snow-covered land below.
“Okay, princess?” Z asked, his lips resting on the top of her head.
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” Her voice trembled, and she closed her eyes. “I’m just so worried about everything now. What about my father? What about our baby? What about the future? It feels like no matter what I do, it’s the wrong move. But I have to do something and—”
Z bent and kissed her, effectively ending the avalanche of doubts and fears cascading from her lips. By the time he pulled away, they were both a bit distracted, their breathing hitched. He rested his forehead against hers and smiled. “Whatever happens, princess, we’ll deal with it. Together. We’re partners in this, remember?”
His words sounded so sweet and steadfast and she wanted so much to believe him, to believe that everything would work out for the best no matter how dire things seemed now. But the niggle of doubt inside her refused to die. She knew Z would stand by her side until the baby was born, no matter what. She also knew that his ultimate goal was to get back to his SEAL team and she wouldn’t, couldn’t, stand in the way of that. Over the past few weeks, she’d grown not only to like Zachary Raybourn very much, she’d grown to respect him as well. He was a man of integrity and loyalty and moral fortitude. Someday, he’d make one special woman very lucky. But it was getting harder and harder to remind herself that that woman wouldn’t be her. He was only here because of their deal, and while she had no doubt he’d honor their contract, she couldn’t be fooled into thinking his friendly affections were anything more than that.
Taking a deep breath, Esme forced herself to sit up straight and square her shoulders. She was Princess Esme, of the royal house of Prylea and she would handle this because she’d been trained to do anything that the world required of her, alone if necessary, to save her country and to secure the throne for her child. She stared out the window again, her dread increasing as they traveled farther away from the States and closer to the danger zone ahead.
“Princess?” Z asked again.
“Yes. Fine,” she said, thankful her voice was no longer shaking, despite her quivering inside. “We’ll handle whatever lies ahead.”
“Together.” Z nudged her to get her to look at him, his smile inviting.
She nodded. “Together.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Returning to Prylea felt stranger than Z had expected. It wasn’t because of the weather. It was a sunny, brisk winter’s day when they landed. Nor was it the woman at his side. He’d grown to really like Es, perhaps more than was wise. No. It was the fact that he’d left a bodyguard and was now coming back a soon-to-be prince. The title sat oddly on his shoulders, like a suit that didn’t quite fit. He was used to being the security, not having guards of his own tracking his every move.
Felix, the man they’d assigned to him, was competent enough. Hell, Z had interviewed him for his job on the team himself when the guy had first hired in. They’d even hung out and shared a couple of beers with the rest of the guys. Now Felix was Z’s assigned protector, ready to lay down his life to protect the newest member of Prylea’s royal entourage. It was both humbling and more than a tad humiliating.
Still, he was glad to be back in Prylea, where some of the burden of keeping Es and their unborn child safe would be shouldered by the military. He knew the workings of the Prylean army and air force intimately, having worked with them on task forces when he’d been in the SEALs. That was part of the argument his commander had used to get him the security detail assignment here in the first place. But as the plane touched down then slowly taxied to their gate, Z couldn’t shake the feeling that with all the upheaval caused by Silvester’s grab for power, the Prylean military defenses might now be lacking. With Es and his child’s lives on the line, he took their safety personally. At least the military had kept the media away. Z sighed in relief. The last thing he wanted was a bunch more cameras shoved in his face today. He felt jet-lagged and stressed and longed for a hot shower and a nice, long nap.
“Where is everyone?” Es asked, scowling out the window. “There sh
ould be a crowd of press. I’d hoped for a holiday-themed homecoming or something. I even texted ahead to my staff to take care of it.”
The relief he’d felt evaporated at the disappointment in her tone. Z motioned Felix closer. “Do you know why there’s no one here to greet her royal highness?”
Felix communicated to the team inside the airport through his Bluetooth earpiece then cleared his throat, his expression a bit embarrassed. “Um, it seems that the royal cousin took it upon himself to make the arrangements for the royal family’s arrival today. He’s waiting for you just inside the gate.”
The bulky guard bowed slightly and stepped back into his position against the cabin wall.
“Silvester did this?” Es swiveled in her seat to face Z, looking lovely in her forest green cashmere coat and matching pillbox hat. He’d seen her get up and go back to the rear of the cabin earlier to change and have her hair and makeup done. She’d also spent some time with her father, who’d slept for most of the journey, his hospital bed taking up a large part of the back of the plane. Es’s pretty hazel eyes glittered with anger and her cheeks were flushed and if there weren’t so many people around, Z would’ve pulled her off her seat and into his lap to kiss her until neither one of them cared about anything anymore except being together. He doubted Es would appreciate his advances at this moment, though, what with her pink lipstick perfectly applied and her fancy outfit smoothed to perfection. So, instead, Z got up to peer out the window himself.
“He can’t do that!” Es all but growled the words. “It’s not in my cousin’s power to override royal orders.”
Z snorted and shook his head. “I doubt Silvester cares at all about what is and isn’t in his job description.” As their plane neared the airport terminal, he spotted their limo and the man in question waiting for them, just as Felix said. There was also an ambulance to transport the king back to the palace as well. “Looks like you can ask him yourself soon enough.”
The pilot pulled to a stop, and the crew lowered a set of metal stairs down to the tarmac. A red carpet was rolled out from the plane to the limo and Z helped Es up then out of the plane. The cold, crisp air was like a slap in the face, waking him up and putting all his senses on high alert. He didn’t trust Silvester any farther than he could throw him—which, granted, would’ve been fairly far, given that the man was skinny as a fence post and a few inches shorter than Z, but still.
Es wasted no time charging straight up to her cousin and giving him what for. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You have no right to interfere with my orders for the homecoming, nor were you invited to be here to greet us. Go away!”
“Always a pleasure seeing you, too, cousin,” Silvester said, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he bent to give her a totally fake air kiss on each cheek. Based on how furious his princess was, Z was surprised Es didn’t take the opportunity to deck the guy then and there. She kept her decorum though, her hands fisted at her sides so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Silvester went about his business as if usurping his royal cousin’s authority was all in a day’s work for him. “Please, don’t stress yourself, my dear. You’ve got a little one to worry about, from what I’ve heard.” The guy glanced at Z then, his black eyes beady and cold. “I suppose congratulations are in order.”
This was said with the same level of contempt that usually accompanied finding something foul on the bottom of your shoe.
Z squared his shoulders and stepped forward to help Es into the back of the limo, hating every second in this douchebag’s condescending presence. If he was riding with them, and it certainly seemed like he would be, it was going to be a long trip back to the palace.
Once the king had been situated in the ambulance and they were all loaded into the limo, they began the slow procession back to the royal palace of Prylea. The landscape here really was beautiful, Z noted, as they weaved through the mountainous backcountry toward the capital city of Benham.
“So, a baby,” Silvester said into the taut silence between them all. “How resourceful of you, cousin. And a husband too. Didn’t imagine you’d stoop to bed the staff.”
Es gripped Z’s fingers so hard, he feared they’d snap off and flashed him a sharp smile. “We’re in love. Aren’t we, darling?”
“Very much.” He kissed her hand, watching Silvester over the top of it, wondering how hard it would be to chuck the guy’s body out of a moving vehicle. “Seems you’ve been busy while we’ve been gone.”
Silvester settled back in his seat, his long black overcoat reminding Z of a cape like the old-time villains used to wear. Except this wasn’t some B-grade movie and the threat posed by this guy was all too real. “Oh, don’t be paranoid. I haven’t done that much really. Just trying to be prepared for the inevitable. I am sorry about your father, dear cousin. I know you two were especially close after your mother died.”
Es looked away.
Silvester blinked slowly and, if Z wasn’t mistaken, seemed to be biting back a smile. Bastard. “Ah, my dear. I don’t mean to upset you, but our laws clearly state that you must be male to rule, and, unfortunately, you were born with the wrong anatomy.”
Z kept his fingers entwined with Es’s in a show of solidarity, even though they’d long since gone numb from lack of blood supply.
The two royal cousins stared each other down across the expanse of the back of the limo, a silent standoff without the guns. Finally, Silvester exhaled slow and clasped his black-leather gloved hands in his lap. “You are not feeling yourself right now, dear cousin, so I will put your silence down to that. I’ve ordered the staff at the palace to prepare your royal suites for you and your…” He gave Z a derisive look. “…fiancé. I was only trying to think of you in your delicate condition. I didn’t want you swarmed by the press at the airport, not knowing how you’d be feeling after all that travel. Nor was I sure about the king’s wellness at this point. I thought it better to keep your arrival secret and give you all time to center yourselves in privacy before facing the media onslaught.”
If Z didn’t know better, he almost would’ve believed the guy. But he hadn’t missed the slightly malicious gleam in the other man’s eyes, nor the way he kept tapping the toe of one shiny leather boot against the floor of the car, like a military cadence, or a death march.
They pulled up to the front of the palace a short time later and Silvester was quick to exit the back of the limo, thank goodness. If he had given them anymore trouble, Z was fully prepared to punch first and ask questions later.
“I must be off,” Silvester said, poking his head back into the limo after climbing out. “Off to a luncheon affair. A royal’s work is never done, eh? See you both soon.”
Once he was gone, Es relaxed back into the plush leather seat, eyes closed and looking far too pale for Z’s liking. “I shouldn’t have stayed in America, I see that now. All it did was give my cousin time to plot and plan and scheme. I was just thinking about my poor father, all alone in the hospital. I only wanted to stay by his side.”
“As you should have, princess.” Z kissed her hand again, warming her icy fingers with his own warm ones. “That guy’s an ass.”
“True.” She rolled her head slightly to meet his gaze. “But while I’ve been away, he’s been the official public face of the monarchy here in Prylea. I’ve still been doing all the governing, in my father’s stead, but Silvester’s been front and center in people’s faces.”
With a sigh, Es exited the limo. Once they were climbing the steps to the palace, she pulled out her phone and began thumbing in a text.
“Problem?” Z asked, following her into the ornate, gilded main foyer of the palace. With thirty-foot high ceilings and priceless paintings and mosaics covering the walls, it was quite a sight to behold and one that never failed to take Z’s breath away. “Anything I can help with?”
“I want to know exactly what kind of luncheon my cousin’s going to tonight and who’s going to be there,” Es said.
They’d
nearly reached the royal apartments by the time she got a response back. From the darkening frown on her face the answer wasn’t good. Z slid his arm around her waist for support while sending a text to his security to find out about the upcoming meeting with his free hand. His phone buzzed a few seconds later and he scowled. “Not sure you’re going to like the answer, princess.”
“What did they say?” she asked.
“It’s not a luncheon at all. It’s a state affair, with all the country’s top business leaders and parliament members in attendance.”
Es sighed. “Just like Silvester to bring in a bunch of heavy hitters.”
They walked into their suite and Es toed off her pumps and shrugged out of her coat immediately. As she unpinned her hat from her head, she looked as exhausted as Z felt. “Ugh. He’s farther along in cementing his alliances than I’d anticipated.”
“Listen, princess.” He walked up behind her and placed his hands on her stiff shoulders, kneading the knotted muscles gently. He didn’t like to see her so upset. It wasn’t good for her or for their baby. “Why don’t you relax and get out of those clothes while I run you a nice hot bath? Then we’ll both sleep. There’s nothing more we can do right now anyway. Let’s rest and recharge, then we can come at this whole thing fresh. Sound good?”
She gave a reluctant nod and sank down on the sofa.
Z started into the bathroom only to stop and turn back when Es’s phone rang with an incoming call. They’d had some bloodwork taken at the hospital before leaving DC, on the recommendation of the OB there. Es was far enough along now for them to determine the sex. His pulse raced a bit as adrenaline flooded his system. He started slowly back toward Es, watching her face closely for any clues.
