by S. E. Rose
“Jesus, this is crazy,” I lament as I run a hand through my hair and stare at the object that has garnered so much of our attention for so many years. “I can’t believe it’s been right here next to Mom the entire time.”
“It’s fitting, no?” Anna says.
I look over at Mom’s grave. “It is, but…” I trail off.
Anna presses something on her watch. “I don’t know, but we are about to find out,” she whispers as she pulls us back into a corner as footsteps echo on the stone pathway.
Kate
Auggie puts an arm around me protectively as we wait. From the look of Anna’s watch, which keeps blinking, I’m guessing we aren’t alone out here. She must have alerted security. The footsteps get louder. We all hold our breath as a figure emerges from around a corner.
Lacey, a young woman who works here, who I’ve only met once, appears. She looks around before stepping over toward the lion statue. She gasps when she sees it’s been moved, and the crown is missing.
“It’s gone,” she says into her phone. “No, it’s not here. Someone took it.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Auggie mutters under his breath. He steps out into the light, and Lacey freezes, dropping her phone. She starts to run, but Jack emerges from the shadows and grabs hold of her.
“I don’t think so,” he says.
She tries to struggle in his arms. When it’s clear she can’t get away, she bursts into tears.
“It’s not my fault! I didn’t do anything wrong,” she yells.
“We’ll see about that,” Jack says as he pushes them toward the palace. We follow him up the back stairs and into the main drawing room where Pete, my dad, and King Michael sit. Clearly, Norddale’s size makes it easy for everyone to get between the palaces in no time at all.
“Sit,” Jack barks. Lacey sits on a chair, visibly shaking.
He leans into her face. “Now, you need to tell us everything, and I do mean everything.”
Lacey visibly trembles under the bravado of Jack’s voice. “I-I…h-he said he’d ruin me if I-I didn’t do it.”
“Who!?” Jack yells as Lacey shrinks into the chair.
“L-Lord Johansen, sir,” she whispers, her eyes wide. “H-he had me apply to work here. I needed money for my mother. She is sick and needs to go to Switzerland for treatment. He said he would pay if I did certain things.” She looks away, her face is red with shame.
“Such as?” Jack urges, his tone softening slightly.
“I had to report back to him about what happened at the palace. That’s it really, until tonight. He said he needed me to get a box for him. He didn’t say what was in it. I…he said our deal was off if I didn’t. My mom’s supposed to leave next week. She needs this treatment,” Lacey says, her voice shaking with a mixture of fear and worry.
“What exactly did you tell him?” Jack asks as he sits down across from her.
“J-just stuff. He wanted to know when and where you all were going. He wanted to know any conversations I overheard. Things like that,” she stutters as tears fall down her cheeks.
King Michael stands and walks over to her, kneeling down to face her. “Lacey, I’m going to have you go over everything you told him with Pete, OK? I won’t punish you as long as you are honest. I will personally make sure your mother gets the medical care she needs.”
“Oh, thank you, Your Majesty,” Lacey cries out as she weeps into her hands. The king does something very un-king-like and embraces her like he would a small child. He whispers something to her, but I can’t hear what before he pulls away. She nods and wipes her eyes. Pete clears his throat and she follows him out of the room.
Everyone is silent as the king’s eyes turn to Auggie who is holding the crown. He walks over to it and Auggie lifts it up for him to take. He does so, his eyes glinting with tears.
“Where was it?” he asks, his voice hoarse with emotion.
“Under the lion statue,” Auggie says quietly.
The king nods, his hands tightening on the crown as though the mere act of holding it can bring back his wife.
He looks at Auggie and places a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, son,” he says in a low voice, almost a whisper.
Auggie nods as the king hands the crown back to Auggie. “See that this is put in its rightful place,” he instructs. The fact that he has asked Auggie to do this is clearly a big deal. Auggie’s eyes glaze over with tears as he nods to his father.
The king turns to the rest of the room. “Conrad is en route. I have summoned him.”
“Good, because I have summoned Senator Farrington and his son,” Jack says with a wink. He looks over at Anna and I know whatever she did was the reason they are on their way here.
“So, that is it? This is over?” Chris asks from the corner of the room. “Can I get my staff back now?” I’m surprised the king had staff removed so quickly.
Auggie rolls his eyes.
“We still need to conduct interviews, but yes, staff will all get reinstated one at a time,” the king answers.
“Well, that was…an uneventful culmination of events,” my father says.
“It usually is,” Jack answers. “If it’s done the right way.”
Chapter Thirty
Auggie
* * *
I place my mother’s crown back in its spot in the vault as Anna and Chris look on. We all stand in silence for a long moment. I set the pink diamond in the middle of it, noting that the crown jeweler will need to be called to replace the missing diamonds and reset the pink diamond.
“I still can’t believe it was here the entire fucking time,” Chris mutters.
“It’s fitting, in a morbid sort of way,” Anna adds.
“Well, it’s where it should be now,” I state. Chris and I both wrap an arm around our little sister as we stand in silence and reflect upon the events that have led us here. I’m not sure how long we stand there, but Chris’s phone buzzing eventually breaks our impromptu sibling moment.
“Dad wants us back upstairs,” he says. And with that, we all head back to the drawing room as our guests arrive.
Senator Farrington and Jared are led into one room. And according to Jack, Bill and the senator’s brother are being arrested as Jack speaks to them. Jack’s agents are taking down the forty-four society, one member at a time.
In another room, Conrad Johansen is meeting with Pete, Anna, and Dad. Kate and I watch video feeds as the two conversations carry on in each room. Jared is the first to cave under Jack’s expert questioning skills. He spills about his father and uncle’s plans, how Bill and he were just pawns in their game. He admits to kidnapping Kate and her sister, partly to make the president do what they wanted but also because he still thinks Kate wants him.
I can feel my jaw clench as he talks about her.
I turn back to Johansen talking to Dad. He admits nothing, but eventually, Anna pulls up her computer screen and shows him the money transactions she has found. He still admits nothing as Pete calls in the police to arrest him for conspiracy against the royal family.
It’s hours later that everyone is seated around the dining room table back at the Summer Palace as Tessa serves her famous mac and cheese and dotes on everyone like they are made of china. We all appear weary. It feels like the last two days have been two weeks long.
My father raises a glass. “To our children,” he says toward the president and his wife.
“To our children,” the president says.
Then my father turns toward me.
“August, I know you often feel overlooked. And it’s no surprise with Chris being the heir and Anna being…well, Anna.” He chuckles. “You have worn the façade of…well, I think we all know of what…but deep inside, you have always been a truly good and wise prince. Just remember that you are loved and valued by everyone in this family and by your country. I am very proud of you, my son.”
I blink to keep the tears away at my father’s kind words. He has never spoken of me like this and e
specially not in front of foreign heads of state, although I think everyone now knows that Kate is my girlfriend and thus the president and his family are more than just heads of state. There’s much more to be discussed. Conversations that will be had in the coming days, but right now, everyone puts all of that aside to be here, together.
“Thank you, Father,” I reply as I lift my glass. Kate grabs my hand and squeezes it, giving me a big smile. I look around the room at everyone. And for the first time in my life, I feel…complete and understood.
Epilogue
Six months later…
* * *
Kate
I look at the text from my dad. He and Mom are at a friend’s cabin in upstate New York. It’s been six months since he stepped down as president, citing health reasons, although we all know it wasn’t related to his health.
The press is still circling around the Farringtons and Johansen like vultures as they go through the court process. No one knows the real story of how we figured out their plans to take down the governments of our nations, but it’s best that way. I hope it stays a secret.
I completed my graduate program four days ago after defending my thesis to my faculty advisor and two other professors. I decided to graduate without any fanfare as our family has had quite enough in the past few months. Ashlyn even took a semester off of school. She’s still shaken over the kidnapping, but she’s improving with each day.
I still visit Andrew at his home. He’s finally out of the hospital and improving. Auggie joins me for weekly visits to the hospital to read stories to the children. He grumbles about it, but I know he loves it.
I lean against the door of the horse barn as Auggie mounts his horse. He looks positively regal. I get on my horse, and we ride out to the field, the same one from all those months ago.
“Now, don’t go over the edge this time,” Auggie teases me as we let the horses drink from a small stream at the edge of the wildflowers.
“Very funny,” I say to him with a glare.
He winks at me and I try to fight the grin that wants to spread across my face. I can’t stay mad at him. He’s just too cute.
“Let’s let them drink. We can set up a picnic here,” Auggie states as he jumps down and grabs the picnic basket.
He helps me off my horse, and I lean against her as I watch Auggie, a prince, down on his knees laying out cheese and crackers and fruit and champagne.
I giggle.
“What’s so funny?” he asks me.
“Nothing,” I lie.
“Hmmmph,” he mutters as he finishes.
He’s still on his knees as he surveys his work. He holds out a hand for me and I walk over to him. I start to sink to my knees, but he stops me with a shake of his head. His hands tremble against my legs.
“What’s wrong?” I frown.
“Kate…you crashed into my life with no warning. And even if I had been warned, I would have never believed how I’d feel about you. You’re my everything. I can’t imagine living a moment without you in my life. I don’t know where the future will take us or what it will bring, but I do know that there’s nothing we can’t do if we do it together. I want to be the man who supports you, who…is by your side as your equal, you're confidant, your lover, your…husband.” My eyes grow big as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the most beautiful ring that I’ve ever seen. It’s an intricately carved platinum band with small diamonds encrusted within the design and a single teardrop-shaped blue sapphire in the middle.
“Marry me, Kathryn? Let me be yours, forever,” he says.
My shaking knees give way and I fall into his arms. My eyes fill with happy tears. “Yes,” I breathe.
His grin is so genuine and so boyish it gives me goose bumps as he puts the ring on my finger.
“I love you, Kate,” he murmurs as he kisses me.
“I love you, too, Auggie.”
“You sure you want me forever?” he asks against my lips.
I grin. “A wise prince once told me that you’re a work in progress, but I’m up for the challenge.”
He laughs. “I’m not so sure about that wise part, but I’m definitely a work in progress.”
“I’m sure,” I reply as I lean in and kiss my Prince Charming.
* * *
Want to know what happened between Mia and Christian? You can read their story in A True King.
Want a sneak peek into Christian and Mia’s story? Join my newsletter to get your free Poisoned Pawn Bonus Content.
Acknowledgements
As soon as I wrote A Fierce Princess, I knew Prince August needed his own story. He comes off as silly and superficial, but I knew that there was so much more to him.
I did something new in this story. Maybe you noticed. I changed the characters’ names in their headings throughout the book. This was intentional. These characters grow so much throughout the story and I wanted to show that with their names.
There are always so many people to thank when I write a book. You know who you are and I love you all! Your support means everything!
About the Author
USA Today & International Bestselling romance author, S.E. Rose lives near Washington D.C. with her family. When she's not wrangling her cats or keeping up with her kids, she's plotting her next story.
She loves all things wine, coffee, and cats. In her non-existent free time, she enjoys traveling, going to concerts, binging on her favorite shows, and reading, especially if it's a good mystery or comedy.
* * *
Learn more about upcoming books from S.E. Rose at www.seroseauthor.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Also by S.E. Rose
Deceitful Destiny Series
Island (Book 1)
Secrets (Book 2)
Bravura (Book 3)
Determination (Book 4)
Home (Book 5)
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The Poisoned Pawn Series
A Fierce Princess
A Valiant Prince
A Wise Prince
A True King
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Perfectly Imperfect Love Series
Undeniably Perfect
Hopelessly Perfect
Romantically Perfect
Awkwardly Perfect
Reluctantly Perfect
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Fanning the Flames Series (Co-Authored with Sierra Hill)
Burned (Book 1)
Ignited (Book 2)
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Novels
Chronicles of a Hot Mess
Chronicles of a Rockin’ Mess
The Decoy
Second Start (A Holiday Springs Resort Novel)
Endeavor (A Drive World Novel)
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Novellas
Neighbor in Apartment No. 5
The Tinsel Tango
The Fighter
A Polar Pursuit (Vagabond Series)
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Want to learn more? Visit www.seroseauthor.com.
Sneak Peek at A True King
Christian
Future kings don’t get to choose who they marry. But they do get to choose who they love. That wasn’t written in any official royal handbook, but it might as well have been.
The first time I met Mia Edgewater is engrained in my memory for all of time. I required a new personal secretary. I had finished all my academic and military duties. My duties now would be to serve the crown. Father insisted I interview three candidates. She was the first one. I never interviewed another.
The moment I laid eyes on her I knew she had to be part of my life, even if it was just so I could admire her from afar. She had the most mesmerizing reddish-brown hair that shimmered under the crystal chandelier in my office. Her dark eyes gave her a mysterious presence like she had a secret to share. Her skin looked more like a woman who spent her days enjoying the outdoors rather than the pale skin of the princesses I was constantly required to meet and accompany to various royal affairs. And the glasses. She wore
a pair of glasses that more belonged to the librarian at my boarding school than to a young woman. Those glasses became my kryptonite. Something of a fantasy that was always playing on a reel in the back of my mind.
As I stare out the window of my private jet, it’s the glasses that I’m thinking about, the first time she made my fantasy come to life.
“Is that all, Your Highness?” Mia says as she looks up at me from behind her glasses. Her hair is pulled up in a bun on the back of her head. She is wearing a button-down blouse and a pencil skirt with heels that make her taller but still substantially shorter than me. We’ve been playing this game of cat and mouse for months now. And day by day, my resolve is cracking. I shouldn’t want her. She is my employee, well, she is an employee of the crown. A relationship would be forbidden. I am the heir to the throne and the only woman suitable to marry me would need an HRH accompanying her name.
“Yes, Mia. That’ll be all,” I state as I lean back in my chair, handing her the last envelope. We’ve been working late, as usual. Mia is sorting my mail into stacks as I go through it. We have arranged a system for most of my daily tasks and she now knows them forward and backward. What I want to say is that it wasn’t all and that she needs to bend over my desk so I can fuck her because that is all I have thought about for days and my royal cock is tired of my hand when all it wanted is Mia’s pussy, but I refrain. I don’t know how much longer my willpower will hold out.
“Very well, sir. I will see you in the morning. Your first appointment isn’t until eleven. Shall I have the kitchen bring your breakfast at the usual time, or would you prefer a lie-in?” she asks as she stands up and begins to pick up the piles of envelopes.
