“Dad!”
“What? You know how patient-doctor relationships are supposed to work, so if he’s my patient, you can break all of those rules without consequence. And we both know you intend to break the rules. I’ve been standing here and observing, just like a good father does. I haven’t been criticizing your work, either. You’ve done a good job with him. But Montana does have rules, too, and we have to abide by them while we’re here.”
I took my tongue on a test drive, startled to discover my mouth wasn’t dry like I expected. I debated if I wanted to try to talk, deciding I’d wait to see what Melody had to say before adding any contributions to the conversation.
“Why can’t you go be a doctor in the room next door and leave me alone for ten minutes?”
“Montana’s royal family is visiting right now, and I’m not stirring that hornet’s nest. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not stupid.”
“How is he doing?”
“Better than yesterday, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to return to active duty. It depends on how his physical therapy works out.”
“And mentally?” Melody asked, her tone losing its sharp edge.
“Acceptable. He knew he’d have to retire one day, and he’s all right with it, all things considered. He’ll need to be transitioned, but once Jack’s back on his feet, he’ll do better.”
I thought about it, and like the rest of me, my feet ached. “I don’t want to be on my feet. They hurt,” I complained.
I had no idea how a toxin designed to attack my blood made my feet hurt, but on second thought, I didn’t want to know. The answer would probably add to my problems.
Both royals turned to me, and Melody raised a brow. “Yes, they likely do, right along with the rest of you. Your nerves are fried, and it’ll be a few days before you stop experience random flashes of pain. You underwent electrotherapy.”
Melody’s father laughed. “Electrotherapy? Don’t listen to her, Jack. A shocker got overenthusiastic with you. You went into cardiac arrest, and Melody didn’t have a defibrillator on hand, so an RPS agent stood in. Unfortunately, you got a full body shock, which is why you’re aching. It’ll ease in a few days, but if you need a painkiller, request one, which will inevitably vex my daughter, as she just got your blood chemistry back to what she wants. You were poisoned. You’ll recover, but it was touch-and-go for a while. You were still in critical when I arrived and was able to help her with your treatment.”
I needed to have a long talk with Ekrem about his idea of a good plan. Ideally, I would do the talking with my foot, which I would shove right up the Turkish king’s ass. “What’s wrong with Alfred?”
Maine’s king sighed. “He’s getting old. That’s all. If he were a little younger, he’d bounce back with no issues, but after he arrived at the hospital and started treatments, he suffered through a stroke. He’s impaired on his left side, and I don’t know how bad it’ll be. The rest of his injuries are relatively minor, and I was able to address them after you were in recovery, but there was nothing I could do about the stroke.”
“Did the incident at the airport cause his stroke?”
Both Melody and her father shook their heads.
“No. Fortunately, Alfred cleared me to inform you, as he’s of the opinion you’d worry more if you were not given disclosure. It’s also helping him cope with the situation. He was primed to have a stroke. When I did a full examination, I found three other places strokes were highly probable; I’ve addressed those potential blockages. All this incident did was make it happen faster. He’s lucky. While he’s facing some physical impairments, he emerged with his memories and basic motor skills intact. He just isn’t mobile to the level required for active RPS agents. He might recover over time. It’s possible.” The king joined his daughter at the equipment beside my hospital bed, and he peered at the displays. “You’re going to be stuck here for two or three more days for observation. You underwent a massive transfusion, and there was some strain to your heart and lungs. I expect you’ll emerge without permanent impairment, so don’t listen to Melody’s bellyaching. The only thing she’ll be happy with right now is perfection.”
“Dad,” Melody complained.
“It’s true.”
She sighed.
“You’ll have your hands full with her until she’s satisfied you’re back in good health. How much do you remember? Honestly, we’re supposed to ask you a bunch of questions to determine if you’re mentally sound, but I’m not in the mood right now. You were found with some very interesting—and confirmable—information along with a rather rude note saying you’d been poisoned so we could earn the intel.” Melody’s father scowled. “Along with a message the writer hoped you would be properly bonded to my daughter so Maine could have a proper king instead of an old fart like me.”
Despite everything, I laughed. “He called you an old fart?”
“Yes. I’m assuming you saw someone?”
“I know who did it, but I’m not sure what good it’ll do telling who it is at this point. He seemed pretty confident he’d get away with it.”
Melody’s father grunted, and his expression soured. “He’s right. The intel he gave us is simply too valuable, and he also provided everything Melody needed to ensure your survival. I strongly dislike his method, as it was effective and railroaded her into something that should have been her choice.”
The princess snorted. “I was thinking about dunking him in the lake repeatedly so I’d be forced to resuscitate him, but I was too much of a coward to try it. That, plus I couldn’t bear the thought of trying to drown him.”
“Thank you for being almost sensible,” the king muttered. “I’m more upset that he, whoever he is, was right about most everything in his letter, including your stubborn pride, desire to marry a man you barely know, and inclination to cause me trouble.”
“I know everything I need to know about Jack,” Melody announced. “And you married Mom that way. I’m just following your example.”
“That disturbs me a lot more than I like to think about. But you’re correct, Jack. It won’t do any good even if you tell us who did it. It’s better you just keep that card close to your chest, as it’s one you’ll be able to play in the future. And despite appearances, when His Majesty of Montana asks, you are permitted to say no.”
“What am I being told no about now?” Montana’s king asked, poking his head into the room. “Glad to see you’re awake, Jack. Alfred’s complaining we’re not letting him out of bed, my wife keeps crying, and don’t ask about the kids. Can one of you help stop this train wreck? Please? I’ll guard your future son-in-law if you make the crying stop. Mackenzie’s been bawling ever since we arrived, she’s convinced he’s going to die without him knowing she actually likes him, and he’s not having any luck convincing her he knows. Whenever I open my mouth, she just cries harder.”
Melody and her father exchanged a long, incredulous look. Melody finally cracked, tossed her head back, and laughed. “She’s pregnant, William. Maybe if you’d stop getting her pregnant, she’d stop flying off the handle.”
Montana’s king blinked. “Again?”
“Again. Let her cry it out, then take her home, give her a dose of the prenatal vitamins you keep stocked at the castle, and tuck her into bed. She’s going to surprise you throughout this pregnancy, I’m sure.” Melody smirked. “Want to give calming her a try, Dad?”
“I see how it is. Since I won’t give you Jack as a patient, you’re going to make me watch your patient?”
Melody shooed her father away. “Good luck on your war against the pregnancy hormones, Dad.”
Muttering curses, Maine’s king left the room and closed the door behind him.
Montana’s king kept blinking, his expression one of utter confusion. “She’s really pregnant?”
“The baby’s a boy, and I’m willing to bet she’s going to act completely differently than she does when pregnant with a girl. I thought I’d give you fair warning,
as I know she’s typically a runner. She knows she’s pregnant, but she doesn’t know the gender. She wants it to be a surprise. Since I know you have preparations to make because of your bloodline, you don’t get to be surprised. You’ll have to pretend you’re very surprised at the appropriate time. Yes, she’s already asked me to help with the delivery, and I’ve already agreed. I’ll be imposing once a month for checkups, and we’ll be staying through the last month of her pregnancy to ensure everything goes smoothly. And there’s only one child, although I suspect you’ll be plagued with twins and triplets in the future. She’s in good health, and she’s aging at a rather slow pace, so she’s probably going to keep little ones under foot forever.”
His Royal Majesty of Montana groaned. “She’s really going to kill me this time.”
“I think not. She’s excited about the next addition to the family. The woman loves being a mother, although she wishes pregnancy wasn’t so hard on her. You’ll want to give her the lightest schedule she’ll tolerate. If you think you need to beg forgiveness, I will talk Dad into letting you adopt a kitten from the next litter.”
According to His Royal Majesty of Montana’s expression, the offer of a kitten was on par with locating the holy grail. “She’s been begging for a new kitten.”
“The new kitten will live in your suite. It’s an adoption requirement.”
“Understood. Anyway, with Alfred unable to work, lowering her workload will be a necessity. Geoff’s trying to be the head of three details right now until we can find someone to stand in for Alfred and find a head of detail for Jack.”
I had an idea, and it’d be a good way to make the Turkish king start paying for putting me through hell. “Ask Turkey for recommendations on a good agent, one with appropriate loyalties to the Royal States. He seems to know everything.”
Melody narrowed her eyes. “Turkey? Why Turkey?”
I raised a brow at her and waited.
After a few moments, her eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath. “That son of a bitch. He’s the informant? I’ll kill the bastard myself! He’s the one who poisoned you?”
I loved a smart, beautiful woman with a temper, and I regretted nothing. “That is what I’m guessing. He has a good motive.”
Montana’s king whistled. “Yes, he does have motive. Your uncle spited His Majesty’s sister, and they’re fanatical when it comes to family honor. I bet he’s been out for revenge ever since that happened. And while I don’t usually follow who uses my airport as a waypoint, I’m fairly certain I saw a Turkish delegation on route to Alaska stop through with a long enough layover to see some sights in Billings before heading to Anchorage. The timing is right. I’ll go over the delegation list and confirm it. I hadn’t been aware His Majesty was part of the delegation, but it wouldn’t be the first time a royal traveled on an alias. I can check.”
“But that failed betrothal was a long time ago,” Melody muttered. “I hadn’t even been born yet!”
“Your father hadn’t even married your mother yet. Your father bonding to your mother triggered the incident, but your father handled it much better than your uncle did. It’s one of those incidents that was handed to me as part of my briefing when I inherited Montana, as it’s that much of a deal to the Turkish people. Turkey refuses to participate in dishonorable acts even against someone who dishonored them, so this sort of scheme is right up their alley. I read the note left, too. It toes the line, but it’s essentially an evil act founded on good intentions. Pardon me saying this, Jack, but you’ll recover, Melody gets something she truly wants, and I genuinely do believe they hadn’t meant lasting harm to Alfred. However much I hate to say it, his stroke wasn’t their fault.”
I marveled that Montana’s king didn’t break under the burden of always hearing the truth. “So, he walks away from all of this.”
Montana’s king’s smile had a grim edge. “I wouldn’t say he’ll be walking away without facing any consequences. I have some ideas. While I can’t publicly do anything to him, he’ll find himself inconvenienced a great deal on political matters in the near future. He’ll find I’ll be giving him calls suggesting he handle more diplomatic matters than usual until I’m satisfied he won’t poke his nose in Maine’s business again—at least not like that. The benefits outweigh everything else, however I dislike that.”
“Jack could have died.”
“But he didn’t, although Geoff would rather not have to stand in for a defibrillator again anytime soon. He also thinks being a doctor is more harrowing than being an RPS agent, and last I heard, he was muttering about how the entire Maine royal line needed to be rescued from its talent. I’m considering forcing him on vacation for a while if I can find someone crazy enough to stand in for him.”
“I’m assuming Geoff has a good relationship with Alfred?”
“He does.”
“I recommend having the entire team do a round through therapy, and when easing Alfred into full retirement, I’ll discuss with him about releasing some parts of his medical record. But from what Dad has said, retirement is mandatory.”
His Royal Majesty of Montana sighed. “I understand that, but he’s been a good agent.”
“The ones who become heads of detail always are.”
“Speaking of which, where is Kevin? I would’ve thought he’d be underfoot. I had to order him to bed last night because he didn’t want to go off duty.”
“He’s down the hall going through an assortment of tests.” Melody checked her phone. “He should be done within an hour. You’ll probably have to order him to bed tonight, too. He’s trying to help Geoff with his duties as much as possible despite being injured.”
“I see your head of detail has somehow earned your ire,” Montana’s king said.
“He should be resting.”
“I also see you’re in full doctor mode.”
“I am a doctor. I’m always in full doctor mode.”
He laughed. “You’re worse than usual, but that’s all right. I’m also ignoring anything your father says about abiding by the standard medical rules. If you want to pamper your future husband while he recovers, I’m certainly not going to get in your way. Just make sure you give him breathing room to take uninterrupted naps. Mackenzie kept getting mad at me for hovering too much.”
Melody looked Montana’s king in the eyes and replied, “That is because you’re an incurable worrywart with hovering tendencies, Your Majesty. I believe you would benefit from a treatment program. We can start with you giving Her Majesty a single hour a day where you take the children and she doesn’t have any royal duties to attend to, to use however she pleases.”
“But she might run away if left unattended.”
“Straight to a bubble bath without anyone knocking on her door,” Melody muttered.
The king scowled. “But what if she runs away?”
“Then she obviously wants you chasing her and desired a head start in an adult version of a childhood game. Having a little fun probably won’t kill you. Probably. We can schedule in an evaluation to find out if your health would be put at risk from being cruelly forced to play adult games with your wife.”
“I feel like I’ve lost this fight without a fair chance to defend my position.”
Melody smiled. “A little more time with your children and giving her a little space daily will be good for both of you. And no, I’m not implying you don’t do your duties as a father. I am implying, however, that your children rarely just get attention from only you. They’ll enjoy it, she’ll get a break, and you’ll enjoy it, too, despite your tendency to want to spend as much time with your wife as possible.”
“You’re making it very difficult to argue with you.”
“And Jack is just going to have to deal with me hovering until he’s ready to leave the hospital, but he can hide in my suite after he’s discharged.”
I saw no problems with her hovering. “You should go to somewhere nicer to sleep than in a hospital, though. From personal exper
ience, I’m comfortable saying there are better places to sleep than a hospital. I bet that king has some pretty nice guest rooms. You should sleep there.”
Montana’s king laughed. “As a matter of fact, I do. And since the hospital won’t allow pets, you can come home with me and console young Sparrow some more. I did ask an animal empath to reassure the kitten her human would be returning to her soon, but she’s not clear on how time works.”
Melody sighed. “I’ll go back to the castle after Kevin is done his tests and I check on Alfred again. It is late.”
“Jack’ll be fine without your hovering for a night. Nobody can get on this floor without escort or a key card, and it looked fairly secure when I did my walkthrough.”
“You should also eat something that isn’t bad hospital food.”
Melody sighed. “Not all hospital food is bad, Jack.”
“I’ve never had good hospital food,” I replied. “I’ve had tolerable hospital food, but I have never had good hospital food.”
The princess sighed. “I’m accepting I can’t win this one. I’ll be back in the morning, and I’ll smuggle something from the castle for you if you agree to deal with whatever crap hospital food you’re given at the appropriate intervals.”
“I’d ask for a hot dog, but for some reason, I don’t think that will sit well.”
“I’ll see what I can do, but just for the record, hot dogs will not be a part of your daily diet.”
“Well, that’s a shame.”
Montana’s king laughed, and Melody threw her hands up in the air and left the room, likely to check on Kevin or Alfred.
“In case you didn’t know already, you have her completely wrapped around your finger. I’ll make sure she’s under close guard while she’s at the castle. I don’t care what she says, but should anything come up, take off your suppressors and put them on ice.”
I’d forgotten about the switched suppressors, and I tested my talent enough to confirm I could use it. It never failed to amaze me how many different fluids were stored in a hospital, and it took me a moment to recover from the bombardment to my senses. Somehow, I’d blocked my talent while waking up—or it had gone dormant on its own. “I’ll keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”
Bonds Page 27
