by Nana Malone
I nodded, not sure if my sudden bout of nausea was related to Tristan’s situation with Ella or Penny’s Mad Max: Fury Road antics.
"So when you got back, you and him ran off for a little, um, tryst? Pun totally intended. I didn’t want to ask in front of Zia last night, and then Ian showed up."
I rolled my eyes. “God. Ian.”
She grinned. "What’s his deal? Does he still think you guys can be friends even though he wants to bone you?"
“Pretty much. I just wish he’d called. It was so awkward. But he’s that guy who thinks he can wear you down. And for some other woman, maybe that would work. But not me."
She rolled her eyes. "He doesn’t know my girl. Just not feeling it with him, huh.?"
I shook my head. "No. He was someone to help me get over Tristan. Handsome, well educated, but that oomph, that spark, that sharp edge you just want to rub all over wasn’t there."
Penny gave me a sly smile. “Oh, I know that edge. That edge is written all over you and Tristan.”
“Exactly. I wasn’t using Ian. I really did think I could get over Tristan, but proximity and need are cruel mistresses.”
"You guys are so hot it crackles. I love the way he watches you."
I flushed. "Yeah, well, if any of it is even real."
She was silent for a moment. "You’re worried about Gilroy’s daughter?”
“Yeah. I mean, he could have had this whole relationship with her that I never knew about. She might have been the one he took abroad. What do I know?”
“God, what am I going to do with you? Have you forgotten you are a badass bitch? All we have are Gilroy’s accusations, which aren’t worth much to me."
“But look at the scenario he’s got going on now. Ella in the public eye and me… still in the wings. I mean, I have been wrong about people before.”
Her voice was firm. “That was your father. That was different. You can’t let that color this.”
I crossed my arms. “I’m not.”
She pursed her lips. “Uh-huh. Just ask yourself how he makes you feel. Beyond the good sex that’s written all over you like a carving.”
I sputtered. “It is not.”
“Oh honey, it so is. It’s like somebody got the kinks out.” She winked.
“You’re insane.”
"Maybe.” Penny laughed. “The question is, how am I going to deal with this? Because now that you're having the good sex, I will never see you."
"You didn't vanish from me when you had the good sex."
"Yes, but I was having ashamed good sex, so I was hiding it. You will not be hiding it, and you'll be running off to go banging whenever you feel like it."
"On the contrary. We need to keep things quiet for a while."
"God, the whole thing is just a fucking disaster. What are you going to do? Shall we shoot her?" She repeated our favorite line from our favorite show, Burn Notice.
"Alas, I can’t shoot her. I don't really have a choice. He does feel like he owes her something. At least that’s what he says… if things are on the up and up."
"Okay, let’s hear it. We’ve got twenty minutes until we’re at the airport. Start at the beginning of this whole adventure. We just might get arrested by the authorities, so, make it good."
God, where did I even start? "Okay, so we were in Chile, and there was this moment... Actually, let me ask you. Did you guys hear about Max Jacobson, the agent and producer, getting arrested in Chile?"
Penny nodded. "Yeah, all the gossip blogs are talking about it. Drugs or something, I guess."
"Yeah. Vault?"
Penny lifted a brow. "Yes? Why would we need to vault something about some sleazebag agent?"
"Because that's Ella's agent... or ex-agent, anyway. He abused her for years. But he didn't have drugs on him."
Penny's eyes went wide. "Oh my God." And then her brows snapped down. "Is that why Lucas and Tristan had been spending so much time together?"
I nodded. "Yup. He all but admitted it."
"Jesus. So is he actually a bad guy? Does he deserve to be there, or do we need to break him out?"
"From what I saw when I, you know, had a look behind the scenes, he does absolutely deserve to be there."
"Ooohh, a little light hacking in your spare time."
My lips twitched. "Yeah, I just had a little look. God, that guy, he's a piece of work. He kept records of these girls. Young girls."
"Oh my God, I don't even want to know."
"So you know, that information may or may not have been sent to the authorities... on the off chance he's able to beat the whole locked-up-abroad thing."
Penny stared at me. "You did what?"
"I just figured, in case he'd beat the rap, I wanted to make sure there was something more substantial to hold him on."
"Wow. Well, I do love being a crusader. Count me in."
"Jesus Christ, you're as crazy as I am."
"Well, you hacked the guy, so really, who's the crazy one?"
"So anyway, Tristan planted drugs on him."
"Jesus. I mean, how did he even know he was going to see him? And I know for a fact Lucas has been working on his set of skills for years, so how did Tristan even learn how to pull off something like that so quickly?"
"I guess he had been planning it for a very, very long time. It’s the whole reason he wanted to come home and play for the Argonauts."
Penny's brows rose again. "Wait, so he planned this whole scenario just so he could put Max away?"
I nodded.
"Wow. He must really care about her. Either that or he’s some serious OG Robin Hood type."
"So yeah, that's part of my worry. He'll do anything to protect the people he loves, but he won't let anyone protect him."
"I get that. But how was the boning, the trip to shag town, finding the O zone?" She guffawed. "God, I’ve missed being on a girls' trip."
"Sebastian is going to throw us in the dungeons, I swear to God."
"Yes, true fact. The dungeons do exist."
"Yeah, I know. Anyway, it was beyond outstanding."
She raised her hand for a high five. "Put her there. Way to break that godawful shagging-the-wrong-guy seal. Now you're shagging the right guy."
"Yeah. But we’ll see if he still wants to shag me after I do this thing."
“Oh, he will. That man is in love. We just have to, you know, not get caught first.”
Tristan…
Lucas missed sinking the two ball in the corner pocket while Sebastian spoke. “So how are you settling in? I know things have been crazy, and we haven’t had much of a chance to talk. Has Ella adjusted?”
I knew what Sebastian was asking. He wanted to know why I’d asked for the quarters across from mine to be made available to her. “We’re, uh, getting used to the new normal. I think a little distance between us is good." The lie was easier to tell than the truth. After all, what was I going to say? 'We've been in this showmance for a few years. Don't worry, Ariel knows. P.S. I'm now also banging my knight.' No, I was not going to say that.
Lucas snorted. “Does the new arrangement have anything to do with the news coverage?”
I scowled at Lucas. He had kept his word and not told Sebastian about our lessons or what I’d maybe needed them for. But he hadn’t missed a single opportunity to needle at me subtly. Max’s arrest had been all over the news the last two days. And of course, they’d made the connection between Ella and Max after many of Max’s former clients had come forward with claims that he’d Weinsteined them. Everyone wanted a statement from her.
One she wasn’t ready to give.
“We’re just finding our groove again. Everything is different now.” I took my shot and added a little more force than was necessary… on purpose.
Lucas groaned. “You’ve just handed him the game. He’ll be impossible now.”
Sebastian missed nothing. “If you’re going to play, cousin. Play to win.” In rapid succession, he sank the 5, the 7 and the 3. He brushed past me with a cocky sm
irk, then sank the 8 ball. “So, do you want to tell me why you deliberately let me win?”
I lifted a brow. “I didn’t—”
“Don’t bullshit me. Even when we were kids, you were pretty good at pool. I’m not one of those people that needs everyone around me to lose.”
It was a lesson I’d need to work on. I wasn’t used to trusting anyone. Let alone anyone in this palace. “Fair enough. Rack them again.”
Lucas grabbed the triangle. When he spoke, I realized I might in fact be capable of murder. “Or is the problem with Ella that she sees how you look at—”
There was a knock, but the person entering didn't wait before barging in and cutting Lucas off. Sebastian frowned. "What the—"
It was Ethan, Penny's father. He spared a nod for me and Lucas. "Your Highnesses. "Then he turned his attention to Sebastian. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid Penelope is gone."
Sebastian stood straighter. "What do you mean, gone?"
"Well, her tracker is turned off. She's not in the personal residences, and none of her guards have seen her. She's apparently been gone since early this morning. Her guard found a note that said she’d be painting, but she’s certainly not in her studio."
Sebastian scowled. "Fucking Christ. Why can't she just stay put? I swear to God I will chain her naked to the bed if it means she’ll stay put."
Poor Ethan had nothing to say to that comment.
"What the fuck is going on?" I asked.
Sebastian was already on the move, grabbing his jacket. "Fuck if I know. Fucking Penny, she's probably taken off to go see Ariel."
I shook my head. "No. When I spoke to Ariel this morning, she said she was coming to see Penny." Lucas slid me a narrow-eyed glance, and I realized I’d likely just outed myself.
Ethan was headed out the door. “I’ll go check her office. She might have left a clue as to where she was going.”
Lucas was on his heels. “I’ll check with Roone and Bryna.”
“I don’t get it. What’s the big deal?” I asked.
Sebastian scrubbed his jaw as he followed them both out the door. “My wife has a penchant for disappearing acts. The last couple of times she pulled this off, she was nearly killed. We had an agreement she wouldn’t run off again without Royal Guards. Jesus fucking Christ, I'm going to fucking kill her."
"Okay look, I get it. Maybe she just needed to blow off some steam. Probably, she and Ariel are fucked off to some spa."
Sebastian shook his head. "No, she would have taken a guard. We have talked about this. We came to an agreement. She was not going to do this to me again."
I frowned. "Again?"
He nodded. "In the early days, she had a little difficulty adjusting to her new role as queen."
"Ah, she was used to freedom, and not freedom with barriers."
He nodded. "Yeah. So, she used to do things like sneak out and shake her guard."
"Well, you used to shake your guard all the time. You went and lived in New York for over a year with no guard."
"That was different. She's the queen. That makes her a target, no matter what."
I lifted a brow. "You hear yourself right now, right?"
His brows snapped down. "What do you mean?"
"’She's the queen.’ What’s good for the goose is not good for the gander. That's sexist."
"This isn't about sexism; this is about protecting her."
I could see that in his words, worry heavily outweighed actual anger and conviction. "Okay, sorry. Let me try and get in touch with Ariel, okay?"
I dialed her, but the call just went straight to voicemail. I tried her on Find My Friends. She'd put that on my phone just the day before to try to keep tabs on me, but her GPS was off. I frowned. "Um, let me call Jax. Whenever she's out of town, he's in charge."
I dialed and waited for the gruff Brit to answer. When he did, I could hear the worry in his tone. "Your Highness?"
"Jax, hey. Have you talked to Ariel since we all got back?"
There was a pause. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, the king is a little concerned that he can't find Penny. Her guards can't locate her. And I know Ariel wanted to see her today, but I can't locate Ariel either."
There was a bit of silence and then a curse. When Jax spoke, his voice was solemn. "Ariel texted me and said I should hold down the fort because she had some errands to run. She didn't give me any indication as to what those errands were."
"Shit." I hung up with Jax and lifted my gaze to my cousin's. "Um, no dice. Jax is in charge."
Sebastian muttered a string of curses under his breath. "I'm going to fucking kill her. The moment I find her, she is toast."
"Look, I know a place we can look. Come with me. Maybe they just needed to blow off some steam and didn't want to be interrupted."
Sebastian frowned. "But where would they go? It's my fucking island, I should be able to find anyone on it."
I shrugged. "Technically, it's still on palace grounds, so if she's there she’s not breaking protocol. She just might not have told her guards where she was going."
He frowned. "Where?"
"The cabana, down by the rocks on the beach."
"I didn’t think anyone went down there."
People usually didn’t. They preferred the nicer beach for themselves.
"Well, come on, let's go check. They're probably there, and they probably just wanted some time away."
Sebastian frowned. "I'm not stifling her."
"I know, but she might not see it that way."
When we left Sebastian’s quarters and took a left, we immediately ran into Lord Gilroy and startled to an abrupt stop. "Your Majesty, I was just coming to see you about—" He stopped talking the moment he saw me.
Sebastian, obviously, was in no mood. "Lord Gilroy, unfortunately, I have to deal with something, and it's a pressing matter. Can we do this later?"
"Well, I don't think this will wait." He glowered at me. "It’s in regard to your cousin here."
Seb’s voice was clipped. "Honestly, I do not have time for this shit. If you need to speak to me, make an appointment."
"You'll want to hear this. I'm putting out a petition to have Prince Tristan exiled at the next Council meeting."
Sebastian stopped in his tracks. "What?"
"Your cousin knew the rules, but he eluded them, circumvented them. He shouldn't be here."
Dormant rage simmered to life. "I deserve to be here. This is my home. I have done nothing wrong."
"Nothing wrong? My fucking daughter is still missing. You were the last one to see her alive."
"How many times do I have to tell you I didn't see your daughter the day I left? I barely even knew her."
"You're lying."
I didn't realize how loud he'd gotten until Trevor, who normally retained a safe distance, appeared out of nowhere and stepped closer to Lord Gilroy.
Sebastian stepped closer to us too. "Gilroy, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Ask your cousin. He was friends with my Amelia. All she talked about was him and how they were the best of friends."
I frowned. "That’s not true. I’d met her once, twice tops. There wasn't any special or inappropriate relationship there."
"Oh yeah? You led her on. She followed you."
"If she did, that’s not on me. How many times do I have to tell you?"
Gilroy turned to Sebastian. "He promised her all kinds of things. He said he cared about her and that he was going to take her away from here."
"Seb, you have to believe me."
Gilroy’s face reddened like a lobster on a slow boil. "There are letters. Letters he wrote to her. Love notes."
"I swear to God I never wrote to her. I never encouraged her to do anything."
Gilroy ignored me. "Your Majesty, if you do not do something, if you allow him to run around free, it could be your own undoing if you choose the wrong side on this thing."
Sebastian lifted a brow. "Is that a threat, Gilroy?"
&nbs
p; Lord Gilroy stepped back. "Your Majesty, I would never deign to threaten you."
"Are you sure? Because that sure as hell sounded like a threat. Unless you have incontrovertible proof that Prince Tristan was involved in your daughter’s disappearance, you keep your opinions to yourself. My cousin is here for work, and yes, I understand the Council's concerns about his return, but all he wants is to be at home. And he deserves to be here. He is one of my subjects. Or am I not allowed to make that determination anymore?"
Gilroy backed up another step. "Of course you are, Your Majesty. It's just—"
"It's just what? Am I the king, or are you?"
Gilroy swallowed hard. "You are, of course, Your Majesty." He bowed low. "And I respect you, but my daughter has been missing for nearly ten years. So respect or not, I will be putting his exile up for a vote." Then he turned on his heel and strode away.
Sebastian glowered at him as he left. "You know what? I have a whole slew of questions for you, but right now I'm more concerned about Penny."
I should have breathed a sigh of relief. Sebastian was on my side. He'd stood by me. But still, there was a tight coiling in the center of my chest, and I couldn't rub it away. I glanced at my phone, hoping maybe I had missed a text from Ariel somehow during our confrontation with Gilroy, but no such luck. I scrolled through our message history, going back a couple of days to see if maybe she’d texted me her plans, but she hadn’t. But there was something else I hadn't seen.
Unknown number.
My heart didn't only beat faster but seemed to boom louder. I opened it. It was from Ashton.
UNKNOWN: So you've gotten home despite my warnings not to. You know what this means. Everyone is going to know.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I tried to drag in breaths of air, but I couldn't. It was too thick, too wet, and it threatened to drown me.
I hadn’t seen that message. When had it come? Frantically, I glanced at the date stamp... two damn days ago. If I hadn't seen this message for two days, it meant someone else had seen it when it came in.
And two days ago, my body had been wrapped around Ariel's, basically pinning her to the bed and refusing to let her up.
Shit. She’d read the message. And if she read the other messages, she would know exactly who they were from.
