Above All Else: A Bad Boy Military Romance (Easy Team Book 2)

by Gemma Hart

  I narrowed my eyes at him at the backhanded compliment. “How did you find out about Harvard?” I asked.

  Pryto gave me a slow smile. “I did some studying up on you,” he said. “I had a proposal I wanted to present you with but before I did, I had to reacquaint myself with who you had become.”

  “I’m not interested in any of your proposals,” I said, crossing my arms. But I made sure to keep my arms from pulling at my robe so as to not tangle or cover the recording bug.

  Pryto eyes narrowed and the corner of his lip curled up. “Your Highness, outside there are about three thousand people waiting around the gates to hear from me. I will guess that number will quadruple once they hear you are in my custody. All I have to do is drag you out to those palace gates. You saw what happened to your uncle. And you are far less popular than he ever was. Before I could put a noose around you, I am positive they will stone you to death. In short,” he said with a leering smile, “your life is in my hands.”

  Although I knew Xander was just mere feet from me, hearing Pryto spell out my situation like that put a chill through me. The image of Uncle Gregory swinging from the rope still haunted my dreams.

  “Once I bring you out in front of the public, you will be forced to abdicate. You will be stripped of all your titles and your family line will die with you.” He took one step closer and I forced myself not to flinch. “Unless….”

  He paused, purposely teasing me.

  “Unless what?” I finally said, unable to take the suspense.

  Pryto put out his hands as if he were laying all his cards out on the table. “Unless you marry me,” he said simply.

  “What!” I nearly choked on the word. That was the absolute last thing I had expected the man to say.

  “When I said I had a proposal, I meant a quite literal one,” Pryto said. “If you marry me, you will still be able to retain your crown and title. I would of course take over the government but it would legitimize the new regime and would ease the turmoil in your country. You could finally do something of worth for you people by giving them peace. Isn’t that what Prince Gregory wanted you to do?”

  I stared at him in open-mouthed shock. Was he serious? I couldn’t believe this wasn’t some ridiculous prank but the man looked as grave as death and I could tell he meant it.

  I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t you ever speak my uncle’s name,” I hissed, my heart stinging raw every time I heard Uncle Gregory’s name spoken aloud. “You don't deserve to even whisper it. He was a good man whose name was slandered and destroyed thanks to you.”

  Pryto gave a dismissive shrug as if Uncle Gregory had been an inconsequential obstacle for him, which probably was exactly how the man had thought about my beloved uncle.

  Enraged, I continued, “As for your proposal, I’ve never heard anything more inane and ludicrous than what you just suggested. You think after everything you’ve done to me and my country, I could ever even think about marrying you?”

  “I thought you cared about your country,” Pryto goaded.

  “I do,” I shot back. “Which is why I would die before I left Loranza in the same hands of the man who ruined it. You destroyed the economy with belligerent trade agreements and ridiculous taxes. And I’ll tell you this, all this time you got away with it by blaming it all on me but kill me and you won’t have any more scapegoats. The country will see just how much you’ve ruined them. They’re angry and they have a right to be angry but you’re even deceiving them in their quest for justice. They don’t realize that the person who had treated them so unjustly is their own leader.”

  I could see anger and annoyance starting to rise in Pryto. His cheeks began to flush and the crease between his brow grew deeper.

  “You say that now but I have a plan to get Loranza not only back to its former glory but beyond it! I will usher in a new golden age of prosperity the likes of which will never have been seen!”

  “And how do you exactly plan to do that when the country is broke?” I demanded.

  “Weapons!” Pryto replied, his eyes suddenly taking on a dreamy gleam. I could tell this was a plan he had been sitting on for awhile and had been dying to reveal. Xander had been right. Pryto was not a shy talker.

  “Weapons?” I asked, confused. “What does that even mean?”

  “Loranza is in a unique spot when it comes to defense,” Pryto said, clearly relishing the big reveal of his plan. I tried to casually make sure the side of my robe with the bug was facing him. “We’ve been neutral for decades during most wars so we have no diplomatic sanctions against many countries that are still at war. And those countries, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, are always in need of a reliable supply of ammunition and weapons. Their instability will be our gold mine! I will open dozens of weapons factories and the constant demands for supply will rejuvenate Loranzian economy like never before!”

  If the marriage proposal hadn’t been shocking enough, this one was enough to bowl me over.

  “Loranza has been a neutral country because we promote peace,” I said slowly as if talking to an alien. “How can a peaceful country become a weapons manufacturing plant? Especially to known terrorist cells?”

  “Because it won’t remain a peaceful country!” Pryto shouted. “What has peace gotten us? Nothing! War will make us rich! And riches will make us powerful. We will have a true voice then on the global political stage!”

  “Yes, as terrorist allies!” I countered. “Loranza hasn’t taken part in a war in decades and it certainly will not live by supporting others to remain in perpetual war.” I shook my head. “This is your plan? This is how you plan to save Loranza? The people might be for you right now but that doesn’t mean they will support you in this new endeavor.”

  “But the authority of the crown and title might sway them,” he said. He looked practically manic from his excitement in his plans. “The people wouldn’t trust you as queen but they would trust me as king. That would help them understand the necessity of this new direction for the country.”

  Understanding dawned on me.

  “You weren’t fighting against the monarchy,” I said, accusation dripping from every word. “You were just fighting for your chance at the throne! You have no problem with a crown and a royal title so long as you’re the one wearing both. You hypocritical, murdering, bastard!”

  My head snapped back as Pryto stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face.

  My vision swam and I immediately felt my cheek and lip swell. I would definitely be bruised in a few hours. He had hit me so hard I wasn’t completely sure my cheekbone wasn’t fractured.

  “Call me what you might but at least I have a vision for this country!” Pryto hissed at me. “I am the savior this country needs! I am the true heir to the throne!”

  Pryto put a hand on my chest and shoved me hard against the wall. I stumbled back and my head smacked the wall hard, making my vision go blurry again. I gritted my teeth, trying to remain focused.

  A hand wrapped around my neck. Pryto leaned in, his dark eyes piercing into me.

  “Now you have your choice, Your Highness,” he whispered. “Marry me, make me King, and save your country and your life. Or prepare to die like your uncle, pathetic and hanging from the end of a rope.”

  I spat on him, my spit landing right above his left eye.

  “The rope then!” I cried, glaring.

  Pryto tightened his grip, making me gasp for air as spots danced before my eyes. Then he let go, making the blood rush into my head.

  He glared at me, angered and frustrated. “So be it then,” he snarled before striding out of the room.

  I coughed, gasping for air, as I slid to the floor.

  Grabbing the edge of my robe collar, I brought it to my lips. “He’s gone,” I said hoarsely.

  And with relieved tears, I watched as my window slid open.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Xander

  She ran towards me and I grabbed her about the waist, pulling
her in. I pressed my comm. “Did you get it all?”

  “Everything,” Ajax reported. I heard him sigh in admiration. “And, Bear, tell your princess that she did an amazing job. She was so incredibly thorough it was ridiculous.”

  I looked down at the amazing princess in question and grinned. “Will do,” I said.

  But my grin quickly disappeared when I saw the blooming redness across her cheek. I had been able to listen to the whole conversation. Her bugs had been patched through to our comm link so we’d be able to know if Pryto did anything sudden.

  I had heard the grunts and slaps but had been completely unable to do anything. I had gripped the rocks, nearly crushing it, as I waited for Sofia and Pryto to finish. I couldn’t ruin what we were getting now. Sofia was doing such a great job at leading the man on and I didn’t want to waste all that good effort.

  But now I had her in my arms. I turned her head to the side to get a better look.

  The fucker had hit her hard. Her entire cheek was swollen and red and her lip was busted.

  “That fucking prick,” I said under my breath.

  She pushed my hand down and turned towards me. “It’s fine,” she said, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

  She glanced towards the window. “What do we do now? Did you climb over the fence to get in? We can’t go out the front gates obviously.”

  I studied her swollen face for a moment more before I tapped my comm. “Anyone have eyes on Pryto?”

  “Saw him heading down the east corridor, four doors down, to what looks like an office,” Tennessee responded. “He’s in there right now and doesn’t look like he’s in a rush. Do you need time to get out?”

  “A bit,” I responded.

  I gave Sofia a quick kiss, noting her quiet hiss of pain from her swollen lip. “I want you to get behind the bed,” I said. “Crouch down and wait for me. I’ll be back in just a few minutes.”

  “Why? What are you doing? Where are you going?” she asked, holding onto my hand, trying to keep me by her side.

  “Just stay low by the bed and keep away from the window,” I said.

  “If you kill him, the recordings are worthless,” she said, not letting go.

  I squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring look. “I know,” I said. “Now get by the bed.”

  She gave me a look of uncertainty before letting my hand go and taking up her spot by the bed. I made a motion with my hand for her to crouch and she did, nearly disappearing behind the giant, elaborate bed.

  At the bedroom door, I tapped the comm. “Still in the office?”

  “Affirmative,” Tennessee said.

  “Alright, keep eyes on Sofia. She’s still in the room.”

  “Roger,” Tennessee said. There was a pause before he said, “Give him a good one for me.”

  Everyone on Easy Team had heard Sofia’s amazing luring skills and had also heard Pryto striking her.

  I tightened my jaw as I opened the bedroom door.

  “You know it,” I said.

  I carefully looked both ways, sliding down the hallway with my back against the wall. I counted the doors.

  One, two, three.

  I stopped in front of the fourth door. Reminding myself to keep my anger in check, I quickly opened the door, slipped in, and shut it behind me. I didn’t want any stray passerby to come upon us.

  Pryto was standing in front of a desk, looking over what seemed to be like his speech notes. He whirled around at the sound of the door.

  He stared at me, eyes wide. “Who in the hell are—”

  I punched him neatly in his gut. Pryto doubled over, his eyes ready to pop out of his head. His mouth opened and closed like a guppy as he tried to gasp for air.

  I grabbed the back of his collar and jerked his head up towards me.

  “That’s the last time your miserable hand will ever touch anything as good and as pure as Sofia, you sick fucking coward,” I whispered into his ear. I shook his collar like one would shake a dog by his scruff. “And whatever happens, just know that I am ready for you.” I pulled out my knife from the back of my belt and pressed the tip against his belly. I heard him gulp as he tried to suck his gut in.

  I pressed the tip in harder. “You try and touch Sofia again in any manner, and I promise you I will have a sharpened knife ready especially for you. And I will gut you like a fucking pig and show you what the inside of a yellow belly looks like.”

  “Who—Who…are—” he wheezed but before he could go any further, I gave him another hard and neat punch in the stomach.

  As I turned to leave, bitter about not being able to do a better job in repaying him in kind on behalf of Sofia, I heard him fall to his knees and vomit.

  I quickly returned to Sofia’s bedroom. I saw her look me over for any blood or marks but she found nothing.

  “We have to hurry now,” I said. “We need to get out of here fast.”

  “But where could we—”

  “Shh,” I said as I stepped out on to the rock waterfall and reached up to grab her by the waist. “Just trust me.”

  I helped her climb down.

  Hawk was by the same willow tree I had climbed under and he helped catch Sofia as I tossed her up over the fence.

  I landed right behind her.

  “Very nice to meet you again, Your Highness,” Hawk said with a wry smile as he held Sofia in his arms. He gently put her back on her feet.

  Flustered and a little confused by the action, she gave an uncertain nod. “Yes, same to you,” she said formally.

  Hawk grinned at her reply and I gave his arm a punch. “Alright, enough with the flirting, will you? Or else I’ll have to teach you a lesson as well.” Hawk raised his hands up in submission.

  “Tweety, now!” I ordered through our comm.

  “On my way!” Tweety replied.

  And in record speed, a large black van careened down the street and stopped right in front of us. Hawk threw opened the door and helped Sofia in. From across the street, Dozer and Tennessee came out of their positions and rushed towards the van. Hawk and I got in last.

  Once the door was shut, Tweety immediately hit the pedal and the van was off.

  I sat in the back with Sofia who looked a little stunned by the van full of Easy Team men.

  It felt like introductions were needed.

  “Sof, Easy Team,” I said, grinning down at her. “Easy Team, meet Sofia.”

  “Hey, Sofia!” they all said enthusiastically in unison, making me almost roll my eyes in humor and Sofia giggle in surprise.

  “Nice work there, princess,” Hawk said with sincerity. “No one could’ve done better than what you did up there.”

  “You’re sure you’re not a trained negotiator?” Tennessee teased. “That sounded too professional to be the work of an amateur.”

  “Definitely!” Tweety concurred.

  Sofia looked around the men, tears in her eyes, trembling a little as she smiled at their kind words. She turned to me, gripping my hands.

  “Where are we going now?” she asked.

  I smiled at her, holding her close. She had done a spectacular job, my brave princess. And I couldn’t be prouder. But now, I was ready to put this chapter to bed.

  “Home,” I said, brushing away a stray tear. “We’re going home, sweetheart.”

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Sofia

  “…and Minister Argus Pryto has been arrested and held for trial at the UN courts. After remarkable work from the French intelligence services, Crown Princess Sofia managed to record on tape Minister Pryto’s own confession of his crimes and of affecting Loranzian policies falsely under the Crown’s name. He is also charged with the execution and murder of Prince Gregory and of the kidnapping of the Crown Princess.

  “Most Loranzians are reeling from the revelations about their coup leader and many have come forward to express their regrets at hearing the details of the Crown Princess’s sufferings. No one had known about the abuse the Crown Princess had
endured during her childhood and no one had known about her subsequent exile from the country.

  “But now, with the recordings having been leaked, it seems the coup has lost most of its momentum and the revolters have disbanded. And the Crown Princess Sofia seems ready to move beyond the past and work towards a better and brighter future for Loranza.

  “As always, this is Miranda Wakeman with Evening World News.”

  ***

  “Are you sure about this?” Xander asked for the third time.

  I smiled at him. We sat in one of the smaller sitting rooms in the palace west suite. I wanted to be far away from my old childhood rooms as possible. The west suite guestroom was plenty spacious and accommodating.

  After escaping from the palace, we had returned to France where there was a flurry of shock and action after we presented the recordings to the French government. Commander Wolffe flew out and discussed the matter with government officials with both of them agreeing it was better not to reveal the recordings had been obtained through mercenaries.

  And after the recordings broke, we actually did manage to fly back to Los Angeles, en route to Wyoming. But at the airport, I knew that I couldn’t go back to Wyoming just yet. There were too many loose ends that needed tying and going back to Wyoming would just be too selfish.

  I knew I was the only one that could tie those loose ends, after all.

  So we flew back to France and we spoke with the French government and the UN. There were countless press conferences and interviews done as well. I was all over the news but for once, it wasn’t for negative reasons.

  I had also caught some of the reports covering Loranzian citizens. I saw interviews of people in tears as they spoke about their guilt.

  “None of us had any idea of how devious and two-faced Pryto was,” one woman had said on camera. “We had all been fooled! We had all blamed the poor princess for all of his bad decisions. If only we had known!” She immediately burst into tears. “It broke my heart to know how mistreated our princess had been!”