A Royal Secret

by Jerry Cole

  Helena’s eyes narrowed, and there was a vicious glint to her eye. “He wanted you to go with him for a reason. You don’t know Prince Louis, Steve, or how he feels about Bobby. You really think someone who beat their wife so much that she ran away to Europe is gonna be accepting of his only son?”

  Bobby was the heir. If Louis wanted to retain the throne, he couldn’t be seen to treat Bobby any way than perfectly. When he said as much to Helena, she rolled her eyes.

  “There are ways to destroy someone that don’t involve laying a hand on them.”

  Shit. Steve swallowed thickly. “I don’t know what I can do about it.”

  Helena’s gaze softened then, and she opened the door a little wider, letting Steve into the apartment. He hesitated before shifting past her, Jamie already resting on the couch and Noah stretched out on the floor in front of the chair. Steve hovered awkwardly in the doorway to the living room, starting when Helena rested a hand on his shoulder.

  “Sorry,” Steve muttered.

  “Sit down, Steve,” Noah said, not taking his eyes off the television.

  Steve wanted to, but he felt uncomfortable and jittery. He clasped his hands together, rubbing the fingers of one against the palm of the other. “What do I do about this?”

  Noah sighed, but shut off the television and leaned his head back, looking up at Steve quietly for a moment. “What do you want to do about this?”

  “I love him,” Steve said. Noah, Jamie, and Helena exchanged a look that he ignored, because he had seen it one too many times from them all. “I want to apologize. And I wanna…I don’t know how it’s gonna work, but I wanna let him know that at least.”

  “Is he not answering his phone?” Helena asked, frowning.

  Steve hesitated before answering. He hadn’t wanted to text Bobby for such a long time. Helena seemed to realize what he wasn’t saying.

  “I’ve texted him, and he’s replied. Maybe try that and see whether he answers.”

  “Is there a reason he might not? Beyond the obvious,” he added, avoiding Jamie’s pointed look. When Helena just shrugged, Steve pulled out his phone. It had been easy a beat ago, but now it was in his hands, and his previous messages with Bobby were in front of his face, he didn’t know what to say. He bit the inside of his cheek and decided to go with something simple.

  Hi. I just wanted to know if you were okay.

  Somebody seeing the text might not have known just how Steve felt about Bobby, but it was simple and to the point. Helena seemed worried the most about Louis, and Steve didn’t want to give the guy any more ammunition than he had already.

  “If he doesn’t reply,” Steve said, “I guess we can be sure he doesn’t wanna talk to me.”

  “Or he can’t,” Noah pointed out, and that was a thought Steve didn’t want to follow himself.

  Can’t was a loaded word.

  “Sit down,” Jamie said, kicking Steve’s shin. Helena had already moved past Steve to sit next to Jamie on the couch, and she grinned up at him, tongue pressed against the inside of her cheek. Steve snorted, rolling his eyes and dropped into the chair next to the couch.

  “Don’t see why I should get comfortable,” Steve said, leaning his head against the back of the chair. He ran his thumb over the screen of the phone, and couldn’t help the thrill of expectation, hoping that a message would come from Bobby quickly.

  When it still hadn’t by the time late evening rolled around, Steve figured that Bobby just didn’t want to talk to him.

  “Give it time,” Helena assured him, kissing his cheek as she saw them off at the door. “He’s still hurting.”

  Steve couldn’t help but think it was more than that.

  Chapter Eighteen

  When Bobby hadn’t contacted anyone a week later, Steve knew there was something else going on.

  Despite trying to focus on his work, and he’d actually managed to take a couple of landscape pictures he was working on sketches for, he found the time to send more messages to Bobby, and none of them had been seen, let alone answered. Helena and Noah were having the same problems, and even when Helena called Princess Maria’s family in Europe, none of them had a means of contacting them.

  “Can’t they just communicate palace to palace?” Steve asked, hoping he didn’t sound like an idiot. It was clear that he didn’t know much about royalty and the inner workings, and even though Helena—and possibly Noah—were a part of Bobby’s world, he didn’t think even they understood what was happening.

  Helena explained if Grand Prince Louis didn’t want to discuss something, he didn’t have to, and she doubted Princess Maria’s family would even want to try. “It’s not that they don’t care about Bobby, but they’ll see it as him making the decision to see Louis, and whatever happens is on him.”

  That was bullshit. Steve might have been angry at Bobby for leaving, but he couldn’t imagine abandoning Bobby completely if there was something wrong. And there was something wrong, Steve knew it.

  “You don’t think he’s still angry at you?”

  “The fight was stupid,” Jamie pointed out, before Steve could say anything. “Stevie might be stubborn enough to hold a grudge this long, but not sure I can say the same for Bobby.”

  “I might be able to,” Helena said wryly, but she sobered quickly. “But I agree. Bobby wouldn’t have let it go on this long without yelling at you about it, or going the other way, and trying to get you back.”

  Steve was staring at the seventeen messages that had gone unanswered for the past week. “He wouldn’t have to try very hard,” he said quietly. “If he texted me back, I’d probably forgive him for leaving in the first place.”

  “Hold up,” Noah said, flicking through the television, and pausing on a news channel. Steve wrinkled his nose, and was about to complain, when he saw the headline and the text scrolling beneath it.

  Missing Prince Found!

  Prince Robert declared as official heir to throne. Princess Sadie to challenge the line of succession.

  “Who’s Princess Sadie?” Jamie asked.

  Sam snorted. “Louis’ sister. She’d have taken the throne if Bobby had never been found.”

  Steve was staring intently at the screen. Prince Louis had come out onto the balcony of the palace. Though he was a kind looking man in the video, mustache quivering above a smile, and a soft expression on his face, Steve could see the tightness to his expression and body, especially in the hand on Bobby’s shoulder. It was Bobby, though, that had Steve on edge. He looked…he looked awful, and Steve felt vaguely nauseous at the sight of him. “Fuck, look at him.”

  Helena looked equally as sick. “He looks awful.”

  Bobby was tired, the dark smudges under his eyes were as familiar to Steve as they’d always been. “He’s lost weight.”

  “Are you sure?” Sam asked, and Steve knew he was only playing devil’s advocate, but it made him want to snap back. Instead, Sam held up his hands at whatever he saw on Steve’s face and looked apologetic. “Hey man, I don’t mean anything by it.”

  “I know,” Steve said, exhausted. “I don’t like it. He said he’s doing this for his mom, and I thought he would be fine. I didn’t expect this, and I don’t like it.”

  The fact Bobby, who was trying desperately to do what his mom wanted and failing, left a bad taste in Steve’s mouth. Clenching his hands into fists, Steve forced himself to keep watching the rest of the news story.

  Prince Louis was standing there, proud and overbearing, and the program shifted into an interview with the station, where Bobby was seated next to his father, sitting properly in a way Steve had never seen, trying to come across as the dutiful son. Nothing about him, that Steve could tell, was comfortable with the situation he was in.

  “What kept you from the throne for so long?” The interviewer was saying, her voice cutting through Steve’s introspection.

  Bobby’s eyes flicked to his father before landing back on the interviewer. “My mother wanted to keep me out of the public eye
. She wanted me to grow up with a normal childhood.”

  Louis’ mouth slid into a smile, but it was wrong. Everything about him, about the interview, was wrong. “I am glad he did. When it comes time to pass on the crown, I can be sure I am leaving it in good hands. The public deserve another prince who will have their best interests at heart.”

  “That’s Bobby, not you,” Noah snarled.

  Steve privately agreed, not that he could have made his mouth work to say as much.

  Bobby’s smile was brittle, and though he had his hands palm-flat against his knees, Steve could see the material bunched beneath them. The suit itself was too well-tailored, too pristine, and Steve was irked for a reason he couldn’t fathom. It was a suit, what did it matter when Bobby probably had a dozen of the same size and material.

  “I’m grateful to be here,” Bobby said, and there were alarm bells ringing everywhere that said completely the opposite.

  Steve made up his mind before the end of the interview, and he was damned if he was going to leave Bobby to fend for himself in an environment he detested. If Steve hated himself just a little bit for letting it happen, that was on him, but he wouldn’t let it slow him down. “I’m not leaving him there alone.”

  Silence met his words, and for a moment Steve feared it would be one of derision, but risking a look found his friends contemplative instead of judging.

  “Not sure you can just waltz into the palace,” Sam pointed out.

  “There might be a way.” Helena scrolled through her phone; her brow furrowed as she searched. “There’ll be a celebratory ball or dinner or something to officially welcome Bobby into the family, and I know Mom will have an invitation.”

  Noah looked up in surprise. “I thought you were still mad at her.”

  Helena snorted. “I can be mad at her and still ask for a favor,” she said. “I’m worried about your relationship with your parents if that didn’t occur to you.”

  “We don’t really talk when we’ve fallen out,” Noah said dismissively.

  Steve hadn’t fallen out with his mother enough for it to be an issue. He couldn’t imagine not talking to her, though, even if they had a disagreement. “How many tickets can you get?”

  “Four probably,” Helena replied, a touch apologetically. “One of us won’t be able to get in.”

  Sam immediately held up a hand. “I’ll stay behind. I don’t think I’m really cut out for that kind of thing.”

  Steve frowned. “Sam—”

  “Not that I don’t support you,” Sam said. “You know I do, man, but I’m sure there’s something I can do from outside the party, you know?”

  Sam had been supportive the entire time, and though he wouldn’t be with them, Steve didn’t doubt that he hoped they would succeed. Helena cursed under her breath, and ducked out of the room, talking rapid-fire Russian on the phone as she went.

  “You’ll have to be my date,” Noah said nonchalantly, though the grin on his face immediately put Steve on edge.

  “I’m sure that will go down well,” Jamie said, before Steve could. “Going on your arm, only to ditch you for Bobby.”

  “Story of my life,” Noah sighed. “Not the Bobby part, of course, but I’m no stranger to getting jilted.”

  Steve grit his teeth. “Nobody’s getting jilted.”

  He could appreciate needing a joke but worrying about the outcome of attending the event at the palace kept him from joining in. There was every reason to believe having Bobby in front of him wouldn’t matter in the long term if Bobby decided he didn’t want to be helped. Their fight was seeming more inconsequential by the moment, and though Steve had felt valid in his decision when they had been arguing, he wished he had given Bobby a chance and gone with him.

  Jamie nudged Steve. “Noah could always take Sam and we leave you behind.”

  Steve bristled, but Noah was watching him warily, and he forced himself to let out a slow breath. “Sorry. I appreciate what you’re doing.”

  “Don’t make it sound like he’s a good person,” Helena said, and she was smiling. Steve tried to make himself relax enough to enjoy the moment. They were going to find Bobby. That was important. “We’ll never hear the end of it.”

  Noah flipped Helena off, and Steve huffed a laugh. Noah’s eyes widened. “Wow, Helena, you did it.”

  “He’s allowed to mope,” Jamie put in. “But I think we should definitely find Bobby before it becomes a permanent thing.”

  “Agreed,” Helena said, surprising nobody.

  As long as they had a plan, Steve was fine with it. Just waltzing into the party with no idea as to what would happen or where they’d go didn’t feel right, and Steve wasn’t sure if they would even be allowed in. What if palace staff realized what they were doing?

  “Relax,” Noah said, and there was a touch of sincerity and seriousness about his expression. “Don’t overthink it, or you’ll come up with a ton of ways this isn’t a good idea and Helena will have to make you see sense.”

  “Everything’s gonna be fine,” Steve said, and tried not to sound as if he was convincing himself.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Standing outside of his mother’s apartment, Steve felt nervous.

  Despite wanting comfort from his mom, Steve hadn’t told her that he and Bobby had broken up. It should have been the first thing he’d done, but he hadn’t wanted to accept it at the time and dealing with it had been out of the question. Bobby being the son of the grand prince didn’t have anything to do with it, either, or so Steve was adamantly trying to tell himself. He had been happy with Bobby, something his mother had known, along with Bobby feeling the loss of his mother. Ultimately, it had driven Bobby to leave, and Steve couldn’t admit that he hadn’t tried hard enough, despite promising his mother as much.

  “Are you coming in at all today?” Jackie called through the door.

  Steve huffed out a breath, that could have been a laugh if he’d been in a better frame of mind. The door was unlocked when he tried it, and he kicked off his shoes in the hallway, pausing to shut the door behind him. He could smell something nice cooking in the kitchen, and when he spied his mother sitting at the table, scrolling through her phone, he sighed. “Did Jamie call you?”

  Jackie looked up at him, giving him a pointed expression. “How else am I going to find out that my son and his boyfriend aren’t dating anymore?”

  “That’s not his story to tell,” Steve said, and despite wanting to be mad at Jamie, he was just exhausted with everything, and leaned against the kitchen doorjamb. “But it’s true.”

  “What happened, sweetheart?” Jackie tugged out one of the chairs next to her, and Steve dropped into it, avoiding her eyes as he sighed. He couldn’t find the words to say everything he wanted to. Luckily for him, his mother was as intuitive as she had always been. “I watched that news report, same as everyone, Steve.” There was reproach in her voice and Steve winced. “Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”

  At the time, he had been so focused on how Bobby looked, that it didn’t occur to him to think about the other people who might have seen it. He had managed to avoid most of the people on campus talking about it, mostly because he only showed up for his classes, but also because Sam and Jamie were adept at running interference.

  “I’m sorry,” he said slowly. “I didn’t know what to do.”

  Jackie sighed, and she rested her hand on his back, rubbing gently. “I wouldn’t have judged you, darling. I know you love him.”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore,” Steve pointed out, and their fight was spilling from his lips before he could stop them, his throat thick with emotion. “He made up his mind, and I don’t think I can interfere.”

  “Yes, you do. You just don’t think you should.”

  Steve made a face. “It was a stupid fight. It shouldn’t have…it shouldn’t have been the end of us, even if I didn’t want to go. What does that say about how strong it was?”

  “Even stupid fights can seem like
the end of the world when your relationship is new,” Jackie pointed out.

  Steve scrubbed his hands over his face and finally looked his mother in the eye. “That’s my point. There’s a whole part of his life I can never understand—I don’t want to be a part of that. I can’t imagine,” Steve started, shivering, “having to live my life like that. And I don’t want that for Bobby.”

  Jackie didn’t say anything for a moment, moving her hand back to the table. She was staring at her hands, brow furrowed, and Steve felt the need to say something, even if he didn’t know what. He held his tongue, and eventually his mother looked back at him, expression serious. “What does Bobby want?”

  Steve opened his mouth once, twice, then shut it. He already knew what Bobby wanted; to make his mother proud, to figure out the kind of life she had wanted for him, that he wanted for himself. When he said as much, something in his mom’s expression softened.

  “And he asked you to go with him?”

  “Yeah,” Steve said, cheeks hot. At his mother’s disappointed look, he sighed. “I thought he was asking me to be a different person.”

  “And now?”

  “I think he just needed someone on his side,” Steve admitted, and felt his stomach roll with nausea. Imagining Bobby, alone somewhere in a palace too big for one person to tackle alone, was heartbreaking, and Steve had sent him there. “If this party thing works out, and I do get to see him, I don’t know what to do.”

  “Steve,” Jackie said, placing her hands on his face. It was a move she used to pull when he was a kid, trying to hold his attention. He let it happen now, resting his hands on her arms. “You tell him how you feel, how you really feel, and whatever happens is what’s meant to be.”

  It should have sounded trite, but Steve knew she meant for the worst as much as the good; if Bobby told him to fuck off, then Steve would know not to come back. He was hoping for a different outcome, but he didn’t want to give himself false hope.