by Nana Malone
The wall of books shifted behind me, and Theo whistled low. I turned to find what looked like a panic room and—fuck me. “Is that a goddamn elevator?”
Trace cursed under his breath then was back on the phone.
I pushed myself to my feet and glowered at the elevator. That son of a bitch had given us the slip.
The only question was whether he had done it voluntarily or not.
Theo’s voice was deep. “So, my supposed brother has done a runner, as my mother would say.”
I brushed my hair out of my face. “It certainly looks that way.”
Trace’s jaw set in a firm line. “For argument’s sake, let’s just say he didn’t go on his own. You know what that means.”
I nodded and drew my weapon. “We need to get to the only place that’s moderately safe right now. The palace.”
6
Zia…
"What the fuck do you mean he's gone?"
Theo and I both slid a glance to Sebastian and then back at each other. "Your Majesty—" I started.
Trace stepped forward. "Your Majesty, it's not their fault. Derrick wanted to make some calls. Either someone took him from the study or…” his voice trailed.
I knew he was trying to fall on the sword for me. “We didn’t know about the safe room. Or the elevator. The schematics we had—”
Theo pushed away from the wall. “Are you two seriously falling all over yourself trying to take the blame for this? That idiot gave us the slip. As if he hadn’t just been kidnapped for weeks. If he was actually even kidnapped.”
Sebastian glowered but Theo didn’t back down.
The door slammed open, and Penny barged in. Whatever torrent Sebastian was about to unleash softened. "What's wrong? What do you need?"
She rolled her eyes and waved him off. "Well, I heard there was a team Winston Isles meeting. Where is everyone?"
Sebastian sighed. "Well, we had to move up the meeting because someone kidnapped our billionaire."
“He kidnapped himself,” Theo grumbled.
Penny's eyes went wide. "What?"
The door opened again, and Tristan and Lucas strolled in, followed quickly by Ariel. Her gaze went to me directly. "The fuck is going on?"
There was another knock at the door, and Sebastian groaned as his office got more and more cluttered with people. Ethan, Penny's father, came through the door without waiting for an answer, followed by the rest of Royal Elite. Jax, Jameson, Tamsin, the new recruits. Sebastian grumbled and plopped into his seat. "Jesus Christ, can't we just have a secret, quiet meeting?"
Penny glanced around as she waddled and massaged her back. "Where's your mother?"
Sebastian sighed. "First of all, come here and sit down on my lap so I can massage you. And Mom's in Norway, remember?"
Penny frowned. "No, that's not until next week, the seventeenth."
Sebastian smiled. "Sweetheart, it's the eighteenth today."
Penny blinked rapidly. "Did I lose a fucking week? Pregnancy brain is real."
Ariel snorted a chuckle. "I was with you last week and reminded you she'd be gone."
Penny frowned. I couldn't help but glance down at her feet. Yup, two different shoes. Again.
When she sat on Sebastian's lap, he kissed her shoulder and immediately started rubbing her back. The queen's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and I averted my gaze, not sure if I should be looking at this.
There was another knock and in strolled Roone with the princess, followed by Bryna, Lucas's fiancée, and Jinx, a tiny girl that I'd met at the last game night. The king just sat back as he continued to rub his wife's back. "Fine, we'll just wait for the whole gang. Anyone else we're missing?"
There were grumblings and murmurings as everyone took their seats. Theo just hung back and watched the cascade of people. I got it. He felt like an outsider.
What I didn't get was my immediate reaction. I wanted to soothe him. Let him know it was okay. That apparently, now, this was his family.
Is that your place?
No, not my place, but still... I knew what it was like to feel as though you don’t belong somewhere.
Sebastian finally called everything to order. "Christ, is everyone here now? Can we get started?"
Penny swatted his hand. "Ugh, manners. Don't be a dick."
"I wasn't being a dick. I just—"
She waved him quiet. "You, rub."
He rolled his eyes and continued rubbing her back and she hummed happily on his lap.
"Okay fine, let's start again. Now that everyone's here, how about we get started? Zia, tell us what you know.”
I flushed. I didn't know jack. “I woke up this morning and got ready to come to the palace with Theo. Derrick was already gone then.”
Roone crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Someone took him?”
Theo stepped forward for that one. “Nobody took him. You guys saw how anxious he was last night. He wanted out for some reason. He took off. He never once mentioned that elevator. Not even when I was preparing to be his double. This was by choice.”
Penny frowned. “But that makes no sense. He’d just been kidnapped.”
Sebastian rubbed his temple. “Nothing surrounding my cousin for the last month has made a lick of sense.” He quickly ran everyone through the Derrick-Theo thing, the doubles, all of it.
When he was done, Lucas chuckled. "So, someone is trying to kill us? What else is new? Let’s do the Team Winston Isles thing again. Everyone got their guns? Penny, obviously, you’ll sit this one out."
Penny raised a brow. "I will do no such thing. I might be waddling, but that's my secret weapon. No one would think that I'm still a badass."
Lucas gave her a soft smile. "Of course, always a badass. But how about you be a badass with your brain and not give my brother a heart attack thinking that you’ll be running around the palace unable to see your feet and holding a gun?"
She rolled her eyes, but she said nothing. Even she had realized that at this stage in the game there wasn't a lot she could do physically.
Sebastian slapped his hand on his desk. "If you two are done, do you want to get back to this?"
Penny patted his knee, and he resumed rubbing. The smile she gave him was soft. God, would anyone ever love me like that?
Maybe somebody already does.
I refused to turn around and face Theo. I didn't want to think about any of it. Not those lies, not how I'd been fooled, none of it. All I wanted to do was focus on what was going on right then. Figure out a resolution and move on with my life and not have to think about it.
Sebastian got us back on track. "Okay, right now, Derrick is gone. Police have been alerted?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I called our contact and already filed a report. He'll keep it quiet. And Ariel, he'll notify you."
Ariel nodded. "Yes, he already called me. They're running all their leads. They need as much help as possible because, obviously, this has to be kept quiet. They don't know any more about who's after him or why than we do. I left Theo out of it because I didn't think we needed to complicate matters, but their focus right now is on who benefits if Derrick is gone. We're working on all the angles."
Sebastian nodded. "Okay. In the meantime, I think it's probably prudent for Theo to go back to being Derrick."
Theo crossed his arms. "I'm not sure that's the best idea we've ever had. I mean, let's be honest, I wasn't the best Derrick."
Sebastian shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You pulled it off enough. And right now, we have to keep the status quo. Also, it could drive him out in the open if he fled on his own or flush out any potential kidnappers."
Ethan stepped forward. "Yeah, that's a good point." He studied Theo closely. "The resemblance is uncanny. There's no way anybody will be able to tell the difference. Your nose has been broken, but that's about it. They might have grabbed the wrong one, or they might not even know there are two of you."
Theo shook his head. "Whoever is doing this, they definitely know
there are two of us. And they’ve definitely known for the last several weeks that I wasn't Derrick. It might be that whoever had him didn't know he had a double at first then discovered me in his place."
Sebastian nodded. "This is true. Okay, I think the best bet is for faux-Derrick to go back to work. I'll put Zia back in play with you, but we'll also add Trace and Jax as actual security. They'll be the ones people will watch, not you, Zia. So you'll be our last line of defense."
I nodded. ”Yes, Your Majesty."
Sebastian gave me a sharp eyebrow raise. "Can we just establish that since we're all family, you only call us 'Your Majesty' when anyone not on Team Winston Isles is around?"
We all glanced around, nodding immediately. We were King's Knights. Just because the King and Penny were informal, we still had a respect for the throne and knew how important it was to show that respect.
It was Penny who leaned forward and spoke then. "I think we need to make one change. Theo, instead of returning home to the penthouse after work, it's probably best that you stay here."
Sebastian agreed. "Yeah, it's safer that way. In case someone actually took Derrick from the penthouse, we want you here so you’re not accessible."
Ariel stood then. "In the meantime, I will work with the police and try to find him, in case he’s just absconded."
Tristan grumbled. "I'm not so sure I like that idea. These people are dangerous. Furthermore—"
Ariel didn't even say a word. She just turned to her fiancé and lifted a brow. He quieted immediately. God, that kind of power. She was so badass. And of course, Prince Tristan was only trying to protect her. But honestly, she needed no protection from anyone. We all knew how formidable she was.
Sebastian nodded. "Sorry Tris, she knows what she's doing."
Ariel gave both of them a saucy grin. "If he just took off, we’ll find him and bring him back."
"Ariel, if you need help, I'm available," I added.
She gave me a nod. "Look, this isn't on you." She turned her attention to Trace. "This isn't on you, either. We just didn’t have all the cards. We’ll find him."
As we all filed out of the office, Theo's stormy gaze met mine. "Just when I thought I was nearly free."
My heart squeezed. How likely was it that I was wrong about him? That he’d also been ensnared in this web and couldn’t shake himself loose? "It's only temporary."
"Yeah. This whole thing was supposed to be only temporary. But it just fucked up my whole life. I need to get a call into Kyle and make sure he's got my mother."
I frowned. "That part was true?"
He nodded slowly, his voice going soft. "About my mother being ill? Yeah, that was true."
"And Kyle, he's a friend of yours?"
He nodded again. "I grew up with him. We have a company together. He's my right hand. When I got this assignment, I brought him with me to help keep me out of trouble."
He'd been trying to tell me the truth, and I hadn't listened.
What would you have done?
I had no idea what to do with that information now. "We'll work it out. She'll be okay."
"I really fucking hope so."
For his sake, I hoped so too, because I had a feeling everything was going to get a lot more complicated before it got better.
Theo…
Like it or not, my life was never going to be the same.
Understatement of the year.
What the hell had possessed me to do this? One bad decision and my whole world was rocked.
Could it be the truth?
Fuck. I couldn’t think about that now. I couldn’t think about the things that Derrick had said last night. I couldn’t fucking process the mountain of lies I’d have to unpack.
I slid a glance to Zia.
Don’t go there either, buddy. It won’t end well.
Christ, even knowing how upset she was and knowing I’d been the cause of that pain, it didn’t stop me from wanting her. Didn’t stop me from craving her.
I’d tossed and turned all night the previous evening, the scent of her shampoo lingering in the room even though she didn’t sleep there with me. No way would I ever admit to holding her pillow close to me, because that was some creepy ass bullshit.
Face it, everything has gone to shit.
It didn't matter how much I wanted to will the neat, orderly construction of my life back into existence. This was the new paradigm. And if I didn't adjust, somebody was going to die. I’d rather that somebody wasn’t Zia while she was protecting my dumb ass.
We passed what looked like an empty office, and I tapped Zia's elbow. "Can you give me five? I just need to check in."
She nodded. "Of course. I'll just let Trace and Jax know."
"Thanks." I ducked into the office and closed the door behind me before fetching my phone out. I drew in several deep, long breaths, willing myself to calm down before I called home. Last night it had been far too late, and I knew both of them would be out cold.
When I hit speed dial for my mother, my fingers shook a little. But I knew I had to do it. It wasn’t like I could ignore what I’d heard.
Sure, you can. Not like you don't have enough going on already.
It rang twice, and she answered. "Theo?"
Just hearing her voice sent fissures and cracks through my heart. "Mom, hey. I'm just checking in. Are you okay?”
"Yes, I'm fine. Kyle is watching over me like a bulldog. I don't know what's wrong with him. He seems to forget that I have wiped his ass before."
Same old mom… except not really. "Mom, please don't say ass."
"It's true. You’ve known that boy since you were two. You don’t think you both had diapers on?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Mom, he's there for your protection."
"What do you mean, protection? Who do I need protection from?"
"Mom—" I dragged in another deep breath. I didn't want to do this over the phone, but I had no choice. The stakes were high. Too high.
Or you could wait. Figure some things out.
What was I going to say? 'Hey, P.S. I know you lied, and about your other son, I have no idea where he is right now.' No, I couldn't say that.
"Just, uh, you know, business stuff. People are ruthless. Sometimes people will do anything for a patent."
Jesus that was the most bullshitty of bullshit answers. But one word from her and my brain had scrambled. No matter what, she was my mother. And I loved her. So, patent theft seemed as good an excuse as any other. Besides, that was why Kyle and I had left the last place we’d worked.
"You boys aren't in any trouble, are you?"
Lie. "No Mom, we're fine. Just a lot going on. Are you well? How are the treatments going?"
"Good. I even have some of my appetite back. The nausea has mostly passed, so I'm feeling good. You need to stop with your worrying."
Not going to happen. "Easier said than done."
"I know, but honestly."
"Okay, look, can I talk to Kyle?"
When Kyle hopped on the phone, somehow, I felt more relieved just knowing he was there. "What's up, tin man?"
I ran my hands through my hair. With Kyle I could crumble a little bit. He wouldn’t judge. Okay, he would, but he’d still have my back. "Shit’s hitting the fan, dude."
His voice went low. "What's wrong?"
“Derrick’s back. Well was back. Now he’s gone again.”
The string of curses under his breath were inventive to say the least. "Are you fucking serious right now?"
"I wish I wasn't." Quickly, I filled him in on what had happened in the last fifteen hours.
When I was done, he cursed under his breath. "Fucking twins. Jesus Christ, do you believe him?”
“I don’t know what I believe anymore.”
“Man, you gotta come home."
"I wish I could. I just met with the Winston Isles crew. They want me to stay. Continue being him. And I don't know if I can do it."
"Shit. I mean, Winston Isles c
rew... the king?"
"Yeah, the fucking King of the goddamn Winston Isles wants me to keep up the ruse."
"God, man, this is some bullshit."
"I know. Trust me, I know."
"Just hang the fuck up and come home."
My gaze flickered to the door. Zia was pacing in the hallway outside. "It's not that easy."
Kyle paused. "The girl."
"Yeah, the girl." And other things.
"You're fucking in love with her, aren't you?"
"Trust me, it wasn't the plan."
Kyle sighed. I could almost see him rubbing the back of his neck in frustration. "Theo, none of this was supposed to happen. This was supposed to be easy. Easy money."
"There's no such thing as easy money."
"Yeah, don't I know it? All right, you do what you need to do. I’ve got your Mom. I'll take her to the safe house. Also, the other security you sent, they arrived. At least I assume that’s them. They’re some badass commando-looking motherfuckers."
"Cool. Thank you for looking after her."
"You do what you need to do. Get home safe, okay? I got the rest of this."
"Thanks man." I turned around after hanging up, and Zia was there.
Her eyes were soft and welling with tears. "I don't think I understood how hard this must have been on you until just now."
I shrugged. "It is what it is."
"Why did you do this?"
Good question. "Honestly, for my Mom. She is sick. And Derrick offered something I didn't have. Money. So, I took it. I'm not mad that I did. But now I'm torn, and wish I was there instead of here."
"Theo, I—"
The muscle in the center of my chest loosened and tightened again. God, I wanted her so bad. I wanted to hold her and...
Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't--
"Zia, I—"
Before I could finish, she was moving swiftly toward me. My arms opened and she was in them, soft and smelling like apples and cinnamon, and I just couldn't help myself.
Famous last words.
7
Zia…
