by Kit Morgan
Mitzi let out her breath. Why had she been holding it in the first place? She looked at the bright blue sky. “I know I’m not supposed to just sit behind some desk. I was made for something more.” She knew it in every fiber of her being. But she didn’t know how to find what she was meant for. The only thing that came close was the thought of protecting the innocent, standing up for something, righting a wrong. Becoming a cop would satisfy those desires.
She finished her soda, went back into the house and thought about making dinner. By now her dad would be snoozing on the couch. He always took a catnap right before the six o’clock news. She hoped after their earlier discussion he was still able to rest – he’d been so tired the last few months, getting everything ready for retirement. Was she adding undue stress?
She pushed the thought aside and opened the refrigerator. She’d taken a pound of hamburger out the night before – it should be thawed by now. She could make spaghetti with it. Let’s see – they had celery, an onion, and she’d seen a small can of olives in the cupboard …
She stared at the onion as something deep within her snapped. She wasn’t sure what, only that her heart was suddenly flooded with a longing so pronounced and undeniable that she couldn’t breathe. It shot through her like lightning, from her head to her toes. She almost fell into the fridge, but managed to back away, her arms cradling her stomach, her mouth open in silent anguish. What was happening?
Unable to help it, Mitzi dropped to her knees, her whole body shaking. Was she sick? Please, no! Not with a new job starting. She couldn’t afford it. She felt helpless as the strange longing pounded at her. It was the most frightening thing she’d ever experienced, and she had absolutely no idea what it was or where it was coming from. It felt as if someone close to her had just died, and she’d never see them again, leaving an excruciating void in her heart.
But why?!
Chapter Three
The Kingdom of Dalrovia, 1889
Prince Asger Berg kicked his horse into a canter and continued down the trail leading out of the kingdom. He often rode this route, enjoying the cool of the forest, the beauty of the trees, plants and underbrush. It was summer, so they were all at their peak of growth and beauty. The warm air brushed his face with the scent of wildflowers. He had never felt more alive.
Why, then, had he awakened with such a profound sense of longing? Did he crave more freedom? His father had restricted his outings, but that usually made him angry, not lonely. He enjoyed his forays into the local village to see how his people were faring. He was less noticeable than his father Prince Consort Andel, who at 6’5” wasn’t hard to spot and had a regal bearing to boot. Asger, at 6’1” and slighter in build, didn’t stick out the way his father did, or his mother the queen, who was barely five feet tall and voluptuous.
Both parents were blonde, blue-eyed and exceptionally handsome, but Asger had thick brown hair, blue-gray eyes and blended in better with the villagers, better than he did with his parents or siblings. His sister Raina stood out due to her thigh-length blonde hair – the populace had nicknamed her “Rapunzel,” and princes from other kingdoms were seeking her hand in marriage. The only thing preventing that from happening was that their parents wanted Asger, as the oldest, to wed first.
Vale, his younger brother, was only nineteen and had some growing up to do before he’d be ready for marriage. But he would probably get to pick his own wife, the lucky lout. He wasn’t the heir to the throne, so there was a lot less riding on his choice.
Asger urged his horse to go faster, hoping to outride the cold feeling in his belly that something wasn’t right. What, he didn’t know, but he didn’t like the feeling of unease at all. It was as if someone close to him was in danger … but who, and what danger?
“Ho! Prince Asger!”
Asger rolled his eyes. “Great.” He slowed his horse as another trotted out of the trees to join him on the trail. He recognized the dapple-gray mare. It was a beautiful steed, one of the finest in the kingdom. “What brings you out here, Captain Kolbeck?”
“You have to ask?” The captain of the Queen’s Guard came alongside him. “Going to the village, I take it?”
“None of your business.”
“Your whereabouts are precisely ‘my business.’ No need to be snappish.”
Asger glared at him. “You’re not the one in my … predicament.”
Kolbeck nodded. “I understand you’re not happy about an arranged marriage, Asger. But as your fellow countryman, and more importantly as your friend, I would advise you to do your duty. Besides, it’s not as if Princess Velta is a chore to look upon.”
“Yes, but it’s what’s behind the beauty that concerns me. Does she have a good heart? Is she kind? Generous?”
“Her subjects think she is … or so I’ve heard,” the captain admitted.
“Ha! See? You don’t know either. Any royal can go through the motions of charity and kindness in public. But who is she behind closed doors?”
“To which doors are you referring, Your Highness?”
“Not the ones you’re thinking, Captain.”
Kolbeck laughed. “You really are troubled by this, aren’t you?”
“How can you tell?”
“Your calling me ‘Captain’ instead of ‘Halden,’ for one. I thought friends were on a first-name basis?”
“You referred to me as Prince Asger, and Your Highness.”
“Who knows what ears lurk in these woods? You can get away with calling me Halden, or even Hal as is your usual. But if anyone heard me call you Asger, or for that matter …”
“Don’t say it!”
Hal laughed. “Exactly. I’d be arrested for insubordination and thrown in the dungeon.”
“Arrested at whose command? You’re the captain of the Queen’s Guard. Will you order your own arrest?”
“Word would get to Their Hignesses.”
Asger laughed. “Well, if you call me by that horrible nickname, then yes.”
“They’d agree with me. It suits you at times. You really are as stubborn as a donkey. I simply shortened it.”
“It’s appalling.”
“It’s necessary sometimes. To remind you of what’s important.”
Asger frowned. Sadly, Hal was right. He’d gotten into several scrapes because of his stubborn foolishness and Hal had been required to get him out. His last altercation was a couple of years ago, not far enough back as far as Asger was concerned. He still felt the sting of embarrassment whenever he thought about it.
Naturally it involved a woman. Worse, a married one, though he didn’t know it at the time, and a commoner besides. He was too infatuated with her – what had he been thinking to even flirt with such a woman? If Hal hadn’t come along when he did and dragged him away, he would have surely bedded the wench, blown his disguise and been the talk of not only Dalrovia but much of Europe. Granted, most felt it was fine for a young man to sow his wild oats, but not with a married woman. And what about her husband? He shuddered to think.
Hal was right, he’d acted like an ass and earned the unfortunate nickname.
“Thinking?” Hal asked playfully.
Asger rolled his eyes. “Stop it.”
“I know what you’re thinking. You need to let it go.”
Asger’s jaw tightened. “I know. I just can’t forgive myself for being that stupid.”
“Your virginity is still intact, I take it?”
“Hal!”
The captain smiled. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It will be good for you and Princess Velta to discover the wonders of the nuptial bed together.”
“Stop, just stop.” Asger would’ve hit him if he wasn’t slightly behind him now. The man had probably slowed his horse on purpose so he couldn’t.
“You’re 25, Your Highness, I’m sure there are other men in the kingdom as chaste.”
“Really? Like you, perhaps?”
Hal brought his horse alongside again. “Yes.”
&nb
sp; Asger almost lost his seat. “What? But, you’re older than me …”
“What has that to do with anything?”
“Well … I mean, you’re Captain Halden Kolbeck, breaker of hearts. You’ve had that reputation for years.”
“Of course I have – because I’ve not yet met a woman I care to marry, let alone bed. My morals won’t let me. Blame it on my mother and how I was raised. Besides, my position as captain of the Queen’s Guard doesn’t exactly make me fit for marriage.”
“Why not? Are your wages not to your liking?”
“Not that – I could support a wife. But … my position puts me in too much peril. Especially recently. Too much has happened of late. The Unification to our south. And there is unrest …”
Asger understood the first part – so many of the German states had been brought under the heel of Wilhelm of Prussia and his attack dog Bismarck in his lifetime. They’d tried to swallow Dalrovia too, but his parents wanted nothing to do with the Kaiser. The second, though … “Unrest? I wasn’t told of any unrest. What’s going on?”
“Best you ask your father. He knows.”
Asger brought his horse to a stop and turned to face Hal. “I want to hear it from you.”
Hal sighed. “Let just say that your marriage to Princess Velta will prevent certain things from happening.”
Asger urged his horse closer to Hal’s. “What things?”
Hal swallowed hard. “As you’ll hear the details from your father, I’ll keep silent.”
“You’ll tell me now, Captain. I command it.”
Hal closed his eyes. “I was afraid you’d say that. War, Your Highness.” He turned his horse and headed down the trail again. “Happy now?”
Asger watched him go, his jaw slack. “Good Lord, what has my father done?”
Las Vegas, present day …
Mitzi dragged herself into Java King and trudged to the counter. “Hi, Albert.”
Albert turned, took one look at her and grimaced. “What happened to you?”
“My first night of work.” She rubbed her tired eyes. “But I’m here for my shift.”
He whistled. “I don’t know how you can keep this up. You look like you’ve been up all night.”
“I have. But Carl called me about an hour ago and asked if I could cover Carol’s shift.”
“Yeah, she just found out her dad’s in the hospital.” He grabbed a cup and filled it with coffee. “Here. You need this.”
“Thanks.” She went behind the counter.
“Sit down first, take a load off,” Albert said. “After you finish that cup, you might want another.”
Mitzi glanced at the clock on the wall by the menu. “I’ve got 20 minutes. Why not?”
He shook his head at her. “Can you handle four hours of work?”
“That’s about all I can handle. If it was six, I’d be liable to fall asleep in the storeroom.” She went to the nearest table and sat.
Albert left the counter and joined her. “So what was it like? Do you have a taser, a gun?”
“Both,” she said. “But my boss Mr. Hammer is a jerk. He says I won’t last two weeks.”
“To your face?” Albert asked in shock.
“No, but I overheard him telling the other guards. One of them said if they didn’t have to hire a woman, I wouldn’t be there. The other said I shouldn’t be there anyway, that they should have hired someone taller.”
“That’s discrimination.” He took a seat and glanced out the store windows. “Here come customers. Be right back.” He took up his post behind the counter as the door opened. The good-looking couple Albert served the last time she was in was back.
“Hello, there,” Shona said to Mitzi. “You must come here often.”
Mitzi smiled. “Actually, I work here – for now, anyway.”
“She got another job,” Albert volunteered.
Shona glanced between them. “I’m not sure if he made that sound good or bad.”
“It’s bad for us, good for her,” he said. “I guess.”
“Definitely bad, then,” Dallan approached the counter. “Two plain coffees, please.”
“Make that coconut lattes, large,” Shona said. “Really, Dallan, you have to try new things. Kitty says they’re wonderful.”
“I’m no sure I want to try anything Kitty suggests.”
“I love lattes with coconut milk,” Mitzi said. She had to keep talking or she’d fall asleep where she sat. “If your friends like them, they probably like almond and soy lattes too.”
“Och, all the different choices. It’s confusing.”
“He likes things simple,” his wife said, making Mitzi smile. She watched Shona’s husband take her hand and kiss it. How romantic. It made her think of the other night and the strange emptiness she felt in her gut. It was bad enough putting up with that without having to put up with discouraging banter between her new boss and coworkers as well. She wished she hadn’t heard them say anything, but it was too late now.
She pushed the thought aside and smiled at the couple. “Have you hiked Red Rock Canyon yet?”
“Not yet,” Shona said. “But we’re hoping to in the next couple of days. Providing we have time.”
“You’ll like it. It’s fun.” Mitzi yawned.
“Late night, lass?”
She quickly covered her mouth, then to her embarrassment yawned again. “You could say that.” More customers came in. Time to get to work. She slugged down her coffee and went behind the counter.
“You have to work?” Shona asked in surprise.
“No rest for the wicked.” Mitzi shrugged, grabbed her apron from under the counter, put it on and prepared to start her day. Once she got home, she could take a good long nap before she had to go to the casino. She hoped Mr. Hammer would be in a better mood.
“So ye work nights and days?” Dallan asked as his wife paid Albert. “That must be hard on ye.”
Mitzi tried not to yawn again. “It’s temporary. I can handle it.” She turned to Albert. “I’ll take care of their order while you help the next customer.”
He nodded and went to speak with the next person in line as Dallan and Shona moved to the order-pickup area. Mitzi got to work at the espresso machine.
“What sort of new job did you get?” Shona asked.
Mitzi blinked a few times, surprised she was interested. “Armed security guard,” she said proudly. “Empire Casino.”
“Are ye now?” Dallan said. “Weel, that’s a fine thing.”
Mitzi’s head came up. Men usually didn’t think it was fine at all, especially not huge men who were often called upon to protect petite women like herself. “Thank you. I think so.”
“Wow,” Shona said. “You’re braver than I am.”
Her husband snorted and arched an eyebrow at her. Mitzi wasn’t sure what that was about, but did like the woman’s comment. It did take a certain amount of bravery to do the work. “Well, I’m able to handle it. I’m good at self-defense.”
“That’s good, considering the job,” Dallan said. “Who knows what sort of fiends are in this city?”
“Well, the kind that hang around casinos aren’t too bad,” Mitzi said, feeling more awake. Talking about this sort of thing always got her excited. “Pickpockets, purse snatchers, that sort of thing.”
“Oh?” the Scotsman said. “What about robbery? Kidnappings? Murder?”
She gaped at him. “For Heaven’s sake, they’d need the police for that. I’m just a guard.” For now …
“The first line of defense, aye?”
She finished making their lattes, glancing at them now and then. He was right. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? She smiled as she set their drinks on the counter. “I suppose I am.”
“And don’t ye forget it, lass. Who knows what evil someone in yer position can thwart before it becomes something bigger?”
Mitzi smiled at him. She liked talking to this guy. At least he wasn’t making remarks about her size. “Yo
u’re absolutely right. I wonder how many security guards like me have kept a situation from turning worse?”
“Quite a few, I’d imagine,” he said. “And dinna let anyone tell ye different.” He winked, turned with his wife and headed for a table near the windows.
Mitzi quickly got to work on the next order, feeling better than she had when she came in. Though nothing seemed to dampen that odd emptiness. She wished she could figure out where it was coming from. Maybe she should call Mom and see how she was doing. She didn’t think Mom missed her much, but maybe she did. She’d been so intent on landing this security job, she hadn’t thought about much else, hadn’t even signed up for classes for the fall semester. She knew she should, but she was so sure she’d get into the police academy, why bother?
The morning dragged. By the time she got home, she was dog-tired, went straight to her room, fell onto the bed and was asleep in minutes. When her alarm went off at 4:30, she groaned and hit the snooze button. She needed to shower and get ready – no time to call her mom unless she did it on the way to work.
If she hurried, she’d be out the door before Dad got home. The last thing she wanted was for him to see her in such a state – it would only give him more ammunition to dissuade her. If he had his way, she’d be working at Java King where it was “safe” for the rest of her life.
She was ready and was out the door by 5:20. It would take fifteen minutes to drive to the casino, given normal traffic. Her shift started at 6:00 p.m. and ended at 3:00 a.m. She hoped Carl didn’t call her at 6:00 a.m. again, asking her to cover for Carol at 7:00. She didn’t do well on broken sleep and didn’t think she could take another day like today.
When she reached Empire Casino, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse, punched in a number and waited.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Mom, it’s me!” She did her best to sound cheerful – and not yawn.
“Mitzi, how nice to hear from you,” her mother said. “How are you?”
“Okay. I got a new job.”
“At another coffee place?”
Mitzi’s face fell. “No, Mom. I’m an armed security guard.”
