by Nana Malone
"So, my top pic is probably the billionaire, Logan Right, with the last name, get this, Royal," Tamsin said as she laughed.
I chuckled too. I couldn't help it. Come on, who had that name?
Zia snorted. "Oh great, one of those assholes who changes his name to give the world the impression that he is somehow important?"
"Right?" God, I’d missed my team. It was good to be back in the swing of it. Not that Jax hadn't managed just fine in my absence. With me being in and out, he'd been my right-hand guy. And to think, when we first met not so long ago, he thought I was annoying. Shocking.
Jax shrugged. "Honestly, I think we only take one long-term job at a time. The team isn't big enough yet, and anything could come up at any time. It's obviously up to you, but I think we'll be stretched."
Jameson was quieter. She was the analytical one. Focused on the numbers. She didn't like stepping out of bounds. "Actually, I have to agree with Jax. The numbers don't make sense. Not for now, especially since you may or may not be done with the royal family."
"Oh, I'm done. The assignment is over. I'm back in the pool. But that said, the king does want us to train additional knights and manage them. I’m as yet unsure if they’d be prospective hires as well. I need to look at our budget. It would nice to have another tech expert on hand."
Trace moaned. “No offence, but we don't need another geek. Another weapons expert would be ideal.”
“Okay, I hear you. I’ll see what Sebastian has planned. Obviously, any new hires will be knighted. I just don’t think that works vice versa.”
Jax shook his head. "Even if you're back in the pool and the king doesn’t need you all the time, you need to keep running this place. I don't need to be running it. I need to be in the field, so new hires make sense. Not to mention the slew of calls we received after the announcement was made about us being knighted."
He had a point there. "Okay, fair enough. Let me examine the applicant pools again. Trace and Jax, I might need you guys to vet them. We might be able to do a trainee program if they show potential as a way to try them before we’ve got them in the field—"
There was a knock at the door, and the hairs at the back of my neck stood at attention. Before I even checked the monitors, I knew. We all knew just by looking outside the glass wall. There were two SUVs and two hulking men in plain clothes doing their very best to look natural as they walked dogs along the street. I sighed. "Fuck."
Trace chuckled. "What was that you were saying about being done working for the royal family?"
I slid him a gaze. "Shut up."
"Don't be mad. It seems like they can't live without you."
"Well, you guys can't live without me either."
Trace shrugged. "You are kind of annoying and really bossy. You're like an irksome big sister."
I rolled my eyes. "One that happens to write your checks."
Jax guffawed. "Oh, burn."
But Trace was poking me all in good fun. We had all become a family. These guys were my team. I had recruited each of them on recommendations from my friends in the palace that they were solid. We hadn’t worked together long, but these were the people I trusted… literally with my life, should it come down to it.
In the past, I'd only ever trusted someone in the Royal Guard like that, so to be able to trust these guys was everything.
I sauntered over to the door and called behind me. "Jax, keep running the meeting and put the two long-term jobs on the back burner, then take care of the smaller ones. Give me a minute."
When I pulled open the door, the king stood on the other side with a sheepish smile. "Should I have sent Penny instead? Would you be more likely to help her?"
I sighed and stepped aside to let him in. "You know, you could actually use the phone. Would that kill you? Give me some warning. You have a habit of showing up unannounced."
"Yes, but I also made your team into gentry, so doesn’t that count for something?"
I rolled my eyes. "You didn't even ask them if they wanted to be King’s Knights. I think they all hate it."
From inside, Jameson and Trace shouted back. "No, we don't."
I sighed. "Traitors."
Sebastian grinned. "Can we talk privately?"
I studied his face. I knew exactly why Penny had fallen in love with him. Yes, of course, he was handsome in the kind of way that made little girls dream of princes. His stupid jawline and a literal panty-melting smile were irresistible. But there was also something earnest in his gaze. At the core of it, Sebastian truly cared about his people, and he had the heart of an artist.
It had been a while since I'd seen him with his camera, but I remembered the way he'd loved it. He'd even given me a couple of photos for the office, and he had been determined that I not lose my position at the palace, no matter what my father had done. He might be King of the Winston Isles, but he was also my friend, and he was about to ask me for a huge favor. One I might not want to give him. "If you need us, you might as well talk to the whole team.”
He gave me a brisk nod, and I showed him in. Everyone paused and turned their attention to him.
Once we were in the big conference area that doubled as our dining table for monthly team dinners, I leaned back against the banquet, my nerves feeling every current of electricity acutely. Something bad had happened. I could feel it.
When he spoke, his voice was grave. "There was an attempt made on Tristan's life this afternoon at practice.”
The floor of my stomach fell, and dizziness swirled around me. Was he okay? Was he hurt? I’d been so cavalier about his safety. Well, he'd been cavalier. I'd just been anxious to get back to my team. And God, I'd been desperate to get away from him. Was I to blame?
Sebastian was still speaking, and I forced my attention to him. "At practice today, one of Prince Tristan's teammates was poisoned. He's at Royal Crest Hospital in critical condition, but he will pull through."
I shook my head. "You said the attempt was directed at Tristan. I don't understand."
He sighed. "After practice when they were grabbing water bottles, Tristan grabbed his teammate's bottle by mistake. Billford drank out of Tristan's bottle."
My heart squeezed. "Shit.”
It sounded like I had an echo as Jax and Tamsin swore under their breaths. Zia’s brows knit together, and Trace scrubbed his hands down his face. Jameson's jaw worked, but she was cool, analyzing. Her gaze was on me.
I turned to Sebastian then. "Where is the prince?"
"He's back at the palace. He wanted to move off palace grounds, but I think in light of this problem, it's probably not the best idea."
"I agree. And the Council still won’t give him any additional guards?"
"I have called an emergency meeting. I will see what I can do to get him more coverage. In the meantime, I need my Knights."
I nodded briskly. "Of course." Then I turned to my team. "Put those long-term projects on the back burner. Jax, level out the short-term requests and get them done. We will work out an assessment profile."
The team nodded, and they all immediately made themselves scarce to the kitchen.
Sebastian watched me carefully. "Look, I know when I made you a Knight, you had just started Royal Elite and you need your team, and you need to run a business.”
“It’s fine, Sebastian. We’ve been talking about this. A way to train more knights. To bring more into the fold and how best to do that. I didn’t anticipate this, but it pushes us in the right direction.”
“It was more about giving you the status you deserved at first, but now, I actually need your help."
I didn’t want this. Didn't want to be tied to Tristan. But I wasn’t going to stand by and let him die either. There was that rebellious part of me that didn't want to help, that didn't want to be pulled in or have to deal with this. But the dutiful part of me squashed that. Sebastian was my king, and he was asking me to protect one of his princes, so I would. "We’re at your service, Your Majesty."
"T
hank you."
I cleared my throat before any embarrassing emotional display could escape. "What do we know? Who the fuck is trying to hurt him? The profile in Barcelona pointed at a stalker of Ella’s."
Sebastian pursed his lips. "Clearly, that profile was wrong. But I have a couple of guesses."
I could guess where he was going. "You really think it's someone from the Council? They have nothing to gain."
"Since Tristan is back, I could attempt to put him on the other vacated seat. Roone is a sure one, preliminary numbers show he has the votes. But there's another seat vacant. I could put Tristan in there. And then, just like that, I'll have the majority with or without my extra votes. I imagine there is more than one Council member that doesn’t want to see that happen."
I whistled low. "Christ. Just what we need. More royal intrigue."
"Yeah, it’s fucking brilliant. So I need a team I can trust. One that doesn’t have their own agenda.”
"I still have no idea why anyone would ever want to become a prince."
"That's only because you see the bullshit. Most people only see the fantasy.”
“All right, try and keep the prince out of sight, at least until I can get a plan formulated."
Sebastian gave me a lopsided smile. "How easy do you think that's going to be? He's already at the hospital with his team."
I cursed under my breath. "Fucking fantastic. I'll pull the team together. We'll meet him there."
Sebastian nodded. "Thank you, Ariel. I want you to know that you're family to me, and I appreciate you stepping up for mine."
I did the only thing I could; I bowed low. He was my king, and I was going to have to swallow my personal feelings to put this right.
THIRTEEN
ARIEL…
ONCE SEBASTIAN WAS GONE, we wasted no time. Team assignments were shuffled around, and it was all hands on deck.
I had wanted to believe Tristan and the Barcelona police when they suggested that the previous attempts were isolated incidents and not that someone was actually trying to kill him. I'd wanted to believe that because it would have been the simpler assumption. Occam’s Razor.
It was easier and more convenient to believe it was a stalker of Ella’s; that it was a crazed fan in Barcelona; or that a jealous fan of Ella's had run him off the road. But none of those things were the truth. We might well have another royal conspiracy on our hands. Jameson, Tamsin, and Jax would handle the current jobs we had going, which left me, Trace, and Zia to cover Tristan on a daily basis. If there were larger events that Tristan needed to attend, I'd pull in more of the team for those.
I was tense. I needed to calm down. The prince was fine. Whatever was going on, so far, he'd survived. And he would live to tell the tale. No thanks to me.
Right. So, why is your heart beating too fast and your skin clammy?
I tried to tell myself I didn't care and that whatever happened to him was none of my business. Total bullshit.
This situation was my fault. I hadn’t used my bullshit meter with the police back in Barcelona. Interpol had been chasing down leads of potential stalkers, but nothing had led anywhere so far. I’d been so eager to leave his presence that I’d put his life at risk.
I’d failed him. Just like I’d almost failed Sebastian and Penny because I couldn’t see what my father was up to for so long. But what I felt wasn’t just because I’d failed to do my job. It wasn’t just because this had happened on my watch. No, it was for another reason entirely. I was scared for him.
The anger coursing through me that had been my constant companion for ten years only masked my real emotions. I still cared about him. That part of me that couldn’t let go was horrified and sick with worry. That part that still loved him wanted to kick my own ass. He’d almost been killed because I hadn’t been doing my best job.
God, I was sick.
That was the only explanation. After all these years, I was insane and had lost my marbles. I was still pining after someone I could not have who had already shown me that he would not choose me.
Now, when I had the chance for a real relationship, I was hedging on that one. Still pining. And now, I was racing into the fire to protect him like a crazy person.
It took me several moments to realize that Trace was talking to me.
"Boss?"
I shook my head. "Yeah?"
He frowned at me quizzically. "Did you hear me?"
Shit. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"King Sebastian said that he wanted one of us to check with the investigators. Do you want me to do that?"
I wasn't sure which would be better. But honestly, I wanted to see Tristan for myself just to confirm that he was okay.
"Yeah. Um, you talk to the investigators, and I'll go with Zia to the palace. We'll need to work out protocol with Trevor. I want no less than three people on him at all times."
Trace nodded his understanding as we maneuvered the streets up to the palace. Our offices were close, just down the hill. But to actually get up to the palace, we had to take the most secure route. Trace dropped us off and then headed back out again. We arranged for a time to meet back up, and then Zia and I headed into the palace.
Next to me, Zia glanced around, and I realized she'd never been here before.
"I know, it's kind of daunting, right?"
"I've only been where the Guard goes. When we were all knighted, we met the Guards because we'd be working with them, but I've never been in the palace proper where the residences are. And ballrooms, and wow."
I couldn't help but smile. Since I'd become a Guard and started working more closely with the royal family, I suppose I'd just gotten used to it. But that was sad. I should never get used to it. All around us was marble and polished gold. Priceless artifacts and paintings that could make the soul cry.
In the Rose Tower alone, there was a Rembrandt and a Picasso. I knew that Penny and Sebastian's private quarters had a Pollock on display. I didn't even think about it anymore, which probably meant I should take some time to smell the roses, because I was getting far too used to the opulence. When I finally headed down the corridor to the king's office, Zia hesitated. "Maybe I should... I don't know, wait in the garden or something?"
I grabbed her arm and tugged her along behind me. "You're being ridiculous."
"Okay, I've met him several times, and he's lovely. I mean, so nice and stupidly good looking, like stupid hot. How does your friend even deal?"
"You've met Penny. She knows he's hot, but she didn't even see that."
"How do you not see that when that's the guy who wakes up next to you? Like you're either counting your lucky stars and squealing every day like, 'Jesus Christ, you're my husband' you know, or eyeballing every woman who comes in his vicinity."
It was good to laugh about something. "I mean, Penny is no slouch."
Zia's eyes went wide. "No, she's gorgeous. And really sweet."
"Yeah, well, you don't want to see her mad. She's kinda badass with a gun. Honestly, I think that's the appeal."
"So, she really was undercover to protect him?”
“In a nutshell, we had posted up right next door, well, across the hall actually, and he was none the wiser."
"You recognize that you guys are basically legends, right?"
I shrugged. "You know, it’s been so long, so many gunshots and firefights ago, that it's all a blur. You get used to it."
"How do you get used to something like that?"
"I haven't really had any downtime to think it through. I'm sure if I do, I will freak the hell out. But until then, onward. We have work to do."
Outside Sebastian's office, Zia squared her shoulders. She had been recommended by Ethan, so she was sort of familiar with this. But she'd been military, not Royal Guard, so there was an extra level that she would have to get used to. I hoped she was a quick study. I knocked on the door, and Sebastian called us in. And what do you know, the gang was all there.
Ethan, Lucas, Tristan, whose gaze I
avoided, Roone, and Penny. "Aww, the gang is all here. You guys know Zia. Most of you have met her. If you haven't, make friends."
I turned my gaze to Ethan automatically. He'd been my boss and father figure for so long. "Where are we?"
He gave me a warm smile, the kind a father gives a daughter when he's proud of her, and he continued talking. "Now that you're here, we'll get everyone all caught up. Yesterday, at some point during the practice, Prince Tristan's water bottle was laced with Ricin. We don't know who did it. Cameras show a lot of people in and out of the team areas with plenty of opportunity for access. Ariel, since you have the tech chops, if you have a better way to sift through the data, I’d love to hear it. Luckily, there are only a few access points, so it should be fairly easy to narrow down. We have investigators on the scene, and there are some at the hospital just in case Billford was the intended target.
Tristan shook his head. When he spoke, his voice was gravelly. My heart pinched, but I resolutely did not look at him. "No. The son of a bitch was just unlucky. Hell, I was damn lucky I didn't actually drink out of that water bottle. I used it to spray my face. I could have been the one in the hospital. But I didn't even think about any of that until later. There was a water fountain right next to the pitch. I just drank out of that. I didn't even bother coming in."
"When did you spray it on your face?" I asked.
Tristan's gaze drifted to me and then away. "I don't know exactly. Coach called us in. He talked to us and gave us pointers, and he yelled at me for being slow."
Lucas snickered. "He ain't the only one."
Tristan continued. "I think I sprayed my face then to wash the salt out of my eyes. I remember the water boy. He was just a kid, probably not even sixteen. We take local kids as part of the youth program to come and watch practice and stuff. They help us out by working there, I guess."
I nodded. "Zia, see if we can get a full roster. See if anyone’s parents are under financial hardship."
Ethan nodded at me. "Okay, you get that roster and you can do your hacker thing."
