Cheeky King Page 4
She had lied. While I’d been busy falling in love with her, she’d been busy infiltrating my life at the behest of my father. I was furious that my father had sent someone to guard me. I was furious that I’d fallen for her. Mostly I was furious that I’d been so gullible, so easily controlled.
She was a liar. And so were you.
I was furious that I still wanted her. That’s not going to happen, so it’s time to get your shit together. You have people counting on you.
In the span of moments, I’d lost my father, my love, and my dream. Everything I didn’t want to happen had come to fruition. I was king. I supposed Dad was right after all. It was time to put away foolish things.
The sharp knock at the door dragged me out of my reverie. "Come in."
The door opened, and my heart pinched again. Ethan. Penny's father. My father had named him to the Regents Council in the time I'd been away. He’d been the head of my father's security and now continued as mine until I said otherwise. I knew my father had considered him a trusted adviser. The problem was it hurt to see him now.
Between the funeral and the period of mourning, we hadn’t met one-on-one yet, and all security concerns had been handled through Roone. But now it was time to get back to the running of the country, and that meant getting the lay of the land.
"Ethan, it's good to see you."
He frowned. "All due respect, Your Majesty, but no it's not. No use pretending it is. I clearly remind you of your father. I'll help you through this transition. Then I think it would be best if you found your own head of security. I have a list of candidates if you’d like to see them. I also will step down from the Regents Council if there is anyone you prefer to instate in my place."
I opened my mouth to disagree, but then snapped it shut. Most of what he said was true. He did remind me of my father. Ethan had been always there, always watchful, ever since I was a child. My father trusted him with his life. With my life.
Yeah, it fucking hurt to see him. But while I was a young monarch, I wasn’t a fool. He had decades of experience. He could help guide me. "How about I say instead that I wish I’d had the opportunity to know you better under different circumstances? With regard to needing a new head of security or a change to the Regents Council, I don't require any changes. My father trusted you, and right about now I could use some guidance."
He inclined his head. “Thank you, Majesty.” We both pretended I didn’t see him rapidly blinking his eyes.
“I only ask that you call me Sebastian. Because let’s face it, you probably changed one of my diapers. I know you like the formality, but it would make me more comfortable. At least behind closed doors.” I motioned for him to have a seat.
He took it and gave me a wry smile. “You would be correct about the diapers, once or twice.”
I chuckled. “I figured. I would like for you to find a position for Roone Ainsley in Security Strategy. I know he didn’t grow up in the Isles, but he has been loyal to me since Eton. And I believe he can watch me better that way.”
Ethan nodded. “He’s been a good agent. Are you sure you don't prefer to have him on your personal guard?”
“I would, but to be honest, he’s cross with me about my little excursion. And he’s so much better than that.”
“Personal guard is a great honor. The men and women take it seriously.”
I frowned. I hadn’t meant to make it sound trivial. “I’m sorry. I need to learn how to communicate better. I am aware of the sacrifices the personal guards make, sometimes with their lives. And Roone is more than happy to make that sacrifice. Just knowing his history and what he’s been through, I want him to see that his brain is wasted just guarding me.”
“Understood, Your—Sebastian,” he corrected quickly. “Do you have any other requests?”
I swallowed hard because I knew I needed to have the conversation, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. “Yes.” I cleared my throat. “I need the debrief on the mission my father sent Len, er, Penny, on. I want to understand it better. You don't need to present it to me. I just want the file. After I’ve read it, there’s no reason for us to ever discuss it again, unless there is a security concern related to it.”
A slight flush crept up his neck. “I’ll have it in your quarters this evening.”
"My father trusted you above all. And I'm going to need your help to get the lay of the land."
Ethan nodded his head and took a seat before opening his folder. "I am at your service, Your Majesty." He took a deep breath, and I could see that he, too, fought the grief. "Now we need to talk about the agenda for the next Regents Council meeting."
"My mother had the date moved, given my father's passing, my birthday, and the need for a coronation."
Ethan's lips tightened and I frowned. "Yes. There have been some changes you need to be aware of."
"I know Dad was trying to push through some royal lineage changes. I don't know if I'll have the votes to make his legacy come to fruition." I clenched my jaw. "Fucking heart attack."
Ethan was good at masking his expressions, but I caught it. "What is that you're doing?"
Ethan cocked a brow. "What do you mean?"
"When I mentioned my father's heart attack, you tensed. Is there something I need to know?"
He leveled a gaze on me, one that was full of grief … and rage. "I was the one to find him, sir. He was my friend and to see him like that … ” Ethan sighed and met my gaze. "I'm waiting for some information from the medical examiner, as well as movements of the members of court, but I believe your father was murdered."
I stared at him. "Excuse me?" Rage followed complete disbelief. "You're shitting me."
"No. I'm not. It's the main reason he sent my daughter, Penny, to you. So you’d have a guard. There are people who believe that your father was not the true heir. Those people believe the lineage passes through your uncle Roland. If they were able to unseat your father and eliminate you, or better yet have you abdicate, then the lines would be open for others."
“My cousins?”
Ethan nodded. “Yes, not that they might be behind it, but there are those who were never behind your father as king.”
I shook my head. "But why kill my father and not me?"
"They tried, Your Majesty."
I frowned. "What the fuck?" Someone had tried to kill me?
"There were no less than two attempts made on your life while you were in New York."
I stared at him. "Excuse me? I never had any wind of any of that."
Ethan's lips twitched. "My daughter, as it turns out, made an excellent Royal Guard."
Penny? She had stopped attempts on my life? But she was soft and vulnerable ... And a consummate liar. Fuck.
Suddenly my mind flashed back to the spilled drink at the club and the incident with the awning. The fear in her eyes and the way her hands had trembled. She'd literally shoved me off the street. I remembered the way she'd constantly steered me away from windows. She'd been keeping me alive? That knowledge twisted in my gut with all the things I knew about her ... or rather thought I knew about her.
"There were attempts on my life?"
"Yes, sir. I think since the murderers couldn't eliminate you, they hoped by killing your father, you wouldn't vote in favor of his succession law because it will impact you."
I swallowed hard. "Oh, I'm in favor.” Though for entirely different reasons than before. “My brother and sister … are they in danger?”
"Yes, I believe it’s a possibility. But so few people know about them, their identities are protected for the time being. I think whoever took out your father hoped you would see your brother and sister as a threat and not want any competition for the throne."
Fury. Sorrow. Despair. Confusion. It made for a bile-filled cocktail. But I knew what I needed to do. "I want all the information you can find. Bring it to me first. If what you say is true, someone in this family wanted my father and me dead, and I want his head on a spike."
"While I agree with the sentiment, Your Majesty, you know the laws."
Exile was the equivalent of what the Americans called Club Fed. For killing my father? No. Never going to happen. "I know the laws. Just find the person or persons responsible."
He nodded. "I’m already on it. I was the first on the scene with your father. Knowing he was concerned for your safety, I took the liberty of double-checking a few things. I drew a vial of blood, sir."
I stared at him. “You suspected?”
“Yes. I’m already having it tested discretely to make sure my hunch is correct. In addition, I followed your father’s protocol in case anything should happen to him. He had blood in the lab to prove paternity of your brother and sister. I’ve made a point of securing it. It’s under royal seal and the men of Blake Security have it in safekeeping.”
I couldn’t believe he’d done all this without my knowledge. “When were you going to tell me?”
“It’s all in the brief. The moment you asked, it was yours.”
“You’ve always been there protecting this family, haven’t you?”
“It has been my honor.”
"Thank you. As soon as you have results, I am the first to know.”
“Of course, Sebastian.”
“And in the meantime, I need to make a call. I think my brother should be at my birthday celebration. Thank you for carrying out my father’s wishes.” I was glad Ethan had found him and not my mother. But still, it couldn’t have been easy. “I know he considered you a friend.”
He smile was soft. “He was more than a friend to me. He was practically my brother. He liked that I treated him like a normal person. From the time I met him in secondary, I told him he wasn’t special.” He rubbed the end of his nose. “Obviously I was wrong.” He blinked rapidly before standing. “If that is all for now, Your Majesty?”
“Sebastian,” I reminded him softly. Because I missed her and I couldn’t believe there was a whole part of her I didn’t know, I dug myself a grave. “Actually, I wanted to inquire after your daughter. We, uh, grew close in New York, but I haven’t had much occasion to see her since I returned home. I feel the need to say thank you. Is she well?”
Some of Ethan’s sadness lifted as he gave me a father’s soft smile. The kind reserved for babies. “Yes, she’s great.” Then a frown crept around his mouth. “Actually, where work is concerned she’s good, but I think there’s a piece of her left in New York. I’m sure she only needs to adjust, but somehow, she’s not the same happy Penny that left. I wish I could explain.”
Did she miss me? Fuck, you twat. Get your shit together. “I—I wanted to check on her, so to speak, but I’m not really certain of the protocol.”
His brows snapped down. “Oh, of course. You mustn’t be seen as favoring one guard over another. Roone is perhaps the exception because you went to secondary and served together. Penny isn’t even an officer.”
That … and well, let’s face it: I wanted to bone her. So I probably had some clouded judgement about what was appropriate. “Of course. As guards went, she was great undercover. I had no idea.”
“Maybe she’s just settling into the job then. I’d always hoped she would. It never seemed like a fit before, but maybe New York was just what she needed.”
Despite knowing better, my heart ached knowing she’d found a way to be good at the one thing she didn’t want. One of us should be free, even if the other couldn’t be.
* * *
Penny
“Dad, I just saw Jacob leaving down the hall and … ” I stopped short. It wasn’t my father that was sitting in his office; it was Michael. I abruptly turned, hoping to make my escape.
“Really, Penny? Now you see me and you legitimately run away from me?”
“Do we really have anything to say to each other?” I slowly turned around. “I mean, after everything that’s happened there’s not much to say.”
My brother stood. “You’re my sister. We have to have things to say to each other.”
“Oh really? Even after I caught you kissing my boyfriend?”
He had the good sense to wince. “That was regrettable. I’m sorry you saw that.”
I threw up my hands. “You see, this is the problem. You’re sorry that I saw that. Not that it happened. Not that you hurt me. Therein lies the problem. You hurt me, and you don’t care. It’s not that I’m not used to it, but it still sucks.”
“Penny, shit. I’m sorry. You’re getting this wrong.” Michael ran his hands through his hair. “Look, I came in here because Dad wanted to meet with me about something, but I think he’s been held-up with meetings about the king regent’s trip. King Sebastian has been leaning on him more frequently. The prime minister had questions; you know how it goes. I guess he’s not coming, but maybe you and I could go talk somewhere?”
I shook my head. “Michael, this isn’t solvable with a trip for ice cream. You think that we can just go somewhere and talk it out and it’s all good? You’re delusional.”
I turned to leave, but his voice stopped me. “Why didn’t you tell them?”
I took a deep breath. The room smelled of my father, and I inhaled the aroma of the sandalwood and tobacco soap that he used, some fancy French stuff that my Mom had gotten him on a trip long ago but ordered online these days. But then I also smelled my brother. His scent was crisper, cleaner, more like the ocean. It was all familiar … all family, except I didn’t feel like I was amongst family right now. I turned slowly to face him.
“You can’t just make this go away, Michael. I don’t care if you’re gay. I really don’t. Hell, maybe it would make you live your life on your terms and actually be happy. I want that for you. What I’m upset about is that you betrayed me, your sister. And then instead of apologizing for it, you act as if you haven’t done anything wrong. You refuse to accept your responsibility. You want to know why I didn’t tell Mom and Dad? Why I haven’t said anything to anyone? It’s because it’s not my place, and you are my brother. Despite what you’ve done to me, I would never hurt you like that. And for what it’s worth, Mom and Dad wouldn’t care. They love you, you asstwat.”
His face crumpled. It was one of the few times that I’d seen his cold mask slip out of place. Behind it was the vulnerable boy I’d known; the one who had occasionally let me chase after him and played with me, the sensitive boy who read to me sometimes, the one who used to come into my room and hold me because I was scared after watching some scary movie with him. For the briefest of moments, I saw that boy.
“You don’t think I’m sorry? I didn’t want that. I didn’t want you to see that. I don’t … ” He ran his hands through his hair again. “I don’t fucking know what I am, okay? It all happened so quickly. I was fighting with him about you, about how he treated you and how he was never around anymore. It was awful, and stupid, and I never wanted to hurt you like that. I know you think I don’t love you, but like you said, you’re my sister.”
“Yeah, well, you have a funny way of showing it. I don’t care what angsty and torturous things you have going on. I’m still your sister.”
He nodded. “I handled it wrong. When I came to New York, I handled that wrong too. I don’t know. I thought I’d just roll in and take charge like when we were kids. I realize now that was the wrong approach.”
“Yeah, you think?”
He huffed and he held his laugh. “I guess I’m not the golden child anymore.”
“You think this is about me being the golden child?”
He shrugged. “I know you’ve always wanted it, but I don’t think you ever understood the pressure that came with it. The pressure to perform, to be that person they think you are.”
I had to agree with him. “The pressure to hold yourself perfectly still so you don’t color outside the lines?”
He nodded. “Okay then, I guess you do get it.”
“This is what it’s like for you all the time? Never getting out of line, and just trying to live up to what they want?”
I had to wince. “Been there, done that.”
“I’ve always been so jealous of you. You always seemed like you were able to be free.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been jealous of you. I just wanted Dad to look at me and be proud of me like he was of you.”
“Well, I think you’ve always had his pride, but you certainly have it now. It was fucked-up of me to come and ask you to give up the job. You clearly did it well. I mean, if you have some time, I’d love to hear about how you saved the prince—well, pardon me, the king—from the motorcycle assassin.”
“Is that what people are calling that turd bag?”
Michael nodded. “Yeah. And you’re the conquering hero. Do you realize you have your pick of assignments? You could go anywhere in the Guard.” He scratched his jaw and turned his gaze from mine. “You know, even if you wanted to go somewhere else, there are lots of members of the royal family all over the world, all of whom get assigned someone. You could go anywhere. You don’t have to stay here.”
I frowned. “Where would I go? My family is here.”
Michael rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat. “I’m just saying, if things were, you know, difficult or something, you have other options. You don’t have to suffer in silence or whatever.”
“Look, I let the Robert thing go. I feel absolutely nothing when I see him. If you guys want, you know, to be together or whatever, that’s on you. I don’t want him.”
Michael scrunched his nose. “No. I didn’t mean Robert. I think it was clear from the beginning maybe that you two weren’t right for each other, but maybe you’re right for someone else?”
Oh, I understood what he meant. “Didn’t you already accuse me of sleeping with the prince when you were in New York?”
“Look, I was an ass. Can we just both agree that I did not handle any part of New York well? Let’s start from the part where I act like your big brother and say maybe I’ve noticed that you’re unhappy. I noticed that you’re not on the king’s service, but I catch the way you sometimes look at him, and I caught him staring at you the other day in the procession. I’d have to be an idiot not to notice. I spent two days watching the two of you in New York. Something’s going on there, right?”