by Katee Robert
“I don’t understand the question.” He shot her a look and she sighed. The joke had been flat. “I don’t know, Theo. I never put much thought into it. Pipe dreams don’t pay the bills. They don’t put food in the fridge. They sure as hell don’t keep a roof over your head. That’s what matters to me—not following some half-baked dream.”
He took a long drink. “Indulge me, princess. If money wasn’t an issue and you had no ties, where would you go? What would feed your soul?”
He didn’t understand how much that question hurt. He couldn’t. “Theo, I grew up in a double-wide that was one inspection away from being condemned. My mother drank herself stupid most days of the week, and when she didn’t have the cash to pay for that alcohol, she used other methods. My childhood was hell. And when she went on a particularly brutal bender, she’d rant about how things were supposed to be different for her. About all the dreams her pregnancy with me had dashed to pieces. Dreams won’t get me anywhere but following in her footsteps.” She set her fork aside. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be an asshole, I swear. But what is an entertaining theoretical question for you is one that brings up a whole lot of emotional bullshit for me.”
“It seems we’re all destined for futures that are practical and stripped of dreams.” He downed the entirety of his drink and gave himself a shake. “I’m the one who should apologize. I’m feeling particularly morose today. It’s not a good look for me.”
Galen pushed to his feet and gathered their plates. “Thanks for telling us, Meg.” Here, in this place, he was softer than she’d ever seen him. Not soft. She didn’t think there was a scenario where Galen could be soft. But it was as if the sea and the house had dulled some of his sharper edges. The anger that had rode him so hard for the last two weeks was nowhere in evidence.
She stood and walked around the table to press a kiss to Theo’s lips. “You don’t have to apologize for having a full spectrum of emotions, Theo.”
“Don’t I?” He shook his head. “I need some air.” He held up a hand before Galen could speak. “I’m not leaving the property. I’m going to take this bottle and go sit on the chair by the pool for a little bit.” He walked away before either of them could say anything.
Meg joined Galen at the sink. She grabbed a hand towel. “You wash. I’ll dry.” Through the window, she watched Theo stalk to one of the chairs and drop into it with a grace that he possessed even when angry. “Is he upset about the birth certificate or something else?”
“He’s pissed because I reminded him that we can’t have it all, no matter how much we want it.” He scrubbed a plate, rinsed, and handed it to her. “In a perfect world, Theo’s uncle wouldn’t be trying to kill us. He wouldn’t have a country he needs to serve more than he needs to pursue his own happiness.” He shot her a look. “You wouldn’t be going back to New York without us.”
“Galen…” She dried the plate. Meg didn’t usually make a habit of asking questions unless she knew she was willing to hear the truthful answer. But she couldn’t seem to help it with these two. “What would a perfect world look like for him?”
“For us,” he corrected. Galen kept washing, as if mulling it over. The tightness in his shoulders gave lie to that assumption, though. He knew what he wanted. He was just working around to voicing it. Finally he handed over the last pot and turned to face her. “You’d go back to New York, and we would, too. Theo would keep playing the stock market because it entertains him, though eventually we’d have to find some kind of business to buy to focus his ambition.” He leaned against the counter. “You’d go back to school, and we’d spend the next year or two going round and round while you yelled at us that you had your own life and yet somehow you’d end up in our bed again and again until we convinced you to stay. Eventually, you’d get over the fact we have money, and when you got bored with the accounting shit, you’d figure out that dream of yours and we’d go chase it down together.”
For a moment, she let herself picture it. Being with them. Creating a life together. It wouldn’t be easy. They were all strong personalities and there would be countless clashing in the future as they found a way to piece themselves together into a whole. But It was a lovely dream. “I’d make you work for it.”
“I know.” His lips twitched. “And without a doubt, you’d find ways to break the rules just so we’d punish you.”
She finished drying the last pan and set it aside. “It’s too bad it’s only a dream.”
“Yeah. Too bad.” He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, both of them facing the window. Galen rested his chin on her head. “That man right there is destined for great things. He’s not ours, no matter what any of us want. He’s Thalania’s. If Theo had his way, he’d find a path forward where he gets us and he gets the throne. It doesn’t exist. And it’s breaking his fucking heart.”
Theodore had the birth certificate.
Phillip cursed. Read the report. Cursed again. He should have known better than to let Dorian handle this mess. The man was both inventive and cruel, but he had a soft spot for his son that prevented him from taking the necessary measures. He still thought the boy would fall into line, and so he hesitated.
Phillip couldn’t afford to hesitate.
Theodore might not know what that birth certificate signified yet, but he was too smart for anyone’s good. He’d figure it out.
It was time to escalate matters.
He reached for the phone and paused. Doing this through unofficial methods hadn’t worked. Calling for an official assassination of a former Crown Prince… It would get out. He didn’t have full control of the various departments yet. Theodore’s influence went too deep and though no one had stepped in when he was exiled, there was still a simmering resentment aimed directly at Phillip. They blamed him for making the choice he did, and there were key administrators who actively worked to make his life more difficult than it needed to be.
If it got out that he had ordered Theodore killed…
No, that wasn’t an option.
There had to be another way.
Ah. Yes. That will work nicely.
He dialed his head of security—well, technically, Isaac Kozlov was Edward’s head of security—and waited. A few seconds later, a gruff voice came on the line. “What can I do for you, my lord?”
“I need to see you immediately.”
“I’m on my way.”
Exactly two minutes later, Kozlov walked into his office and shut the door. He was a giant of a man, well over six feet tall and looked like he could lift the solid mahogany desk over his head without effort. A particularly brutal scar wrapped around his neck, and in the years that Phillip had known him, Kozlov had never once even attempted to hide it. It was distasteful.
Kozlov sat across from him. “What can I do for you, my lord?”
“I have just received information that Theodore is in danger. I need him extracted and brought back to Thalania.”
Kozlov didn’t blink his eerie gray eyes. “I haven’t seen this information. What is your source?”
Damn it, why couldn’t the man just obey instead of asking questions? Phillip fought down his ire. “My source is none of your concern. Someone targeted Theodore two weeks ago, and I have every reason to think the attacks will only escalate. We can protect him better than he can protect himself at this point. He doesn’t have the resources.”
Still no expression on Kozlov’s face. “Theo has Galen. That’s resource enough.” He straightened in his seat. “It’s against the law for an exile to return. If he sets food on Thalanian land, he would be incarcerated. That doesn’t sound particularly safe, my lord.”
“I know the law,” Phillip gritted out. “I’m prepared to temporarily lift the exile ruling, at least until we can get to the source of these attacks.” When Kozlov didn’t blink, he forced a worried expression onto his face. “For god’s sake, Kozlov, he’s my nephew. I can’t let him die.”
“Huh.” Kozlov finally nodded. “I’l
l get a team on it.” He pushed slowly to his feet. “And forgive me, my lord, but I’m not ordering him brought across the border until that exile is rescinded.”
“Don’t forget who you answer to.”
“I’m well aware of who’s in charge, my lord.” Kozlov shook his head. “But I can’t guarantee my men would follow my orders if I gave that one. They were Galen Mikos’s men before they were mine, and on top of that, they like Theo. There’s only so much I can ask of them where those two men are concerned.”
Phillip glared. “I’ll take care of it. Go.”
“My lord. I’ll see to this personally.” Kozlov dipped his head in a move that was barely a bow and walked out of the room.
His head of security couldn’t be trusted. Oh, Kozlov never quite stepped out of line, but Phillip couldn’t guarantee his loyalty, and that made him a potential problem down the line. Goddamn Theodore and Galen. Between the two of them, they inspired love and loyalty in a way Phillip couldn’t compete with. People who didn’t like Theodore’s posh manners adored Galen’s grittier attitude, and vice-versa.
If he removed Theodore, he’d have to remove Galen as well. The man wouldn’t stop until he found and punished the responsible parties, which would lead him right to Phillip’s door. While he was at it, they might as well take care of the girl in the process. Have the whole thing tied up in a neat little bow.
First, Phillip had to get them all back on Thalanian soil.
The sooner, the better.
15
Meg convinced Galen to watch a movie to kill some time, but it ended and Theo still hadn’t come back inside. She twisted on the couch and watched him through the glass. “Does he do this often?”
“No.” Galen cursed. “He just needs time.”
It was such a man thing to say. Not that there weren’t instances when distance was exactly what a person needed. But Theo wasn’t nursing some restless irritation or letting anger cool or recharging. He was hurting and frustrated and letting him stew would only make it worse. “I think you’re wrong.”
“That so?”
“That’s exactly so. He doesn’t need time to get even more wrapped up in his head. He needs a distraction.”
Galen snorted. “I bet you have a specific kind of distraction in mind, don’t you?”
“In fact, I do.” She started to stand, but stopped when he caught her wrist. Meg looked down at Galen, read the pain in his dark eyes—pain she had no doubt he intentionally revealed to her. “You have something to say.”
“It’s not going to fix anything. Your distraction. It’s going to put a Band-Aid on a gushing wound. Our time is winding down.”
Strange how what originally felt like a gift of limitations had begun to strangle all three of them. Meg had no answers. They weren’t normal people, and they just happened to be sharing the road for the time being. Their destinations stood on opposite ends of the world.
Knowing all that didn’t mean she’d leave Theo to stew in his misery any longer than strictly necessary.
She forced herself to smile, forced herself to let go of the future that was never meant to be hers. “Come on, baby. Let’s go make Theo feel better.”
“I still think it’s a mistake.”
She huffed out a breath. “Your complaint has been heard and registered. Trust me when I say he needs this.” Maybe they all did. The magical night two weeks ago seemed a small lifetime away, and she wanted to reclaim it for herself and Galen as much as she wanted to for Theo. “Come on, Galen. What’s going to happen is going to happen, and sitting here in misery in anticipation for it isn’t doing us any favors.”
He finally allowed her to pull him to his feet. “Did you read that in a book? Because if ever there was someone who obsesses about all the things they can’t control, I’m looking at her.”
“Ha ha. You’re hilarious.” She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I had my life planned down to the barest detail. Didn’t make a damn bit of difference, did it? I still ended up along for one hell of a ride.” Life was messy. She knew it better than most.
But then, so did both of these men.
Meg released his hand and walked to the sliding glass door that opened to the back patio. The sun had lost its battle with the moon, though it took its time sinking low in the sky, begrudging missing out on even a second of its evening. It painted the sky in pinks and oranges and indigo, transforming a beautiful view into something otherworldly.
The man sitting on the patio, glaring at the sea, only made the sensation all that more acute. Theo was pretty enough to be a fallen angel, but being in his presence was like bargaining with a crossroads demon. It felt good—so good that it made her ache sweetly—but in the end, it would take something vital when he walked away.
Her breath. Her heart.
Her very soul.
Stop it. You told Galen that brooding didn’t help, so take your own advice. You have this moment.
It has to be enough.
Meg didn’t look back to see if Galen was following. He was. He might not know what to do to help Theo out of this moment, and he might give her shit about her methods, but in his heart of hearts, he trusted her to see them through. This time she held the reins.
Theo didn’t appear to notice that he was no longer alone. Just as well. He was just as stubborn as they were—more so in his own way—and if she came at him head on, he might snap. Whatever that looked like for a man like Theo. She was usually pretty good at reading people, but Theo flipped through masks the way women flipped through lipstick shades. He was so good at offering the safe, careful version of himself. The jokes. The ambition. The politically savvy future king.
But she’d been around him enough to see the flickers beneath. The man who’d lost his mother, lost his father, lost his purpose when he’d lost his kingdom. Galen might be the warrior, but Theo was a wolf cut off from his pack. Had he even had a chance to mourn his father’s death?
She didn’t think so.
She also doubted that he’d thought too hard about what came after he succeeded. Oh, he’d trained for this his entire life. It wasn’t the running the country that she worried about—it was the fear that he’d become brittle when everything crashed down on him at once. A marathoner who made it through excruciating obstacles, only to have their body fail them two feet past the finish line.
Galen will take care of him. The fallout isn’t for you to worry about.
Too bad she couldn’t control her feelings any more than she could control everything else going on in her life at that moment.
Meg pulled off her shirt, leaving her naked. She dropped it onto the chair on the opposite end of the pool from where Theo sat. He didn’t look over. Broody McBrooderson. She stretched her arms over her head and turned to face the sunset. This place was a perfect flavor of paradise, and she let herself soak it up for a few seconds.
She turned to find Galen standing next to the stairs into the pool. He still wore his jeans and customary white T-shirt, but there was nothing relaxed about the way he watched her. Mmmm, yeah. Not quite as good as sex, but it’s up there. She gave him a saucy grin and walked toward him, putting a little swing with each step. “How deep is this pool?”
“Five feet.” His gaze flicked to her bandaged arm. “Do you think that’s wise?”
“I’m healing up fine.” And if she could soak in a tub, she could soak in a pool. She stopped in front of him and ran her hands up his chest. “Galen?”
He let her inch closer, his eyes going so dark they seemed to swallow up the light of the sunset. “Yeah?”
“Mmmm. God, I love your body. Though I can’t pick my favorite part. Ass. Shoulders. Chest. Thighs. You’re a fucking masterpiece.”
“Not me.” He started to glance over his shoulder, but she caught the band of his jeans, drawing his attention back to her.
“Yes, you.” She pressed the heel of her free hand against his cock. “I would commit unforgivable acts just so you’d let us tie you to a bed and have o
ur filthy way with you.” Meg gave a happy sigh. “It makes me wet and tingly just thinking about you like that, all flat on your back and helpless to do anything but use those filthy words to convince Theo to give you what you want.”
“And what do I want?”
She released his pants and stroked her hands back up his chest. Meg went up onto her tiptoes, the merest breath separating their lips. “Him in your ass. Me on your cock.”
“If you’re offering—”
She pushed him into the pool. It shouldn’t have worked—Galen was every inch an immovable object—but he was too close to the edge and hadn’t expected it, so he went down like a felled tree. He burst through the surface with all kinds of retribution written across his face, and Meg laughed. “Catch me.” She jumped, hitting him in the chest and wrapping her legs around his waist. He wasn’t ready for that, either, and they both went under.
Galen finally got his feet under him and stood, her still wrapped around his waist. “I’m going to paddle your ass for that.”
“Promises, promises.” She laughed again. She couldn’t help it. Galen looked as disgruntled as a cat in a bathtub and twice as murderous. Tightening her legs around him, she worked his shirt off and lobbed it onto the patio, where it landed with a wet splat. “Not quite there yet, but we’re getting warmer.”
He disentangled her from him with ease and tossed her farther into the pool. Meg yelped as she hit the surface, and by the time she surfaced and wrestled her hair away from her face, Galen had managed to lose his jeans. He stalked toward her, the water creating tantalizing glimpses of his hips and cock before it climbed his chest. Damn it, she should have taken up her position in the shallow end.
Galen snagged her around the waist and pulled her to him. “I ought to drown you for that.”
“Ooooh, big scary man.” She wiggled against him. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Damn straight you will.” He launched her into the water again, a cat with his toy. This time, Meg didn’t get a chance to yelp before he was on her again. He caught her hips and twisted to pin her against the side of the infinity pool, his chest to her back.