Princess Bodyguard

by Sophie Thompson

  "Thanks. If this lasts more than a couple of days, I might take you up on it. I can only be around her for so long and not want to hold her. You know what I mean?" Callum put his hands in his pockets and felt like idiot for saying such a thing.

  "Nope. Haven't got a clue." Sam admitted. "But I've never been in love."

  Callum brushed off the last comment. Ignored it. This was not love. He wanted more from Elizabeth than to get in her pants, although he wanted that real bad, too.

  He wanted to hold her. Make her smile. Joke around like they had the night before. He missed waking up next to her and watching her sleep. He did not know what it was, but it was not love. Although how would he know. No one had ever said that word to him and he had never said it to anyone. In his world love was as foreign a concept as peace.

  "So, who's taking the first shift on Victor?" Callum asked ready to get back to business.

  Sam did not miss a beat. "Cal. He has never debriefed in the field before. We figured we would let the kid take a crack at it and if he comes up with nothing then we will send JT in."

  Callum nodded his head in approval. JT had a knack of getting anyone to talk about anything. It was a skill that had saved the team's backsides more than once.

  "I'm going to monitor coms. They sent some crackerjack analyst to the house this morning. One of Edward's whiz kids, who thinks she's all that and a bag of chips. She's over there playing with my dials right now. I just know it."

  Callum pursed his lips trying to hold back a smile. "Playing with your dials, huh?"

  "Leave it alone. It's not like that. She is a little, tiny thing with glasses and a ponytail."

  "I like ponytails." Callum said remembering having Elizabeth's wrapped his fist last night as he kissed her.

  "Whatever, dude." Sam said as he shifted his weight from one foot to another.

  Callum had never seen Sam so agitated and made a note of it for later.

  "Well, call me if you get anything. I'll be following the Princess around all day and then attending the ball tonight." Callum said in a deadpan voice.

  "Yeah, you win in the shitty assignments contest. I knew the minute you said we were working a mission for Edward that one of us would end up in a tux. I'm just glad it’s not me." Sam said heading for the door.

  "Yeah, next time Edward comes knocking, we need to all run for cover. Give me the desert or jungle any day."

  "Roger that."

  Callum followed Sam out into the hallway and caught a glimpse of Elizabeth heading down the stairs toward the front door where her driver was waiting with the car. Sam slapped him on his back and he headed to follow her.

  Chapter 11

  The Americans kept their promise and moved her father out of the palace earlier this morning. She and Stefan filled their mother in on the details of the king's condition, as well as the details of the threat that they were all facing. The queen insisted on staying with her children and helping where she could, but in the end Elizabeth and Stefan convinced their mother to stay near their father. If anything should happen, if the antidote did not have the promised effect, they should be together.

  By noon, the royal family leaked the story that the King had the stomach flu and needed to cancel his engagements for the day. They cancelled the Queen's appointments as well, just in case she was contagious. They said that the last thing the family wanted was to make the American delegation or their guests at the ball sick. The ploy seemed to have worked. No one seemed suspicious. Elizabeth and Stefan fielded routine questions and good wishes for the King.

  With one hurdle down, Elizabeth concentrated on building a plausible story for Victor's absence. She told Maya and the rest of her staff that Victor was called away for a family emergency in Russia and had to leave immediately. Stefan reassigned one of his guards to Elizabeth. She did not see Callum as she moved from meeting to meeting, but she felt his presence. They had moved the final day of negotiations with the Americans to the palace to make sure Callum had an excuse to be close if they needed it.

  Elizabeth and Callum had not spoken in the car as they drove that morning from the Embassy to the palace. Elizabeth did not trust anyone any more. Not even her driver. Once they arrived back at the palace, Callum pulled her close and whispered in her ear to move through her day as she would normally. He promised he would always be close even if she did not see him. It was unnerving. Elizabeth knew she looked ridiculous peering around corners and looking behind her, but knowing Callum was so close kept him in the forefront of her mind.

  After a long day, Elizabeth retired to her rooms to get ready for the ball. She saw a note from Callum on the coffee table. She recognized his no-nonsense handwriting immediately. It reminded her of their time in Honduras when he would leave her notes anytime that he was going out. He would tell her exactly where he was, how she could reach him, and when he would return. She thought it was a romantic gesture back then. Now, she knew it was just part of his bodyguard routine.

  She sat down on the sofa to read the note and remembered him sitting on the same cushions just the night before. His hands. His lips. Maybe if he needed to be around her all of the time, they should both give their libidos a break and just have sex. That way if anyone attacked her, Callum would be right there.

  Elizabeth laughed at herself. It had been a long couple of days -- heck, it had been a long four years - and having him so close made her crazy. It was like leaving a bowl of chocolate in front of a starving diabetic. Yep, it had been a very long four years.

  Elizabeth ignored the twinges of her unsatisfied sex drive, and read the note. Callum told her he would see her at the ball and the addendum to the negotiations that they had discussed earlier was in place, which told her that the team had installed the cameras and alarms. The note went on to say that if she wanted to discuss the matter further, he would be at the ball. He signed the note and left two phone numbers.

  Somewhere in the basement of the palace was a box of notes like this one. Ones Callum left for her in Honduras. As her father promised, a nameless, faceless person went through the cabin and packed up everything she and Callum left there. About a month after she moved into the palace, the boxes arrived.

  She did not have the stomach to touch them and asked that they be burned. She thought they would be, but Maya told her about a year ago that the boxes still existed and were stored with the rest of the family's personal, previous palace things. Elizabeth had not given those boxes another thought until today. Now, they felt as if they might take on a life of their own like some horror movie or campfire story. After all of this was over, she would need to tell Maya to finally burn them.

  Elizabeth crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash basket. She did not intend to save anymore of his letters. Her maid knocked on the door to help her get ready for the ball. Elizabeth wanted to look fabulous. She chose a floor length black beaded dress that had a low, but still respectable, V-neck and lace cap sleeves. The dress hugged her curves in the right way and was forgiving where it should be.

  She wore her hair pinned to one side in a wave that cascaded down over her left shoulder. Large diamond earrings hung from her ears. Her maid reached for a necklace, but Elizabeth stopped her. She thought a necklace would be too much with the beads and opted for a bare neck. Elizabeth gave herself one last glance in the mirror and was pleased with what she saw.

  Watson waited in the blue room for her.

  "You look exquisite, Elizabeth. Truly. You take my breath away." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek by her ear and whispered. "I can't wait to make you mine so I can help you into dresses like this and out of dresses like this."

  Elizabeth took a small step away from him, but offered him a warm smile in consolation.

  "Elizabeth, there is something I want to talk to you about before we go inside. Okay?"

  "Of course. Would you like to sit down?" She gestured to the gold and blue seats near them.

  "No, I'm fine. I wanted to see if you have given any
more thought to my proposal."

  Elizabeth looked down and played with her thumbnail. She hoped she was doing the right thing, but if things did not go well with her father the she could be queen. She needed to show the country she was responsible and stable.

  Callum made it clear he was not interested in the job. She knew in her head that marrying Watson was the right thing to do. It would make her parents happy and could ease her father's mind to know that the kingdom was in stable hands should anything happen.

  Watson placed his hands over hers and she looked up in to his blue eyes. She did not feel the heat in her belly the way she did when she looked into Callum's, but heat was not what this choice was about.

  "Please say you have been thinking about it. Thinking about me." His voice was soft and patient, but held a new edge she had not heard before.

  "Yes, of course I have. There has just been so much going on. With my father sick and Victor out, there has been too much going on to think about me and you."

  She felt him tense. "Where's Victor?"

  "A family emergency." She hated that she lied to him. It not way to start off a lifetime together, but something in her gut told her now was not the time. She could tell him everything later when they were not pressed to attend the ball.

  He squeezed her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckle. "I thought I could wait, Elizabeth, but I want you. I want us so badly. We could announce the engagement after the signing."

  "What? Tomorrow?" She was not ready.

  He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger more forcibly that was comfortable. Then he tilted her head up so their eyes met and he gave her a warm smile.

  "I want you Elizabeth Astoria. I love you. Say yes and make me the happiest man alive."

  He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on her lips. When he pulled away, he smiled.

  "We will be good together, you and I." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Stop thinking so much."

  Her head spun. Why couldn't she just say yes? She would eventually, once Callum left and they figured out who was threatening the royal family. She wanted to confine in Watson. She had shared so many things with him over the years that it did not feel right holding something back from him. But, with her father's life on the line, she knew now was not the time.

  "I promise I will think about it and give you an answer soon."

  "That is all I can ask. Let's go to the ball. Your brother will be upset at me if you are late for the receiving line."

  Elizabeth took the arm he offered her. They chatted about mundane things as they walked.

  "How was your trip to the north?" She asked.

  "Fine. The fighting has been concentrated to one area. We hope we can negotiate a cease-fire soon." Watson led them into the hallway to begin the walk to the ballroom, which was located on the other side of the palace from the family wing.

  "That is excellent news."

  It would mean so much to her father if they could make peace will the northern traditionalists.

  "Yes, it is. How are your parents? I hear they are not feeling well."

  "No," Elizabeth lied, "but I hope they will be up and around tomorrow."

  "As do I. Maybe I could see them later."

  "Maybe." She said.

  As Watson led her to the ballroom, Elizabeth fought the urge to peer around corners and look for Callum. Her stomach did a somersault for no reason and the hairs on the back of her neck tingled. She knew he was close.

  Callum watched Elizabeth and Watson walk down the hall past him. They looked like the perfect royal couple. A part of him was happy for her. Watson was her future. He could accept that, although he requested that the team back at the safe house run a deep dive on Watson just in case. He wanted to make sure he covered all of his bases, and if he found out that Watson kept a mistress or hid some other deep, dark secret, Callum reasoned that it would better if Elizabeth knew sooner rather than later that Watson was not the man for her. Jealously or not, he wanted to make sure that the man that eventually claimed her was worthy.

  Callum used his skill and training to follow Watson and Elizabeth to the ballroom. He blended in with the crowds when they reached the public spaces. He felt his ear piece buzz and found a secluded spot to hold a conversation. He called the safe house on his cell phone and immediately went secure as soon as Sam answered.

  "Hey, Mac. Buzz just got back from the debriefing with Victor. It looks like he is not our guy."

  "Damn it." Callum wanted to hit something.

  "Yeah, I know. Hold on, I'm passing you to Buzz so he can update you with the latest."

  Callum heard Buzz's deep baritone voice on the other end. "We talked to Victor all afternoon. He admitted to still being on the Russian payroll, but said his loyalty was with Elizabeth and her family. It always had been. If he fed any intel to the Russians, it was all benign and passed to help Windsor. The Russians just wanted to keep someone on the inside just in case they needed him."

  "And you believed that crap." Callum did not buy it for one minute.

  "Yeah, I do. You weren't in the room with him. It may not be as rosy rainbows as he made it out to be, but he cares for Elizabeth and her family. That I would take to the bank."

  "Okay." Callum trusted Buzz's gut instinct. "Did he know anything about Argent."

  "Yeah. Here's where it gets interesting. Victor admitted to being the one to make the AP contact on Elizabeth's phone."

  "What!" Two tuxedo-clad gentlemen turned and looked at Callum. Callum pivoted and walked further down the hall while still keeping Elizabeth in his sights. "You said he wasn't the link."

  "He's not. Get this. He called his AP contact as a signal to us. He knew from his own sources in country that someone had restarted the Argent program. He just was not sure who. He had been trying to track it for the last month, but wanted help. He knew that the AP number he called would trigger our interest. He also knew that if he used Elizabeth's phone, somehow it would link back to you."

  "You're kidding me. He made a bet on a lucky roll of the dice and used Elizabeth at collateral. I don't like it."

  Callum squeezed the phone in his hand. He wanted five minutes with Victor. How the hell could he put Elizabeth in jeopardy like that? If the US was listening, it is a good bet other countries were as well.

  "Neither did Edward." Buzz chuckled. "You know how Edward doesn't like to be played. He took over most of the questioning from there."

  "And?" Callum asked.

  "Edward is triple checking every word that came from Victor's mouth, but so far it all seems like the truth. Argent is alive and well. He called it an assassin's drug. Unless a doctor knows what he is looking for, there is no way he would diagnose the combination of toxins in time."

  "Victor believes someone plans on using it against the royal family to restart a civil war."

  Callum's heart went cold. Someone tried to kill the king. Elizabeth was next in line, which made her a target.

  "So the attempt on the king was real, and when that failed . . .what? Why kill Phillips and the guy at the ballet."

  "Proof of concept we think, but here's the kicker. Vic does not think the auction is for Argent, he thinks AP is paying the highest bidder for a civil war." Buzz said. "It’s what they wanted four years ago, but the king did a better job that they thought he would at holding back the traditionalists."

  "They have to act before the American's establish a base here. With the extra forces here and our Alliance, it would be too risky. That is why Sunday is the deadline." Callum was stunned.

  He scanned the room and found Elizabeth in the middle of a receiving line. He wanted to grab her and take her away.

  "Who’s the AP connection?" Callum asked.

  "Vic did not know. We're working on it."

  Callum trusted the team and knew Edward would not rest until he got to the bottom of this even if he had to call in additional reinforcements. The best place for Callum to be was right where he was. As close to Eliza
beth as possible. His gut told him that she was at the center of this. He just had no idea how.

  "Buzz, I mean it. As soon you guys get anything, even if it doesn't make sense, call me. I don't like this. I feel like we just walked in to the middle of a shit storm without a weather report."

  "Roger, that. Watch your back, Mac. Try to get the Princess to leave this shin-dig early. You don't need to deal with a crowd tonight."

  Callum agreed. "Got it. Anything else?"

  "Yeah, get me back out to the field as soon as possible." Buzz joked.

  "You and me both."

  Callum ended the call with Buzz and considered his options. His favorite was to throw Elizabeth over his shoulder and take her to the safe house until they could figure out what was going on. But he knew she would never agree. She had as much of a sense of duty as he did, and he respected that.

  He looked over at her as she greeted each person in the receiving line. His breath caught at how beautiful she looked. He wanted her in his arms so much his limbs ached. Elizabeth was an incredible combination of strong and fragile that had facilitated him from the day they met. Damned if he would let anyone use her or threaten her or her family. Ever.

  To hell with watching her from the sidelines. If he was going to protect her, he needed to be up close and personal. It was time he did what he came to Windsor to do. Leverage his relationship. Get her close. And keep her safe. Callum headed off in the direction of the royal family to make his presence known.

  Chapter 12

  Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief when the Chief Protocol officer came and whispered in her ear that it was time for the receiving line to close. She and her brother walked into the ballroom once they were formally announced and took their place in the center of the dance floor to officially open the evening.

  After their dance ended, she and Stefan made their obligatory rounds with the senior members of Parliament and key dignitaries. During one of her many turns around the dance floor, Elizabeth found herself looking around the room for the one man she had not seen yet. She knew Callum was somewhere in the crowd. Selflessly, she wanted to see him dressed in a tuxedo. The romantic in her wanted him to dance with her, although she could not see Callum ever taking to the waltz. An image of his scared chest filled her thoughts and she missed a step. Her partner smiled as if nothing had happened. Embarrassed, Elizabeth tried to refocus on her partner, but could not help herself from scanning the crowd. Her eyes inadvertently landed on Watson. He smiled and waved.