by Nana Malone
As everyone talked and made plans, I wondered if we were completely insane. This was going to be nuts. We could all get killed. But if Ashton had help in the Guard, they really couldn't be trusted, so the whole family was going to have to pitch in. "Everyone has their assignments. Penny and Sebastian, obviously, you have to be here for the ball. But right after it’s over, you will take off. Tristan and I will start searching for the safe and see what we can do about gaining access. The rest of you, we need to make sure that nobody dies."
Bryna raised a hand. "Ariel, I can help your team bag and tag the Council members. Since technically, I'm a Lady, I can ask for a dance. It will be easy to tag them then."
I smiled. "Yeah, that will be perfect."
Trace nodded his thanks. "Thank you, because that's going to save me from having to dance with any of them."
Jax muttered under his breath. "That is a relief. We have all seen you dance, Trace."
I looked at Penny and Sebastian. "Does this whole plan feel as crazy as it sounds?"
Penny grinned. "Abso-fucking-lutely! But Team Winston Isles, we're on it. We’ve already saved three royals. I dare Ashton to fuck with us."
Ethan glared at Penny. " The way you swear, people likely think I raised you in a barn."
"I'm the queen now. I think that has earned me the right to swear."
Ethan threw up his hands again. "I don't know what I did to deserve you as a child."
"Clearly, you did something awesome," was Penny's response.
Next to me, Tristan slid his hand over mine. "Are you sure about this?"
"No. We might get everyone killed."
"No, not with you watching and planning. We're going to make this happen and put Ashton in his place, once and for all."
I certainly hoped he was right, because all the people in there were my family. It was my job to keep them safe. I just hoped that I'd be able to do my job well.
Sebastian…
It was taking everything I had not to burn down this insane plan.
I think Penny could tell I was struggling with the idea of putting her in danger. But she was right. Ariel was right. Everyone was right. Even Ethan had warned me before about stifling her, forcing her to comport and behave like a queen.
Hell, that wasn't who I fell in love with.
I had fallen in love with a really clumsy, happy-go-lucky, spirited Penny, or Len, rather. And like it or not, she had protected me when I didn't think I needed protection.
And then there was the inconvenient fact that I'd lived for years without a guard just by being a regular guy and blending in. Even now, off the island, most people wouldn't exactly recognize me. It's not like I was an actor or someone famous who's always in tabloids and on tv screens.
Especially now that I had quieted down and hadn't been up to my old tricks. We could walk around free. And we could pull this off. We had to pull this off. Tristan needed us. And we honestly didn't know who to trust. Especially if Ashton was behind all this.
Not if... that was true. My cousin, Tristan’s brother, was absolutely, diabolically evil. Just hearing what Tristan had gone through and knowing that none of us had been able to help… not me, not my father, not his own parents… it made me furious. So now, we were going to embark on something dangerous to finally take Ashton down once and for all, and I was taking my wife into the field.
Penny eyed me across the table over the map. Her dark eyes scanned my face. God, she was so fucking beautiful. Why was it that I always felt like this around her?
First, there was that warmth, right in the middle of the chest, that spread so easily. And then there was the injection of euphoria. If I could just get a smile out of her, I felt like I was literally the king of the world. And then there was that fire that quickly chased the euphoria. Then I wanted her flat on her back. Or basically against any flat surface. She didn't have to be on her back, just in some position where I could slide into her and be at home and completely intertwined with her.
We had been married for over a year now. Wasn't this feeling going to go away? Unfortunately, that itchy heat also came with fury and fear. Just the idea that somebody would even look at her cross-eyed made me want to do things I knew all too well that I was capable of.
"If you keep looking at me like that, we're going to end up naked instead of planning this thing."
I lifted a brow. "Is that so bad?"
"Sebastian."
I shrugged. "What? I'm just saying as wives go, you're hot."
She laughed and shook her head. "Oh my God, am I going to be fending off your hands the entire trip?"
"I mean, partly. I'm just being honest."
That earned me more laughter.
"I'm glad you think it was funny. I’m not kidding." Just the idea of being in the field with her with no guards, completely alone and free, made me really want her. It made me want to do dirty things to her that were completely inappropriate.
Uh, fuck inappropriate.
"Come on, Sebastian. Focus. This is the plan."
She laid out the tablet in front of us. "So, Zia and Ariel targeted the location here. We'll need to observe, get the lay of the land. Ariel is already pulling Amelia's browsing history and her shopping history. But she's not going by the name Amelia Gilroy. She's using the name Stephanie Willcox. How she even found that ID or any of that is beyond me."
I folded my arms as I stared at the tablet. "I bet you anything that Ashton had something to do with it."
She made this low feral snarling sound and I slipped her a glance. "Tell me how you really feel."
"Sebastian, what he did to Tristan for all those years, and what he did to Ariel, honestly, I could kill him."
"I believe you. And, I want to kill him too, actually. He just came out of the womb wrong. It's like he was already fucked up, and then he was born an entitled prince, which just made it worse."
"Babe, can we strip him of his title? I know that that's touchy, and obviously he was born a royal, but this..."
"That would be one hell of a fight with the Council. As much as they're willing to congratulate themselves for putting him in prison for what he did, there is still tradition to think about. And that would be potentially even more painful for Uncle Roland."
"I know. I just hate the fact that he sits in cushy Stanstit. Yeah sure, it's a prison, but it's the nicest prison I've ever seen. I want him locked up with someone named Bubba, who wants to make real good friends with him."
I coughed. "I don't wish violence on anyone. Well, except him."
"I know. He is still your cousin."
"I want to be clear Len," I pulled her close. "The moment he put his hands on you, he wasn't my cousin any longer. He wasn't blood. If I didn't think I'd use up all my good will fighting Tristan's exile, I would strip him today."
She nodded slowly and a small smile played on her lips. "You called me Len."
I grinned down at her and leaned down to steal a kiss. "Yeah, today you remind me of Len."
"Your hapless neighbor who was afraid of mice. Little did I know you were more afraid of mice than I was."
I released her immediately and scowled. "Who likes mice?"
She threw her head back and laughed uproariously. "God, you should have seen your face."
"I swear to God if you bring that up again…"
Penny ignored me and just laughed, holding her sides. When we first met, she and Ariel had staged a fake mouse infestation to get me, as the unsuspecting neighbor, closer to Penny. They released one in her flat, and there was something about just seeing the creepy-crawly, little furry thing that sent me into an undignified state. Who the fuck liked mice? Everyone was afraid of mice. I grumbled under my breath, even as she laughed.
"You should see your face now, it's priceless."
"Back to the plan, okay?"
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, so we'll observe her for a day. Back up will be in the vicinity. That was my father's call. You're still the king, and he's not going to let
you go completely without your guard."
I shrugged. "I think it's a good idea."
"We will both have to wear GPS trackers."
I nodded. "I can live with that." Hell, I could live with all of that because I was the one who wanted her to have a guard. But she needed the illusion of freedom.
"And they won't come in unless we ask, so we will have comms on.” She laid out everything we needed. “We just have to check the final plan, send it to my father for final approval, and we can go the day after tomorrow."
"You and I, back in the field together."
"Technically, we were never in the field together. I was in the field, and you were just being a cheeky prince."
I laughed. "I wasn't that cheeky."
"Oh please. I could totally tell you were checking me out the first time you saw me."
"How is that my fault? You were bent over with your thong showing, and you had the most amazing ass." Just thinking about it made my blood flow straight to my dick.
"You're incorrigible."
"Yes, is that a problem?"
"Yes, we're trying to focus on this mission. Do you think we'll find her?"
"We need to find her. We don't really have any other choice."
"Well, there is one aspect we haven't considered."
I frowned. "What's that?"
"That she might be in cahoots with Ashton."
My teeth grazed my bottom lip. The thing was, I had thought about that possibility. She'd stayed away all this time, fueling the fires that maybe Tristan had something to do with it. It was a theory that might hold. After all, why stay away so long?
Penny studied the map in front of us. "I mean, I hope it's because she was afraid. I pray that it's because Ashton threatened her in some way. But I don't know. Your cousin managed to be pretty persuasive with a lot of people, so we'll need to watch our backs."
"Absolutely." What I didn't add was that I intended to take no risks with her life. If it meant bringing this girl back or keeping Penny safe, I would always choose to keep Penny safe. But I kept that little tidbit to myself.
Eleven
Penny…
"My butt’s asleep."
Sebastian turned and grinned at me. "You know, I have a way to wake you right up."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course, you do. You know this is not how I thought I’d be seeing Miami."
He shrugged as he shifted in the driver's seat. "I'm just saying, if you're looking for a way to wake up, I happen to know one. And I’ll bring you back. I promise."
"Promises, promises. And why am I quite certain that this methodology you have involves either your hands or your dick?"
He flashed a grin. "Well, my darling wife, aren't you dirty?"
"Yeah well, I have to keep up with the king, don't I?"
"This king? I'm innocent. I'm quite certain you have corrupted me with your evil ways."
I rolled my eyes. He was certainly playful now. Once he'd relaxed and decided to allow me to do this, it felt like the old days where we worked together and didn't battle so much on things like my safety. "I want to say thank you."
He was quiet for a long moment. "You don't have to thank me. I should probably be saying I'm sorry."
I frowned. "For what?"
"For stifling you. I guess, you know, with what happened to Dad… Just the idea of maybe losing you made me forget the fact that you are pretty badass all on your own."
I stared at him. "Thank you for that."
"It's not easy, but I will figure out a way to loosen the reins because there is no way in hell I am losing you."
I flushed, and I could see his secret smile. He continued. "I still want to keep you safe, but obviously, you're a Royal Guard. An Intelligence Guard to boot. You are probably deadlier than half the assassins that anyone could send for you, so I need to recognize that. I can't just ignore it as if it doesn't exist."
"And I promise I will be more mindful of my safety. You know, keep my phones on and all that. And I won't take any unnecessary risks. I promise when I leave the islands, I will take all the Guard in the world. But the islands are my home. I grew up here. Just like you. I'd like to be able to enjoy them without always having to worry about someone watching my every step."
He nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I get it. It's just... I don't know... It's easy to forget that you were brought in to save me and not the other way around."
I never asked him before, but when it came out, I worried about his response. "Does it bother you that I was the one who saved you?"
He shook his head. "Nope. It's not about being a sexist, sweetheart. It's more the idea of losing you fills me with this kind of insane rage. I want to kill any unknown perpetrator, and also lock you in a tower immediately, wrapped in bubble wrap just in case you might stub your toe."
"Look, just because I stub my toe every single morning when we wake up does not mean—"
He gestured a hand toward me. "You said it, I didn't."
"It's just a stupid bed. It's not trying to kill me."
"No, it's probably telling you that you should stay in bed more."
"And then what, just lay there for your sexual pleasure?"
"You know, that's not the worse idea you've ever had."
I rolled my eyes. "I thought we were having a serious moment."
"We were. Basically, I'm saying, I'm sorry, I've been a dick."
I nodded solemnly. "Well, I'm sorry you were a dick too."
He lifted a brow. "You're not sorry about anything?"
"Nope. I feel pretty good about things. I'm awesome."
His brow lifted. Suddenly, I squinted. There was a dark-haired girl slowly marching up Portello Ave. I nudged Sebastian. "Is that her?"
Instantly alert, his gaze narrowed. "Yeah, looks like her. It looks like Ariel has got a little competition in Zia when it comes to locating skills."
I glanced around. There were other pedestrians on the street, taking their time. The weather was beautiful for strolling about. But there was one in particular who looked sketchy. He had on sunglasses which wasn't abnormal, but the hat and the windbreaker were. It was almost eighty degrees, so the only logical reason for a windbreaker was to conceal a weapon. "Do you see that guy? Windbreaker in eighty-degree weather?"
Sebastian nodded slowly. "Yup. All right, let's go pick her up and get her the hell out of here."
"Wait, I think we should be inside, because if we approach her on the street, she's going to take off running and windbreaker guy is going to come after her. If he's concealing weapons, there's no guarantee of what he’s going to do."
"Yeah, that's a good point. Come on, let's go in then."
Ariel and Zia had negotiated access to her building. In seconds, Sebastian and I were out of our dark nondescript car. My hair had been pulled back into a sleek bun though my curls still threatened a full-on escape attempt. We looked pretty average. No one could probably distinguish us from the average tourist.
He came around my side of the car, threw his arm around me, and tucked me close. Then we just casually sauntered into Amelia’s building. We used our key for the inner door and went inside. I removed my sunglasses, Sebastian did the same, and then we turned left for the stairs. Amelia lived on the third floor. I spoke briefly into my comm unit where Michael, Trevor and Frank were waiting. "Six o'clock, about 400 yards behind the target, do you guys see the guy with the windbreaker?"
It was Ariel who replied. "Yep. Roone's already out of the car. He ran to the back of the building to try and intercept him."
"Okay, cool."
At Amelia’s door, Sebastian bent to his knees. It was my turn to be on look-out while he broke us in. We got the keys for the building, but seemed Amelia had changed her locks, so it was going to require the old-fashioned method to actually enter her flat.
"Do you want to tell me why you know how to pick a lock?"
"Do you want to tell me why you're asking questions?"
"I'm just curious. Where does a king
learn such things?"
"Being a king means I can learn whatever I want."
"Are you sure you and Lucas weren't raised together?"
He chuckled low. "Please." He stood on his feet and easily turned the knob. "I'm better with my hands than Lucas."
I laughed. "Okay... I wish I could tell him that. And then it's a real competition."
Sebastian just rolled his eyes. "Whose side are you on?"
"Mine. Always mine. Especially when it comes to hilarity. Watching you and Lucas trying to outdo each other breaking into things would be hilarious."
"Uh-huh. Come on. Quiet. Inside."
We let ourselves in knowing we had to wait a few minutes before Amelia slid her key in the lock on her door. When she had entered and closed her door, I stepped out. "Amelia, I'm sorry to do this. I know it's frightening, but—"
She opened her mouth to scream. Gently, Sebastian stepped from behind the door and clasped a hand over her mouth. "Shh. We're not here to hurt you. We swear we're not like the guys who were following you. We just want to talk."
She blinked rapidly, and her whole body was tense. Sebastian started to lower his hand as he crooned. "I know. You're scared. We're not going to hurt you. If you scream, I have to clamp my hand over your mouth again. I would rather not do that. Do you understand?"
She nodded vehemently and Sebastian eased off, not moving far though. I stepped forward. "Hello, my name is Penny."
"I know who you are. You're the fucking queen."
"I guess my reputation precedes me. Do you understand that your father has been looking for you for ten years?"
"I know people have been looking for me. That's why I'm staying hidden."
"Okay, I get it. You think you have something you have to hide from. I understand. But listen, outside there was a man following you. A man I don't think you're going to want to have a conversation with. So maybe we can take this discussion somewhere safer?"