Null & Void_a Royal States Novel

by RJ Blain

  “That’ll make your auction organizing challenging. You said you were on birth control. It might work.” His tone turned wry. “Maybe. I wouldn’t count on it. There’s a silver lining in the cloud.”

  “Oh?”

  His chuckle turned my knees to goo, and he held onto me tighter. “You didn’t read the questionnaire, did you?”

  I blushed and straightened. “I was busy.”

  “Fainting is hard work. I’ve done it a couple of times.”

  The confession somehow made me feel a little better about things. “Really? Tell me!”

  “Go out to dinner with me, and I’ll tell you.”

  I narrowed my eyes, twisting around to face him. While my memory often failed me, I recognized his face, as disturbingly handsome as he’d been in New York working as my boss. I’d remembered correctly about his hair and eyes, a match for our daughter’s. “Is this supposed to be a date?”

  “It can be, but honestly, I’m starving. I flew one of my planes here.”

  “You flew?”

  “I got my flying license in case I needed to rescue my future wife and child. I got the plane for the same reason, too. I also learned how to sail almost any type of boat. I may have gone a little overboard.”

  “May have? A little?” My eyes widened, and I pulled away, cursing the cuff binding me to my desk. “You ran away from Montana without telling anyone?”

  “That may have happened.”

  “Let me go.”

  He shook his head. “You’ll run away.”

  Spitting curses at him, I grabbed my phone and stabbed at the number pad. “You’re a cretin!”

  With a smug smile, he sat on the edge of the desk. “I am.”

  I connected the call, listening to the ring tone.

  “You should go home,” Jessica answered.

  “I seem to have acquired a stray animal. How do I get rid of it?”

  William crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at me. With my cuffed hand, I flipped my middle finger at him.

  “What sort of animal is in the building? I didn’t think anyone brought pets to your work.”

  “It ran away from home, relieved Geoff of duty, and is now sitting on my desk, glaring at me. I’d kick it out of my office, but Geoff handcuffed me to my desk,” I grumbled.

  “I will call you back in five minutes.”

  “Would you like me to put him on the phone and spare you calling him? Because I’m pretty sure he won’t answer. I’m curious if you have a country song or a death march for a ringtone, though.”

  “Last time I checked, it was a Christmas song because I approved his dumbass idea about the auction.”

  “Hold on.” I held the phone out to him. “If you don’t talk to her, I’m going to go through the binder of single men and describe the assets of each one.” Allowing myself a smirk, I added, “There’s a lot of them. It’ll take all night.”

  He took the phone, sighed, and said, “Yes, Jessica. I ran away from home. Did you really think I was going to stay in Montana when Mackenzie was here considering the competition? No. I sent Geoff and that other RPS agent home and told them to enjoy their weekend. I assigned myself as her security.”

  His expression soured, and he gave the phone back to me. “Tell her I’m not leaving. I’m not wearing my mask, and I don’t want to say something I’ll regret later. I don’t feel like wearing the damned mask.”

  I frowned but took the phone back. “Apparently, His Royal Majesty is emotional and can’t handle talking to you without his mask, so I have to relay messages. He wants me to tell you he’s not leaving.”

  “He’s really not wearing his mask?”

  “He’s not wearing a mask. I think he’s tired and hungry.”

  “And without his security.” Jessica cursed. “He really sent Geoff home?”

  “He did. Geoff gave him the keys to the handcuffs along with my car keys.”

  “Why did Geoff handcuff you? I mean, I told him to if you got feisty, but I didn’t think he’d actually do it.”

  I bit my lip and ducked my head, fighting the urge to laugh. “I wanted him to go home because I wanted to work late, and he refused. We had an argument over it, which he won when he handcuffed me to my desk. I didn’t even know someone could use handcuffs that quickly. I was cuffed before I realized what he was doing.”

  “A lot of experience,” Jessica admitted. “I’ve been handcuffed to my desk a few times. I’ve learned to keep my hands and feet away from convenient items when my agents are on a mission to keep me contained. Once, Geoff handcuffed me to him during a drill. We determined that handcuffing monarchs to keep track of them during an emergency wasn’t wise. He broke his arm making sure I didn’t break my neck.”

  The entire time I’d known Geoff, I’d never seen him with a broken anything. “I see. What do I do with him?”

  “Take him home with you, cuddle, catch up, keep him contained in your condo. Try not to let anyone know who he is.”

  William’s phone rang, a normal ring tone, but he grabbed his phone, stepped away from my desk, and answered, “Hey. Why aren’t you in bed?”

  Mireya.

  I lowered my voice to a whisper. “My miniature demonic entity is stealthily speaking to her father on the phone.”

  William stepped into the hallway, leaned against the doorframe, and spoke to our daughter in hushed tones.

  “That’ll keep him busy for a few minutes, then. Sorry, Mackenzie. I didn’t think he’d actually fly in. And without his bodyguards. What is he thinking?”

  “He was thinking I was seriously looking for eligible royal bachelors.”

  “Right. Obsessed man on a warpath to have the family he’s wanted for a decade. I’m the one who’s stupid to even wonder why he’d show up. Take pity on him, Mackenzie. Please.”

  I watched him, his head bowed, murmuring in a voice too soft for me to understand. “I’m not going to pity him, Jessica. I’ll take him home, make sure he gets something to eat, and tuck him in. Disguise him as an RPS agent for the weekend. I’m sure you can loan him a horse that won’t offend him too much.”

  “There’s the problem of his mask. He needs to be wearing it.”

  “If he’s acting as an RPS agent, his job is to sit there and look pretty for my enjoyment.”

  “No, he’d be there to protect you. And, if necessary, protect you at the cost of his own life. That’s what it means to be an RPS agent. No. He’s not going to act as an RPS agent. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Okay. Geoff does deserve the weekend off. What do we do?”

  “Take him home, reassure him, and let him unwind. I’ll come up with something to let him stay under foot without telling the world he ran away from Montana.”

  “Just invite him to the ride. Then he can wear his mask, ride a horse he’ll like, and posture for the other eligible bachelors and act like a peacock.”

  Jessica chuckled. “And that’ll let me bring in his RPS agents, who are likely scouring Montana for him.”

  “They aren’t tracking his phone?”

  “As if he’d let anyone track his phone.”

  “Uh huh. He has mine tracked, he has our daughter’s tracked, and he’s allowed to run around willy-nilly?”

  “I wish you the best of luck changing that.”

  “If he wants me taking those prescriptions, he will be properly tracked by his security.”

  “Mireya, call me in the morning, all right? There’s something I have to attend to. My phone’ll be silenced until the morning, so don’t worry if I don’t answer, okay? Send me a text if it’s important,” William said, his voice gentle while his glare bore into me. “Sleep well, baby.”

  “I have earned the ire of His Royal Majesty of Montana.”

  “Should I hang up now and tell you to have a good night, but try not to have too good of a night? I’m not going to be able to explain away a pregnancy if you’re showing by the time the auction rolls around. Well, I suppose I could. I’ll come up
with a backup plan if a certain someone wins a wife before the auction.”

  William stalked towards me with narrowed eyes.

  “If he wants to discuss possibilities of winning a wife before the auction, he has a lot of talking and groveling to do.”

  He halted, his eyes widening.

  “I’ll leave you to that discussion. Add a backup plan to the auction should he earn his way into your good graces.”

  “You could just tell everyone he’s my last-ditch effort to get out of the auction as only single women are forced to participate. If I’m dating someone, congress can’t auction me off. That’ll let me sit in the auditorium and eat popcorn while he’s sold on the man-meat market.”

  “Mackenzie!”

  “It’s his fault he got overenthusiastic. If he hadn’t insisted on adding the betrothal elements, he could have just showed up, found a proper princess or queen, and spent a filthy amount of money on her, then I wouldn’t have to spend so much time admiring pretty princes.”

  William resumed his stalk, the corners of his mouth twitching. While difficult, I twisted, stood on my good foot, and fended him off with my cuffed hand and medical boot.

  “Are you having fun taunting him?”

  “Fun isn’t the word I’d use, but you begged me to take pity on him. This would let him feel important and give him a chance to pretend his attempts are being effective. Royalty, I’ve noticed, need to feel important. Maybe I should just get him a puppy so he can feel loved.”

  “I’ll extend an official invitation for William so he can come on the official ride. Then he can posture to his heart’s content. The others attending will feel honored they’re in the same group with him, and I can start spreading some rumors he is interested in my auction committee chairwoman. In your proposals, you better include clauses to cover alternatives to the auction if he’s not going to be on the, as you say, man-meat market.”

  “We could turn it into an auction for twenty minute pitches for diplomatic affairs should he somehow find someone willing to put up with him before the auction,” I suggested. “Political pitches, trade pitches, whatever it is you royals do when speaking to leaders of other nations. He has brothers and sisters. He could entertain betrothal agreements for them.”

  “I’m not selling my siblings,” William stated.

  “I didn’t ask you, Your Majesty.” To make it clear he wasn’t invited to contribute in the discussion, I hopped on my good foot and aimed a kick at his shins, but he stepped out of my reach. “Sorry, Jessica. He’s against the idea of selling his siblings. Since he’s not at home to defend his turf, would you inquire with his siblings if I can sell them at auction?”

  “He has a few single siblings, so yes. I can do that. I’m going to call his RPS agents and get them official authorization to come into Texas. In the meantime, I’m going to pull a team together and tighten security around you. Stay there until the agents arrive, then take him home as discreetly as you can. I’ll send a team to your home and make certain it’s secure.”

  “Jessica, I have a Ferrari. There’s nothing discreet about my car. I can’t make him walk. The first time someone sees him, they’ll question why someone like me is hanging out with a model like him. If you swarm the place with agents, everyone will know something is going on. If he slouches in the driver’s seat and we keep the windows up, no one will think twice about it; they’ll just think he’s Geoff driving me home in my car rather than his SUV.”

  There was a long silence, then she sighed. “All right. That’ll maintain the illusion nothing has changed. Just be careful. Also, he’s not a model.”

  “He sure as hell looks like one.” William chuckled, and I glared at him. “Not a single word out of you!”

  “Please be careful, Mackenzie. I don’t need an incident tonight.”

  “I’ll take him home with me, but you owe me.”

  “I’m pretty sure I owe you for letting him slip into my kingdom unannounced.”

  “Yes, you do. Pat can pay with his services over the weekend.”

  That earned me a glare from my daughter’s father.

  “More yams and chicken? He can cook other things, you know.”

  “He only has himself to blame for this. Yams and chicken, Jessica. That’s the price of my help.”

  Jessica laughed. “All right. Take the stray home, get him fed, and tuck him into bed. Should I assume you’re taking tomorrow and Friday off?”

  “No, I’m not taking tomorrow and Friday off. He’s just going to have to sit quietly in the corner and sulk while I work. He only has himself to blame for this, as he’s created extra work for me.”

  “You need an assistant. Recruit him for the day. I’m sure he can make himself useful.”

  “I bet he thinks he can make himself useful,” I grumbled, feigning disgust. “Good night, Jessica. I’ll take this thing home with me.”

  “Thing? Poor William. I’d say sleep well, but I don’t think you’re going to be getting much sleep tonight for some reason. Have a good time!”

  She hung up on me, and I rolled my eyes, returning my phone to its cradle. “I’ve been bribed to take you home with me. You owe Pat, as I wouldn’t be doing this without a good bribe of yams and chicken.”

  “You’re right. I consider myself unfortunately indebted to Texas’s king.” William pulled out several sets of keys from his pocket, found the one for the cuffs, and released me. “If you run, I will chase you.”

  I thought about it. “That’s a start,” I conceded.

  It would do for the moment, and instead of running for the hills, I guided him through the building and took him to the car he’d used to make certain I knew exactly who he was and that he had been watching and waiting through the years, an unseen ally in my quest for null rights around the world.

  Chapter Thirty

  I underestimated William’s exhaustion. He drove my car with care, keeping well below the speed limit, and parked with the sort of caution that made me believe he valued the vehicle far more than I thought he should. The instant he stepped into my condo, he staggered to my couch, flopped onto it, and closed his eyes. Within moments, his breathing steady into the slow rhythm of peaceful sleep.

  I took off his shoes, covered him with my blanket, and made myself a cup of coffee to watch him sleep while I worked at the kitchen table, booting up the laptop my boss had given me so I could work from home if necessary.

  My phone rang, and I dug it out of my purse, checking the display. I frowned at the number, which had a Montana area code. Swiping my finger across the screen, I answered, “Mackenzie Little speaking.”

  To my relief, William didn’t stir.

  “Hello, Miss Little. My name is Alfred. I’m with the RPS of Montana. Her Royal Majesty of Texas gave me this number and instructed me to call you about His Majesty.”

  Of course she had. I sighed. “He’s asleep on my couch. My building already has RPS security clearance, so he should be safe enough here. I’m on the top floor, and people are used to me having a man in a suit tagging along as security.”

  “There is the issue of his mask, Miss Little.”

  “Alfred, I worked with him for years without him wearing his mask. He hasn’t been wearing it since he invaded my office and drove my RPS agents away. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  “Unless he gives you an order you don’t want to obey. He has a very dangerous talent, Miss Little. Your record states you’re a null. This will make you at high risk to his talents.”

  I grinned, looking over the sleeping form of my daughter’s father. “No is my favorite word in the dictionary. I find it very enjoyable using it on him. If he needs a refresher course on the definition of no, I’ll practice it on him all day tomorrow and Friday while he’s acting as my assistant, as I have work to do that doesn’t involve dancing to his tune. If he wanted my undivided attention, he should have scheduled a visit like a normal person.”

  I loved the sound of silence.

  “Pleas
e tell me he has useful skills. I suppose I can have him just serve as an ornament. Also, it seems he didn’t bring any clothing with him. I don’t want a rumpled assistant.”

  “I, uh, I…”

  “You have no idea how to behave around me, do you?”

  “My apologies, Miss Little.”

  “You need to leash him. I’ll even do you a favor, and I’ll make it clear he can’t track my phone unless I can track his. It’s probably safe to assume you can track my phone to keep an eye on his location, as he is insisting on following me around. He’s a tick.”

  “I see someone informed you that you were being tracked.” Alfred didn’t sound happy about that.

  Too bad. “My daughter is also being tracked.”

  The silence turned uncomfortable, and I sighed. “Just have someone bring him some clothes. He’s going to be going on a trail ride this weekend, and will need proper attire. The head of his detail can deliver it to my condo in the morning before I leave for work. There is a spot reserved for RPS agents in the work garage, so you can bring an agent or two to be on guard, pending Her Majesty’s approval. These agents will be allowed in the hallway outside of my office, but they aren’t welcome inside my office unless I invite them.”

  “With all due respect, Miss Little—”

  “I work on sensitive government material, sir. I’m not threatening government confidentiality. I don’t allow the head of my detail in my office unless it’s necessary.” Or he was handcuffing me to my desk, but Alfred didn’t need to know that.

  “Why do you have a head of detail? You’re just a null.”

  I hung up on him. “What a dick.”

  “He is. I haven’t had a legitimate excuse to get rid of him, and he’s good at his job,” William replied. “If he calls you back, just give me your phone. I’ll take care of him.”

  “Does he know you’re Mireya’s father?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does he know you’re gunning to convince me to marry you?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “He wanted to know why I had a head of detail, as I’m just a null.”