by S. K Munt
Lincoln was too happy that she’d called him: “Babe,” out of habit in front of Tristan to protest further. Besides, the more secure the resort was, the more often she could visit.
Besides, his dad would be thrilled.
‘What were you thinking about doing exactly?’
‘Surveillance cameras along the perimeter,’ Garridan said quickly. ‘Manned full-time, of course. To start.’
‘You’ll need to trim the trees along the fence lines,’ Tristan pointed out, ‘make it easier to notice someone climbing through. Same goes with the gardens between the bungalows-it was way too easy for me to sneak into your party via the function room.’
‘That sounds reasonable,’ Lincoln agreed, trying not to think of the awful party that had ruined so many lives-and the aftermath of it, which had ruined his own. ‘But now that the function room is completely finished, I’ve put dead-bolts on the doors.’
‘Good,’ Garridan nodded, scratching a silver-streaked sideburn. He had an amazingly thick head of hair, for a three hundred and something year old man. In fact, he was in perfect shape physically-as buff as any twenty-five year old athlete Lincoln had ever met. ‘That’s one less thing to do, I guess.’
‘I’d like a camera near Lincoln’s room too, of course,’ Ivyanne chimed in. ‘It’ll be his room that Ardhi goes for.’
Lincoln’s stomach whirled unhappily. ‘But I’ve moved into the house now with Bane and Grace while dad’s away,’ Lincoln reminded her. His fathers three bedroom house was the only part of the resort that wasn’t part of the original plans. His dad had built it for them when they’d first moved there, demolishing the old caretakers house and building the owners house and managers suite, where Lincoln had been staying since he had turned twenty one and gotten himself a sex life. His bungalow blended in with the resort, but the rendered house stood out. It even had it’s own garage behind it with a street entrance. ‘Adele’s in my old room.’
‘Who also needs extra security,’ Tristan said quickly. ‘Two cameras then-especially in front of Lincoln’ garage. Ardhi’s bound to know that’s the easiest way in.’
Pintang stared at her hands. ‘Should have strangled him myself….’
Lincoln reached over and patted her hand sympathetically.
Garridan had started taking notes. ‘I’ll come down this week and take a look around.’
‘Take Ivyanne with you,’ Tristan said. ‘I don’t want her leaving your sight.’
‘Of course.’
‘That’s not fair!’ Ivyanne protested. ‘What about your personal time? You can’t baby-sit me twenty four hours a day!’
‘Actually, that’s the main reason I invited the boy’s here today.’ Garridan spoke up, closing his notebook and folding his hands on his table. ‘I have a proposal to make.’
‘Get in line buddy,’ Tristan jeered. ‘Lincoln and I were here first.’
Lincoln snorted despite himself. As much as he resented Tristan’s attempts to steal his girl, he’d found that getting along with him was easier now that he only had to do it occasionally. On top of that, he truly was grateful that Tristan had survived Ardhi’s second attempt on his life. For reasons unbeknown to him-Lincoln felt safer with Tristan around.
Pintang swatted Tristan, but amusement had alit within her eyes. It was just one more reason to be grateful for Tristan’s presence-reasoning Lincoln hoped he would be able to hold onto when Tristan inevitably pissed him off.
‘What is it?’ Ivyanne asked, ignoring the not so subtle war raging over her hand. She was getting good at that.
Garridan looked at Ivyanne. ‘You’re a queen now, and keeping you safe is this kingdom’s only priority.’ He cleared his throat. ‘So I propose that we form a royal guard.’
3.
‘A royal….?’ Ivyanne’s voice trailed off. She shifted in her seat. ‘Come on now Garridan. This place is nice, but it’s hardly Buckingham Palace. My list of enemies has two names on it. That’s not cause to rally the troops!’
‘Yes but unlike Queen Elizabeth, you don’t have a list of one hundred plus successors waiting lest something should happen to you. No parents, no siblings, no heirs…. you’re the most valuable commodity to this kingdom, and drastic measures need to be taken to protect you.’
Ivyanne held up her hands. ‘Isn’t that what we were doing already?’
‘We are, but it’s not enough.’ Garridan said. ‘I wanted these boys here for this conversation, because you’re as precious to them as you are to this kingdom. I need their support.’
‘You have mine,’ Lincoln said quickly, not looking at her.
‘An army wouldn’t be enough,’ Tristan agreed.
Ivyanne glanced at Lincoln, then Tristan, her outrage softened by their concern. She bit her lip then leaned back against the seat. ‘How big a guard are you talking?’
Garridan smiled. ‘Nothing excessive. I was thinking of six young, strong men, who have a talent when it comes to this sort of thing. I would post them around wherever you are, including when you travel and swim. Perhaps even three at a time would be enough, so they could trade-off shifts. Naturally, I’ll always be head of security, but even I need to sleep, and as Tristan demonstrated today-there are chinks in our armor.’
‘What did you do?’ Lincoln asked, looking at Tristan suspiciously.
Tristan smiled slyly. ‘Snuck in.’
Lincoln looked perplexed. ‘Oh.’
‘Right,’ Garridan frowned at his nephew. ‘Like I was saying, a team of six, who can trade off.’
‘Like who?’ Lincoln asked. ‘Bane?’
Tristan chuckled. ‘Bane’s strongest weapons are style, sarcasm and a mean martini. Pass.’
Saraya suddenly appeared behind Tristan. Her hair was slicked back from being in the hot tub. ‘Sven’s cousin Price just finished a stint in the Israeli army,’ she said, pushing her glasses up onto her head. ‘Dalton’s uncle Camus studied martial arts in Japan for ten years. He’s lethal.’
‘Lachlan Court Zara was enrolled in the Australian Army Reserve, two towns north of here,’ Tristan broke in. ‘But he’s working as a lifeguard down in Airlie now at the lagoon.’
‘Lachy’s that close?’ Ivyanne demanded, mystified to discover that her favorite male cousin was living locally. ‘Why hasn’t he-’ She stopped herself, remembering. No one was supposed to know where she lived-only those who lived there. Mail was going to post boxes in different towns and being forwarded to one in Proserpine. The phone number for the house was private, and Garridan had done something to her computer equipment-to every digital device in the house in fact-so any communications made didn’t show the origin of the messages. Of course Lachy didn’t know where she was.
Tristan nodded. ‘He was telling me at the-’ It was his turn to snap his mouth shut. Silence hung thickly from the unspoken word : ‘Funeral’. He cleared his throat, darted her an apologetic glance, and turned back to Garridan. ‘He won’t have mad skills, but he’s done some basic training, and I know he’d be eager to see Ivyanne again.’
‘There are a few ninja’s in the Itou family branch,’ Saraya went on.
‘What?’ Lincoln asked. ‘Aren’t they a Marked family? If they’ve got sons old enough to fight, why aren’t they here, scratching my eyes out over Ivyanne?’
‘Good memory,’ Saraya said, smiling. Then Ivyanne remembered that Lincoln had given him a crash course on their family history a month before. ‘But no, the ninja’s I’m referring to are women.’
Lincoln looked doubtful. ‘You want a few geisha’s guarding the woman I love? I don’t think so.’
‘Ugh...so sexist!’ Pintang said, looking genuinely annoyed.
Ivyanne giggled. She knew it was going to take awhile to break Lincoln’s human belief that women were inferior to men. And who better than the Itou’s to speed the process along? ‘Sahako and Sahori are not geishas.’ she said. ‘They’re warriors. If they’d been at the party, Ardhi would have been trussed up in poisoned origami the moment he opened his mo
uth.’
‘That’s true,’ Tristan agreed, but then his face went pink. ‘Not both twins though, okay? Preferably just one. Sahako would be the best choice.’
‘Really?’ Ivyanne frowned. ‘I heard that Sahori is a natural.’
Tristan made a face. ‘Yeah but she’s….’
Saraya laughed. ‘What Tristan is trying to say is that he got caught fooling around with Sahori on New Years, two thousand and ten, and that her father practically ran him out of town on a rail.’
Ivyanne was gobsmacked. ‘You slept with Sahori Itou?!’ she squeaked. ‘But that’s against the rules!’
Tristan glowered at her. ‘Firstly, I did not sleep with her, and wasn’t going to-we did too much Sake and happened to be in the hot tub at midnight when you’re supposed to kiss somebody…’
‘Kiss somebody naked?’ Saraya feigned naivety.
‘It’s tradition to skinny-dip in those baths,’ Tristan said hotly.
Ivyanne hated the fact that she was able to picture the image easily, and it made her incredibly jealous. First Link with Sherri and Lux and now Tristan and Sahori? She was going to have to dismantle the spa and keep her men out of temptation’s way!
‘It’s still against the rules,’ she huffed, feeling irritation rising inside her. Tristan had once promised his former lovers would never be a problem and already, she’d found herself thrust into the presence of two-Adele and Lux. Could she handle seeing Sahori too, knowing that they’d once shared an intimate encounter?
‘You were already promised to Nigara at that point,’ Tristan informed her. ‘The wedding was a year away. The odds of me being called up to take his place were-’
‘Probable enough to happen,’ Lincoln teased him. ‘Less than a year later. Man, you would have been-’
‘In copious amounts of trouble.’ Garridan chuckled.
‘No,’ Tristan was looking distinctly uncomfortable. ‘We weren’t going to take it further than that. It was just a kiss that got a little out of hand. We’ve all been there.’
Ivyanne looked down at her lap, blushing. She’d had a few similar experiences with Tristan-enough to know that a kiss almost always got out of hand with him.
‘Is she pretty?’ She couldn’t help but ask.
Tristan twisted his mouth and looked away. ‘She’s okay.’
‘Actually she’s sensational.’ Saraya said. ‘Her and her twin have been since they were like, four.’
‘You know I’ve recently punched two women…’ Tristan muttered in Saraya’s direction. ‘Keep it up girlie, and it’s gonna become three...’
‘Oh honey, you would have to catch me first,’ Saraya purred, eyes alight with wicked intent.‘Not that I’d run that fast..’
Ivyanne sort of wanted to punch Saraya too, but this was as animated as Ivyanne had seen her since her mother had passed, and she was grateful for anything that would make her pretty little assistant smile. Even if it was over a man Ivyanne had earmarked as a possibility for herself.
‘So if it’s so uncomplicated, why can’t we ask her to join the guard?’ Lincoln asked, playing the devil’s advocate. ‘I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.’
Tristan rolled his eyes. ‘Look it was just a kiss to me, but Sahori is... persistent.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘And she’s been calling a lot since I came back from the dead, telling me to keep her in mind if you and Ivyanne-’ he made a face and crossed his arms defiantly. ‘It would be a conflict of interest to have her around, not to mention that her intentions for me are against the rules.’
‘But you’ve given Pintang hope,’ Lincoln grinned. ‘How is a second back-up plan going to hurt anybody?’
‘You’re right. Maybe you should start working on one too.’ Tristan shot back.
‘Okay!’ Garridan held up his hand. ‘We’ve come up with some names, and I’ve come up with a few more. ‘How about we each write down three candidates, and drop their names in a hat? I’ll call the first six I draw out, and see how we go from there.’
‘I only remember one or two names,’ Lincoln said.
‘That’ll do. I know a few extra.’ Garridan looked at her. ‘Do you consent?’
Ivyanne shrugged. ‘What choice do I have?’
Garridan smiled and went inside.
*
‘That was incredible Pintang,’ Tristan said, resting his knife and fork across the plate in front of him. ‘What kind of sauce was that?’
‘Barbecue, only it’s my own recipe.’ Pintang dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. ‘But I’m sure it goes better with the steak, than with your vegetable patty.’
‘It was also the best darned vegetable patty I’ve had in a while, and I’ve been eating out at restaurants a lot since I got back.’
‘Why thank you,’ Pintang said, looking pleased. It was nice to see her smile. ‘I love to cook.’
Ivyanne had finished her small serving of pasta salad and half a steak. Tristan had observed that she’d nibbled like a bird, a faraway look in her eyes the whole time. That was out of character, he’d noticed when he stayed at The Seaview, that she usually ate heartily.
‘Delicious,’ Ivyanne agreed. ‘You should be working in a restaurant. Your steak is even better than Chef Lee’s!’
‘I know,’ Pintang elbowed Lincoln in the ribs. ‘I asked him for kitchen work twice when I first started, but he said no because I had no official experience.’
‘You should have just cooked me something,’ Lincoln glanced at her. ‘You know, I could always find room in the kitchen for one more…’
But Pintang shook her head. ‘I’m sorry Link. Me working for your restaurant was the last thing I talked over with Ardhi….’ She shuddered. ‘Now I just can’t go back there, not after everything that happened after.’
‘I still find it hard to breathe when I’m in there,’ Ivyanne admitted. ‘But it’s getting easier, the more I force myself to.’
‘All two times.’ Lincoln drawled, looking slightly put-out.
Tristan grimaced, feeling a trace of guilt. When it came down to it-Lincoln really was a hard luck case. He’d finally gotten a ring onto the finger of the girl of his dreams only to have her take it off the night of the celebration. The fact that Tristan had kissed her in that damn closet during the party made him feel like a heel.
But the fact that he hadn’t ripped that sparkling dress off her pulsing body and rammed himself inside her made him feel worse. Looking back on the moment, he was very aware that he could have. She’d been so grateful to see him, so out of her mind with elation...
‘But you go there and feel pain,’ Pintang said softly, ‘whereas I feel guilt.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ Tristan said. ‘I was the one who insisted on the confrontation there and then.’
‘That was smart,’ Saraya piped up. ‘If we’d had a smaller group, it would have been harder. Ivyanne could be-’ She winced. ‘We can’t change anything, so there’s no point sitting round and moping about it. I miss Vana-I loved her like my own mother. But I wouldn’t have wanted to see her if Ivyanne, yourself or even Lincoln had been the ones to die instead.’
Tristan looked away, for he couldn’t agree. He’d failed them all-why didn’t someone just say it?
‘Pintang made the best seafood chowder last week,’ Ivyanne suddenly said. ‘Dad would have loved it.’ She turned to Pintang. ‘Could you make it again this week? It makes me feel closer to him.’
Pintang smiled warmly. ‘Of course.’
Tristan looked back at Pintang, curious. ‘What else can you do?’
Pintang shrugged. ‘Anything, everything. I used to cook all the time, before I moved to the resort a few years ago. It’s like I eat something once, and can work out the recipe in my head.’
‘That’s quite a gift.’ Lincoln said. ‘Maybe you should open your own restaurant?’
‘That’s a great idea. I think I’ve gained a kilo since we moved in on Sunday,’ Saraya said. ‘I almost always cooked for Vana, and my repertoire was limited
.’
Pintang made a face. ‘I’d have no idea how to go about it. Don’t you need chef experience?’
‘Papers,’ Tristan waved his hand. ‘I could get those for you in a second. There would be a few licenses involved, and of course you’d need a premises so it would take time... but who here doesn’t have a little time up their sleeve?’
‘You’re in the right area for it.’ Lincoln gestured down the coast behind him, where the town of Airlie Beach glittered in the night. ‘If you opened somewhere eclectic and did good, foreign meals, the tourists would love it.’
Pintang frowned. ‘What about Ardhi? I mean, he’s bound to know we’ve headed this way. Won’t he be on the look-out? If he follows me home, we’re screwed.’
‘We’ll have Ardhi by the time you get to that point.’ Tristan said matter-of-factly. ‘Life has to go on in the meantime, and I don’t think Ardhi is going to be skulking around down there in the middle of the day.’ He sat up, clearly eager to have a project, to put a bit of Pintang back together again. ‘Let me help you. I’m good at finding real-estate. I mean, I found this place.’
Ivyanne turned to him. ‘You did?’
Tristan shrugged. ‘I started looking straight away. You needed somewhere back here, of course, so the mers wouldn’t be terrified by too much change, and I figured that moving three or four plots away would be ideal. It was good timing too, I found out about this place before it went on the market, so there’s no ‘Sold’ sign getting around, drawing attention.’
Ivyanne studied him carefully. ‘So you’ve chosen my last two houses?’
‘Two?’ Lincoln asked.
Tristan looked at him. ‘Huh?’
‘You picked the last one? The one in Seaview?’
Tristan saw Ivyanne’s face reddening under the lantern light.
‘Not for her, specifically,’ Tristan said quickly. He was quickly learning that Lincoln was easier to handle as a rival if he wasn’t feeling overly threatened. ‘I found it for Vana years ago as a rental and decorated it-but I never thought Ivyanne would end up there.’
‘So that was your taste, huh?’ Lincoln nodded, as if understanding something, then looked at Ivyanne thoughtfully. ‘I always wondered why you liked it so much…. it seemed so, not you.’