“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to help you talk or talk about it,” my friend said gently. “You don’t have to tell me, but you know I’m not going to judge or anything.”
I groaned. “I know, I know. And thank you. But later, okay? I promise, we’ll talk.” I grinned. “But right now, can we go back to talking about how you’re going to be Queen of Bandiff tomorrow?”
Emilia giggled, and I sighed a breath of relief as she let it drop. For now.
*****
So, my best friend was about to be Queen. Like, legit Queen of Bandiff. And in the next twenty-four freaking hours at that! My mind whirled as I thought of it. Holy crap, and married.
I giggled, laying back across the guest bed in Adam and Shane’s guest quarters, looking up at the huge vaulted ceilings of Rian’s palace. God, Emilia’s palace too, come tomorrow. You know, cause of the whole Queen thing.
I shook my head, biting my lip as the wheels turned in my head. But then, what about me? The men I was in lo — Well, the “L” word was a big one to use so soon. But Adam and Shane — they were princes. And princes who would soon be taking over a throne from their father.
…So what did that mean for me? I mean, would I be a queen?
I rolled my eyes. Please. Just being with the two of them would be complicated enough, if not outright impossible. But marrying them? Could I even do that? Would they even want to deal with that absolute shit-show of a scandal?
I pushed it aside, because it was too big to think about. It was too much right now, when all I wanted was to sit there in the warmth of this being so new, and it all being so amazing. And besides, my best friend in the whole world was getting married in less than twenty-four hours!
Suddenly, I sat bolt upright, something barely remembered coming rushing to the front of my mind.
The necklace.
Holy crap, I’d almost forgotten about it. The little necklace with the silver little rosebud on it had been my grandmothers. She’d loved Emilia like a granddaughter, and before she’d passed, she’d given it to me and made me promise that it should go to either me or Emilia, whichever of us got married first. I remembered laughing and telling my grandmama that I was never going to get married.
…And I mean, was I? I knew how I felt about them, and I was pretty certain I knew how they felt about me. But marrying them was another whole thing. And one I wasn’t even sure could ever happen. But Emilia? Well, that ship was sailing tomorrow. And suddenly, all I could think about was my grandmother’s necklace.
I had to get it.
I jumped out of bed, yanking clothes on and glancing at my phone. Okay, I had time. I knew Shane and Adam were meeting with Rian for a while longer. But, they’d also given me free access to their security detail who were staying two floors below us, and it was there I marched.
“Hey.”
Marius, the big, muscled guy who was the head of their detail, glanced up from the paper he’d been reading.
“Miss,” he said cordially, his deep voice rumbling.
“Could I…” I swallowed. “Could I borrow a car?”
He gave me a curious look. “To go where?”
“My house. I just have to get something.”
“My team is more than happy to —”
“It’s in my underwear drawer.”
His lips pursed, and I suddenly remembered Shane’s joke about people “losing a hand” if they went through my panty drawer. I wondered how much of a threat he’d made that known to his people.
I laughed. “Look, he’s not going to cut any hands off.”
Marius grinned. “I’m aware, miss. But just the same —”
“Which is why I should just borrow a car and grab it myself. It’s important, and the manor is like a half hour drive from here.”
“I’ll have one of my men chauffeur you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Marius.”
“Miss.”
“You know who I am, right?”
He frowned, like this might be a trick question.
“A nobody. I’m a cook, Marius, not a royal princess. No assassin or kidnapper or political terrorist in the world knows who the heck I am. I’ll be fine.”
Slowly, he smiled, shaking his head and pulling a set of keys out from his jacket pocket. He handed them my way, and I grinned as I took them.
“You’re the best.”
“Just be quick, okay?”
“Done.”
“And don’t get into any trouble.”
I giggled. “Marius. It’s my house. What trouble could I possibly get into?”
****
I was unnoticed when I came home, as usual. Even though this time, I’d driven up and parked by the kitchen door in Marius’s sleek black Mercedes. But even if I was ignored, it wasn’t that the house was quiet, not by any means.
Upstairs, I could hear Marta screeching, knocking things around and yelling in a rage. Portia and Renata’s voices joined in too, the three of them screaming and cursing about something or other. But, yeah, I wanted no part in that. And I grinned, part of me wondering just how long I’d even still be around here. Yes, I knew that sounded crazy. And reckless. And I hadn’t even known Adam and Shane very long.
But if a girl can’t daydream about moving into a castle when she meets a handsome prince — or two of them — what’s the point?
I grabbed some of my things, stuffing them into a small bag before I slid open my underwear drawer. There, in the back under some ratty old tights and a sports bra I never wore, was the title velvet box from my grandmother. I took it out, smiling as I opened it and let my eyes fall across the silver necklace.
Perfect. This was going to be perfect for Emilia, for her wedding day tomorrow.
I snapped the lid shut, glancing around my room for anything else I might need in the immediate. I stuffed some of my paints and some brushes into my bag too, and I was about to head back out when I heard it.
A bloodcurdling scream.
Marta and her girls had been yelling since I got back, but this one was worse. This sound like pure, murderous rage. It was Portia, and it was coming from outside.
I dropped my bag and ran outside, bolting around the side of the manor. And when I saw it, my blood went cold.
Marta, Portia, and Renata had Emilia on the ground right outside the main steps — the three of them screaming at her, and hitting her, and yanking her hair like she’d wronged them in some horrible way. And suddenly, it clicked for me.
Holy shit, this was about King Rian.
Emilia had told me about how Rian had swooped in the day before and yanked her out of there right in front of Marta and the girls. He’d even snapped at her horrible stepmother, dressing her down right there in the front door of the house before he’d scooped Emilia up and whisked her away. And now that she was back at the house for whatever insane reason she’d decided to come back for, they were after revenge.
And fuck. That.
I screamed, running full tilt at the three of them. Marta had Emilia by the hair, trying to drag her into the house, so it was her I went crashing into first. The furious woman screeched, whirling, and suddenly I was flying backwards and crashing into the ground. My cheek stung where she’d just slapped me, my head spinning from the hit.
“Oh, you’re next, you little whore!” Marta’s voice screeched into my ears, making me wince as I tried to scramble to my feet.
“In my house?! Disgusting tramp! Renata!” Marta snapped, whirling back to me and jabbing a finger down to where I lay on the ground. “You know where to lock this one up,” she spat.
Renata grabbed me, and I yanked back, trying to free myself. But suddenly, that horrible girl’s fist was slamming into my side, knocking the wind out of me as she started to yank me into the house.
My heart raced, my head still swimming from Marta’s hit, Emilia’s screaming filling the courtyard.
Marta snarled at me as Renata dragged me aw
ay. “I’m pressing charges, you little shit,” she hissed. “I’m going to see you locked the fuck up!”
“Vi!”
The front door slammed shut, cutting me off from my friend, still in Marta’s clutches outside.
“Renata —”
“Shut up!” Emilia’s stepsister hissed, yanking me towards the door to the big garage where Emilia’s dad had kept his old cars. Where we’d stolen the Mustang from the other night, when we’d gotten ourselves into this whole mess.
“Renata, where the fuck are you taking —”
I cried out as she slapped me, dazing me as she kicked the door open to the garage and yanked me across the floor to a gorgeous old Charger. She yanked some rope off a shelf, and suddenly, she was on me, wrapping it around my wrists and pulling it tight, making me wince. She looped the other end of the rope through the front grille of the car, tying it tight before she stood and backed away.
“What the hell are you doing?” I spat, my eyes wild as I tried to yank on the rope. “You can’t just tie people up, you psychotic bitch!”
“Mama says we’re going to have you arrested!” she spat.
I glared at her. “For what? Because King Rian chose Emilia and not any of you? Good fucking luck with —”
She slapped me again, and I hissed, swearing at her.
“No, because you stole from my mom. And from me and my sister.”
I scowled at her. “What the hell are you —”
She suddenly held up her hand, opening it and grinning.
Shit.
I already knew what she was going to say the second I saw the lavish diamond earrings, necklaces, and tennis bracelets in her hand.
“These belong to my mom and my sister and me, and the police are going to find them in your room.”
“Renata —”
“Oh, but maybe your two princes will come save you.”
I paled, and she grinned. And suddenly, I got what Marta had been screaming about outside at me.
They knew.
“Mama saw you leaving with them the other night.” She wrinkled her nose. “Only whores would fuck two —”
I spat at her, and it landed right on her shoe. Renata screeched in rage, whirling and running from the garage, yelling for her mom.
…Leaving me alone.
I swallowed, my pulse racing and my mind whirling.
Okay, now what?
Chapter 14
Shane
“Motherfucker!”
I slammed the phone down, seething and seeing red. Part of me, wanted to kill him. The other part knew how much this wasn’t really his fault.
“Fucking Marius,” Adam hissed, whirling and clenching his fist tight, like he was about to send it through the fucking wall. I knew exactly how he felt. We’d just gotten back from our meeting with Rian to find Vi completely gone from our guest quarters. No note, no nothing. Not a trace. And she wasn’t answering her phone either. At first, we figured she might be out and about in the palace.
But then the alarms had started sounding, and suddenly, shit got real. Fast. Rian’s royal guards were at our door in seconds in full tactical gear, telling us the whole palace was on lockdown. That’s when the fear started to rise in me. That’s when her not being there, with us, started to raise the hair on the back of my neck.
The security team couldn’t or wouldn’t tell us anything, and that’s when I’d just called Marius, who’d told me what had happened — about Vi needing to get something back at her place, and about borrowing the car. I had to hand it to him for just coming clean. A lesser, weaker man might have lied, or just run away maybe. It took some balls to tell a man like me when you fucked up. And he had fucked up. He’d let her go — let her drive herself back to Emilia’s manor by herself.
Again, part of me wanted to kill him. The other part wondered if this was partly our fault. We’d been so possessive about her — joking but not really joking with our team about losing hands and keeping their distance from her and all that. Couple that with the fact that Vi wasn’t “known” — she wasn’t a celebrity princess or anything. And really, what was the harm in letting her go off on her own?
Well, except now there was a major security threat to the whole palace, and right now, her not being with us had me seeing red. It had me worried like I’d never been worried before in my life. But then, I’d never loved anything in my life like I loved her. And I knew Adam was exactly the same.
It was nuts, and we both knew it, but there was also no pretending what we were feeling wasn’t that. We loved her — totally and completely. Princess, royalty, baker — whatever. We knew it would be a scandal. Hell, we knew there was a chance coming out publicly about the both of us loving the same woman would cost us our crowns.
But we didn’t care.
Vi had fallen into our lives. We’d fallen for her, and now, she was in deep in our hearts. She was it for us. She was everything — our love, our desire. The queen we’d both always wanted but never found.
And we’d found her together. That was just the icing on the cake. She wasn’t just a perfect fit for one of us, she fit perfectly with the both of us. The missing piece to all of this.
…And now she was missing, with a major security threat locking down the palace.
I tried her phone again, my blood burning like jet fuel in my veins, and again, nothing. Straight to voicemail. I didn’t know if I was being paranoid or overprotective, but something smelled wrong. Something had my nerves jangling, and my fury rising.
“If something’s happened to her…”
Adam’s eyes narrowed at me, slowly shaking his head.
“No,” he growled. “And that’s not going to happen.”
We both nodded at each other, shoulders heaving, jaws clenched.
Fuck this.
I whirled for the door, Adam right behind me probably thinking the same damn thing as we stormed over to the guard standing in the open doorway.
“Your Highnesses,” the palace guard at the door with the submachine gun and tactical gear said quickly. There were three guys just like him in the hallway, but he swallowed like he was a little scared of us as he squared his shoulders.
“I’m afraid you can’t —”
“We’re leaving,” I growled.
“Sires, I can’t —”
“Move,” Adam snarled.
The guard swallowed, eying us.
“Your Highnesses —”
“Move, or you’re going to put every single piece of that armor to the test,” I growled lowly, fire blazing in my eyes.
The poor guy glanced back at his equally freaked looking friends.
“Now.”
I moved right into him, glowering down into his face.
“Look, we’re just going to see Rian. You can even bring us there yourself. But I can promise you, we’re leaving this room, right now. You can come, or you can head down to the hospital facilities with a broken arm.”
Anger flashed on the guy’s face, but then, I think I saw something else: Understanding. Understanding and recognition of a commitment to a sworn duty not unlike his. Mine wasn’t to a crown though. Mine was to a girl who’d stolen my heart.
“This way, Your Highnesses,” he said quickly, turning on his heel and marching down the hallway.
“Thank you,” Adam growled as the both of us followed.
****
Fuck. This was not good.
The palace was on lockdown because of Rian’s old stalker, Kim — the one we’d been joking about back at the ball. Kim was unhinged, to say the least. She’d always pulled crazy shit like trying to sell tabloid stories that she and Rian had eloped, or that she was pregnant with his love child or whatever other totally insane, made up shit she could think of. But this time, she’d crossed a line.
Somehow, she’d gotten inside the palace and she’d gotten to poor Emilia. Obviously, seeing Kim in the palace calling herself Rian’s wife freaked poor Emilia out, and she’d bolted. A driver on Ria
n’s security team had reported dropping Emilia back off at her home, but that was trouble since her stepmother and stepsisters were still there.
I got why she’d run. But even without really knowing everything about her situation back home, I could see from Rian’s face that it wasn’t good. In fact, it was downright dangerous for her to go back there.
Part of me wanted to take a breath — I mean, we knew what the security threat was, and knew it had nothing to do with Vi. But then, this still concerned us. This was still about our best friend and the girl he loved. And on top of that, Vi was still missing, presumed back at home. And not answering her phone. And for some reason, I couldn’t shake this horrible feeling that something was wrong. It was like a storm waiting over the horizon. She was back there at that house with the insane and furious Marta and her daughters. Rian had told us about pulling Emilia out of there before, and it sounded like he’d left the place a ticking time bomb.
Emilia going back was going to light that fuse, and standing right in the middle of the whole thing, probably without knowing it, was Vi.
…And that had me worried. Big time.
I looked at Adam, and I could see we were both thinking it. We both had the same uneasy feeling.
“Move,” Rian snarled at Oren, his Captain of the Guard.
The big soldier tensed, but he didn’t budge and inch.
“You know I can’t do that, Sire.”
I mean, shit, the place was still on lockdown.
“Goddamnit,” Rian hissed. “I’m leaving this room, and I’m going to find her, and you had better move the fuck out of — What?!” he roared, whirling as I put my hand on his shoulder.
“C’mon, man,” I said quietly. “You know damn well Oren can’t let you out of here right now. It’d go against every oath he’s made.”
My friend glared at me, his face furious before I looked away.
“Goddamnit Shane,” he muttered. Still pissed, but he knew I was right.
“You’re going to get her, man,” Adam growled quietly. “Hell, we’ll help you.”
Rian turned, stewing as he grabbed up his glass of bourbon and slammed it back.
Tomilson, his annoying advisor, jumped forward, shaking his head as he jabbed a finger at Captain Oren.
Once Upon A Scandal: Royally Screwed: Book 6 Page 10