by Nana Malone
But you did. And you do.
"I'm not sure I know how to be anything else."
"Well, it’s a good thing you're going to have a lot of time to think it through."
"Yeah, in jail."
"Either way, whatever happens, I'm not leaving you here. I fought once and lost. This time, I want to win that battle for your heart."
Shit. Why were my eyes wet? "I needed you. All those years ago, I needed you."
She nodded and then reached out a hand, finding mine and then clasping it within both of hers. "I know. I'm not walking away from you this time. And neither is your brother, so you might as well get used to having a family."
That was the word. Family. I’d never had much sense of it growing up. But lately I’d had it in spades. Even if I hadn’t warmed to it at first.
27
Zia…
Theo's hand encapsulated mine as we walked, and the waves gently washed onto the beach. His voice was soft when he said, "I love you."
I blinked back the tears that were far too close to the surface. "I know. I love you too. I didn't know everything was going to happen like this."
"You mean, you didn't expect to fall in love with the double of the man you were charged to protect?” He grinned. “I didn't expect any of this either. It was supposed to be a simple job. Pretend to be a billionaire. In and out. Instead, I got a whole new family."
We walked on with the warm sand filtering between our toes. The doctors had made us all go home. Too many of us wanted to see Derrick and check on him. It didn't even matter what Sebastian said. The docs said their patient needed rest. Which was probably accurate. But when we returned to the palace, Theo didn't know where he should go.
Sebastian had insisted he stay in the palace as usual until he figured out where he was going from there. Besides, he was part of the royal family.
His mother was put up in the palace too, and she couldn't believe it. Theo had made the call home, so Kyle knew that Adele was safe, and Kyle was on his way back to the islands.
I was looking forward to getting to know both Theo’s mother and Kyle better. After all, they were part of his other life. One I desperately wanted a window into. I wanted to know everything about him.
Theo squeezed my hand. "Are you okay?"
"Well, it's been a hell of a night. As soon as we get back, I should crash out. I don't think I can take anymore."
He stopped me in front of the cabana. "Looks like it's going to be really pretty."
"Yeah. You should have seen it before. Prince Tristan put all the stuff that Ariel liked inside, you know, like a library. The kind of books she liked and those kinds of things. Decorated it real nice."
"This was their spot?"
I shrugged. "Well, technically, anyone could use it. But they used it the most. There are other cabanas further down the beach where the royals can be a bit separated from the people, but since this is a private beach, this was all theirs. Then it got blown up. But it’s almost all fixed up again.”
"It's nice," Theo glanced around. “Maybe we could come down here sometime, enjoy the water.” After several deep inhalations, his voice was soft, "You want to head back?"
"You must be exhausted." I hadn't even thought about how wrecked he might be. It had been a hell of a night.
"Yeah, you know what, almost getting kidnapped will do that to you," Theo chuckled, but it was harsh and brutal.
"I'm so glad you walked into Royal Elite that day."
He nodded. "Me too. You know, I thought I was done for several times there."
"I can only imagine. It was so noble of you to agree to their terms."
"Zia, I had no choice. They had my mother. They had your sister. I wasn't going to let you go through pain and worry like that. And well, as for my Mom, there was no other option."
I stepped into his arms, wrapping mine around his waist. "That is why I love you."
"And I love you. You know, before all this happened, I'd been giving a lot of thought to my future, what I was going to do, where I was going to go. I know I kept saying that I wanted to get back to my life, but the more I stayed here, the more I realized my life is here in the islands. I've never even taken a Caribbean vacation. Five weeks here though, and this feels like the place I belong. I wish I could explain it."
I laughed and said, "It's home. That's the thing about home. It doesn't have to make sense."
“That's a good point. Nothing about this makes sense, but home isn't just the island, or the ragtag group of friends and family I seem to have made for myself. Home is you, Zia. You're this little spitfire that basically kicked a would-be kidnapper's ass just for me… a man you’d never even met. I've never seen anything like you. Full-on dynamo. I think I fell in love with you that first day."
She shrugged. "I think I fell in love with you when you first kissed me. Nah, it wasn't that day. I mean, it was a very good kiss, but I really fell in love when you helped Peter.”
He grinned then. “Peter. I’m glad I never got around to asking Elena to look in on him, but maybe I'll do that myself."
I shook my head. "My God, Elena. How could that seemingly sweet woman have been so diabolical?"
"I have no idea. Maybe it was just survival. After all, she had a child to protect. I get it."
"You know what that means?"
He frowned. "What?"
"You have a sister."
"I guess, I do. I haven’t really had a chance to sort it out yet."
"Of course not. And Derrick… God help that scenario. He's going to be on trial, and he's in a lot of trouble."
"I know. The thing is though, he's resigned himself to the idea. He's ready, I think, to face his mistakes. He said it himself… his own hatred for his father led him down that path. He would have done anything to take Timothy down.” He shook his head. “And while Arlington was responsible for Derrick’s unhappiness through the years, separating him from his twin and his mother, he wasn’t behind the kidnapping. It seems while Derrick has always had good reason to loathe his father, he focused on the wrong series of events. "
"I can't even imagine spending all of your time hating someone, thinking of revenge plots, and that person wasn't who you thought they were. It all looks crazy. I just wish… I don't know. I wish he didn't have to go to jail and that you’d get to spend more time with him."
Theo nodded. "Maybe. But that's up to Sebastian and the courts. But even if he does go to jail, I'm going to lobby for minimum security."
“He'll do his time. Or maybe he won't have to do any time at all. He can blow the whistle on anyone else he knew was corrupt. There are lots of people on the board, and some of them also had to know the truth behind that deal."
"That's a good point. I'm just lucky to have you. I get to wake up next to you every day, and I can’t wait for that."
I grinned up at him. "Hey now, I was counting on you going home. I have this whole other life here, a boyfriend, and a kid somewhere."
He chuckled low and pulled me close. "The hell you do. You should probably call that boyfriend and tell him that you're mine."
"Am I yours now? Or are you mine?"
"How about this? We belong to each other. And, I'd like to make it official."
I blinked up at him. "Hm-mm, what do you mean now? Are you going to give me a friendship bracelet?"
He shook his head slowly and then reached inside his pocket. "I'm going to do you one better."
I laughed. "What? You going to make me a whole friendship necklace?"
He chuckled low and pulled something out of his pocket. "No, I got you a ring."
I stared down at the little box in his hand and blinked rapidly. "What?"
"Look, I'm not saying we have to get married right away, because there's so much more we have to learn about each other, I know. But you are my heart, my home. In all of this craziness, all I could think about was you, your safety and your happiness."
I blinked the tears away. "Jesus Christ, Theo, wha
t are you doing?"
"I'm proving to you that not only will I show up for you, but I will move all of heaven and earth to secure your happiness."
He bent down on one knee and then took my hand. "Zia Barnes, will you marry me?"
And I was a slobbering mess. Tears, sobbing, that kind of ugly crying when I looked at the ring. "Yes! Yes!"
"Are you sure it's not too fast?"
"Nope, you’re stuck with me now."
He took the ring, three strands of rose gold braided together then coiled and flattened to showcase a single solitaire in the center, and he slid it on my finger. "Now, you're never taking this off, do you hear me?"
I nodded slowly. "Oh, I hear you. And as soon as we do this thing, you're getting one just like it that you are never taking off."
He shook his head. "I cannot wait."
A few short weeks ago, I'd been hiding behind a pillar, avoiding a man I thought I'd once loved. And now, a completely different man had singlehandedly shown me the difference between bullshit love and the actual real deal. And I was going to be his, forever.
28
Derrick…
"You two have presented me with quite a conundrum."
I watched my cousin as he paced in the conference room. He might have been dressed casually, but the easy power rolled off of him in waves. He'd come to Arlington Tech for this particular spanking, opting not to do it at the palace, as if he wanted to separate what was going to happen from the throne as much as possible.
The summons had not been a suggestion, but a direct order, and as much as I might like my cousin now and as much as my father might want to give him the ol’ fuck you, neither one of us dared ignore the summons.
Besides, my future and my freedom depended on what he said.
He strode around our primary conference room like he owned the place. He didn't.
Neither do you.
Impatient, I cleared my throat. "Sebastian, can we just stop the theatrics. I assume you're sending me to jail."
He stopped and gripped the back of one of the chairs. "I'm the king; I'm not the courts."
I rolled my shoulders. I needed to take my punishment on the chin. I’d fucked up. I knew it. He knew it. And it was going to be public knowledge soon. "I did what I did. I thought it was the best thing and minimized the damage as much as I could."
My father sat back and glared at me. "Minimized the damage?" He shook his head and then shut his trap.
I sighed. "You know what, Dad, I'd shut up if I were you. You're not helping the situation." I worked my jaw. After I'd gotten out of the hospital, I had gotten another kind of escort. Not so much protective custody, but I'd been under house arrest at the palace. Had to wear a little ankle monitor and everything.
Sebastian continued as if the peanut gallery hadn't made any commentary. "You two have started a whole fucking mess because you couldn't talk to each other."
I stared at my cousin. "He basically tortured me for years."
Sebastian sighed. "No one is disputing that. It's still a mess though. Which leaves me with the question of what to do."
My father spoke up again. “What the fuck? I’m disputing that. Derrick’s life was fucking perfect.”
Sebastian ignored my father and kept his gaze on me. I'd fucked up. I’d let my rage control me. All I'd been able to focus on was making my father pay, as it turned out, for something he hadn’t done.
Oh, he did a whole hell of a lot else, but he hadn't been behind my kidnapping all those years ago. However, he was still responsible for a hell of a lot of my misery. Stealing me from my mother, separating me from my brother, never showing me a single ounce of love. That had been real.
Sebastian stopped. "Derrick, let me be perfectly clear. Even with your cooperation, you could do time. You’re not in direct line to the throne, so the Royal Council cannot intervene on your behalf. The best I can do is make a recommendation to the courts."
I swallowed hard. I hadn't really thought ahead to the prison sentence. Mostly I hadn't really thought I'd get caught. Or I’d at least assumed that if I had gotten caught, I'd be long gone by the time anyone really figured it out. But it would be fine if I had to live in some shitty non-extradition country. Because the old man would be taken down. But he wasn't down. That night had ruined everything.
My father sat forward. "Just get on with it."
Sebastian turned slowly then and planted his hands on the massive glass table. "I'll remind you Uncle, that I'm the one giving orders. And you are in no position to negotiate."
"Do you really want to get into a power play with me? I've been at this longer than you have."
"Yeah, but thing is I'm still the king. And the king is law."
He turned to me then. "Derrick, if you work with the authorities, give them everything you have, everyone who was involved with the Ponzi scheme, names, times, dates, everything they want, a deal might be able to be worked out."
I sat up straighter. "Are you serious?"
Sebastian nodded. "Yeah. Since the deal didn't actually go through, we're more interested in the illegal book-cooking that happened on the Arlington Tech side than anything else."
I blinked at him. He was giving me an out. All I had to do was burn everything down.
You can still burn it all and remain intact. You can be the better person. And be free.
"And you're saying that I can have my life back?"
Sebastian shrugged. "It's not for me to say. We have a court system for a reason. But I know for a fact that there are bigger fish to fry than you. So, work with your solicitor. You’ll have to give them everything they ask for."
My father sputtered. "What? He's just going to walk away from this business free and clear? He tried to ruin me."
Sebastian grinned evilly at him, his white teeth more of a baring of chompers than an actual smile. "That's just the thing, Uncle. Knowing what you've done, the loopholes you created, your plan to cheat all of Arlington Tech's investors out of a payday and pay yourself first, you messed up."
He shrugged. "Like you said the deal never went through."
"The deal not going through means Derrick is in less trouble than you are. Thing is the things you did to set this up, that's on the record. You actually did hurt people, your investors, one of which is the Royal Mint."
My father sputtered. "Are you out of your mind?"
"No, I'm not. I suggest, Uncle, that you get yourself a good solicitor. And not one that works for the company. Because until the new CEO is caught up, all assets held by Arlington Tech are being frozen."
"But you can't do that."
"Oh, but I can. You used money from the Royal Mint to line your coffers, to perform the illegal activities. I am technically one of your biggest investors after the executive team. The people are going to demand more than an explanation. They’ll want a pound of flesh."
"What, so you're going to attempt to freeze me out of my own company?"
Sebastian shook his head. "No, I'm not going to attempt to do anything. It's already done. That's why we're in a conference room and you're not in your office. It's being cleaned out right now."
My father pushed to his feet to speak. "You can't do this."
"I can, and it's done. Outside those doors, the Royal Guard are waiting to arrest you."
My father glowered at me. "He's the one who put this in motion."
"Yes, and as deals go, on the civil side the Royal Mint is willing to work with him. We are not however willing to work with you."
"Your mother's going to hear about this."
Sebastian flashed his grin again. "Oh, she already knows. This was her idea. She told me that the easiest way to hurt you was to take your money. Because even for your own child you wouldn't step up. But if I took your money, you would fight for that."
"This is outrageous. You haven't—"
Sebastian put up a hand. "That's enough Uncle." Then he turned his attention to me. "And Derrick, obviously, given your activities, you ca
nnot helm Arlington Tech while we undo the damage that's been done. But the company is profitable, and I do have an investment in this firm. And it'll be brought to the remaining board to vote for a new CEO."
I sat forward. "Look, I fucked up. I know it. And the idea that I might not get jail time is something I absolutely hope for, and I will fully comply with anything the authorities require of me. I will say this though, I have a suggestion for the new CEO, someone who will do this company justice and take it to the heights that it was always supposed to achieve."
Dear old dad laughed. "Let me guess, yourself. No one will do business with you."
I rolled my eyes. "Even I'm not that narcissistic. And that's saying a lot, considering I'm your son." I turned my attention back to Sebastian. "Not me. Theo. He already ran things for thirty days, and he was damn good at it. I know for a fact he will always opt to do the right thing."
Sebastian gave me a smile and a nod. "For once cousin, it seems you and I are on the same page."
I knew that my future was uncertain and that soon enough I might be sharing a prison cell with someone I previously would never have wanted to speak to. But it was no less than I deserved. But the idea that Theo might get the one thing denied to him, that at least made me happy. And I'd live to fight another day. The money had never made me happy. Not once.
But Theo… Theo was happy. Especially with Zia at his side. He'd already taken care of the company as if it were his own. And the truth of it was the legacy should always have been his. If I could rectify that and give my father a big old fuck you at the same time, then I was all for that. As I watched the old man formally be arrested, I slid my gaze to my cousin. "Thank you."
Sebastian shrugged. "Look, I'm giving you a shot. Don't fuck it up. For once, someone's asking you to be decent."
I nodded. "I get that. No one's ever asked that of me before. I've never had family or love. I've never known what it's like to actually disappoint someone who really cared about me. Now that I do, I'm not real eager to do it. So whatever you need from me, consider it done."