1. Patrick
When I graduated college more than a decade ago, it was with the full intent of getting my commission and spending the next four years in the military as an intelligence officer. I majored in computer science and communications, where my goal was to eventually work for the Department of Defense in their cybersecurity department. I imagined myself being locked away in a dark room, monitoring and intercepting signals and communications that could be used to provide assets in the field with the intelligence they needed to accomplish their missions. Being one of those assets was never on my bucket list.
My aptitude scores and grades in college garnered the attention of the FBI, and they came knocking on my door with an offer I couldn’t refuse. They would pay off my debt to the military for my education if I worked for them as an Intelligence Analyst. The only stipulation was that before I was officially hired, I had to go through all the same hoops as any other applicant. I was assured that it was just a formality, but that didn’t preclude me from having to attend the 20-week field training course.
They must have liked what they had seen because I was made a special agent who works with a team instead of sitting alone in a vault staring at computer screens. My first few jobs were spent sitting in unmarked white vans and box trucks, passing along intel to the more experienced agents who were undercover and infiltrating criminal organizations. I was happy and content with where I was and what I was doing. I thought I was doing an excellent job of it until my team leader, Roger, assigned me to a job that didn’t amount to anything more than babysitting duty.
“Pat, we have another assignment, and it’s different than what you’re used to,” Roger said.
“If I don’t like it, do I have the option to decline?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Of course you can! It’s not as if you signed a contract with the FBI or anything,” he retorted sarcastically.
“All you had to say was, ‘No,’” I joked.
He rolled his eyes and then told me more about the assignment. “This is a protection detail. It’s not generally in our realm of responsibility, but this is a personal request from the Director himself. King Trevor Caras of Cothena will arrive next week for the trade summit with his daughter and a contingent of personal bodyguards in tow.”
“If they have their own security, then why are we needed? Or better yet, why isn’t Homeland Security or the Secret Service being assigned to watch over them?”
“Because this is a personal favor to Director Ambrose, and Princess Ariella is his goddaughter. Director Ambrose and King Trevor went to university together in London and have been close friends ever since. There has been a significant increase in pressure from major political powers for Cothena to expand their export operations, not only of their pharmaceuticals but the opium poppy seeds in their unrefined state. One is easier to control and regulate than the other. Until now, King Trevor has refused any trade agreements other than those already established. The director wants to ensure that nothing happens to his friend and goddaughter while they’re here, and he’s afraid that Ariella could be used as leverage to get the king to change his stance on the exportation of the plant.”
I stood there with my arms crossed, taking it all in. “Okay. What is it that you need me to do? Monitor communications? Install surveillance equipment? Maybe create a gaming app for his little girl to play with while Daddy is away at work? Just so you know, I’ve never been good with kids.”
Roger arched an eyebrow at me. “Ariella is 21, Patrick, not 10.”
“Oh. So, no gaming app then?”
Roger ignores my question. “Like I said before, this won’t be the kind of assignment that you’re used to. In fact, it’s the type of assignment most of us dread. But since it’s coming from higher up, we don’t have a choice and need to make the best of it. Two other agents and I will be with King Trevor during his stay. You, however, will be guarding Princess Ariella. As the youngest member of the team, it will be less conspicuous for you to befriend her than for any of us.”
Roger detailed my roles and responsibilities upon their arrival, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. Although it should have felt like an honor since it was a special request and would gain us the favor of the most prominent person in the Bureau, it still felt like we were being relegated to babysitting duty. Nothing could have been further from the truth. When I saw Ariella step down from the private jet a week later, I knew at that moment that I would do anything to keep her safe.
Ariella was the most gorgeous woman I had ever laid eyes upon. She had long, black hair woven into an intricate braid with a few stray hairs framing her beautiful face. Her almond-shaped green eyes were stunning and captivated me the instant they connected with mine. When she slipped her hand into mine—and I felt the spark travel up my arm and straight to my heart—I knew that I was a goner.
When I told her my name was Patrick Kent, the cutest giggle escaped her lips, and a blush covered her cheeks.
“Kent? As in Clark Kent?” she tittered. The comparison has been made before and has always annoyed me, but not this time. I’ll be her Superman any day, especially since I know she will be my Kryptonite. I tried not to roll my eyes at my silly thoughts and schooled my features into a passive mask. I’m supposed to be a professional, not a little schoolboy with his first crush.
“More like a Clark bar, but you’re not the first to suggest the reference.” After that, we were inseparable. The following month flew by much faster than I wanted or expected, and I was sad that our time was nearing its end.
When King Trevor invited our team to go to the Bahamas with them, I wanted to jump up and down and yell, “Pick me! Pick me!” I didn’t do that, but I didn’t need to. Roger, in all his years of experience reading people, knew that I not only wanted to go but that I needed to go.
It wasn’t until our last day that Ariella and I had the chance to spend some time alone, without bodyguards or prying eyes following us around. Other than my parents, I’ve never told anyone the choice we made together that night. That’s just for us. Although I had hoped she would contact me after she was whisked away upon learning that her home had been bombed, she never did.
Three months later, I discovered that Ariella had eloped with the Prince of Brachha, and I nearly fell apart at hearing the news. I have always loved Ariella, and nothing will ever change that. What we did that night may not have meant anything to her, but it meant the world to me.
“Another successful mission,” Carter tells me as we stand in line at the coffee shop inside the Windham Lodge, nestled in the heart of the Catskill mountains. We’ve just caught the guy who had been harassing Leanna, Carter’s girlfriend. They’ve been best friends for two years but only recently admitted their feelings for one another.
I thank God for that because everyone has been rooting for them to get together since they met. You couldn’t find a couple more perfect for one another, and it was excruciating for us all to watch them as they figured out what we already knew.
Savannah, one of the six Alpha team members for Shining Knight Protective Services and my partner for this assignment, walks up and slips her arms around my waist for a hug. We’ve been posing as a newlywed couple so we could move about the ski resort and be Carter’s backup should he need it. Since we haven’t vacated the premises yet, we’re still technically undercover. When she kisses my cheek, I hear a familiar voice I’ve yearned to hear for nine very long years.
“Patrick?”
I look in her direction, my jaw dropping and eyes widening at the figment before me. She doesn’t look like she’s aged a day. Savannah squeezes my middle and smiles adoringly at me, unaware of who it is that has my undivided attention. I can’t imagine how this must look to Ariella, standing at the lobby entrance with a stunned expression. Before I have time to react, I see her eyes well with tears just before she turns and darts away.
“Ariella?” I whisper, removing Savannah’s arms and taking off after her.
When I get outside, I look left and right, but don’t see Ariella anywhere. Her beautiful face and warm smile have plagued my dreams every night, so much so that maybe I’m now imagining her in real life. An elderly couple notices my despair and points toward the parking lot.
“Thank you,” I tell them.
“We’ve had our fair share of lovers’ quarrels,” the elderly woman says playfully.
Her husband gives me a wink, “It’s because the make-up is well worth it! It’s how we’ve made it through 50 years of marriage.” They both laugh and continue on their merry way.
I don’t wait around and immediately take off in a full sprint, hoping to catch Ariella before she gets in her car and drives out of my life for good. As I get to the top of the ramp, my feet hit a patch of ice and fly out from underneath me. Trying to regain control, my arms flail wildly but do nothing to stop my imminent fall.
Oomph!That’s the sound made by all of the air in my lungs being expelled as my back hits the ground, followed quickly by my head. Slightly dazed, I lay there momentarily with my eyes closed, waiting for the stars to disappear and try to regain my bearings.
A tinkling laugh can be heard from a few feet away, getting louder as she draws near. I’m afraid to open my eyes, fearing that she’ll vanish if I do.
“And here I thought Superman could fly! I had no idea he could crash with gusto!” she teases.
I open one eye and see her squatting beside me, a small smile on her lips even though her eyes are ringed in red. “Are you really here? Or did I hit my noggin harder than I thought?” I ask. I slowly sit up, rubbing the back of my head but never taking my eyes off her.
“I’m really here.”
I move to stand up and wobble a little bit, still unsteady on my feet. She holds my elbow until I’ve shaken off the effects of the fall.
“It’s truly great to see you, Patrick. I’m sorry for running off like that. I hadn’t expected to run into you here, of all places, and was a little shocked to see you happily married.” She looks down at the fake wedding band on my finger.
“It’s not…” I’m about to tell her that it’s not what it looks like when she interrupts me.
“Although I shouldn’t be. You deserve every happiness in the world, especially after the way I left things,” she mumbles. Her eyes are cast down toward the ground in embarrassment.
I tilt her chin upward so our gazes connect and ask her the one question I need an answer to. “Why didn’t you contact me, Ari? I waited years for you.” I don’t bother telling her that I never stopped.
“I should have. But circumstances prevented me from doing so, along with obligations to my country. Maybe one day I’ll get the chance to explain, but not here and not now.” She looks around as if someone might overhear us, and I notice a slight tremble in her body that isn’t from the cold but from fear.
I’m about to wrap her in my arms and provide comfort, but as I step forward to do so, a child’s voice yells out, “Mommy! Who’s that man you’re with?”
A young boy, about seven or eight years old, walks up to Ariella with a man following behind him. I’d know the man anywhere. It’s Kiernan, the Prince of Brachha—Ariella’s husband.