Chapter 14
R aphael
Goddamn it. My fifth message to Alex went unanswered. It didn’t even display as read. I’d even tried calling her but with no reply, and now, I stood outside one of the side exits of Ossington palace, pacing the pavement under the eye of a watchful guard.
If she was going rogue, I wanted to catch her in the act, but the building had multiple exits she could slip out of. I had half a mind to message Riss, except I wasn’t sure what Alex was doing. Not enough to involve the whole team.
Plus, I had to confess to myself an alternative motive.
I shoved my hands into my jeans pockets, scowling at a group of tourists who blocked the pavement.
This evening, I’d get Alex alone, even if just for a short while. The thought had my chest tight, and apprehension mixed with a sharp spike of excitement that had me pacing all over again.
It felt like I was going on a date. I’d rapidly changed my shirt and put on aftershave.
I didn’t even attempt to process why my mind had gone there.
For the fiftieth time, I refreshed her profile, willing a reply to have come in. Nothing. But then, the indicators changed to show me she’d read my messages. With my heart in my mouth, I tapped the location icon.
It displayed a map with a green flashing dot.
Holy fuck.
I scanned the road names around her beacon with urgency. She was on the other side of the palace and moving quickly. Gritting my teeth, I took off at a sprint and pounded the pavement, hugging the palace boundary and passing the formal frontage.
The armed guards squinted at me as I flew by, but I didn’t stop to explain myself.
If Alex was loose in the city, she’d thrown herself into harm’s way again, and a wild guess suggested she didn’t have another team member with her. I put on a burst of speed and rounded the corner to the exit she’d left, then refreshed her tracker.
Alex was across the road now and further down a wide boulevard that led away from the royal property. She was slower than me, so possibly in a car as traffic crept steadily through the busy city streets, headlights and horns the backdrop of my flight.
Waiting to cross the road was an exercise in torture, but finally I was over and running again. As I did, I placed another call to Alex that went unanswered, for fuck’s sake, but at least I could see she was on the same road as me and not that far ahead.
Where was she going? There were countless options in the city. A bar, a friend’s house, somewhere private.
On the map, a green space opened up at the end of the boulevard; a large park. Was that her target? I dove between people on the street, outside of busy restaurants and pubs, or wandering in admiration of London’s mixture of old and new architecture without looking where they were going.
I dodged and sprinted my way across half a dozen side streets and a long row of shops before closing in on Alex’s beacon, right at the end of the boulevard. Across another busy road was the park, the gates still open, though night was almost upon us, and orange streetlamps spilled pools of light on the shadowy path under thick trees.
A woman with short hair passed through a patch of light and peered over her shoulder, her side profile giving me an electric burst of energy. The prey I’d been hunting.
Alex had put on another of her disguises, but even if I hadn’t seen her face, I would’ve known her shape. Warmth flooded me at my success.
It was quickly replaced by fresh concern. If I recognised her, others could as well.
I diced with death to cross the road before she vanished into the park’s depths, but as I reached the gate, she was strolling unhurriedly.
I prowled after, catching up to round her with a hand outstretched. “Found ye.”
Alex tilted her head. “How long have you been a pilot?”
She neatly dodged my hand and passed me.
I swivelled to keep pace. “Since I was a teenager and decided I had to learn. Why the fuck are ye out in public without security?”
“You’re here, aren’t you?”
“Because I chased ye across the city. Anything could’ve happened.”
“And if I’d told you where I was going, you would have insisted I took a full team, leaving us unable to talk in private. In this quiet corner of a royal park, where I know the other gates have already been locked so most people have left.” She dusted her hands as if winning the argument.
“No, I would’ve met ye at the palace gates and had a chance to anticipate what we were going to do. Plus ye wouldn’t have been transmitting your location to anyone watching.” The next words I uttered came out lower and against my better judgement. “I didn’t want to be interrupted by others either.”
She peeked over at me. Her pixie-cut wig of ruffled blonde hair stuck out at angles, and she’d chosen a long-sleeved top with holes for her thumbs and a pair of ratty shorts for the rest of her disguise. Yet it wasn’t that which had me staring at her when she looked away.
The same buzz of something powerful passed between us, just as it had done the time we’d danced together. Alex was undeniably beautiful. She conversed with people easily and handled herself gracefully, even when up to no good. It could have been that spark of passion that ran through her which fascinated me, the one which spilled over into antics that drove the professional version of me crazy. It could have been a lot of things.
In the summer night’s air, all I was certain of was the fact I wanted to test how well she’d fit under my arm, should I choose to extend it to tuck her against me.
It took any amount of effort to force my brain to take the lead over my smitten body. “We should go somewhere safer.”
“We’re fine. I’ve been coming here at night since I was thirteen. The park keeper will round the lake in a minute and call out that he’s locking up. Most people have already gone, but that will take care of the stragglers.”
“And if we’re shut in?”
“We climb a tree to hop the wall.”
I kept my hands loose, watching our surroundings as she spoke. Alex was wrong about the park being empty. There were at least two couples in discreet corners and a small group on a picnic blanket under the trees. No one appeared to be paying attention to us.
She giggled, the sound so pretty. “Besides, you’ve already catalogued all the dangers, haven’t you?”
I rolled my shoulders, still overly warm from the run. “From what I can tell, no one is following ye, and none of the people I spotted are alone. I can have the team here in minutes if there’s any trouble, but…”
“You’re not going to, because you know I’m right about being safe.”
No way I was admitting that.
“What did ye want to talk about?”
She pursed her lips. “Walk me through the flying thing. Not the typical teenage activity. Is the flight school owned by your family?”
“If I talk, will ye answer one of my questions?”
She inclined her head.
“My older brother is a helicopter pilot, and I relocated to Scotland to move in with him when I was fifteen. He has a mentor, a man named Gordain McRae, who gave me a job at his aircraft hangar, and who also created the bodyguard service I usually work for to take care of his famous son-in-law. I did every fetch-and-carry job they needed until I had skills. Then I traded my labour for lessons. After university, I was lucky enough to be sponsored by Gordain to fly commercially.”
“Why are you a bodyguard and not a pilot?”
I made a buzzer sound. “Sorry, your turn now. What did ye want to talk to me about?”
“Oh. Straight into the awkward, huh?”
She shoved her hands into her shorts pockets. We’d walked far enough into the park that I could see the lake she’d mentioned. It was silver in the low light and mill-pool calm. To the right was a pontoon with small boats attached, no doubt for hire during the day, and to the left, the path circled under trees.
“I owe you an apology. You were fired because of helping me and Dori at the nightclub. I felt awful when I found out.” She peeked up at me. “How come you’re back?”
I held my breath for a moment. I didn’t like lying. I had an ulterior motive in taking the job, but if I told her, I wasn’t sure how she’d react.
The words came out anyway. “I suspect someone is selling information about ye. My suspicion is that they’re on your team. Aye, Jared sacked me, but my boss is friends with his, and he heard me out on the shite management of the team. Jared lost his job, and I was offered the chance to return for a week. I took it.”
Alex stopped dead on the path and stared up at me. “Whoa.”
I winced. “I realise that makes me sound either paranoid or insane.”
“No, it doesn’t. For a start, you just told me something real. No one ever does that.” She started moving again. “Does Riss know?”
Footsteps thumped on the tree-covered path ahead.
I whirled into Alex and spun her away, off the track and around a thick oak. Bracing myself against the tree to cover her, I held her to me and listened hard for whoever was approaching.
“Park keeper,” a male voice called out. “East Gate, locking up. Please make your way to the exit, the park is closed.”
Night cloaked us in shadows. The man neared our hiding spot, making no attempt to be stealthy with keys rattling and his breathing laboured. I kept my head tucked down and Alex concealed entirely behind my body, my black t-shirt and jeans hopefully enough to disguise us. I was too aware of Alex in my arms, her palm against my chest.
It was a familiar pose, from age eighteen and more recent. I soaked in the press of her fingertips. The warmth of her.
I needed more.
If the park keeper spotted us, he’d throw us out. It wasn’t as if we could go to a pub and continue our conversation. I’d have to get a cab to take us back to the palace, where she’d go to her rooms and I’d return to the bodyguard accommodation where I’d been on the edge of my seat, waiting for her message.
Neither of us moved a hair.
Realisation struck in a heady rush. I didn’t want this to end. We’d barely started talking, and I had so much more to ask and say.
The man continued on until he was right next to us, close enough for his radio crackle to be audible.
The footsteps passed then died away.
Alex pushed up on her toes, her mouth next to my ear. She spoke in a whisper. “He’ll leave by the same gate.”
Which meant that as soon as he was out of hearing range, we could make a run for it.
But that thought was entirely buried under my awareness that if I just turned my head a fraction to the right, my lips would meet Alex’s. She took a little inhale that sent my blood rushing south, but then grabbed my hand and slipped out of the protection of my body.
“Come on,” she breathed.
I had no choice but to follow. Alex darted across the grass with me in tow and down towards the lake. I was snared by the pulse of chemistry from her touch.
Then my brain caught up to where she was leading me. At the lake’s edge, she stepped onto the pontoon. The wooden walkway out onto the water was a dead end, only there as a place to moor the boats, so I stalled, not wanting my boots to echo. She shook me off and danced to the end. Then she knelt to the chain that constrained the final boat.
I darted a look back at the darkened path then pursued her. “What are you doing?”
“Hush. This needs to be quick.”
“What does?”
“They always leave the last boat tethered but unlocked. I’ve no idea why, maybe it’s a safety thing if someone needs one? But if I just…”
Alex tugged on the chain. It gave, and she let it slither down in the water. She’d untied a boat. I didn’t get a chance to tell her to stop as she was already climbing in.
“What the hell?” I bit out.
“Grab an oar. I forgot,” she whispered back, pointing at a container full of them.
Cursing under my breath, I snatched a pair and lowered myself to sit on the dock, using my feet to guide the boat beneath myself. I’d spent countless hours messing around on the loch at home, the water icy no matter the weather.
But never with a girl. Never on a warm and romantic night, even if the stars were hidden behind clouds.
Definitely never with a princess.
I handed a gleeful Alex the oars then lowered myself to the boat’s curved interior, rocking it with my weight. The waves lapped overly loudly in our stealthy attempt at theft.
When I was settled, I shoved off the dock so we slid away into the water. Then I gestured to Alex. “Row me then, princess.”
It wasn’t so dark that I couldn’t see her grin. She dipped the oars into the water. “I thought you’d try to stop me.”
I rested back, not quite relaxed—I never could be in a city—but easier with our situation. At least here, no one could sneak up on us. If we were spotted by the park keeper, we could book it across the lake and run. “I don’t want to control ye. Only stop ye getting kidnapped or hurt.”
“You think that’s a genuine risk, don’t you?” She pulled again, taking us out into deeper water.
I lifted my chin. “Kind of amazed ye have to ask. You’d be an asset to a kidnapper. Ye could cause all kinds of mayhem both in the royal family and politically if ye were taken.”
She giggled again, and the sound did something strange to my head.
“Perhaps. My father worries a lot and doesn’t want me to take on a public role.”
“Do ye enjoy the work?”
She made a face. “Let’s not go crazy now.”
“Then why do it?”
There were other royal cousins in her family, other aunts and uncles who didn’t do anything public-facing. From the little I knew about Alex, no matter how good she was at shaking hands and waving to the crowds, I was certain she didn’t enjoy a minute of it.
She stared away for so long I didn’t think she’d answer. I was right. Alex changed the subject.
“You said you moved in with your brother when you were fifteen. What happened there?”
“My father is a mobster, and I didn’t want to join the family business of violence, drug running, and anything else he had in mind for me.”
Her mouth hung open. “That’s why you’re a bodyguard then? To counter what you didn’t like growing up?”
“That and the role was there and waiting for me. Leo, our client, is a friend, and the team needed a pilot.”
“Leo who? Do I know him?”
“Banks. He’s a musician. Currently on album-writing duty, so work is quiet.” I posed my own question, just as loaded as hers had been. “Back when we were at university, did ye think I had something to do with the photographer who took our picture? The one?—”
“I know exactly which you mean.” Alex rested the oars in the plastic loops on the sides of the boat and reached for her phone. The screen lit up her perfectly lovely features as she searched for something. She held it out for me to see.
Onscreen was the photo in question, but not just that. Alongside was the newer one from outside the nightclub. They were oddly similar in the poses, and paired like this, seemed to show a relationship that had persisted for years, though nothing could be further from the truth. The reality was this was almost the sum of our knowing each other.
I gazed between them. “I didn’t see the parallel until now.”
Alex accepted the phone back. “Dori did. He was delighted to work out that it was you I’d told him about, all those years ago. He calls you Hot Bodyguard.”
“Ye never gave up my identity, then?”
“No. Not to anyone. I didn’t even discuss it with the friend I went to that party with. Not that she stayed my friend for long. That night changed a lot of things for me. But to answer your question, I didn’t suspect you of having anything to do with it.”
I watched her. “When I joined your team last week, I got the sense that ye did.”
Collecting the oars, I took my turn rowing, as a minimum so I had something to do with my hands and to dislodge a strange ache in my chest.
Alex unpinned her blonde wig and shook out her hair, then leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her knees. Even on the water, there was no breeze, so it wasn’t cold that affected her. “If you’re such a fan of honesty, I’ll tell you. You might not like it, though.” At my gesture for her to proceed, she did. “That teenage photograph of us changed the way the media talked about me. According to them, I was running with boys, and my sex life became fair game, regardless of the fact it was non-existent. My reputation as a party princess began the night that picture was taken and shared.”
Well, shite. “I had no idea.”
“Why would you? And don’t you dare apologise. You didn’t cause it. You were being kind to me. It’s not your fault it turned sour.” She sniffed. “Though in full confession, I blamed you for challenging the photographer. I know now that it didn’t make a difference. He was going to sell the shot regardless.”
A moment passed where we fell silent. My mind churned over what experiences she must have had, seeing herself talked about in the way the press loved to do. The effect that must have had on her.
A darker corner of my mind was hooked on how she’d referred to her sex life and me in the same breath. As if I was part of that life. As if we had a history where we’d been alone together and naked. Where her wandering hands had found their way far beyond the soft touch from our dance.
Christ, but that image was strong.
If she was any other girl, I’d be figuring out ways to ask if I could kiss her. Not that I’d ever wanted anyone as badly as I did Alex. Need burned inside me. I flexed my hands on the oars though I’d stopped rowing.
She raised her focus to me, her lips quirked as if poised to speak. She could ask me anything right now. Any fucking thing and I’d do it.
Instead, she clambered to her feet, toed out of her sandals, tossed her phone to the deck, then dived into the goddamned lake.
“Fuck,” I bit out.
It was all I could do to kick off my boots, drop my phone, and jump in after her.
I submerged, leaving the boat rocking. The shock of the cool water displaced the heaviness that had claimed me, and I surfaced to a cackle from Alex.
“God! I never expected you to follow,” she crowed, her hair slicked back.
“And leave ye to get a disease all by yourself? What kind of bodyguard would I be?”
She laughed and floated on her back. “I’d tell you I’d been doing this for years, too, but it would be a lie.”
“Impulse of the moment?”
“I was overheating. Felt like the right thing to do.”
Oddly, I agreed. I had no clue if she felt any degree of the draw that I did for her, but we’d got heavy quickly.
Alex coasted about. When she was ready, we swam to the lake edge and climbed out, dripping but grinning at each other. I’d kept the boat close to us and reclaimed our shoes, phones, and importantly, the wig that was her disguise to get home.
My sodden jeans clung to me. I stripped my shirt and wrung it out.
“If I’d taken a second to think, I would have left this in the boat. At least that way you’d have something dry to go home in.”
Alex had gone quiet. I glanced over at where she was on the path, fastening her sandal. Except she’d stopped. Her gaze was stuck on my chest, her mouth open.
I moved in on her and reached to tap her chin. “No eyeing up the staff, princess.”
That’s exactly what I was. An employee. No matter what that look had told me, I could never be anything else. Just had to tell that to my dick.