Chapter 1 #2
Felix stared at his screens, his finger rubbing against his chin as he studied the data.
He had no idea what he was looking for, but something was bothering him.
If he could just figure out what it was, maybe he’d sleep for longer than four hours at a time.
It was barely five in the morning, but certain areas of Windsor Castle were awake.
He’d beaten Brett into Sec HQ—what they called the security room they all congregated in—something that didn’t happen often.
Sighing, he closed the report and pushed it aside. He’d go through it again the next day and see if fresh eyes would help, and if not, he might take it to Brett or Dominic for their opinion. Probably Dominic, because Brett had enough on his plate.
And if the fates deemed him called, Brett entered, eyebrows rising when he saw him.
“You’re in early.”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
He tried to keep his eyes on his screens, but it was hard.
His entire being craved a look, a touch, a scent.
It needed Brett with every molecule inside him, but he refrained.
Each and every day, he stopped himself from taking what he wanted.
Yes, maybe a few things snuck through, like when the devastation was more than he could handle, and he broke down, and Brett held him.
Like when he had been so scared he couldn’t keep Oscar safe, and Brett held him until he fell asleep.
And like when Brett struggled, and Felix had taken him home and stayed in the room with him while he slept for far longer than either of them had expected.
It wasn’t easy, but he kept his promise to himself: he wouldn’t take more than Brett was willing to give.
Unfortunately, Brett gave very little. No, that was wrong.
Brett gave a lot of himself—to everyone—and he had very little left to give to someone special.
No matter how Felix tried to explain it, it sounded bad.
Brett was an extremely giving, caring, intelligent workaholic, but he needed to learn to take a break.
“What’s your excuse?” he asked.
“I have reports that won’t finish themselves.” Brett settled himself behind the desk and pulled a piece of paper towards him.
“Need any help?”
“No, I’m all good, thanks.” They dropped into silence for a few seconds before Brett said, “Do you need any help with anything?”
“Nah, I’m all good,” he echoed. “Just analysing data.”
Silence was king again while they both worked, although Felix was pretending for the most part. He was too aware of the man on the other side of the room, and because of that, his heart pounded harder than usual, his hands shook a little, and he swallowed convulsively.
When he finally managed to fix his attention on the data—which he’d opened again just for something to look at—he still couldn’t figure out what was bugging him about it, so he closed it down a short while later.
Without explaining his destination, he left Sec HQ and strode down the hallway.
It didn’t take him long to get to the kitchen, where he helped himself to a cup of coffee.
He could’ve easily used the area closer to Sec HQ, but he wanted the space and the walk.
“Why do you come in here?”
Felix grinned over his shoulder at Dominic’s voice. “You want a drink?”
“Is Andrew the king?”
Ask a stupid question and get a stupid answer. He made Dominic a coffee and handed it over, and then turned and leaned back against the side. When Dominic raised his eyebrows, Felix sighed.
“If I said I was stretching my legs, would you believe me?” Dominic just stared at him. “Fine. Sometimes I just need to walk it off.”
“Walk what off?”
“Everything. And if it means a walk to the other side of the castle instead of the closer kitchen, then so be it.”
“And what are you having to walk off at almost seven in the morning?”
The truth would not pass his lips. He shook his head. “Something is bugging me, but I can’t figure out what it is.”
“About what?”
“About everything. What happened to you and Randall, Owen and Evan, and Nick and Kai. There’s something we’re missing. Some connection that will help us figure out what the heck is going on.”
Dominic slurped his coffee. “We know they’re connected. We just can’t prove it.”
“Exactly. But I think there’s something we’re not seeing.”
“There are probably lots of things, but the fuckers are too good at hiding.”
Felix shook his head again. “I really hate this.” He checked his watch. “We’d better get back.” As they wandered back, he asked, “How are the fish?”
Dominic chuckled. “They’re still alive, so that’s something.”
When Dominic had started his relationship with Randall, the king’s personal assistant, he’d found out that the man loved aquariums, and so, for Randall’s birthday, Dominic had called on Owen and Evan to help install a tropical aquarium in their house.
Randall loved it, and they had so many tropical fish, Felix was sure there wouldn’t be enough room for them, but they always adhered to the amount they were allowed according to the regulations, or whatever it was Dominic had tried to explain to him once.
They arrived at Sec HQ and entered to see most of the guards in attendance.
Splitting up and settling into their usual seats, Felix scanned the room.
Maddox wasn’t there yet. He was one of the few who hated the daily meetings that Brett had made mandatory, and although he attended all of them, he was often late.
Most of the time, they didn’t entertain the idea of hiring anyone who didn’t agree with having these meetings, but Maddox’s reputation preceded him, and when Brett had brought it up with the rest of them, asking their opinions, it was almost unanimous in favour of him.
So, despite his tardiness, which annoyed Felix something rotten, they allowed it.
He could see it pissed Brett off, though, because when Maddox entered two minutes to the hour, Brett’s mouth formed a straight line as he glared in his direction.
“Right, glad we’re all here,” Brett said pointedly. “Let’s run through the appointments today and get an overview of the week and your responsibilities, and we’ll get on with our day.”
Felix watched Maddox cross his arms over his chest and scowl, but he said nothing.
They spent half an hour checking that everyone had everything they needed for their tasks, and then Brett ended the meeting.
“Maddox, can I have a word, please?” Brett said.
Felix stayed in his chair but turned to face his screens, far enough away to not seem like he was listening but close enough to listen if they spoke at normal volume. To begin with, they didn’t, and Felix couldn’t hear, but then Maddox said, “That’s fucking ridiculous.”
“You might think so, but I’ve been running this ship for long enough to know what works and what doesn’t. If you have a problem with that, you are welcome to hand in your notice.”
Maddox turned and walked away before storming back, and Felix stood in case he was needed. All Maddox did was point a finger close to Brett’s face and said, “I think you’ve got fucked up priorities. Sir.” He turned again and exited the room.
Felix wandered over. “Everything okay?”
Brett rubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, just a conversation that should’ve happened earlier than this. Who knows what decision he’ll make.” Brett smiled, though it was strained. “All good.”
It wasn’t, and Felix knew it, but he nodded and headed back to his seat. One day, Brett would see him as someone to confide in.
One day.
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