Chapter 3
Daniil
As a politician who absolutely loathes politics, it’s days like today that I curse my cousin for talking me into taking a job I really don’t enjoy. So much double talk. Ego stroking. Time-wasting bullshit.
After ten years under the dictator-like rule of our now-deceased cousin Anwar, Erik came out of exile to take over.
Bring Limaj into the twenty-first century while simultaneously trying to juggle politics, international economics, the impact of climate change on the country’s food supply, and family.
All as our enemies consistently try to undermine his rule.
He never sleeps.
The least I can do is help by taking over a role that requires not just someone capable, but also someone trustworthy. Erik decided that was me.
So here I am, listening to these men—and one woman—attempting to screw us in a trade deal. Tariffs, my ass.
One more hour, and then I’m out of here. On a plane to Vegas. Where I’m going to beg, borrow, steal, and threaten, if necessary, until I get the information I need.
I should probably walk away and leave Courtney the hell alone.
We hooked up at my brother Sandor’s and Lennox’s wedding.
Courtney and Lennox served in the U.S. Marines together and stayed in touch even though Lennox went the route of private security and Courtney stayed in the military.
She flies helicopters, which is pretty fucking cool, if I do say so myself.
One of the many things that attracted me to her.
That and the fiery red hair. Bright green eyes. Tits I could get lost in. And her ass. Jesus, I get hard just thinking about taking a bite—fuck.
I snap back to the present, realize I’m not paying attention.
“I apologize,” I say politely. “My stomach just growled and distracted me. What did you ask?”
The man across from me looks surprised and then grins. “How about we continue this over lunch? I’m hungry too.”
Great. Just what I want—to spend more time with them.
But I really am hungry, and we need this deal to go through.
Our oil refinery is in a strategic location for ships and trade, but the building itself is old and in desperate need of repair.
We don’t have the raw materials to upgrade, and that’s why we’re negotiating building a pipeline into Turkiye, one of our neighbors.
In the meantime, I’m trying to broker a deal in the U.S. for supplies.
My phone buzzes as the limo takes us to the restaurant and I glance down surreptitiously.
On my phone, I use Erik’s code name, which is a joke among us—tsar.
TSAR: How’s it going? Has the top of your head come off yet?
DANIIL: Fuck. You.
TSAR: That good, eh?
DANIIL: I hate you and if it wouldn’t make your beautiful wife a widow, I’d strangle you with my bare hands when I get back.
TSAR: Tsk tsk. Is that how you talk to your king?
DANIIL: It’s how I talk to my least favorite cousin.
TSAR: Well, I got a lead on Courtney. But you’ll have to apologize before I give it to you.
DANIIL: [middle finger emoji]
TSAR: LOL Close enough. She was spotted at a grocery store there in Vegas.
He sends a screen shot and I stare at it.
DANIIL: How did you get a picture when Joe couldn’t find any trace of her?
TSAR: Ace asked one of his friends in the CIA, got us some random surveillance tape. It was really an accident. Her face showed up in facial recognition because of her ties to the military.
DANIIL: She retired, though, right?
TSAR: Yes. No issues there. Her file has nothing but glowing reviews from her commanding officers. The men she served with. Her CO was actually shocked and disappointed that she left.
DANIIL: I’m really beginning to feel like it’s me she’s hiding from.
TSAR: Jesus. Just how kinky did you get? You know I love you, cuz, but sometimes you’re…wild.
I freeze, my heart skipping a beat as I stare down at the screen.
I am wild.
No doubt about that.
For years, I thought I was bisexual, but I think it’s more that I’m pansexual, because the adage ‘hearts not parts’ fits me better than any other description.
I’m attracted to who people are, regardless of sex, gender, race, etcetera.
The outside is usually what gets my attention, of course, but I forge bonds with what’s on the inside.
Generally speaking, I find myself more attracted to women. I like their softness, curves, everything that makes them feminine. But I’ve dated men too. Hell, I was married to one. I like their strength, muscles, the way they sound when they get off. It’s different.
I’m one hundred percent monogamous when I’m in a relationship, but I have some kinks. Like how much I enjoy group sex. Not having sex with multiple people at once but having the others in the room watch me having sex.
The first time I went down on Courtney was on the balcony just outside the ballroom where Sandor and Lennox’s reception was raging. It was late, so the elderly members of the family had mostly already left. And she was into it.
She was.
I asked her flat out—because I am many things but abusive isn’t one of them—and she stared at me with those mesmerizing green eyes as she whispered, “fuck yes.”
So, it wasn’t just yes, it was fuck yes.
The next time we were together I let some of the men I work with—single guys I party with sometimes when we need to let off steam—watch us. Again, I asked her first. She was hesitant, but when I promised her nothing that happened would ever leave that room, no pictures allowed, she was into it.
She’s as wild as I am, just a bit more conservative about admitting it.
DANIIL: I asked for consent every step of the way. I would never force a woman to do anything she didn’t want to do! You should know better.
TSAR: I know that, but some people have morning-after regret.
DANIIL: I’m struggling to believe that because we had a wild couple of nights, and then she left the military and went into hiding. I mean, what exactly was I going to do with that information?
TSAR: I don’t know but this feels strategic. The fact that Chains wouldn’t tell us where she is makes me believe there’s more to this story.
DANIIL: And Grim wouldn’t tell me anything either. I spoke to him early this morning. He was very clear that she’s started a new life and doesn’t want to see me.
TSAR: So, she’s married and afraid you’ll embarrass her. And if that’s the case, you better stay the fuck away from her. I’m serious. If she’s happy and doesn’t want her new husband to find out she used to party with a prince, that’s her prerogative.
DANIIL: If she’s married, why can’t we find any record of that? Joe checked. Hell, I personally ran multiple checks.
TSAR: I don’t know, but tread carefully. Chains is a friend, someone who’s saved my life in the past. That isn’t a relationship I want messed with.
DANIIL: I won’t. You have my word.
I put my phone away and stare out at the streets of D.C.
The more I find out the more confused I get.
This all feels…personal. Like it’s me specifically she wants to get away from. I don’t know where that thought came from, but my gut kept me alive for a decade in exile and I can’t stop relying on it now.
Something happened.
Courtney and I were together for two days during and after the wedding.
Then she left. She had to go back to work, and though she didn’t say goodbye, I didn’t think much of it.
I would have liked to see her again, but she was in the military in the U.S.
, and I’m very much tied to my position as a working member of the royal family and a Royal Protector.
I don’t get assigned regular duty shifts like the other Protectors do, but I protect the King when we’re in Parliament or if we’re traveling together.
And of course, during any attack on the palace, of which there have been far too many.
That was the last time I saw Courtney.
Almost sixteen months ago. She came to visit Lennox, who was getting close to her due date.
Pregnant with twins, it was an exciting time for my brother and his tough-as-nails wife.
Courtney and I had hooked up the night before—the night my friends watched us go at it—and the next day she went with Lennox to hang out with Casey, the queen.
Erik, Sandor, and I were all away from the palace when the attack started.
Even eight months pregnant, Lennox got Casey and her young son into the secret tunnels—just as her water broke. When she couldn’t go any farther, it was Courtney who guided Casey and Levi to safety, helping them rendezvous with the rescue team.
We were together again that night, comforting each other in the midst of the chaos because the palace had been badly damaged, a handful of guards killed, and our feeling of safety shattered.
I think that was the night I started to have genuine feelings for her.
So beautiful, but also strong, tough, unflappable in an emergency—absolutely Royal Protector material.
But she turned down Joe and Lennox when they offered her the opportunity, saying she had military responsibilities, that she wasn’t sure she was ready to make a lifetime commitment.
That’s what being a Royal Protector is—a commitment to serve for the rest of your life—so of course we respected her wishes.
Then she left again without a backward glance.
I reached out to her once and she gave me some stereotypical brush-off about how she’s not ready for a relationship, it’s her, not me, blah blah fucking blah.
I’d respected that too, assuming she’d come to visit Lennox and the twins at some point, and maybe I’d find a way to win her over.
Fifteen months later, no one can find her.
If it was just me, I’d take that with a grain of salt and move on.
But she and Lennox were close, so for her to disappear the way she has means something is going on.
And I intend to find out what it is.