A Guiding Light Page 10

  All three men pointed down the hall, and I staggered to my feet and stumbled away.

  Drowning would potentially be a mercy. I wasn’t sure how to rank my problems anymore. They were too plentiful.

  Despite myself, the hope crept in that Ian was right and there was more to his plot than wishful thinking. If there was, every bit of pain the RPS agent threw in my direction would be worth it.

  Chapter Seven

  Salad without dressing and more vegetables than I could shake a stick at came between me and the sort of steak I’d never attempt to make, afraid of ruining it. Ian’s ultimatum annoyed me.

  If I didn’t eat all the rabbit food polluting my plate, he’d eat my steak. To make it clear what my goal was, the steak sat on the counter, warming to room temperature so it could be properly grilled, spiced with a hint of black pepper and salt, just how I liked it.

  “Haven’t you heard cruel and unusual punishment’s illegal?” I complained.

  “Be happy I told Peter you like steak. Otherwise, you’d be eating a lot of fish right now.”

  “I like fish.”

  “You like anything that isn’t a salad or vegetables. I remember because it pissed me off you got away with not eating it.”

  I’d gotten away with it as I’d stubbornly refused to eat anything for an entire week. My parents had feared I’d starve myself to death if our battle of wills continued. I’d eat everything on my plate as an adult, I’d hate every moment spent choking it down, and I’d make a point of savoring every bite of my hard-earned steak. “At least let me have the steak.”

  “Only when the vegetables are gone.” Ian grinned at me. “This is like a test drive of what it’ll be like to have a stubborn brat, isn’t it?”

  “I got away with a lot more as a child,” I confessed, glaring at the cabbage on my plate and poking it with my fork. “For the record, in case anyone other than me cares, I hate cabbage even more than I hate broccoli, and you managed to put both on this plate.”

  “They’re good for you.”

  “They’re also disgusting.” Bracing myself for the worst, I went to work choking it down.

  “I don’t think it’s that bad, Adam. Once you’re back in line for the throne where you belong, you’ll be eating this sort of thing every day. For fuck’s sake, it’s not going to kill you. Peter, make the man his steak before he starts crying.”

  The RPS agent chuckled. “How do you want it?”

  “Seared.”

  The RPS agent retreated to the kitchen. Ian balanced his chair on two legs, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared.

  “What?”

  “I’m trying to figure out why North Dakota’s royal family didn’t relent when it became obvious you’re bonded to Veronica. No one will take her as part of a match, and her sisters have dug their heels in, too—and the other royal families are supporting their protest by refusing to make offers for them. My parents are playing the game because the bloodline is too valuable, but I doubt they actually expect to win a North Dakotan princess.”

  “So why attack North Dakota’s stock market?”

  “They really don’t like His Royal Majesty, for starters. It’s universally agreed the best thing for North Dakota—and the Royal States—is if North Dakota’s overthrown. I’ve been thinking about it, and while I disagree with how my parents have gone about it, I can’t really say I disagree with the reason behind it. I’m making guesses here, but I suspect it’s less about securing a North Dakotan princess and more about triggering upheaval. The longer I think about it, the more I believe I’ve misjudged my parents’ scheming.”

  “Are your parents aware of how much of the banking sector I owned?”

  “Who do you think told me you owned it?”

  The New York royal family interfering in my affairs worried me almost as much as the possibility of meeting Veronica again. “That’s not good.”

  “Don’t delude yourself, Adam. Most of the kingdoms have been watching North Dakota, wondering what would happen to the line of succession. It’s clear the heir is bonded to you, and you’ve been out of the picture. Without you, the North Dakotan line might end. No one is really sure how the magic works, but it’s somehow tied to Fargo, which means one of the royal children needs to stay if the line is to continue. Right now, you and Veronica are the line’s best hope of survival—and you’re North Dakota’s best prospect for a monarch. Veronica will be a good queen, assuming she can escape from her father’s heel.”

  “There are others,” I reminded him.

  “And they all want out of North Dakota on their terms. It’s a mess. Honestly, I’m wondering if my parents aren’t trying to give them a way out. My parents are assholes, but they have their moments.”

  “Could’ve fooled me,” I muttered.

  “They actually like you.”

  My eyebrows rose. “I haven’t even met them.”

  “You have, actually. You were just five and entranced by Veronica. You’re half the reason they sent me here. Those bastards recently told me they’d done it to try to get me to have a little competitive spirit. Hell, they’re the ones who gave me the idea to come here and cause trouble, although I don’t think they think I’ll go as far as I plan to. It’s like they challenged me to give them a dose of just desserts.”

  “I think your entire family is in dire need of some good psychiatrists.”

  “You might be right. Honestly, I’m just happy this isn’t entirely New York’s fault for a change.”

  “It isn’t?”

  “Adam,” Ian complained. “They’re trying to help for once in their life. They’re just doing it very badly.”

  “Your kingdom needs to work on that.”

  “You’re probably right. One disaster at a time. If I’m going to make you David to my parents’ Goliath, I need the disaster that is you and Veronica fixed first. I didn’t want them pulling this bullshit in my name.”

  If I let him keep talking, Ian would give me an even worse headache. “I didn’t want my name brought into this in the first place.”

  “You should’ve thought of that before you staged a mass buyout. The next few months of your life involve being the subject of royal gossip, and I plan to take advantage of it so my name isn’t dragged through the mud because my parents are idiots. Worse, they might be well-intentioned idiots without much foresight on the long-term consequences of their meddling.”

  “At least your parents didn’t dump you at the shittiest trade school they could find.”

  “I’m not seeing any form of familial reconciliation in your near future, am I?”

  I arched a brow. “I returned their money with interest. No is a safe bet. I refuse to be the family shame.”

  “Mistakes were made.”

  “This goes beyond a mistake. A mistake is using salt instead of sugar in a pie. Try catastrophe.”

  “Catastrophes were made doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

  “Disasters,” I suggested.

  “Disasters were made doesn’t sound right, either.”

  “Were you always such an insufferable pain in the ass?”

  “Yes. That’s why you tried to drown me in the moat.”

  “No, I tried to drown you in the moat because you kept staring at Veronica.”

  “That, too. I still stare, but at a safe distance when she won’t catch me looking. Is it truth that the scar on her arm is from a fishing accident? She won’t tell me.”

  “We were five, and I hooked her when she fell into the moat.”

  Ian laughed until his eyes watered. “No wonder she pitched a fit when the moat was drained and her father sold the park for funds to help handle the stock market crash he knew was coming but couldn’t stop. His heir isn’t even talking to him right now. If Montana has to step in, it’s going to be a horror show.”

  “Montana?” Montana had a reputation of involving itself in the affairs of other kingdoms to resolve disputes, and whenever possible, kingdoms played nice to p
revent Montana’s king from making a personal visit to deal with the situation himself. “Are you about to tell me something I’m not going to like?”

  “About Montana calling the royal families together and threatening to knock our heads together unless we play nice? I give it two weeks before he picks a date for us. It’ll be an ultimatum. It usually is with him. Alaska dodged a bullet recently; they dodged the ultimatum because Her Royal Majesty of Alaska is a terrifying woman—a New Yorker to the core. She doesn’t need help bashing heads together. I think my parents will walk away with a warning they won’t like for crashing North Dakota’s market. It depends on what happens with you and Veronica. If you’re put in line for the throne, I suspect Montana will let my parents off lightly. The North Dakotan royal family will lose if Montana’s brought into it. First, they’ll get nailed for bad business practices threatening their sovereignty; it shouldn’t be Montana’s job to protect their sovereign right, and he’ll let them know it. If you’re really unlucky, His Royal Majesty of Montana will bring your family into it and run them over coals about reneging the betrothal. Bonded leeches take things like this personally. The real problem will be protecting you in the meantime.”

  I could make some guesses on why I’d need protected. I hadn’t left on good terms with anyone, and I counted as a threat against His Royal Majesty of North Dakota’s interests. “Dare I ask why?”

  “North Dakota is unstable, and if you’re killed or taken by the wrong people, it really could lead to a civil war, and Veronica, her sisters, and her brothers would become the prizes other kingdoms would fight over. To get Veronica, you need to be removed from the picture. Sorry, Adam. Welcome to the big leagues.”

  “Ain’t that just fucking spectacular.”

  I suspected someone had slipped a sedative into my dinner. There was no other explanation for the lethargy clinging to me. Within five minutes of devouring my steak, which made up for the evil, sedative-laced vegetables, I barely made it to the couch before losing the will to do anything other than sleep.

  It had to be the vegetables. Why else would both RPS agents and Ian be so insistent I eat them otherwise? I bet the bastards had spiked the butter meant to entice me into eating the vegetables.

  I’d never admit I appreciated the rest, especially since I could stretch out on the couch without my feet dangling off the end. A bang startled me, but the sedative did a good job of keeping me limp and relaxed. The sensation of heavy weights pinning me down refused to leave.

  Ian snickered, and I decided it didn’t matter what the bang was.

  “Ian Alphonse Ambrose, I should hang you from the rafters for this,” Veronica snarled. Her voice had gained a sharp edge over the years, and I pitied the fool who’d earned her ire.

  While Ian’s death would cause North Dakota a great many problems, he deserved her wrath.

  “Relax, Veronica. I only had him zapped a few times to get your attention. He’s fine. He’s sleeping off a big dinner, although I confess we may have slipped him a sleeping pill. He needs the rest, and I thought it might help dull his reaction to you showing up. You should be thanking me. I kidnapped him just for you.”

  “You kidnapped him.”

  Ian faced his death, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to help him or watch the fireworks.

  “I did. He’s very important to our plans.”

  Practicality decided me; if I let Veronica kill Ian, I couldn’t plot his demise myself. “Damn it, Ian.”

  “Good morning, Adam. Your princess showed up an hour earlier than we thought it would take her to find you. She’s a little pissy right now, though.”

  My tongue protested being used again, and I swallowed several times, grunted, and managed to roll over, discovering someone had covered me with a blanket. “Schedule his murder for in a few hours so I can help,” I slurred.

  Ian snickered. “Go ahead and touch him, Veronica. He’s wearing a pair of suppressors and he’s drugged fairly heavily. You’ll probably put him right back to sleep, then you can stand guard. Before you try to murder me for touching your man, consider this: I wouldn’t bring Zach all the way to North Dakota and go through the hassle of locating and kidnapping Adam to hurt him. I certainly wouldn’t lure you here to hurt you, either. I do need to talk to you, but that can wait until your bond has a chance to stabilize.”

  I sucked in a breath and held it.

  “Tell me why first,” Veronica demanded.

  “My parents fucked up and used my name to do it, and I think it’s time they ate some just desserts. They almost meant well, I think, but they’ve gone too far this time. They’re not just inconveniencing a rival, they’re putting an entire kingdom at risk. I think we should teach them a lesson. You game?”

  “We?”

  “You, me, and the owner of ninety-one percent of North Dakota’s banks. You might know him. You plan to marry him, after all. I hope you weren’t hoping to become a Penshire. He’s now a Smith. My plans can wait a day or two. You have eighteen years to catch up on. You can thank me with an invitation to your wedding.”

  “Deal,” she replied without any hesitation. “I’ll even let you be my maid of honor if you’d like.”

  “Me in a dress would be appalling.”

  “We just have to find the right dress.”

  The mental image of Ian in a dress coaxed me into laughing. “I’d invite you to be the best man, but I want to see you in a dress.”

  “If you help me restore my name, I’ll even pierce my ears and wear high heels.”

  “We’re going to have a very memorable wedding, Adam.”

  Before I could think of a reply to that, a warm hand pressed against my cheek, and relief flooded through me, so intense it drowned my awareness of anything else.

  The couch wasn’t big enough for two, but Veronica refused to accept defeat. Waking up with a woman sprawled over me took the top spot of my favorite ways to start the day. I’d never confess she weighed a lot, and I loved her warmth.

  Her soft snore soothed me, but one of my arms was pinned between us. The other held her close.

  I could live without one of my arms, although I wouldn’t enjoy it when she moved.

  “Go back to sleep,” Veronica mumbled, and she wiggled on top of me, resting her cheek on my shoulder. “It’s too early to get up.”

  I had no idea what planet she was from, but if she thought I’d be able to go back to sleep while she was wiggling on top of me, she was insane. Her insanity was the kind I didn’t mind, either. The wiggling unseated having Veronica using me as a pillow as my favorite way to wake up in the morning. “What time is it?”

  “I’m still sleeping o’clock.”

  “I like the way you keep time,” I confessed.

  “Good.” She went back to sleep, and I marveled at how comfortable and relaxed she seemed. We hadn’t seen each other in so long but having her close replaced the pressure in my chest with something warm, something so pleasant I wanted nothing to change.

  I’d never underestimate or discount a kid again; Marshal had been right. I’d been blinded by betrayal, allowing myself to focus on how it hurt rather than trying to do something about it.

  We’d lost so much and gained nothing for it.

  “I’ll bite you if you start whining,” Veronica warned. “Relax. Go back to sleep. I can’t sleep when you get whiny.”

  I wondered what it said about me that I was intrigued by her threat rather than worried. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry, either.”

  “Why can’t I be sorry?”

  “You haven’t done anything wrong, that’s why. My idiot father would’ve tried to get rid of you permanently. You were wise to stay away. I’ve been waiting a long time for my chance to shove his stupidity in his face. I’ve been telling him you’re the only man I’ll marry. My sisters have refused the crown, as have my brothers. I’m not going to change my mind, but he refuses to believe he was wrong. He was. He is. You’ve missed me since the day you were forced to
leave. Ian told me you don’t feel me like I feel you. Every day, I knew you grieved. It’ll be better now.”

  How had she understood my emotions when I barely understood—or could handle them—myself?

  “Adam.”

  Of all the things I could tell her, of all the excuses I could make, the only one that felt right was the truth. “I couldn’t afford to hope things would change.”

  “I guessed as much. It’s my job to fix things right now. When Marshal told me I needed to be the one to make the next move, I laughed. I already knew that. I am sorry he ambushed you, though. He’s troubled.”

  Troubled was one way to put it. “I’m not sure he likes me much.”

  “He adores you. He just hates snoring and felt bad you slept on your couch, which was too small for you. I understand why now.”

  “They don’t make many beds for giants, and forget it when it comes to couches. I need to steal this couch. It’s generally a lost cause.”

  “So it seems. You’re not going to go back to sleep, are you?”

  “Probably not.” If she kept wiggling on me, I’d be anything other than relaxed, and I had no idea how to handle my interest in her. She’d grown from a bright-eyed, cheery girl into the sort of woman men dreamed about. When I’d seen her on television, she’d been beautiful. In life, she tempted me into running away with her and hiding until the world forgot what she looked like, all so no one could steal her from me again.

  “Adam?”

  “What?”

  “I’m not sure what you’re scheming, but it’s probably not a wise idea.”

  Damn it. “There’s no hiding anything from you, is there?”

  “I’m used to it. I like knowing what you’re feeling, even when it’s bad. I do have a question for you.”

  “What?”

  “A few days ago…”

  I chuckled, relaxed, and showed her the suppressors around my wrist. “Talent evaluation. They were testing so they could loan me these.”