Huntress Page 13

  “I think she’s right. Your great-grandfather understands parental visits are still barred, but this is a start. This period is to give a fair chance of reconciliation. It’s my job to make certain that happens. Of course, there are outside factors. It’s very difficult to control the monarchs when they decide to do something, so you may as well accept a meeting will happen. When, I can’t tell you. But it’s coming.”

  “Christian’s warned you, hasn’t he?”

  “He’s been warning me for the past week. It is much easier to keep them out of the hotel. Once we leave the hotel, it’ll be much more difficult to prevent them from paying you a visit.”

  I sighed. “It’s been a miracle they’ve left me alone this long. I should just accept now I’ve been tricked, shouldn’t I?”

  “Yes,” both women replied.

  During my recovery, I’d dealt with the aches and pains from the transplant, and my lengthy inactivity had reduced me to a tired mess physical therapy would address. The walk to the lobby would be challenging enough without adding arguing with the women to it. I gave it fifty-fifty odds I took a nap the instant I reached the vehicle destined to cart me back towards the Chicago area. “Let’s get this over with, then. And Eva?”

  “Yes?”

  “Kick the fucking bear’s ass.”

  “That’s the idea.”

  Since I was being bossy and she hadn’t put me in my place yet, I added, “Cuss more, too.”

  Meredith scowled. “Your Highness.”

  “Let the woman curse. Until I sign a piece of paper overturning it, it’s not like I plan to fucking stick around, so while she’s assigned to my detail, if she wants to tell Congress to fuck off on public television, great.”

  “I told you,” Eva informed Meredith. “Expecting him to be charitable over this bullshit is unreasonable.”

  “Try to limit the vulgarity to tolerable degrees, both of you.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I replied. “It’s part of my strategy to ensure my future freedom.”

  Both women rolled their eyes, and Eva prodded me in the chest with a finger. “Stop being a fucking baby and march your ass downstairs, Your Highness.”

  “I can’t promise marching. How about a slow plod?”

  “I don’t care, just don’t fall on your fucking face. I will drag you by your foot to the car.”

  She would, and I was tempted to fall on my ass to watch her strut her stuff and haul me around. As I had no doubt there’d be reporters waiting to catch such a moment, I’d refrain. “A low bar I hope to meet. What do I need to bring with me?”

  Meredith snorted. “Yourself. You’re going to have a difficult enough time managing the walk to the car.”

  “While true, I don’t have my wallet, keys, or phone.”

  “They’re in your briefcase, which I’ll be carrying it,” Meredith replied. “Your personal vehicle is also waiting for you at the RPS training center, but it’s in need of some repairs.”

  My car needed to be repaired? Damn it. “Was it impounded?”

  “No, of course not. They ran the plates and notified the RPS your car was in the lot and asked us what we wanted done with it. It stayed in the lot overnight before Christian arranged for someone to take it back to Chicago. You may want to consider a new vehicle.”

  “What happened to my car?”

  “The brakes went out on it,” she replied. “I’ve been told you don’t drive often but take good care of the car. It’s being investigated, but it looks like an issue from sitting around so long without the brake fluid being replaced. We’ll be notified if it’s more than a maintenance issue.”

  “Seriously?” What could go wrong did go wrong, and if someone had screwed with my car, I’d have Eva teach me every dirty trick in the book so I could deal with the culprit personally. “Eva?”

  “What now?”

  “You can use a replacement car that won’t try to kill me as ammunition in your skirmishes with the royal family.”

  “Nice. Preference?”

  “Surprise me. If I pick, I’m going to the nearest dealership and picking the cheapest, most boring car I can find.”

  Eva shuddered. “I can do better than that without thinking about it. Two seater or four seater?”

  Any other day, I would’ve said a four-seater, but I remembered if I picked a two-seater, I could take Eva and leave everyone else behind. “If I have a two-seater, we can ditch Meredith and make her chase us in an inferior vehicle.”

  She chuckled. “I’ll figure out something with enough under the hood its pride won’t be hurt when armor plating and bulletproof glass is added.”

  RPS agents. I could always trust them to find ways to complicate things for me. “Use your judgment.”

  “Your Highness, this is a matter of your kingdom’s future prosperity,” Meredith reminded me. “What do you want done with your vehicle?”

  “Since Eva will be using a new vehicle for me as ammunition, have my car repaired, find a family on welfare who needs a vehicle, and give it to them. Make sure any trackers are stripped off of the vehicle and do a full inspection to make certain there wasn’t anything added I’m not aware of.”

  Meredith pulled out her phone and tapped at the screen. “I’ll make certain it’s done, Your Highness. Anything else?”

  The list was too long to bother with, although one thing stood out to me more than the rest for the immediate future. I plucked at the sleeve of my suit jacket, which had been a snug fit prior to my hospitalization. “Clothes that fit might be a good start.”

  “Better fitting clothing is on the agenda. You’ll put back on muscle and weight in the next few weeks. If it’s any consolation, you look fine, and only those who know you really well are going to notice.” Meredith returned her phone to her pocket and retrieved a briefcase from near the door. “We can discuss your wardrobe on the way to Chicago.”

  Eva smirked, and her playful expression captured my attention. “If he’s not grabbed by the bear.”

  One day, maybe I would understand why everyone in my idiot family loved when the women they loved enjoyed themselves at our general expense. I was a chip off my father’s block, however much I hated to admit it.

  “You’re enjoying this possibility too much,” I complained.

  Eva’s smirk widened into a grin. “Relocations are fun, especially when they’re harmless and I get to laugh at the participants. The RPS has so many options I can work with. It’s wonderful.”

  Meredith laughed. “You only have yourself to blame for this, Your Highness. You wanted the bounty hunter with a tracking talent on your team.”

  Yes, I had. I still did. I always would. Despite everything that had happened, I refused to regret it.

  As I’d been warned, my great-grandpa waited in the lobby, and his eyes widened when he spotted me. “I’ll be damned.”

  A lifetime of dealing with my family and grumpy politicians gave me all the tools I needed to survive through the next few minutes with some of my dignity intact. The first rule of survival involved keeping my tone reasonable and maintaining a cheery demeanor. Politicians jumped on surly moods like wolves on a lamb. “It’s hard to decline an invitation to a public brawl between a woman and a mangy bear.”

  “Deserved,” he conceded. “You’re scrawny.”

  Where had he been all my life? I’d been scrawny from the day I’d been born, although before I’d been hospitalized, I’d balanced scrawny with decent muscle definition. As my great-grandpa seemed inclined to keep things civil, I tossed the first rule out the window in favor of direct honesty. “Shit happens.”

  “Shit that could’ve been avoided. I had no idea your idiot father had taken leave of his senses due to immature jealousy. He wrongly perceived a threat. For that, I apologize.”

  Letting go was much easier than holding on, and while he’d done more than his fair share to contribute, Eva enjoyed her bouts with him. For that reason alone, I’d put aside my anger. “All right. Accepted, but
there’s a condition.”

  “What condition?”

  I pointed at Eva. “She sets your beating schedule. I get to watch whenever I want, and I will shoot you if you break another of her bones. Fair fighting. Accidents happen, but it better be an accident.”

  My great-grandpa chuckled. “You’re letting me off light. That’s a fair condition. For how long?”

  I shrugged. “Ask Eva.”

  “Agent Evangeline?”

  “However long he decides to put up with the royalty shit.”

  Her immediate reply amused me. Had my terms been so predictable? Probably, but I didn’t care. Her answer implied if I stayed, she’d stay.

  “That’s slightly concerning.”

  I frowned. “Why?”

  “You’re joking, right? This lady hits harder than I do.”

  “Has she broken anything yet?”

  “My pride and delicate sensibilities.”

  Standing around and talking was enough to wear me out, and I wondered how long it would take before I could live like a normal person again. “I’m too tired for any bullshit, so if you’re pulling any relocation stunts, get on with it.”

  My great-grandpa glanced at Meredith.

  “He’s grumpy about his car, sir. He’s also grumpy I have his wallet, keys, and phone. Just grab him, stuff him in the SUV, and get on with it before the reporters decide to shove their cameras in his face. He doesn’t need the extra stress right now.”

  With a low chuckle, the grizzly pointed at the lobby doors. “Move it, kiddo. You’re too scrawny to hand over the RPS for detail training. You’d break and end up in the hospital again. A few solid meals and some exercise will do you a world of good.”

  I recognized a pre-planned transition when I saw one; Christian often did it to my father. “This was part of your plan all along, wasn’t it, Meredith?”

  “His vacation home makes a suitable neutral ground for a tentative meeting with the monarchs on a purely parental level.”

  My great-grandpa put his hand between my shoulders and nudged me towards the doors. “I’ll bribe you, kiddo, but for the sake of the entire kingdom, please make the crying stop.”

  I could easily see how Eva could make my mother cry, and I could also understand how my mother would set herself up for it, too. “Maybe if Mother would leave Eva alone, Eva wouldn’t fire back.”

  “I tried to tell her that, but she’s stubborn. No matter what anyone tells her, she refuses to believe she’s wrong.”

  Of course. I had a hard time imagining my prim and proper mother wading through manure before meeting my father. “Knee-deep in cow shit reminders might help.”

  “Those are my favorite,” Eva said with a smile. “She hates when I use dated insults on her, too. If she didn’t make it so much fun, I’d stop.”

  As I obviously couldn’t trust Eva or my great-grandpa to give me a straight answer, I turned to Meredith, digging in my heels, not that it stopped the grizzly from propelling me along. “How bad is it really?”

  “It’s probably worse than you think. Please go to the car, Your Highness.”

  Had I been left alone, I probably would’ve wasted five minutes trying to figure out which black SUV she meant, as there was a collection of them on the street, some new, some old. My great-grandpa solved the problem, guiding me to one of the newer ones waiting at the curb. I gave up trying to delay the inevitable, but he wasn’t taking any chances; he snagged me by the back of the neck. “This way, you can complain over how cruelly you were treated during this relocation. Your father will love it.”

  My father would have a fit if anyone took a picture of my great-grandpa manhandling me into a black, unmarked vehicle. For that reason alone, I cooperated. “That only works when my RPS agents aren’t in on it,” I reminded him.

  Eva gasped. “Oh, no. We’re being forcibly relocated. Whatever will we do?” Faking a swoon against Meredith, she pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. “So tragic.” She straightened and grinned. “I get paid extra when this shit happens.”

  I loved a foul-mouthed mercenary of a woman. “I don’t get paid extra. That’s not fair.”

  “Negotiate hazard pay as a condition of remaining the heir. If the kingdom has to pay you for incidents, they’ll make sure your RPS detail is much better.”

  Meredith choked back a laugh. “Please stop giving him ideas, Agent Evangeline. He’s already made his point. The congress is already prepared to bend over backwards to have the abdication stricken.”

  Before I had a chance to ask for more details, my great-grandpa shoved me into the back of the SUV.

  As neither Meredith nor Eva could do anything about the source of the problem, I focused on my great-grandpa. “Get my mother to stop antagonizing Eva. Then, and only then, will I think about making the stay on my abdication permanent.”

  “That’s a tall order, kiddo. Your mother’s so jealous she’s beside herself right now. To add to the nonsense, she’s convinced, as always, she knows what’s best for you more than you do. Start with your father. He’ll be easier to bring into line. Try to cut him a little slack. He really had no idea about your health. The royal physicians told him it was just a cold.”

  Eva pointed at the back seat. “You sit there. I’m with you, as Meredith thinks I’ll spend the whole drive provoking the grizzly because I can. She’s not wrong.”

  “All right.” In any other situation, I would’ve taken the middle seat, but sitting with Eva encouraged me to break the comfort of old routines. I buckled in, grateful for the darkened windows preventing the curious bystanders from gawking. Inevitably, someone had caught a picture of my great-grandpa shoving me into the vehicle.

  I wondered how the public would react. Royals weren’t voted into office; the days of the United States being a democratic republic had ended shortly after magic had washed over the world and triggered the second civil war. The violence had lasted over two decades before the original royals managed to restructure society and create the Royal States from the ashes of the United States.

  It had taken more than one lifetime to make the Royal States an official entity in the eyes of the rest of the world, who had watched the continent fall completely apart, although Mexico had dodged most of the conflict.

  North Dakota’s people had reminded the world revolt was an option, and their new king had earned the unwavering adoration of the lower castes through living among them for years before rising from the ashes of his past like a modern-day phoenix.

  I’d developed unfortunate similarities to King Adam’s situation. His health issues had resolved upon his reunion with his wife and queen. In a few months, they’d have their first children, and the Royal States held its breath waiting to discover how many they’d have.

  The good-humored competition with Montana amused me, as they’d only announced there was more than one on the way. I found the race for most children between the two kingdoms ridiculous, but I wished the best for both couples. After what they’d gone through, they deserved happiness.

  Maybe I needed to take a hike to North Dakota or Montana and get some advice from a more reasonable source.

  “I don’t know what you’re scheming back there, kiddo, but the answer is probably no,” my great-grandpa announced. “You have at least a week of low-level therapy ahead of you before you’re fit enough to work with your new detail in any capacity.”

  Of North Dakota and Montana, North Dakota’s King Adam would likely understand my situation better. “I was thinking about asking North Dakota for advice,” I confessed.

  “You’re not up for any serious travel right now, but there’s no reason you can’t give them a call. Their king’s royal physician might be a good resource. Agent Scarson?”

  Meredith claimed the spot next to my great-grandpa. “Yes, sir?”

  “Get in touch with Dr. Hampford and suggest she meet with North Dakota’s team; they might be able to offer advice for our specific situation.”

  “I’ll su
ggest it to her, sir.”

  My great-grandpa twisted around to face me. “What do we need to do to fix this mess, kiddo?”

  I raised a brow. “I already told you.”

  “It can’t be that simple.”

  “It is that simple. I’m not asking for much. I never have. But I’m done with being obstructed, sabotaged, and betrayed.”

  “Grégoire wouldn’t be a good king. He knows it, the congress knows it, and even the general public has figured it out. The other options aren’t any better. It’s a problem.”

  I kept my brow raised, wondering why he was telling me what I’d already been told. “He’s always been in line after me. This isn’t a surprise.”

  “No, it’s not. The surprise is how poorly he’s handling the work.”

  Why would anyone expect Grégoire to pick up where I’d left off without bumps along the way? The insanity of the idea rendered me speechless for so long Eva nudged me with her elbow. At a loss, I said, “It’s not his fault he doesn’t have my training.”

  “It’s not a matter of training. He’s a wolverine. On a good day, he’s impatient. No one had any idea of your absurd tolerance levels until he tried to fill your shoes and found them an uncomfortable fit.”

  It worried me Grégoire’s trial by fire was souring so fast, but even if I wanted to jump back into the fray of handling Illinois’s political matters, I couldn’t. The short walk had tired me out enough I doubted a week would be enough to restore me to partial functionality. “He’s burning out that fast?” I swallowed a frustrated sigh and stared out the window, unable to identify the city from its streets alone. By necessity, we were likely near Huron-Manistee, but no one had told me the specifics, and I hadn’t asked. “Grégoire’s always been helpful with taking the load off before.”

  “There’s a huge difference between helping out and taking the reins, kiddo. Your father’s beside himself at this point. Your filing has made it clear they need to get their ducks in a row.”

  “Having heard this analogy many times before, their squirrels are at a rave, too. Correct?”

  “And they’re rabid,” my great-grandpa added.