Kingston unlocked his old storage shed with all of the things that he hadn’t taken to the palace with him. Iker slipped in behind him, and Kingston went straight to the gun safe in the back. He opened it and said he was going to give Brent an update. He stepped back and texted Brent, asking him to call if he could. A second later, his cell went off.“‘King, I’m here! Tell me everything! What did you find out?’”“I was able to hear Romy and trace her current location… Brent, she’s been kidnapped by Thiago and Raoul,” Kingston said tightly.“‘Are you kidding me?’” Voices echoed behind him, but they died down.“‘Guess who is here telling them all Princess Romaine ran away…?’”“Thiago? How in the hell had he gotten there already?”“‘No, bro… It’s Alba. She showed the King and the Queen a text from Thiago saying Romaine told him early this morning she was taking off. He hasn’t shown up yet.’”“He will… soon enough.” Kingston filled him in briefly on w
Two other men charged forward, their guns firing towards Kingston, but one was dropped by Iker and the second went down when Kingston fired.“Four… Romy, what do you hear?”“‘Nothing… It’s quiet… No! Get your filthy hands off me, you bastard!’”“Romy! What’s happening there?”“‘Let me go, you coward! King!!!!! King!!!!!’”“‘Shut up, you little bitch!’” Raoul shouted. Kingston stared through the scope, and when Raoul came back into view with his gun aimed at Romaine’s head, his entire body exploded in fury.“Put down your weapons!” Raoul called out to the dockyard. “Do it or I’ll kill her! I swear to God I will!”“‘King,’” Romaine whispered, and Raoul yanked hard on her hair. She reached back, trying to get free, but Raoul smacked her with the gun, and Romaine staggered.“‘King, can you get a shot?’” Iker asked quietly. “‘I’m blocked. I can’t see shit.’” He scooted forward, his hands the steadiest they’d been in years, and put his eye back to the
“This is not true! It’s all lies!” Thiago yelled, but Kingston shook him hard enough for his teeth to rattle. Queen Dorothea’s hand covered her mouth as King Hernando’s opened and closed like a fish out of water.“Romaine… What are you saying? This is madness! This is pure madness! Thiago is your cousin! You’ve been close your entire lives… He cares for you…”“And he wants the throne, Father,” Romaine argued angrily. “But you know this… Both of you do.”“I don’t understand,” Queen Dorothea whispered. “Romy, sweetheart, we would have known if you were kidnapped.”“Obviously not, Mother,” she replied gently, trying to reign in her rage. “You’ve been too busy deciding for me, controlling my life, playing my strings like I was some soulless, stupid marionette to realize the actual danger I was in.” She tossed the phone to Brent.“Can you, please, play the file that’s up, and make sure everyone can hear it.”“Immediately, Your Royal Highness,” Brent said. He b
Sun shattered the darkness in his bedroom, and Kingston groaned as he rolled over, diving back under the covers for another few hours’ sleep. A squeal greeted him, and he shot up in bed, glancing around, his hand slipping beneath his pillow until the other head popped up.“Oh, King! You’ve been so wicked… I will not walk straight for a week after last night.” The black-haired beauty grinned beside him, the sheet pooled around her waist. His hand relaxed, and Kingston left the handgun tucked under his pillow. He forced a grin, even though smiling was the last thing he felt like doing.“That is the idea, darling,” he pointed out. “But unfortunately, my precious, you need to go and I have to get ready. My new job starts today.”“Wow… Isn’t this wonderful… And where is this new job? You aren’t working at the nightclubs anymore?”“Sadly, no, but this one will pay the bills even better,” Kingston replied, knowing the new income would take care of him for quite some time i
Romaine tried hard not to groan like a child, but having someone watch her constantly grew tiresome, and dealing with a new person meant reminding said person again and again that personal space was a must.“Why can’t you just let me have Theodore? Or Brent? They’ve been here long enough. They knew me,” she muttered. “I know Ralph retired, but why do you need to bring in another one?”“Because my daughter needs a personal bodyguard at all times. You know this very well. I have one and so does your father. We are the Royal family and that’s the way it is, Romaine. I don’t know why you don’t see that.” She wanted to say that a bodyguard hadn’t protected her older brother from the terrible boating accident that took his life when Romaine was only six. Instead, she nodded in apology.“Very well, Mother, as you wish. I will meet the new security guard.” Though she didn’t see why she still needed protection… No one had tried to hurt a member of the Royal family
Once the door closed firmly, Romaine let out a sigh and laughed quietly.“I adore her though she’s a bit overzealous some days.”“Is that right…?!” Kingston mused as he walked slowly about her rooms. When he shifted, Romaine noticed the bulge under his side where his jacket pressed against his side in the holster, reminding her he was not here for small talk.“Yes… Well then… These are, of course, my rooms. My bedroom is through that door if there is ever an issue, though I assure you this palace hasn’t been broken into in decades. No one has targeted my family… Not that I’m aware of,” she added with a shrug. He wandered towards her bedroom door and peered inside.“Still,” he said after a long moment of staring into her private chamber, “we can’t be too careful.” The flare of heat in his look had Romaine struggling to breathe, her chest tightening as she turned away from him. How dare he look at her like that? She was the princess.
The afternoon went by in a flurry of maps and plans Kingston had to learn for his new job, but maps and plans were second-nature for him. In the military, he hadn’t dealt much with protection details. He simply treated this as any other mission, and everything fell into place. When he had first arrived, Raoul went over most of what his job would entail, but little information was given to him concerning Princess Romaine. All he was told to do was to protect Her Royal Highness with his own life. No more, no less. Kingston tried not to judge a person until he met him or her, but when he’d fought overseas, he’d seen firsthand how certain royals acted around those of the lower classes, and he’d waited for the haughty attitude. Add that to the rumors spreading around Cántera, the capital city of Deltora about Princess Romaine being a shut-in, too damaged by her brother’s death to step out into the city and possibly not all there in the head, a forced
For the most part, the night was less stressful than Romaine assumed it would be… up until she heard her aunt Alba’s shrill cackle across the room. Not her… All her positive vibes shattered with the noise.“Romy! Darling! Where is my beautiful, amazing niece?” Cringing as she brushed her hair from her face, Romaine collected herself before answering. When she turned, she grinned and held out her arms to embrace her aunt.“Aunt Alba, I’m so glad you joined the party... We were worried you would be too busy and would not be able to make it.”“Too busy to come to the Royal Ball and celebrate my beloved niece? Never,” Alba crowed, holding Romaine’s face a bit too tightly in her hands. “Darling, you look more like your mother every day.”“Just the other day, Father said the same thing,” Romaine replied, waiting impatiently for her to let go. Since she was a child, romaine always hated the way her aunt would squeeze her face. When Alba did let go, Romaine force