“What did you do?” I asked.
“I was patient.”
I nodded. “I can do that.”
“But many people are fine,” he said quickly. “I don’t know Bryce, sir. She seems strong. She might be okay.”
“How’s your sister now?” I asked him.
“She does well, sir. She got her life back.”
“Good.” In the distance, I saw a golf cart coming toward us. Al’s man was driving, and Max was next to him. “Thank you, Al.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” He bowed again and rejoined the security team.
I sighed. He was going to keep doing that until he did something important, I was willing to bet. Could be a while at this rate.
Max climbed off the cart as soon as it pulled up next to me. “Your Highness,” he said.
“Stop with that,” I said. “Trip today, please.”
“Okay, Trip. You wanted an update?”
“Please.”
“Our team has gone through the records, and so far we aren’t finding anything out of the ordinary. We’re looking for anyone who checked in or out during the two hours before and after the assassination attempt, and so far everyone is coming up clear.”
“Bad news,” I grumbled.
“Except for one thing,” Max said. “There was one minister who came and went multiple times during that period: Nicolai Corvin.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Corvin? He’s not important.”
“No, he isn’t. But we’re doing some investigating anyway, just in case.”
“Very well. Any known connections to the democrats?”
“None that we know of. They wouldn’t be easy to find at any rate. These men aren’t stupid.”
“No, they aren’t,” I said, shaking my head. “Good work.”
“Thank you, Trip. Is that all?”
“One more thing. How is Bryce?”
“She seems well, honestly.”
“Where is she?”
“In her room at the moment. I was going to bring her some lunch soon.”
“I’ll bring it to her.”
“Are you sure? There are meetings you may need to attend.”
“She was nearly killed because of me, Max. I can’t neglect her now.”
“Very well. They can be postponed.”
“Good. Let’s head back.”
He nodded and we headed over to the cart. I let Max sit up front, since he was quickly becoming an old man. I sat in the back, in the least comfortable seat, but that was no big deal. I could handle discomfort.
It was failure that I couldn’t handle. I couldn’t fail my people, and I couldn’t fail Bryce.
21
Bryce
The country estate was about what I imagined, but even more beautiful.
There was a single main house with a small grouping of other buildings and a few barns and stables for horses. There was a wall around the whole estate, and the place was absolutely crawling with security. They were spread out along the lawn one every fifty yards or so, and they were constantly patrolling.
The helicopters kept me up. I was exhausted as I leaned back in my chair, looking out the window.
I hadn’t left my room yet. Trip had been whisked away with his security detail, and I’d been stuck getting dragged along in a different car. I wished I could talk to him, but I guessed he had really important things to do.
Which was unsurprising, considering there was a rebellion going on and we’d almost gotten killed.
As I tried to get some sleep when we finally got to the estate, I just kept seeing that man. I had been naked and so vulnerable, right after one of the best moments of my life. Trip had saved me, moving fast to get me out of the way, almost without any regard for his own wellbeing.
Everything after happened so fast. I’d left my parents behind, but now I was beginning to regret that. They should be with me, or at least I should be with them.
I barely knew this place. I barely knew Trip. And yet suddenly I was getting dragged around, thrust into the middle of some war I couldn’t understand in a country where I didn’t even speak the language.
I was so far out of my depths that it wasn’t even funny. I could hardly breathe. I felt like I was stuck under the ocean, doggy paddling toward the surface.
But I wasn’t in the ocean. I was sitting in a large, lovely old room in a comfortable chair looking out at a gorgeous view.
The memory of Trip’s body flitted back through my mind. I could still feel his hands against my skin, his lips against my neck, the way he handled me and took me. The way he made my body feel.
That was the good part. That was the part I wanted. In that moment, I had called him my king, and I’d absolutely meant it. He could have taken me any time, any place.