The Princess Problem, page 25
“As a friend, I can tell you’re…conflicted, but that’s not the only angle here.” Christian came around the counter to stand toe to toe with Elias. “You have a duty. You’ve betrayed it.”
The accusation jabbed at him sharper than their uniform swords. “I swear to you, on my honor, I didn’t think I was putting the princess at risk. I put my duty, her safety, first.”
“You’ve dishonored your office. Your pledge, your loyalty to the crown.”
No. That was unthinkable. “I have pledged my life to keep her, to keep all of you, safe. That hasn’t changed. It will not ever change.”
“The words aren’t enough, Elias. Quite simply, you’ve betrayed that pledge. You chose to follow your heart instead.”
His heart raced as he scrambled to convince the prince otherwise. “It was a mistake in judgment, admittedly, but I swear to you, Christian, there was no choice to be made. My feelings for Kelsey simply grew.”
“Don’t you see that makes it worse? That means you can’t turn them off, that you’ll be pining after her. Distracted. Nowhere close to being at the top of your game.”
Every word Christian spoke twisted Elias’s gut more. “No. I’ve accepted our time will come to an end. That it must. I won’t be distracted. I would not dishonor you, the privilege of guarding you, like that.”
“What happened to not having a choice?” Sighing, Christian cocked his head to the side and continued. “I hear what you want me to believe. I also hear you trying your damndest to convince yourself every bit as much as you’re trying to convince me.”
What if the prince was right?
Elias shook his head. “All I can do is apologize. Work to regain your trust.”
Christian pushed off the wall. “There’s no room for love in the Royal Protection Service. It messes with you. Worse than drugs or alcohol, because it sneaks up on you. It doesn’t wear off, either.”
“I’m not in love,” he said swiftly. Fiercely.
That would be pointless.
“In love, on the way to it…don’t split hairs. You’re an addict, jonesing for a fix. What’s going to happen when you can’t get it? When you can’t have her?”
There was utter silence in the room while they both pondered that.
When he couldn’t bear it any longer, Elias asked, “Are you going to remove me from her detail?”
“I shouldn’t have to. The Captain Trebanti I trust with my life, with my sister’s life, would know the right call to make.” Then Christian walked out.
Elias followed him.
Because that was his job, his calling. His reason for being.
The Villanis. The crown.
Above everything—and everyone—else.
Chapter Nineteen
Mallory stretched out her legs on the padded rubber floor of the gym and grinned over at Kelsey. “This is the most at ease I’ve felt since we got here.”
Slowly, Genevieve turned just her head—like an animatronic figure—to face them from her spot against the wall. “You’re about to be schooled in how to defend yourself against an attacker. Either you’ve got a strange kink I do not want to know about, or you aren’t fully cognizant of the serious nature of today’s lesson.”
Funny how the Moncriano accent sounded sexy in Elias and Marko and yes, even in Christian’s voice. But it just made everything Genevieve said come off as snippier. Bitchier. More condescending.
Or maybe it was that it was always going to be one step forward, three steps back with her.
For once, Mallory—who had turned obsequiousness and dignified respect into an art form over the past two weeks—didn’t just nod and try to blend into the metaphorical curtains. She crossed her legs into a Lotus pose. Settled her wrists on her knees and breathed deeply. Then she turned to Genevieve.
“Nobody’s judging us, for once. We’re all wearing workout clothes—a level fashion playing field. And I’ll be learning to take control of a dangerous situation. That’s empowering, and puts me at ease. Perhaps you aren’t fully cognizant of how good it feels to revel in your own strength.”
It was a long-winded smackdown, but a smackdown nonetheless. One point to the American team. Not to mention the extra point Kelsey awarded herself for resisting the urge to high-five Mallory.
The twisted grimace that Marko aimed at Elias made it look like he was trying to hide a grin as he clapped his hands for their attention. “Your Highness. Your Highness. Miss Wishner. Today we’ll cover basic defensive maneuvers.”
Genevieve looked at him from beneath slitted lids. “You mean the basic ones I learned years ago?”
“Yes. But remembering how to do something and making your muscles actually do it are very different processes. I requested your presence today precisely for that reason. It has been years since you’ve done this.” She opened her mouth, but Marko shook his head. “I checked with your entire rotation of bodyguards. They’ve asked, but nobody’s been allowed to train with you.”
Genevieve’s cheeks turned the same mottled red that afflicted Kelsey. “I…I don’t want people who work for me pawing at my body. Knowing what it feels like.”
“Of course not!” Kelsey couldn’t help but rush to her defense. Under the fancy clothes and fancier jewelry, they were still both women. “You wouldn’t ask a CFO to let the people who report to her graze her boob or squeeze her ass. That’s insulting. Inappropriate.”
Eyes wide, Genevieve said in a near-whisper, “Thank you.”
Marko bowed his head. “My apologies, Your Highness. It did not occur to me, since you have two female guards, that it would be a problem. Clearly an oversight on my part.”
“I trust my team, but…I can’t wholly trust anybody,” she murmured. “One unintentional joke after a few beers about the size of my bra cup could spread like wildfire. Make international news. I have to guard my privacy as fiercely as…well, as you all guard the rest of me.”
Elias stepped forward. He’d stationed himself at the opposite side of the room from Kelsey. Genevieve was the only one in there who didn’t know the two of them were together…and they intended to keep it that way. “I’ll make sure that for our next training session, we use officers not on rotation for the immediate royal family. Will that be acceptable?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Kelsey tried to catch Elias’s eye, to give him a smile of thanks for smoothing it out. But oddly, he wouldn’t look at her.
“Would you like to skip today?” Marko offered as he removed his shoes and socks.
“No, I’m all right with you and Elias.”
Mallory said, “I’ll partner with you, Your Highness.”
Again, Kelsey bit back a grin. No doubt Mallory would enjoy having a legit excuse to slam Genevieve into the ground. Or shove an elbow in her belly. Probably both.
“We’ll all be switching off with each other. Good practice to try everything on different heights and body types. Now.” Marko raised his hands to get them to stand. Elias joined him in the middle of the floor. Kelsey zipped her gaze away. It was far too tempting to ogle the man in the tight tee that showed off every ripple of his abs, pecs, and biceps. “If everything goes right, you’ll never use what we go over today.”
“Unless we move back to New York,” Mallory said under her breath. “This’ll be as useful against muggers as assassins.”
Damn it.
How was it that reminders of the decision Kelsey had to make were coming so often now? She wanted an hour, sixty little minutes, to go by where she was not confronted by Destiny with a capital D. To not think about all the ways her life could change.
It had been all of maybe seven minutes. On the way down here, Elias had informed her, in an oddly formal, factual manner, that Sir Evan would have two draft statements for her to review when they finished. Both acknowledged that she was, indeed, Princess Valentina. One version embraced her journey to get to know her birth country. The other was a goodbye, of sorts, in case she chose to go back to New York. Kelsey had to approve them before they went on to the king for his approval.
The only part of this she approved of was not having to write them herself.
Elias shouldered in front of Marko, eyebrows furrowed into an almost single line. “No. He’s oversimplifying, which isn’t safe. You can’t assume that things will go right, no matter how much faith you have in your protection team. That’s sloppy, dangerous. Better to always assume that things will go wrong.”
Marko plastered on a broad, reassuring smile that was in stark contrast to the rough threat portrayed in Elias’s voice. “Well, we don’t want the royal family walking around in fear. Prepare, but don’t panic.”
Elias’s frown expanded to include deep lines bracketing his mouth. “Don’t candy coat it for them. They’re grown women. They deserve to know the facts.”
“Facts, not fear-mongering,” Marko spat back, on the verge of yelling.
Now the two of them were facing each other, not the women. Kelsey hadn’t seen this aggressive, argumentative side of Elias before.
She didn’t care for it.
Was he trying to pick a fight? Or send Genevieve, her, and Mallory into full-blown anxiety attacks? His entire attitude and demeanor were sharper. Harder.
What on earth was going on with him?
Elias thwapped the side of his palm into his other hand, repeatedly. “The irrefutable fact is that every member of the royal family is a target. Every day. There’s no letting our guard down. Not for us, but not for them, either.”
She couldn’t touch him, not without betraying the secret of their relationship. But Kelsey inched forward, mindful of his karate-chop motions. “Elias, that’s enough. You’re starting to freak me out.”
“Good.” He swung around to face her. There was no warmth in his eyes, no softening of his stance. The man was in attack mode. “Because you need to be aware. You are a target.”
She’d had enough of this silliness. Kelsey let a small smile play across her lips as she shook her head. When would this get through to any and every one in Alcarsa Palace? “I’m nobody.”
Elias loomed over her, hulking and scary. “You are third in line to the throne. A blood princess of the royal house of Villani.” His voice rumbled like thunder over mountains against the walls of the room.
But now Kelsey felt bullied by his continued scaremongering.
No way would she cower before such behavior. Especially not to her boyfriend. “Yes, I’m a princess, but in name only. Not even my name, technically. All I am is a problem. An awkward reboot of something that went down decades ago.”
Marko shook his head. “You can’t believe that, Your Highness.”
Couldn’t she? How was anything in Moncriano improved by her coming back onto the scene?
The citizens at large didn’t need another royal figure. The king was fruitlessly trying to recapture the years he lost with a baby. Christian didn’t know what to do with her. Genevieve didn’t want her back in their lives. All her reappearance did was complicate everything.
Kelsey plucked at the neck of her yellow tank top. Not one of her own, from home. Those clothes still seemed to be lost in the palace laundry. Switched out for more appropriate princess-wear. But they couldn’t so easily switch her out, or her voice, or her opinions.
“Look, I disappeared once before and life went on.”
“That’s a selfish, ill-considered thing to say,” Genevieve snapped.
Oh, wow. Her sister didn’t approve of what she’d said? Color her #notsurprised.
But she was damn well going to finish making her point. Making them all listen to her. Even Mallory, who was shaking her head and drawing her hand across her throat in the classic shut it gesture.
“I’m not saying I want to be kidnapped. I just think the risk, especially for me, is minimal, because the reward would be minimal. I’m your average American computer nerd. Nations would not rise up in outrage. Citizens would not weep. And I’m quite sure the government would not change course to give in to any demands to get me back.”
Elias cuffed her biceps with his big hands, his grip tight almost to the point of pain. His eyes blazed with indigo fire. “I would make them do so. I would do anything to get you back. I would not stop until you were safe, here, once more.”
His fervent declaration made all the hair on her arms stand up. But not entirely in a good way.
Not when he still was so scary in both his tone and touch. Not when she didn’t understand any of his reactions that he’d had in this room. And not when he risked exposing their secret relationship with a declaration that was far too sincere to be anything but deeply personal.
She did, however, believe him.
For all that Kelsey had never thought of herself as anyone special, worth saving? Elias, in this moment, made her believe.
She believed without a doubt he’d find her—again. And moreover, the depth of his sincerity made her believe that, indeed, the world would and should be turned upside down if she disappeared again.
Because if Elias thought she was worth that effort…it disrespected his fierce faith in her if she didn’t believe it, too.
Marko clapped his hands once more. “To recap, everyone is safe. Today. And if you work hard for the next hour, you’ll have a better guarantee of staying safe in the future. No more talking. Time to get to work.”
How was Kelsey supposed to concentrate on moves and grips and stances when Elias had just tilted her entire world on its axis? Could it be that she was the only one who didn’t believe in her ability to be a princess?
And what the heck was wrong with her boyfriend? How could he be so borderline mean to her before saying all that?
When they were alone, she’d get to the bottom of it.
If she had to, she’d play the princess card and order him to tell her what was up.
…
“You’re very quiet,” Kelsey remarked in a subdued tone as they jogged through the forest behind the palace.
“We’re running, Your Highness. Training.” At least, he was trying to get her to do so. The princess kept pace with a steady jog well enough. But every time he tried to push her into a sprint—like she’d need if being pursued—she lagged behind. And Elias couldn’t protect her if he stayed in front of her. “If you’re running as fast as you should be, there’s no air left to chat.”
“I’m not in the mood to run.” The powdery thud of her shoes against the dirt slowed even more. “I’d rather use all that spare air I’m hoarding to chat. I think we need to talk.”
Nope. He was barely holding it together while not talking. “You agreed to continue training for another hour once we left the self-defense course.”
“I changed my mind.” Kelsey tossed her ponytail in an unconscious mimicry of her older sister. “Isn’t that the prerogative of a princess?”
Really? After fighting the title for weeks, now was when she decided to embrace her rank? Elias was tempted to bang his head against the nearest pine tree. “Your schedule doesn’t have any other openings. If we do this, we do it now.”
“Running for another twenty minutes won’t ultimately make any difference.”
Well, tough. She wasn’t in charge of her security. Elias called those shots. “Not today, but it could someday. You know the secret to perfecting a skill? Practice it for ten thousand hours.”
She stopped completely, braced herself with her hands on her thighs, and shot him the smile that always melted his heart like a ray of sunshine. “That’s hilarious.”
“It’s proven fact.” Elias had read the book about outliers years ago and applied its theories to his shooting and fighting techniques. Putting in the time made all the difference. It was why he felt confident protecting the princess by himself right now.
On royal grounds.
Still connected to his team by earbud.
And wearing a revolver as well as three knives.
“No, it’s hilarious you think you can goad me into running for ten thousand hours. That’s more than four hundred days. More than a year straight. Not. Gonna. Happen.”
Elias adored her stubborn streak. The way she stood up for what she wanted and believed, no matter what. Personally, at least. Professionally, her attitude made his job much more difficult. “I’m not suggesting you do it without breaks. Merely that if you must start sometime, you might as well start today.”
She extended her hand to him, fingers outstretched. He didn’t rise to the bait. After tossing him a questioning glance, she awkwardly laced her fingers through his. “I’d rather rely on you to keep me safe. Becoming a better sprinter doesn’t seem like the best long-term solution.”
“Correct.” Holding her felt so right, and it also felt so wrong. He let go, quickly backing up a few steps to separate them. “That’s why you’ll need to keep at your hand-to-hand. Start learning karate. Something that will help you use your own weight as leverage against a far bigger attacker. We’ll get you down to the gun range, as well. Perhaps a short dagger.”
“A knife?” Sunlight shafted through the trees to highlight her look of incredulity. “You want me to walk around with a knife sheathed to my thigh like I’m an assassin?”
“Yes.”
“No.” Her voice was flat. Like she damn well expected him to do what she said, no questions asked.
Like a princess.
Elias hated them being on opposite sides. Hated not letting her live in a bubble of happy naivete. “Your Highness, this isn’t a discussion. You can’t pull rank. Not when it comes to your safety. For now, I’m in charge of it. You must follow my direction.”
She crossed her arms. “One step at a time. One measured step at a time.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“God. Why are you being like this?” She backed away from him. As if to make it clear they were on opposite sides. The yawning chasm between them was palpable. “Look, personal weapons have a high statistical rate of being turned around and used against you by an attacker. I don’t want to be stabbed by my own knife. On top of being dead, I’d be mortally embarrassed.”
