Royally Protected, page 1
ROYALLY PROTECTED
A ROYAL PROTECTORS NOVELLA
KAT MIZERA
Copyright © 2024 by Kat Mizera
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Cooper, Royal Protectors Book 4 (unedited, subject to change)
Royal Protectors Timeline/Reading Order
Also by Kat Mizera
About the Author
1
Lennox
Pregnancy was no joke and carrying twins was about the least amount of fun I’d ever had. I was beyond excited about meeting them, but I wanted them out of my body sooner rather than later. I was thirty-six weeks pregnant, and the doctor thought the babies and I were doing well, so she wanted them to stay put as long as possible, though she suspected they would come early.
My husband, Sandor, and I were trying every old wives’ tale we’d ever heard to induce labor, especially continuing our active sex life, but I was starting to slow down. I’d stayed pretty active until about a month ago, when my stomach got too big for most of the things I enjoyed. I was lucky enough to have an indoor pool at my disposal, but I was tired of being pregnant.
“You’re with Casey today, okay?” Sandor came out of the bathroom looking hotter than any forty-year-old man had a right to, and I momentarily sighed as I took in his lean, bare torso and the six-pack abs I loved so much.
He arched one blond brow in amusement. “You wanna go again? We have about ten minutes before the security briefing.”
I laughed. “I don’t think I can come that fast these days.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“No, my darling Prince Neanderthal, the two orgasms I had this morning will hold me over until tonight.” I looked down at my feet with a grimace. “However, I do need help with these.”
“Of course.” He knelt in front of me and laced up my boots. I couldn’t bend over like that anymore and he’d been doing this for about two months now. I hated needing someone to tie my shoes, help me up off the couch sometimes, and rub my lower back on a regular basis, but he was great about it.
Well, if I was honest, my husband was great about everything.
I was a lucky woman and never took it for granted.
“Ready?” He held out his hands and helped me up.
I reached for my gun and shoulder holster, shrugging them on while he finished getting dressed.
Though Sandor was a prince in an eastern European country called Limaj, he and I were both bodyguards to the royal family. As Royal Protectors, we were an elite group who protected the family and the palace, but I’d been taken off the official duty roster as of this week. Most days, I kept an eye on the queen, Casey, and her youngest son, Levi, who was a toddler. It was low-stress and rarely required me to do much of anything, but in the event of an attack, I could still take down bad guys. The marine in me didn’t go away just because I was pregnant.
“I’m starving,” I murmured as we walked out of our private apartment in the southern wing of the palace.
“You want to swing by the kitchen?” he asked, threading his fingers through mine.
I shook my head. “I’ll get something when I get up to Casey’s. She likes to feed me.”
“You sure you’re up to working today?” he asked as we stepped into the elevator. He reached out to push a lock of hair behind my ear. “I’m off site today at Parliament House probably until dinnertime, but Xander will be here.”
“I’m good. Really. I’d go insane sitting in our apartment doing nothing all day and we can’t afford for me to take time off anyway.”
“Make sure you take it easy, though.” He put one of his big hands on my stomach. “The doctor said it could be any time.”
“I know.” I leaned against him. “I’m ready.”
“Soon,” he whispered, pressing his lips to my temple. “And then we’ll have our beautiful baby boys.”
I smiled as we stepped out of the elevator and walked toward the conference room where we held our daily briefings. Once we were done there, I’d head up to the king’s wing of the palace and hang out with Casey all day. Hopefully, it would be nice and quiet.
Casey Hart had been an American rock star who’d played with two chart-topping hard rock bands. She and King Erik had been in love in their early twenties when tragedy separated them for over a decade. Now they were back together, running Limaj, and raising a fantastic family together. Sandor and Erik were first cousins, and though Sandor hated the political side of things, he loved working alongside Erik to help make a difference for the people of Limaj.
Personally, I’d never imagined marrying a prince. I was a retired United States Marine who’d been working as a bodyguard in Las Vegas when this job sort of fell in my lap. Falling in love with and marrying my boss had been totally unexpected, but the best damn thing to ever happen to me.
He’d always wanted a big family, and while I was happy to have a couple of kids, I had a feeling two wouldn’t be nearly enough for him. I would be thirty-four this year, and while I loved him and the life we’d built here, the inevitable changes that were coming had begun to make me uncomfortable. I’d gotten pregnant on our honeymoon so there hadn’t been much time to think about it, especially since Sandor wanted children sooner rather than later and he would be forty-one next week.
I wanted kids too. Especially with my big, sexy blond husband, but pregnancy had slowed me down enough to worry about how this would impact me professionally. Sure, we planned to hire a nanny to care for the twins while we worked, but I wanted to be a hands-on mom too. It was more complicated than I would have liked, and I’d spent a lot of time trying to come to terms with my future. I probably should have talked to Sandor about it, but we were so damn busy, especially him since he was picking up the slack for my much lighter duty schedule.
“Lennox!” I turned at the sound of my name and smiled at my friend Courtney, who’d flown in from the U.S. yesterday. We’d served together for a while in the Middle East and had stayed friends. She’d come to our wedding last summer, but we hadn’t had a chance to really talk, so I’d invited her to come back the next time she had leave. I hadn’t been expecting company this late in my pregnancy, but she’d called me last week sounding a little down and I’d impulsively asked her to come.
“Hey.” I turned with a smile. “Did you sleep well?”
“I was exhausted and slept like a rock. What are you up to today?” Courtney was a gorgeous redhead who flew helicopters for the U.S. Marines.
“I’m up with Casey and the baby today. Wanna come hang out?”
“She won’t mind?” Courtney looked dubious.
“Casey’s awesome. Trust me—she won’t mind.”
“Then I’m in. I just want to relax and spend time with you. Maybe if I’m lucky the babies will come while I’m here and I can get some newborn cuddles.”
“Sounds good to me.”
I knocked on the door to the royal family’s quarters and peeked inside without waiting for an answer. It was after nine in the morning, so Casey knew I was coming. Normally, she didn’t have a guard in the royal quarters with her. Someone was stationed outside the door and again at the elevator but we’d been dealing with an organized crime facet known as the Bojovnik Brat, and after several run-ins with them last fall, they’d killed one of the Royal Protectors.
Since then, there had been half a dozen attacks on various safe houses and the school the king’s children attended. Two days ago, we’d received intelligence that an attack on the palace was imminent, but no information on when, why, or how.
Erik was out of the country, and with both Sandor and his brother Daniil, who was both a Royal Protector and the Minister of Defense in Parliament, off-site today, I had to be extra vigilant.
“Good morning.” Casey looked up at us with a grin.
“Casey, this is my friend Courtney. I don’t know if you had a chance to meet her at the wedding?” I motioned to her. “Courtney Miles, this is Her Royal Highness, Queen Casey. Casey, Courtney is one of my closest friends from when I was in the marines.”
“Are you the badass who flies helicopters?” Casey asked, shaking her hand.
Courtney stiffened slightly, though she smiled and nodded. “Well, not anymore, but yes, I was.”
“What do you mean not anymore?” I asked in surprise.
“I left the marines in February. Decided to take a little time to see what else there was in the world beyond the military.”
I frowned slightly but opted not to question her in front of Casey. Courtney loved the military and she lived to fly. I had no idea what had changed but I figured she’d tell me once we were alone.
“I need breakfast,” I announced, sitting on the couch.
“Well, eating for three must require a lot of sustenance,” Courtney teased.
I winced as a sharp pain throbbed down my sciatica. “Ouch.” I rubbed the spot on my lower back. “I need these babies to make an appearance pronto.”
“You okay?” Casey looked worried.
“I’m fine. They’ve just been pushing on my sciatic nerve for weeks and I’m so done.”
“Okay, then let’s order breakfast. I didn’t eat since I knew you’d want to.”
“I didn’t eat because I wasn’t sure where to get food,” Courtney added.
“Oh, sorry.” I grimaced. “I should have told you. If you dial one-six, you reach the kitchen and it’s just like room service. Any time from six in the morning until eleven at night.”
“That’s a very nice bonus,” Courtney said.
“So, are you ever going to tell me what went on with you and Daniil?” I asked her after we ordered breakfast.
Courtney wasn’t the type of woman who blushed easily, but she turned bright red, glancing at Casey worriedly.
“Casey isn’t that kind of queen.” I laughed. “Promise. You can talk to me in front of her. Besides, everyone heard about Daniil going down on you on the balcony during the reception.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “So you need to spill.”
Courtney sighed and held up her hands in a somewhat helpless gesture. “All I can say is, it was temporary insanity. Between those blue eyes and the most wicked sense of humor ever, not to mention a lot of champagne, I lost my head.”
“Is that why you left without even saying goodbye?” I asked her.
She nodded. “I was pretty mortified. I mean, half the guests at the wedding saw him going down on me.”
“And then you went skinny dipping at the after-party,” Casey put in. “I wanted to go but Erik said we couldn’t. We had to be grown-ups.” She made a face.
“They spent a lot of time naked at the after-party too,” I supplied.
Courtney buried her face in her hands. “Guys, for real, I’ve never done anything like that. Especially not in public. I’m mortified. And it’s even worse now that I know he’s gay!”
“He’s not gay,” Casey said slowly. “He’s bi, but from what I understand, the only man he’s ever been in a relationship with is his ex-husband. Other than that, from the little bit I’ve been able to put together, it was mostly threesomes with both a man and a woman.”
“Well, whatever his sexuality, I’m not one of those women who’ll fall for a guy who’s unavailable. He’s gorgeous, and oh-my-God-the-sex-was-fucking-incredible, but the last thing I need to do is catch feelings for some guy living thousands of miles away.”
“But Daniil is awesome,” I protested. “And you two were so incredibly hot together.”
“Did you watch us…” Courtney was bright red again and Casey and I couldn’t stop laughing.
“When did you become a prude?” I demanded. “Sandor and I went at it at the after-party too.”
“To be honest, I didn’t notice anything or anyone once Daniil touched me,” Courtney sighed. “I’m usually not like that, someone who gets completely lost in a man, but I’ve never met anyone like Daniil.”
“Believe me,” I said. “Those Gustaffson brothers are something else. Sandor and I butted heads when we first met, and now I couldn’t imagine my life without him. Maybe you should—”
“No.” Courtney quickly shook her head. “I’m heading home in a week or so, and hopefully our paths won’t even cross while I’m here.”
“Bummer,” Casey said. “You two would be great together.
“Stop it, you two!” Courtney shook her head.
A sharp pain shot through my abdomen at the same time an emergency alert text buzzed on my phone.
I stared at it for a moment and then my training kicked in.
“Move,” I said, struggling to stand up as pain shot through me. “We’re under attack.”
2
Lennox
“What’s going on?” Courtney asked, standing up abruptly.
“Get the baby and the emergency backpack,” I said to Casey.
Casey’s eyes widened and then she was instantly on her feet, running for the nearest closet.
“What’s going on?” Courtney repeated.
“You comfortable with a weapon?” I asked her, pulling a revolver out from a large antique vase on the mantle of the fireplace.
“Of course. But tell me what’s going on!” She reached for it and checked to see that the safety was on before stuffing it in the back of her jeans.
“Casey, we have to move!” I called, crouching down and reaching up and inside the fireplace, grateful no one had lit a fire today. I punched in two codes and then pulled the lever I found there, breathing out in relief when the fireplace slowly began to move.
“Holy shit.” Courtney’s eyes widened.
“Help her get the backpack on,” I said to Courtney, pain ripping through me once again. I didn’t have time to worry about it, though, because the text that had been sent out was one I’d never seen before—the one that meant palace security had been breached. I didn’t know by whom or how or what was going on, but I knew I had to get the queen and Prince Levi out through the secret tunnel behind the fireplace. It was one of dozens in the palace, and one of three in the king’s quarters.
With one arm clutching my mid-section, I used the other to nudge Casey, Levi, and Courtney through the entrance, typing in a third code. I pulled the hidden door closed behind me, hoping the mechanism that moved the mantle back into place was working properly.
“Where are we going?” Courtney asked, looking around.
I motioned with my head as I paused to breathe through another contraction.
This was bad.
Very, very bad.
These babies couldn’t come today. Not in the middle of an attack. I was in no way prepared for this, but my training was as much a part of me as my babies were, so I had to surge forward.
“Can you help me get the backpack strapped securely?” Casey asked Courtney. She’d put it on when I told her to but hadn’t had time to do it properly.
I pressed my back against the wall as Courtney helped Casey tighten all the straps and then settled Levi into it securely. He was normally a sweet, even-tempered toddler but he was picking up on our stress and the urgency, which had him off-kilter.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” Casey soothed as Courtney stroked his back. “We’re going for a walk, okay?”
Levi whimpered but at least he wasn’t struggling. I heard footsteps and banging upstairs so I moved forward. “Okay, let’s go.”
“You okay?” Casey asked me.
“I’ll be fine. We need to move, though. I don’t know what they’re planning and whoever it is will be pissed when they don’t find anyone.”
“You think they were after me?”
I shook my head. “No idea, but they didn’t break into the palace to steal valuables, so I’m sure they were after someone. Probably you or one of the kids since everyone knows Erik is out of the country.”
“Shit.”
The three of us moved through the tunnel at a reasonable clip. There were a ton of tunnels that had been around for hundreds of years, but anyone who knew anything about history knew where they were.
When Erik had taken over two years ago, he’d started a new system of tunnels that intersected with and sometimes moved through the old ones, but there were all new routes and escape hatches. The entrance points had all changed too. The old ones were still there, but while some hadn’t been touched, others had been closed off and/or blockaded.
The tunnel we were in now was one of the newest. The entry point was behind the fireplace in the king and queen’s sitting room. Getting the whole wooden structure to move and reveal the door was complicated and required three sets of codes, which would hopefully keep intruders busy for a while and give us the chance to get out into the city. It was a long trek, more than two miles, but it would put us on the outskirts of downtown Hiskale, only a few hundred yards from a safe house and a shop whose owner was a longtime friend of the family.
“Fuck.” I hissed out a breath as another contraction, the strongest one so far, brought me to my knees.
“Lennox!” Courtney dropped down beside me, one hand on my back as she gave me a little support.
I was still in excellent shape for someone eight months pregnant, and had a high tolerance for pain, but this wasn’t the type of thing you could just ignore. I was in labor and I suspected these babies were coming whether I was ready or not.
