Xander, page 24
An hour later we’d eaten brunch, I’d checked in with Parker and told him I’d call him tomorrow, and Sandor told Elen Natalia was being flown to Hiskale this afternoon. She was still in serious condition, but doing well, so we were grateful for that.
“Are we going to talk about babies and weddings and stuff?” I asked her when we’d finished eating.
“If you want.” She met my gaze. “Look, we don’t have to get married right away. We were in the middle of a crisis and probably both said a lot of stuff that we wouldn’t have said if things hadn’t been so crazy. I’m pregnant, but I don’t care what people think about having a baby without being married, and the last thing I want to do is rush into something we might regret.”
“You done?” I asked, scowling.
“I guess?” She looked confused.
“Princess, if you’d asked, I probably would have married you after the first time I made love to you. There’s nothing I want more than for us to be together. And while I don’t care what other people think about us not being married and having a baby, it matters to me. I want to marry the woman I love, the mother of my kid. I want us to start our own little family.”
“I want that too,” she whispered.
“Then let’s do it. Just tell me where and when.”
“Tahiti. Immediately. We have to do it now because Sandor and Lennox’s wedding is coming up in four weeks and I have to be back from our honeymoon at least a week before the wedding because she needs help finalizing all the things that have to do with royal traditions. I can’t abandon her at the last minute.”
“No, of course not.” I nodded. “Then you need to get on the phone with Samaria and I’m going to go downstairs and call a meeting with the security team because taking the whole family to Tahiti in the next week is going to take some planning.”
She smiled. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.” I kissed her and got to my feet. “I’ll be back in a few.”
Epilogue
Elen
* * *
We were married just before sunset in Tahiti eight days later, surrounded by the people we loved, including Xander’s mother and brother, my entire family, and most of our circle of friends from the palace. Ace and Shannon had stayed behind with Natalia, and they’d watched the ceremony via video, but it was a fun, low-key event. I wore a white sundress and left my hair down, a wreath of flowers from Samaria’s garden adorning my head. Xander wore a white button-down shirt that was untucked and khakis rolled up to his calves. We were all barefoot, including the guests, and Samaria and Fetu stood up for us.
Afterward, we had a fabulous meal at the resort and then we were roasted and toasted until most of the adults started to dance and many of the children started an impromptu game of Frisbee in the sand.
“Can we talk to you for a minute?” Sandor and Lennox approached Xander and me where we were swaying to the music.
“Sure.” I turned with a smile. Today had been one of the best days of my life.
“We wondered how you would feel about moving into Gustafhaven,” Sandor said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his khaki shorts. Gustafhaven was the nickname of our childhood home. Since our parents and older brother were dead, the house went to Sandor. He and Lennox had been renovating it for the last few months, so I had no idea what he was talking about.
“Why?” was all I could think to ask.
“Because I’m essentially the head of security for both the royal family and the whole country,” Sandor said quietly. “Even though my official role is Director of MODIN, we all know I’m essentially going to oversee everything. I have always been, and it’s beginning to look like I will always be, Erik’s right hand. I have to be close to him, and that means Lennox and I are creating our own wing of the palace. We’d initially thought we would be happier with a place of our own, but honestly, all it’s done is stress us out. We discussed it with Daniil, and we decided we’d like you guys to have it.”
My mouth fell open and I cut my eyes to Xander, who looked a little shell-shocked as well.
“You guys have already started a family,” Lennox said with a smile. “And even though we plan to start trying soon too, with our jobs so closely tied to Erik and Casey, it really makes the most sense for us to live at the palace.”
“Are you sure?” I whispered.
Sandor nodded. “We are.”
“I want whatever you want,” Xander said to me, his arm tightly wrapped around my waist.
“It’s a bit of an undertaking,” Sandor said with a grin. “But we’ve already done the worst of the renovations, like plumbing and electrical. The kitchen was also updated, so that just leaves the bathrooms and cosmetic things, which you’d probably want to do yourselves anyway.”
“There are logistics involved in moving out, though,” Xander pointed out. “I can’t be on full-time security when I’m at home, though of course, I never turn that part of me off completely.”
“No, and we’ll get into all that after Lennox and I get back from our honeymoon. In the meantime, we’ll all still be living at the palace so we have time. We just wanted to present this to you because someone should live there. Those walls should be filled with children’s laughter and make more of the memories Vardan, Daniil, Elen and I made when we were children.”
“I’d like it very much,” I whispered, throwing my arms around my brother’s neck. He hugged me tightly before I turned to Xander in excitement. “I just got the best idea!”
“Uh-oh.” Sandor wrapped an arm around Lennox’s shoulder, watching as I dragged Xander in the other direction.
“Where are we going?” Xander laughed. “I didn’t even have a chance to say thank you.”
“You’ll see.” I waved down Samaria. “Where’s Fetu? We need to talk to you guys.”
“Behind the bar. Where else?” Samaria was grinning at me.
“It’s important. Come on.” I tugged her arm as we joined Fetu at the bar.
“What’s wrong with you, Princess?” Samaria asked, making a face at me. “You sick or something?”
“No.” I turned to her with a broad smile. “What would you think about moving to Limaj?”
“What?” She gave me a look and then turned to Xander. “She sick, right?”
“No, listen to me.” I grasped her hands, glancing at Fetu. “Xander and I just inherited my family’s home. It’s huge. We’re going to need help running it. Especially with a baby on the way. I’ll need someone to help cook and clean and Fetu can manage the grounds. I don’t mean menial labor, but actually running the household. We’ll hire people to do landscaping and mop the floors. Your job would be to manage all that because not only will we have a baby, I’ll be busy with my job in Parliament and Xander’s job with the Royal Protectors will keep him away from home a lot. I’ll need to know there’s someone keeping things safe at home.”
Samaria glanced at Fetu and then back at me. “Sista, you serious right now?”
“You’d live with us and we’ll pay for your kids to go to the new English school that’s opening. It will have an international baccalaureate program, which means if they work hard, they’ll be able to go to almost any university in the world. And not only will you get paid, you won’t have any expenses because you’ll live with us.”
“How much?” Samaria asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
I smiled and leaned over, whispering what I thought was a high enough amount to allow some room for her to barter, since that was her favorite thing. However, instead of one of her usual smart-ass remarks, her big dark eyes filled with tears and she just stared at me.
“You mean it?” she whispered.
“What do you mean? The money or the offer or what?” I was confused.
“All of it. You serious? You want to bring us to your country to help you raise your family?” She was blinking back tears and Fetu reached across the bar for her hand.
“Of course. You took care of me when I didn’t have anyone else and now we can take care of each other.”
“You want move to Limaj?” Samaria asked her husband.
“I want what you want,” he responded automatically. Then they smiled at each other.
My heart filled with happiness and I looked at Xander, who was just shaking his head, a smile playing on his lips.
* * *
Lying on the beach for the fifth day in a row, I reached for Xander’s hand. He was in the lounge chair beside mine, both of us lazy and sunburned.
“What do you think, Mr. Gustaffson? Do you like being a prince?”
He rumbled out a laugh. “Well, Mrs. Holt, so far I haven’t felt any different.”
We’d actually decided to hyphenate our names, so we would share the surname Gustaffson-Holt. It was long, but it honored both of our families and he’d said he wanted to do it this way because I’d lost my parents so long ago. Erik had granted him the title of prince as a wedding gift, but told him he never had to use it unless he wanted to. That way, we had the option for formal affairs, but in everyday life, he wasn’t burdened with royal duties.
“Well, I feel different,” I said softly.
“Do you?” He turned to squint at me in the bright sunlight. “How come?”
“I feel…lighter. As if sharing my life with you somehow made all the bad things go away.”
“I’d like to think that’s my job now, baby.” He leaned across the chairs to kiss me.
“Are you happy?”
“To steal a line from Samaria, are you serious right now?”
We grinned at each other over our sunglasses, love and light and laughter reflected in our gazes.
“So, more sun or do you wanna go surfing?” he asked.
“I want to surf.” I sat up. “I won’t be able to much longer.”
“By next summer, you’ll be ready to come back.”
“With the baby?”
“Maybe? I’m sure Samaria will keep him or her so we can get away now and then.”
“I’d be willing to bet you’re right.”
“I know I am.”
“I love you, Xander.”
“I know.” He got up and tugged me to my feet before calling out to the young man who rented the surfboards. “Willem—we need boards!”
He slid an arm around my neck as we walked toward the water.
“I’m going to need to practice my sign language,” I told him. “I want to make sure we start teaching the baby right away, so he and Parker can communicate.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“But also so we can talk dirty to each other during long, boring days at Parliament.”
He turned and gave me a wicked grin as he made a circle with the fingers of one hand and then stuck his pointer finger from the other hand in the hole, moving it in and out.
I burst out laughing as I smacked him. “You’re such a romantic, Holt.”
“That’s what you love about me.” He grabbed both boards and we splashed into the crystalline water.
For a glimpse of the next book in this series, AXEL, turn the page!
Excerpt From “AXEL” (Royal Protectors Book 3)
Solange
* * *
Huddled on the floor of the broom closet above my family’s café, I listened to the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood, my hands shaking as I clutched my phone. There was no one to call. No one that could help us. My brother might already be dead, and who knew what they were doing to my father. My mother had snuck out to try to get help, but I doubted anyone was coming. That’s just how it was here in this small rural town.
We’d survived a dictator-style monarchy for more than a decade, but our new and benevolent king had no idea what was happening in the small towns, the places far from the capital city where he resided. He was doing the best he could, but change wasn’t happening fast enough for some of us.
If only there was someone to help get the word out. Even if it was too late for my family, maybe there was a way to get news to the capital city so this wouldn’t happen to anyone else.
Call him.
The tiny voice in my head was as desperate as I was, and though it was probably a terrible idea, I wasn’t sure I could live with myself if I did nothing while my father and brother were murdered. Even if he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—help, at least I’d be able to say I’d done everything I possibly could.
Making an impulsive decision, I scrolled through the saved numbers on my phone and found it.
Xander.
I’d only known him for a couple of hours, and though I hadn’t known it then, I’d since seen him on TV so I now knew he was important. Connected. Maybe the only person in the world who could save my family tonight.
My hands were shaking so badly it took two tries before I hit the number on the screen, and then it rang four times before someone picked up. The voice was gruff, annoyed. I’d obviously woken them.
“Who is this?” the voice on the other end demanded.
“I… My name is Solange.” I spoke English, though I suspected whoever this was spoke my language, Limaji, too. “I-I need to speak with—” I let out an involuntary shriek as a crash from downstairs was so strong it shook the floor beneath me.
“Who is this?!” the man demanded again.
“Please. I need Xander. My name is Solange and I helped him when he was hurt—oh, please help us!” I burst into tears as another crash shook the whole building.
“Hold the line.”
I sobbed silently as I waited, terrified for my family, terrified for myself. There were rumors about what they did to the young, attractive members of the families who couldn’t pay. I didn’t know how attractive I was in general, but I almost definitely fit the bill for these monsters who terrorized our town.
“Hello?” I recognized his American accent immediately and nearly wilted with unexpected relief.
“Xander, it’s S-solange. F-from the café in V-vinake.” I was shaking even harder now, trying to talk in whispers through my tears. “Please…”
“Okay, calm down. What’s happening?”
“The men… who collect taxes… They’re here. We’re short this week and I think they’ve already beaten my brother to death. They’re tearing up the café, looking for money… They’ve tied up my father… Please help us, we have no one else!”
“Taxes…” He sounded confused. “Solange, I don’t understand.”
“They’re like…the mafia, like you see in American movies—oh my god!” This crash was loud enough for him to hear on the other end and I heard his intake of breath.
“Okay, where are you exactly?”
“In the closet on the second floor of the building.”
“We have a man not far from there. I’ll try to reach him. Stay where you are. I’ll call you back.” He disconnected and I covered my face with my hands, trying to mask the sound of my sobs.
There couldn’t be anything left of the café after an attack that had lasted this long, and if my father and brother were still alive, it would be a miracle.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but the violence continued and I was on the verge of vomiting. I wanted to help, but what could I do and how would it help anyone if they raped or killed me too?
My phone buzzed in my lap and I snatched it up. “Yes? Hello?”
“His name is Axel and he’ll be there in a minute or two. Stay on the line with me.”
“O-okay.” I could barely speak now, my heart slamming against my ribs, my breath short and choppy.
“How did you know how to reach me?” he asked softly, most likely trying to distract me.
“You used my phone to call someone. I thought you were handsome and I was supposed to go to the U.S. this summer on holiday…so I saved the number you called, thinking maybe I could reach you, see you while I was in the U.S. If you were interested.” I sniffled. “Then I saw you on television, with Princess Elen, and realized who you were, that you weren’t really an American tourist who’d been mugged. So of course I didn’t call, but… but I saved the number because…I was afraid I might need a favor someday. Not for myself, but for my family.”
“Okay, Axel is there, outside. You just sit tight and wait until I tell you it’s okay to move.”
“M-my mother went to get help, but the police are as afraid of them as we are.”
“I know. It’s okay.”
There was another crash and this time some yelling. Then there were gunshots that made me jump just as everything went quiet. I heard footsteps on the stairs and started to shake again.
“Solange?” A deep male voice—distinctly American—was calling my name.
“It’s okay,” Xander said in my ear. “That’s Axel. You can trust him.”
I got to my feet and slowly opened the door, stepping out into the hallway just as the biggest man I’d ever seen came around the corner with a gun in his hand. I shrieked and threw myself back inside the closet.
“Solange, it’s okay.” His voice was deep but somehow soothing. “Xander sent me.” He stood in the doorway of the closet, peering at me with a look so gentle I burst into tears all over again.
“You’re in safe hands with Axel,” Xander said quietly, “and I’m on the way. We’ve called for the helicopter and I’ll be there in less than an hour. Axel is handling everything, I promise.”
“Th-thank you.”
“I owed you one.” Xander disconnected.
“You’re going to need to call for an ambulance,” Axel said as I joined him in the hallway. “Your brother’s in rough shape and your father has some bruises.”
“Oh no.” I ran down the stairs before he could stop me and the scene before me made my knees give out. What had been a functioning, busy café just two hours ago was now…akin to the wreckage of a plane crash. There was nothing left except the furniture built into the foundation. Every table, chair, dish, and glass had been destroyed. Countertops smashed. Cash register demolished into nothing but pieces of plastic on the floor. Even the glass windows shattered. And in the middle of it all was my brother. Covered in blood.
