He flipped on the TV to the twenty-four-hour news channels and was smacked with a photo of Rissa on the hotel balcony with Hyde, standing behind him, her head resting intimately against his back as they both enjoyed a cigarette. The news reporters were speculating on who was the mysterious handsome man in her suite, when she was supposedly under the weather. One of the male anchors thought he recognized him as her “bodyguard”, as he made air quotes when he spoke the words, while the female newscaster giggled and said, "Maybe that's her doctor."
The news went on to report they’d received an anonymous tip that Mrs. Canton had spent hours in the spa, even indulging in a 24K gold facial that cost $10,000. The coverage kept flashing back and forth between shots of Alec campaigning yesterday, and a number of still shots of Rissa on the balcony with the unidentified man.
Braden picked up an empty glass and threw it through the TV screen, as the glass broke and the screen crackled and hissed. His roar could he heard across the entire floor of the hotel. "That fucking bitch!"
He dressed quickly and stormed down the hallway to the Canton’s suite. As he approached the door, he saw both Mateo and Hyde standing guard, talking with each other. Braden was no match for either warrior, but if he could, he’d choke the life out of Hyde right now. Pushing past him, he gruffly shouted, "Get out of my way!"
Barging into their suite, he found Alec getting dressed and Rissa still in bed, the blankets pulled over her head. Storming over to their TV, he grabbed the remote and turned it on. "You better see this before we go out there today!”
Alec continued to dress as the news came into focus on the TV. It was showing images of him on the campaign trail yesterday, smiling and shaking hands, signing autographs, and stopping to pose for photos. He was wondering what had Braden in such an uproar when the images switched to grainy photographs of Rissa on their hotel balcony, with her head against Hyde's back. His blood was already boiling when he heard the newscaster speculating on the identity of the man, and exactly what it was he was doing in Mrs. Canton's hotel suite.
Alec wasn’t sure who he wanted to kill first, Hyde, for his poor judgment, or Rissa, for her clear manipulation of the situation. He turned toward the bed, his eyes glowing as he ripped the blankets off the bed, screaming her name. "Rissa! Get the fuck out of bed and explain this!"
Rissa was still in a deep sleep when she heard Alec shouting. She started to sit up when he ripped the blankets from the bed, baring his fangs and eyes glowing red. She backed up against the headboard, as her own beast emerged in response to her master. She scanned the room and saw Braden who looked like he was ready to rip her apart as well. She tried desperately to de-escalate the situation. "Back up, tell me what’s going on. Just tell me, Alec!"
He growled at her, as he heard the newscaster giving details of her extravagant spa day and the $10,000 facial. "Listen to it. Don't tell me you didn't know this would get out. Look at it, Rissa! Look at the picture of you and Hyde, all cozy on the balcony. You're too smart not to know the press wouldn't catch that. You’ve been using the media to serve your purposes for years!"
He grabbed her and dragged her from the bed, holding her in front of the TV, clutching her by the hair, forcing her to see the images flashing across the screen. He screamed, "Hyde! Get in here!"
Hyde and Mateo had both already heard the angry exchange, and although they couldn’t see the TV, they could hear the commentary through the door. Hyde already knew she’d tricked him, and he’d made a big mistake taking her out on the balcony.
Mateo flashed him a look. "Be careful, brother. He’s a master. Don't antagonize him."
Hyde sighed and nodded, as he entered the suite, preparing to face Alec's anger. Braden stepped back against the wall, as the warrior entered. Alec still had a firm grip on Rissa as he screamed at Hyde, "What the fuck were you thinking? I asked you to keep her inside!"
Rissa was struggling to free herself, but he wasn’t going to let go. She tried to defend him. "Hyde was consoling me and..."
Hyde interrupted her, "Rissa, your master speaks to me, be quiet. She was distraught. She’d been locked in her room for hours. When she asked for a smoke, I obliged her. I did check the area before she came out and didn’t see any activity. I didn’t think about a reporter with a telescopic lens. I was more focused on someone who could impose physical harm. The mistake is mine. My intention was to provide a presence that would offer protection."
Alec growled back at him deep in his throat, a low rumble that could be felt. "Oh, your presence is clear for everyone to see."
Alec nodded toward the TV where the image of Rissa with her head nestled against Hyde's back was being flashed across the screen again, and Hyde heard the speculation from the newscasters about the unidentified man in Mrs. Canton's hotel suite who appeared to be providing her with great comfort in her husband's absence.
Hyde cringed at the photos, and the speculation. Alec snapped at him, "The damage is done! She wasn't in any physical danger, but the press got what they wanted. And now, we have another mess to clean up, thanks to you two. I’m sick of the both of you!"
He released Rissa with a shove, letting her stumble to the floor. Hyde started to make a move to help her when Alec growled at him again and he backed off, knowing the limits of his authority with this master.
"I can't look at either one of you right now. Braden, take care of this!" Alec grabbed his phone and slid it in his pocket, as he stormed from the room, intentionally brushing past Hyde, bumping his shoulder hard as he exited. Once outside the room, he slammed the door behind him and looked at Mateo. "Follow me!"
Hyde moved to help Rissa from the floor as she screamed at Braden. "Get the fuck out, now." Braden snarled and looked at Rissa with disdain. "Fucking bitch." Walking out, he also slammed the door.
Hyde crouched down and lifted Rissa's chin, staring at her a long time. He watched as a small tear rolled down her face. “You broke my trust. I offered you consolation, and you betrayed me. It will never be the same between us, Mrs. Canton."
Standing up, he exited the door, closing it quietly behind him and standing his post in the hallway outside the suite.
Braden was standing in the hallway when the warrior exited. "Needless to say, Alec doesn't want her on the campaign with him today. I’m begging you to keep her in her room, and off the balcony, and out of the spa. Take her damn phone and laptop, and keep her invisible please. I'll do what I can for damage control with the press. Make sure they know the man on the balcony was her bodyguard who was trying to shield her from view while she smoked a cigarette. Then tomorrow, she’ll need to be back in front of people with Alec. I'll deal with Alec and the press, you just manage her."
Hyde nodded to him, silently acknowledging the order, as Braden scurried off to catch up with Alec.
70
Max's anger grew with each passing day. He couldn’t turn on the fucking TV or pick up a newspaper or magazine without seeing pictures of Alec's face, and Rissa right behind him. He’d heard the rumors about trouble in paradise, or as the press liked to call it, the crumbling of Camelot. Alec was down in the polls, and it was clear Rissa was the cause.