Both guys looked older and more experienced than the ones I’d tangled with in Vinake. These guys were seasoned enforcers, and whether or not they’d been expecting me, I couldn’t know, but if they had reinforcements coming, I might be in trouble. We were an hour from almost anything and right now I had no way of calling for backup.
I swung my fists, twice, knocking the second guy to his knees just as the guy with the knife lunged at me. I had to eliminate one of these guys, so I used the heel of my hand to smash his nose and the sound of bone crunching was drowned out by his screams. He dropped the knife and I pulled my gun, motioning for the other guy to get on his knees.
“Who the hell are you?” I demanded.
The first guy was writhing in pain, holding his face as blood spurted everywhere, but the second guy didn’t move. I grabbed some rope from one of the drawers and threw it at him. “Tie him up.”
The second guy didn’t move and I met his gaze.
“Tie him up and then tell me what you’re doing here.”
He gave me the finger and I fired a shot into his leg. He screamed as I put my boot on his thigh. “Tie. Him. Up. Or the next one goes between your eyes.”
I wasn’t playing with these assholes and their presence meant I’d probably be stuck here longer than a week. I had neither the time nor the patience for this and we’d had too many attacks on the royal family to give them the benefit of any doubt. It hadn’t been a kill shot, but he’d be hurting.
Once they were both secured, I got on the sat phone and called Sandor, telling him what happened.
“Leave them there,” he said. “And head back to Braksa. I’m sending Ace and Natalia on the helicopter. You need backup and it’s time to secure the perimeter. If people are getting in and out that easily, we need to make it clear it’s not public property, but you being there by yourself is just asking for trouble.”
“One of them now has a gunshot wound. You want to leave them here overnight?”
“Shit.” He seemed to be thinking. “All right, stay there with them. The helo will drop Ace and Natalia off at the clearing in the woods and you can go get them when they call. Ace has medic training and he’ll have supplies. What about the other guy?”
“Broke his nose.”
“He can suffer. Check in once Ace and Nat are there.”
“Got it.” I disconnected and dragged the two men down to the dungeon. We’d set up interrogation rooms, some friendlier than others, and I took them into the ones meant for intimidation instead of simple questioning. As a group, we weren’t fond of torture, but we’d do it if necessary. For now, I was just keeping them secure. I wrapped a torn-up T-shirt around the one guy’s leg to make a tourniquet and stop the bleeding, but I just let the other guy suffer.
“You fucking shot me,” the one guy said in an accusing tone.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I said calmly. “You don’t come into my house, steal my food, attack me, and then not answer my questions.”
“This is your house?” The man eyed me dubiously. “This belongs to the royal family—and this is why we will take it.”
“If you think you’re taking anything from the royal family, much less this house, you have delusions of grandeur.”
He gave me a dirty look. “I need medical attention.”
“You need to shut the fuck up.”
29
Solange
I was up earlier than usual these days and on Thursday decided to take Natalia up on her offer to join their early-morning workout. I hadn’t heard from Axel since he’d left, beyond a sweet text saying he’d miss me and that there wasn’t reliable internet service in Braksa so I might not hear from him, which left me a little lonely. I’d kept busy with my new job, working three twelve-hour days so far, and I would probably work another today. But a workout would be a nice distraction since I wasn’t doing much but working these days and didn’t want to put on weight. Especially now that there was someone who saw me naked on a regular basis.
Natalia wasn’t at the gym, but it was a full house with Prince Sandor, Lennox, Elen, Shannon, Casey, Erik, Joe, Jonas, Logan, and another bodyguard named Marcus. I was momentarily frozen, unsure of my place here with the royal family. I’d gotten to know Elen fairly well, but working out in front of the king, well, that was something else altogether.
“Hey, Solange.” Shannon waved. “You finally decided to join us?”
“I thought Natalia would be here,” I said shyly. “She offered to help me build my upper body strength but I don’t want to impose…”
“Don’t be silly,” Casey said. “Come join us. All of us women need to work on upper body strength. Except Lennox, of course, who’s a freak of nature, and we don’t talk to her when we’re working out.”
“Whatever.” Lennox stuck her tongue out at her. “I can barely lift my head today, much less do anything that requires upper body strength.”
“Are you not feeling well?” I asked politely.
She held up a package of saltine crackers. “I’m pregnant. Prince Neanderthal here is determined to become a daddy before his forty-first birthday. We may or may not make it.”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Prince Sandor said dryly. “She was all over me on the honeymoon—she wants babies just as much as I do.”
“I had no idea morning sickness was going to be like this,” she muttered. “I’d like to renegotiate the terms of this agreement.”
“I’m sorry, love.” Prince Sandor wrapped his arms around her and whispered something in her ear that made her smile.
I averted my eyes, still a little shy in front of such powerful people.
“You can work out with me,” Shannon said. “Ace has gone up to Braksa to give Axel a hand so we can commiserate our loneliness together.”
“Thank you.”
“Cardio or weight-training first?” she asked.
“Cardio,” I said.
We got on two treadmills, side by side, and Lennox got on the one on my other side. “No way I can manage a real workout today,” she said. “I’m just going to walk.”
“Is it awful?” I asked her.
She nodded. “It hit Sunday morning and hasn’t let up. I don’t know why they call it morning sickness when it’s twenty-four seven.”
“And you’re still here?” Shannon grimaced. “Ace and I want babies too, but now I’m rethinking that. If morning sickness can kick your ass, the rest of us are doomed.”
Lennox chuckled. “I see the doctor later today, so we’ll see what he says.”
“Good luck,” I told her. “Do you get to find out the sex of the baby? I hear it can be done with a blood test now.”
“I don’t know if they’ll do it today,” Lennox replied, “but yes, we’d eventually like to know the sex. Short-term, I just want to know how to make this stop. Ginger and all the old wives’ tale options haven’t done anything.”
“There’s something we make in my town,” I told her. “All the ladies take it to help with morning sickness. It’s a broth with herbs and essential oils and such. If you like, I can bring you some.”