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I an and Jack were definitely off the list.

So was Athena. That was the name of the woman who’d conducted the strip search. She’d been thorough. Very thorough.

But to Maggie’s relief, as she stepped out of the building she saw her uncle standing there, supervising his equipment being loaded into a black town car.

“Uncle Willy!”

“Ahh, there you are, my dear!” He smiled at her, his gray wispy hair standing up on end. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“You can’t lose me. I’m a boomerang.”

He let out a bark of laughter the way she knew he would. She wrapped an arm around his, squeezing it and taking in his scent.

Bergamot.

To her, it was the smell of acceptance. Of love.

Her family loved her, she knew they did. But there was always this sense of disappointment from them.

She’d let them down. And it seemed that she kept doing it.

Uncle Willy was the only one who had never made her feel bad. And she adored him for it.

That was why she’d taken this job. To look after him.

Well, that, and so she could move out of her parents’ house. At twenty-five, she needed her own space.

“Isn’t it stunning, my dear?” Uncle Willy said.

She glanced around. There wasn’t much out here but the airport and desert.

But yeah . . . she could see what he meant.

“My Lia, she loved it here. Said she couldn’t breathe in England. The air was too heavy, too cold. The family didn’t like it when I moved to live here to live with her. But how could I make her live somewhere she couldn’t breathe?”

That hit her harder than it should.

How many years had she been unable to breathe?

For as long as she could remember.

So she got how Aunt Lia had felt even though she’d never met the other woman because her mother had felt like her aunt had stolen Uncle Willy from the family.

But it was clear to see how much he loved her. So much so that in all the years since she’d died, he’d been unable to come back here.

“Let’s get in the car, yeah, Uncle Willy? Go to our room and have a cup of tea.”

“Cup of tea, you say? Yes, I could do with a cup of tea. Isn’t much a good cuppa can’t fix.”

She had to grin. That was his favorite saying.

As she turned to the car, she saw the stony-faced customs officer from before. Actually, no, he wasn’t. He was part of the palace security team.

Ian.

He’d grilled her on the rules and left her uncle waiting for her. Worried about where she was.

She glared at him.

He just raised an eyebrow. Arrogant cockmonkey.

“We’d like to go to our accommodations now,” she told him. “If you’re finally finished with all this over-the-top security bullshit.”

Uncle Willy turned to give her a surprised look. She knew why. Maggie rarely grew grouchy. And if she did, she usually hid it because hiding her feelings was easier than confronting them.

And as her family was happy to tell her . . . she always took the easy route. Even when it wasn’t a good idea.

But not with him.

Not when it came to her uncle.

“That’s a bit rude, my dear. These chaps are just doing their job. They’re charged with keeping the royal family safe. Something important, what with what happened to the princess a while back.”

Both Ian and Jack, who had joined them, stiffened.

“And how do you know about what happened to the princess?” Ian barked.

She moved, stepping in front of her uncle. She didn’t appreciate the way Ian had just spoken to him. Nor did she like the look on his face.

No one was going to hurt or scare her uncle.

No. One.

“Oh, Belle told me.”

“Belle? Do you mean Queen Isobelle?” Jack asked.

“Yes, of course, when she called to ask me to come take the wedding photos. I must say, I never had any intention of ever returning. But now that I’m here . . . yes, maybe it’s right . . . let’s go, shall we? Maggie gets sunburned easily. She’s not used to the heat. Come, my dear.” He moved to the car, opening the door before either Ian or Jack could move.

She glared at Ian. “Do not talk to my uncle like that ever again.”

He raised his eyebrows, looking unimpressed.

“Or else.” She pointed her fingers at her eyes, then at him before stomping away and into the car. The sooner they left, the sooner she got away from this jerk.

“Well, you were just told,” Jack said, amusement filling him. “She’s a lively one.”

“She’s a brat,” Ian spat out. “What she needs is a good spanking.”

Jack raised his eyebrows. That wasn’t what he’d expected the other man to say. Ian was usually far more professional than this. He generally didn’t let the people he was charged with keeping safe get under his skin. Or if they did, he didn’t let it show.

They were a job. And Ian was all about doing a good job.

So it was interesting that this little live wire had already gotten under his skin in such a short amount of time. This was interesting. And he couldn’t help but want to see more sparks fly.

“A spanking?” Jack queried.

“My hand is fucking itching,” Ian grumbled.

Definitely interesting.

Jack whistled as he got into the front passenger seat and Ian moved to the driver’s seat. A long time ago, Jack had given up trying to drive when Ian was in the car.

The other man was such a control freak that he couldn’t handle letting anyone else drive while he was a passenger. It was part of the reason they’d left the military. While Ian liked how structured it was, he didn’t like not being in charge all the time.

Jack didn’t care about any of that. The army could tell him what to do all they liked. He’d do as they wanted. But when he wanted to.

If he didn’t want to . . . well, then he’d turn around and do whatever the fuck he felt like.

Worked for him.

“Right, let’s get moving, shall we?” Jack said cheerfully. “I’m sure you’d like to get settled in and have a rest before starting work tomorrow. I think you’re meeting with the princess?”

“Yes,” Maggie replied, still glaring at the back of Ian’s head. “At ten.”

“Are you chaps picking us up in the morning, then?” William asked.

“Ahh, no, you’ll have Beta Team looking after you while you’re here. Mostly Beck and Hux. They’re the nicer ones.” He winked at Maggie.

She gave him a tiny grin back. Jack took her in. Even with that rat’s nest for hair, there was no denying that she was gorgeous. Not that it mattered what she looked like. She’d be here for a few weeks and then she’d leave.

And he wouldn’t see her ever again.

Too bad, really. The way she got under Ian’s skin, it would’ve been fun if she was sticking around.

Jack had been getting kind of bored lately. It seemed Maggie might be able to shake things up for a while.