Page 85 of Knot Their Safe Haven

His head snaps up, green eyes suddenly sharp despite the exhaustion.

"Explain."

"Someone attempted to hack the cottage's security system. Very sophisticated for about thirty seconds, then amateur hour when they hit my secondary protocols." I smile, remembering the moment their code hit my trap. "Dr. Malcolm Hayes, according to the IP trace. Trying to access the medical bay's cameras."

"And?"

"All taken care of. He got a lovely virus that's currently eating his hard drive while sending me copies of everything." I inspect my other hand. "The twins are doing some additional digging, just for fun."

Alessandro sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"That's probably not good."

"For the doctor and the royal princess? No, probably not." I laugh, imagining Dante and Damon's particular brand of investigation. "But highly entertaining for us."

"You shouldn't antagonize royalty, Alexis."

"Please. I'm an heir to the Rosenberg fortune. I could buy myself a small country if I wanted to play princess." I wink. "But I'm being good. Mostly. Relatively speaking."

"You're horrible."

"I'm protective. There's a difference."

"How's the threat tracking?"

"Seventeen credible threats against Velvet since the news broke about her claiming. Three against the Haven. Two against you specifically." I pull out my phone, scrolling through data that would terrify anyone with sense. "All handled or being handled. The beauty of having Corleone connections—people reconsider their life choices very quickly."

"Seventeen threats in less than a day."

"She's famous. Infamous. Whatever. The Rebel Queen getting claimed is like royal wedding news for the omega rights movement. Everyone has opinions."

"And Knox?"

"Being surprisingly quiet. Though he did hire a private investigator to find this location." I smile at Alessandro's alarm. "Relax. The PI he hired is actually one of ours. We're sending him on a lovely tour of rural Montana."

Alessandro shakes his head but can't hide the smile. "When did you arrange that?"

"Three months ago. I've had plants in position since you first mentioned her name with that disgusting lovesick expression."

"I don't get lovesick."

"You literally have a folder labeled 'VM Future' with seventeen years of planning documents."

"That's strategic preparation."

"That's obsession wearing a Princeton education."

He throws a pen at me. I catch it without looking.

"Go rest," he says, returning to his papers. "You've been traveling for nineteen hours."

"Rest is for the weak. I need to check the camera angles for optimal coverage when I beat your ass later."

He groans. "She kissed me first."

"You provoked her." I stand, smoothing my jeans that cost more than most people's rent. "You've been provoking her since you were eighteen and desperate for tutor attention."

"I wasn't desperate."