Page 53 of Rogue Royal

“What about your job?”

Mav stared at the windows of his apartment. “I don’t know. I have to be careful, as you know.” Zara knew all about what Bert was like. Mav had blurted it all out one night when she had been visiting and noticed he was withdrawn and grumpy. She’d been furious.

“There has to be a way to protect your father and allow you to give the middle finger to Bert. Therehasto be.”

“Well, if you think of something, let me know.”

“What if you told Douglas?”

“No! He needs to stay as far away from this as possible. I wonder if I can persuade Dad to retire early.” He pulled on his lower lip, pinching it between his fingers as his thoughts followed the train the idea had brought up. “It might work, you know.”

“Speak to him. The worst he can say is no.” She cleared her throat. “The same goes for Douglas, you know.”

Mav glared at her. “It won’t happen, Z. Would you expect an heir of the crown to go against his father, the king?”

She pouted. “I would if it was a fairy tale,” she grumbled.

“Yeah, me too. Unfortunately, my life is as far from a fairy tale as I can get.”

The worst thing about his situation was that his fear of being alone forever would come to fruition because he didn’t think he’d be able to replace Douglas in his affections any time soon.

Goddamn traitorous heart.

****

Chapter 19

Douglas

“Your Highness!”

Douglas pivoted to the voice and waited for Clarice to catch up with him. He had left the changing rooms of the club and was aiming for the main room.

“Are you okay?” Clarice was usually so unruffled, but her frantic demeanour had his instincts firing. “What’s happened?”

Clarice stepped close and lowered her voice. “I received a phone call from Quinn. He needs your help.”

Douglas glanced at the few people who were around and edged her closer to the wall with him. “What did he say?”

“He asked me to tell you, ‘Kendal’s house, now.’”

“Fuck.” The expletive was low, but Clarice’s eyes widened. “I need you to get a Monitor to replace me. I have to leave immediately.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll call in Prince Albert.”

“Thank you, and please message Eric for me to let him know what’s happening.”

He strode for the lift, but Clarice’s voice called him back. When he reached her, she said, “I think you better change first, Your Highness.”

Douglas glanced down at his outfit and cursed again. Thanking her once more, he jogged to the changing room and redressed hastily. As soon as he was in his car and heading for Kendal’s home, he called Freddie.

“I thought you were—”

“Sorry, Freddie, but I need some backup. Something’s going down with one of the subs, and I have no clue what to expect. Can you meet me?” He gave Freddie the address and rang off, knowing his brother would back him up.

They wouldn’t get into a fight in public unless there was no other option, but hopefully, whatever was going on was happening inside the home, not outside.

Douglas forced himself to keep to the speed limit, but it was difficult. By the time he reached his destination, Freddie was already there with Damon, his best friend.