Page 29

TWENTY-EIGHT

“Please do tell the RPS they need to address this.”

Rather than attempt to devour Terry’s soul for daring to be an RPS agent, His Royal Majesty of Montana beelined my way. As I was unable to dodge due to Madelyn having stolen my crutches to bar any escape attempts, I dealt with the man swooping in for a hug. Then he checked me over from head to toe, focusing on my legs. “A ricochet, Ian? Really?”

“At least no one was trying to kill either one of us this time,” I pointed out.

He snorted. “They were more trying to kill Adam, but we would have been fun additions to the hit list had they actually pulled that nonsense off. How bad is it really? I got told you were shot and you had Terry and Eddie with you.”

With a wicked grin, the RPS agent lifted his jacket up, held it in such a way Will could get a good view, and stuck his finger through the hole. “Please do tell the RPS they need to address this.”

“Fuck. That is not a bullet hole in your jacket, Terry.”

“It is a bullet hole in my jacket,” Terry confirmed. To make it clear he’d had a close call, he wiggled his finger again.

Pink Lady, who perched on her owner’s shoulder, chittered and squeaked a demand, which the RPS agent interpreted as a request for a snack. He dug into one of his pockets and offered her a food cube similar to what my sister gave her rats, which she accepted and went to work eating.

“Does my sister know you were shot?”

“My jacket was shot. I emerged unscathed. I didn’t even realize I’d dodged a close call until we got here, took my jacket off, and checked it.” Terry tossed his jacket to the side. “Ah, there’s Zach and Peter. You may as well come in. I have kept your charge contained, and Madelyn stole his crutches, as he’s realized he’s hungry and won’t be fed for another twenty minutes. She spared us all from a great deal of pacing.”

“When I start gushing at you, or possibly crying, in about an hour, please blame the fever,” I requested.

Both agents, who had dealt with my fevers more than a few times, sighed.

“It seems we have returned to a situation,” Peter said, shaking his head. “How did you manage to get into this much trouble, Ian?”

“While Terry has suggested that I wait for more evidence, it would not surprise me if my parents are somehow involved. And yes, the bastards are still alive. I’ve seen them both personally. If they are involved, I’m borrowing you two, Eddie, and Terry, and we’re going to make them no longer alive.”

“And that would be the start of the fever talking,” Terry announced. “Madelyn?”

The woman approached with narrowed eyes, and she whipped out a thermometer gun and pointed it at me. “I am putting you under arrest and into custody, Your Royal Highness.”

I had no idea what had gotten into the woman, but if she wanted to take me into her custody, I was not at all going to protest. As such, I held my hands up. “I do not resist, nor do I ask for a reduced sentence at this time.”

Ethan’s mother burst into laughter, claimed a hug from Will, and headed for the door. “I’m going to go check on things in the kitchen, warn the staff Ian’s fever has started, and otherwise make preparations. Close all doors you do not want the brat going through and be prepared to explain what a door is.”

Zach’s eyes widened. “You needed someone to explain what a door is, Ian?”

Later, when we were in private, I would thank the RPS agent for using my name and remembering me rather than my rank. “It was really bad, Zach. I wandered over to the picnic table looking for salmon. But yes, someone had to explain how doors worked to me first. It was rather shameful, but Melody figured out what may be a core cause of the problem.”

“God bless her,” he replied. “What is the issue?”

Madelyn’s gun beeped, and she checked the result. “101.3,” she reported. “Terry, what temperature is the cut off for taking him to the hospital?”

“They have a full service clinic in the palace, and there are doctors on hand. Unless he needs an operation, he won’t have to go to the hospital. They’re rigged for fevers and things like that. They only send the royals over when they aren’t sure what’s wrong or if they want to run an MRI,” Terry replied. “I asked after we sent Rachel to the hospital for testing. Gunshot wounds are treated at the hospital due to the high risk of an operation being needed.”

“Oh, that’s good. They took him to the hospital in New York, so I wondered.”

“Nobody plays around with concussions, and they have equipment in hospitals the palace clinics lack,” the RPS agent replied, and he smiled at Madelyn. “Try not to worry. If your gun reports at 102.5 or higher, hit and hold the alarm button I gave you. When it beeps three times, you’ll know the RPS has been alerted, and you’ll be tracked down. They know you have a list of reasons to press the button, and we’re going with safe rather than sorry, so if you’re at all concerned, use your button.”

“Nice. You get a button. I just get a hard time and told to take care of myself.” While I didn’t particularly feel fevered, at least yet, I pouted at Terry in the hopes of making everyone laugh. “Why can’t I have a button?”

“You would use it for fun,” he replied in a solemn tone. “Honestly, I wanted to give you a button, but we came to the conclusion that once the fever hits in earnest, you won’t have enough common sense to actually press it if needed. Just stay somewhat sensible until after you’re fed.”

Zach regarded Madelyn with a solemn expression. “Do not be surprised if he gets chilled and seeks out someone or something warm.”

Without missing a beat, she pointed in the bedroom, which Sika and Tumen had claimed as theirs. “The leopards are in bed waiting for him. Apparently, my cats are traitors, and they are in bed waiting for him, too. I’m planning on catching a nap on the chair in the bedroom, as he cannot be left unattended. He will go on a wander if I take my eyes off him.”

Rather than tell her I’d rather if she went on a wander with me to somewhere private, I kept my mouth shut. I could only hope I would continue to keep my mouth shut once I went from coherent to a menace. “To my shame, I’m pretty sure if you tell me there is honeyed salmon in the garden, I will sit and wait in the garden until someone feeds me.”

Madelyn giggled. “Having seen how happy you become when you’re fed honeyed salmon, I will try that tactic and hope they feed me some, too. I hadn’t known fish could actually be good before trying it.”

“Can I have my crutches back yet?”

“No.”

I laughed at the immediacy of her reply. “Can I at least use the bathroom before we go for dinner?”

“That is permissible, and we can wait for you to hobble around before dinner for such activities, but you may not attempt to take a nap with the cats. I’m onto you. If I let you into the bedroom or anywhere near the cats, you will try to sleep with them.” She pointed at the suite’s second bathroom, located closer to the door. “You may use that bathroom, as it does not lead you to temptation.”

Then, to make it clear she ruled the suite, she went back to work setting up her art station, which she intended to use after dinner so she could keep an eye on me. The discovery of the fancy watercolors had evoked wonder. As the RPS had gotten me the same set and had put our names on them, she understood one was hers to do with as she pleased.

As she liked to do, she picked up her new set, holding the box as though it were made of gold rather than wood. “Is this really mine, Ian?”

I smiled at the wonder in her voice. “I asked them to get that specific one for you, and I asked for things for dummies for me. I’m going to have trouble enough coloring between the lines, so I don’t know why they got me one. I’m blaming Terry. He’s excessive.”

My sister’s agent snickered. “If you didn’t want us buying items to enrich your personal life, you would not have asked us to do extra shopping on your behalf. Please don’t mind Ian, Madelyn. He realized he had forgotten something he’d wanted for himself, asked if we could swing by the store and get it, and he gave us instructions to acquire the best we could get for you, as he assumed your hobby is not casual and he knows nothing about painting outside of admiring art and being fascinated by those who paint where he can watch. He does know enough about painting supplies to have an awareness of price versus quality, so he took us off our spending leashes for the venture. He wanted the best for you, and he didn’t particularly care what it costs.”

“I’ll just melt some more metal I get for cheap to pay for it. I’m going to do that to buy a new painting. It’s been a while since I’ve purchased a new painting. If I’m extra lucky, the girls will like museums, and I will get to do dad things I’m actually skilled at. I’m just going to require adult supervision, because once I get started, I really get started.”

The door into the hallway, which had been left open, proved to be a peril, as the sickeningly familiar sound of my sister clearing her throat warned me not all was well.

Shit. I regarded Madelyn with wide eyes. “Please save me.”

Rather than save me, Madelyn bowed to my sister. “I have kept him contained so he couldn’t run away, Your Majesty.”

Rachel swept into the room, went to Madelyn, and kissed her cheeks. “Wonderful job, and thank you. Thank you for covering for me, Terry.”

“You’re welcome. How was your flight?”

“Fortunately uneventful, but the plane phone rang and notified me of trouble on the way. I was almost on that same plane, Terry. Do you know what would have happened if I had ended up on that plane? There would have been a corpse made mid flight, I would have traumatized everyone, and nothing would have been good. And yes, this counted as an allowed emergency, so I got approval to fly. Staying at home would have stressed me far more than coming here.”

After giving Madelyn a hug, my sister came over, eyed my legs, and crawled onto the chair so she could take over my lap, careful to avoid the gunshot wound. “You can’t run away if I’m here.”

That I couldn’t. While I doubted I had any active empathy skills, I could tell when my sister needed comfort and a hug, which I provided. “It really was a ricochet, but Terry’s jacket has a bullet hole in it, and I think we broke Will with the evidence of damage.”

“Were you broken, Will?” my sister asked.

“Pretty much. Had I known you were on the way, I would have waited at the airport for you.”

“I came in through Sacramento, and the RPS dispatched a helicopter,” she explained. “I would have flown commercial, but apparently, New York has planes and pilots, and Ed was happy to fly me here. They insisted I come in through Sacramento to spread out the royal targets. Ed is getting settled in a suite if you want to see him, Will.”

“I do, as always. And Olivia?”

“She has been shown where Terry’s suite is, and she’s being put to bed, because she’s tired and cranky. She’s fine, but she was not staying home when you’re here, Terry. She knows about the bullet hole in your jacket, but she’s fine about it because she’s freaking out that Ian was shot.”

“It’s not like someone tried to shoot me. You didn’t have to come all this way, but I’m glad you’re here. I’m already running a fever, and I’m going to have my suppressors on, so I’m going to need you to fight over the corpse with Her Royal Majesty. Who, for the record, has demanded I call her my mom. I wisely have been calling her Mom.”

“Good move. She will cry if she doesn’t get her way. I’m proud of you for knowing when to surrender.” My sister made herself comfortable and rested her head on my shoulder. “Ethan, stop hiding in the hallway.”

My brother-in-law poked his head into the room and laughed when he saw me serving as my sister’s chair. “My mom and dad are squabbling out here. Dad taste tested the stew, and he’s convinced it was made with wine, and he is claiming we will not be making his baby boy sick with wine. What did you do to my parents, Ian?”

“I’m guessing they did not handle finding out my parents cornered me in my workshop with grace and are trying to make up for the trauma. Please remind your dad that we brought wine safe for us and it was used to make the stew. And if Dr. Stanton gave them alcoholic wine to put in my dinner, she is pure evil and I have to appreciate her cunning.”

“I did no such thing,” the doctor in question said from the hallway before peeking into the room. “I swear. I’m surrounded by a bunch of children. Rachel, let your brother up. It’s time to feed him so we can send him to bed. Please tell me you brought your vitamins with you.”

“I have my vitamins,” my sister replied, and she eased off my lap, careful to avoid my leg. “I even got the prescription you gave me filled on the way, but we have questions. Can I just switch to the new one in the morning? I’ve been taking mine in the morning.”

“I’d like you to switch to taking them right before bed, and you can take your first dose tonight. The vitamin you were on is a good one, but this one is better, and stacking them like this won’t hurt you for one day. I’ll check on you in a few hours to make certain everything is fine, and then it’s business as normal. If that bastard is stupid enough to come here, you have my blessing to use your talent to its full extent. Sorry, Ian. I want you suppressed as soon as you’re done eating supper.”

I saluted the woman. “As you command, ma’am.”

“You can give him his crutches back,” my sister said, grinning at Madelyn. “How did you like your first taste of being a spy?”

“It was strangely enjoyable. He got me a watercolor set!”

Rachel went to investigate, and she admired the wooden box. “That’s very nice. All he gives me is a hard time, going on a wander out of my palace, and driving me to the brink of my sanity. Really, Ian? You couldn’t have dodged the bullet? Now we have to worry about you wandering around because of a fever?”

“I think I did pretty well having it hit where it did. It hurts, but I’m not going to die unless something drastic happens.” To placate her, I raised my hands in surrender. “I left you a present of dead terrorists and their intact stuff.”

“So I was told, although I think you left the RPS and Daphne with the present rather than me. Your present to me was making sure everybody except the terrorists got out alive. And as yours is the worst of the injuries, you got everyone out basically safe and sound, too.” My sister sighed at me. “Seriously, Ian? You couldn’t have dodged the bullet?”

“I honestly didn’t even clue in I’d been shot until my leg gave out on me and Terry started cursing,” I confessed. “Eddie did great, though. You should be praising him. It was his first real exterior RPS assignment, and he got an entire terrorist attack.”

Eddie, who had done a good job of trying to disappear into the wall, stared at me with a rather unamused expression. “I would have preferred a calm trip to the palace. I have learned my lesson. Interior work is exciting enough for me. Coordinating the agents during events is stressful enough. I literally gave my dad a heart attack, Ian.”

Right. Eddie would need a talking to before his anxiety and guilt ran away with him. “No, Eddie. You didn’t give your dad a heart attack. Your dad has been a walking heart attack risk for years. He’s getting the care he needs, but any stressor at this point could have caused that heart attack. He was going to have that heart attack either way. The only question was when. I know you’re not going to have an easy time believing that, but it’s the truth.”

Dr. Stanton came into the room, went to Eddie, and smoothed his collar and fiddled with his hair. “Ian’s right, Eddie. What happened to your dad isn’t your fault. He knows you’re safe, and Deidre is already on route to Texas, so that problem is being solved, too. If your dad requests you, you’ll get an allowance to go back to Texas, but he hasn’t called you back. He knows you have an important job, and he knows Ian needs you right now. If anything, your dad is going to be proud as hell of you once you’re back in Texas after this assignment, whenever it ends. Yes, for the moment, you’re part of the Californian RPS. But you’ll always be a Texan. You’ve grown up on him. Your other fathers are likely having just as many kittens as your dad, too. Just take the time to give them all a call.”

Will snickered. “Or in the case of Geoff, go see him once you’re off duty. He’s here, as Mackenzie was not going to deal with Geoff fretting about you and Pat. This way, he’s only fretting about Pat. I’ll likely loan California Geoff for a few weeks, as Mackenzie’s backup lead needs practice working as a lead. But Dr. Stanton is right, Eddie. It wasn’t your fault. Hell, Ian getting shot wasn’t your fault, either. Thank you for not getting shot, because I don’t think Texas has enough therapists to deal with Pat trying to cope with that sort of trauma right now. He’s going to have a bad night because he never got over your father’s death.”

Eddie sighed. “We still go to my father’s grave every year, too—and I’m pretty sure Dad needs to go more than I do. I’ve accepted why my dad died. I don’t know why Dad hasn’t.”

“He blames himself,” Dr. Stanton replied in a gentle tone. “He thinks that if only he had done something different, your father wouldn’t have been killed in the line of duty. Because your father was part of his detail, it hit him pretty hard—and your father was the first agent on his detail to die in the line of duty. That made it more real for him. It’s not the same when there’s a car accident or something like that—or there’s a terrorism event that RPS agents respond to as a general rule. Your father died protecting Pat , and that is the difference. I’ll try to talk to him when I go to Texas in the morning, and I’ll make sure your mom knows those demons are still haunting him. It just hit a little closer to home today than normal.”

While it took him a few minutes, Eddie nodded. “I mean, logically, I understand that. I was told when I joined the RPS that I would be mostly interior due to my father’s death. They trained me for exterior in case it was needed, but nobody wanted to find out how Dad would react if an incident went poorly.”

Once Madelyn gave me my crutches, I lurched to my feet, regretting I had gotten into an altercation with a bullet. “Now that you’ve had your taste of exterior, do you think you can be happy with interior?”

Without even a hint of hesitation, Eddie nodded. “Now I really understand why what we do on the interior side is so important. I guess I just didn’t see the whole picture before.”

“Perspective matters. Just think about it this way. Until my leg heals, I’m going to be the laziest principal on the planet, at least until the fever hits in earnest. And when it does? I wish you the best of luck. You’re going to need it. And Eddie? If Madelyn’s ex shows up, just get involved in the fight over the body. He is not the kind of man to make kind nor sweet overtures to someone he viewed as his property.” I grimaced and glanced Madelyn’s way. “I’m sorry. That was callous of me.”

“You’re not wrong. I’ve been told a few times now, and they’re right. I’ll get therapy, but in the meantime, if I see the bastard, I’m to hit my alarm, because if he’s coming near me, he’s not coming for any good cause. And the fact he’d spend any money to come to California? He’s hoping to cash out on my life insurance policy. I already removed him as a beneficiary and notified the life insurance company he might attempt to kill me to get the money. He’s the first person to be investigated if anything happens to me now.” Madelyn’s expression darkened. “I’d beat the shit out of him if I could, but I’ve already been taught well enough that I can’t.”

“Self-defense courses are on the agenda,” I promised her. “In the meantime, just stick close to us. You won’t have anything to worry about.”

If one of the others didn’t handle the bastard first, I would take care of the problem once and for all, no matter the consequences.