Page 30 of Idaho

"Lockout is fine," he told me. "We don't observe any kind of authority here. At least not for you."

I nodded, then stole a glance at Idaho. He certainly thought he had some kind of authority over me. I didn't really care for it, but I wanted his help. And we just wouldn't talk about the effect he had on my body. It was better to shove that truth somewhere deep down and try to ignore it.

There was no way Father was going to let me stay here with only Thomas as protection now that there had been an incident. I'd be lucky if he allowed me to stay even with Idaho's help. Father didn't know these men and he trusted people even less than I did. I wasn't looking forward to having that conversation with him.

"Explain, Dickhead," Lockout told his brother, drawing my attention back to them.

"You heard her. She's not a duchess," Idaho said with a shrug.

"But she's still fucking royalty," Lockout pointed out.

"She is. And Thomas is her bodyguard."

Lockout scrubbed a hand over his face. "This is what I'm talking about, Idaho. This is why I didn't want you around, this is the kind of shit you always manage to get yourself in. Us in."

I frowned, looking between them. Lockout's words were a little insulting, but ever the diplomat, I remained silent. Thomas was standing close enough I felt him tense up. Glancing over at him, I shook my head.

"We can talk about that later. I've offered her my help." Idaho's face was a blank mask now as he faced his brother.

"You still think that was some kind of hit last night?" Lock asked.

"Even more sure now, but I'm going to put my guy on it."

"Your guy?"

"I have someone for everything," Idaho said with a grin, the mask slipping. "I'll have him look into what happened. Until then, I still want her to stay here."

"And what's her family going to say about that?" Lockout asked.

"We're not going to tell them until I know more."

Lockout's expression turned thunderous. "And when this fucking duke ends up finding out we kept this from him? Didn't send his daughter home when she was in danger?"

"We're more than capable of protecting her," Idaho countered. "You know that."

"Of course we are, but it's the last thing we need with Fremont up our asses! And now you want to get us involved in a literal international incident?"

I wasn't sure who Fremont was, but I was still stuck on the fact that Lockout wanted to send me home. I couldn't blame him. I was going to cause trouble for his people, one way or another. If last night wasn't some kind of attack on me specifically, then they'd still be torn apart by my Father once he found out he wasn't told.

"I think I have an idea to help with Fremont, actually," Idaho told him. "But for it to work, we need her."

Everyone was staring at me now and I took a small step backward, bumping into Thomas's shoulder. "Need me for what?" I asked.

"I'll explain later," Idaho told me, "if he agrees to the plan." Idaho turned back to his brother. "Come on, Lock. She needs our help."

Lockout studied me for a few moments before he sighed and looked back at Idaho. "You're sure about this?"

"I am."

"Fine, but you're taking the ass chewing from her pissed off father when the time comes."

"Deal."

Idaho shot me a grin as he turned and started to usher me out the door. His large hand was on the small of my back, and even through my sweater, I could feel the heat from his palm. Get it together, Eva, I chided myself. He's not actually interested in you. Sure, he found me attractive enough to kiss, but other than that, he only wanted to use me for his own gains.

"Idaho." We all stopped and looked over our shoulders at Lockout. His hazel eyes rested on me, giving me a considering look, before he glanced at his brother again. "This better be worth it."

I looked back at Idaho with curiosity. He seemed to know exactly what his brother was talking about, but I had no clue. "What did he mean by that?" I asked when Idaho all but shoved me out into the hallway.

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