Page 168 of I Was Always Yours (RCA: Royal Crown Academy)

“Sir?Sir.”

Patty, my house manager and all-around habitual ball-breaker, knocks at our bedroom door, her cadence getting more and more insistent the longer it takes for me to respond.

Looking over at the clock on my nightstand, I see it’s three am.

My first thought is that we must be under attack, my second is to wonder who would be stupid enough to even attempt that.

Turning to my right, I look over at my wife who’s sound asleep besides me, still as fucking beautiful as the first day I met her.

She stirs as the knocking continues.

“Cal?” She says groggily.

“Shh, go back to sleep.” I say, dropping a kiss on her bare shoulder and pulling the sheets up to cover her naked body before I stand.

I don a sweater and open the door, looking directly into Patty’s harried eyes. “What is it?”

“Sir, there’s a gentleman here to see you. He’s refusing to leave until he’s talked to you and he won’t wait until morning. He wants to see you now.”

I join her in the hallway, closing the door softly behind me.

“Where’s Lev?” I ask her, calmly.

Lev is my latest head of security, the previous holder of said position having recently retired. He’s been with us for two years and so far, I’ve had no complaints with his performance.

But life has settled down over the years and the closest he’s come to seeing any action in this role is when Rome’s youngest daughter tripped in the gravel last summer and scraped her knee.

“Downstairs with him. He says you won’t be surprised by the intruder.”

A smile lifts the corners of my mouth. If it’s who I think it is, he was on my list of problems to handle this week. It’s kind of him to come to me and save me the additional headache of having to track him down before I kill him.

“Go back to bed, Patty. I’ll handle this.”

She nods and speed walks back to her room. I head for the stairs and stop when I pass a couple of the night guards. They straighten when they see me approach.

“Stand guard in front of my bedroom,” I say, pointing down the hall. I’d rather not take any unnecessary risks when it comes to protecting Addy. “Do I need to waste any time giving you my spiel of what’ll happen to you if I find you’ve touched that door handle or tried to go into that room for any reason other than protecting her if a threat materializes?”

“All clear, Sir.” They reply, their faces expressionless save for the unease in their eyes.

“Perfect.” I say with affected cheerfulness, “I’d hate to have to make Patty clean your brains off my wall.”

I see the younger one swallow as I walk past them and down the stairs. I make my way to my office and settle in behind my desk, waving at one of the guards to bring my surprise visitor in.

Minutes later, Lev walks in with Phoenix hot on his heels.

My head of security has a terrifying smile on his face, but my ex almost-son-in-law doesn’t seem fazed. His own expression is dark and furious as he marches up to me and slams his palms down on my desk.

“Do you have a death wish?” He hisses.

I stare impassively at his hands for a second before I flick my gaze up to meet his.

“Do you?” I ask, coolly.

He spears me with a death stare. If looks could kill, then this one would have killed me a dozen times over.

“You must,” I add, casually. “Only someone who really wants to die shows up unannounced at my house in the middle of the night and wakes up my wife.” My gaze hardens to impenetrable granite. “Only someone who wants to find out just how painful that death can be would break my daughter’s heart.”

I tip my chin at Lev and he reaches out to grab him. Phoenix evades him easily once, then a second time, before he weaves and plants a fist in Lev’s solar plexus.

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