Page 25 of Keep Her from Them

“They cover several members of the royal family. How did no one pick up on this?”

“Barrington might have that contract, but his main focus has been on the city and high-risk London-and-international-based families. Diplomats and ambassadors. Ultrahigh net worth individuals. He took his eye off the ball and has vowed to fix it. He asked for my advice in filling Jared’s role. The fourth member of the team is returning next week, but the princess has a series of engagements before then, so he has to hustle to fix this.”

For a beat, I held still. Of the three members of the team, there was only one I rated and who hadn’t been there that night. “Suggest Riss to manage the team and send me back in temporarily. We’ll cope as a unit of four. Jared did nothing useful that I could see.”

He watched me for a long moment.

My heart thumped. I needed to convince him. “Leo can spare me, can’t he?”

“He can,” Ben admitted. “He’ll be writing songs all summer and doesn’t have another meeting outside of Scotland for three weeks. I was planning training and days off.”

“I want to go back. I want to test out how it goes with Jared not there.”

“Assuming he was the mole?”

It had crossed my mind. I’d told Johnnie and Will about the princess going into the club. It could be either of them, but it stood to reason that one could’ve contacted him. Jared felt like the more obvious choice, but I could be wrong.

I swallowed past a lump in my throat. “That isn’t the only reason I want to go back. Remember I told ye I knew Alex from my student days?”

“Ye mean Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra?” He quirked a single eyebrow. “I take it ye know her better than implied?”

“Not exactly. I didn’t mean to hide anything. There’s more of a personal connection than I expected.”

Ben’s expression shifted to shrewd judgement.

I worked my jaw. “Don’t look for more than there is. I just want to help while I can. Once upon a time, I did her a disservice. I consider her a friend, though she doesnae think the same about me. This will be my way to make it right.”

My boss sighed. “I’ll make the offer, but it’s up to Barrington, and if he agrees, it’s a time-limited deal. I’m naw losing ye to his team.”

I leapt up. “Loud and clear.”

“Fine. Now go do something useful while I make a call. This might be a no, so don’t get your hopes up.”

Too late. They already were.

Out of the hangar, I drove to Valentine’s place, a quick check-in with him and Jax giving me their location. As a team, we weren’t often office-based unless we were writing up risk assessments or doing research.

Today was Sunday, though. Not always a day off for us, and even if it was, we often met up for a run or fitness work of some kind.

Or moving furniture, as was apparently happening this morning.

I left my car by Val’s and joined the two men who struggled under the weight of a sofa. They carried it from Valentine and Mia’s place to the open door of the next cottage.

I raised my eyebrows at Mia who watched them go.

“What’s going on?”

She grinned at me. “We bought a new couch. I love that one, but we need bigger. You’ve seen the size of my fiancé.”

Her hand drifted to her belly, and she twisted to answer a question from her little daughter, Tobi. Huh. I hid a smile. Valentine hadn’t been shy about wanting to extend their family, and it looked like they were ahead of the game.

It was their wedding in a few weeks. A joint one as Ben, brother to Val, was marrying Daisy on the same day. The whole estate would celebrate with one huge party.

Mia turned back to me. “We’ve managed to buy a few new things so the place next door is slowly getting furnished, ready for an owner.”

“Is there one?”

I loved these cottages. Both single-storey and converted from some previous centuries-old use, they were stone-built, white-painted, and faced another gorgeous view. Val and Mia had made theirs into a snug home. The empty place next door cried out for the same treatment.

---