Page 35 of Iron Unicorn

Pleased with my conquest, I nudged my mare along and clicked my tongue to encourage the stallion to keep up. “What are you going to do, put me out to pasture?”

“Mark my words, Terry. Revenge is coming. And victory will be sweet—and mine.”

As always, I looked forward to witnessing the chaos despite my awareness I was her target. “Just don’t forget to warn the RPS first. That way, they’ll leave me to my fate without interfering with your plans.”

“Are you sure you should be encouraging me?”

Rather than answer, I encouraged my horse into a trot and chuckled over having won one of our verbal spars for a rare change.

EIGHT

Along the way, we’d become friends.

Freedom had gottento Princess Olivia of Montana, and a heavy dinner of steak and potatoes had done her in. Fortunately for my sanity, I’d gotten her to change into her pajamas before she passed out. With quiet to enjoy, I read by the fire for longer than normal before heading to bed, letting the RPS agents contain the dying campfire.

Not long after I’d crawled into the tent, Olivia invaded my space, cuddled close, and slept. Before the surgery, she had snored something fierce. The light sound of her breathing reassured me. However, in her attempt to claim the nearest heat source as hers, she’d managed to trap my arm beneath her.

Had I been a little wiser, I would have been prepared for her to seek out warmth from any source. She’d done similar in the hotel room when I hadn’t been stealing all the blankets and shivering. I had some vague recollections of her serving as my personal furnace during the worst of my chills.

After my wife’s death, I hadn’t thought I’d enjoy the warm companionship of another person again. Piece by piece, I’d let Sabina go. It had begun with her jewelry, which I’d put in the closet as keepsakes. They’d been the first to vanish from sight—they’d also been among the last of her possessions to remain. No matter what the future held, I’d keep those pieces.

They had been her treasures, treasures I’d acquired for her piece by piece to make up for everything I couldn’t manage to be for her.

It amazed me that I had found the strength to move on. When I thought about it, Olivia had been the reason I’d been able to conquer the tragedy of Sabina’s loss. When the grief had been the hardest to bear, she’d been there, a quiet comfort in the darkness. Somehow, she’d always managed to figure out what I needed.

Sometimes, it had been a hug. Others, it had been a visit in the middle of a sleepless night when the loneliness had grown unbearable. When I’d needed to talk, she had been ready to listen.

Along the way, we’d become friends.

When I’d been chasing my queen across the Royal States, Olivia had been a text or call away, a companion despite the distance separating us. While sharing a tent with the woman hadn’t been part of my plans, I appreciated her presence.

Where she went, serenity followed. Sometimes, she created chaos for the fun of it, but the quiet moments more than made up for the times I thought she might cause me to suffer from a heart attack. One day, I’d have to scold her over throwing a plate at terrorists.

I would have preferred if she had unleashed one of her lethal talents to rid the world of such filth. That everything had worked out remained the sole reason I held my peace.

None of us had been hurt, not really. Daphne would adapt to her changed circumstances, and I couldn’t think of anyone else better qualified to rule over Montana once the king handed over the reins. The change to the succession also freed Olivia.

If Montana went by merit, the woman would have been the heir based on her diplomatic ability and skills.

Princess Olivia of Montana wanted nothing to do with the throne. Only a fool would believe otherwise. Everything she did, she did for her family. Had she been given a choice in the matter, I believed she would have focused her time doting on every child to cross her path, likely becoming a teacher.

I wondered if I could somehow gift her that career she’d never been able to pursue because of the titles burdening her shoulders.

Olivia murmured in her sleep and rolled, and I grunted as the woman’s weight settled on me. In good news, I regained some ability to move my arm. In bad news, unless I woke her, I’d have an attachment for the night. As she had dealt with my poor sleeping habits when ill, it seemed fair that I repay the favor. With a little wiggling and help from my foot, I managed to snag one of the blankets, accepted my role as a living mattress, and covered us both.

I expected things would return to normal when morning came.

Until then, I would listen to the princess’s peaceful sleep and wonder at what might be if only things were a little different.

* * *

Texan RPS agentshad stolen my princess, and after I had the woman back where she belonged, I would find a way to make them all pay. Waking up to a ransom note, which stated they would release the princess if I agreed to go on a date, topped the ways I loathed starting a day. That Eddie had signed it with disgustingly good cheer in the form of a smiley face meant I’d hold my temper despite wanting to crumple the note up and throw it at him. Then, because the young man meant business, he had left a stuffed squirrel on the pillow beside me to comfort me in my time of need.

Every single member of the Texan RPS would pay.

Outside of the tent, a rather amused Carl waited for me, and he twirled the bird cage key around a finger. “We’ve decided to make some changes to your schedule, Agent Pattens.”

I considered flinging the squirrel at my fellow agent, but I tucked the furry monstrosity under my arm instead. “You could have at least used a serious ransom note. A date? With who? Why adate?”

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