Page 8 of Iron Unicorn

Rather than curse like I wanted, I released her and said, “We’ve been had, Olivia.”

“I see that.” She took out her phone, tapped at the display, and showed me a picture. As warned, I’d been knocked out, my face was covered in blood, and I appeared rather rumpled. “Is this a manipulated image?”

“No, it’s the real deal,” I replied with a wince. “I don’t remember anything, but the conspirators dumped me here and said to meet up with you.”

“Butwhy?”

“Montana wanted to clean up New York.”

Olivia’s eyes widened. “Oh.” Then, to my amazement, her eyes widened even further. “Oh. Mybrotherdid that to you?”

“It was actually Daphne, apparently.”

Olivia cursed. “I can’t even do anything to Daphne, damn it. She about had a heart attack when her talent woke up. She’s off limits for at least three months. Family rule. We’ve been tiptoeing around anyone with a new talent since the war, and since it works, we do not change that tradition.”

No kidding. I held out my arm. “First, I am going to apologize now for the Texans. They’re offering bribes of yams and chicken.”

With one of her rare but brilliant smiles, Olivia linked her arm with mine, and she grabbed hold of my hand so I wouldn’t escape her. “Why are they apologizing?”

With my free hand, I pointed at the gaudy building nearby. “You have a date in that building, and they’ve acquired me to make certain you go. I was bribed with a chance to run off with Her Royal Majesty in a solo relocation scenario.”

“Well, that explains why you’re cooperating. I would do it, too, for a crack at Jessica. And she’ll cooperate with you to see how her team performs, which means you might actually pull it off. What sort of date do I have?”

“The kind where you don’t breathe out of your mouth.”

She sucked in a breath. “Will’s going to flip.”

“And he’ll flip at Queen Jessica, King Pat, and Maine’s heir and her consort. And he’ll think about flipping at my queen, but he won’t be able to. She’ll use the lip on him.”

Olivia gulped. “You knew about my nose?”

“Well, I didn’t before, but I do now. Queen Jessica briefed me on the situation. I’m here to drag you to your surgeons while you kick and scream. I was not aware of the situation until your brother dumped me here and abandoned me to the mercy of a bunch of Texans. The Texans tricked your brother into cooperating, claiming to test the New York RPS. That was a secondary goal.” I gave her hand a squeeze. “You’ve wanted to fix your nose for a while. Here’s your chance. I’ll be with you the entire time, assuming they let me into the operating room. They might not. The Texan RPS is already monitoring the hospital, and Queen Jessica has made all the arrangements. The surgical staff is on standby.”

“Jessica did all that for me?” Olivia whispered.

“She did.”

Once again, Olivia swallowed. “I’m scared, Terry.”

I admired the woman’s bravery; one of the hardest things for a proud woman to do was to admit fear of anything. “Your brother isn’t going to be upset with you. He might be upset with me, but I can handle his disapproval. Queen Jessica is going to handle the media. Nobody is going to judge you, especially not when parts of your medical file are leaked.”

“Oh, my brother is going to get upset. He thinks everyone should accept me just as I am.”

I chuckled, as I’d accepted her and her crooked nose long ago. Then again, her nose had never been a factor.

When I had needed someone the most, Montana’s royal family had sent her my way. Coming to terms with my wife’s death had been years in the making, and Olivia had been there every step of the way.

She had helped me, and it was my turn to help her. “No, he won’t. I will get into a fight with him over it, and I will question why he thinks people accepting your nose is more important than your health. I’ll win. Mainly because I’ll pop him in the nose and see how he likes it if I don’t.”

Olivia’s eyes widened. “You would not pop him in the nose.”

“I’d inform his agents I would be popping him in the nose first. But yes, if he pitches a fit because he thinks people accepting your nose is more important than your health, I absolutely will.” I winked at her. “If you’re scared of the doctors, don’t be. Queen Jessica picked them personally, and she’d never put you in a dangerous situation. The recovery period is already being taken care of, and I’ll have you help me plan a run at Queen Jessica.”

“You’re really going to try to grab her from her own palace?”

“I absolutely am. Wedreamof this, Olivia. To be that agent who gets to outsmart the entirety of an active duty roster, one against them—it’s an ultimate prize. King Patrick already approved the idea, and it’ll be treated as a proper scenario so it’s done safely.”

“I wish we could participate in scenarios like that sometimes,” Olivia muttered.

---