Page 26 of The Prince of New York

I sighed. “I thought it was a good idea.”

“It’s really not. But you could hire her as your top aide. That worked for Thomas.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Once you knock my sorry ass out with your talent, would you talk to my sister about that?”

“As I’m not giving you a choice on that, I think I can manage that much. But if she says no, it’s not my fault.”

“That’s fair. Are you sure you can’t stop the fever this time?”

“Ian, why would I let you get fevered if I could stop it?”

“You enjoy when I make an idiot out of myself.”

She snickered, reached over, and patted my shoulder. “I don’t have to do anything for you to do that, Ian.”

“That was mean, Melody. You’ve hurt my feelings.”

“You have feelings?”

I fought the urge to join her in snickering. “They’re terribly hurt, and I think you should call Madelyn back so she can nurse me back to health.”

“If she didn’t need to rescue her cats, I would. You’ll survive for a day or two.”

“I might not if you let me get fevered.”

“We’ll muddle through somehow.”

“Are you sure you’re from Maine? That was New York mean, Melody.”

She smiled. “I’m sure. Just try to behave for once in your life. If you absolutely must get fevered on me, at least wait twenty-four hours.”

Did she really think I could control when and if I got fevered? “Sure, Melody. I’ll do my best to wait twenty-four hours before succumbing to fever and doing something we all regret.”

SEVEN

“Ian, you idiot.”

Somehow,fevered me outwitted two tigers, an entire flock of RPS agents, Terry, my sister, my sister’s husband, and the two doctors out to make certain I emerged from the mud run incident in good health. The memory of how I’d done it remained a mystery, one I suspected the palace security system would solve in time.

One fact remained: sometime during the night, I had managed to get dressed in one of my better suits, put on my socks and shoes, and escape from the palace without anyone accompanying me. I recognized the forested path and the stream as a section of property belonging to New York but not technically on palace grounds.

New York liked protecting the Royal Family, and having unowned land buffering the palace from potential riffraff pleased the RPS. Before my sister had become the queen, I’d enjoyed sneaking off and losing myself in nature. A mile from the edge of the grounds, someone in the RPS had built a stone picnic table and benches for runaway royals to enjoy.

I’d arrived just as the sun crested the horizon, and I wondered what I’d been thinking while fevered. Had I wanted to revisit the past? If in my right mind, I wouldn’t have minded taking Madelyn to the spot to introduce her to one of the more pleasant parts of my childhood.

Once upon a time, when I’d still believed my parents had loved me, they’d taken me to the spot a few times, fed me my favorite food, and acted like they cared.

The memories hurt, but I clung to them as one of the few happy moments I had when a child.

They’d left my precious baby sister and the rest of my siblings at the palace with the kinder RPS agents and the nanny. It had been me and only me with them. For a little while, I’d been able to protect them.

After my sister’s rise to being the queen, I’d either stayed at my junkyard or my apartment, dodging where I’d grown up.

As I hadn’t gone for a swim to cool off, I viewed the escape as a victory. Once I made my way back, Terry would have a meltdown, as would the RPS agents in charge of making certain I stayed put. Had I used the nastier parts of my talent, knocking out those nearby through controlled deoxygenation of the air? I eyed my wrist, which still sported the suppressors Melody had given me.

My phone rang, and I blinked, wondering when I’d picked it up. I rummaged through my pockets until I found the device, and the screen informed me my sister would like to speak with me—and that I had missed over a hundred calls.

Damn.

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