Page 41 of The Prince of New York

“They’re odd, especially for terrorists,” my father informed me, and he went for his suppressing watch, taking the old one off and putting it in the briefcase. He closed it, pulled it off my desk, and set it on the floor beside his chair. “You and your sister should be safe enough. It’s your other brothers and sisters that are at risk. They’re strangely puritanical. They value pure royal bloodlines.” His gaze settled on Terry. “You’re their ideal target. Both of your parents are elite, and you have a royal talent. They view people like you to be the perfect human. They want to start their own kingdom that makes the caste system in the Royal States seem gentle. Ian, they won’t touch your sister, as she is the ruler of New York now, but you are also their ideal target—for a live capture, of course.” Leaning forward, he retrieved something from his back pocket, which he held out to me.

The object turned out to be several sheets of paper folded together, and upon opening, I realized it was a list of names, including the heirs of numerous kingdoms.

I was near the top of the list along with Daphne. Terry and Olivia were likewise included, and they had a notation of being empathically bonded. The symbol for bonded was included with my name, and Daphne’s newly minted prince had a notation of being useful as a breeder due to his status as bonded with Montana’s heiress. After reading all the names, I handed the sheets over to the Vampire of Montana. “These terrorists want you and your man for breeding purposes, Daphne. Aren’t you thrilled?”

Daphne raised a brow, going over the list. “You’re just playing right into their trap, Terry, breeding the perfect little royals for their twisted kingdom.”

Terry chuckled. “I’ll enjoy watching my wife tear this group apart with her bare hands. What sort of fools think it’s a good idea to go after a Montana princess hopped up on pregnancy hormones?”

“They won’t last long,” my father replied, and like the RPS agent, he gave a soft laugh. “This group is just smart enough to be dangerous. What we don’t know is if they’ll kill royals that refuse to cooperate. I suspect they plan to hold any captured royals hostage and gradually convert them to their cause. While we have always supported royal castes, especially when it comes to the protection of a kingdom, this is not what this group wishes to do. Right now, they’re operating in Asia and the Middle East, but it’s only a matter of time before they extend their reach into Europe. Thus far, India has resisted any influences by this group, but there are numerous Chinese provinces being swayed. I expect a civil war in China to happen first. With your talent, you would be invaluable to them, Ian.”

“I thought it was rather obvious I won’t willingly cooperate with this.”

My mother nodded. “I know that, you know that, and everyone who knows you knows that. Despite our best efforts, we simply were unable to bend you into being more like us. And that’s why we started cultivating you for the crown. If we can’t make you bend, no kingdom on this planet is going to be able to break you. The real target with their scheme will be your sister. They do not understand that your sister, while quiet, is not so readily broken. They will expect her to capitulate to recover you. Instead, she will tear them down and destroy even the foundations. We were going to offer Rachel to Montana in a betrothal offer had he not fallen for Mackenzie. And please don’t get us wrong, Daphne. We never condoned Sylvia’s behavior, nor would we have pursued her as a match for your cousin. Rachel, however, would have been our top choice for him.”

My father’s sly smile warned me of trouble. “We were also looking at California for her, but it looks like she took the situation into her own hands. That is why we made the decision to go when we did. It was our way of giving our approval of their union. Young Ethan has always been an ideal child for rulership, and we’re pleased with how this worked out. Rachel will serve New York well—and you will as well, Ian, in your own way. And if this groupdoesget their hands on you, unlike your sister, you are capable and willing to lie, toeing the line until you get the result you need. You could trick the whole lot of them into believing you’ll turn coat and help them rule their fledgling empire. When in reality? You’d wait for all of them to gather and eradicate them all with a snap of your fingers.”

My mother huffed and waved her hand. “He wouldn’t bother with snapping. When he wants to take someone by surprise, he simply wills the flame to life. He does not have our limitations. You’re our most talented child, Ian. There were only three of you that were ours. And it’s not for the reason you think.”

Dennis. Somehow, I buried my emotions and maintained my neutrality.

My father’s expression turned rather distant. “When I was young, I was in an accident, and it impacted my fertility. You, your sister, and your brother, may he rest in peace, were the product of specialty fertility treatments. And yes, I mean Dennis. Before his death, he told us of what he wished he could be, simple, boring, and unremarkable Dennis. All we asked of him was to do as little damage as he could manage when he let go.”

I considered their words, and the reality of it settled in. “And my half-siblings?”

“All planned and encouraged,” my father assured me. “We were not good parents, but we wanted a large family. We’d hoped that you and your siblings would be a little more New Yorker and a little less prone to bending, but parents do not get to pick the nature of their children. Don’t get me wrong. We were not good parents. We will never be good parents. But we wanted to leave New York with a lasting legacy. That it turns out the children we had together were that legacy? There isn’t much more we could ask for. You took everything we threw at you, and you held firm. You gained strength.”

Daphne scowled. “You beat them.”

My mother dared to look the Vampire of Montana in the eyes. “Yes, we did. We needed the good children of our line to know what abuse is so they could defend against it, so that they could recognize it among their number. They needed to know the pain of a harsh hand so that when love did come calling, they would be better able to grow in its presence. We were both bred to rule New York. Love was never part of our marriage. We’ve been together so long now that we don’t know how to be apart, and so we make it work. We went into this together, and we will endure beyond ruling together. But we never actually hit Sylvia. Honestly, we never hit many of the younger children. We didn’t need to. We never did any of the things we did to Rachel or Ian to her. And look what she had become.” Her gaze settled on me. “Please do thank your sister for caring for Sylvia at the end. We could not.”

While it took me a few painful minutes, I came to terms with the truth of her statement, and I nodded my acceptance of her opinion on the matter. “I thought you had. To Sylvia, I mean. I thought you’d taken swipes at all our siblings.”

“No, Ian. When you stepped in to take the blow, we left it at that. We used the threat of violence, but you and your sister were the ones who took the hits. Your youngest siblings were never struck. We had more creative ways to punish them. We just made you think we had.”

Daphne’s cheek twitched.

I turned in my seat to regard my Montana friend and fellow heir. “Daphne. I am where I am at now because of the good and the bad. Let it go. Focus on the terrorists if you need to. They’ve brought you a priceless gift of intel. A whole new cell, and you’re positioned to deal with them personally. You can team up with me, Terry, and Eddie. We can infiltrate this terrorist group and destroy them from the inside. They’re after Deidre and Eddie, and if we involve Eddie, we help Texas with their problem at the same time.”

“Yes, young Eddie is part of why we had come. We saw his name on the list, and we are concerned he might be pliable.”

Terry shook his head. “Eddie is his father’s son—and I mean both of his fathers. This group would infuriate him. Please tell us everything you can about them.”

My parents nodded, and they rose to their feet. My father gestured to the back door of my office, which led to the junkyard proper. “Please, follow us. We may have broken into your backyard to bring some stuff with us. Your mother drove the rental. I may have borrowed some equipment, which you can return when we’re done here. We come bearing more than a few presents, for you and your new RPS team. I will admit, it came as a relief to find out you are the head of my daughter’s detail, Terry. I know she will be cared for in all ways. I know we could not tell you this before, but we were sorry to hear about the passing of your squirrel. He was quite an amusing little critter. We always approved him joining you when you came to New York.”

Terry regarded my father with a solemn expression, and then he stepped closer, leaned forward, and held open his coat so he could see inside. “Her name is Pink Lady, and she’s not feeling well, so she’s been riding in my coat. It keeps her warm and content while she heals.”

My mother smiled at the squirrel, coming closer to peer inside Terry’s pocket. “How precious. Do please keep training my daughter on RPS agent avoidance. We worked hard to make certain her offensive skills are as refined as possible, but it was difficult to find agents who could walk the line between neglectful and diligent without her catching on. And Ian? Your detail was garbage because you were always a little shit, noticing the less reputable agents and forcing us to get rid of them. The diligent agents couldn’t abide by our training methods, and the neglectful ones couldn’t keep up with you. There was a reason for that madness, and your empathy was the reason. And yes, we knew about your empathy early, and we worked to hide it. But then your little sister came along, and we could no longer hide it.” She scowled, and she placed her hands on her hips. “Do scold that Texan king for me, always making a mess of our plans. And no, he couldn’t have Rachel because we had plans for Rachel for Montana or California. I was just going to toy with those bastards for a little while longer before making the offer.”

I would need many an hour to think through my parents’ words and determine the truth. “I’ll do that. You really wanted Rachel to marry Ethan from the start?”

“They’re a perfect match,” my mother informed me with a smile. “She just needed refinement, and he needed someone to rescue. We are many things, but we are the perfect assholes, Ian. We’re under no delusions. There is little kind about either one of us. The New York we ruled had no room for kindness. The New York your sister rules will be everything our New York could never be. And when it comes time for Rachel’s children to take over, New York will be respected for its strength, its fiscal prowess,andits kindness. We just had the wrong kind of strength—but our kind of strength was needed to truly establish our fiscal prowess. Now you can take what we built and make it glorious.”

I could understand her point. They didn’t need to maintain their rule to have their legacy. In some ways, they had won that war. “All right. I understand. What do you have to show us?”

My father held open the door, gesturing for us to follow. Outside, he gestured to a truck and a horse trailer, and I questioned where he’d gotten them, as both were new. I sighed, aware I’d have to track down the owner, apologize for the theft, and quite possibly buy both back at new prices to prevent a lawsuit. “You stole an entire truck and trailer?”

“I needed them, and we can’t exactly just go and buy things here. Everything inside the trailer has been legally acquired, and I have the paperwork to prove it. Of course, we used a few middlemen to make it happen, but they were quite happy to participate once they saw what we were doing. Smuggling everything into the kingdom was interesting, but we needed to be smuggled in as well. We managed with some help. Please try not to express too much irritation at our ally in this; they have a vested interest in New York helping handle the matter of these terrorists.”

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