Page 78 of The Prince of New York

“Ah, she’s related to Nevada. That explains the problem. Yes, I know what’s going on. It’s genetic, and we can address the worst of the problems first and start a proper treatment plan. I’ll have her all day, but she’ll leave feeling like a whole new woman.”

“Excellent. Bill the palace. I’ll worry about insurance and repayment later. Let’s fix the problems and then worry about it. For some reason, I suspect Illinois can handle the bill.”

Dr. Percheron chuckled. “I’ll get to work preparing, and I’ll get the lab workers setting up for what we’ll need to make sure she leaves with minimal work needed later. With luck, we won’t need to do any implants, but we’ll see.”

As I had no doubt Eva would flee if I told her about the possibility of needing an implant, I thanked him, hung up, and said, “Please go without a fuss, Eva. If you go without a fuss, Kel can get his work done, I can take Madelyn out to get stuff for our trip to California, and everyone is happy, including you.”

“Ihatethe sound of the drills,” she grumbled.

“That’s why you’ll be knocked out. You won’t be awake to hear the drills, so it’ll be fine.” I claimed Pink Lady from Madelyn’s shoulder. “And if you go without a fuss, I’ll introduce you to Thunder tonight, and Terry might even let you play with Pink Lady.”

Eva eyed the squirrel, and then she sighed. “I hate that she’s so cute I’m going to go to the dentist so I can play with her.”

“And you can get revenge on me later all that you want. We can compete on the mud run.”

Eva gasped, handed her son over to Kel, and bolted for the door, snagging Monty in a headlock and dragging him along. “Where the fuck is the dentist? That New Yorker goesdown, and he goes down tonight.”

I would never understand women, but if it got her to the dentist without a fight, I would suffer, and I’d even do so with a smile. Barb followed, and she issued orders to the other agents while Celeste stared.

“Just go with it,” I suggested. “She’s a weird one. Adding her to Illinois’s line didn’t make them that much weirder.”

“I feel like I should complain, but it’s the truth.” Kel set his son down and shook his head. “Honestly, I’m amazed she lasted that long without cursing. She was tryingsohard to be a good influence on your girls.”

“When she kills me on the mud run, remember me fondly,” I quipped.

“Oh, she won’t kill you. She’ll make you wish she had, though. But if you beat her on the course, I’ll owe you one.”

When Kel said he owed one, he meant it, and I’d have plenty of time to come up with something good. I’d probably ask for him to plan a camping trip for us, including his kids, to get away from life for a little while. “Why do you want me to beat your wife at the mud run?”

“Because I can’t beat her at anything,” he complained. “I’m lucky if I land a single hit on her.”

I laughed at my friend. “Stick to your strengths, Kel. I’ll do my best, but honestly, she’s going to be crushing me because I made her go to the dentist, and I caught her off guard so she couldn’t defend against it. She doesnotlike being backed into a corner, and I did it with such grace she’s not even putting up a fight.”

“I never thought I’d see the day,” he admitted. “Do you think we can do a three way race on the mud run? I’ll lose, but I want to give it a try.”

“There is no reason we can’t all get on it and act like we’re kids. Madelyn, if you want to participate and don’t have clothes suitable, we’ll get some for you while we’re out.”

“I’d like that,” she replied, and she grinned. “It does look like fun.”

“Not only is it fun, if you ever get pissed about something, it’s great for working through it. So, it’s a date. Assuming the dentist and the doctors clear her, Eva will destroy us all at the mud run, and we’ll have a good time destroying our clothes and giving the RPS gray hairs.”

TWENTY-TWO

I lost her to the flowers.

After we finishedour critical shopping, I texted Steven, who was in charge of the outing, with a request to take us to the public rose gardens not far from the palace. The instant we stepped out of the vehicle and Madelyn realized where we were, she bloomed. Delight transformed her into a woman I could watch all day without any care for the passage of time.

Then, in an effort to make it clear I wanted her to be happy, I dug out my new camera and the lens I’d been told was the best for photographing flowers artistically, and I offered it to her along with two spare batteries. “I got one of those little cameras you picked out for myself, and I want to try using that one here, so why don’t you use this one?”

She accepted the camera with wide eyes, murmured a thanks, and within five minutes, I lost her to the flowers.

Rather than pay any attention to the roses, I photographed her enjoyment of the detour.

Steven stuck close, and I almost pitied the empath, who had gotten saddled with being in charge as Alfred held down the fort at the palace, Terry waged war against the pregnancy hormones destined to turn his life into an adventure until his wife and his queen gave birth, and Monty contended with a woman capable of defending herself even against a team of RPS agents.

Marcus was likely somewhere around the palace helping out, but thus far, he’d done an admirable job of dodging me, likely afraid of adding to my various childhood traumas. Like Monty, Marcus had been one of the kinder agents, but he’d worked with my parents, and it would take time—and therapy—to get beyond my past.

In good news for us all, neither Monty nor Marcus minded when I struggled to accept how times had changed.

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