Page 30 of Baby Daddy Protector

TWENTY-ONE

Returning to Prylea felt stranger than I had expected. It wasn’t because of the weather. It was a sunny, brisk winter’s day when we landed. Nor was it the woman at my side. I’d grown to really like Es, perhaps more than was wise. No. It was the fact that I’d left a bodyguard and was now coming back a soon-to-be prince consort. The title sat oddly on my shoulders, like a suit that didn’t quite fit. I was used to being the security, not having guards of my own tracking my every move.

Felix, the man they’d assigned to me, was competent enough. Hell, I had interviewed him for his job on the team myself when the guy had first hired in. We’d even hung out and shared a couple of beers with the rest of the guys. Now Felix was my assigned protector, ready to lay down his life to protect the newest member of Prylea’s royal family. It was both humbling and more than a tad humiliating.

Still, I was glad to be back in Prylea, where some of the burden of keeping Es and our unborn child safe would be shouldered by the military. I knew the workings of the Prylean army and air force intimately, having worked with them on task forces when I’d been a SEAL. That was part of the argument my commander had used to get me the security detail assignment here in the first place. But as the plane touched down then slowly taxied to our gate, I couldn’t shake the feeling that with all the upheaval caused by Silvester’s grab for power, the Prylean military defenses might now be lacking. Divided loyalties were dangerous things.

Keeping Es and my child safe was still my top priority, personally and professionally. I was glad to see that the military had kept the media away from the airport, at least. The last thing I wanted was a bunch more cameras shoved in my face today.

“Where is everyone?” Es asked, scowling out the window. “There should be a crowd of press. I’d hoped for a holiday-themed homecoming or something. I even texted ahead to my staff to take care of it.”

The relief I’d felt evaporated at the disappointment in her tone. I motioned Felix closer. “Do you know why there’s no one here to greet her royal highness?”

Felix communicated to the team inside the airport through his Bluetooth earpiece then cleared his throat, his expression a bit embarrassed. “Um, it seems that the royal cousin took it upon himself to make the arrangements for the royal family’s arrival today. He’s waiting for you just inside the gate.”

The bulky guard bowed slightly and stepped back into his position against the cabin wall.

“Silvester did this?” Es swiveled in her seat to face me, looking lovely in her forest green cashmere coat and matching pillbox hat. I’d seen her get up and go back to the rear of the cabin earlier to change and fix her hair and makeup. She’d also spent some time with her father, who’d slept for most of the journey, his hospital bed taking up a large part of the back of the plane. Es’s pretty hazel eyes glittered with anger and her cheeks were flushed and if there weren’t so many people around, I would’ve pulled her off her seat and into my lap to kiss her until neither one of us cared about anything anymore except being together. I doubted Es would appreciate my advances at this moment, though, what with her pink lipstick perfectly applied and her fancy outfit smoothed to perfection. So, instead, I got up to peer out the window myself.

“He can’t do that!” Es all but growled the words. “It’s not in my cousin’s power to override royal orders.”

I snorted and shook my head. “I doubt Silvester cares at all about what is and isn’t in his job description.” As our plane neared the airport terminal, I spotted our limo and the man in question waiting for us, just as Felix had said. There was also an ambulance to transport the king back to the palace. “Looks like you can take it up with him yourself soon enough.”

The pilot pulled to a stop, and the crew lowered a set of metal stairs down to the tarmac. A red carpet was rolled out from the plane to the limo and I helped Es up then out of the plane. The cold, crisp air was like a slap in the face, waking me up and putting all my senses on high alert. I didn’t trust Silvester any farther than I could throw him—which, granted, would’ve been fairly far, given that the man was skinny as a fence post, but still.

Es wasted no time charging straight up to her cousin and giving him what for. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You have no right to interfere with my orders for the homecoming, nor were you invited to be here to greet us. Go away!”

“Always a pleasure seeing you, too, cousin,” Silvester said, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he bent to give her a totally fake air kiss on each cheek. Based on how furious my princess was, I was surprised Es didn’t take the opportunity to deck the guy then and there. She kept her decorum though, her hands fisted at her sides so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Silvester went about his business as if usurping his royal cousin’s authority was all in a day’s work for him. “Please, don’t stress yourself, my dear. You’ve got a little one to worry about, from what I’ve heard.” The guy glanced at me then, his black eyes beady and cold. “I suppose congratulations are in order.”

This was said with the same level of contempt that usually accompanied finding something foul on the bottom of your shoe.

I stepped forward to help Es into the back of the limo, hating every second in this douchebag’s condescending presence. If he was riding with us, and it certainly seemed like he would be, it was going to be a long trip back to the palace.

Once the king had been situated in the ambulance and we were all loaded into the limo, we began the slow procession back to the royal palace of Prylea. The landscape here really was beautiful, I noted, as we weaved through the mountainous backcountry toward the capital city of Benham.

“So, a baby,” Silvester said into the taut silence between us all. “How resourceful of you, cousin. And a husband-to-be, too. Didn’t imagine you’d stoop to bedding the staff.”

Es gripped my fingers so hard, I feared they’d snap off and flashed me a sharp smile. “We’re in love. Aren’t we, darling?”

“Very much,” I replied, kissing her hand, watching Silvester over the top of it, wondering how hard it would be to chuck the guy’s body out of a moving vehicle. “Seems you’ve been busy while we’ve been gone, too.”

Silvester settled back in his seat, his long black overcoat reminding me of a cape like the old-time villains used to wear. Except this wasn’t some B-grade movie and the threat posed by this guy was all too real. “Oh, don’t be paranoid. I haven’t done that much really. Just trying to be prepared for the inevitable. I am sorry about your father, dear cousin. I know you two were especially close after your mother died.”

Es looked away.

Silvester blinked slowly and, if I wasn’t mistaken, seemed to be biting back a smile. Bastard. “Ah, my dear. I don’t mean to upset you, but our laws clearly state that you must be male to rule, and, unfortunately, you were born with the wrong anatomy.”

I kept my fingers entwined with Es’s in a show of solidarity, even though they’d long since gone numb from lack of blood supply.

The two royal cousins stared each other down across the expanse of the back of the limo, a silent standoff without the guns. Finally, Silvester exhaled and clasped his black-leather gloved hands in his lap. “You are not feeling yourself right now, dear cousin, so I will put your silence down to that. I’ve ordered the staff at the palace to prepare your royal suites for you and your…” He gave me a derisive look. “…fiancé. I was only trying to think of you in your delicate condition. I didn’t want you swarmed by the press at the airport, not knowing how you’d be feeling after all that travel. Nor was I sure about the king’s wellness at this point. I thought it better to keep your arrival secret and give you all time to center yourselves in privacy before facing the media onslaught.”

If I didn’t know better, I almost would’ve believed the guy. But I hadn’t missed the slightly malicious gleam in his eyes, nor the way he kept tapping the toe of one shiny leather boot against the floor of the car, like a military cadence, or a death march.

We pulled up to the front of the palace a short time later and Silvester was quick to exit the back of the limo, thank goodness. If he had given us any more trouble, I was fully prepared to punch first and ask questions later.

“I must be off,” Silvester said, poking his head back into the limo after climbing out. “I’m attending a luncheon. A royal’s work is never done. See you both soon.”

Once he was gone, Es relaxed back into the plush leather seat, eyes closed and looking far too pale for my liking. “I shouldn’t have stayed in America so long—I see that now. All it did was give my cousin time to plot and plan and scheme. I was just thinking about my poor father, all alone in the hospital. I only wanted to stay by his side.”

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