Page 35 of Baby Daddy Protector

I held up a hand, my chin raised. “No. Mr. Raybourn has been relieved of his duties as head of my security team. For the time being, all security questions will be directed to me personally, understand?”

“Yes, your highness,” the guard said, looking wary. “I’ll get with the PR staff now.”

“Thank you.” I left the briefing room and headed back toward the kitchens, only to find Z gone. When I questioned Annie about his whereabouts, all she said was that someone else had come in with a message for him and he’d stormed out shortly after I’d left. No notice of where he was going. It was just as well, I supposed. I’d need to get used to dealing with matters without his support. I turned and headed for my father’s rooms instead, eager to tell him about what had happened at the markets and get his agreement to pull guards from the palace. But when I walked into his private suite, the king was nowhere to be found. The room was empty except for Z standing by his bedside. “What are you doing here?” I asked, fear tightening my chest. “What’s happened to my father?”

Z looked slowly from the rumpled sheets on the empty bed to me. “He’s taken a turn for the worse. They’ve rushed him to the hospital.”

I placed my hand against the wall, the lack of food and the mounting stress taking its toll on my wobbly knees. Z was at my side once more, slipping his arm around my waist to keep me from falling. “We need to go to the hospital, now. I want to be with my father.”

“Of course.” Z helped me toward the door. “I’ll have the car brought around now.”

TWENTY-FOUR

By the time I arrived at the hospital, the king was heavily sedated. I was worried about Es. Not only because of the argument we’d just had back at the palace, but also because of the added stress of her father’s condition. Based on the reports I’d gotten from the doctors and staff, I didn’t think the man had much time left on earth.

“Papa,” Es said, rushing to his bedside, while I held back, wanting to give them some privacy. I’d directed the rest of the security to watch the halls and elevators and had taken over guarding the king myself for now. It wasn’t protocol, but I didn’t care at that point. The most important thing at this moment was making sure Es got the closure she needed.

“Are you comfortable?” she said, fussing with the king’s sheets and pillows, a slight catch in her voice betraying her sadness. “They said they gave you medicine for pain.”

“Yes, my dear. I’m as well as can be expected.” He grabbed her hand and held it. “Listen to me. There isn’t much time left.”

“Don’t say that, please.” Es sniffled. “They’ll get you fixed up and you’ll come back to the palace and we’ll celebrate a nice holiday together.”

“No, my dear. That’s not going to happen.” He patted her hand and I looked away, not wanting to intrude on their time together. I was engaged to Es, yes, but I wasn’t really a part of their family. The king coughed before continuing while Es’s quiet sobs filled the room. “Listen to me, my darling girl. It’s okay. It’s going to be all right. I had a vision, you see.”

Es pulled back slightly, frowning. “I’m sorry?”

“Yes. Back at the palace before the paramedics arrived. I slipped out of consciousness. Traveled to…a different place.” The king’s smile was so beatific that even I had to wonder if the guy had actually seen something beyond just some anxiety-induced fantasy. “I saw you, Esme. I saw you and your Zachary, and you were so very happy together. It filled me with such joy to know that you’ll be taken care of once I’m gone.”

I inhaled sharply at the words, not missing Es’s slight flinch. Our relationship wasn’t destined for a happily ever after, no matter how close we became because of this baby deal. She was on the path to ruling her country while I was on a fast-track straight back to my SEAL team. Still, I didn’t have the heart to tell that to a dying man. Neither, it seemed, did Es.

She bent and kissed her father’s cheek, tears streaming down her face. “Oh, that sounds so lovely. But there’s no hurry for any of that. You need to focus on getting better.”

The king’s expression sobered, and he narrowed his gaze on his daughter. “Esme, I’m not going to get any better. We both know that. Now, it’s time for you to stop living in a fairy tale. I want you and your child secure. I need to know that you will be taken care of before I die. They have a chaplain here at the hospital. An ordained minister. I took the liberty of ordering a special license for you and I want to see you and your Zachary married before the day is done.”

“What?” Es and I said at the same time.

“Oh, Papa, I don’t think that’s necessary.”

I rushed over to the other side of the bed. “Sir, with all due respect, we’ve had no time to plan anything and with the situation currently, perhaps it’s best if we wait a bit before making any rash decisions.”

“No.” The king pushed himself up higher in his bed then slipped into another coughing jag. Es and I exchanged anxious looks over the hospital bed. I did not like the grayish pallor to her cheeks nor the trembling in her hands. My first instinct was to pull her into my arms and carry her away from all this pain and pressure and keep her safe until all of this was over. But it was doubtful her father would live through the night, and she’d never forgive herself if she wasn’t there by his side until the end. “You wouldn’t deny a dying man his last wish, would you?”

“Papa, I—” Es started, but the king held up his hand, silencing her. “Please, my dear. Give me and Zachary a moment alone, will you?”

I caught Es’s eyes and gave a slight nod. She sighed and turned away, reluctantly.

Waiting until we were alone, I looked down at the king again. “Sir, I want you to know that I’ll do everything in my power to protect your daughter and our baby.”

“I know that, son.” The king’s use of the endearment made my chest ache. “I’ve been watching you two together since we were back in Washington. You have a special bond, same as my beloved queen and I had before her passing.” I opened my mouth to deny it, but the king continued. “Now I know that perhaps things haven’t exactly followed a traditional path between the two of you, but none of that matters in the end. What matters is in your hearts. And I can see from looking at you, Mr. Zachary Raybourn, that you have an excellent heart. Strong and brave and true. You are exactly what my daughter needs to support her through the tough times ahead. Whether you know it or not, you’ve given my family a gift, the chance to continue on the throne of Prylea for another generation and for that, I’ll always be grateful.”

Both humbled and terrified by the king’s speech, I wasn’t quite sure what to say, only that I needed to say something. “You know that Esme and I have a contract. I give her a baby to keep the line of succession going, and she gets me back on my SEAL team. Ours isn’t a love match. It’s a business transaction.”

Even as I said the words, they tasted bitter on my tongue. Okay, maybe things had moved beyond a mere business transaction the minute Es and I had decided to continue sleeping together even after we’d conceived, but still. I liked her. I liked her a lot. I had no idea where she stood on things with me, though, and I wasn’t about to push her into more anyway. We had our deal, and we both got out of it exactly what we wanted, right?

If my words fazed King Renault at all, he didn’t show it. In fact, he grinned up at me like he was privy to some great cosmic joke that no one else knew. “My son, the best relationships often start on shaky ground. I’m not here to cast blame or heap upon either of you a bunch of harsh expectations. But I know what I saw in my vision, and what I saw was you and my daughter, very much in love and very much ruling this country together in my new grandson’s stead.” The king patted my arm. “That’s really all you need to be a good father, you know. Or a good husband. Just love and support. And you and my daughter have that in spades even if you’re both too stubborn to admit it right now. That’s why I have no qualms about going through with this marriage today. I want to make sure that bond stays strong, even after I’m gone.”

Es and I were scheduled to marry in Prylea’s cathedral the week before Christmas anyway, with all the bells and whistles required of a royal wedding. Having a short civil ceremony here today for the king wouldn’t hurt anything. The king raised an imperious brow at me and the last of my resistance caved. The king had said I had given his family a gift. Well, they’d given me one as well. A purpose, a new direction in life when I’d desperately needed one and if I could repay that debt now, even in some small part, I’d do it. “I’ll go see if I can find this chaplain of yours.”

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