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Ariel grinned. "Me."

  I returned her smile with genuine enthusiasm. "That's right. I do. And the two of us together, we make one hell of a team. God, I loved the look on Matthias's face when you told him you were already in the system. That was freaking priceless."

  Ariel said. "I’ll tell you now, it wasn't easy. And to be honest, I had just barely breached. I slipped in like the thinnest of tapeworms. And his systems were already on the lookout for me. It was mostly luck. And he happened to notice that I was there just at the right time. I let myself get caught and asked for permission nicely. His systems would have kicked me out eventually anyway, and then it would be next to impossible for me to get in. He's that good."

  "Yeah, let’s not tell them that."

  "Nope, we sure won’t. So did the pep talk suffice?"

  "You mean am I ready to engage in my somewhat open-ended mission to keep the Crown Prince of Winston Isles safe from harm?"

  “Yeah, that.”

  I shrugged. "Yeah, sure thing. Never mind that I have absolutely no idea how to do that."

  “Lucky for you, I do. And it starts with getting you closer to him.”

  I pursed my lips. Ariel seemed far too chipper about the prospect. “Something tells me I’m not going to like this.”

  Ariel placed a finger over my lips. “Shhh, just let it happen. Best if you don’t know what I have planned.”

  7

  Penny …

  “You’re sure this is the path you want to take?”

  I set my drink down and studied Ariel over the rim of my glass. “Well, I don’t have many options. I think the lonely, stranded neighbor who wants to be his friend will actually work.”

  Ariel rolled her eyes. “Am I the only one who’s going to point out the obvious?”

  “What’s that?”

  Ariel groaned and shifted on her seat. “Look, you’re cute. The prince is smokin’ hot. Ergo, you need to use your assets to bag—er, I mean, protect the prince. How is it that you haven’t even thought of this yet?”

  I glared at her. “I haven’t thought of this yet because it’s not what I intend to do. I’m a professional. I don’t have to sleep with him to get close to him. I want to use the whole like-friends thing. I mean, I’m sure as a prince he’s had more than a few women trying to get close to him. Trying to sleep with him is the easy part. Trying to get him to talk to me, now that will be difficult. And it will be maybe more difficult if I’m doing it naked. I personally think this is the better angle.”

  “I have to disagree. Do you know how many men get caught all because they were having sexy pillow chat with their new girlfriend? All kinds of criminals. Men tell women who they’re sleeping with all kinds of things. Their guard is down. They’ve just had an orgasm. No blood in their brains. It’s the perfect opportunity for you to slide in and plant your little seeds. Like, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be great if you went home to this island I know nothing about?’”

  I couldn’t say she didn’t have a point. Hell, I’d considered it. And to be perfectly frank, that’s what I thought the king was asking of me. You know, ‘Hey, go to America and date my son. Not for real of course, but just to get him to come home.’ But as the king hadn’t come right out and said that, I couldn’t make any assumptions. “I get what you’re saying, and it would be easy. But hello, you don’t even know if I’m his type … which I doubt.”

  We both slid our glances over to Sebastian as he worked the bar. A number of women had made their approaches to him, clearly flirting, writing things on napkins and sliding them over to him, but he ignored them all. For the last hour and a half since we’d posted up at the bar, he’d been legitimately working. Which, I couldn’t understand. He was the bloody crown prince. He didn’t have to work. So what was he doing here in a bar in the middle of the Village?

  Slumming it?

  But why? “I mean look at him. Do you see how many women have made their approach? He’s clearly not interested. And the crown prince we know would have been all over that. If I come on too strong like those women, I’m going to blow the whole operation. I will be on a plane back home having failed. Which, might I remind you, is not an option. So friends it is.”

  Ariel rolled her eyes. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. I still say a little skin wouldn’t hurt anybody.”

  “You’re so interested in showing skin, why don’t you show your skin? Nothing about the rules that were given says you can’t be the one to talk Sebastian into going home. You’re cute. You can do it.” Suddenly the idea sounded more appealing. That would mean that I could go back to being normal and deal with my Robert-and-Michael situation. My stomach twisted just thinking about it. Michael was my brother. That hurt more than the shit with Robert had. There had always been a part of me that knew Robert maybe wasn’t the right guy. But Michael, he was my brother. He was supposed to love and protect me always.

  But that’s not the kind of relationship you have.

  “Um, no. Besides, we already agreed. I need to stay out of sight. There’s an off chance he’s seen me before. I did some military training ops with him. Not directly on his team, but it’s entirely possible he might remember having seen me from somewhere. And we don’t need any of that, ‘Hey, haven’t I seen you somewhere before?’ kind of conversation. Not when this op is strictly need-to-know on the clandestine tip.”

  “Yeah, okay. You have a point. But I’m still not going to use the whole sex-him-up angle. It’s not even my thing.”

  “Penny, your thing right now is adorable, and klutzy, and also hot. We need to work all those angles, especially the hot part.”

  I still shook my head. “Nope. That’s not going to happen. At least not until we try it my way first. If it doesn’t work, fine. Then I’ll put on some sexy heels and beg him to fuck me. Sound good?”

  Ariel laughed. “Now you’re talking.”

  I frowned as Sebastian kept checking the pool table in the far corner.

  Ariel turned around to check out what he was staring at. “That guy has been with that group for an hour now. Could they have caught on he’s hustling them?”

  “I don’t know. But if they do, it’s going to turn nasty.” I turned my attention back to Sebastian. The way he was looking over there, I had the feeling he knew what that hustler was up to. And God help us if Sebastian planned to stop them because then we’d have to stop him. “Do you see what I’m seeing?”

  I could see Ariel nod on my peripheral vision. “The crown prince about to put himself in harm’s way? Yeah, I see it. He’s about to break up those shenanigans by the pool table. So do we break it up first?”

  One of the guys sank the eight ball, swore loudly, and then banged his pool cue on the floor. The guy who had been hustling them was really good looking. Tall. Lean. He looked like a soccer player with just enough scruff on his chin to make him a little bit edgy.

  He was sexy. Objectively speaking, I could see the appeal. The problem was he was a flirt. He’d been flirting with one of the girls by the table. And as it turned out, she was the girlfriend of the guy he was playing. So that clearly wasn’t going to end well. Next to me, Ariel groaned. “Oh no, he’s going to do it. Do you want the little guy on the left, or the big guy on the right?”

  “Oh, this time you’re giving me a choice? I’ll take the big guy.”

  “Just because I’m five foot two doesn’t mean I should always get the little guy.” She had a point. She might be little, but in hand-to-hand combat, Ariel was badass. But even though I knew better, I still wanted to protect her. Though technically, she was here to watch my ass.

  The good looking guy leaned over and gave the girl a kiss on the cheek. The guy he’d been playing cursed mildly, and Ariel groaned as she pushed to her feet. “Looks like we’re on.”

  I groaned too, because just as we stood, Sebastian hurled himself over the bar. We were in for a night of trouble.

  * * *

  Sebastian …

  That was him.

  It had to be him.
I hoped Blake Security had given me the right guy. Who was I kidding? They never got it wrong. I made an approach, looking for signs of my father in the kid. But I didn't see any. Maybe he looked like his mother?

  Even after nearly six months, it still tripped me up to think that I had siblings. And that for years my father had been lying to me. That was the part that stung the most; the years of condemnation and looking down on me when after all, the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

  When I left the Winston Isles six months ago, I didn’t take much with me. Just the money I had in my personal accounts, some clothes, and a few books. Overnight I'd gone from a prince who had everything to a pauper who had nothing.

  That is of your own doing. Yeah, it was. I didn’t want anything my father had to give. So I gave all my credit cards and access to my royal accounts to the two doubles that had often been employed to help keep me safe.

  They had only one directive now though: to keep the Royal Guard as far away from me as possible. They had carte blanche to sleep with as many women as possible, to party as much as they wanted, and to spend the royal coffers.

  And from what I could see in the papers, they were making one hell of a show of it too. Good for them. Someone should enjoy it. As soon as I arrived in New York, I’d gotten my old job back. Thanks to my time spent at uni, I had a social security number.

  The stab of pain I felt in my chest whenever I thought of Dad burned. My whole life, my father had been this paragon of virtue. I knew I would never live up to him, but it didn't hurt to believe that it was possible to become that man. My whole life, I had thought him a good king, a good man. Someone who loved deeply and cared about his people. How could that man abandon two children? How could that man cheat on his wife?

  Thanks to Blake Security, I'd found my brother. My sister was proving a little more elusive, but they'd find her eventually. I knew if push came to shove, I could always call my father and ask where she was located.

  I knew when I was done in New York my next stop would be her, wherever she was. The vote was scheduled in six weeks though, so I didn’t have a lot of time. But at that moment, it looked like my brother might need me. I watched from behind the bar as the dark-haired guy in the corner played pool.

  Then he leaned over and grabbed the brunette next to him, planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek. She giggled but shoved him away. Then her boyfriend stepped in.

  Shit. This was going to get ugly quick. I looked over at the other bartender, Jason. "You mind covering? I have a feeling I need to break this up."

  Jason eyed me up and down as if doubting my ability to kick ass. But when it came down to it, I knew how to handle myself. Granted, that was mostly from years of anti-kidnapping training, but I wasn’t planning to disclose that to Jason.

  In a blink, I was up and over the bar, narrowly avoiding the drinkers with their craft cocktails and peanut butter-flavored beer. In a few strides, I was at the back of the bar. The boyfriend was big, tatted, and looked pissed, but he wasn't moving like someone who knew what the fuck he was doing. So, bonus points.

  He got up into Lucas’s face. "Did you just fucking kiss my girlfriend?"

  Lucas gave a shit-eating grin. "Not the kind of kiss she wanted."

  Aaand it was on. The guy made a wild swing, which Lucas ducked easily, and then he punched the bigger guy in the gut. I cursed under my breath, even as I jumped into the melee. "Take this shit outside."

  The tatted guy was more than happy to oblige. He took Lucas by the collar and practically lifted my brother off his feet, tossing him at the nearest exit. The problem was, while Lucas might have been able to handle the guy on his own, three of the idiot’s friends followed. The girlfriend too. Though I wasn't sure exactly what she would be doing to help the situation.

  I was out the door, and before one of the guys could even think about it, I stepped in front of him. He scowled and took a swing, but I wasn't having it. I blocked the shot and landed a straight jab to the nose. Blood spurted everywhere. And what do you know? I wasn't the least bit rusty.

  While the guy howled and sank to his knees, trying to stem the flow of blood, another one jumped in to help his boy out. The girl, as I'd assumed, stood there screaming at us all to stop it. None of us listened, and then she made things worse by trying to jump in and pry us off each other. I wasn't quite sure who she wanted to win, and I wasn't taking any chances that she would get hurt or do or say something that got Lucas's ass kicked even worse.

  I pulled another guy off Lucas. This one was the better fighter, like maybe he had some boxing experience. I took one hit to the jaw and a gut shot. That wasn’t good, but that shit also woke me up. This was not a game. I needed to save Lucas's ass right now. Because I was here with a plan and I needed him.

  With two quick jabs, I popped the guy in the nose and in the chin. His head snapped back, but I wasn't done.

  I finished the combination with a left hook and he went down like a sack of potatoes. The blond guy was the only one left until two more guys stepped out of the bar. I turned to help my brother, but Lucas already had a guy on the ground. He was holding him with his left hand dug deep in his hair and raining a series of punches down with his right hand. When the guy finally sagged out of his grip, Lucas stepped back, sucking down gasps of air.

  Behind the last two guys that had stepped out to join the fight, there were two girls teetering on their heels. Shit. That was the last thing I fucking needed right now.

  And to make it worse, Lucas was goddamn showboating, laughing like a crazy person. Yes, okay, there had been a point in my life when I loved to fight. Getting drunk in a bar, getting in a dustup with my mates, it was fun. But this situation was different. There was a lot riding on this.

  “You girls get back inside,” I shouted.

  The girls didn’t listen to me though. Instead, they staggered on over just as another group of guys exited the bar and approached the alley, coming toward me and Lucas. One of the guys broke off like he planned to circle around from a different direction.

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit. “Look man, we gotta go,” I said to Lucas.

  The girls kept coming closer, too, leaning on each other, giggling and swinging their bags. That was the last thing I fucking needed. I feared one of them was going to get hurt with this crew.

  These morons didn’t exactly look like paragons of virtue who would be concerned with hurting a girl. Now, now, that’s judgmental. Okay, fine. Just because they had tattoos, bad attitudes, and had been slapping the asses of the waitresses inside didn’t mean they were sexist pigs.

  Fair enough, but it didn’t preclude them from wanting to kick my ass or Lucas’s. My brother was still having the time of his life, going pound for pound with one of the bigger guys that I’d shoved outside.

  The guy that had called out had convinced one of his buddies to come along with him, and they were right in front of the girls. When one of the girls lost her balance and tripped into him, he turned to scream at her, “What the fuck is your problem? If you can’t fucking hold your liquor, don’t drink.” Then he shoved her.

  Shit. With an elbow, I delivered one across the face of the guy I was currently beating down. He sagged onto the ground, and I went straight for the girls. I needed to get them back inside where it was safer. And I had to deal with the asshole that shoved the little one too. But before I could reach her, the little one weaved on her heels. Her friend tried to catch her but instead caught her purse, and the little one fell right over into the big guy. But something happened as she tried to right herself: her foot caught with his.

  As she was grasping for purchase, she managed to somehow grab hold of his belt. One pull and the damn thing came flying off in her fingers. She was headed for a hard landing on her face, but she managed to put her arms down as protection and turned her face to the side.

  I squinted. That was a fall break, a classic one they taught in self-defense. Was that automatic? Or had she been lucky?

  Not everyone is a
suspect.

  As far as I was concerned, everyone was. But no matter, the guy whose belt she'd grabbed lost his pants. They immediately sagged below his ass, making it more difficult for him to walk. As he brushed past her, screaming his head off, she grabbed hold of his foot, as if trying to use it to help herself back up. Instead, he tripped.

  He apparently had never learned how to fall break because he fell flat on his nose, howling all the way down. The other girl with the long, silver wig giggled and then teetered over to the big guy’s friend. “Oh my God, do you know how to get to I-bar? I heard it was really cool, and I just really want to go there with my friend as soon as she gets back up again. Do you know how to find it?”

  The guy lifted an arm to brush her aside, but she raised an arm as if to protect her face. The movement caused her purse to swing upward, and it clocked the guy in the face.

  I didn’t know what the hell she had in there, but the guy staggered.

  She squealed. “Oh my God, are you okay?” She went for him and somehow instead of helping him, she managed to shove him backward until he fell on his ass. He was clutching his head and then she leaned over him with her knee directly in his sternum. “Oh my gosh! Are you okay? I didn’t mean to do that. I’ve got water bottles in my purse. Do you know where you are? Do you know what year it is?”

  The guy swore but didn’t answer her question.

  “Come on, you need to tell me what year it is because that means you don’t have a concussion or something. Hold on. Let me call 911.” She reached for her purse and lifted it as if trying to find something inside it like her phone. And then she dropped her purse on his face repeatedly. “Oh my gosh, here it is. Let me call 911 for you. You hold still.” With her hand, she reached out for his face and managed to push his head down hard.

  It was like I was watching a Jackie Chan movie on how to drunken box. Both of these girls were a wreck, completely wasted. I’d been feeding them drinks all night. But somehow, they still managed to take down two guys twice their size.