Page 14 of Recklessly Rogue

“It makes sense, Scarlett,” Cian says.

She frowns. "What about Cian?" she asks me. "I thought you always had to be with him."

Wearegoing to figure this out.

"He’s got you now,” I say.

Scarlett looks puzzled. "What?"

"You can keep him from doing anything stupid." Thank God. That’s part of the job I’m happy to have some help with.

"I…" She looks from me to him, then back to me. "I was thinking more of the keeping him from being assassinated thing."

Thankfully, that’s very rarely been a true threat.

"He can’t be anywhere safer than here in Cara," I say. "And when you go to the US, Jonah will be with you." I turn to Linnea and Jonah. "Right?" Jonah will be with them because of Linnea. He’s been protecting a much more headstrong prince for ten years. Cian is far more easy-going than Torin.

Linnea nods. "Right."

Jonah looks at his wife and then at me, "Yeah. Right." Clearly this hadn’t occurred to him before now, but he’s rolling with it.

I turn back to Scarlett and Cian. "So he’ll have a babysitter and a bodyguard with him."

"Hey," Cian protests.

We all look at him.

After a moment, he shakes his head. "No, never mind. That sounds good."

Exactly.

"I’ll call you from Emerald." I don’t wait to see if anyone has anything further to say.

It doesn’t matter.

There’s a sassy, stubborn brunette I need to…talk to.

Yes, we’re going totalk. I can keep from yelling. I’m pretty sure.

But she left without telling anyone. To go home alone. Then let a woman move in with her who has an abusive husband who is “not a good person” and who will blame Ruby for his wife leaving him.

Okay, I’m going to yell.

But Ruby knows me. She’ll be expecting it the second she sees me.

And the fact that my yelling won’t faze her a bit will make me want to kiss her. And fuck her against the wall.

I blow out a breath.

This trip to Emerald is such a bad idea.

But am I still going? Of course, I am. I’ve been Cian O’Grady’s bodyguard and best friend for twelve years. Something being a bad idea has never been a deterrent before, so why start now?

Chapter 5

Henry

Iamveryaware that right now, I should be sitting in a bloodypalace, drinking eighteen-year-old scotch out of crystal tumblers and telling aprincethat no, he really shouldn’t buy his new stepdaughter a teacup pig just because she sent him that adorable video that happened to have a teacup pig in it.

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