Page 22 of Protecting his Heart

The boy’s eyes widened. “No! I promise! I…I just wanted to see them! I… They’re so…nice!”

Owen’s heart settled a little because he didn’t think the boy was that good of an actor—though it wasn’t impossible. “Would you like to meet them?”

“Owen…” Locke said in his ear, but Owen ignored her.

“Can I?” The boy’s shock came across audibly.

“What’s your name?”

“Riley.”

Owen held up a finger to the boy. “Locke, can you ask our hosts if they know Riley, please?” He waited for an answer, not removing his gaze from the boy, waiting to see if there was anything that crossed his expression to advertise nefarious actions. But nothing showed except surprise.

“They say he’s a lodger here. His parents tossed him out six months ago. His Highness has asked for you to bring him over.” He could hear the disapproval in Locke’s voice, but she hadn’t met the boy, so he expected the uneasiness.

“You’ve not got any weapons on you, have you?” Riley shook his head, patting his hands down his body. “Come on,” Owen said, gesturing to him. He rested his hand on Riley’s shoulders, the move giving him some control of the situation. He could keep Riley in place if he tried anything.

They stopped beside the princes, who were both smiling at the boy. “Your Highnesses, this is Riley.”

Freddie reached a hand out to shake Riley’s, surprising the boy. “Nice to meet you, Riley. How are you finding things here?”

“G-Good, thanks. I-It’s a lot better than at h-home.”

Freddie’s smile wavered, but he nodded. “I can imagine. What do you want to do when you finish school, Riley?”

“I w-want to be an accountant. I love numbers and figuring stuff out.” His voice became stronger the more they talked.

“That’s a fantastic career,” Damon said. “I enjoy numbers, too. I do a lot of auditing and examining figures to make sure everything is as it should be.”

Riley’s eyes widened again. “That sounds great. I want to go to college, but I’m not sure if I can. I’m trying to find a job at the moment so I can pay for what I need.”

Freddie and Damon shared a look, and Owen’s mouth twitched. He knew exactly what they were thinking.

“Keep up the good work at school, and you never know what’ll happen,” Freddie said. “School is very important.”

Riley nodded. “It is. I enjoy it. Today is a teacher training day, so we’re not at school, but I never miss a day.” He frowned. “Except once,” he whispered.

They didn’t ask when that was, though Owen assumed it was the day his parents threw him out. They chatted for a little longer before the hosts gently encouraged Riley to head back to his room so they could continue with their visit. As they followed the two princes through the building, Locke murmured in his ear, “That was not part of the plan.”

Owen grinned. “Of course it wasn’t. Plans never go to plan.”

The rest of the visit was unremarkable in that nothing else happened, but the charity itself seemed to be a good one. Owen would have to look into it further when he got home—or ask Freddie and Damon about it. He always supported what LGBT+ charities he could. The only thing that had happened was the reappearance of Malachi Sanders, reporter extraordinaire. After a few words for his magazine, they were home free. Owen did wonder if Malachi would write what they said or spin it into something else, but that was the life of people in the public eye.

When they were on their way home, his thoughts turned to Evan, as they always did when he had some downtime. As much as he wanted to believe in them and their chances of their relationship working, there was this knot inside him that wanted to make it up to Evan for what he’d done. Despite Evan forgiving him, he didn’t think he could forgive himself. They’d wasted so much time, and it was all his fault.

Once they were back at Windsor, Locke headed off to debrief Brett, their boss, and Owen settled outside Freddie and Damon’s suite. They didn’t often have guards staying outside their rooms, except for the king’s office, but since the events of a few months ago, when someone infiltrated their home and tried to kidnap Dominic’s sister, King Andrew had requested a slight increase in guards around the property. It was usually just Freddie who hadthe extra guards, but they no longer believed Windsor Castle to be infallible, which was a good and a bad thing.

Owen spent his time scrolling on his phone. He considered messaging Evan but didn’t want to disturb him, especially as it wasn’t something they’d done before. Usually when they were at work, they didn’t message and only caught up when they got home. Maybe that would change once they found their new normal, but for now, he didn’t want to upset their balance.

Locke came to relieve him an hour before his shift finished. “Don’t forget to check in with Brett before you go home,” she said.

Owen rolled his eyes. “When have I ever forgotten?”

They hadn’t had the chance to talk about anything personal that day, and he didn’t want to tarry right then, so he’d catch her up with his love life another day.

“See you tomorrow,” he said.

Locke nodded and settled on the chair, and Owen headed for the security room, which Dominic had renamed “Sec HQ,” and everyone had started using it. He knocked and entered, seeing the room half empty, which was usual during the day.

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