Page 46 of Protecting his Secrets

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Chapter 15

Malachi

It took over two weeks for Malachi’s concussion to stop affecting him, and during that time, he’d received dozens of emails from Tucker, bemoaning the fact he couldn’t work. He probably could’ve, but his mother made him promise to fully recover this time, and he listened to her. After all, he’d been living with them for the first few days.

The day he woke where he had no aftereffects was a win for him. Not only because his head didn’t spin or hurt, but because it meant he could start persuading Nick to touch him again. The odd chaste kiss and handholding was nice, but he wanted—no,needed—more. He needed to feel Nick surrounding him. Above him. Inside him. His dreams were out of control, and every part of his body ached—and not because of the incident, either.

That day was his doctor’s appointment, and he was hoping for an all-clear so he could begin his seduction. It might take him a few days to break down Nick’s barriers, but he’d do it. Being able to get dressed without an ache anywhere was a godsent miracle. And to be dressed within ten minutes was another. He had no qualms about using his newfound confidence in their relationship to sway Nick to his side of things.

Nick had been a constant bright light in his life while he’d been suffering the aftereffects of the head injury. Daily visits, sometimes early morning, sometimes late at night, but every time, he would sit with him and talk to him about what he’d doneand give titbits of information about the royal family’s activities. The behind-the-scenes version. He loved it. When he had time, Nick cooked for him, too. But other than cuddles on the sofa or kisses in the kitchen, Nick had hardly touched him.

When the doctor told him he had the all-clear, he almost wept with joy. It had been a long road of thinking he was all right, and then having another headache or dizzy spell take him down. But now he was better—on the understanding that he still needed to be careful, and if he experienced any effects, he needed to go back—and he could plan his attack.

There was one unpleasant thing that came from getting better…

“Good morning,” he said when he entered the office of the Windsor Chronicle. He received maybe two replies, but they had never been the sociable kind, at least not with him. He knocked on Tucker’s door and entered when called.

“Fucking finally,” his boss said when he saw him. “Stupid of you to knock yourself out while on assignment. You’ve wasted weeks now.”

Tucker was a lean man, the muscles he’d grown in the Army having diminished once he finished working out regularly. His attitude, however, had only grown larger.

For once, Malachi didn’t cower in his presence, though he was careful with his words, reminding himself of the lie the security team had concocted about what happened to him. “I have the opportunity to go back, which I will be doing today. You’ll still have the inside scoop.”

“If they haven’t brought in someone else to do your job, that is.” Malachi said nothing. “Get your ass back to work. I expect an article ready to go this afternoon.”

If nothing else, Malachi knew what Tucker was like and had predicted this, so he already had an article he’d been writing during the past two weeks. One that made him physically ill towrite, but he had known it was necessary. Nick, however, had told him to quit. He’d said he could look after any future hospital costs, or even the royal family could, but Malachi didn’t want to depend on others. He was an independent, self-sufficient man, who had the ability to provide his family with private hospital care they wouldn’t otherwise get by just staying in the job he hated.

He was a little concerned about what he would do once his contract was up. Then, he definitely wouldn’t be able to cover the hospital costs should he need to, but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.

“You’ll have it.”

Tucker said nothing further, and Malachi retreated. He rarely stayed in the office to do anything, and he didn’t then either. He went straight for home, packed a bag and headed to Windsor like Nick had told him to. The guards let him in but asked him to wait in his car until he had an escort arrive to take him into the castle. He didn’t mind. He loved looking at the area no public was allowed in, except in extremely specific conditions. Studying his surroundings meant he noticed when someone walked towards him. He recognised Felix immediately and climbed out of the car.

“Good afternoon, Malachi. Or do you prefer Kai?” Felix tilted his head as if studying his reactions.

Malachi smiled. “Either is fine, though I don’t promote the Kai version.”

“I’ll stick with Kai, then. How are you feeling?” he asked as they headed inside.

“A lot better, thanks. Had the all-clear from the doc today.”

Felix smiled. “That’s great news.”

They spoke some more, and it wasn’t long before Malachi noticed they weren’t heading towards the suite. “Where are we going?”

“Sec HQ.”

“Why’s that?”

“We have a few things we want to go through with you before you resume your visit. Is that okay?”

He wasn’t truly asking, but it was fine—understandable, even—and he said so. “As long as I’m not heading for the gallows, I’m good.”

Felix grinned, making him look much younger than Malachi initially thought he was. “You’re good then. We don’t execute people for their opinions anymore.”

“Good to know. It’s not my opinion, though. Just so we’re clear. They’re just words meant to make the royal family look bad, which I know is not a great job, but hopefully, my other articles counteract most of the damage I cause.”

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