Page 17 of Protecting his Secrets

Malachi

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to intrude.” Malachi still couldn’t believe they had invited him to stay at Windsor Castle. He’d visited the property before with the open house they did for the public, but that time, he would get to see what the public didn’t. It was exciting and nerve-wracking all at once.

The king waved his hand. “You’re not intruding at all. We’d love for you to join us.” He turned to Nick. “Thank you, Nick. Take care of him. I’ll be at the luncheon today, but if you need anything, please let Brett know.”

Nick winced and nodded. “I will, Your Majesty.”

Malachi could see the tension in the bodyguard’s body, and he sent him a smile, hopefully conveying how non-threatening he was. Nick narrowed his eyes, so Malachi didn’t think he was successful. He couldn’t blame him. After all, they all knew what he wrote. Could he explain to them? Would they care? No, he couldn’t let them know. It was his problem, not theirs.

When Malachi had told Tucker about this opportunity, his boss had rubbed his hands and grinned. He’d known what would be ordered of him before Tucker even opened his mouth but to hear the words still hurt his insides. Finding whatever bad stuff he could on the royal family wasn’t what he wanted to do, but he wouldn’t be able to get away with not providing something. Ifhe claimed they were “clean,” using the word Tucker had despite hating it, the potential for repercussions concerned him.

Regardless, he would still be able to get his experience out there with his Kai name, even if he had to cover what he said with words about hearsay and whatever else he could use to hide that he was both people.

The king bid goodbye and headed off with several guards, and Malachi turned to Nick. “Where is the dinner tonight? Do I need a certain outfit?”

“It’s at The Langley in Slough. I would recommend a suit if you have one. If not, we can arrange for one.” Nick’s words were gritted out through a clenched jaw, but at least he gave the information.

“I have a suit, so it’s fine. I brought several, just in case I needed them.” He gestured to his suitcase, and Nick winced.

“If your suits are in there, our first stop is the suite because you’ll need to get them out to stop them from creasing.”

Nick strode off, leaving Malachi to fumble behind him and catch up. His cheeks flamed at the rebuke, but he ignored it. Nick made no attempt to hide his contempt for him, and it was something Malachi was going to have to deal with during the long weekend. But for a behind-the-scenes look at his favourite pastime, he could deal with it. He’d barely slept for the past few days, not only because his nightmares showed flashes of images that he wasn’t sure were real or not—images from that night—but because he was so excited to be there.

“I received a basic outline of what was planned while I was here. Can you expand on any of it?” he asked as they hurried down the corridors, so similar to the ones the public could see in their part of the castle.

Nick sighed, his vast shoulders lifting and falling as if he was shaking off a heavy weight. “Today, I will give you a tour ofWindsor Castle. You will see some rooms and areas the royal family use.”

Malachi’s stomach gave a whirl, and he barely stopped himself from squealing like a child when they’d been given something they’d been asking for. He couldn’t believe his dream was coming true.

His mother or grandmother were the best people to ask about when his infatuation with the royal family started. He could only remember that he’d spent far too much time as a child watching and reading whatever he could find about them. Funnily enough, he’d wanted to be a bodyguard and had taken up shooting as a hobby. It wasn’t that he was obsessed as such, although some people might think he was—and they would probably have a good argument with that—but they were an enigma, in some ways. The Sutcliffes, to him, were the most visible family that showed how much the dynamic could change depending on the people who were at the pinnacle. But it wasn’t just that. It was also that, over the years, he’d been able to see how much they had changed. How opinions had changed. How behaviours had changed. And how much more inclusive they were—if he ignored the bad seeds. Everything the royal family did was in the public eye, except for what happened behind closed doors, but even then, sometimes snippets of their personal lives managed to sneak out through the loose lips of former—or even current—employees.

That irked Malachi a little because he believed in trust, and for a current employee to talk about their employer, especially to a reporter, was not something he agreed with. Unfortunately, due to his wonderful boss—sarcasm was amazing when he needed it—he had the fantastic opportunity to talk with one of those staff members and write an article about it. Every single word of it felt like he had etched it onto his skin with the dullest blade he couldfind. It hurt. Soul deep hurt. And he’d called off sick from work for almost two weeks because of it.

Whenever he discussed why he wrote what he did with his grandmother, she always asked him the same question.Why do you do it?But she didn’t mean it in the basic sense. He did it because he needed to make money, and he couldn’t find a job that would take him to write anything else. When she said why do you do it, though, she meant it in a different way. And every time, Malachi didn’t have an answer for her. Not one she would accept.

“Am I able to put my clothes away before we go on the tour?” Malachi asked Nick, distracting himself from his circling thoughts.

“I’m taking you to the suite now, but the clothes will have to wait—except the suit.” Nick sighed. “I don’t know how much they told you about how this is going to work, but we’re sharing a suite this weekend. Don’t even think about trying to sneak out and tour the place by yourself. You will have a guard with you at all times. Most likely me. It’s a twenty-four-hour thing, and wewillbe sleeping, wewillbe eating, and wewillbe resting in between the activities we have planned. Do not make us regret our offer.”

Nick’s words were harsh and said through gritted teeth, and despite Malachi understanding where it was coming from, it hurt.

“I understand completely. I have no plans to do anything that would fuck this up.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Nick said, staring over his shoulder as he continued down the corridor.

Malachi swallowed hard and averted his gaze, looking at the decoration on the private side of Windsor Castle. His suitcase barely made a noise on the highly polished floor, and in intermittent places, there stood tables with plants on top. Hewasn’t sure if they were real or fake, but they looked well cared for.

“Here we are,” Nick said, pulling a key from his pocket.

He unlocked the large ornate door and held it open for Malachi to roll his suitcase through. Malachi might have been on the public side of the building before, but it amazed him to be physically in one of the rooms himself, rather than seeing it from the rope boundary that stopped anyone from stepping inside. His eyes were only good enough to a degree, and the photos didn’t do the room justice. The ceiling was vast, with a circular design surrounding two light fittings. The room itself was a living area with three large sofas, a large coffee table, several armchairs with tables between them, and a large table to the side holding a kettle and everything they would need to make drinks.

“Wow,” Malachi said. “I can’t believe I get to stay here.”

“This is your room,” Nick said, brushing past and heading for the door furthest from the entry—for obvious reasons.

Malachi withheld his sigh and followed him into the bedroom that could easily hold his house.

“Bloody hell. If you don’t see me for a few days, you might have to send a search party,” Malachi joked, but all he received was a glare. “I thought you were the funniest of the guards. That’s what I was always told.”

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