Page 55 of Protecting his Secrets

Malachi shook his head. “I can’t believe all this was happening, and I had no clue.”

Nick grinned. “We can keep secrets if we need to.” His expression changed but then brightened again.

“What was that?” Malachi studied him.

“What?”

“Something went through your mind right then. What was it?”

Nick licked his lips. “Nothing.” Malachi raised his eyebrows, and Nick sighed. “Fine. Nothing I can tell you.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but even I can’t tell you everything. Not yet.”

“I don’t expect you to, Nick. I understand the need to keep things quiet, but you seemed… I don’t know. Confused? If I can help in any way, I’d love to. But not at the cost of you telling me stuff you can’t. I won’t let you risk your job like that.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Brett said from over Malachi’s shoulder, making him jump. “Anything?”

“Not yet, though have we looked at former bodyguards?” Nick asked.

A wave of pain washed across Brett’s face, but he hid it quickly. “We’ve looked at the most obvious ones. The ones who left on not-so-good terms. Maybe we should dig deeper.”

“Or look into the pasts of the ones who are already here. Do they have someone who holds a grudge against them and is using the other guards to get to them? A way of making that one pay for a perceived slight.” Brett stared at him, unblinking, and then he turned and walked away. “Did I say something wrong?” he asked Nick.

Nick watched Brett, shaking his head, but Owen answered. “Sometimes, he’ll think of something and go off on a tangent. You might have given him an idea. His brain tends to focus on the new thing and forget where he was in a conversation. Especially when it comes to something like this. Something so important.” Owen stood and headed after him.

Malachi could understand. If someone was trying to hurt his family, he would be distracted, too. He bet it was tenfold for Brett, both his guards and the royal family were important to him. They needed to find this son of a bitch and stop him.

“What can we do?”

Nick shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. If this is related to me instead of you, we need to go through people I’ve upset, had arguments with or whatever. That’ll be fun.”

“If it’s one thing I’m good at, it’s research. What do you want me to do?”

“Get Felix to get you on a computer,” Brett interrupted. “See what you can find out.” He met Malachi’s gaze. “As much as I want to trust you, Malachi, I can’t afford to right now. So, your computer will be monitored.”

“I understand, and that’s no problem for me. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve. You might even learn something.” It seemed strange teasing the head of security to the royal family, but when Brett’s mouth twitched, it was enough of a reward for him to know it was okay.

“Get to work.”

“Yes, boss,” Nick answered for them.

Malachi was exhausted, but he pushed it away, grabbed a cup of tea—to the turned-up noses of several coffee drinkers—and settled next to Felix. After the man had logged him on, he set to work. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking for, but he took a name from the list Felix had given him and started work. Once he got into research mode, it was easy to forget bodyguards surrounded him—people who had thought the worst of him until someone had decided to researchhim.

And as he delved deeper into the names, he found out information he never thought he’d know about anyone. How many people were into BDSM that were friends with the royal family? Could there be any truth to the rumours of Club Royal?

Malachi had so many questions. Questions that not only pricked his reporter’s brain but also pricked his personal one. If there was some truth to the rumours, could he finally be truthful about what he wanted from a relationship? After all, what man truly wanted a partner who wanted to be whipped before that partner then took control of the sexual acts that came afterwards? He couldn’t even explain it properly. Anytime he tried, his partners looked at him like he was an alien.

He hadn’t even gone as far as to attend a BDSM club to ask questions. Who could he trust with that knowledge? Who wouldn’t recognise him and use it as some way of blackmailing him into doing something for them? And so, he’d shoved those needs down as far as he could and enjoyed a “normal” relationship.

But if there was any truth to the rumours, maybe he could ask for help to figure himself out. He glanced around the room. Despite not knowing most of them to talk to—though he knew all their names—he trusted them all. He’d seen how they worked together and interacted with each other and the royal family, and they were amazing people. Could he risk being laughed at again by asking for help?

Staring back at his screen, he exhaled. Maybe not yet.

“You’re one of us now, Malachi. Start believing it,” Felix muttered from beside him. “Whatever you need help with, we’ll help. You just need to ask.”

Malachi held his breath, letting that information seep into his brain. “Thanks.”

Maybe. One day.

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