Page 100 of The Prince of New York

“Trust me on this one, Ian, I was just as surprised as you are. You’ll need to spend some time with your siblings, at least the ones that are here. They’re changing rather rapidly, especially now that they’re learning we’re not going to whoop their ass—or yours—for any misbehaviors. Now that their parents aren’t expecting them to be spoiled little demons expecting wealth and prestige, they’re growing into their shoes. Cecily has decided that she’s finding redemption through rescuing every little animal she can get her hands on. So far, Robert has had to pull her out of four dumpsters, which she has been searching for abandoned cats and dogs. Much to my dismay, one of the dumpsters had a litter of abandoned puppies. Those puppies are now Robert’s puppies, and he’s ruthlessly using them to charm your sister. It’s horrific. As I’m, apparently, not allowed to formally adopt the entire lot of you, I have to settle with making off with another one of your sisters.”

“Robert’s really trying to court Cicely?” I asked again, struggling to imagine how those two had anything in common.

“He’s definitely going to need a minute or three to process that, Your Majesty,” Terry informed the queen. “What are your plans for Madelyn’s ex?”

“I’m going to use Ian as bait to lure him out, give Madelyn a glass of her wine, and handle the matter personally. His piddly little talent has no chance against me. And apparently, my husband and one of his brothers wish to be in attendance.”

“Hadrian?” Terry asked.

“Yep. He was in the room helping to handle the airstrip incident when the RPS informed us the bastard had booked a ticket to come here. Oh, Terry, we figured out how he learned she was probably coming here. Nobody did anything illegal, but a reporter had mentioned the trip in an article about Ian and his baby girls. It was a footnote, but he must have been looking for an opening. A clear violation of his parole, frankly.”

“I’ll get Daphne to do the verification if Will won’t be here in time.”

“Will is going to be landing at the main airport within the next thirty minutes. Zach is going to bring him with Peter and the Montana agents coming along for the ride. Mackenzie was not invited, nor were their children. Sorry, Terry. Expect to be ambushed.”

“I want to watch this,” I announced. “Please lure His Royal Majesty to wherever I am at so I can observe him attempt to browbeat Terry. And make sure Eddie is around, because Eddie could use the reminder that Terry is a Montana Royal now.”

Everyone needed the reminder, and that meant dealing with the Montana family drama when something went wrong.

Terry eyed his jacket. “We’ll get the best reaction out of him if you’re putting your finger through the hole in my jacket while asking questions, Ian.”

I snickered at the thought of helping drive Will right over the ledge. “I will hope that my fever stays away long enough for us to implement this plan.”

“As the adult supervision, I should be telling you both that this is a terrible plan, but honestly, are children even happy if they aren’t causing the adult supervision some trouble? Just keep the trouble manageable. We donotneed any additional heart attacks today. I have a line, and that’s my line. Do not cross it.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

“Please do tell the RPS they need to address this.”

Rather than attempt todevour Terry’s soul for daring to be an RPS agent, His Royal Majesty of Montana beelined my way. As I was unable to dodge due to Madelyn having stolen my crutches to bar any escape attempts, I dealt with the man swooping in for a hug. Then he checked me over from head to toe, focusing on my legs. “A ricochet, Ian? Really?”

“At least no one was trying to kill either one of us this time,” I pointed out.

He snorted. “They were more trying to kill Adam, but we would have been fun additions to the hit list had they actually pulled that nonsense off. How bad is it really? I got told you were shot and you had Terry and Eddie with you.”

With a wicked grin, the RPS agent lifted his jacket up, held it in such a way Will could get a good view, and stuck his finger through the hole. “Please do tell the RPS they need to address this.”

“Fuck. That is not a bullet hole in your jacket, Terry.”

“It is a bullet hole in my jacket,” Terry confirmed. To make it clear he’d had a close call, he wiggled his finger again.

Pink Lady, who perched on her owner’s shoulder, chittered and squeaked a demand, which the RPS agent interpreted as a request for a snack. He dug into one of his pockets and offered her a food cube similar to what my sister gave her rats, which she accepted and went to work eating.

“Does my sister know you were shot?”

“My jacket was shot. I emerged unscathed. I didn’t even realize I’d dodged a close call until we got here, took my jacket off, and checked it.” Terry tossed his jacket to the side. “Ah, there’s Zach and Peter. You may as well come in. I have kept your charge contained, and Madelyn stole his crutches, as he’s realized he’s hungry and won’t be fed for another twenty minutes. She spared us all from a great deal of pacing.”

“When I start gushing at you, or possibly crying, in about an hour, please blame the fever,” I requested.

Both agents, who had dealt with my fevers more than a few times, sighed.

“It seems we have returned to a situation,” Peter said, shaking his head. “How did you manage to get into this much trouble, Ian?”

“While Terry has suggested that I wait for more evidence, it would not surprise me if my parents are somehow involved. And yes, the bastards are still alive. I’ve seen them both personally. If theyareinvolved, I’m borrowing you two, Eddie, and Terry, and we’re going to make them no longer alive.”

“And that would be the start of the fever talking,” Terry announced. “Madelyn?”

The woman approached with narrowed eyes, and she whipped out a thermometer gun and pointed it at me. “I am putting you under arrest and into custody, Your Royal Highness.”

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