Page 110 of The Prince of New York

For the rest of my life, I would admire the man who had gone from nothing to a king, first changing Texas before going on to change the entire world. “It might not be enough, but without my parents being involved, the group will be easier to fragment and destroy. We’ve vetted the information they sent, and most of it is accurate—or was at the time of delivery. What I don’t know is how His Royal Majesty of Denmark coerced them into bringing Thunder over with the intel. But that intel is how we uncovered our target, the schedule, and who to track to bust their primary cell, which my parents are involved with. Daphne’s gone over it so many times she has zero doubt. She’s ready to roll.”

So was I, and I would not have any regrets. When I met my parents again, I would not hesitate.

If I didn’t strike first, they would—and their terrorist friends wanted to see the love of my life dead if my empathy talent failed to bond us until death did we part. Even the thought of losing Madelyn riled my talent, and as he always did, he stirred, waiting for his chance to protect the family we worked to build.

Day by day, Danielle and May bloomed, their fears easing every time we encouraged them to be children. Day by day, Madelyn relaxed into her role as the woman I loved and wanted to have and hold for the rest of our days.

The holding part of things would take time. The level of abuse she had suffered from didn’t heal overnight, and the fact she slept in my bed would suffice for me until she was ready for anything more.

“All right,” Pat replied. “Tell me how you plan on pulling Eddie’s chain.”

I grinned. “I’ve been forced into piloting school, and Eddie is going to have to deal with me flying the plane on the way home, where he will be tortured as he has been nominated to work as my instructor.”

Jessica’s laughter rang out. “He’s going tohatethat. It’s going to stress him so much we won’t have to do anything actually dangerous. You’re going to have how many pilots in that plane?”

Terry joined the queen in laughing. “I’m brushed up on my flying certifications, two of the Eds on board are pilots, Daphne will be on board, and we’ll have Montana’s RPS piloting instructor with us—and Eddie doesn’t know he’s the piloting instructor for Montana. Once we return to New York, Ian will be undergoing a minor procedure to fix a spinal problem, which will inevitably cause a fever during recovery. Eddie will be in charge of keeping Ian from inappropriately wandering. We will be asking Madelyn to take the girls out on a museum tour when he is expected to be fevered.”

That part of the plan had cracked me up. In California, I’d wandered right to Madelyn and whined something fierce whenever anyone tried to separate us for the duration of my fever. She’d ended up joining me in my bed, as I would sleep without bothering anyone as long as she was close.

I’d captured her in my sleep a few times, and all I’d done involved snuggling and going back to sleep.

“I am of the opinion that cuddling with my future wife in bed is much better than wandering. But if Eddie has to deal with me wandering, he’s going to be so stressed out by the time he leaves New York that he’s going to be screaming into his pillow and driving Deidre absolutely wild.” I snickered over the whole situation. “How is the situation with Switzerland and Sweden?”

“Good. Their succession issues are dealt with, His Royal Highness, while he has some political fence mending to do, is being a doting and attentive father, so I swatted him with a newspaper when I had to deal with his family last month. Nobody complained. Yes, Deidre was present, and I even got a giggle out of her over it. Leo offered her an apology gift, which went over quite well.”

“Oh?” I hadn’t heard about any gifts.

“He gave her a pair of Icelandic horses, and they’re both masters of thetölt.The new princess? Her parents are horse breeders, and she picked the horses out herself. Deidre is incapable of being mad at the woman, so while she’s still upset with Leo, fences have been mended. She’s going to lose her old horses soon; they’re already beyond ancient, and we’ll be cutting their tails soon. A few more weeks, and that’ll be that. They’re comfortable now, but it won’t last. We’ve run out of tricks to keep them sound.”

I winced, and I foresaw myself shedding more than a few tears when Spartacus and Barbara Anne passed. “I’m honestly amazed they’re as old as they are. Spartacus has to be pushing forty now.”

“They’re both old. I am not saying their age, because when I say their age,Ifeel old,” Pat confessed. “I know you love both of those horses, so once you’re done with that nasty business, we’ll take you to Texas so you can say your goodbyes to them. That’ll be all the reason we need to come pay New York a visit. Olivia, do keep us in the loop on timing so we can keep everyone dancing to our tune. I’m sure we can make some business for little Rachel.”

“I question how she is not falling asleep every other minute while pregnant with twins,” Jessica complained. “When I was pregnant with twins? When I wasn’t throwing up, I was sleeping, usually on Pat.”

“Ethan is very disappointed that Rachel isn’t sleeping on his lap all the time,” I admitted. “He wants her to, but she just doesn’t. She’s a fountain of energy. She’s pissed she can’t see her ankles, though.” As Olivia needed as much attention as Terry did, I gave the woman a hug. “I think Olivia is sleeping enough for both of them.”

“I really am. Terry has this really comfy couch in his office, and he tricks me into sitting down for just five minutes. Three minutes later, I’m sound asleep. I even know it’s going to happen, but I can’t resist the couch. Then he went and bought the same couch for our house!”

“Your job is to rest and feed our baby girls,” the RPS agent replied in a solemn tone. “My job is to rub your feet, provide you with every snack your heart desires, and otherwise be your servant. I quite enjoy my job. Your brother may have agreed to visit New York so he can be your servant while I’m off on my trip.”

Olivia bounced to her feet and bailed from my office with admirable pep in her step.

I wanted even half of her energy. As it was, I’d crawled out of bed for the phone call, regretting leaving Madelyn alone. “For someone that far along, she really can move like she means it.”

Terry chuckled. “She’s going to go to my office to call her brother, but she’s going to spot the couch and sit down, as running that far in her current state is exhausting. At that point, she’ll pass out, not actually managing to call her brother. And if she does manage to call him, he’s awake, ready to start implementing the plan. I’ll leave her a note, tuck her in, and we’ll hit the road once we’re confirmed to go.”

“Deal with the terrorists,” Pat ordered. “And Ian? Hit first, hit hard, and regret nothing. Those assholes are not worth the air they breathe, and if you let them continue to work as they are, they will hurt you and everyone you love. If I could go along for the ride, I would. I’m already giving my RPS detail gray hairs, especially the young ones. Don’t you know I’m an old man, Ian?”

I could think of one thing that would drive his RPS agents wild. “Let me guess. You want to try the mud run.”

“I really do, and I’m feeling up for it. The operation has done me a world of good.”

I bet it had. “If you can talk Dr. Stanton into it, and you wait for us to get back, I don’t see why you can’t try the mud run. Just give them plenty of warning. They have different configurations based on health and physical fitness. I’m no longer allowed on the easy course anymore. I make the RPS agents cry because I beat most of them at it now.” I huffed over that, although the reason for the restriction amused me: Madelyn liked when I struggled on the course, and my mastery over the easy configuration barred her from her visual buffet. “I’m sure our ferrets would love to play with you. And our cats. And the horses.”

Sika and Tumen would be accompanying us on the venture into Cambodia. While smaller than Amisha and Endah, both leopards excelled at hunting, had comparable intellect to the tigers, and were excellent bodyguards, ready and willing to inflict massive bodily harm to guard those they held responsibility for.

If anyone was foolish enough to come near me while in Cambodia, leopard fangs and claws would likely be the last thing they ever saw.

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