Page 63 of The Prince of New York

I did as told, and fortunately for me, I even managed to fall asleep without needing to hunt for Melody and get sleeping aids. I woke early, showered, and dressed in a suit, aware its days were likely numbered.

Children had a way of destroying things, and I had no doubt my clothing bill would become a thing of terror in short order. And if the kids failed to summon the suit’s end, the mud run would.

Sooner than later, I’d eradicate every suit I’d acquired while my parents had been in the picture, and I’d start with the ones they preferred. To keep busy until His Royal Majesty of Maine came with the girls, I encouraged Thunder to go out to his paddock. The horse accepted being groomed, and I took the time to comb out his mane, tail, and feathers. Once he gleamed, I began the process of adapting him to going out to the corral. Rather than take him directly there, I walked him around the palace grounds, praising him whenever he took an interest in anything other than returning to his stall.

Releasing him to the corral went well enough, and I freed him from his halter, made certain he stayed facing me until I was out of range, before urging him to play.

The last thing I needed was to get kicked, and as setting the stallion loose had gone well, I returned his lead line and halter to the stable before heading for the main RPS post to figure out when His Royal Majesty of Maine would be coming. To my relief, Monty was already present, reviewing the roster for the day on a clipboard.

“Do we have an ETA?” I asked.

“We do. He should be arriving with them within the next ten minutes. He decided to run the girls through another MRI while they were still sedated so we could have evidence of the work Maine’s royal family did to get them back into good health. I’ve already given the kitchen instructions to make them soup. Fortunately for us, neither seems to be lactose intolerant, so we can give them milk with protein powder to get them on the road of recovery. He has some opinions on what they’ve likely been eating, and he doesn’t want Dr. Stanton to find out, as she willnotbe happy.”

“Is it worse than beef stew or macaroni and cheese?”

“Ramen,” Monty spat out. “And not the authentic kind. It has almost zero nutritional value, and the only thing it would have been doing was provide salt, some hydration, and empty calories. The kitchen is going with chicken noodle soup, and they’re making the noodles to resemble ramen but made with better ingredients. His Royal Majesty seems to think spinach noodles might work to start with, as they’re simple enough for them to digest. They’ll be supplementing with vitamins until we can transition them to a healthier diet.”

I inhaled, held my breath to the count of twenty, and exhaled. “All right. The smaller of the family dining rooms?”

“That’s the plan, as it might be a little less overwhelming for them. They’ll likely be dazed when they come out of sedation, so hopefully they won’t be up for much in the way of protesting.” Monty sighed, shook his head, and tapped at his clipboard with the back of his pen. “A team from Hawaii will be coming for the girls, and they should be landing within the next three hours. We won’t get to keep them, but theywilltrain our new hires for how to handle the girls—and it’ll let us preemptively hire several sets of agents for the incoming royal children, Terry’s included. Montana is going to handle their security, but I already reached out to start their hiring process since we’ll have access to the Hawaiians.”

“I’ll personally cover the bill for the team, as I didn’t exactly follow protocol or give the kingdom any warning. I’ve got the money, and it’ll keep my sister’s budget okay until next year. She can adjust it then.”

“I’ll let the accountants know. Do you want them as personal security or still directly employed with the RPS?”

“RPS. I’m just footing the bill to salvage my sister’s budget.”

“I’ll have an attorney draw up the paperwork and get it handled. That’ll work nicely. Terry won’t be coming in until noon at the earliest. Melody and Dr. Stanton are going to be running Olivia through a full checkup, and he wants to be there. If the girls have no complications coming out of sedation, His Royal Majesty will have a turn with Olivia. We’re hoping Terry will be occupied until two.”

“Good, because when Terry finds out their diet is even worse than my sister’s had been, he will not handle it well. Can we give him a paid day off without dinging his clocked hours? I’ll pay for it, obviously, as I’m forcing it on him.”

“Easily done. I’ll call in one of the reserve agents looking for overtime. That works even better than amusing him until two. That’ll keep him out of our hair until tomorrow. Clearly, we will have to find some form of treat for the princess and the babies to thank them for keeping the Iron Beast at bay.”

“It’s only a delay of the Iron Beast,” I warned him. “Make certain the agents know so nobody gets a surprise when he comes in tomorrow and finds out about the situation.”

“Rescue us all,” Monty requested.

“I’ll do my best, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. I’d just pop some corn, retreat a safe distance, and enjoy the show.”

* * *

While May still hadsome faint evidence of bruising on her cheek, the day and night difference in the girls horrified me. The courthouse lighting may have contributed, but both had paler skin with a rosier complexion than I remembered. Rather than haul the car seat to the family dining room, I unbuckled Baby, eased her out of the straps, and cradled her close, settling her cheek against my shoulder.

His Royal Majesty of Maine handled May, and he grunted while adjusting his hold on the girl. “Are you going to be able to hold your temper, Ian?”

“I’ll hold it better than Terry and many of our RPS agents,” I replied, taking care with my steps so I wouldn’t jostle the toddler. “What are your thoughts about how I should approach teaching Baby that her name is actually Danielle?”

“That’s a good question. I’d try explaining it to her and just start using her name, and if she doesn’t reply, use Baby Danielle. She’ll eventually learn. Giving her an option to pick a name she prefers is wise.”

“May wants to stay May because she likes flowers.”

Maine’s king nodded. “I’m sure you’ll have no problems finding flowers for her to admire this time of year in California. Both girls are clear to fly, but I would give them a few days to recover before heading over. What is their RPS situation?”

“We have a team of Hawaiians coming in to teach their new agents, and I’m paying for the agents. They’ll still be officially RPS hires, but I’m funding their salaries and overhead. That’ll give me good reason to work when I’m not handling business for my sister.” Aware the older man had pulled an all-nighter to treat the girls, I wasted no time heading for the doors. The RPS agents, both from Maine and New York, scrambled to stay ahead of us. The New Yorkers likely understood that, should I be provoked, they would need to replace the door should it remain in my way.

Upon arrival, Maine’s king eyed me. “I’ll wake May first, and we’ll see how it goes. She’s more likely to be able to sit without assistance. Overall, her beating was less severe.”

“Or she’d just mastered the art of dodging,” I muttered.

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