Page 67 of The Prince of New York

“No, don’t. Everyone needs to see you’re human, and if your answer to stress is to go run off energy on the obstacle course, we’ll keep an obstacle course available year round. Ididgo ahead and book you for a comprehensive with Dr. Stanton after she has a rest. Once she’s done with the treatment plan for the girls, she’ll be off for the day. Jack’s going to be underfoot for today while everyone catches up on rest. He is confident he can handle us, and if he can’t, he has no problems with dragging somebody out of bed. The Hawaiians have arrived, and they brought one of their royal physicians with them to help take the load off. Apparently, two New Yorkersandtwo children in need of medical monitoring was more than Hawaii could handle.” Terry snickered. “They’re settling, and Monty is taking care of the integrations. Hiring for the girls will start in earnest tomorrow.”

Ethan chuckled and toasted me with his drink, a smaller version of Rachel’s milkshake. “And now that you’re off the course, I’m going to call my parents and figure out how best to get everyone sent over to California. News will start hitting the major outlets tonight. I asked the media to give us until then to get through their medical tests, and I fed them information on the results so people are aware of the situation. They’re cooperating, for which I’m grateful.”

“How much do you owe them for that level of favor?” I asked, aware the media tended to be ruthless.

“Nothing, surprisingly. The extent of their injuries and the fact you’re handling it personally was all they needed to know. However, I’m afraid you’re now the most wanted single dad in the world.”

Damn it. Somehow, I kept from glancing at Madelyn. “Terry, I need to be rescued.”

The RPS agent laughed at me. “You’ll be okay. Madelyn, this does put you in a bit of a spot, though. You will be photographed with him.”

I could feel Madelyn’s gaze on me. “Are you willing and able to reduce my ex to a crisp if he comes anywhere near me?”

Well, some questions were easier than others to answer. “Without hesitation. You might have to talk me out of punching him in the mouth first, but the reducing him to a greasy pile of ash part of things is something I’m willing and able to do. Do you want his teeth intact to identify the corpse?”

Madelyn stared at Terry with wide eyes. “Do I?”

The RPS agent saluted the woman with his milkshake. “It’s optional. He’ll just verify who he killed and why with Montana and another sensor, and it’ll be fine. Dental records can help with the identification of the body—if he was going to the dentist.”

Madelyn wrinkled her nose and made a rather disgusted face. “He really wasn’t. His breath wasvile.”

“I go every three months because if I don’t, bad things happen.” I suspected one of my parents had some form of genetic issue with their teeth, as I battled more issues than normal for someone my age. “It’s a miracle I have any of my original teeth left at this stage.”

Rachel winced. “I’ve been told mine are going to be all crowned because my enamel is going extinct. They’re going to have to knock my ass out for the procedures because every time I go, I start hysterically crying.”

With how long my sister had been running around the Royal States and living in California with inadequate access to care, I wasn’t surprised by the verdict. “I’ll go with you. I’ve had some of the work done already. I want to say it’s not bad, but it’s awful, and I support you napping through the work if you can. I do not get to nap. Apparently, I’m a prince, and princes are supposed to be manly and are not allowed to cry because the dentist is armed with a loud drill.”

As desired, Rachel giggled. “Maybe if I watch Ian have the work done, I’ll stop crying at the dentist, Ethan.”

“We can try it, but I suspect you’re going to cry. It’s fine. If we have to send you off for a nap so the dentist can work without you sobbing, that’s what happens.” My brother-in-law smiled at my sister. “Just be glad that the dentist made it clear your milkshake habit had nothing to do with the state of your teeth.”

“Genetics,” Rachel spat.

“At least getting an appointment is easy,” I quipped.

The royal dentist was also a medical researcher, and he always kept the end of his day free in case one of us had some sort of issue. At my suggestion, Rachel had started booking in palace staff so everyone working for us received frequent dental care on our dime. As the dental care happened right down the street and was considered to be part of their duties and responsibilities, nobody batted an eye if one of us needed to steal a spot.

I was the most likely to steal a spot, as I had a troublesome molar scheduled to be yanked and replaced with something a little more sturdy.

Madelyn set her wine glass aside on a nearby folding table someone had brought out, grabbed her phone, and checked something on the device. “You’re due to go again, Ian.”

“I’ll go after we return from California. They’ll have to deal with a problematic tooth, and they’re going to see if they can extract and do an implant all in the same session to spare me some of the recovery time. Last I checked, they want to do my cleaning the day before, and then they’ll do the extraction. It won’t be a good time. I suggest you run away so you don’t have to deal with me whine and complain over a bland diet consisting of things I don’t have to chew and is served at room temperature.”

She wrinkled her nose, and she glared at her phone. “That sounds absolutely miserable. I will make certain the children are scheduled in first and that they are not exposed to terrible procedures so they don’t develop anxiety. You will just have to pretend like they haven’t assaulted your face with bone screws when you get your implant in.”

“I see you’re familiar with the process.”

“I had a broken tooth that had to be replaced.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if Madelyn had been given assistance breaking her tooth—and if she had, if anyone wouldreallymind if I rearranged the bastard’s face before killing him. Rather than vocalize my thoughts, I lurched to my feet, heaved a sigh over the state of my clothes, and questioned everything. “I’m going to find the nearest hose, get most of this off, give myself a blow dry so I don’t make a huge mess of the palace, and then check on the girls. After I’m done checking on them, I’m going to visit Thunder, start working on him under saddle, assuming we have a saddle that fits him, and make a mental game plan for California. Terry? Can you ask if the ring the RPS has been using to ride in is available?”

“If it’s not, it will be. We can shuffle the schedule around you. You can’t shuffle your schedule around the girls for the next few days, so you’ll get priority access. Don’t mind the audience when you’re riding. Until Thunder settles, it’ll be your default.”

“I can handle some babysitters. It’s been long enough since I’ve ridden that I’ll need them. Do we have a riding instructor in?”

“We do. We’ve got a Texan RPS instructor in. You go get cleaned up, I’ll get your lesson planned and everyone to the arena. Madelyn, stay with him. He should be fine, but we like to keep a close eye on the touchy New Yorkers during stressful events, and if His Royal Highness is stressed enough he’s beatingmeat the mud run to work out his energy, he could go from fine to exhausted. Just give me a call if he has any issues.”

Madelyn hopped to her feet, picked up her wine glass, and saluted the RPS agent. “He’s in good hands, so don’t you worry. What clothes do you want him in for riding?”

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