“A certain guard needs to stay within the royal bodyguards. That’s all.”
Another pause. “Who?” His tone indicated he knew who, and Felix’s stomach roiled because he did, too.
“Maddox.”
“Fucking hell, Venus. He’s a liability.”
“He’s Malcolm’s son.”
That didn’t sound like it was a good thing, and Brett’s silence said it all.
“I will do my best to keep him on board, but if someone else says he needs to go, it’ll be out of my hands. I only have so much power.”
Venus chuckled. “You have plenty of power. You just give it all away.”
As the ambulance came through the gates of Windsor Castle, Felix didn’t need to hear any more. He might need to break a promise soon, but it would keep for the moment. He slipped back into the chapel and headed to where Matt and Van were, Sam still keeping an eye on them.
“Paramedics are here. I’m sure they’ll be okay after some medical check-ups and paracetamol,” Felix said.
“Yeah, hopefully.”
Brett came in with the paramedics, who swiftly took charge of the two guards. Felix stepped beside Brett.
“I see you’re still in one piece.”
Brett huffed. “We’re going to let everyone go. Once Matt and Van are in the ambulance, we will end the ceremony as we would’ve done before. Christian and Oscar can go down the steps and wave to the crowds. I have Rae and Des clearing the roses away—carefully, so we can check them out later.”
Felix nodded, and Brett stepped away, heading to the rear of the chapel to tell the Sutcliffes what would happen. He waited until Matt and Van were on the gurneys and saw them to the ambulance before heading back inside. Brett was in front of the congregation.
“We apologise for the delay. We intend to finish the ceremony now. Please bear with us for a few more minutes, and then you will see the newlyweds once more.”
He moved to the side and disappeared, and Felix followed. When he reached the room, everyone was putting jackets back on and sprucing themselves up. Once they were ready, Brett led the way with the king following. The Sutcliffes took the places they had been before the incident, and Christian and Oscar faced their guests.
“Thank you for being patient with us. As you have probably guessed, we had a medical emergency to deal with. They are now on their way to hospital, and I have it on good authority that they will be fine. Thank you also for joining us on this special day,” Christian said, Oscar’s arm linked with his.
They started walking down the aisle back to the doors, which were now fully open again. The cheer from the crowds rose as they stepped out into the sunlight with Brett and him at their backs—where they belonged.
The walk back to the castle took only a few moments, but they were the longest few moments he’d had in a long time. He scanned their surroundings religiously, expecting something to happen and ignoring the Army, but then relaxed a little when it sunk in that what they’d experienced had been to shake them up. It worked, at least until he realised it. All the little things that kept happening were there to make them uneasy, to make them look over their shoulders. And it wasn’t pleasant, but they could deal with it. The worst thing, for him, was waiting for the main event.
Once everyone was situated where they should be, Felix told Brett he was going home. Brett seemed surprised but didn’t argue.
“I can’t get any more from what we’ve got. I’ll go over everything again after I’ve had some sleep.” Felix paused, taking a risk. “And had a shower.”
Brett’s eyes heated, letting Felix know he’d understood the undercurrent to his words, but he said nothing, only nodded. “Sleep well.”
Felix wanted to say more but couldn’t, so he turned and headed home. Despite his roommates being noisy, he needed a different set of four walls. And after greeting Remi, who lounged on the sofa in the living room, he trudged up the stairs to his room, not the least bit surprised that his housemate hadn’t beenwatching the royal wedding. When he shut the door behind him, he entered the bathroom, stripped off and climbed under the spray. His cock had been half hard all afternoon, even with the shit they’d had to deal with. Taking a breath, he reached behind him and nudged the end of the plug. He hissed, his dick stiffening further, and then he grabbed it and pulled it free. The emptiness inside his ass lent itself to another cavern—in his heart. He loved what they had done, but he doubted it would ever happen again. Despite the ache in his shaft, he refused to tend to it and only washed himself and climbed out, drying aggressively and dressing in a T-shirt and joggers.
He settled into his chair and opened his laptop. After entering all the security details, he finally got to where he needed to be and paused. He shouldn’t do it. He’d made a promise. But if Brett needed him and he wasn’t aware of the situation, how could he help?
Felix inhaled and, as he exhaled, started searching for everything and anything he could find on Brett Cage, Venus Cage and someone called Malcolm. He had entire databases at his fingertips, contacts he could call on should he need to, and plenty of tech knowledge to find what he needed to. Another thing to thank Uncle Frank for. He’d known everyone, and once Felix had shown an interest, he’d been taught by the best of the best. However, he occasionally wished he wasn’t so good because what he found was eye-opening.
****
Chapter 8
Brett
After Felix’s surprise departure, Brett arranged to collect the gift he’d bought for Christian and Oscar. Once he had it in his possession, he quickly went to their suite and knocked. Most people wouldn’t want to interrupt newlyweds, but Christian had told him it was okay to take it over.