“I didn’t look.”
Malcolm sighed. “Look, Brett, I’m cutthroat. I kill people. I make the hard decisions. I’d gladly put a bullet in your brain right now and not flinch, but I have respect for rules. For gentlemen’s agreements. For tentative…working relationships. If something is working in my favour—for example, our agreement—I am unlikely to want to change that, especially if it would highlight me in an unfavourable hue.” He put his mug down and leaned his cheek on his fist, elbow on the table. “I don’t have a lot to tell you, but what I will say is this… People don’t change their spots often. I stand by how I treated you as a child because it helped create who you are today. However, it is unlikely I would do the same again if I ever found myself in the same situation.”
“What are you saying, Malcolm?”
“I’m saying I don’t necessarily agree with what is happening right now, but my hands are tied.” He stood, taking both mugs to the sink, even though Brett hadn’t even drunk any.
Brett stood, ready to leave, but Malcolm’s next words held him still.
“Is he still alive?”
He knew who he was referring to. “He is, though he probably wished he wasn’t yesterday. He’s being cared for.” He pointedlyshowed how different they were. Malcolm nodded and returned to washing the mugs.
Brett left, the silent dismissal clear in the air, and strode for his car. Although Malcolm talked in riddles occasionally, he had made his point. Yes, Malcolm’s men were at the house. No, they weren’t the masterminds behind it all. Yes, Venus was involved in some way. But how it all linked together was something he still couldn’t figure out. Venus hated him, so if she was the mind behind it all, the question then became: why? Why now? Why wait all this time when she could’ve done something years ago? It didn’t make sense, and it left him with more questions than answers. As much as he despised Malcolm and what he stood for, he had been telling the truth. He didn’t want to be part of what was going on.
What had Brett done that was bad enough to make his sister want to destroy him?
****
Chapter 24
Felix
The conversation with Rico’s wife, Amelia, was harder than he thought it would be. She had known a bit about what Rico did but not everything, and the physical weight on his chest hadn’t lessened any when he’d cushioned the truth for her. He’d told her Rico had been helping them with the investigation and had been caught in the crossfire. He would see to it that she and her family were well looked after for the rest of their lives—it was the least he could do.
Scrubbing his hands over his face after he’d splashed it with cold water from the taps in the bathroom, he stared at his reflection, tilting his face one way and then the other to view the leftover bruises and scratches. He’d looked worse from previous events, but these hit him harder because they were more personal. They’d done this to him because of Brett, and that wasn’t fair. Brett would see these attacks as his fault, and Felix could honestly say he wasn’t sure what his boss’s reaction to them would be. His stomach churned; he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what Brett’s reaction would be because it wouldn’t be anything good. He had a feeling Brett would leave, and where would everyone be if that happened? He was the best thing to happen to the royal family and to the guards under his leadership.
He wiped away the lingering drips of water and straightened. After one last sigh at his reflection, he dried his hands and returned to Sec HQ. Only Dominic and Sam were around, and he asked the latter where Brett had gone.
Dominic winced. “To see Malcolm.”
His entire being tensed, and he couldn’t move if his life depended on it. “What?” he murmured, not quite believing what Dominic had said.
“He went to confront Malcolm about the men and everything.” Dominic sighed and crossed his arms. “I told him it wasn’t a good idea to go alone, but he wouldn’t listen.”
He tightened his fists at his side, trying not to let the what-ifs burn through his mind, and then shuddered. He closed his eyes for a second, pushing down the dear coursing through him, and exhaled before meeting Dominic’s gaze. “He’ll never listen. I should be used to that by now.”
“Doesn’t make it hurt any less when he doesn’t, though, does it?” Dominic muttered, staring down at some papers on the table.
Felix stepped closer. “What’s this?”
“The same stuff we were looking at earlier. I’m hoping that if I glare at it enough, it will tell me what’s going on.” He gave a wry smile. “What I wouldn’t give for a magic wand right now.”
Brett walked through the door, and Felix glared at him, but he didn’t react. “Andrew, Kean and Kendal are heading out for the evening. We need all hands on deck. As important as our problems are, the royal family is more so. As usual, take Colt, Nick, Landon, Emmy and Viola. And then you, too, Dominic, that’ll give you two on each of them.” Dominic didn’t seem put out by Brett’s words, even though Dominic was the one who usually organised the guards for the king. “Felix, I need comms and everything ready to go in thirty minutes.”
“Where are they going? I didn’t see anything on the calendar,” Felix asked as he headed for the store cupboard behind Brett’s desk. He could still hear him as he grabbed the box of radios and earpieces and returned to the room.
“It had been cancelled because of what’s happening, but a couple of people kicked up a fuss about them missing this charitable event, and so the king changed his mind. Luckily, we’d already scoped out the venue and have all the schematics on hand. Plus, we’ve been there before. The main thing we need to consider is the added issue of what is happening to the guards. Keep your wits about you. Let’s get ready.”
Dominic disappeared, and Brett headed for his desk, brushing past Felix as he went. Felix swallowed the lump in his throat, knowing Brett was in work mode and that nothing personal would intervene while he had to keep everyone safe. While Felix worked to get comms ready for everyone, he watched Brett from the corner of his eye as he typed messages and called everyone he needed to.
“All done,” Felix said several minutes later.
“Good. Can you take them to the king’s suite, as that’s where everyone is waiting? I’ll join you shortly.”
Felix grabbed eight of the fourteen sets and strode from the room, getting his head in the game. As much as he could’ve done with a bit more rest from the events of the past, however long it had been, he was grateful for some normalcy. When he reached the suite, he knocked, and Colt opened the door. Entering, he handed out the comms to each guard before being enfolded in the arms of one Prince Consort. Kendal tightened their hold for a second before holding him at arm’s length again.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” they said, “and fairly unharmed.” They stared at his bruises. “If you hadn’t already sorted them, I would’ve done it for you.”