Bryce spun on his heel, remarkably agile for a man who looked so old, and thrust a hand out, catching Lucien center chest and causing him to stumble back to the table. Lucien couldn’t catch himself in time, and he fell in a twist of limbs to the floor.
He heard a roar of anger, whether it was Max or Bryce, he didn’t know, but hands yanked him up, then dropped him. Then Bryce was at his side.
“Your Highness, I’m sorry, Lucien—”
Max yanked Bryce back and Bryce was fighting again.
“Stop! Please stop!” Lucien shouted over the noise. Just like that, the fight left Bryce and he fell to his knees.
“I tried,” he said on a sob. “I just wanted you happy, and I thought he loved you. He was keeping you safe, I watched him keep you safe, and he smiled at you…”
Max crouched next to him.
“Talk to me, Bryce,” he said. This time his voice wasn’t confrontational, more sympathetic. Blood ran down from his left temple onto his cheek, but Lucien still couldn’t move from his spot. “Tell me about the man you killed.”
“I wanted to remove Jamie. I tried, but he made Lucien happy, Lucien cared, but that other man, he wasn’t needed, and if I could…” He peered at Lucien through tears. “I had to stop him. Lucien, you understand. Right?”
“And what about Kev? The man at the pool?”
“He wasn’t any good for Lucien, laughing at him when he didn’t win that last race, and he wasn’t interested, he had his little friend, hell, any fool could see—” He sobbed louder.
“Did you kill Oscar Sheiver?”
“He was going to make those photos public, he was an evil man.”
“You killed two men because of me? How could you do that?” Lucien shouted.
Bryce began to shake, his face white. He stared at Lucien but then turned to Max. “I’m leaving Lucien alone in this world. Who will look out for him?”
“I will,” Max said.
Bryce raised his tear-stained gaze. “You will?”
“I love him, Bryce. You were right about that.”
“Then you lied to me,” Bryce accused.
“I had to see the real you.”
The police arrived at that point, took stock of the old man lying on the floor and the bleeding guy crouching next to him, and chaos consumed the room again.
Only after ten or so minutes later when stories were checked did Bryce get taken away. He was deathly quiet and simply inclined his head to Lucien as he left with a muttered “Your Highness.”
Lucien had to get out, pushing past Max and the receptionist and the cops and every other person up in his space. Only outside, watching the police car leave the drive, did he bend over and rest his hands on his knees, inhaling great big heaving breaths of the chilly air.
“Lucien?” Max said from next to him.
Lucien rounded on Max and poked him in the chest. “Were you lying?”
Max caught his hand and held it close. “I hate that you even have to ask that. I had to. He wasn’t going to react unless I proved to him I was just one more person in your life who was going to hurt you.”
“I really believed—”
“I had to make you believe—”
Lucien shook his head. “You’re a complete bastard—”
“But you love me,” Max interrupted.
Lucien closed his eyes and leaned into Max. “Yeah, that’s the only right thing about all of this.”
The only thing.
Epilogue
Kyle paced the length of his office, running his fingers through his hair so it stood on end. He never did that—he was the epitome of cool, calm, and collected. Well, all apart from this.
“Then I had a visit from MI6. Do you understand the enormity of this?”
Max sighed. “I get it. I crossed the line, and I—”
“Crossed it? Jesus, Max, you fucked the prince.”
Max reined in his temper and attempted a civil tone. “I didn’t fuck the prince,” he pointed out. “I fell in love with Lucien.”
Kyle stopped his pacing and sat down in his desk chair. He rested on his elbows, his chin on his hands, and closed his eyes.
“This could have been a diplomatic incident.”
“But it wasn’t.”
“You were supposed to be his bodyguard.”
Max tried to bite his tongue but couldn’t help the quip that came out. “I did guard his body.”
The door to the office opened and Ross poked his head in. “I have a Stefan Mortimer on line one for you. I told him you were busy, but he said he’d hold.”
If Max hadn’t been so close, he wouldn’t have seen the sudden tension in Kyle. He was used to it, the man was head over heels for Ross, but Ross couldn’t see it. Then he saw how pale Kyle was and his amusement morphed into concern.
“Kyle?”
Kyle said nothing. He picked up the handset and his finger hovered over the connect button. “I need to take this.”
“Are we okay?”
Kyle looked distracted, confusion in his dark blue eyes. “Yeah.”
“And MI6?”
“I can handle MI6,” he said.
“I’ll go, then.” Max began to leave but stopped at a soft question.
“Max, tell me something, you really fell in love?”
Max turned to face his boss. “Completely.”
Kyle nodded. “Okay. I’ve got your back.”
Max closed the door behind him and found another man pacing, this time in the outer office. Lucien.
They’d been together 24/7 for the last eight weeks, ever since Bryce had been arrested for murder. With Lucien so close to finishing his degree, they’d fallen into a routine of Lucien studying and Max working crossword puzzles. This wasn’t the first meeting that Max had been asked to go to with Kyle, but he hoped this was the last. Lucien’s family wanted him home, but Lucien wasn’t ready to go. He wanted to stay with Max, and Max was one hundred percent behind him.
“Are you okay?” Lucien asked immediately.
“I should be asking you that,” Max answered. “I’m not the one wearing a hole in the carpet.”
“I found us a house, and I looked into all kinds of careers for someone with a degree in English Language.”
That didn’t seem like he was really acting like a prince, but Max didn’t say that out loud.
Max took Lucien by the hand and guided him out into the walled courtyard at the back of the offices. This was a beautiful place to sit, a tumble of hardy herbs and bushes all tinged with the sparkling April dew. He guided Lucien to sit.
“Start from the beginning.”
“I’m not leaving. I love you.”
“Okay—?”
“And so I found a house, a quieter one, on a back road, near the hotel we stayed at. We could start a life there. Oh and I looked into my Masters after this degree or a career, and I do have some connections that I can shamelessly use.” He ran out of words. “So what do you think?”
“Of a house, another degree, or a career?”
“Of us.”
Max could tease for the rest of the day, but he didn’t want to. He wanted Lucien in his life for the longest possible time, forever.
“I think us is a pretty good idea.”
“So we’ll get the house.”
They spoke at the same time. “I’d need to sell mine—” “You could keep yours—”
Max held up a hand to still Lucien. “If we do this, then I’m all in. Permanent, us together for as long as we can be.”
Lucien’s concerned features melted into a smile.
“I like us.”
“I love us.”
THE END
RJ Scott
RJ Scott lives just outside London. She has been writing since age six, when she was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies and was told to write a story. Two sides of A4 about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born. She loves reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror
; however, her first real love will always be the world of romance. Her goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and more than a hint of happily ever after.
Email: rj@rjscott.co.uk
Webpage: www.rjscott.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.rjscott
Twitter: rjscott_author
Also from RJ Scott
For an up to date list of all books please visit www.rjscott.co.uk
CONTEMPORARY
Texas
The Heart of Texas #1
Texas Winter #2
Texas Heat #3
Texas Family #4
Texas Christmas #5
Texas Fall #6
Sanctuary
Guarding Morgan #1
The Only Easy Day #2
Face Value #3
Still Waters #4
Full Circle #5
The Journal of Sanctuary One #6
Worlds Collide #7
Accidental Hero #8 (coming Fall 2015)
Bodyguards Inc
Bodyguard to a Sex God #1
The Ex Factor #2
Max and the Prince #3
Undercover Lovers #4 (coming soon)
Heroes
A Reason To Stay #1
Last Marine Standing #2
Deacon’s Law #3 (coming Fall 2015)
Flight HA1710
Retrograde (coming Summer 2015)
Deefur
Deefur Dog
Deefur and the Great Mistletoe Incident
Standalones
The Christmas Throwaway
New York Christmas
Jesse’s Christmas
Angel In A Book Shop
The Bucket List
Valentine 2525
Child of the Storm
Spirit Bear
All the King’s Men
One Night
The Decisions We Make
The Art of Words (with Meredith Russell)
Heat (with Chris Quinton)
For a Rainy Afternoon
Alpha, Delta
Storming Love – Blizzard, Seth & Casey
The Fitzwarren Inheritance
The Soldier’s Tale (book 2)
Sapphire Cay – with Meredith Russell
Follow the Sun
Under the Sun
Chase the Sun
Christmas in the Sun
Capture the Sun
Forever in the Sun (coming soon)
The Fireman & the Cop
The Teacher & the Soldier
The Carpenter & the Actor
The Doctor & the Bad Boy
The Paramedic & the Writer
The Barman & the SEAL
The Agent & the Model
Montana
Crooked Tree Ranch
The Rancher’s Son (coming January 2016)
PARANORMAL
Supernatural Bounty Hunters
The Vampire Contract
The Guilty Werewolf
The Warlock’s Secret
The Demon’s Blood
The Incubus Agenda
The Third Kingdom
Fire
Kian’s Hunter
Darach’s Cariad
Eoin’s Destiny
Oracle
Oracle
Book of Secrets
In the Shadow of the Wolf – with Diane Adams
Shattered Secrets
Broken Memories
Splintered Lies
The End Street Detective Agency – with Amber Kell
The Case of the Cupid Curse
The Case of the Wicked Wolf
The Case of the Dragon’s Dilemma
The Case of the Sinful Santa
Standalones
The Gallows Tree
The New Wolf (Building The Pack #1)
YOUNG ADULT
Love…
Love Is In the Title
Love Is in the Hallways
Love Is in the Message