Raines, Elizabeth - Captivated [Wicked Missions 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (8 page)

Jayce thought it over long enough to make Damian’s temper rise even more before he finally nodded and headed back inside, the chiming sound of the lock echoing behind him.

Damian pressed himself against a wall, straining to listen for anything that might indicate the threat. Izzie had obviously sensed danger as well, and now he needed to know where the risk was and what he could do to protect both of the people he loved.

Loved?

What a fucking odd time to figure out just how deeply his feelings for Izzie ran! Shit, but now that the thought had free rein in his mind, he could barely recall his training. He’d only known the woman for a week, yet everything about her was branded on his heart. Only the thought of losing her could possibly have made him admit how much she’d come to mean to him.

The sound of soft footsteps just around the corner made Damian focus on his job—protecting Bromond’s crown prince. Ready to face the threat, he was preparing to whip around to confront the intruder when he heard Izzie grunt, followed by a low, angry growl.

Damian reacted, heading to help Izzie, but quickly discovering that she didn’t need him. Gloriously nude, she rained punches and kicks down on a muscular man dressed in camouflage. A pulse pistol lay on the ground a few meters away, and judging from the way the man clutched his wrist against his chest, Izzie had dealt him a bone-breaking blow to disarm him. The fact that a woman warrior with flaming hair and a body beyond compare was pounding him into submission had to be humiliating. Although she seemed to have the man in retreat, Damian figured he better step in, especially since the man held a knife his good hand.

When he saw the flash of the knife, Damian blocked the weapon with a kick that surely broke the man’s other arm. Letting out a howl of pain, the intruder dropped to his knees. Damian rushed to him, but not before the man crunched something between his teeth. As he lifted the intruder by the collar of his shirt, he already knew what the man had done when he saw the white foam on his lips and trickling from the corners of his slack mouth.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Izzie asked as she came to stand at Damian’s side.

He nodded. “Poison capsule. Whoever sent him didn’t want us to have a chance to find out who he worked for if he got caught.” The implications were terrifying—someone had tried to assassinate the crown prince of Bromond. “Why would someone want Jayce dead?”

Chapter 6

“I’ll need to talk to the captain of the guard,” Izzie said. She reached over to take Jayce’s hand and give it a reassuring squeeze as she glanced over the seat to smile at Damian.

Heading back to the palace was going to change everything, and she wanted a few more moments of connection before she could let the men she loved go. Sure, she was staying with them until the identity of the assassin they’d buried in a desert sand dune was discovered and the threat to Jayce was neutralized, but they could no longer be a threesome of people deeply in love. Izzie would simply be a security consultant to Damian, and she’d be staying in her own quarters at the palace, albeit close enough to keep a wary eye on the crown prince.

She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry. This was going to be difficult enough for all of them. If she let them know just how much losing them was killing her, their possessive natures would make them try to hold on even tighter. No, once she was sure Jayce was free from whatever plots were swirling around him, she would go back to her life and find a new undercover assignment. I.D.E.A. could set her on the trail of yet another crook. Throwing herself into a new persona in a new world with a new enemy to fight would kill the crushing void left when Jayce and Damian were gone.

At least that was the lie she told herself to be able to draw a breath and put one foot in front of another.

“I need to let Alayna know I’m okay,” she said to Damian.

“We’ll get you set up in Jayce’s apartment,” he replied. “Then you can contact your partner and meet with the captain of the guards.”

“I’m not staying in Jayce’s rooms.” Much as she’d love still sleeping every night wrapped in four strong arms and hearing a lullaby of their soft snores, she was an unmarried woman. Sharing Jayce’s suite would
never
be allowed. Damian was Jayce’s bodyguard, so no one batted at eye at their cohabitation. But a woman in the crown prince’s residence?
No way…

“Why the hell not?” Jayce turned to gape at her for a moment before focusing on the road again.

The city of Caldrion loomed in the horizon, growing larger and larger in her vision, reminding Izzie of a storm rolling in. “I can’t stay with you two. People will talk.”

“Izzie…” Jayce growled. “I’ve told you and told you…You belong with us now.”

She shook her head. “Once you’re back in the palace, you’ll think differently.”

“I love you!”

“Don’t shout at me!”

Damian’s hand settled on her shoulder. “Izzie…please. I know what you’re trying to do.”

“Well then…enlighten me.”

“You’re trying to protect Jayce from his father’s anger.”

“Ya think? The king wouldn’t even pin a fucking medal on me—a medal I earned, I’ll remind you. I doubt he’d welcome an unmarried woman sharing Jayce’s suite.” Izzie heaved a weary sigh. This argument had been going on since they finished the burial, taking a DNA sample and then committing the body of the unknown criminal to be claimed by the desert. “I can’t live with you. I’m a single woman, and you’re the crown prince of Bromond. You’re not supposed to even be alone with a woman without a proper chaperone.”

“I know who the hell I am!” Jayce hit a fist against the steering wheel. “Someone tried to kill me. You think I give a shit about propriety now? You’re an I.D.E.A. agent—a decorated I.D.E.A. agent—and you’re now working with my bodyguard to keep me safe. That means you need to be with me all the time, and
that
means you’ll live in
my apartment
. End of discussion.”

He certainly sounded like royalty now. Izzie’s mouth twitched into a grin that quickly dropped to a frown when the city gates loomed large in front of the hovercar. “We’ll see what happens after you talk to your father.”

“Fuck!” Damian was scrolling through his communicator. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Staring at him over the seat, Izzie tried to ease his agitation. “I’m a detective, so mind you, that makes me more perceptive than the average person… But I’d say you’re a little upset about something.”

His fierce frown told her he didn’t appreciate her sarcasm. “Jayce, you’ve gotta take us to the city circle. Now.”

“City circle?” he asked, staring in the rearview mirror. “Why?”

“It’s Kamala’s birthday. Her
hadiadas
is in ten minutes.”

Jayce’s eyes flew wide. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Fuck!” The car accelerated, zipping along the Caldrion streets at a speed sure to cause a wreck.

Izzie hung on to the door as Jayce took a hard left. Since Jayce appeared too occupied trying to keep from killing them all in a horrendous car wreck, she asked Damian, “What’s a
hadiadas?
”

“The ceremony of the veil. Kamala’s turning thirteen today. According to Bromondi custom, she’s no longer a little girl who can bare her face and must now don a
wenora
and veil. Since she’s a princess, the king always performs the
hadiadas
in public to set a good example for other young women.”

“It’s a big family affair. At least it was for all my other sisters,” Jayce added as the car slowed near the crowd gathering around the tall monument at the very center of Caldrion. “My father will be furious that I forgot.”

“Won’t he already be upset you’ve been gone for a week?” she asked.

“I had a guard tell him Damian and I were going to the compound. I only wish someone would’ve reminded me about Kamala’s
hadiadas
.” He let the car drop to the ground, threw open the door, and pointed at the platform where the rest of the royal family stood. “Izzie, cover yourself and meet me up there.”

“Wait!” Izzie grabbed his arm, dragging him to a halt. “Don’t tell anyone about the intruder.”

“Why not? They need to be on alert as well and—”

“Just listen to me.” She leveled a hard stare at Jayce and then shifted to Damian. “Very few people knew you were at the compound. We need to figure out who exactly had that knowledge because it will narrow down our suspects.”

“You couldn’t possibly believe my family had anything—”

“I won’t rule
anyone
out. Damian will agree.” Izzie was pleased to see him nod in support.

“Fine,” Jayce said. “I won’t tell anyone about it. For now.”

* * * *

Jayce hurried to the dais with Damian hot on his heels. He glanced over his shoulder, watching Izzie drag the pink
wenora
over her head. His heart was heavy, knowing how much she despised the robe and veil, even if the ones she’d brought from the compound were pretty and feminine. He hated asking her to wear them, but now wasn’t the time to start “rocking the boat,” as Izzie had called it.

Sure, they’d talked about the changes he might one day be able to enact, but those changes wouldn’t be for years—not until his father either died or chose to abdicate and retire, as his grandfather had done.

He passed his mother and sisters to reach his father, who was standing with Jayce’s mother. Charisa held the black garments her daughter would wear to mark her transition to womanhood. The color seemed appropriate. Although it was meant to mark the mourning of her childhood, to Jayce, it was a somber sign of how much of her freedom would die that day.

So unfair!

“Where have you been?” King Steraph III demanded as he grabbed Jayce’s upper arm, jerking him aside. Dressed from head to foot in royal gold, he looked every bit the part of the stern, seasoned ruler.

“I told you, I went to the compound.” Jayce didn’t pull away despite how cruelly his father’s fingers dug into his arm.

“
You
didn’t tell me,” Steraph replied, squeezing a little tighter. “A guard did. You are my son. You owe me more courtesy than that.”

Although Steraph was right, Jayce couldn’t explain why he and Damian had to make such a hurried escape from the palace. He’d been in such a panic about what Izzie had witnessed he’d wanted to get her the hell away from everyone. His father already suspected something strong existed between the two men, judging from the comments about Damian that seemed to grow snider with each passing month. Had Izzie turned out to be an enemy, she could have destroyed his life. “I’m sorry, Father. Damian and I—”

A growl rose from Steraph’s throat. “Damian. I asked you to dismiss him. There are better bodyguards. Send him away.”

“None would protect me the way Damian does. He’d give his life for me.”

“No doubt.” Steraph’s eyes moved to where Damian and Izzie waited several meters away, clearly giving Jayce time alone with his father. Izzie was now covered head to foot with a pink floral print. Only her beautiful eyes could be seen. “Who is that woman?” The king nodded at Izzie.

Since his father wasn’t waiting to have this family discussion in private, Jayce tried to hold off on introductions. “I’ll explain later when we get back to the palace.”

“If you wanted to wait, then you shouldn’t have brought her to Kamala’s ceremony. I was sure you wouldn’t even make it. Your own sister, and you treat her this way!”

Having grown accustomed to the angry tone his father often used, Jayce thought nothing of the scolding, especially since Steraph was right. He
should
have remembered his sister’s big day. He loved Kamala because of her sweet nature, and she was also his only full-blooded sister. “I was…distracted. I’m sorry, Father. After the
hadiadas
, I’ll introduce you.”

“Now,” Steraph demanded. He beckoned to Damian and Izzie with an insistent wave of his hand.

Her eyes widened, and she glanced to Damian, which made Steraph growl again.

“She’s an Earthling,” Jayce blurted out as an excuse. He sure didn’t want Izzie getting off on the wrong foot simply because she didn’t understand that a Bromondi man—especially a king—was supposed to be obeyed immediately and without question.

Damian took a hold of her elbow and hurried her over to reach Steraph. Damian bowed, as did Izzie, perhaps not realizing that women were supposed to affect a more formal curtsy when in the king’s presence.