Rhys
It wasfunny how one moment could change your life.
One moment, my mother was alive, then she wasn’t.
One moment, my squad mates were alive, and the next everything got blown to hell. Literally.
One moment, I knew my place in the world, only for it to get turned upside down with the simple unfolding of a paper.
Last night had been a mind fuck in every way, and I was still debating the soundness of my decision to pay my brother a visit as I stared at the townhouse in front of me. There wasn’t as much security as I’d expected, though the townhouse was in one of the safest neighborhoods in northern Athenberg.
Until now, the only brothers I had were the ones in my SEAL unit. The idea of having a real brother? It kind of fucked me up, to be honest.
I walked to the front door and knocked, my skin crawling with anticipation.
Christian had left that morning. His had been the quickest trip in the history of international trips, but he had a mess on his hands in the U.S. so I couldn’t blame him.
It was just like him to drop a bombshell then leave, though.
My brother answered on the second knock. If he was surprised to see me standing on his doorstep unannounced on a Thursday afternoon, he didn’t show it.
“Hello, Mr. Larsen.”
“Hello, brother.” I didn’t bother beating around the bush.
Andreas’s smile disappeared. He regarded me for a long moment before he opened the door wider and stepped aside.
I walked in, my shoes squeaking on the shiny marble floor. Other than a few touches of white, everything in the house was gray. Light gray walls, gray furniture, gray rugs. It was like stepping into an expensive rain cloud.
Andreas led me to the kitchen, where he poured two cups of tea and handed me one.
I didn’t take it. I hadn’t come for tea.
“You knew.” I got straight to the point.
He appeared put out by my refusal and placed the extra mug on the counter with a frown. “Yes.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you say anything?”
“Why do you think, Mr. Larsen? The world thinks I’m a prince. I am a prince. Do you really think I’d jeopardize that to claim kinship with an American bodyguard who, I might mention, has been quite rude to me in every interaction we’ve had?”
I stared Andreas down. “How did you find out?”
When Christian handed me the paper with my father’s and brother’s names, I’d almost thrown it out. I knew in my gut opening it would lead to trouble. But in the end, I couldn’t resist.
Two names.
Andreas von Ascheberg, my half-brother.
Arthur Erhall, my father.
Our father.
I was related to the two people I despised most in Eldorra. Go figure.
Andreas was silent for a long while. “When I found out Nikolai was abdicating, I was…worried. About Bridget. She’d never cared much for the throne, and I didn’t think she even liked Eldorra that much. She certainly spent enough time away from it to give that impression. I thought she wasn’t suited for the role of queen.”
Barbed wire dug into my heart at the sound of Bridget’s name.
Blonde hair. Sparkling eyes. A smile that could light up even my cold, dead soul.
It’d only been three days, and I already missed her so goddamned much I would’ve cut off my right arm for the chance to glimpse her in person, but she’d been locked up tight at the palace since she left the hospital. Probably busy planning her engagement to Steffan.
Acid seeped into my veins, and I forced myself to focus on what Andreas was saying instead of spiraling again.
“I realize you don’t have a high opinion of me, but I do want what’s best for the country. Eldorra is my home, and it deserves a good ruler.”
I bristled at the implied insult. “Bridget would make a damn good ruler.”
“Yes, well, you’re biased, aren’t you?” Andreas drawled. “I had someone dig into what she’d been doing during her time in New York. Figure out where her head was at. They mentioned you two seemed…close. Closer than the average bodyguard and client.”
“Bullshit. I would’ve noticed a tail.”
“You were distracted, and it wasn’t one. It was multiple.” Andreas laughed at my dark expression. How the fuck had I missed a tail? “Don’t feel too bad. They weren’t there to hurt her. Just gather information. I was curious about you, the bodyguard who seemed to have my cousin so enamored, so I had my people dig into your background, including your parentage.” His smile hardened. “Imagine my surprise when I found out we had the same father. Small world.”
His tone remained light, but the tenseness of his jaw suggested he wasn’t as unbothered as he wanted me to think.
The story was plausible, except for me missing the tail. I had been distracted, but I didn’t think I’d been that distracted.
My mind flashed back to my uncharacteristic confrontation with Vincent in Borgia, the last-minute trip to Costa Rica, and the thousands of tiny things pre-Bridget me would’ve never done.
I do not become personally involved in my clients’ lives. I am here to safeguard you from physical harm. That is all. I am not here to be your friend, confidant, or anything else. This ensures my judgment remains uncompromised.
I scrubbed a hand over my face. Fuck.