His father, who’d been watching from his position in the room, finally ended his call. “What’s going on? Out with it, Marcello.” The room got very tense at their father’s brusque tone. He rarely used it except when stressed or angry.
Marcello pursed his lips, but he couldn’t ignore a direct order from their father, especially with other non-royals in the room.
“Anda’s an agent. One of ours, but an agent nonetheless.”
Alex ended his call and dived into the conversation, first by dismissing the non-royals in the room to a side conference room.
After they were gone, Cat spoke first. “She’s an actress. What do you mean she’s an agent?”
Ethan glanced at Anda, surprised that she wasn’t saying anything. Then again, she’d probably never been in the presence of the King, Queen, the heir apparent, and other high-level royals or royal relations all at once. She also probably hadn’t planned on meeting them wearing his jacket over a tattered dress, with bruises, cuts, dried blood, and no shoes, either.
If she wouldn’t speak up, then he would do it for her. “Anda’s an actressandan agent, and fucking great at both of them. She’s also the love of my life, in case that wasn’t clear earlier.”
Anda started shaking her head, but he just gripped her hand tighter. “It’s true, Anda. I didn’t appreciate that three months ago, but I do now.”
She just sighed, as if she were incredibly weary and tired of it all. He didn’t like to hear her sounding so defeated, not from his Anda.
His father glanced at Marcello then back at him. “Where did you two meet?”
Ethan nodded his head at Marcello. “Where do you think? Marcello sent Anda to spy on me. Was it any wonder I fell in love with her?”
“Bullshit.” Marcello turned from the screens he was monitoring to face them. “She abused her position as an agent to get close to you. It wasn’t real. She doesn’t deserve to be in this room. The only reason she’s here is because the press has pictures of you both from the ballroom and are now speculating about a secret romance. Not to mention, you wouldn’t come to the bunker without her. So, to keep you safe, and prevent a public shitstorm raining down on all of us, I brought her back here.”
Alex’s eyes flared with anger. “Why the fuck did you need to spy on Ethan? Does this mean you’ve sent someone to spy on me, too? How about our sisters? What about Mama?”
Marcello crossed his arms. “It wasn’t like that.”
Ethan quickly fired back. “It was exactly like that. You thought I was conducting illegal experiments on Navy ships, and sent someone to spy on me and collect evidence that I was in the clear. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you did because I might never have met Anda otherwise, but the reason for sending her on that ship was complete bullshit. You’re a paranoid asshole.”
“I am not a paranoid—”
“You fucking are. How could you ever fucking think I would ever be involved in something like that? Do you even know me at all?”
“Of course I didn’t think you were responsible, but you might have gotten mixed up in something without realizing it. You’re too young to know—”
“Oh, fuck that and fuck you. I’m not too young for anything. I’m old enough to die for my country, in case you missed it. This is exactly the problem: all of you still see me as some kind of child. All the insults and the taunting and the treating me like a kid…I don’t deserve any of it. I grew up a long fucking time ago, and all of you need to accept that.”
Nate shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “We’re certainly just teasing you. We don’t mean anything malicious by it.”
“The fuck you don’t. I know what teasing is. I’m in the Navy, and we bullshit each other all the time. I can take that kind of shit. What all of you do is not general bullshitting. I may be the baby of the family in the sense that I’m the youngest one, but that doesn’t mean you should treat me like one.”
Marcello scoffed. “Is that why you started dating an agent? So you can prove to us that you’re grown up?”
“First off, I shouldn’t have to prove to you that I’ve grown up, but that’s all I seem to do even though none of it is ever enough. None of you had to prove your worth when you got older, only me.”
Ethan smirked just before he revealed his ultimate secret. He knew it might mean the end of his agent life, but it was time to disclose it. “As far as Anda is concerned? I didn’t date her because she’s an agent. If you want to know the truth,big brother, I’ve actually been working as an agent for the last six months, more if you count the training I had beforehand.”
There was silence in the room for about two seconds, before several conversations broke out at once.
“No fucking way.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck are you thinking?”
“Ethan! If this is true, you could have been killed!”
“How could you do this without telling us or checking with us first?”
“Isn’t it bad enough that you’re gone all the time, now you have to risk your life even more? Don’t you know how much we worry?”
