“Yes, Your Highness.” He stood, gave a half bow, and walked out the way he’d come, scooping up his weapons in the process.
Galen moved to the door and locked it behind him, for all the good it would do. It hadn’t kept him out the first time, and it wouldn’t do it a second time if he changed his mind or Phillip altered his orders. Theo sighed. “Our timeline just got a whole hell of a lot more complicated.”
Meg moved around the kitchen island to frown down at him. She was a vision in her short, white robe, her dark hair tangled around her face, her mouth looking distinctly just-fucked. The robe parted as she moved, revealing a slice of skin down to her stomach that drew his gaze. She snapped her fingers near her eyes. “Up here, Theo.” She frowned harder. “You’re seriously going to toss me onto a plane and ride off to meet your uncle, knowing that he’s planned something nasty for you?”
“I’m going to put you on a planepreciselybecause my uncle has something nasty planned.” Phillip would use the three of them against each other to obtain what he wanted, and then he’d make them all disappear.
Meg stared for several long moments. “I don’t like this.”
“No one does.” Theo pushed to his feet and took her hands. He glanced at Galen. “We promised not to let anything happen to you, princess. We’ve already fucked that up, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying—that either of us is going to stop trying.”
“What about you? If something happens to you…”
“Nature of the beast.”
Meg reached up and touched his face. “Don’t do that. Don’t act like it doesn’t matter what happens to you. It matters.”
Galen walked over and set his gun on the kitchen counter. “He’s right. There’s a decent chance Phillip will let you go if he’s got us both in his control. We’re Thalanian, exiled or not, which puts us under his jurisdiction. You’re American. If word gets out that Phillip Fitzcharles is ordering American girls snatched off the street, it will be a diplomatic nightmare. He’s too smart to risk that.”
Theo permitted himself a small smile. “I see you’ve been talking to Alaric.” If there was one thing his cousin was good for, it was running his mouth. Theo still hadn’t confirmed one way or another if Alaric was reporting directly to Phillip, but he had quite the internet following by virtue of being related to the late Queen of Thalania and being too handsome for his own good.
Theo just insured that, should Phillip make the wrong move where Meg was concerned, Alaric going public with it would benefit him greatly. He’d go publicly speculating on howvery strangeit was that Thalania had taken a particularly nasty interest in some poor American girl who just happened to date the wrong guy.
It wasn’t foolproof, or Theo would have put it into play earlier, but if Phillip already had what he wanted, he might hold off going after Meg to avoid bringing more trouble down on his head.
Galen shook his head. “You should have told me that you looped in that idiot. There’s got to be a less roundabout way to protect her.”
“Heris standing right here.” Meg stepped back enough that she could look at both of them. “This isn’t a decision you get to make without me.”
“This is what you wanted, princess. To go home, back to your life. To follow your plan.” She’d already sacrificed enough just by being with them. He still hadn’t gotten around to telling her about the money, but to be fair, he hadn’t told Galen, either.
Meg sighed. “This is so screwed up. I had a plan. It was a very good plan, and now…”
“It can’t matter.” Galen’s dark eyes held the same emotion squeezing Theo’s chest until he felt like he’d never draw a full breath again.Love.He loves her, too. Galen couldn’t tell her any more than Theo could. It would be unspeakably cruel to say those three little words before they launched her back into the life she’d claimed for her own. She’d grown up at the mercy of others’ whims, and she’d fought tooth and nail to free herself.
He wouldn’t be the one to wrap her in chains again.
Neither of them would.
Galen stroked her hair back from her face. “There’s not a way through this where our shit stays intact. No matter which way it plays out, compromises will be made that will break us. Better for you to go back now and resume your life. Get your degree. Be the best fucking accountant out there until you figure out what you really want to do with your life.”
He knew what came next.Find a man who worships the ground you walk on. Let him love you. Marry him. Make a family with him.
Fuck. He swallowed, his insides turning to shattered glass at the thought of Meg settling down with some asshole. Except he wouldn’t be an asshole. She was too smart for that. She’d find a nice guy with a little edge, one who wouldn’t bore her to death. It would take him a while to get past the many walls around her heart, but if he was worthy, he’d manage.
She’d be happy.
Happier than she could be in some compromised semi-secret bullshit of a relationship with him and Galen.
Meg stepped away from Galen’s touch. “Rationally, I know you’re right. This just sucks.”
“Yeah,” Theo ground out.
She pressed her lips together and squared her shoulders. “No use in arguing about it. Let’s just…” She gave herself a shake. “Let’s get another look at that birth certificate. You need a plan for when you go back there or you really will be walking into a trap.”
God, he loved her so much, it made his heart feel like it could beat itself right out of his chest. Theo cleared his throat. “Yeah. Sure. Let’s do that.” He walked to where they’d stashed their stuff and pulled out the folder where he’d kept the various documents they’d painstakingly collected over the last few months.
They laid them out on the kitchen island. Theo read over them for the millionth time, but nothing had changed. No secrets jumped out and smacked him in the face. No path forward revealed itself.
