A Royal Entanglement: The Young Royals Book 2 (35 page)

Freddie.
 
The thought was like a knife through my heart and I stifled a sob, causing my throat to ache with the suppressed sorrow.
 
God, I missed him, so much.

“Did you love him?” Lily asked quietly.

I nodded, not able to voice the words without crying.

“So why did you leave?”

I lifted my head and looked at her.
 
She was so beautiful and didn’t need all the makeup she wore.
 
Maybe me being here in the States could be a good thing, maybe I could help Lily find her way out of the lifestyle before it got it’s hooks into her.

“Because my family needed me,” I said sadly.

I stood, no longer able to continue this conversation without losing my composure.

“I’m going to take a bath,” I said as I walked out of the room.

I trudged up the stairs, feeling old before my time, and locked myself away in my room.
 
I ran the bath in the ensuite and wished that I hadn’t left my phone in Merveille.
 
I hadn’t yet picked up a new one and I was pining for the feel of it in my hand.
 
I needed to see his face, even if I couldn’t hear his voice or feel his arms around me.
 
But I had left it all behind in Merveille thinking that going cold-turkey would be the best way to get over him.

I turned off the water and slipped into the full bath, letting the heat warm my cold bones.
 
Since leaving Merveille, I hadn’t been able to get warm and it wasn’t just the temperature of the weather that had been the problem.
 
I seemed to be frozen from the inside out and the temptation to down a slug of whiskey was strong.
 
But I refused to fall into old patterns.
 
Yes, I was here in Boston because of my mother’s manipulations, but I
 
wouldn’t revert to the spineless woman I had once been.
 
I would face my problems head on and deal with them from a position of strength.

“Brooks,” I said into the phone as I walked down the flight stairs from the plane and onto the tarmac, “You’re calling me now?
 
You missed me?”

He chuckled good-naturedly, “No, but I do have some information you might be interested in.”

“I’m listening,” I said.

“I saw Alex today.”

I stopped on the bottom stair, frozen in place.
 
My lungs burned and I realised I had stopped breathing.

“Are you still there Freddie?”

“I’m here,” I said taking a breath, “Where—“ I cleared my throat, “Where did you see her?”

“She was having coffee with one of Daniel Harmon’s lawyers.
 
Seems like she needed some legal advice.”

“Are you in Boston?” I asked.

“Just overnight, why?”

“I’ve just landed.
 
Meet me for drinks?”

He named a place and we disconnected.
 
I hustled to the waiting car and slid into the back seat.
 
The flight had been long and I was exhausted.
 
I’d barely slept since I’d first heard that Alex had left Merveille and my brain was turning to mush, but I couldn’t afford the down time.
 
I needed to see Alex and get her back, like I needed air to breathe.

The car pulled up out the front of a Mayfield Hotel where the bar that Brooks had mentioned was situated.
 
I sent Dayne in ahead of me to secure a room and organise our luggage and I walked into the bar, scanning for the large frame of Brooks.
 
The man was a veritable giant, standing well over six feet tall and he stood out like a sore thumb.

I slid into the booth opposite him and a waiter was at my elbow almost instantly.

“Glenfidditch,” I said and turned back to Brooks, “So how did she look.”

Brooks shook his head and smiled, “Tired,” he said, “She looked tired and sad and maybe a bit stressed.”

“Did she know you?”

“No,” he said, “Although when Daniel introduced us she looked like she might recognise my name.”

“But you’ve worked with Daniel before.”

“Yeah, I have, but I hadn’t met her until today.”

I sat back in my seat and ran a hand through my hair, “I can’t believe you just ran into her like that.”

“I know,” he said with a chuckle, “I nearly said something to her about you.”

I sat back up and looked at him eagerly, “What did you say?”

“Nothing,” he said, “I
nearly
said something, but I didn’t want to scare her off.”

The waitress was back and slid my drink in front of me. I nodded my thanks and then took a sip.
 
I needed sleep and hopefully tonight I would get some.
 
I couldn’t do anything until tomorrow and I really didn’t even know where to start.

“You asked me not to pursue Corsair’s company," Brooks said, “Does that still stand?”

“Hell, no,” I said, “He double-crossed me.
 
I stopped payment on the cheque I gave him and as far as I’m concerned all bets are off.”

Brooks gave me a predatory smile, “Good,” he said, “Because I’m just about to make my move.”

I lifted my glass to him in a salute, “You have my blessing.”

We talked business for a while.
 
He had been instrumental in helping with the transfer of Avonlea and now that the deal was all but done, we could relax.
 
There would be a couple of weeks of shaky stock prices, but then they should stabilise and I could pour all of my concentration into Monticorp.
 
I was itching to jump into it, now that my father had officially stepped down.
 
But all of that relied on Alex.
 
There was no way I was going home until I had convinced her to come with me.
 
If I knew anything about her at all, it was that now that she’d decided to marry Bradley, it would happen quickly, which meant I had to find her before that could happen.

“So where do you think Alex is staying?” I mused, not really thinking that Brooks would know.

He shrugged, “I’d say with her parents.”

“The estate,” I said nodding.

“Do you know where it is?”

“Not a clue,” I said, “But I’m sure Dayne could find it.”
 
I yawned, my jaw cracking.
 
“Wow, I’m done.”

Brooks smiled, “Where’re you staying?”

I pointed to the ceiling, “Right here,” I said and then I looked around.
 
“This is a nice place.”

He nodded, “A buddy of mine owns it,” he said.

“I'm pretty sure you know everyone or at least know someone who knows someone.”

“I cannot confirm nor deny—”

I waved his disclaimer away, “Keep your secrets,” I said, “I need to get some sleep or I’ll be useless tomorrow.”

“I’m flying out early,” he said as we stood and dropped some bills on the table, “Going home, if you can believe it.”

“Back to Australia?”

He nodded, “Yeah, a mate of mine is getting married.
 
Thinking of staying there for a while, I have a house there that I’ve never lived in.”

“Maybe you’ll meet a nice Aussie girl and settle down,” I said, clapping him on the back.

“Yeah, nah,” he said, “Been there, done that, got the scars to prove it.”

“Never say never,” I said as we walked to the elevator.

I checked my phone to see that Dayne had messaged me the room number.
 
We stepped into the elevator and rode it to the top floor.
 
Our rooms were opposite each other and he waved good night as he entered his room and I knocked on mine.
 
Dayne opened the door almost immediately, like he was waiting right behind it.

“I need you to find where Alex’s parents live,” I said as I pulled off my suit jacket, followed by my tie.

“Already done,” he said, "I also have Bradley’s address, both home and business.
 
I’ve ordered a car to pick us up at nine in the morning.
 
Breakfast will be here at seven.”

“Excellent,” I said and yawned again.
 
“See you in the morning.”

I stripped out of the rest of my clothes and flopped face down on the bed, sleep claiming me before my head hit the pillow.

The buzzing of the alarm woke me the next morning and I stretched, feeling more human than I had in several days.
 
It took me a moment to remember where I was, but the moment I did, I was out of bed and heading for the shower.
 
I washed and dried and shaved and then dressed before walking out to the lounge/dining area.
 
Breakfast had arrived and Dayne had already poured me a cup of coffee.

“I should give you a raise,” I said as I sat down to read the morning paper.

“You already did,” he said, “And a lovely bonus too.”

I chuckled and shook my head.
 
“You deserve it,” I said.

He sat opposite me with his tablet and tapped away at it until I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I called in a favour last night while you were out,” he said, “It appears that Alex has applied for a job with Harmon Enterprises.”

“You’re a tiny bit scary,” I said and he smiled, pleased.
 
“She used to work for Daniel, before she took the job with Alyssa.”

“Yes,” he said, “But this job is not the same as her old one, in fact it is quite a bit lower down the pecking order.”

“If she’s intent on marrying Corsair, then why would she need a job?”

He shrugged, “Maybe she’s not intending to marry him.”

I could only hope.
 
That would make my job a hell of a lot easier.

“When does she start?”

“How do you know she got the job?”

“Of course she got the job,” I said, “Anyone would be lucky to have her work for them and Daniel is an old friend.
 
He would bend over backwards to give her anything she wanted.”

“Two weeks,” he said, “It’s in the Press Office as a general assistant.
 
The pay’s pretty terrible.”

I shook my head, “She could’ve walked into her old job without even blinking.
 
It just doesn’t make any sense for her to take such a low-paying job, or any job at all really.”