Page 62 of Palace of Betrayal

“Is this about the bombing of The Grace?”

“Yes, in some ways. But at the moment I can’t comment further except to say I want a complete press blackout. Lives are at stake here, and I’d value your ability to handle things as asked.”

Roberto dipped his head. “Consider it done.”

The man went to do as he was bid, but Leo stopped him. “Roberto, is Mr James on-site?”

“I’m not sure, sir. I’d need to check with the security team.”

“Do that and have him sent to me immediately, please.”

Leo didn’t know where Brody James was, but he suspected he was off running his own investigation, but it was time to bring this together. They couldn’t function in this splintered way.

“So, you’re going to have me arrested?”

Leo glanced from his father to his uncle, who was looking ragged and pathetic even in his three-piece suit. Reality had finally caught up with him since Roz had her chat with him. She hadn’t, as they’d thought, done any real damage just nicked his hand, the hand that had been covering his manhood. It had been a damn close though, having him believe that she’d done the worst imaginable to a man. Not that he considered his uncle a man. A real man would’ve acknowledged his son no matter the circumstances. He didn’t have time or the energy to dwell on the fact Atticus was his blood relative right now. The man had chosen his path of revenge instead of coming to him or the King. Now they were, and always would be, enemies.

“You committed multiple crimes against the crown. Not to mention the calculated manipulation and blatant disregard for human life and familial loyalty.”

Alwyn looked at his brother, ignoring Leo’s words, hate burning in his eyes. “You took her from me.”

Leo stepped back as his father faced his younger brother with a straight spine. “I didn’t take her, we fell in love. If I’d thought she meant something to you, I would’ve backed away, but you told me she was nobody to you.”

“She wasn’t until she was.”

“You mean she only got your attention when she picked me over you?”

“You have it all, Alfred. The Kingdom, the adoration, the power. What do I have? Nothing.”

“You had a family who loved you, a son who looked up to you. Money, a life of luxury, your health and security. You were blessed beyond your own comprehension, and you never appreciated it. Always wanting more and more until it poisoned you, made you toxic.”

His father glanced at him, and Leo dipped his chin in support. Alfred laid a hand on his brother’s shoulder and Leo knew this was hard for him. He wasn’t a man to hold a grudge, that had been proven with the way his father forgave the affair. “Perhaps you can think about the life you could’ve truly had if greed and jealousy hadn’t leeched the good from your soul. Maybe there’s some good still inside you.”

The door opened and Lance and three of his men walked towards Alwyn and took his arms, leading him from the room as he cursed and struggled. Blustering about his title and what he perceived as his right.

As the door closed, Leo sat beside his father who was slumped in the chair. He seemed to have aged a hundred years during that short conversation. “This isn’t on you, Father.”

Weary eyes met his and his father offered him a wan smile. “Perhaps, but I could’ve been a better brother.”

Leo touched his father’s arm. “No, you’re a good man, a wonderful King, and a better father and brother than either Alwyn or I deserve.” Guilt was crushing as he thought of all the times he’d shunned his father’s company or conversation out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to his mother.

Alfred palmed his cheek a look of love on his face, reserved only for a child and parent. “You’re the greatest gift of my life. I’m proud to call you son and one day I hope to call Bebe daughter. You love her. No matter how this started, it’s real.”

Leo looked away, emotion clogging his throat as he tried to fight it. He didn’t show his emotions often, locking them away was safer, but he found himself wanting to share this. “I do love her. It’s fast but the first time I saw her, I knew. Deep in my gut, I knew she was mine.”

“Then we’ll get her back and give you the chance to tell her that.”

The quiet in the room was so at odds with what was happening in the palace dungeon below and the nightmare that Bebe could be facing right this very moment. It was like a normal day, with no urgency, just a father and son.

Leo stood, a sense that he needed to do something to fix this pressing on him. Helplessness wasn’t an emotion he could tolerate. Action was his comfort zone, not politics and waiting around. This had always been the hardest part of any mission for him. Waiting for intelligence to be gathered before they could go out and operate.

He paced under the watchful eye of his father, waiting for news, looking out at the blue vista, the sun high in the morning sky.

He didn’t wait long before the door opened, and Brody James walked inside.

Leo spun toward him and levelled him with a cold glare. “If you know anything, now is the time to tell me before you join Wojcik downstairs with Roz and her team.”

Brody James looked to the King but didn’t say anything about the breach in protocol. “I have someone at the marina who saw her being pushed onto a yacht late yesterday afternoon. We have a satellite tracking it right now.”