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I glared around at all of them until they dropped their gazes. “Rox, you stay here and let me try to explain to them what’s going on. Then they can take you and your men to the nearest port and let you get off the ship.”
“Fuck that,” Lex muttered.
“I’m not going anywhere without you.” Roxbury folded his arms over his chest and gave me a mulish look.
“Let me handle this, Brandon,” Lex said, taking an aggressive step forward.
“Both of you be quiet. Let me remind you again that this is my life and my decision.”
It was Wyatt’s turn to erupt. “But Brandon, be sensible. He attacked the ship you were on and sank it. He stole from the king!”
“I know all that, but we’re all going to be reasonable, and work something out. Aren’t we, Rox?” He glared at me as I turned back to Lex. “Now let’s get back on your boat and go over to your ship. We’ll sit down and talk this out. Agreed?” I asked, pointing the gun at them again.
“Agreed,” Lex said, but reluctantly and he was frowning for all he was worth. “But I’m only agreeing to hearing you out. That’s it.”
“Whatever. I’d like to remind you all that I’m coming back to this ship tonight and nothing you can say will change my mind. There are things you’re not aware of and that I need to tell you. All I ask is that when I do, you back me up and be in my corner, like I’ve always been with you.”
More frowns, more mumbling, but in the end, they all finally agreed to hear me out. I went over to Roxbury and kissed him hard on the lips that were still trying to argue with me. I could feel the shock rolling off my cousins behind me.
“I’m coming back,” I promised him. “I swear it on my life.” He didn’t look convinced, and the last glimpse of him I had was him leaning over the railing glaring down at me. I turned determinedly away, and Wyatt and Asher rowed us back over to Lex’s ship.
It took only a few minutes until I was climbing on board their ship, staring back over at the Fancy Lady. I could still hear Roxbury shouting behind me.
“We need to talk,” I told Lex as soon as we were all back on board.
“We certainly do. But let me bring Harrison and Prince Chandler over to this ship. They’re both anxious to see you and make sure you’re all right.”
“I’m already here, Lex,” came a voice from behind me and I turned to see King Harrison striding toward me. I was shocked to see him, because it was such an unusual thing for him to do. He was known for appearing in war zones, with little regard for his personal safety, but this wasn’t a war.
“Your Majesty,” I said, trying to bow to him. “It’s good to see you. But what in the world are you doing here? You shouldn’t have put yourself in any danger.”
“There’s little danger, Brandon, with three good ships against one pirate vessel. And I have a score to settle against this particular pirate.” He came over to me and hugged me hard and held me out at arm’s length. He had guards standing slightly behind him, and I had to admit it was good to see him again. He was Lex’s older brother, but he had always been really good to me and in a way, I thought of him as my older brother too. I was touched that he’d come all this way on a warship to help rescue me.
On the other hand, what he’d said about a score to settle was alarming, and I was scared to death for Roxbury. Somehow, I had to convince him not to pursue this.
“Thank the gods we have you back safely.”
“Well, about that…”
“Prince Chandler is with me—the boy insisted on coming along. We’ve all been really worried about you.”
“I-I appreciate that, Your Majesty, but I-I don’t want to see Chandler.”
He looked at me with a puzzled frown. “What do you mean? I don’t think I understand.”
“It’s a long story, sir. But I can’t see him now.”
I heard a soft gasp from behind us, and I whirled around to see Prince Chandler standing some ten feet away, close enough that he obviously overheard my remark. He had an entourage of sorts around him, including the priest, Kellan. They were all staring gravely at me. I think I blushed, because I could feel the heat in my cheeks.
“If not now, then when?” Chandler asked in a quiet voice.
“I-I thought you were on the other ship.”
“No, I left and came over to this one with Harrison while you Alphas were all brawling over there with the pirates. My entire family came along on the Sudfarman ship, hoping to witness our happy reunion. Even my father, the king, who hasn’t been on a sea voyage like this in years. They all wanted to be here to see me greet my fiancé.” His eyes met mine. “Foolishly, as it turns out. I thought you’d be happy to see me again, Brandon.”
Though shocked, I had enough presence of mind to drop a deep bow to him. “Of course, it’s good to see you, Chandler. But we, uh, we have a lot to talk about. We should go somewhere private.”
“Yes, it seems that we do have a great deal to discuss, but our privacy is over with now. You were all shouting quite a lot just now, and I heard quite clearly what you were saying. Your voices carried very well. Am I to understand that you know this pirate? Have known him since your school years?”
