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“Silas Archer?” Adam lifts a curious brow.
“He, um…” He glances at me, uncertainty swirling in his eyes.
“It’s okay. I’m pretty sure Adam’s already figured out the truth about us.”
“What? That your relationship was arranged by the royal household?” he scoffs. “They like to think no one can figure out their secrets, but they forget that everyone they hire to guard the royal family is former special teams. We’re not all brawn with no brain, as they like to believe. I knew from the beginning.”
“Okay.” Jameson pushes out a breath, obviously grateful he doesn’t have to pretend in front of Adam anymore.
Truthfully, so am I.
“Silas Archer shared all the positive press surrounding my dance with the princess during the gala. Then he made a proposition. He’d guarantee additional governmental resources for several of my charities operating in the Middle East and Africa, especially for many of the refugees who’ve come to us without passports. In exchange, I would agree to marry you.” His gaze meets mine. “I reacted as I imagine you did. I refused. Insisted I wanted to marry for love. That he could take his veiled bribe and shove it up his arse.”
I laugh slightly. “I would have loved to see Silas’ face when you told him that.”
“It was priceless. Hell, it looked like he’d already taken my advice. That man looks like he has a stick permanently shoved up his backside.”
“He certainly does,” I say, my laughter growing. After the events of tonight, I need this moment of levity.
Unfortunately, it’s short-lived, Adam soon pressing for more information.
“What happened after you turned down Archer’s proposal?”
“My father was livid.” Jameson’s expression drops as he runs a hand through his perfectly groomed blond hair. “Archer not only offered to help cut through miles of bureaucratic red tape I’ve been fighting for years, but my father hoped having a son with strong ties to the monarchy would give his company preferential treatment when bidding on government contracts. These contracts are often worth billions of dollars, especially from the U.S. government. Even more valuable than that, Archer promised him a title upon our marriage.”
“A title is more valuable than a contract worth billions of dollars?” Adam asks incredulously.
“To my father, absolutely. The thing you have to understand about him is that he grew up dirt poor.”
“I know,” Adam says. “My father served with him.”
At this revelation, I dart my eyes toward Adam.
“In the army and the guard,” he adds.
“He was royal guard?” My eyes widen.
Jameson nods. “For a few years before taking a risk and opening his own private security company. It paid off. My father’s smart, but he’s also a natural salesman. Convinced people to invest in his company when he barely had two pennies to rub together. Everything he built was because of hard work and determination, not because he was handed a hefty trust fund.
“Because of this, he tends to value certain things above all else. Like titles. And power. They’re two of the few things money can’t buy, although one could argue power is easily bought in most countries. That those with money are the ones with the power. Regardless, my father saw this as his opportunity to climb the social ladder even higher. He threatened to cut me off. Remove me from his company. Take away my inheritance. Which also meant taking away my means to not only provide for myself but also to support my various philanthropic endeavors.
“Still, I didn’t care. I was determined to find a way to make things work with Callie.” He sucks in a shaky breath. “Less than a week later, she showed up at my garage and told me she was leaving town. And me. That she didn’t love me. That she never could. That she was just having some fun with a spoiled rich boy and it was time for her to move on. Then she drove away. I tried to get in touch with her, find out what was really going on, but she cut off all contact.” He squeezes his eyes shut, pulling his lips between his teeth. “Never in a million years could I have imagined it was because…” He trails off, unable to finish his sentence.
I reach for his hand, squeezing, knowing how hard it is for people in our position to show emotion. I went years refusing to show any for fear it would be used against me. Which is why I don’t believe for a second Jameson had anything to do with what happened to Callie.
Maybe I’m being overly naïve, but I can’t shake the feeling in my gut he’s as much a victim as Callie is in this entire scenario.
“Not to sound insensitive,” Adam begins after a few moments of silence, “but do you think your father may have put Callie up to it? Bribed her to walk away so you’d accept Archer’s proposal?”
Jameson wipes his cheeks, clearing his throat. “I don’t see how he’d even know about her. No one did. Neither one of us told anyone. We were careful to keep what we had private.”
“Nothing stays a secret forever,” Adam tells Jameson before shifting his attention toward me. “Someone will eventually uncover the truth, no matter how careful you think you’ve been.”
His words may be for Jameson, but I sense they’re also directed at me.
A warning to walk away now before Creed and I find ourselves in a similar situation.
Except I won’t be the one who mysteriously disappears.
