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Priest made a questioning noise. “Where the kid goes?”
“Yeah.” He kept his eyes on the crown prince from where he was sitting under the shade of an umbrella. “It’s mostly humans, and it’s not in a very Supe-friendly country. I want to know who the prince is spending time with and if anybody has taken… an interest in him. Just tell Storm to ask around but to be careful. We aren’t going to have a lot of friends there.”
“Will do. And if we come across anything, we’ll let you know ASAP. I know you’re itching to get out of there.” Priest said it with a chuckle, but it was the truth; he was the worst with protection detail. He didn’t mind running the team, but working one-on-one with the protectee was his least favorite part of the job. He tended to get antsy if he was stuck in one place for too long with nothing interesting to do since most people were smart enough to steer clear of a target being guarded by a Hellhound.
He hung up with Priest but didn’t put his phone down, pulling up his emails instead and starting to go through things to see if he needed to respond to anything urgent. He flicked his eyes over toward where Remi was sunbathing every few minutes, noticing he hadn’t moved a muscle in over half an hour. He wondered if he’d fallen asleep.
Right as he was about to go over and poke at him, maybe suggest they head in for lunch themselves, he heard footsteps and jerked his head up, becoming alert from one breath to the next.
Heading straight for Remi was his guard from yesterday, the Demon who had hated Jeremiah on sight. He threw a scowl at Jeremiah as he passed, so he assumed he’d been told he’d been reassigned away from the crown prince.
Jeremiah made a note to keep an eye on the man. If he had been overly fond of his protectee, that could prove to be a problem.
The other person who had exited the palace was a young woman he didn’t recognize, but she was wearing the same outfit all of the servants wore: black pants with a pale lavender shirt tucked in and polished shoes. She came right over to him, stopping a few feet away, and smiled warily.
He knew he made people nervous, but it didn’t suck any less when a stranger looked at him like that. Like they were afraid he’d burst into flames at any second and burn them alive.
“Sir, Her Majesty wanted me to make sure you knew that if you need anything while you’re staying here, all you have to do is let us know. We’d be happy to accommodate special dietary needs or anything like that. Or if you need an extra pillow or anything for your room. Please do not hesitate to ask.”
Jeremiah stared at her for a moment and then forced a smile that he was sure was almost as scary as his resting face based on the way she blanched and swayed back. “Tell her thank you, but I’m perfectly fine.”
She nodded and quickly hurried away from him. He wondered if she had lost a bet or something, having to be the one to come and tell him the queen’s message.
He waited until she was back inside and out of sight before turning toward his protectee. He frowned at what he saw. Remi was no longer lounging back in his chair, looking relaxed and sun-kissed. He was standing next to his seat, talking animatedly with Greg, who looked pissed as hell.
Something about the exchange tickled at his instincts, and Jeremiah pushed to his feet, tucking his phone into his pocket and sauntering over.
As soon as Greg saw him coming, he snapped his mouth shut with a glare.
Remi looked over his shoulder, but Jeremiah couldn’t read the expression on his face. He had on darker sunglasses than he had the day before, completely covering his eyes, and without being able to see them, he was much harder to read.
“There a problem over here?” Jeremiah asked as he drew closer.
“No, it’s nothing,” Remi said quickly. Too quickly.
Jeremiah didn’t stop until he was between the two, forcing them both to step back, and then he turned and faced Greg. He could feel Remi frowning at the back of his head, but he ignored him for the moment. “You got a problem?”
He could tell the Demon had to force his face to relax, and it set Jeremiah’s Hellhound on edge.
“No, no problem,” Greg said. “I just wanted to remind Remi to put on sunscreen.”
Jeremiah didn’t take his eyes off the Demon. There had been a flush in Remi’s cheeks when he’d walked up, but was it from embarrassment or the sun? Jeremiah had never heard of a Siren getting a sunburn, no matter how light-skinned or pale they were. They were Sirens. They were built to live on the water and in the sun. But maybe because he was only half Siren, Remi could get burned.
Or, maybe, that was a bullshit excuse.
Either way, he knew he needed to nip in the bud whatever was going on with the Demon.
He crossed his arms over his chest, emphasizing how much bigger he was than Greg, and stared him down. “Next time you have a concern about his safety or well-being, you bring it to me. I’m running point on his detail now. Not you.” Narrowing his eyes, he added lowly, “Everything that has to do with him is my business, not yours.”
Greg’s face hardened in an instant, but all he did was nod, turn on his heel, and stalk away.
Jeremiah waited until he was completely out of sight before turning around to face Remi, whose face was mutinous. “Is that true? Do you need to put on sunscreen?’
For a moment, he didn’t think he’d answer. Or he’d get some bratty response based on the mulish expression the prince was rocking. But then he seemed to sag into himself, and he just nodded, reaching down to grab a bottle from underneath the chair he’d been lounging in. “Yeah, I’m supposed to reapply it every few hours.”
Jeremiah hadn’t seen him apply it at all, though he guessed he could have done it in his bedroom before he’d come out in his bright turquoise swim trunks. Inhaling deeply, he thought he could detect a light chemical scent on Remi’s skin. Barely. Definitely time to reapply.
He held out a hand, and the prince stared at it with his eyebrows raised.
