“Because you’d be in breach of your contract with Penwick. They could sue you until you didn’t have a dime left to your name. They could make your life absolutely miserable. Your credibility, the good name and reputation that you’ve spent years building…all of it would be gone. I won’t let you ruin your life for some man you’re infatuated with.”
The blood rises to my face, and I feel my cheeks flush. I know that I’m bound by my contract, but I want my dad to fight for me. To see my side for once. To help me figure out how to get out of it and to recognize that this is in the best interest of our client as well.
“But—”
“No, that’s it. Conversation over.”
“What if there was a good reason for coming clean with Anton?” I hurry to say. “What if it could actually help keep him safe?”
My dad scoffs. “The man has never once accepted security or extra protection. That’s the whole reason we’ve had to go about all this undercover business. Coming clean would do nothing but irritate him and put his life more in jeopardy.”
“Not necessarily.” I’ve been weighing my options, trying to figure out how much of what Anton told me last night I can disclose without completely betraying his confidence. I want him to have the chance to talk to his mom about his plans to abdicate, but I also want to keep him safe. If this news gets out, and Duke finds out that there’s no one in his way on his quest for the throne, then the threat against Anton’s life all but disintegrates.
I like the sound of that.
My dad is watching me closely. “What do you know, Rose? You better not be withholding information. We’re counting on your reports to be complete and accurate. That’s what Queen Della hired us for, and if you’re falling down on the job or concealing information, we’re going to have issues.”
It’s my turn to roll my eyes. “Give me a break, Lennox. You know I’m good at my job. I have been for almost a decade.”
“Things change. People change.” My dad’s eyes flash, and he points at me. “Clearly. Look at you, leading with emotion. You’re usually so clinical and detached.”
He’s not wrong. I’ve become so much like him over the past several years, keeping those closest to me at a distance, because I thought all I had was this job. It was something I was good at, and it was a connection to the father who abandoned me. This job has become my identity. As a result, I’ve shuttered everything else of meaning.
But the thought of my whole life as a security agent going up in flames doesn’t freak me out like it would have last month. Then, I didn’t know what I’d be without it. But now? I kind of can’t wait to figure out what I could be…what comes next for me.
In order to get to what’s next, I need to keep Anton safe, so…
“There might be a change in the line of succession in Penwick.” I cross my arms and wait for my words to land.
My dad’s eyes widen a fraction of an inch before he schools his features into the same perpetually even expression I’ve come to associate with him. I swear the man has completely suppressed all his emotions.
“I’m listening.”
“It’s not my place to say more.”
“It darn well is. Tell us what you’ve found out.” He motions to the room, where one of our colleagues has now joined us.
I hate that I’m about to betray Anton’s confidence, but I’m doing it for his safety and for the greater good of coming out from the shadows. I pray he’ll understand when everything comes to light.
“Anton is planning to abdicate.”
My dad flinches so hard his rolling chair moves backward and bumps into the desk. “He told you that?”
I nod.
“When?”
“Last night. I told you, I’m not withholding information, Lennox.”
Terry, our colleague, immediately starts typing on the computer, but my dad stares me down. “You think this changes the threat against him?”
“If the threat is coming from someone within the Penwick palace or the royal line, then wouldn’t this massive change-up affect their plans?”
“But nobody knows?”
I shake my head. “He said I was the first person he told.”
I keep my expression even because I can play my dad’s game too, but my lips tingle from where I kissed Anton last night. I absently bring my fingers up and touch them because they feel like they’re on fire even now. I don’t take it lightly that Anton trusted me enough to share his plans. I’m going to earn that trust with honesty.
