Protecting his Past

  Guarding Royalty, Book 1

  Elouise East

  Copyright © 2023 Elouise East

  PROTECTING HIS PAST (GUARDING ROYALTY, BOOK 1)

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, Elouise East. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the internet or by any other means, electronic or print, without premising from Elouise East.

  The unauthorised reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Please purchase only authorised electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights and livelihood is appreciated.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All products and/or brand names mentioned are registered trademarks of their respective holders/companies.

  Publisher: Elouise East

  Cover Design: Covers by Jo

  Editor: Maria Vickers

  Beta Readers: Emma Brown

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Protecting his Past

  His secrets catch up with him, but luckily, protection is in his blood.

  Dominic has big shoes to fill. His promotion to the Lead Protection Officer for the king came at a price no one wants to think about. However, it’s something he is very aware of. When his past comes calling, he has to make even more split-second decisions, and he’s terrified of the potential consequences. Not for himself, but for those he cares about and protects. Including a certain PA who’s never too far from his thoughts.

  Randall has been the King’s personal assistant for many years. It’s long hours and extremely busy, but he loves it. Even after being held prisoner by a twisted man hell bent on revenge, it didn’t diminish his love for the job or the people he works for. But he never imagined falling in love. Especially with someone ten years younger than him. But love is love, right?

  When Dominic’s secret comes to light, he has to shore his defences against those people who would use it against him. And the harder he falls for Randall, the more chinks in his armour appear.

  How can he keep everyone safe when the clock is ticking?

  Protecting his Past is a kinky, age gap romance with a handsome, secretive bodyguard and a personal assistant, who thinks he’s too old for love.

  Author note

  If you would like to see any potential triggers for this book and any other books I’ve written, please go to this link on my website: https://elouiseeast.com/triggers

  Chapter 1

  Dominic

  Dominic Ainsley studied his surroundings. The room he was in was far too big for his liking and had too many exits and too many people, but he could hardly deny the king his birthday celebration, especially when there were children involved. He doubted he would hold the Lead Protection Officer position for long if he put his foot down too harshly with the king. Though it hadn’t stopped him from trying. The event differed from the Trooping the Colour that happened every year. That official birthday celebration happened on a different day and took place at Buckingham Palace. This event was the king’s personal celebration, and he’d invited kids from all over the country to join him.

  King Andrew was currently talking to his son, Prince Frederick, which made Dominic even more nervous. Having so many royal members under one roof was not something he ever thought they’d do again after the events of the past few years. When a member of their own family attempted to kill others, it made most people hesitant to group together.

  But not the Sutcliffes.

  The Sutcliffes rallied around, gathered their strength and pushed the assassination attempts behind them, showing the country and the commonwealth just what they were made of.

  Pure steel.

  “Check in,” he ordered his team through his earpiece.

  “Clear,” said Colt, his second-in-command.

  “Clear,” added Nick.

  After receiving five more all-clear answers, he relaxed marginally. “Brett, how’re things on your end?”

  Brett Cage was the Head of Security, which meant he was technically Dominic’s boss, although Dominic was in charge of his own security team, which concentrated on the king’s protection alone. Regardless, he still answered to Brett.

  “All clear this end,” Brett confirmed. “I’m not going to jinx it, though.”

  “Please don’t,” Dominic muttered. “I’d be ecstatic if we went an entire month without some security issue or another.”

  “You and me both.”

  Dominic snapped to attention when Andrew hugged Frederick and moved away, Colt slipping to his front and Dominic stepping to his back. They met up with Kean and Kendal, the king’s partners.

  “We just have the children’s choir to listen to, and we can go,” Andrew said over his shoulder.

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  The choir consisted of forty-five children who had been practising for months for this event. Dominic could understand why Andrew didn’t want to leave until they performed. And he enjoyed it, too, even as he wished they could leave before they tempted fate more than he was comfortable with.

  His phone vibrated in his inside pocket, but he ignored it. He couldn’t have any distractions, and if there was an emergency, it would come across his earpiece. When it vibrated again, he wished he’d silenced the thing completely instead of just muting it. The only reason he kept it with him was for the unusual times when the earpieces didn’t work, and as Brett had just received some new ones that passed the tests their security teams had put them through, he doubted anything would go wrong with them.

  “Time for home,” Andrew said, kissing Kean and Kendal on their cheeks. “I’ll see you back there.” He turned to Dominic, who waved him towards the exit. “Thank you for indulging me, Dominic.”

  “London is moving,” Dominic said into his earpiece. Then, he focused on Andrew’s comment. “It’s not my place to dictate your actions, Your Majesty, only to keep you safe. I may have…strong opinions about certain aspects, but in the end, it’s your choice and my job to make it happen.”

  Andrew chuckled as they headed towards the exit Dominic had already decided on taking him out of, the other members of his team coalescing beside them.

  “Your Majesty! Can I have a minute of your time, please?”

  Dominic and Andrew groaned in unison as Malachi Sanders, the up-and-coming reporter who dogged their every step, jogged over to them. Colt held out a hand to stop him from moving any closer.

  “Please, Your Majesty. Do you have a quote for the paper about the children’s choir?” Malachi asked.

  Andrew smiled, though Dominic could see he was tired. “The children’s choir was absolutely beautiful. They did the songs justice, and I hope they have many more years of song ahead of them.”

  Dominic encouraged Andrew to continue moving, which he did.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

  “He won’t quit,” Andrew muttered.

  The black town car with tinted windows waited for them, and Dominic halted Andrew before he exited the palace while Colt and Viola checked out the driver and that there was no one else waiting inside the car or boot. When they gave him the all-clear, he guided Andrew to the now-open back door. Kean and Kendal would leave in a separate car. It was one thing Dominic had insisted upon. There was no way he was having three important members of the royal family in one car at the same time.

  Andrew slid inside, followed by Colt, and Dominic stood in the doorway, waiting for his team to climb into the two cars, one in front, one behind, before climbing in beside the king.

  “Go,” he ordered as soon as he had closed the door.

  As the cars sped towards Windsor, a journey that would take around an hour, Dominic didn’t relax. He couldn’t. The life of the monarch was in his hands, and after being given this position when the previous bodyguard, Simon, had been killed while protecting Andrew, he was always second-guessing himself. Was he doing enough? Was it a good idea? Could he do something differe
nt? Questions went around and around in his head that he doubted would ever be answered.

  “Dominic?”

  He blinked and focused on Andrew. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No, Your Majesty.”

  Andrew sighed. “One of these days, you’re going to call me Andrew.”

  Dominic doubted that, but he let it go. “Are you heading straight to your suite when we get back?”

  “Yes. I think I’ll call it a night after this.” Andrew rested his head back and closed his eyes. “I’m not getting any younger.”

  Dominic smiled at Colt, who rolled his eyes. They were both of the opinion that Andrew would outlive them all. And they weren’t even taking their jobs into the equation.

  After escorting Andrew to his suite and checking that it was safe, he left Landon outside and headed for the security briefing room with the rest of the team, finally able to relax a little easier knowing the king was under Windsor Castle’s roof. He slumped into an uncomfortable chair—purposefully so he didn’t fall asleep—and pulled out his phone. He froze when the missed caller’s name showed up.

  “Everything okay, Dominic?” Colt asked, standing over him.

  Dominic nodded, putting his phone away again, though his heart pounded at what the caller could want. They were only supposed to call in an emergency, but he couldn’t call them back now. He had to finish the debriefing before he could deal with that.

  “Fine, thanks. Just tired.”

  “Ain’t we all,” Nick said, kicking his feet up onto the table and resting his head back. It didn’t seem comfortable but to each their own. “If you ask me, His Majesty should take a year-long holiday in the Caribbean. We can all go with him and sun, sea and—”

  “Okay, we get the picture, Nick,” Brett said as he entered the room, followed by a troop of bodyguards. “I’ll be sure to bring that up with him at our next meeting.” He dropped into the chair behind his desk and sighed. “Let’s get this done so we can go home. Dominic?”

  “No issues that I saw. Everything ran smoothly. The earpieces seem to work great. No distortion or interference. Easy to get in, easy to get out. I feel like I missed something, but…” He shrugged.

  Brett nodded. “Yeah. It was almost too smooth.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Anyone else have any input?”

  It took twenty minutes to get through everyone’s information and opinions, and Dominic wiped his palms on his trousers several times, wishing they’d hurry so he could find out what was going on. Something had obviously happened, and they needed him, but what?

  “Dominic?”

  His gaze snapped to Brett’s, and he cursed himself for his inattention. “Hmm?”

  Brett stared at him for a long second. “Anything to add?”

  He had no clue. “Don’t think so.”

  Brett clapped his hands. “In that case, go home, rest up and return refreshed.”

  The guards filtered out slowly, and Dominic followed as patiently as he could. If anyone noticed his haste and stopped him, there would be far too many questions he couldn’t answer. Luckily, no one did, and he aimed straight for his car. Tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as he navigated the Windsor streets, he finally parked outside his house. It was a small two-bedroom place on the outskirts of the town, but it was big enough for him. He locked his car, darted up the path and let himself in the house. When the door closed behind him, he leaned back and yanked his phone from his pocket. Dialling the number he would know by heart even if it wasn’t programmed into his phone, he waited as it rang. And rang.

  Heart pounding, he paced the hallway.

  “Hello?” a soft voice said, and Dominic closed his eyes at hearing the voice he hadn’t heard for so long.

  “May?”

  A sigh sounded. “Dominic, thank god.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I think they’ve found me, Dom.”

  Dominic stopped, heat curdling inside him. “How?”

  “I don’t know. I noticed a car following me yesterday, but then it turned off, and I thought I was wrong. I went to work today, and the same car followed me again. I took the long way home and thought I’d lost them. There’s a car outside now, Dom. I don’t know what to do.”

  Dominic’s heart raced. She needed to get out of there.

  “Have you spoken to Yousef?”

  “I can’t get hold of him.” May’s voice sounded more and more stressed.

  “Okay. May, listen to me.” He paused. “Are you listening?”

  She exhaled. “Yes.”

  “Can you get to the safe room in the house?” He wished he knew where she was and what her house looked like.

  “No, there isn’t one.”

  “Goddamn it. There was supposed to be one!” Dominic glared at the wall, his mind whirling through all the possibilities. He lowered and calmed his voice. “Describe your house and location, May.”

  “Um, two-bedroom. Semi-detached house. The front garden has a stone driveway, and the back is just concrete. Um, what else?”

  “Further afield of the house. What is around you? Trees? Streets?”

  “The street backs onto an enormous field surrounded by trees. There’s an alleyway behind the house. To the front, there are just more houses.”

  How could she get out of there? “Go upstairs and peer out the back window.” He heard thumping. “Can you see anyone either in the alley or in the field or trees? You might need to look for a few minutes to see if someone moves.”

  Those three minutes were the longest of his life. “I can’t see anyone,” she whispered.

  “Grab your backpack. I assume you still have it?”

  “I do.” Rustling sounded. “I’ve got it.”

  “Comfortable shoes?”

  “Yes. Trainers.”

  “Waterproof coat?”

  “Already on.”

  “Earpiece?”

  “In my hand.”

  Despite the circumstances, he smiled; he’d taught her well. “Good. Switch to the earpiece now.”

  It took a few seconds to switch over, but then her voice came through again. “Done.”

  “Remember that sneaky training, as you called it?” She chuckled in response. “You need to use that to get yourself to the first set of trees. Quiet as a mouse. When you reach the trees, pause. Listen. Look. And listen again. When you know it’s clear, run like hell across that field to the other side.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do it. I’ll stay on the line, but I won’t say anything unless you talk first.”

  Dominic rested his forehead against the window of the door to his conservatory. He closed his eyes, listening for every inhale and exhale, every stumble, every click or squeak coming through the line. He glanced at the clock on the wall, measuring the time. It went against his instincts to let her do her thing, to do what he trained her to do, but he had to. He turned his back to the door and slid down, keeping the phone to his ear. May’s harsh breathing belied her calm exterior, but he was so proud of her.

  How had that fucker found her? She was in witness protection, for fuck’s sake. They’d changed her name, her history, her routine, everything. No one should’ve been able to find her. When May was safe, he was going to have words with her handler. Yousef should’ve been available day or night. So why the fuck wasn’t he?

  “I’m in the first lot of trees.”

  “Okay, May. Well done. Stop here and breathe for a moment. Keep your eyes scanning, and keep your ears listening. Get to know the sounds around you.”

  He fell silent again, wishing he could be there to help her, but not even he knew where she was, and he refused to ask unless they had definitely found her. If she had been found, there was no reason for him not to know her location any longer. Raking his fingers through his hair, he listened.

  “Nothing,” she whispered.

  “Then go.”

  May’s panting filled his ear, and he imagined her racing across the field as fast as her five-foot-two legs could carry her. The wait was excruciating, but it didn’t take her long. Two minutes after his words, she said, “I’m in the second lot of trees.”