I tried to raise my hands to my eyes to remove whatever it was that was making it so dark.

  I tried to lift my arms again, but someone once again held me down.

  "I told you to stop that."

  I could move, but oh God, it hurt.

  "Easy intern. I'll do it."

  When the gauze was finally out of the way, it was so bright in the room that I blinked several times and then squinted, my gaze searching for Xander.

  I didn't have to look far. He was right on my left. "Hi."

  His smile was tremulous. And he had stubble, well on its way to a beard.

  "You haven't shaved." My voice sounded raspy to my own ears.

  He chuckled low. "Leave it to my wife to complain about beard burn. It's the first thing she does when she wakes."

  I smiled. "Beard burn can be fun."

  He laughed and then dropped his head. I could have sworn there was another chuckle on my right. Maybe two?

  There were other people there? I tried to turn my head and winced. "It hurts."

  Xander's voice was soft. "Yeah, it's going to hurt. You need to take it easy, love. You can't do too much too soon. The fact that you're awake and talking, that's a great sign, and I'm so proud of you."

  I frowned. "Why would you be proud of me? Being awake and talking is hardly something special. Why does everything hurt?"

  Oh God, the baby. My hands moved to my belly, but it was smaller than I was used to. Frantically, I tried to grab at the sheets. This time, Xander took my hands. "Imani, look at me love."

  "Blueberry, where is she? What happened?"

  Tears were streaming from my eyes, but I wasn't even aware that I was crying until he brushed them away. "She's all right. She's just in an incubator. They had to do an emergency C-section, okay? But she's perfectly fine. She's small, but she's a fighter. Such a fighter like her mum."

  "She's here already?"

  He nodded. "For eight days now."

  "Eight days? Jesus, how long was I out? Is she—“ I couldn't bear to ask. I remembered the accident. There had been a car accident, so if they had to do an emergency C-section, then... "I-is she really okay?"

  His smile was tremulous. His dark hair fell over his brow as he took my hand and kissed my knuckles. "She's perfect. She's got a set of lungs on her, so that's good. She just needs a little more cooking to get bigger. But when it's time to feed her, she makes sure everyone knows it."

  "Feed her? How—how are you feeding her?"

  The nurse stepped forward on my right. "You've been out for several days, so you obviously haven’t been able to nurse. But now that your injuries are healing, we can go ahead and give nursing a try. It takes a few days for your milk to come in anyway."

  I frowned. "I missed so much of her life already."

  Xander held on to my hand. "It's okay. It's okay. You needed to heal, and she needed to grow a little. I handled it while you rested. I told you I was going to be here on time for duty."

  "I want to see her." I tried to get out of the bed, but that set off screeching beeps everywhere, and no less than three people rushed forward to stop me from trying to do such a crazy thing.

  The nurse on my right tsked. "No, Mrs. Chase. You have a concussion. You have lacerations on your arm and your face, one right above your eye, so we bandaged it. Your eyes have been so swollen, you couldn’t see. You've had a C-section, after which we normally would get you out of bed right away to start walking, but you also have several broken ribs and your spleen ruptured."

  I cursed under my breath. "Jesus Christ."

  Xander nodded. "You are a mess. But you're going to be better. Soon. And Kaya is here."

  “I’m sad you’ve met her already and I haven’t. I want to see her."

  "They're having her brought in. I promise."

  "Xander, I'm scared. What if something I did—"

  He shook his head vehemently. "You didn't do anything wrong. Those fuckers shot at you. At us. They tried to take away my family. I will ruin them. I swear to God, if it's the last thing I'd do, I will ruin them."

  I frowned. "Xander, I don't want any of that. I don't want you going down that deep dark hole again."

  He frowned. "This isn't like Alistair. I swear to God. But you could have died. And they did that to you."

  "I know, but I just want my family. I want to hold my baby, and hold you, and for us to have a life together. If you do this, it will take you right down into the dark."

  "I won't be in the dark. I'm not leaving your side."

  He might not be leaving my side, but he had full-on vengeance on his mind. "Xander, promise me you're not going to do anything to jeopardize your life."

  He hung his head. "I think I already have."

  I frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "This all happened because I told my mother that I'd be her successor. She announced it to all her advisors. One of them likely had someone who followed us. Someone working with our cousin."

  "You think it’s because of some royal conspiracy that they shot at us?"

  "Yeah, Imani, someone definitely shot at us. I just need to know who."

  "I see the look on your face, Xan. It's not your fault."

  "Of course, it is. I endangered your life because of ego and because I wanted to prove everyone wrong. They told me my whole life that I could be a prince, but I couldn't be the successor."

  "This isn't your fault. You didn't lead them to do this. Put the blame where it lies. You're not going down into that dark world again, Xander."

  I coughed, and the nurse was right back at my side. "She's had enough for now, Mr. Chase."

  He squeezed my hand. "Listen, you rest. You're awake now, and we have all the time in the world to talk about this. I promise. I love you. But first, why don't you meet our baby?"

  The nurses brought a little pink bundle in a clear bassinet. One of the nurses reached in and scooped her up with a smile on her face, and she made these little cooing noises.

  Oh my God, that was my daughter.

  Then they handed her to me. She blinked her little eyes at me and waved an angry fist in the air. Then she cooed and promptly went back to sleep.

  "Oh my God, she's gorgeous."

  Xander gave me a wide smile. "Yeah, of course, she is. She looks just like her mother."

  "I love you."

  "I love you with all of my breath. I promise you I will protect our family."

  I knew he would. My only concern was exactly what he'd do to make sure he kept that promise.

  22

  Xander

  "You know, when you needed somewhere for your little clubhouse, I didn't know we'd have royalty. I would have spruced up the place."

  I watched as Roone's cousin, Ben Covington, sauntered in and said hi to everyone. I'd met him briefly at Roone and Jessa's wedding, but we hadn't had much time to talk.

  He met my gaze and nodded. "I'm sorry for what happened to you, Xander. Any help the London Lords can give you, it's yours."

  I nodded my thanks. I couldn't be trusted to talk at the moment. Everything was still too raw, too much. It was funny, because Alexi moved next to me like my shadow, ever watchful and making sure I wouldn't fly off the handle and go off the reservation, whatever it was. It was reassuring. I just wanted to get this over with so I could get back to the hospital to Imani and Kaya.

  I still didn't believe everyone would come. I didn't even know who some of them were. They were my family, but when I put out the call, I hadn’t expected all of the Winston Isles to come en massse. Sebastian was there, obviously, with Penny in tow. Their daughter played in their lap. I appreciated that they came, but I hadn't expected it.

  Lucas was there. His fiancée, Bryna, was in his lap. I did wonder when he was going to marry her. They'd been engaged for a while, but I knew better than to call him out and ask. That would have just been cruel. Nothing like an impatient fiancée to make a bloke’s life hell.

  And Roone. The princess was on her feet behind him, looking every bit the warrior she was. Prince Tristan was in attendance, looking all sorts of uncomfortable. And Ben was there. He'd brought along his two partners, East and Bridge.

  The whole room was like bloody men’s fashion week had come to town. It was one good-looking family. In the far corner, with the Blake Security squad, was none other than Noah Blake himself and Matthias Weller. Mathias's wife was also there, looking every bit the badass. Dark hair flowing, gaze assessing everything.

  I stepped forward. "I appreciate all of you coming at my request. I didn't expect everyone to just drop what they were doing on such short notice."

  Sebastian gave me an answering nod. "You don't have to thank us. This is Imani, she's family. Of course, we were going to come."

  Nevertheless, I gave him a nod of appreciation. They'd all come, but Jesus...

  "Look, this is primarily a security issue. As most of you know, someone attacked after it was announced that my uncle had been assassinated and my mother became the de facto heir to the throne of Nomea. She hasn't made her official announcement of acceptance yet, nor has she publicly named her successor. But before the incident, Alexi officially stepped aside, and I have fallen on the sword, so to speak. Not two hours later, we were attacked on the way home."

  Everybody cursed under their breath, some more inventively than others. "I appreciate the sentiment. I didn't expect all of you to turn out for this, but I did ask Sebastian to help me find the people responsible. I would have handled it myself, but obviously, I've been occupied at the hospital with the baby and Imani. So, Sebastian, any help you and your team can give me will be much appreciated.

  Sebastian nodded. "We've got Blake Security on the task in terms of finding them. As you know, we've dealt with our share of conspiracies and plots against the throne of the Winston Isles as well. We can find them, but the question is, what do you want us to do beyond that?"

  I met my cousin's gaze levelly. "You let me worry about that."

  Penny frowned and stepped forward. "Xander, what do you plan to do with them?"

  I leveled a gaze on her. "And I told you not to worry about that. I just need help finding them."

  Sebastian lifted a brow. "Xander, you're angry. You want someone to pay."

  "Too right, I do. My daughter has been in an incubator without her mother for more than a week because of those bastards. So let's not stand here and try and explain to me how this is going to go. Besides, you're not my king."

  The muscle in my cousin's jaw ticked. When he spoke, his voice was even in measure. "I get that. I know all about the anger coursing through your veins. I also know that anger won't get the job done. If you do find them, then what? You're going to kill someone?"

  I tilted my chin up, but I said nothing.

  Lucas spoke up then. "Look, I'm here for moral ambiguity and whatnot, but I'm more a thief than a murderer."

  Half the people in the room shouted back at him, "Former thief."

  Ben was the only one who grinned at him. Lucas grinned back. I watched as Ben tapped his wrist and Lucas looked on his hand and then scowled at Ben as he held out the watch.

  Well, that was interesting. Good information to file away for later.

  "Sebastian, either you're here to help, or you're not. If you're here to help, then you have to understand that I need to deal with this in my own way."

  My cousin Derrick pushed to his feet. "As someone who has occasionally tripped down the shitty-morals rabbit-hole, I can testify that this is something you don't come back from."

  "I understand and I hear you; I just don't care."

  He nodded. "Fair enough. I'm all for finding and taking care of these assholes because they won't just be coming for you. If it's people who want the throne of Nomea, they'll come for all of us. Me, Theo, and Zia included."

  Derrick’s twin brother was off on his honeymoon, so I hadn’t bothered to call him in. Although, knowing Theo's wife, she would have been all for operation Let's Murder These Fuckers. The door opened, and in strolled Ariel with a squealing baby in her arms. "Oh, come on, Cash, you’ve got to give Auntie a break."

  All eyes turned to her.

  She stopped walking and cooed at the baby. "Oh, all right then. So, who are we going to kill, and when do we leave?"

  I grinned at her and then turned my attention back to Sebastian. His eyes had softened as he watched his daughter looking so damn cute. She had a head full of dark curls, olive skin, two little teeth on the bottom, and was clearly displeased about something. As kids went, she was very cute. Penny rushed over and took her out of Ariel's arms. "Oh, Cash, give mommy a break."

  Ariel grinned at the baby. “She's cute, but she’s ornery and stubborn like her father.” The two friends grinned at each other. Then Ariel swung her gaze back to me. "Seriously, who do we kill?"

  Prince Tristan rolled his eyes. "Ariel, love, we try not to kill people, generally."

  She just scoffed and ignored him. "No, seriously, someone came for one of ours, so we kill them. I feel like it's enough cause for murder. Eye for an eye and all that. Why are you staring at me like I'm the crazy person?"

  I nodded in her direction. "I'm with you on the kill-them plan."

  Matthias, in the corner, raised his hand. "I'm with you, too."

  Next to him, his boss, Noah Blake, grabbed his arm and tugged it down. "He's not with you. We're not killing anyone."

  Matthias sighed. "Sorry, I misspoke. I meant have an aggressive conversation. Sometimes murder just happens as a result."

  Noah chuckled but still shook his head. "Look, we'll find who did this, and we'll bring them to justice. But no one is killing anyone. Unless, of course, they make a direct attempt on you, then these things happen."

  I grinned then. "Yes, these things do indeed happen."

  Next to me, I could feel Lex tensing. He didn't like the way the conversation was going.

  "Look, just find who did this for me, and let's get this done. I need to get back to the hospital."

  Ben stepped forward then. "Look, I understand vengeance, so I'll give you what you need. But from what I know of vengeance, you need to be sure it's what you want. Otherwise, it will cloud all your judgment, and any decisions made in a blind fog of rage, will be tainted. You need mental fucking clarity. When you have that, and only then, can we move forward."

  I shot a pointed stare his way. "Thanks for those wise words. But are you in or not?"

  He shrugged. "Oh, I'm in. If someone is getting their just desserts, I'm here for that."

  I nodded. "Anyone else not in?"

  Everyone looked uncomfortable, but not a single person stood down. They were all ready to follow me, ready to do what we needed to do. It wasn't just me and Lex anymore. We had a whole support system. A whole network of family backing us up. We were going to find those people who’d hurt my wife, and we were all going to make them pay.

  23

  Imani

  "What are you doing?"

  I winced. I knew Xander wasn't going to be happy about seeing me up and about, but I could only stay confined to bed for so long, and the movement was good for my physical therapy. They'd let me leave the hospital the day before, providing I took it easy and made sure to get up and walk around on occasion. Xander didn't quite understand that, so he'd made sure all the staff knew I wasn't to be walking around. Thankfully, no one listened to him.

  "I was just coming back from the bathroom," I lied. "I am still allowed to go to the bathroom, aren't I?"

  He winced. "Imani, you're supposed to be resting."

  "I'm also supposed to get exercise. Otherwise I won't heal right."

  "You've only been home for a couple of days, and Kaya still isn't back from the hospital."

  "I know. And I know we'll go see her tonight." I left out the part about when it was safer. "But honestly, Xander, this is too much. You can't hover and stop me from doing what I need to do too."

  He scowled at me. "The usual way I would resolve this argument isn't really a viable option, and I don't want to yell at you."

  "We're not having an argument, sweetheart. We're having a discussion about how you're too overprotective."

  "You're mine to protect. How is that being overprotective?"

  I rolled my eyes. "You know what, it’s not like I’m going to die. Relax." His face drew to a frown immediately. "Jesus, I'm joking. I'm not going to die. We both know you'll go first because I have killed you in your sleep."

  "Please God, let that be the way."

  "I don't mean with sex."

  Still, his lips twitched, and it was nice to see him do something other than scowl.

  "Look, I'm okay. Most of my incisions and stitches are already healing. They said I’ll be back in fighting shape in a couple of weeks, and I’m trying to make it half that amount. I missed a lot of time with Kaya while I was sleeping."

  "Will you just stop and rest?"

  "If you talk about rest one more time, I swear to God, I will kill you with my bare hands."

  He lifted a brow. "Rest."

  "Oh, you have jokes now? You're teasing me because you know I can't chase you."

  "You actually have a good point... Then you're not ready."

  I might not be ready, but the pillow was within reach. And so, I grabbed it and tossed it at him, wincing only a little as my side twinged.

  "Imani, I swear to God."

  "What are you going to do, hit me back?"

  I could see the muscle ticking in his jaw. He either really wanted to laugh, or he really wanted to strangle me. Neither of which was actually going to take place. "Babe, I'm okay. You're going to have to let me out of your sight at some point."

  "I have let you out of my sight. I had a job today, and I went to it."

  "And let me guess, you were screaming the place down and made Abbie chase after you apologizing for your behavior."

  He scowled. "I was not screaming the place down. It’s not my fault they had no idea how to take a good photograph."