"Sweetheart, we're both spending our mornings at the hospital with Kaya, and then we take a break and we go back in the evenings. You try to do too much, watching over me and Kaya and keeping us safe. You're going to crack if you don't talk to someone."

  “I don’t need to talk to anyone.”

  I crossed my arms and gave him the angry-wife-scowl number five. “Oh, really?”

  "Yes, really. I'm fine."

  "So, you're telling me there wasn't a secret meeting about finding out who shot at us and then killing them?"

  "Jesus Christ, my fucking brother..."

  I blinked several times. "Alexi was there? That jackass. He didn't tell me anything. Penny did."

  His brows shot up. "Is nothing sacred?"

  I laughed. "No, nothing is sacred. Especially if one's wife worries. What is wrong with you?"

  "My cousin's people tried to take out my wife and unborn child. That deserves retaliation."

  "I know that's how you think you feel, and probably it's not for me to tell you you're not angry, because of course, you are. But you're also scared. You're mostly scared. Now what happens with all that anger and fear if you find them and kill them? You're still going to be holding on to so much of that. Or you could talk to someone. Address those feelings and what they mean and how you need to deal with them."

  "They don't mean anything. Of course, I'm doing great. Someone almost killed you."

  "Yes, I'm well aware of that. They shoot like boys."

  He frowned. "Like boys?"

  "Well, most people say if someone's a bad shot they shoot like a girl. But I happen to know Penny's an excellent shot. As is Ariel. So they shoot like boys."

  He chuckled then. "Fair enough, they shoot like boys."

  I laughed. "They really should get a better aim. Besides, I'm a hard target."

  He sighed. "Please, can you stop talking about this now?"

  "Too soon?"

  "Jesus Christ, too fucking soon."

  "Fine. Fine. Tell me you're not going to do this."

  "Sorry. I love you, but I can't."

  "Xander, do you remember how you felt after Alistair? How worried you were that you'd actually almost been the agent of someone's death? It didn't sit well."

  He ground his teeth. "But I could get over it this time. Put the feelings aside. I can feel okay with it."

  "No, you wouldn't. Look, if you don't believe me, call Dr. Kaufman. When was the last time you saw her?"

  He shrugged. “It’s been a couple of years.”

  I nodded slowly. “Okay, then maybe it’s time for a refresher of who you are now, Xander. What you’re capable of and how it’s going to make you feel.”

  He shook his head. "I don't want to. I want revenge. I want payback."

  "I know. That's anger and fear talking. Kaya and I don't need angry, fearful Xander. We need whole Xander. The one who is in touch with his humanity. You're not capable of that kind of retribution anymore."

  "Are you sure? The way I feel right now, I wouldn't bet on that if I were you."

  That’s not really what terrified me. As much as I loved him, there was a part of him that always thought he didn't deserve that love. And I worried that I would lose him to that part if we weren't careful.

  24

  Xander

  "You're sure you want to do this?"

  I raised a brow. "I'm hiring you and your men, so don't let me down. And I want them brought to me. I will deal with them and send them back to Nomea in pieces."

  Randall Brash, a contact I'd gotten from Garett, studied me closely. "And if they resist being removed?"

  "I want you to make them not resist.”

  He nodded slowly. "I gotcha, boss."

  "I certainly hope you do."

  He nodded. "I know that Arron Slough, your cousin several times removed, would've been next in line. Had your mother not been available, he would have been the one. So likely, he and his boys are behind this. And he's a nasty bit of work. He's been to jail before. While he was abroad. Usually for charges like aggravated assault. But his friends, those he likes to roll with… Unsavory doesn't even begin to cover it. Drugs, violent crimes. So he or one of his crew is likely your guy."

  I crossed my arms as I watched Randall. To any onlookers, we were merely standing outside, perhaps for a smoke. Randall laid out most of the plan, complete with maps, on the hood of my Bugatti. "It should be fairly simple. No muss, no fuss. We'll be in and out. Pick 'em up, and bring 'em here?"

  I shook my head. "No. I don't want them anywhere near my family." I gave him the address to my Notting Hill flat. I never used it for anything anymore. But it seemed like a great place to temporarily house assholes while I dissuaded them of their plans to kill me and my family.

  "Excellent. We'll leave tonight."

  "Surveil first. I want the pickup clean. No trace back to me, my mother, or my brother. Especially my brother."

  He nodded. "No one will know. It'll be fine. If you want, you can come with us to have a look. As soon as I have a location, I'll let you know."

  "Thank you."

  I turned and then startled to a stop. Behind me, my brother and my cousin were standing there blocking the way to the stairs back up to the townhouse, and both of them had their arms crossed and were shaking their heads. Alexi spoke first. "And here I thought if there was a call to rally and kill everyone, I would at least have been the first on your call list."

  I sighed. "Alexi, let's not do this." I rubbed the back of my neck. "You and I both know full well, you're not killing anyone."

  "Neither are you."

  Sebastian just shrugged. "I mean, I'm here for killing period. But you didn't even call us. You didn't let us handle this like a team."

  "I already told you, this is my headache."

  Alexi shook his head. "At the very least, it's our headache. Yes, they got to you, but it’s our mother on the throne. Let’s not forget that."

  I shuffled on my feet. I knew he'd see it like that. But couldn't he see I was trying to protect him? "Lex, be reasonable. You've already abdicated. They have no reason to go after you. It's me and Imani and Kaya who are in trouble."

  "Yeah, but when are you going to understand that they are my family too?"

  Sebastian added, "And you guys are my cousins. That's how we roll on Team Winston Isles."

  I laughed. "Team Winston Isles, huh?"

  "Yep. You were there for some of the whole Theo-Derrick drama, so you're on that team. You know we do things together."

  Lex nodded. "So, we're not letting you do this, at least not alone. If you insist on doing it, we're doing it with you."

  "You idiot. Why can't you see that this is for the best?"

  From behind me, Randall waved an arm. "Hey, boss, are we doing this, or are we not doing this?"

  "We're doing it," I said at the same time Lex and Sebastian said, "We're not doing this."

  I countered, "This is the only way to protect them."

  Lex shook his head. "I know you think that. But there are other ways. We’ll figure out something else."

  Sebastian watched me closely. "I know that you think you have to fix everything. And I get that. I have the same problem. But sooner or later, you're going to learn that you're not alone. At the very least, you have Imani. She's yours. She's your heart. And after Imani, you have Kaya. And after them, you have Lex and Abbie, and me and Penny, and Lucas, Jessa, Roone, Tristan, and Ariel. You have the whole team. You are not an island anymore, Xander."

  I swallowed hard around a lump in my throat. "They tried to take my family."

  "I know." Sebastian nodded solemnly. "And God forbid something had happened to them, the culprits would be dealt with in a very specific manner. And we will retaliate. There will be vengeance. But we're not going to get it by killing people. It's not what Imani wants."

  I scowled. "Ugh, low blow. She doesn't need to know anything about this."

  Lex laughed. "You really think your wife knows nothing about this? Look up."

  I looked up and saw her waving from the window as she held Kaya in her arms. "Oh, fuck. You told her?"

  Lex shrugged. "That you were trying to do this all on your own? Yeah. What do you think, I'm an idiot?"

  I called back to Randall. "Yeah, plan's off for now."

  He shrugged. "Whatever. Your money. Whenever you're ready, let me know."

  "Will do." I turned back to my brother and cousin with a scowl. "You fucking involved my wife?"

  Sebastian smiled. "I pull no punches. When I want something, I make it happen. Besides, I needed to remind you that you’re not alone. That there is a better way to handle this situation, and it’s as a team. Like it or not."

  I sighed and looked up at the most beautiful woman in the world holding my baby. I knew what she'd say. That no matter what we did, it would be as a team. And as much as I tried to shield her from any of it, she wouldn't have it.

  She was probably pissed I’d tried to do this on my own without telling her.

  "How mad is she?"

  Lex laughed. "Oh, you are in a mess of trouble. And for once, because she just had a baby and, you know, someone tried to kill her, you won't be able to use sex to get out of it. I can't wait until she hands you your ass."

  "Some brother you are."

  "Yeah, well, next time don't try and run a crusade without me. We’ll find a solution, and we'll get there together. Like always."

  He put out an arm, and I clasped it. He dragged me to him and held tight. It was the first real hug we'd had in a while, and that sure made my eyes sting. When I stepped back, I shoved him a little. "You recognize I'm supposed to be the older brother, right?"

  "Yeah. Now start making decisions like you are."

  I jumped when the trunk of the car behind me opened and out climbed Penny. "What the—"

  "Oh my God. I was getting tired in there. It's hot tonight. So glad you decided not to go. But if you were going, I was coming with."

  My eyes bugged. "Are you kidding me right now?"

  "Nope."

  Sebastian just shook his head. "Love, in the trunk?"

  "What? I knew what he was going to try and do. I'm not dumb."

  Across the street, the door to an SUV pushed open and out jumped Ariel and Jessa. "Penny, same idea?"

  She waved at the others. "Yeah. The women in the Winston Isles don't fuck around."

  Ariel rolled her eyes. "The men were all late."

  They laughed at my expense, and I just glowered at them. "Oh my God, the whole lot of you are nutters."

  My brother grinned. "Crazy possibly, but we are family, aren't we?"

  He was right. We were doing this together or not at all.

  Epilogue

  Imani

  Something was happening, but Xander wouldn't tell me what.

  I was still pretty angry with him for trying to resolve everything on his own. How many times did I have to tell him that we were a unit? And now we had Kaya, our beautiful, perfect daughter with my smile and her father's eyes. He couldn't just run off and try and solve everything.

  Next to me, he squeezed my hand. "You still mad?"

  I slid him a glance. "Define mad, exactly."

  "Have I told you how sexy you are when you're angry?"

  "Xander, now is not the time."

  He just grinned. The doctor had said that I couldn't have sex for eight weeks, given the emergency cesarean. Xander had made a countdown clock, and the fool had found a way around that order. He was really very, very good with his mouth and hands. I'd like to say I didn't cut him any slack for being a complete idiot. But God, he had an amazing tongue. You could forgive anything for that tongue.

  "It's your mother's coronation. She’s about to announce a successor, and you're sitting here talking about how sexy I am? There are royals everywhere. You're supposed to show decorum."

  He shrugged. "I don't really believe in decorum."

  "Oh my God. Why do I have the feeling that you on the throne is going to be a terrifying prospect?"

  He grinned. "Because I'm unpredictable?"

  "And a giant pain in the—"

  He grinned. "Go on, finish that line."

  "I will not. It'll give you too much satisfaction," I huffed.

  "You know I love talking about your ass. And I also love holding your ass. Squeezing it, spanking it."

  "Xander. Keep your voice down."

  I glanced around to make sure no one had heard him. To his right sat Lex and Abbie, and next to them were Penny and Sebastian, who held his son on his lap. The baby prince was chewing on what looked like a block of some sort.

  Behind us were Roone, Jessa, Ariel and Tristan, and behind them were Derek, Theo and Zia. Also, Queen Mother Alexa. It was great to know that we had so much support. Across the aisle sat Xander's distant cousins, other relatives, and members of the royal court. Some members of the contingent I’d seen in the morning were missing though. Probably running late.

  And then of course there was the press. So much press. Not that I really thought anyone was listening to our conversation, but if he was going to be prince, possibly king one day, he really was going to have to learn to follow some rules. Any rules. But as usual, he wasn't really down for listening to anyone but himself.

  That's not true. He listens to you.

  He did… but only when it suited him.

  "Come on, no one's listening. We can talk about sex all we want and about exactly what I'm going to do to you the moment I slide my dick inside you."

  "Xander!"

  "You know you're missing me."

  "You are such a pain. Keep it down."

  "What? You think a king doesn't tell his queen how much he loves her and how much he wants her, and what he wants to do to her?"

  "I just think maybe not so graphically or where everyone can hear."

  He laughed. "But when would I tell you? Besides, I want everyone to hear. You are mine."

  I just shook my head. "See, your complete shamelessness is how we ended up with this one."

  In my arms, Kaya snuffled in her blanket, all warm and cozy, little mouth gently sucking on her tongue. She was happily sleeping through her father's outrageousness.

  "Yeah, and she's the most perfect thing I've ever done in my life, so obviously, my shamelessness works."

  I could only shake my head.

  Everyone was summoned to attention by the head of the Council of Nomea. Some lord or something. Lord Winchester? I couldn't remember the name. I'd met a lot of lords and princes over the last few days. We still had heavy security, and Xander basically wouldn’t let Kaya or me out of his sight, especially once Blake Security had been sent home after they finished fully training our permanent security detail.

  "All rise."

  We did, just as if we were in court. Then out came Xander's mother, dressed all in white. She looked resplendent. She wore a pantsuit with some kind of cape, looking to be part fairy and part businesswoman. I dug it and wondered if I could get away with that kind of look.

  She stood at the podium and smiled down at all of us. "Ladies and gentlemen, lords, ladies, princes and princesses, kings and queens, and members of the royal court, I address you as the newly coronated Queen of Nomea. I want to thank you all for being here and showing your support for the return of my family from exile. I will strive to be a good ruler, fair and just and kind. My one and only goal will be to enrich and advance our people. To look after them, to wrap my arms around us all in the warm bosom of a mother, to teach our young, to encourage our dreamers. And this is my promise to you."

  I smiled at Xander, and he was beaming up at his mother. "She looks like she was born for this."

  He nodded. "She was born for this."

  His mother continued. "I know many of you have wondered who will succeed me. I know there has been much speculation, and I have come to a decision, one that has been long and difficult but well thought out." I took Xander's hand and squeezed. He patted mine and then leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. Next to Xander, Alexi kept his eyes forward. I knew it wouldn't be Lex. He'd already abdicated. He didn't want to be king. That was why Xander had stepped up. I just prayed he knew what he was doing.

  "I am pleased to announce that my successor to the throne will be Derrick Arlington."

  My jaw unhinged. "What?" I turned to Xander, who looked not surprised at all.

  "Yeah. That meeting I had with my mother?"

  "You abdicated?"

  He nodded. "Sure did."

  I wasn't the only one surprised. Across the aisle, several of Xander’s cousins' brows were raised and their mouths were open. There was a lot of head shaking going on. I turned around to look at Derrick, and he grinned at me and waved at a now-awake Kaya. All the murmuring had woken her. “You?” I asked.

  He nodded and shrugged. "I feel like I could be a good king."

  Next to him, his twin brother Theo rolled his eyes as he kissed his wife Zia's hand. "God help us all."

  Derek chuckled and leaned over to his brother. "Don't worry. If you kill me, you can be king."

  Watching the two of them exchange words really set it in stone for me. Xander was free. He wasn't going to be king. No one was going to scrutinize our lives. Kaya would be safe. But his legacy…

  Behind us, the members of the press were on their feet. They were shouting questions, many of them waving enthusiastically and trying to get the queen's attention. "If everyone will just have a seat, I can take your questions one at a time. But first, let me address the violent attack on my son and daughter in law. After a thorough investigation, we have found that Kal Jansen, Chief Consular to my nephew, Aaron was responsible for the attack.”

  On the right side of the Aisle, Aaron stood quickly as if to object. But, he turned in what looked like an attempt to flee. He didn’t get very far as security was waiting for him.

  Next to me, Xander sat perfectly calm. “You knew this was going to happen?”

  He squeezed my hand. “Yeah. His people were arrested this morning. But my mother wanted to make an example of him in front of cameras to send a message.”