The Maverick Prince (Rich, Rugged And Royal #1)(41)
Author: Catherine Mann

“You trusted me and my judgment.” He scratched his tightening rib cage.

His father snorted with impatience. “Do not be an impulsive jackass. Think with your brain and not your heart.”

“Like you’ve always done?” Tony snapped, his patience for his father’s cryptic games growing short. “No thank you.”

Once he finished his one-month obligation, he wouldn’t set foot on this godforsaken island again. If memories of his life here before were unhappy, now they were gut-wrenching. His father should come to the mainland anyway for medical treatment. Even Enrique’s deep coffers couldn’t outfit the island with unlimited hospital options.

Enrique poured himself a drink and downed it swiftly. “I let my heart guide me when I left San Rinaldo. I was so terrified something would happen to my wife and sons that I did not think through our escape plan properly.”

Invincible Enrique was admitting a mistake? Tony let that settle inside him for a second before speaking.

“You set yourself up as a diversion. Sounds pretty selfless to me.” He’d never doubted his father’s bravery or cool head.

“I did not think it through.” He refilled his glass and stared into the amber liquid, signs of regret etched deep in his forehead. Illness had never made the king appear weak, but at this moment, the ghosts of an old past showed a vulnerability Tony had never seen before. “If I had, I would have taken into account the way Carlos would react if things went to hell. I arrogantly considered my plan foolproof. Again, I thought with my emotions and those assassins knew exactly how to target my weakness.”

Tony set aside his glass without touching a drop. Empathy for his father seared him more fully than alcohol. Understanding how it felt to have his feelings ripped up through his throat because of a woman gave him insights to his father he’d never expected. “You did your best at the time.”

Could he say the same when it came to Shannon?

“I tried to make that right with this island. I did everything in my power to create a safe haven for my sons.”

“But we all three left the protection of this place.”

“That doesn’t matter to me. My only goal was keeping you safe until adulthood. By the time you departed, you took with you the skills to protect yourself, to make your way in the world. That never would have been possible if you’d grown up with obligations to a kingdom. For that, I’m proud.”

Enrique’s simply spoken words enveloped him. Even though his father wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know, something different took root in him. An understanding. Just as his mother had made the silver security blanket as a “shield,” to make him feel protected, his father had been doing the same. His methods may not have been perfect, but their situation had been far from normal. They’d all been scrambling to patch together their lives.

Some of his understanding must have shown on his face, because his father smiled approvingly.

“Now, son, think about Shannon logically rather than acting like a love-sick boy.”

Love-sick boy? Now that stung more than a little. And the reason? Because it was true. He did love her, and that had clouded his thinking.

He loved her. And he’d let his gut drive his conclusions rather than logic. He forced his slugging heart to slow and collected what he knew about Shannon. “She’s a naturally cautious woman who wouldn’t do anything to place her son at risk. If she had a call to make, she would check with you or I to make sure the call was safe. She wouldn’t have relied on anyone else’s word when it comes to Kolby.”

“What conclusion does that lead you to?”

“We never saw the caller’s face. I made an assumption based on a female in a bathing suit cover-up. The caller must have been someone with detailed knowledge of our security systems in order to keep her face shielded. A woman of similar build. A person with something to gain and little loyalty to the Medinas…” His brain settled on…“Alys?”

“I would bet money on it.” The thunderous anger Enrique now revealed didn’t bode well for the assistant who’d used her family connections to take advantage of an ailing king with an aging staff. “She was even the one to order Shannon’s clothes. It would be easy to make sure she had the right garb….”

Shannon had done nothing wrong.

“God, I wonder if Alys could have even been responsible for tipping off the Global Intruder about that photo of Duarte when it first ran, before he was identified.” The magnitude of how badly he’d screwed up threatened to kick his knees out from under him. He braced a hand on his father’s shoulder, touching his dad for the first time in fourteen years. “Where the hell is Alys?”

Enrique swallowed hard. He clapped his hand over Tony’s for a charged second before clearing his throat.

“Leave Alys to me.” His royal roots showed through again as he assumed command. “Don’t you have a more pressing engagement?”

Tony checked his watch. He had five minutes until the ferry pulled away for the airstrip. No doubt his father would secure the proof of Alys’s deception soon, but Shannon needed—hell, she deserved—to know that he’d trusted in her innocence without evidence.

He had a narrow, five-minute window to prove just how much he loved and trusted her.

The ferry horn wailed, signaling they were disconnecting from the dock. The crew was stationed at their posts, lost in the ritual of work.Kolby on her hip, Shannon looked at the exotic island for the last time. This was hard, so much harder than she’d expected. How would she ever survive going back to Galveston where even more memories of Tony waited? She couldn’t. She would have to start over somewhere new and totally different.

Except there was no place she could run now that would be free of Medina reminders. The grocery store aisles would sport gossip rags. Channel surfing could prove hazardous. And she didn’t even want to think of how often she would be confronted with Tony’s face peering back at her from an internet headline, reminding her of how little faith he’d had in her. As much as she wanted to say to hell with it all and accept whatever he offered, she wouldn’t settle for half measures ever again.

Tears blurred the exotic shoreline, sea oats dotting the last bit of sand as they pulled away. She squeezed her eyes closed, tears cool on her heated cheeks.

“Mommy?” Kolby patted her face.

She scavenged a wobbly smile and focused on his precious face. “I’m okay, sweetie. Everything’s going to be fine. Let’s look for a dolphin.”