Royal Elite: Leander by Danielle Bourdon Page B

climbing to altitude, provided a lulling hum to fill the silence in the room. Given the right circumstances, it would put him to sleep. He said, “Yes, something like that.”
    “Leander—we have got so much to talk about.”
    “Us along with a few others, I'm sure,” he said in a dry voice. Chey and Sander too, and perhaps Mattias and Chayton's significant others at some point. Someone needed to keep the girls off the phone with each other.
    “It's not funny.”
    “I know. And to be honest, Wynn, I'm not prepared to talk about it all right now. Let's get this thing over with my dad first, okay? Then we'll tackle the wedding, and--”
    “And then the honeymoon, and then 'work' for Mattias. I see the excuses piling up, Mister.”
    In truth, Leander wasn't sure what to say. The cat was out of the bag, at least a little bit, and he wasn't sure he and the rest of the Elite could cover their tracks now. At least with their wives or significant others. He needed a pow-wow with the guys before he tackled Wynn, so they could tell their wives the same story.
    And didn't that sound terrible, he thought. Arranging to lie to his intended. Their secretive activities in the Elite, a select group of high powered men who intervened for threats to one of their own, had been kept under wraps for a reason. If the perpetrators found evidence of their involvement, retaliation would be swift and harsh. They'd already seen proof of it months ago. Never mind that the women would worry themselves sick every time one of the men left the house. He didn't think it a good idea to tell them the reality, despite what Chey had seen.
    “It'll be all right. We'll be there in the morning.” Leander hoped Wynn wouldn't press him for answers now. He didn't want to lie more than he had to. A knock at the bedroom door snared his attention. Down the line, he said, “Wynn, I have to go. Talk in a few hours, okay?”
    “Yes. And don't think I'm going to be satisfied with a pat on the head and some lame 'this is just a one time thing', either. Love you.”
    “Love you, too.” He ended the call with the press of a button. “Come in, Chey.”
    “What did Wynn have to say? Is she all right?” Chey said when she stepped inside. She left the door open and crossed the room to the chair adjacent to Leander's. Leaning a hip against the tall back, she crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him with a no nonsense expression.
    “She's fine. She wasn't at the house when I called.” Leander stared up at Chey, sliding the phone between his fingers and the armrest, tapping and turning, tapping and turning. A restless habit when he wanted to be up and moving. He knew round two of The Inquisition was about to hit.
    “What's going on, Leander? I mean, what's really going on? If your father is a threat to Wynn--”
    “He's not a threat in the way you think. My father is a driven man, but not one to prey on other humans.” Leander dodged around the topic as best he could. Chey might be the queen of Latvala, and he respected her position and power, but she had no sway over his personal life.
    “But he's still a threat in some way, or that's the inference I get from your answer.” She arched a brow.
    Turn, tap. Turn, tap. His eyes fell on the phone. It rotated over and over, like the cycle of his thoughts. Rephrasing, he said, “My father isn't a threat. That's all I can really say.”
    “Leander. We're thousands of miles above the earth. No one is listening in, no one can hear this conversation but you and me. What's going on?”
    “I know. These are things I'm not at liberty to discuss, though. I'll get there and find out what he wants me to do, or what I have to do, and then Wynn and I can return to Latvala. We'll get married and life can carry on.” He reeled the phone in, tucked it into a pocket of his vest after turning it off, then looked directly at Chey.
    She quirked her lips, clearly unhappy with that answer. “All right, fair enough. What about the