Alexander & Rebecca (Royals of Valleria #1)

Chapter 4

Two agents of the Vallerian National Security Agency stood guard in front of the Situation Room at all times. Alexander approached the doors, pressed in a series of codes, and completed a retinal scan before the doors opened. Though the room was tucked away in a secure basement corridor of the palace, silent cameras, both hidden and obvious, recorded his every breath and covered every nook and cranny nearby. The images were watched by agents located both elsewhere on the palace grounds, and offsite on the opposite side of the city, across the Rhone River.

As Alex stepped through the doors, a series of lasers scanned and x-rayed him, as they did everyone who walked inside the room. Marcello, seated at the end of a long, polished conference table with papers and photos scattered in front of him, had undergone the same scan.

Not that it mattered much if you were a royal.

The main room inside, where Marcello was seated, had two full walls of screens, filled with muted news, data, maps, and more. Several smaller conference rooms and offices led away from the main room. During times of war and trouble, all were used.

"What's so important that it couldn't wait?" Alex asked as he sat down beside Marcello, who wore a dark suit and had his blond hair styled back; Marcello must have had plans before the threat arose. "I haven't got much time."

"You never have much time, but you'll make time for this," Marcello said as he tossed a few photographs toward Alex.

Alex's brows furrowed as he picked up the glossy black and white photos and began sifting through them. His eyes narrowed as the photos focused closer and closer on the subject within them. A storm slid across Alex's eyes as he flipped to the last picture. "What is this? These are all pictures of me, and the last one's of me in my private apartments, exiting my own bathroom!"

Marcello, his face grave and troubled, nodded. "Don't you think I realize that?"

Alex whipped up from the chair and started pacing. "I'm wearing a towel! Are you telling me someone's planted a camera in my private suite? In my private bathroom?" Alex paused and turned to Marcello. "Is this a new security policy you've decided to implement? Have you set up cameras in all of our suites?"

Marcello rose in a flash and stood nose-to-nose with his elder, infuriating brother. "How dare you accuse me of something like that?" he yelled and pushed Alex lightly in the chest.

Alex's nostrils flared and he spoke deceptively soft. "I'd like to remind you that you're pushing the future king."

"That doesn't mean I can't beat him up if he deserves it." Marcello turned away and rubbed a hand over his face before turning back. "Do you really think I would do something like that?"

The fight left Alex as quickly as it had come. "No. No, I don't. I'm sorry, Marcello. I didn't mean it. Truly."

"You did, but we'll leave that for now." Marcello walked over and picked up another photo and some papers, then handed them over. "These death threats came with those photos."

Alex read them over. He'd read other death threats since he had come to work full-time in the royal offices after university. Threats against him, his father and mother, even his siblings. Every one still made his blood curdle and his heart race.

"Do we know who it is yet?" Alex asked, though he already knew the answer.

Marcello shook his head. "We've got our people analyzing the original photos and letters; those are copies. We've already scanned your apartments, too. Found the cameras. There were none in your office, and no audio equipment anywhere, so let's say thanks for small favors."

"Yes, let's be thankful they only spied on me and didn't hear anything," Alex said dryly.

"You know if they'd heard you, it would be an entirely different situation. We would have been dealing with a serious threat to national security and a loss of state secrets. You're always working and on the phone, even when you leave the office."