Read All Her Men (The Queen's Men Book 1) for Free Online

the last. Even if the SNP had not voted to make ye queen, Brandir would have wanted us to protect ye.”
    “My father’s been dead for years. I… I don’t understand.”
    “Come. All will be explained in due time.”
    As they entered the room, Amelia felt as if her chest was being crushed. There was so much that she didn’t know, so much hidden from her. Her father had been a secretive man, but had he really hired these men to protect her? She couldn’t remember much about him except that he loved her mother very much. Her mother loved him too. They just couldn’t be together. His leaving for Scotland had about killed her mother. Had there been more to it?
    “Ye must know that yer father dinnae tell ye everything. He kept many secrets.”
    “What else was he keeping secret?”
    “Nothing nefarious. Brandir knew the day would come where ye would need us. He had hoped that t’would be many years away. However, he left the means for us to protect ye now.”
    “Did he know that Scotland would be my home?”
    “Yer father designed it.”
    Designed it? Why was he making it sound as if her father had been a mastermind? “Jacob, you’ve lost me.”
    “Yer father planted the seed within the SNP when ye were still verra young. He left America to return to his Scottish home many years ago. Did ye not wonder why?”
    “I knew why. He was a victim of wanderlust. Never could sit still. Not even after Mom died did he return.” The anger in her words startled her. It was something that she had struggled to hide for so many years.
    “Yer father was much more powerful than ye can imagine. We have sworn two oaths. The first to yer father. The second to ye.”
    Why would anyone swear an oath to her father? He was just a simple salesman. He wasn’t anyone important. Well, he wasn’t anyone important to anyone other than her. To her, he had been the most important man in the world… He had walked out on her though. That was unforgivable.
    “What did he do?”
    “Yer father negotiated contracts for the SNP. Contracts are important when a country is on the verge of becoming free. Yer father made a lot of money, all of it now yers.”
    Money? Why would she want money? The tiny house, which she apparently could not return to, was paid for. That was the only debt she had ever had. Her college had been paid for by scholarships and hard work. What would she need with her father’s money? She had worked really hard to support herself. There wasn’t a need for anything else. Well, unless she continued to be a queen. Then there might be a need. How expensive was running a country anyways?
    Shaking her head to dispel the thought, she glanced about the room again. It seemed slightly off. There was something about it that seemed unusual. The room seemed as if it was made for more than just hiding things. “What was this room for?”
    “Once it was a hide away. Now tis used for training.”
    “Training?”
    “Aye, we are yer men. We train here. And here ye shall learn to fight. Ye shall learn to protect yerself. Here in this verra hall, ye shall get stronger. Ye shall prepare for what may come. The land is verra accepting of ye as queen; however, we are Scotland. Some think us weak in this moment. It shall be up to ye to show our strength. Shall we begin?”
    The grin on his face made her stomach flip. Butterflies, such a foreign feeling. The look made her feel as if she was a wanton woman ready to be devoured. Was she truly ready for this? Ready for everything Jacob offered? And exactly what was being offered?
    A cough sounded behind her and she spun around. The others stood there. The ones that had, with Jacob, pledged to protect her. Was what he said true? Were they really there to protect her or was there more to it? Could she even trust them? Could she even trust Jacob?
    As they stepped into the room she noticed that they had changed clothes. They were once again dressed the same as the men that took her from her home. Once