Sebastian made short work of opening the door and giving the guards permission to let Tess’s brothers into their group’s hiding spot. The pantry seemed to shrink once Trey, Trevor, Ellie, and Millie joined them inside.

“This is cozy.” Trevor sounded snarky, so Millie swatted lightly at his chest with the back of her hand. “What? It is.” He tried to sound innocent.

Ignoring them, Trey demanded, “What is the meaning of all of this?” He always had hated being left out of the loop, and Tess could tell that he was spiraling from feeling like he wasn’t in control of this particular situation.

While their approach was a little too abrasive, Tess couldn’t help but be proud of how her brothers always had her back. They obviously had her best interests at heart, but sometimes she wished they would back off a little and let her live her own life.

“Sebastian is actually the prince, so he will be crowned king,” she told them simply.

“Yeah, we got that part.” Trey snapped. “We’re going to need a few more details.”

Tess set about explaining the unique situation to her brothers. When it seemed like they had all of their questions answered to their satisfaction, she said, “Now, if you don’t mind, we’d like to get back to the ball and salvage what little is left of this evening on the dance floor.”

She started to get up to squeeze past her brothers, but stopped short when Sebastian said, “Wait. There’s something else we need to tell you.”

It was obvious by the tone of his voice that whatever he had to say wasn’t going to be good. Tess plopped back down on the flour crate and waited for the proverbial other shoe to drop.

Sebastian locked eyes with Pierce as if seeking courage. Both men’s faces were drawn with concern. Whatever this big announcement was, it obviously wouldn’t be good.

For the first time, Sebastian averted his gaze from Tess as if he were ashamed of what he was about to say. “We… umm… well, we…” He didn’t seem to be able to find the words to convey what he had to say. It wasn’t like him to be so wishy-washy.

Trey was the least patient with his stalling. “Spit it out,” he ordered.

That command seemed to kick Sebastian back into gear. “We targeted you.” He told Tess, speaking quietly and looking down.

“Excuse me?” Trey demanded at the same time as Trevor said, “What do you mean you targeted her?” Both of Tess’s brothers had their eyebrows angled down into similar dark, angry vees. They looked ready to physically pounce on the other two men in the room, if they didn’t like their explanation.

Sebastian swallowed audibly. He seemed to be frantically searching for the right words to make this confession less offensive. He tried to take Tess’s hand within his own again, but she yanked it back out of his reach. She didn’t like where this conversation seemed to be heading.

Her angry reaction kicked Sebastian’s mouth into overdrive. The words came out in a flurry as he tried to justify what they had done. “The kingdom is in dire financial trouble.” Tess and Mo both nodded because they had already been aware of the royals’ money problems, but the Donovan brothers and their dates looked taken aback by this news.

“The entire island is on the verge of bankruptcy,” he continued. This tidbit even stunned Tess and Mo because they hadn’t realized the extent of the problem. Out of respect for the royals, neither woman shared with the other four that the king’s gambling addiction was the culprit of much of the kingdom’s financial struggles.

“You seemed like the only solution, so we went to that gala in the U.S. to find you,” he said to Tess.

“How am I a solution?” she asked him, honestly perplexed.

It took Sebastian a long moment to answer. When he finally did, his words infuriated Tess. “We knew about your brothers,” he mumbled.

Outraged, she stood and asked him, “So, you thought I would just ask my brothers for money to bail out your failing kingdom?!?”

“No, I… we… it’s just…” A viable explanation failed Sebastian.

Tess didn’t wait around for him to find a valid reason for his betrayal. Instead, she covered her mouth with her hand to contain her sob that erupted, and she bolted from the pantry.

As she ran down the hallway, Tess vaguely heard the ruckus that ensued upon her departure, but she didn’t pause to see what the outcome would be. She knew her brothers and Mo could take care of themselves, and right now, she just needed to be far away as far away from Sebastian as possible.