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“I can respect that. I should have just carded you both from the get-go. If you change your mind and decide you want a beer, it’s on me.” He winks.
“Thanks, but I’ll stick with the soda.”
“With a twist of lime. Got it, and it’s on the house.” He quickly makes the drink and sets it down in front of her. When she reads the napkin, there’s a phone number scrawled on it. Jessie smiles but says nothing as she tucks the napkin in her back pocket. Knowing Jessie, she has no intention of calling him for a date but might end up using the number to get information later.
Another hour passes as the girls chit-chat with the locals and take a few spins on the dance floor.
I’m on the cusp of being bored when Ariella shouts, “STOP!”
“What? Who did you see?” I ask her.
“Two guys are sitting at a table in the corner. I only caught a brief glimpse and can’t be sure…”
Jerry touches the comm link to open two-way communication, “Savannah, direct your camera toward the two men in the corner. Find some reason to get closer so we can get a better look at their faces.”
She does, and as she comes closer, the two men lock eyes with her and immediately get up to leave. She turns her body so the camera continues to pan around the room. “Is it something I said?” she asks, though they ignore her.
Jessie mumbles, “They know they’ve been made. Do you want us to head back?”
I tap my comms, “Stand by for now. I’ll have an update soon.”
Ariella’s face is pale, and her hand trembles slightly. “Ari, can you tell me who those men are?”
She dips her chin once and softly says, “That’s Jovian and Simon, two of the queen’s elite royal guard.”
I quickly pass on the information to Savannah and Jessie, asking them to see what they can find out. As I’m giving them their directive, Ariella touches me to get my attention.
“You should warn them to stay on high alert and watch their backs. Where there are two, there are often more. The elite squads are comprised of eight members, broken into two four-man teams. I’m willing to bet at least four of them are in town, and they are very good at what they do.”
When I relay Ariella’s warning, Jessie responds, “Yeah, but we’re better.”
Chapter fourteen
Ariella
Patrick waits until Jessie and Savannah safely return before calling Ethan to give him an update. Surprisingly, Ethan has one for us, too. Patrick starts the conversation by detailing the events of the night. “Two of the queen’s royal elite guards were spotted in town at the local pub and grill in Huntley. They were scoping out the place like Savannah and Jessie had been doing. Ariella suspects more than the two of them are in the area based on their standard operating procedures.”
Ethan agrees. “That’s very likely. You might be interested to know that our sources tell us that the Cothena royal family jet departed the island two hours ago with a flight plan for Billings, Montana. We don’t yet have confirmation, but it is believed that Queen Julietta Caras may have been on it. If there aren’t more of the elite guard now, I suspect there will be soon.”
I shake my head at the absurdity of the queen coming here. “It doesn’t make sense for Julietta to come here when she has plenty of people to do her bidding. And I’m confused about how they found us so fast in the first place. Ethan, I didn’t think anyone was supposed to know where we were.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not like witness protection, where you’re hidden away in total secrecy with new identities and a new life. Only one person knew exactly where you were, Ariella, and that was your father. Kiernan knew you would be staying in Montana with Patrick’s parents, but they aren’t exactly listed in the phone book, and we didn’t offer up their first names. We had helped Donovan and Charlie scrub their presence from the internet and social media as best we could when they opted to be utilized as a safe house.
“Despite all our efforts, there are ways to find you. Kiernan has resources available to him that most do not, especially since Brachha specializes in AI and cybersecurity. Even with his limited knowledge of your whereabouts, it wouldn’t have taken him long to pinpoint your exact location if he had the mindset to do so. Do you think either he or your father would have said anything?” Ethan asks.
“If my father told anyone, it would have been my mother. But I doubt that’s the case. He’s been hiding my marriage to Patrick from everyone, including her. I can’t imagine any reason that my father would disclose where Alex and I are hiding, considering Patrick is with us, too.”
Ethan coughs loudly, choking a little. “Did I hear you correctly that you and Patrick are married? I mean, I knew that you weren’t married to Kiernan and that Alex was Pat’s son, but I don’t recall you mentioning anything about being wed to Patrick.”
I’m about to explain when Patrick stops me by gently grabbing my hand and my attention. “Ethan, I’ll share the longer version with you when all this is over, but the short version is that Ari and I were married in the Bahamas, got to spend one night together, and then she left to return home for all the reasons you already know.”
Ethan chuckles. “Not much can surprise me anymore, but that nugget of information did the trick. Amelia is going to go nuts over this when I tell her.” I can hear him shuffle some papers around. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get sidetracked. Okay, Ariella. You don’t think your father said anything. What about Kiernan?”
“I honestly don’tknow. I’d like to think that he would have kept his lips sealed. But after learning that he’s been hiding a major gambling problem from me, anything is possible. Have you talked to him lately?” I ask.
“No, but that isn’t from a lack of trying. He hasn’t answered his phone, and my source in that area hasn’t seen him for the past week. Kiernan was last seen attending a dinner in Cothena and having a heated discussion with Julietta on the veranda. She handed him an envelope, and shortly after that, he disappeared. My contact in Monte Carlo is watching in case Kiernan turns up, but so far, nothing,” Ethan sounds exasperated at not having all the information.
Patrick leans forward, clasping his hands in front of him. “Based on what you told us so far, Ethan, I suspect Kiernan may have informed Julietta of our location. It’s been about a week since he was last seen and six days since the two men showed up on our property. The timing is too coincidental for me to believe otherwise. I don’t like it.”
