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Soon. He’d find her, apologize for ever dating anyone else and hurting her, get some answers about why she’d left with no explanation, and then he’d hold her close.
“T …” His dad’s voice interrupted his daydreaming.
He glanced back, and his dad tilted his head to the side. The message was clear. He needed to speak with him. Even on Derek’s wedding day, after that beautiful family speech, royal business still had to be attended to.
“Excuse me, Princess Sunny.” He handed the little angel off to Malik. “King Papa needs to speak to me.”
“All right.” Sunny waved. “Let’s dance later.”
He chuckled. “I’ll plan on it.”
Tristan eased to the back of his family group, getting a concerned look from Ray and a sympathetic one from Curtis. Curt was more of a mountain man, climber, and explorer than a prince. He only wore a suit on his or a family member’s wedding day and only wore a casual button-down to church.
Tristan, on the other hand, lived in a suit. He liked it—most of the time.
Edging in close to his dad, he hoped it wasn’t anything urgent.
“Have you seen Henry?” his dad questioned in a low voice.
“No,” he admitted, the word sour in his mouth. Where was the prime minister? The only acceptable excuse for his absence was death. Tristan winced and prayed Henry wasn’t in danger. “Do you know what happened with his meeting earlier?”
“No. It was an outside private investigator he’d hired to find Leslie. Ray just informed me that Henry hiked to meet the man in the mountains, but then he loaded into a Polaris Razor with a man in a baseball cap and glasses. They didn’t recognize the man and they weren’t able to follow him on foot. They tracked the Razor for kilometers but lost the trail on the Austrian side of the mountains.”
Tristan’s eyes widened. Henry must’ve known someone was tracking him and planned to effectively ditch them.
They reached the glass bridge and proceeded across. It was a cool effect, looking down a hundred meters to the trees below, their gorgeous valley stretching out beyond that. Kiera grasped the railing with both hands and looked mischievously at the drop-off.
“Don’t even think about it,” their dad called to her.
Macey was closest and grabbed Kiera’s arm. “Don’t worry. She’s not going over that edge unless she takes me and Ray along.”
They all laughed. Ray was probably triple Kiera’s weight, and none of it was fat.
“You don’t think …” Tristan asked his dad in a whisper.
“If Henry or William ruin another of my son’s weddings…”
“They won’t. I won’t let them.” Tristan knew it was an empty promise, but his dad seemed to calm down. Sadly, it would be worse than a ruined wedding day if William and Henry were in cahoots. Henry had access to everything in the castle and the government. He could hurt them in ways William only dreamed about. “Ray has men searching his last known location?”
“Of course.”
Tristan nodded. He needed to tell him …
Derek and Ellery exited the bridge. The open door leading into the courtyard was just ahead.
“Dad,” Tristan began. “I saw Jenn today.”
The king stopped walking and turned to him. “She’s here at the wedding.”
His dad knew Jennifer was at the wedding? Why hadn’t he said anything?
Tristan nodded. He wasn’t afraid of heights, but he didn’t love being on this bridge. Their lives had felt precariously perched over the edge of a cliff and even with all the security, he didn’t want anything to implode.
“I also saw her out running in the mountains,” he said. “I saw her here too. She had a hat and glasses on, and she slipped around the castle with the crowd rather than greeting Derek and Ellery.”
A cheer went up as Derek and Ellery exited the bridge and cleared the door.
“Ray said one of his guards called earlier to clear Jennifer using her dad’s invite to come in. I gave permission, and Ray agreed Jennifer wouldn’t be a threat. I thought the guard meant Jennifer coming in addition to Henry. I can’t imagine why Henry …” His dad’s jaw worked. “Did she tell you anything when you saw her on the trail? The timing of her return can’t be a coincidence.”
