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“That sounds like a splendid idea.” After so much excitement, Mia had been looking forward to another quiet evening. Even if it wasn’t as romantic as her last evening alone with Tharon.
He opened the door for the three of them, and they took the next hour deciding what to eat and what to play. He enjoyed an evening at home before he had to go in the next day to interrogate the prisoners.
TWENTY-THREE
THARON
After hours of interrogating the men in custody, Tharon sat at his desk, frustrated beyond belief. He got nothing helpful from them. They all had been contacted anonymously and bribed with promises of power if they went along with the plan.
Kiek had been smart in planning this from the start. Kiek’s confrontation with him at the summit played in his mind. Had he missed any clues then? Tharon thought of the remark about sibling rivalry that Kiek had muttered as he left the meeting. That had been Tharon’s first clue that his family was going to be targeted instead of the planet. But at the time, it didn’t even occur to him that Kiek could be talking about one of his own siblings.
His children were well-adjusted siblings finding their way in the world with only one parent. Now, hisownsiblings, that was something different. He wouldn’t say they were a dysfunctional family, but they had never been close. He pushed his disappointed feelings concerning his sister and brother to the back of his mind. Now wasn’t the time.
The years leading up to Mia’s arrival had been rife with confrontation between Tharon and Kiek, but Kiek had never done anything aggressive. He talked a big show, but when it came down to it, he was a no-show.
He thought about the people who knew Mia would be joining him and the children and realized Kiek would have needed inside information. The picture became clearer when he realized the only people who knew Mia would be there were his siblings. His security officer and chiefs didn’t know she would be living with them. The more he thought about it, the more it felt like he was coming to a revelation.
He developed a plan to get his siblings to the house to figure out which one could have been working with Kiek. That was the only way Kiek could have known about Mia, and he had to know which sibling had betrayed him. It had been a while since any of his family had been over to eat or even talk. He should’ve invited them to dinner much sooner.
As soon as he got home, he called out to Mia. “Mia, are you here?”
“I’m in the family room.”
He walked in to find her reading a book and relaxing on the sofa. “Did you find a new book to read? Or is that one that you have already read?”
“One of my old favorites,Mary Poppins. Welcome home. How was your day? Any better knowing that some of Kiek’s men have been captured?”
“It was okay. I have been thinking, though. I remembered hearing Kiek mumble something under his breath when he was leaving the summit meeting.”
“Did you hear enough to know what he said?”
“I think it was something about sibling rivalry. I was really hoping that I misheard him.”
Mia looked at him quizzically. “Do you think we could still be in danger?”
“As much as I hope I am wrong, yes. I think we could all still be in danger. You most of all.”
“I think by now I have proven that I can handle myself.”
“I agree with you to a certain extent. If my sister or brother were to attack you … Let’s just say I would rather be by your side and ready to defend you if it were to happen.”
Her hand flew to her gaping mouth in shock. “One of your family …” she said in a hushed tone. “Are you serious, or is this one of those moments where a guy with a camera pops out and says ‘Smile, you’re on Candid Camera’?”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“Right, sorry. So, you are serious. Have your siblings ever threatened you in the past?”
“Never outright, but they have always been very competitive. While my brother isn’t nearly as strict as my sister is, they are both very conservative and believe that our old ways should stay the same. My parents raised us to be very cut-throat with each other and to prioritize serving our people above all else.”
“Do you think they are particularly unhappy with me being in the household?”
“That is exactly what I am thinking.”
“So, how should we handle the situation?”
“I don’t know if I should involve you in this mess, to be honest. I was thinking about inviting them over for dinner, but I think you and the children should be elsewhere while they are here. Just in case.”
“Nonsense. Obviously, we can have the children stay with someone else for the night when they
