Did Caldwell know it would register Aiden’s identity? Aiden had no clue how Payton got inside without using his own code and thumbprint, but Aiden couldn’t do it.
“Your Highness,” Caldwell gritted out, nudging him in the back with the gun.
After pushing in his access code, Aiden scanned his thumb. The door opened.
Trouble must have known what it meant as well. He caught Aiden’s gaze, his eyes twinkling.
Maybe they could leave Father and Cony a hint.
“Any idea who took Aiden’s sketchscreens?”
Nate glanced up at Raleigh and shook his head. “No. I’ve looked at the videos of all the castle exits around the time of Jeffers’ last download. The only thing that left the castle was garbage. I’m assuming someone threw them in the trash.”
“Bloody hell.” Raleigh grunted and sat in the chair across from the desk. “Bugger.”
Nate arched a brow. In the time he’d been here, he hadn’t heard Raleigh use that kind of language. He could certainly understand it though. The idea of a conspirator among them didn’t sit right with him either, especially given the attack on Aiden.
Raleigh grimaced. “Sorry. I just hate having a traitor in my house. And whoever keeps getting rid of Aiden’s screens…”
He’d thought the same thing. “What I want to know is why they haven’t attempted to get the files off of Jeffers. That would make more sense. They have to know that eventually we will get suspicious of all the missing sketchscreens and check the sketches to see what it is they don’t want us to see. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“Unless that is the point.”
“What do you mean?” Nate frowned.
“Unless they want us to look at the sketches.” Raleigh frowned and ran his hands down his face. “Why would someone want us to see the ship, if they were responsible for stealing the crates?”
“Guilty conscience?”
“Why not come to me and beg my mercy?”
Nate chuckled. “Do you have any?”
Raleigh grinned. “Only where my kids are concerned.”
“Exactly. And in this case, given that it is an IN investigation, they’d be at my mercy. My forgiving nature isn’t something I’m known for.”
“I’ve heard.” Raleigh sighed. “I take it there is no word from Admiral Jenkins on the man who attacked Aiden?”
“Not yet. I’m planning another trip to the docks to see what I can learn.”
Raleigh looked away as if he were thinking. He sat quietly for several seconds.
Nate was beginning to think Raleigh was done with their conversation when Raleigh cleared his throat. “You will not take Aiden with you this time.” He arched a brow and caught Nate’s gaze in a level stare.
Staring right back, Nate silently bristled. He hadn’t planned on taking Aiden, but he’d be damned if Raleigh or anyone else dictated what he and Aiden did. The sooner Raleigh understood that the better. “I hadn’t planned on it. But if he wants to go, I will not tell him he can’t. He’s quite capable of making his own decisions. He is not a child.”
“I am concerned about his safety.”
“So am I.” Nate sighed. He appreciated where Raleigh was coming from. Nate would feel the same way if he were in Raleigh’s position. Galaxy knew he’d be concerned about Trouble. “The sooner you understand that the better off we’ll be. I’m not going to intentionally put Aiden in danger, but I will not have you dictating our actions.”
“Does this mean you will not be taking him back to your ship with you?”
Fuck. Nate wasn’t ready for this discussion. He had to run it all by Aiden first. He wasn’t about to talk to Raleigh about the offer for promotion to admiral, but he knew he wasn’t going to endanger Aiden by taking him on the Lady Anna. He could give Raleigh that if nothing else. “I will not take him on the ship.”
Raleigh visibly relaxed and gave Nate a crisp nod. “Thank you.”
“The decision wasn’t made for you, but you’re welcome.”
“Nevertheless, I’m grateful. And this brings up another topic I’ve been wanting to discuss with you.”
“Oh?” Nate leaned back in the computer chair and crossed his hands over his stomach. So help him, if Raleigh brought up his relationship with Aiden again, Nate was going to strangle the man.
“Your son.”
Uh-oh. What had the kid gotten into this time? “Trouble?”
Raleigh nodded. “Have you noticed the birthmark under his arm?”
Nate blinked, taken aback. Jaw clenching, he narrowed his eyes at Raleigh.
Eyebrows pulling together, Raleigh sat forward. “Then you haven’t seen it?”
Scowling, Nate sat taller in the chair. “What I want to know is how did you?”
“I spotted it when I came to find you a couple days ago. Jeremy was in your room, half dressed.”
When had Raleigh come to find him? Where was Nate at the time? “When was this?” Damn, that had come out surly, but Jeremy was none of Raleigh’s concern.
“When you went shopping with my boys. I saw the video of Aiden leaving your room the day before.” Raleigh snarled his lip ever so slightly. “I came to confront you about it.”
That explained a lot about Raleigh’s attitude toward him concerning Aiden. Nate relaxed a little, realizing where the man was coming from. “Nothing happened, Raleigh.”
Nodding, Raleigh sat back. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“Just the same. I’m telling you nothing happened.”
Raleigh dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Your son is Regelen.”
Nate blinked. “Come again?” He practically growled the last bit.
“The birthmark. All artificially procreated babies are born with that particular birthmark under their right arm.”
Whoa. Nate felt like someone had knocked the air out of him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this. Jeremy was his son, and nothing was going to change that. If anyone thought different…
Raleigh’s gaze drifted. “He reminds me of a couple I used to know. Patrick was very outgoing and personable, very much like Trouble.” A barely perceptible smile flitted across his lips. “He was an IN Lieutenant. Marcus, though? Very serious and smart. He—”
“Your Highness, Lord Deverell, there is a transmission from Admiral Jenkins. Do you wish to receive it?” Jeffers asked.
“Yes.” Nate sat forward, looking at the monitor, his mind shifting back to the case. He and Raleigh would definitely be discussing Trouble later, but now…
Raleigh came around the desk, pulling a chair over to sit beside Nate.
Carl came on the screen seconds later. “Ah, Nate, Raleigh, hello.”
“Hello.” Nate tried not to grumble, but he wanted the man to get to the point. Surely he’d had plenty of time to look up Felix Chapman in the IN computers.
“Good morning, Admiral.” Raleigh was once again his demure, almost distant self.
“Gentlemen, I’m afraid I was not able to discover much about your attacker. He is a thirty-year-old Regelen with no criminal record. I didn’t find a current residence for him. But I did find out something interesting. The Marchioness is not his ship. It’s registered to a Chadwick Manche—”
The screen went blank and the lights flickered but stayed on. Everything got utterly still and quiet. What the…?
Raleigh stood. “Jeffers?”
There was no answer. The entire household shut down. Shit. Someone had turned Jeffers off. Why were the princes turning Jeffers off again? They all knew Aiden had been attacked. Fuck. They wouldn’t have done it.
Raleigh raced to the door. “I’ve got to go find Steven and the boys.”
Aiden. Nate was right on his heels. He ran past Raleigh, who was yelling for the king, and started up the stairs.
“Nate, if you find any of the boys keep them with you and meet me back here,” Raleigh called after him.
Nate didn’t stop running until he got to his and Aiden’s suite. “Aiden?”
There was no answer.
“Aiden?”
The sword he’d given Aiden earlier was lying across the bed.
Nate searched the washroom. “Aiden? Boy, answer me.” His stomach plummeted with each step he took. Aiden wasn’t here. Nate crossed the sitting room joining his and Aiden’s bedroom to Trouble’s. “Trouble?” There was no answer. Not that Nate had expected there to be. Trouble would have come running when he was calling Aiden, if he were here. “Fuck.”
He pushed open the door to Trouble’s bedroom. The bed was made and Jeremy’s reader lay on the bed. The room was immaculate except for the door leading to the valet’s room was standing open. Fuck! There was someone on the floor—and blood. Nate ran to the door, his heart pounding, dread swelling in his chest. Benson. It was Aiden’s valet, with a big fucking hole in his chest. The tension inside him eased a little on discovering it wasn’t Aiden or Trouble, but now he knew for certain his boys weren’t here and they were in danger. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
Nate noticed a cravat on the floor inside Trouble’s room. He frowned. Trouble had had on a cravat, Nate had tied it for him before going downstairs this morning. Picking it up, he brought it to his nose. Aiden. It was newly washed and starched, but it smelled faintly of Aiden. Please let them be okay.
Nate ran back to his room, grabbing Aiden’s sword, and hurried back downstairs. The entire staff was there, all chattering at once from the sounds of it. They quieted when Nate appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He looked around and found everyone but Aiden, Trouble and Raleigh.
Steven stepped forward. “Aiden?”
Nate shook his head. “No. My son is missing as well.”
The king’s jaw tightened and he closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking back at Nate. “We can’t locate Benson and Caldwell either.”
“Benson is dead.”
Steven’s eyes widened, his face paling just a bit, then he turned back to the group gathered in the foyer. “Thomas, Lord Deverell and I are going to help Raleigh get Jeffers up and running. Keep the children here with you and Christy. Everyone else spread out and search the castle. We need to find Aiden, Lord Deverell’s valet and Caldwell.” Steven turned back to Nate. “Come on.”
“Where are we going? We’ve got to look for them.” Nate resisted the urge to yell and destroy something. It was hard, he felt as though his entire world were collapsing around him. “Who is Caldwell? And what do you know about Caldwell?”
Steven shook his head. “Caldwell is Tarren’s valet. He has a spotless record or he wouldn’t be employed here. Raleigh double-checked every employee after the weapons were stolen. There was nothing that made them stand out.” Steven opened the door leading to the basement.
Of course not, or they’d have already caught them. Damn it. Nate followed Steven into Jeffers’ maintenance room. He had never felt this kind of dread in his entire life. Nothing had prepared him for this. Not the IN, not being disowned by his family. Nothing. He may very well have lost the most important things in his life. He just hoped that Aiden and Trouble stayed together—they’d have a much better chance that way.
Raleigh was typing away on a keyboard on a stand in front of a large screen, like in his personal study. There were racks of computers and different equipment. The overhead lights flickered before going steady again. Raleigh stopped typing and looked at Steven and Nate. “Did you find Aiden?”
“No. But Benson is dead.”
“What?”
Nate watched a series of numbers and letters flash on the screen as Jeffers rebooted. “He’s upstairs. Someone shot him with a fragger.”
Raleigh’s fists clenched. “Damn it. Nate, before Jeffers shut off the admiral said the ship was registered to Chadwick Manchester. That is Lord Braxton’s given name.”
As if that news wasn’t disturbing enough a picture of a man flashed on the screen behind Raleigh. Nate had seen the man before. But where? Pointing to the screen he asked. “What’s that?”
Raleigh looked but it was Steven who answered first. “That’s Caldwell. Raleigh, why is he on the screen?”
Nate racked his brain. He was certain he hadn’t seen the man here in the castle, which meant he knew the man from somewhere else. Bringing his hand to his forehead he closed his eyes. Think, Nate. Where the hell had he seen the man?
The furious clacking of keys suddenly stopped and Raleigh laughed. “That is our son leaving us a clue. Aiden used his login when he shut Jeffers down. He changed the splash screen.”
Nate looked back at the picture of the lean blond man with piercing hazel eyes. Eyes that took on a devious glint when they were cornered and an equally convincing innocent look when they stared back at a panel of officers, requesting a transfer. “Last I knew, that man was IN intelligence.”
Chapter Sixteen
They were moving…or maybe not. It could be his head spinning from being zapped with a bio-jet injector full of sedative. Aiden sat, grabbing his head. Oh, dust. His head felt four sizes bigger and full of cotton. He groaned and laid right back down.
“Aiden?” Trouble croaked from somewhere to his left.
“Yeah, it’s me. Are you okay?” It really felt like they were in motion. Turning his head toward Trouble’s voice, Aiden opened his eyes. It was dim, but not so dark that he couldn’t see. They were in some sort of a hold. He couldn’t see very far, but the room appeared to be empty.
Trouble blinked his eyes open and grabbed his forehead. “I think so. My head feels like it’s going to explode. It didn’t feel like this when Hawk shot me with a fragger.”
“Caldwell must have knocked us ou— Nate shot you?” What in the Galaxy did the hellion do to make Nate shoot him? That didn’t sound like Nate. Nate. Would he notice they were gone? Aiden sighed. They had to get out of here.
“Yeah, long story. Where the hell are we?”
Aiden looked around from where he lay and pushed himself to a sitting position. Bringing his knees up, he rested his head on them. That wasn’t too bad. He was groggy, but whatever Caldwell gave them was wearing off. “I don’t know. A ship’s hold maybe?” Which completely imploded planets. How were they going to get out of here?
Trouble grumbled but sat. “I think you’re right. It looks similar to the hold on the Lady Anna.” Getting to his hands and knees, Trouble pushed himself up and staggered to the back of the room. Looking along the bulkhead, he stopped. “Aiden, come over here.”
Rising to his feet, Aiden rested his hands on his knees until the wave of dizziness passed. Once he got to where Trouble stood he saw it—a small hatch. “Can we get it open?”
“Uh-huh.” Trouble began picking at a panel to the right of the hatch.
“Where does it lead?”
“Access tunnels.” His fingernails slipped. “Ow.” He shook his hands and went back to work picking at the wall.
“Think we can make it to an emergency shuttle undetected?” All ships had them, right? Aiden dug the little bit of nails he had into the other side of the crevice and in no time the plate popped off. There was a keypad.
Trouble picked his foot up and bashed his heel into the keypad several times. “We can if I can get to a computer.” It crunched under his kick, several of the plastic keys falling out, until it cracked in half and hung limply from some wires. He started pulling out wires and crossing them. The three-foot by three-foot hatch slid up into the bulkhead. Trouble grinned and crawled through it. “Just like Hawk’s ship. These things never could handle a short.”
They traveled through a narrow access tunnel with wires and pipes on each side of them and overhead. They crawled on a grate that covered even more wires and pipes below them. It was harder to hear in here, sounding like air was whishing by them, and their knees banged on the metal-grated deck. And the space was cramped. It was a good thing he and Trouble were both on the small side. Nate never would have fit in here. The thought of Nate made him crawl faster. Damn, he wanted to go home.
Every ten to twe
nty feet there was a small hatch, like the one they had come through. Finally, they hit a dead end, or rather a closed hatch. It was on the deck and there was no keypad. It was a manual panel.
Trouble bit his bottom lip and contemplated the entryway.
“What?” Aiden asked.
“If there are crewmembers in there, we’re fucked.”
He nodded. “Where does that lead?”
“The engine room.”
It didn’t seem to Aiden that they had much choice. Who knew how much time they had. Someone was bound to figure out they’d escaped the hold eventually. And then what? They were, as Trouble said, fucked. “What other options do we have?” He sure as hell didn’t want to sit around and wait to be found. There was no telling what the psycho valet had planned for them.
Trouble sighed, ran his hands through his hair and groaned. “Good point. It’s now or never, huh?” Trouble slid it open a little.
They both froze. Aiden held his breath. Please don’t let there be anyone in there.
After several seconds when no one came running to attack them, Trouble stuck his head in the opening and looked around. “Coast is clear.” He pushed the hatch all the way open and dropped through.
Aiden followed, looking around. His stomach was tied in knots, but he forced himself to continue. They had to get out of here. Just because no one came rushing at them, didn’t mean no one was in there. It was very loud down here so they might not have heard them.
It was colder than in the tunnels, brighter lit too. There were several racks of computers. Blinking red, green and blue lights were all over the place. It was like a maze of computers. He decided they were either very lucky or stupid. It was too soon to tell which.
They turned a corner and were suddenly out of the maze. No one else was in sight. Lucky, we’re definitely lucky.
An open door. It looked like some sort of command room.
Trouble saw it too. Hurrying over, Trouble waited for him to get inside and closed the hatch. It was a control room or rather control closet.
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