The Lost Princes: Darius, Cassius and Monte. Raye Morgan

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      “It was so nice of him,” she said.

      Alarms went off in David’s head but he quickly calmed himself. After all, she was a very attractive woman. Any man worth his salt would have stepped forward to help her in a moment of need. He would have done it himself. Hopefully that was all there was to it.

      Still, he was wary.

      “What did he say?” he quizzed her. “Tell me every detail.”

      “Oh, he was just a nice old man,” she insisted, but she told him everything she could remember, and he couldn’t really find anything extraordinary in it.

      “Let me know if you see him again,” he told her. He briefly considered changing hotels, but then he decided he was being a bit paranoid. There was really no reason to suspect the man of anything at all. “Right now I want you to lie down on that bed.”

      “What?” she said, startled.

      His mouth twisted. She was so predictable on certain subjects.

      “I want you to get some sleep. I’m going out for a while, but when I get back, I’ll take care of Cici should she waken. We may have to take off at an odd hour. I want you to take this chance to get the rest you need.”

      She turned to look at him. He was handsome as ever, but his eyes did look tired.

      “But what about you? You’re the one who’s been driving and you need some sleep yourself.”

      He gave her his long, slow smile that he only handed out on special occasions. “I never sleep.”

      She laughed, charmed by that roguish smile. “Oh, please. What are you, a Superhero?”

      “Not quite. But close.”

      It occurred to her that she knew precisely what he was—wary and mistrustful of something. What exactly did he think was going to threaten them? What was it he was running from? He’d given her a brief sketch of his theories, but not many specifics. She wished he would tell her so she could worry, too.

      “Ayme, do what I say,” he said firmly when she still hadn’t moved. “We don’t have time for long, drawn-out discussions.”

      “Aye aye, sir,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

      “That’s the spirit,” he said approvingly. “Consider this a quasi-military operation. I’m the superior officer. You do what I say without questioning anything.”

      She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh, that’ll be the day!”

      “Indeed.” He shook his head and turned to go. “I have to go out to make a phone call.”

      “Why can’t you do it from here? Don’t you have your cell phone?”

      “I’ve got my mobile,” he responded. “But it’s not the phone I want to use for this call.”

      “Oh.” More likely, she thought, it was a call he didn’t want her to overhear.

      “I’ll be back.”

      She didn’t bother to ask again. It was confusing at times. For whole moments he would seem to warm to her, and that special connection would spark between them. Then, in an instant, it was gone again. She wished she knew how to extend it.

      But she had other things to think about. She got up off the bed and puttered for a bit, putting clothes away in the closet and cleaning off the dresser of things David had thrown there. Cici still slept. Maybe she would be able to get that nap in as David had suggested she do.

      Something drew her to the side window, and peering down into the gathering gloom, she could see the walkway along the front of the hotel. Suddenly, she caught sight of David. He had a cell phone to his ear and seemed to be carrying on an energetic conversation with someone. She could see him gesticulating with his free hand. As she watched, he ducked into the side alleyway beside the hotel and she lost sight of him. She wondered who he was talking to. Hopefully it was someone who knew Cici’s father.

      Funny how she always thought of him that way—Cici’s father—instead of Darius, the Ambrian Prince, or the lost royal. Was that because, deep down, she was pretty sure that either Sam had been fooling her or someone had fooled Sam. The story didn’t really seem to hold together. But maybe David would find out the truth.

      It was interesting how she trusted him and she really didn’t want to analyze why that was. She had a feeling it had something to do with a deep need for a sense of stability in her life. She wanted him to be good. Therefore, he had to be good. Simple as that.

      She looked at Cici. Babies were so adorable when they slept. She was starting to get a handle on how to care for a baby. At least, she thought she was. She was trying to copy everything that David did. It was obvious that a strong, steady hand, a soothing tone of voice and a sense of confidence made all the difference. Cici hadn’t been crying much at all and that was certainly a relief.

      “I’m a fast learner,” she muttered to herself. “I will survive.”

      Turning from the window, she lay down on the bed and fell instantly to sleep.

      Chapter Seven

      DAVID had made a couple of calls, but now he was talking to his brother again. Monte had some information on the requests he’d made earlier. Ayme’s background checked out perfectly. She did have an adoptive sister named Sam who had a few teenage arrests for petty crimes and who had died in a car accident just days ago. But that wasn’t all. The girls’ parents had died in the same accident.

      “That’s odd,” David said almost to himself, reacting to the horror of what Ayme must have gone through. “I wonder why she would have held that back from me?”

      “Never trust a woman, David. You aren’t falling for her, are you?”

      “Hell, no. Give me some credit, okay?”

      “Sure, I’m only kidding. I have no doubt about your ability to hang tough. But on to other matters, there is nothing new on the impostor pretending to spread your love about the land. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”

      “Thanks.”

      “In the meantime, there’s news. Our Uncle Thaddeus has died.”

      “Oh, no.” David felt real remorse. He was the last of the old guard. “That’s a shame. I was looking forward to meeting him someday, and hopefully hearing stories about our parents and the old days.”

      “Yes, so was I. It is not to be. But his funeral is another matter. We must go to it.”

      David frowned “Are you serious?”

      “Yes. As luck would have it, the ceremony will be held in Piasa during the clan reunion gathering. It will be a huge affair. He’s considered the patriarch of the Ambrian expat community. Everyone who means anything to Ambria will be СКАЧАТЬ