Page 7 of The Duke's Surprise Heir

“Macie!” he snapped. “What the hell are you saying?”

Macie looked over at the loaf of bread and cheese, her stomach growling. “Would you mind if I cut some of that and had a sandwich? I really am hungry.”

“Macie,” he growled.

She held up a hand, stopping his protest. “I promise to explain everything to you as I eat. I don’t know exactly what time it is, but I haven’t eaten anything since about five hours before I flew out of Philadelphia International Airport and I’m famished.”

Edward didn’t stop his glare, but he reached out for the loaf of bread. Quickly, he tore off a piece and handed it to her, then walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a cutting board. “Okay, you’re eating. Now explain.”

He started slicing the sourdough into thick slices. Then he grabbed the block of sharp cheddar and started slicing that as well.

“I wrote the program, Edward,” she explained, waving Kyle’s hands in the air. “I know exactly what the products weigh in order to balance the plane and fill it up so that we can calculate the exact amount of fuel needed. I calculate wind velocity, jet stream, air currents, fuel weight, cargo weight, and every other factor that helps get your cargo planes to their destination.”

She sighed and kissed Kyle’s nose, making him laugh. She smiled when Kyle leaned forward and…he didn’t know how to kiss yet, but he wrapped his tiny mouth around her nose, further embedding this adorable man in her heart.

“So, you’re saying that you found some anomalies in the cargo shipments. You didn’t think that your calculations could be off?”

Macie looked up at him. “Before working for you, I created a computer program that handled the resources for massive events, planned with dozens of vendors on timetables that required schedules down to the minute. When you hired me, you gave me similar requirements. When I finished the program a year ago, you and your executive team challenged me on every aspect of my computer algorithms. We went out to the warehouse and every one of you challenged me on what each crate weighed and the space it would need in the plane.” She tilted her head to the side, pulling Kyle closer as she watched Edward slice up the cheese. “I know what my computer program can do because I programmed it specifically for your planes.”

“And you know that there were illegal arms shipments smuggled onto the flights because…?”

“Because I know exactly how much every piece of cargo weighs, right down to the fraction of a gram, Edward.”

He turned to the fridge. It took him a moment to locate the butter, but he finally found it and plunked the entire stick into the microwave to melt.

While waiting for the butter to soften, he turned and looked at her, crossing his arms over his chest. “What about the available fuel? It doesn’t always weigh the same amount. We buy fuel from various sources. Fuel has different weights. Hell, it even weighs differently when it’s cold or hot.”

She looked at him with derision. “Edward, I require every piece of cargo to list the packing supplies, the number of pieces of each product shipped. My system calculates the weight of every box, crate, and container down to the gram. The scanner system you bought creates a Jenga like system for packing every one of your planes down to the millimeter.” She paused, letting her words sink in for a moment as Edward layered cheese onto the buttered slices of bread. “Do you honestly think I wouldn’t have calculated the various weight probabilities for every process of fuel manufacturing?” She snorted, shaking her head. “That was the easy part.”

He paused, glancing at her with a chuckle. “Right.”

“Besides, as I mentioned, I went to the warehouse and saw the weapons.” She kissed Kyle’s cheek. “Three weeks ago, one of your planes shipped two crates of rifles and thirteen crates of ammunition to Nigeria.” She reached out and snatched a slice of cheese, nibbling on it while still helping Kyle to balance on the countertop. “A week after that, I noticed another aberration in the weight calculations and went to the warehouse. After looking through the various crates, I came across a shipment of surface to air missiles and launchers.”

The knife clattered to the counter. “Are you kidding me?”

She took another slice of cheese. “Nope,” she replied. “And that’s probably why my house burned down two days ago. And why I decided to come to you so that you can fix this.”

Edward froze. “Your house was burned down? You weren’t kidding about that?”

She shook her head. “Nope,” she confirmed. “Nor am I joking about my tires being slashed. It cost me over a thousand dollars to have them replaced. Plus, I had to sit in the tire shop lobby with a very cranky baby.” She paused to kiss Kyle again.

“How did you get out of the house?” He eyed Kyle. “Both of you look okay. Were either of you hurt?”

She smiled gently at Kyle, then rubbed her cheek against his fuzzy head. “Kyle was a bit cranky that night,” she admitted. “But I read online that riding in a car soothes babies to sleep. And Kyle, thankfully, loves car rides. Plus, at night, with the street lights soothing him, he falls asleep in about ten minutes.” She rubbed his back, more to soothe herself than Kyle. “Kyle saved our lives that night.”

“Why didn’t you go to the police?”

“Because the police were already there. I’d just parked on the side of the road before heading into the driveway when the fire broke out. I saw two men running away from the barn. Two men in black clothing paused by a police cruiser where two officers were leaning against their vehicles. The men in black handed the officers something, then everyone drove away. I sat in my car, thankfully with the headlights turned off, and watched my home burn to the ground. It took the fire department more than a half hour to arrive, even though the fire station is less than two miles from my house.”

Edward moved around the counter to wrap his arms around Macie and Kyle. “I’m sorry, Macie,” he groaned. “I had no idea all of this was happening. I…!”

He didn’t know what to say. He, Sean, and Antonio were the owners of Linx Airlines. It was their responsibility to know what was going on within their companies. But this…illegal arms shipments…that was some heavy stuff.

“I’ll fix this,” he vowed. “I’ll rebuild your home and your barn. I’ll replace every single thing you lost, Macie!” But where would he rebuild? With his arms still around her, Edward looked around at his ancestral home. He’d like for her to rebuild her life here, with him. He wanted Kyle close by, and now that he had Macie in his arms again, he had to admit, if only to himself, that he’d missed her. They’d had one weekend together, three passionate days and nights. He’d held her in his arms for such a short time, and yet, seeing her now, he knew that he wanted more.

Pulling away from her, he cleared his throat and moved back to the stove. He couldn’t have more, Edward reminded himself. Taking the slices of cheese and buttered bread, he added the sandwich to the hot pan, hearing the sizzle as the butter melded into the sourdough bread.

He stared at the pan, but his attention wasn’t on the cooking process. He was thinking about his parents, about the misery that they heaped on each other every day of their married life.

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