Page 33 of Hiding out with a Royal Billionaire

Chase and Skye followed him out of the room and down the hall into what looked like a communication room. A screen was up on the far wall and computers sat at desks, ready for use. Tony stood in front of the larger screen, talking to a man Skye had never seen before. The man looked up. “Ah, you must be Skye. Welcome your highness.”

“Thank you.” She stepped forward, nervous all of a sudden.

“We have news and we’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Of course.”

“We lost contact from Brooks earlier today. He’d just finished a capture.” The screen zoomed in on a satellite shot of Brooks standing in the middle of a parking lot. Skye sucked in her breath. It was good to see him. He looked tired, haggard. But there was a peace about him, something that said he’d completed the mission.

“Shortly after this image was taken, shots were fired and he moved for cover behind that vehicle behind him.

“Oh no.” Her eyes followed his path. “Do we not have any pictures?”

“We do. But then the communication goes blank. And we haven’t heard anything from him since.”

Skye’s heart clenched in fear. “What’s being done? Do we have men on the ground? Has anyone been sent back in for an extraction?” Even to herself, she sounded like she was interfering unnecessarily, but this was Brooks. And she was not going to sit idly by.

“I’m calling because I wonder if there’s any insight you might have into where he would go, where he would hide, things he might like to do, who he would call?”

“Where is he?”

“Turkey.”

She frowned. “There’s a prince who goes there a lot. Arlo Ferenzi. It might be too obvious, but maybe Brooks would try to contact him or use his house?” She thought more. “Any coastal towns and he would head for the water. The island nation of Croeses sits not far from the Turkey coastline. Enzo would be there.”

“You aren’t aware of any contacts he might have in Turkey who aren’t princes?” There was something odd in the manner in which he asked the question, but Skye couldn’t pinpoint it.

“No. Did you have someone specific you wanted to ask about?”

He turned on an image on the screen, of Brooks and an old girlfriend, but it was a recent picture. He had his arm around her and she was turned into him, standing close, almost intimately. “Do you know who this is?”

“Yes, That’s Isabella Terrenea. They dated some time ago.” She was filled with a new rush of irritation. She’d liked her just fine. They’d gone skiing together a few times, but now, just seeing them together made her ill.

“You weren’t aware of them seeing each other more recently?”

“No.”

He nodded.

“Is she a threat?”

“We don’t think so. But they’ve been seen together more than once on this mission so I wondered if you knew any recent updates on them.”

She shook her head, wishing the topic would die. “Is there anything else I can do? Are you worried about Brooks? This kind of thing happens a lot I’d imagine…” She looked with hope from the man on the screen to Chase and the other guys. They all wore the same grave expression.

“We’ve got teams out looking for him. If he doesn’t check in during the next six hours, we have to assume he’s been taken captive or injured.”

Her throat felt tight. She tried to swallow but couldn’t. She couldn’t lose Brooks. “What can I do? What if I went to Turkey—”

“No.” Chase and the man on the screen called out together.

The man on the screen shook his head. “You must stay put. Particularly now that Brooks is missing. We don’t know if his disappearance had more to do with the trafficking mission or with your discovery of the chest.”

Of all the ridiculous… She had half a mind to throw the chest back into the sea. And she started her own plans to leave anyway. In fact, she’d call her parents. She had her own security, her own team, and her own plans. If Brooks was in danger, she wanted to do something about it.

They didn’t know her very well, but she was not the kind to sit around waiting. She was here in this safe house for one reason: Brooks. It was one thing when Brooks was out on his mission. But now, it was time to take matters into her own hands.

She tried to keep her face blank and agreeable looking, but her mind spun with possibilities. She texted her assistant asking for the jet to be ready. They were wrapping up the meeting all around her but she hardly noticed until she felt eyes on her. Chase.

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