Page 43 of A Valiant Prince

“It’s like everything has been wiped clean. It doesn’t make any sense,” she says, biting her lower lip as she clearly contemplates the reasoning behind the disappearance of both M and whoever is behind all of this.

“Anna, it’s late. Let’s get some sleep, and we’ll work more on this tomorrow,” I say to her.

She sighs and closes the lid of the laptop. “Fine,” she grumbles. We all but fall into the bed as exhaustion takes over. My last thought before sleep claims me is about the mysterious Jack Ross.

It’s a knocking on the door that wakes me.

“Logan?” I hear Pete ask.

I stumble out of bed and toss on a t-shirt and some shorts.

“Yeah,” I whisper as I open the door. I can tell the sun is up, but it’s early still. The house is quiet and there aren’t the typical morning sounds of the neighborhood where we are staying, no cars going by, no lawn mowers starting up, and not even birds chirping.

“Jack Ross is here,” he says.

I blink and look back at the nightstand where an old alarm clock sits. The red-lit numbers tell me it’s a quarter till seven in the morning.

“Give him some coffee while I get Anna up,” I say to Pete.

He nods, and I shut the door. Anna stirs, and in the dim light, I can see her rub her eyes.

“What is it?” she asks.

“Not what, who,” I correct her.

“Huh?” she says in a sleepy voice.

“Jack Ross is here,” I say to her.

That gets her up quickly. In a manner of minutes, we are both showered and dressed.

I walk out to the kitchen first to find a middle-aged man sitting at the kitchen island sipping coffee. He stands when I enter the room and outstretches his hand.

“Logan, good to meet you,” he says in a strong Scottish accent. He’s tall and fit, the muscles in his arms flex as he grips my hand in his. His hair is a reddish-brown with a few grays stuck in it. His skin is freckled from the sun, but he has very few lines indicating his true age. He’s dressed in slacks and a polo shirt.

“Likewise,” I reply as I hear Anna walk in behind me. Jack’s eyes leave mine as she does so.

“You look like your mother,” he says to her. She gives an almost imperceptible nod.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness,” he says to her and gives a subtle bow of his head.

“So, you’re the infamous Jack Ross?” Anna asks.

“And you’re the famous Knight2E4,” he replies. I see Anna’s eyes widen slightly and then narrow.

“I see you’ve done your homework,” she says coolly.

“Well, I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I hadn’t have done it, now would I?” he responds with a raised eyebrow.

She tilts her head to one side as though inspecting him.

“You’re not how I imagined you,” she admits, and Pete stifles a laugh from the far corner of the kitchen.

Jack, however, doesn’t even attempt to hide his amusement. “I’d love to know what you envisioned me looking like,” he says, sitting back down on the stool.

Anna walks up to him. “Younger,” she says as she sits down next to him. Pete sets coffee in front of her while Jack laughs.

“I once was,” he says.

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