Page 11 of A True King

I nod and leave to go and have my staff pack me a bag. On my way there, I find Auggie in the gym. My brother spends way too much working on his physique. I’m actually quite shocked that a woman was able to kick him off his playboy pedestal, but then again, Kate is no regular woman.

“Anna and I are leaving this afternoon for London. Something is going on with Mia. I need to find her immediately.”

Auggie slows the treadmill down and takes a drink of water. “Are you chasing after Mia because you think there’s something serious going on or are you chasing after the woman you love?” he asks with a smirk.

I lean forward. Auggie isn’t short, but I still tower over him. “I’m not discussing this with you.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Will you just admit you love her? That you’ve loved her since the first time you laid eyes on her? Everyone knows it. This is not a secret.”

“Auggie, just…be careful. I feel like something is going on that is…not right.”

Auggie turns to me, his smirk disappearing. “What do you mean ‘not right’?”

“I mean…Mia had a cell phone hidden in her closet. I don’t know why, but security found it today. There were encrypted messages on it. Jack’s decoding one of them. My gut tells me there’s more to Mia disappearing than just the fact that all the staff were sent away while each was investigated to make sure they weren’t part of The 44.”

“You don’t think she was part of them, do you?”

I shake my head. “No. I don’t think it’s that. I’m not entirely sure what I think, but Anna’s concerned. She found out that…” I pause to consider my words. “Mia’s a princess.”

Auggie’s head snaps back at my words. “Wait. What?”

“Her father is the son of King Ivan.”

“Gilbert?”

“No, that’s the weird part. Max is Maximus Eldegard.”

“But Mia’s last name is Edgewater.”

I shake my head. “I’m not entirely sure it is.”

“Did she ever say anything about this?” Auggie asks as he grabs a towel and wipes the sweat from his brow.

Shaking my head, I lean back against another treadmill. “Honestly, Augs. I don’t think she knows.”

Now Auggie is frowning. “But…why would her father keep that a secret?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m about to go find out.”

“Shit, man. That is…wow. Well, keep me posted. I’m here if you need me.”

“Thanks. Anna, Logan, and I leave in a bit. Anna wants to retrace Mia’s steps.”

“Logan?” Auggie’s eyebrow shoots up and his smirk returns.

It takes every ounce of willpower not to roll my eyes. “Don’t even get me started about those two. Do you know what’s up with them?”

Auggie shakes his head. “No, but if you figure it out, let me know. Anna’s been acting crazy lately. Crazier than normal, which is saying a lot.”

“I will.” I turn to leave.

“Be careful, Chris. Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.”

I nod as I walk through the door, my brother’s words echoing in my head. My heart doesn’t want to believe it, but my head tells me he’s right. The only problem is, I don’t know how big of a fire I’m going to find.

Chapter Five

Mia

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