Page 76 of Rogue Royal
Freddie laughed, slapping Damon on the shoulder with the back of his hand.
“Oh, shit. Did he hear? Am I on speakerphone, and you didn’t tell me?”
“Loud and clear, and I appreciate your words,” Frederick said with a grin.
“Um…hi, Your Majesty.” Zara’s voice shook, and Mav couldn’t help but laugh.
“Zara, get off the phone before you cause more trouble than I know you’re already likely to cause when we get there.” Tex’s voice was full of humour. “Bye, Mav. We’ll message you when we’re close.”
“Thanks, Tex. See you soon.”
“They’re going to be a handful,” Damon said when Mav hung up.
“Whatever you’re thinking…triple it,” Mav agreed.
They laughed, then sobered. Damon slapped his hands on his thighs and stood. “Right, let me start the kettle, and we can go through everything again before we plan a course of action.”
They spent several hours going through what they each knew, getting information from subs that had been involved with Talon, and trying to find more information about this Harvey guy. Freddie’s father called with updates. At that moment, it seemed Douglas was being questioned about what happened between him and Umar. Mav knew it would be difficult for Douglas because he had to keep certain things to himself. The NDAs didn’t give them much leeway.
Freddie and Damon left Mav in the early morning. The last update had been that they had postponed questioning until the following day, which meant Douglas had to spend the rest of the night locked up. As much as Mav wanted to break down and cry into Douglas’s pillow, he made himself keep searching. He knew how to find information on the internet and social media, and he put his skills to good use.
By the time Zara and Tex turned up at six in the morning, Mav was bleary-eyed and exhausted, but several cups of coffee later, he was raring to go again.
“Mav! You need to get some sleep. You will be no good to Douglas unless you’re at your best.” Zara gripped him by the shoulders and spun him to face her.
“I can’t, Z. I need to help him.”
“You are. Look at everything you’ve found out. Now, you need to sleep. I’ll wake you if anyone rings, okay?”
Mav slumped and rubbed a hand over his face. “All right. I’m taking my phone—”
“Not a chance. I’ll keep it with me, and the moment it rings, I’ll come and get you.”
Mav glared at her but agreed. As he crawled into bed fully dressed, he grabbed the pillow Douglas usually used when he stayed over and clung to it. As his tears soaked into the fabric by his cheek, he prayed they’d find who had done this. He refused to believe they wouldn’t free Douglas.
****
“Mav!”
The quiet voice and persistent shaking of his shoulder roused him from his sleep. “What?”
It took several minutes to figure out why Zara was standing in his bedroom, then everything flooded into his brain. He scrambled upright.
“What’s happened?”
“There’s someone here to see you.” Zara’s voice showed her uncertainty.
Mav stood, stumbling when his legs trembled beneath his weight. “Who is it?”
“Prince Frederick, Damon and two other people I don’t know.” Mav frowned but started forward before Zara stopped him with an arched eyebrow. “Don’t you want to freshen up first?”
He glanced down at his rumpled outfit and knew he needed to do something. “Okay, but I’ll be quick.”
“They’re not going anywhere.”
“I know, but if they have information to help Douglas, it might need to be done sooner than later.”
He rushed through a shower, decided not to shave, and dressed before he was properly dry. After he’d pulled on some socks, he exited into the living room. Freddie, Damon and Quinn sat and stood in various places around the room with someone Mav didn’t know.
