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"Maybe it's the fresh island air or something."
I lifted my gaze to Micah, and he gave a little shake of his head and said, "Gwen, why don't you take Jessica to grab a drink and introduce her to the king and queen?"
My mother's face lit up. "Oh, I don't think I'm dressed for meeting royalty."
Gwen smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "If you look very closely under the queen's gown, you’ll see she's wearing trainers."
My mother laughed at that. "Oh, in that case, I need to meet her immediately. I like her already."
When the two of them were gone, Micah gave me a tight smile. "I had the doctor come and check her out last night. He did a test, and her blood composition is slightly different. He suspects that somebody was still dosing her with psychotic meds.”
That was impossible. I’d gotten her away from my father. “Are you telling me you think he found a way to get to her?" Micah shifted his gaze away, and I pressed my brother. "Tell me."
"Here's the thing. We can't find Tessa."
My mother’s nurse? "What?"
"When Pierce brought your mother here, Tessa vanished. She's not at her apartment. I mean, while it is an apartment and someone lives there, there is no Tessa Belcher at that address."
I stared at him, unable to process the words that were coming out of his mouth. I cursed under my breath.
"Gavin and I questioned the woman who lives there, and she doesn’t know anyone by that name."
"You have got to be fucking kidding me? So you’re telling me Tessa doesn’t exist? All this time she’s been taking care of Mom. What the hell has she been doing to her?”
"Exactly what I’ve been asking. The doc seems to think that she has been given a low dose of whatever compound Dad had her on while she was institutionalized."
"I’m going to fucking kill him. It’s honestly what we should have done before. There is no reason that fucker needs to ever draw breath again."
"The same kind of monster who framed her for murder,” Micah said. "But it's fine. She's safe, and clearly, she is doing great. So, buck up and smile. It's your fucking wedding."
"I am smiling."
My brother winced. "That's not exactly what I would call a smile. But it's probably the best you've got."
"We need to get her back to New York."
"Actually, I don't agree,” Micah countered. “I think our better bet is to stick to the plan. Your mom should stay here. She’s so far better off here. The island has been safe so far, but we’ll amp security with help from the Royal Elite.”
The King’s own sanctioned Bodyguard service. "Did you forget someone took shots at Gwen and me? We might need more than that." I said incredulously.
"Someone took shots at Gwen. Not your mother. Everything has been quiet for two months now where Jessica’s concerned. Royal Elite is guarding her now. Trusted guards who have taken care of Sebastian and Penny and looked after their children. Not to mention, Pierce is going to stay here for at least a few more weeks to make sure nothing happens. I think this is the safest place for her, Atticus."
I glanced over at my mother. “Okay, if you really think so.” She was smiling, and Princess Cara was chatting her up. The next thing I knew, my mom was holding Princess Cara's hand, and Cara led her to a seat before climbing right into her lap.
At that moment, my mother chose to glance at me with a wide beam of a smile and cuddled the princess to her. I knew what that look meant. She wanted grandkids. I should have been terrified, but all I did was look at Gwen and wonder if our kids would have her smile.
"You’re probably right about not going back to New York,” I told Micah. “So in the meantime, I'm going to take Gwen on a honeymoon. I can't return home until we find him."
"Sebastian and Penny have a getaway on Princess Island,” he suggested. “Stay there for a week. We'll locate him by then."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah,” he assured me. “We’ve got some leads. I just don't think it's wise to return to New York just yet. Especially not for Gwen."
"All right, here's what we'll do; I'll give you four days to find our father,” I said sternly. “We'll hide out on Princess Island for the time being. And then if push comes to shove, we're returning to New York. As for the marriage, pay a visit to Becker. Show him the marriage certificate, make it worth his while to keep it to himself. I will not have him tip off Dad and put Gwen in more danger. We'll keep the marriage under wraps for the time being."
Micah clapped me on the shoulder, and I glanced at his hand. We weren't particularly affectionate in our family, but Micah’s support was important to me. "We've got this handled. And you've got Gwen. I'll work with Pierce on putting Gwen in a flat in the Faulkner building when you return to the city."
