Chapter 12

As soon as Jackson heard the last word, his face paled. "He's inside." He whispered.

Chloe watched as he snatched up the phone on his desk, jammed in a few numbers, then barked into the receiver. "Lieutenant, I have a code yellow. Be alert and on your feet. Threat is to Sparks, possibly Majestic, and Queenie. Keep me updated."

His eyes flicked to hers. "You are not going anywhere until I clear an officer to watch over you."

Avery cleared her throat. "Sir, don't you think we should take a moment for Elizabeth to get changed?"

Chloe wanted that. Desperately. It scared her how fast a day that started off so well could go south so quickly. How could she walk around the palace knowing that somewhere inside lurked her stalker? Her stomach twisted at the thought.

"Also-and I know it's not really in my place to play devil's advocate, but-do we know for sure that the stalker is the one that took the clothes? We can't just jump to conclusions here." Avery continued, setting a glass onto the desk in front of Chloe. She choked down half of the large glass and still her throat was dry.

"Who else would it be, Avery?" Jackson's eyebrows came together as he frowned at her.

Avery shrugged. It amazed Chloe how unafraid Avery seemed to be of her brother. Because, to be honest, Jackson even intimidated her.

Jackson had this air of competence about him. He knew how to take care of situations. While Chloe was bumbling her way through life, Jackson was straight and steady. He knew what he wanted, what he needed, and how to get it.

He had strength. He knew how to attack, how to defend, and how to threaten. When he was angry, a dark menacing cloud came over him. When he felt threatened, his focus sharpened and he worked his way out of it.

Jackson was a force to be reckoned with. If Chloe could be half of him, she'd be unstoppable.

"Someone in the cleaning crew may have made a mistake." Avery supplied. "Or even a mix-up. But do we really need to go down to Defcon 1 for possibly nothing?"

Jackson's whole body straightened. Darkness encompassed his face. "I'm not taking any chances."

Chloe bit her lip and sank further down into her chair.

Avery's expression only softened. "I get that. I do. I just want to remind you not to lose all logic."

Jackson took a deep breath...and then attempted to relax. He wiped a hand down his face, wariness etched into his frame. "You're right. You're right." He sighed heavily. "I'm still putting more guards on the royal family."

"As you should."

"And Lizzie, you're getting your own."

Chloe gulped, but nodded.

"Okay." Jackson blinked a few times and leaned forward onto his desk. His fingers fiddled with a paperclip that had somehow separated from the collection. "Lizzie, do you have something you can do for a few hours? I'm not letting you out of my sight until I interview a few officers. So you'll have to hang out here for some time. Take a nap on the couch. I don't care."

"I can run up and grab a few things from your room if you like." Avery offered. She gave Jackson a pointed glance. "At least let me grab you some more comfortable clothes."

Chloe, who by now had wrapped her towel around her middle like a blue fuzzy blanket and still wore Jackson's jacket, smiled tentatively. "That would be great. Thanks."

Avery winked. "Us girls have to stick together."

~~~

Ethan

Ethan forced himself to stay put exactly where he was. "What do you mean, "possible danger"?"

Darius, his personal bodyguard for as long as he could remember, had been especially close today. At first he thought nothing of it. Sometimes Darius used his near guard skills as an example when teaching a new guard. But his other near guard today, a man named Fred, wasn't a trainee...and Darius usually hung back when he was in the palace.

After almost half a day, he finally gave in and asked Darius what was up.

"Commander Jackson requested a more heavy presence until further notice." Darius said. Though he looked Ethan right in the eye, Ethan had no doubt that Darius was highly alert to everything else.

"Did he say why?"

"No, Your Highness."

It put Ethan on edge. The palace had to be the safest place for the royal family. They had guards everywhere. All areas of the building were monitored. All guests had to go through a security check when they walked in.

Which meant one of two things: someone had tried to get a weapon in the place and failed, so the guards are tense and ready just in case. Or...

....someone was already inside.

If there was anything overly concerning, the guards would have directed him and his parents to the underground bunker or enacted the immediate safety protocols (which involved tactics like shoving a table over and huddling behind it in the corner). So he wasn't too stressed out because Darius hadn't shoved him into a corner yet.

But how was everyone else?

His gut tightened. Wait, there had to be something that happened to put the guards-and Jackson-on high alert. It wasn't anything to do with his father, because he had literally just stepped out of a meeting with him. He saw his mother this morning and she'd stated she wanted to have some tea and stay in her rooms all day.

Which left...Elizabeth.

The blood in his veins turned to ice. Without thinking, Ethan moved quickly through the hallways towards his own room. Elizabeth liked to hang out in their chambers most of the time when she had no plans for the day.

"Your Highness, I highly encourage you to make your way to a side room and stay put until we get updates." Darius followed on his heels. His other near guard remained in step with him, trying to secure his front and predict where he was going.

"I highly encourage you to step back. Don't make me override your orders, Darius." He would do it too, if Darius tried to stop him.

Darius said nothing.

Elizabeth wasn't in their chambers. For some reason that tidbit of information only sent him spiraling deeper into his fear. Focus, Eth, he coached himself. Check with Jackson. Jackson would know everything there is to know about his sister.

He'd at least demand Jackson tell him what was going on.

~~~

Chloe

Avery had managed to grab Chloe a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt as well as a bra, some underwear, and her laptop. So while Chloe got changed in the adjoining bathroom, Jackson made calls and began interviewing guards.

About three hours later the door to Jackson's office burst in, and Chloe almost dropped her laptop straight off her lap.

Ethan rested his hands on his knees, huffing and puffing. "Thank...God."

Chloe barely set her laptop down when he tugged her up straight into a hug. She shivered as his nose traced along her neck. "I thought you were in trouble."

Her body softened. Clutching him like a life raft, she buried her face into his collarbone.

Eventually, Ethan pulled back, his hands on her shoulders. "Are you hurt?" He scrutinized her face, looking for bruises or marks of any kind.

"I'm fine, Ethan."

He cupped her chin to turn her face left and right. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I promise I'm okay."

After what seemed like forever, Ethan let out a slow breath. His eyes caught and tethered to hers and for the life of her she couldn't ignore the overwhelming amount of emotion in his eyes.

Love.

It should have scared her, this powerful mass of heat and feeling that grew and grew in her chest like a snowball. The core of it was her love and it was wrapped up in her joy and experiences until it became this huge, solid weight deep inside her.

Ethan turned to Jackson who had glanced up when he entered. "What happened?"

Some unidentifiable emotion passed over her older brother's face as he looked from Ethan, to her, and back. Finally, after a moment, he nodded.

Jackson briskly gave Ethan the rundown.

When he finished, Ethan sat down and planted his feet wide, leaning forward. "What can we do?" The words came out calm, much calmer than Chloe expected.

Jackson folded his hands over the small stack of papers right in front of him. "I have two different people analyzing the tapes from the pool room and the hallway outside. As soon as they spot anything suspicious, we will know."

Ethan no doubt was doing mental calculations in his mind. "What are our chances of finally snagging this guy?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Jackson's lips thinned. "It could take two hours, or it could take days. We won't truly know until those tapes are done."

"What should we do while we wait?" Chloe asked.

Avery brought Jackson another steaming cup of coffee-his second since Chloe got there. He accepted it with a grateful nod. "I'm sending you two to the safe house."

"The safe house?" Chloe stepped up behind Ethan and placed comforting hands onto his tense shoulders.

"The King and Queen are leaving tomorrow for the international conference in Aeriana for two days. That leaves you two as my only other worry. I don't know where this guy is, but he somehow may have access to the palace and until I can figure out who he is and clean house, you two are going somewhere where I know you won't be hurt."

Ethan reached up to put his hand on top of hers. Warmth spread down her fingertips and up her arm. Even her Acemark came alive at the contact.

Chloe didn't want to leave her family behind in the palace while she was off safely playing house with Ethan, but she didn't see any other choice. They couldn't all hide out in a safe house and drop of the radar. As it was, getting Ethan to disappear for a while was going to be really tough.

Jackson set down his coffee. "I want both of you to pack a light bag and be ready to leave in an hour. Avery, I need you to call up both Ethan and Chloe's assistants and make sure they clear both of their schedules for the next couple of days."

Over by her desk, Avery picked up the phone. "Should I keep them updated?"

"Not yet." Jackson replied. "Not until I get a chance to feel them out."

Before sending the two of them off to pack, Jackson had one more thing to say. "Trust no one except the people in this room. Understand?"

And with that they left, off to pack their things.