Chapter Nineteen
Abbie rushed into the great hall in search of Hauke. She’d foregone connecting with him for fear that his thoughts would be intercepted.
Hauke excused himself from the conversation he’d been having with one of the Bracadyte males and rushed to his wife’s side. “What is wrong, my mate?”
She glanced around to be sure she wasn’t heard. “It’s Henry.”
“Let us go to our room to speak. We will have more privacy in there.” Hauke took hold of her hand and guided her toward the hall.
Neither of them spoke until they were safely in the foyer of their apartment.
Hauke cocked his head to the side. “What has you troubled, soul of my soul?”
“Henry is gone,” she blurted, rubbing her palms on the jeans that Vaulcron had procured for her on one of his trips to Cuba.
“Gone where?”
“To the surface, I would imagine. His dive gear has disappeared along with him.”
Hauke rested his hands on her shoulders. “He must be brought back. He knows where we reside, Abbie. If the land walkers capture him, they will force him to talk.”
“I know,” Abbie quickly agreed. “And the coast guard will be waiting next to Tony’s boat. How does Henry expect to get back to shore? It’s close to fifty miles from here.”
“He must be stopped. I will have some of the guards go after him.”
Abbie’s stomach dropped. “No. They can’t be trusted not to kill him, Hauke. Send Vaulcron.”
Hauke nodded. “I will go with my brother to retrieve your sire. We have a better chance at finding him if we both go.”
“Thank you.” Abbie threw her arms around him. “I have no idea how long he’s been gone. He may be hours ahead of you.”
Hauke pulled back and pierced her with a bleak stare. “If he has been gone for that amount of time, we may already be too late.”
“Are you going to tell the king?”
“Not yet. But I would speak with your uncle before I go.”
Abbie frowned. “Why get him involved? He’s got enough on his plate with Naura. He hasn’t been far from her side since she awoke.”
Hauke retrieved a knife from the bedside table and tucked it into his sharkskin boot. “He knows the human military better than anyone. He can advise us on the best course of action. I do not want to be led into a trap.”
Wringing her hands, Abbie watched her mate pull his hair back and secure it behind his head with a thin piece of cloth.
He was so beautiful to her that it made her chest ache to look at him. “I love you, Hauke.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. He bent and softly kissed her lips. “Love is too weak of a word to describe my feelings for you, soul of my soul. Your very presence defines my existence.”
Abbie’s heart squeezed with a sensation she would never get used to. “Be careful out there. If something were to happen to you…” She couldn’t finish the thought.
“Nothing will happen to me. I will not endanger myself in that way. I leave my heart here with you and our son. Take care of it for me until I return.”
He kissed her once more and brushed past her toward the dangers that waited beyond the safety of Aukrabah.
* * * *
Glenn Anderson tapped the boat captain on the shoulder and shouted above the engine. “Can you extend the beam of the lights? Get a farther reach?”
The guy nodded and began pressing buttons that Glenn assumed controlled the lights.
“How long have they been down there?” Anderson peered over the sides for signs of the third set of divers they’d sent into the gulf.
“About an hour, sir. They should be heading back up soon.” He glanced at Glenn over his shoulder. “They’re not going to find much in the dark. Maybe we should wait until morning before sending in another crew.”
Glenn knew the captain spoke the truth. “Yeah. Bring them up. The secretary of defense has called in the Navy on this one. They will be arriving soon with mini submarines that can go a hell of a lot deeper than our dive equipment can.”
The captain rubbed the back of his neck. “No telling where those things even are. They could be miles from here. I sure wouldn’t leave a boat anchored right above my home if I were in hiding.”
“I’ve thought of that,” Glenn admitted with a sigh. “But it’s the only thing we have to go on at this point.”
One of the divers suddenly surfaced, removing his headgear as he swam toward the ladder. “We need some help down here.”
Glenn hurried over to give him a hand. “What is it?”
“We killed one of them sir,” the diver announced as Glenn helped him into the boat.
“Are you sure?” Glenn couldn’t imagine one of the aliens allowing a handful of divers to get the drop on him.
“Pretty sure, sir. It’s dark as ink down there, but Ned shot something that was shaped like a man. He’s going after it now.”
“It could be a trap.” Glen turned toward the bow of the boat. “Get your men out of there. Now.”
“Sir? We have blood.” The captain guided a bright beam of light to a crimson swirl of water several yards from the boat.
The diver known as Ned surfaced not far from the evidence of his kill. “He’s dead, sir. The doctor is dead.”
Glenn’s stomach tightened. “You killed Doctor Sutherland?”
“I believe so, sir.”
“Son of a bitch,” Glenn snarled. “Bring him up before the sharks arrive.”
The captain moved to stand next to Anderson. “What happens now?”
“I don’t know, but if that truly is Doctor Sutherland bleeding out beneath us, it’s definitely a game changer. He was the only bargaining chip we had.”