Axel shot Cam an apologetic look.
Cam cleared his throat. “That’s one problem, Diesel. She didn’t come from anywhere on Earth. She came from Alpha-Prime on theRoyal Caldera Forteand got left behind.”
“Don’t they do a fairly extensive and rigorous count on the cruise ships, especially theRoyal Caldera Forte? Gotta keep track of all those rich people.”
“You’d think. But that’s only one of many problems we are trying to hash out right now. Join us, why don’t you?”
Diesel nodded. “I’d love to. So, here is what I bring to the table. I believe I know exactly who is aboard the ship due back in two days.”
“Who?” Cam and Axel said in unison. They punched each other and played the jinx game as if by habit.
Cam shouldn’t be surprised that Diesel seemed to be entirely aware of the situation, despite their best efforts to keep it from him. On top of that, his quick mind had ferreted out some answers to questions that had baffled Cam. That was why Diesel was their Fearless Leader.
“Who is the only person or persons missing from Alienn in the past week?” Diesel asked pointedly.
Cam shrugged. “I don’t know. Who?”
Diesel shook his head pityingly. “That’s right. You’ve been too busy off playing with your new blue-haired Alpha girlfriend to notice the unnatural quiet that has descended on the Big Bang Truck Stop this week.”
Axel’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “Good grief. Aunt Dixie?”
Diesel nodded. “And I expect that her cohort in crime is Miss Penny. Surely you all know Miss Penny’s talents as a descendent of Alpha-Prime’s fabled shifter race. She can take the form of anyone for short periods of time. Our two elderly troublemakers have likely sequestered themselves inside Ria’s luxury quarters. All Miss Penny would have to do is take on the form of Prudence or Ria and stick her head out the door a couple of times a day to keep everyone at bay.
“They may even be feigning illness and having food and luxuries brought to their room.”
Cam felt exasperated with himself for not figuring it out. Granted, he had been paying more attention to Ria than anything else. “All Miss Penny would have to say is that she’s meeting with Ria’s dirt bag future fiancé and I’m certain her mother would leave her alone.”
“Wait. Ria has a dirt bag future fiancé?” Axel asked, shock coloring his tone.
“Unfortunately, yes, there is another foolish arranged marriage in the mix, if you can believe it.”
“What happens next?” Axel asked.
“Okay, the good news—and I can’t believe I’m saying this—is that if Aunt Dixie and Miss Penny are aboard the cruise liner, it’s really one less thing we have to worry about,” Diesel said.
“Why?” Cam didn’t quite follow his brother’s train of thought.
“Do you believe for a moment that if either of them have been discovered, Director Patmore wouldn’t have sent a message back condemning us all to the boiling, dark side of the Lava Rock World for punishment by now?”
“Good point,” Axel said. “I’m sure Aunt Dixie would follow all the rules in this singular event to ensure she isn’t found out. The moment she gets caught is the moment we hear about it and she has to face us upon her return.”
Diesel nodded. “But if she can keep her cool for a whole ten days, no one will ever know she was gone or what she was doing.”
“Right,” Axel said. “Ria can simply slip back onto the cruise liner for the return to Alpha-Prime.” The moment the words came out of his mouth, he slid Cam another apologetic look. “Sorry, Cam.”
Cam shrugged. “I know that’s a possible outcome, but Ria wants to try to talk her mother into letting her out of the arranged marriage to stay here with me.”
Axel made an odd noise, like a snort or a muffled sneeze. “This is the same woman we spoke to, right? The one who in no uncertain terms let us know Alexandria is set to marry Douglass Bernard FitzOsbern, of the Technician Class FitzOsberns? La-di-dah.”
“That’s the one. But Ria doesn’t love him. She doesn’t want to marry him. She calls him Dirt Bag FitzOsbern. Apparently, he feels the same way about marrying her.” Cam hated even thinking of Ria being with anyone else, ever.
Diesel nailed it on the head by saying, “No one likes arranged marriages except for parents trying to get thirtysomething-plus deadbeat kids out of their houses so they can retire and live the good life.”
“Like our parents puttering around the country in an RV like retired humans.” Axel looked at the ceiling.
“Exactly,” Diesel said.
“Doesn’t help if her mother won’t agree to negate the arrangement, and she won’t.” Cam knew Ria’s mother would not relent.
