Aiden shoved the items inside his bag and clutched it to his side. He hadn’t needed a reminder of that, though what hurt the most was the spite in Bea’s voice upon bringing up Claudia. “You looked me up?” he hissed, itching to leave.
“I had the time to do some digging… I have to say, AidenGray, your name didn’t exactly pop up on the first page.”
Right, of course it didn’t when he was using a fake ID. But whatever, he doubted she cared about that, considering what he’d gotten himself into.
“Do you know where and who the heir is?” He regarded her with a hard look.
She considered his question, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers against her elbows. “Not my place to say,” she said with a slight twitch in her mouth that could’ve been the start of a smile.
Not that he thought there was anything funny about his question. But he wasn’t surprised at her refusal to tell him. Even if he had most of the answers now, it didn’t mean that getting the rest was going to be a walk in the park.
“I guessed as much.” He fished out his phone from the bag. He had five missed calls from Nigel. Hopefully, it wasn’t anything urgent.
“Kesley.” Bea halted him at the door. “What do you intend to do now?”
Confront Darren about his choice to kill Claudia when he could’ve most likely just walked away. And no white ravens or royal heirs or more riddles would stop him from making Darren pay this time.
“Nothing. I’ll go back and carry on with my life,” he said and walked out.
“Don’t make Sara wait too long!”
Her words reached his ears as the door closed behind him. A pang of guilt shot through him as he thought back on the lifelike AI, but he stifled it down and did his best not to think about Sara because he still had his original mission. His purpose. The one thing that had kept him going for the past two years… even if he didn’t know anymore what to make of anything.
Two hours later, he’d checked out of the Meridian Hotel and was on the shuttle back to Europa. His eyelids were too heavy, and he felt himself start to drift off as soon as the craft escaped the pull of Mars, not fighting the lull as it overtook his will to stay awake. He couldn’t fall asleep though, even after trying, and so he just stared out the viewport, fighting off exhaustion and another nasty headache.
Chapter 28
Aiden made it homejust after eleven in the evening. He considered calling Nigel in the morning, but what if something had happened?What if Darren Howe had told someone who Aiden really was?
Nerves on edge, he flopped on his sofa with a groan and picked up the phone.
“Hi, boss,” Nigel answered after the second beep, noise from the staff room audible in the background.
“Hey, Nigel. I just saw your calls… Is everything ok?” Aiden asked, turning the TV on. A documentary about Ancient Egyptian architecture was on.
“Yeah, just a few of the inmates getting too excited while playing soccer. Had to send Dave to the isolation chambers.”
Aiden slumped in relief, exhaling slowly. He changed the channel, needing something to do with his free hand. “Did he break someone’s nose again?”
“Nah. But he sprained Tad’s shoulder. So I gave him six days. Which is what I was calling about—hope that’s fine? Or should I keep him there for longer?”
Aiden frowned.Really? Five-plus missed calls forthis? He tried to be annoyed, but he was just too tired for that. “Yes, it sounds like an adequate punishment.”
“Cool. Other than that… I placed the order for the cleaning supplies and gave Lin your notes. He said he’ll give you a call later in the week.”
None of this seemed urgent either, but Aiden couldn’t exactly point that out and hang up on Nigel, so he played along. “And the inspections?”
“Nothing out of order, other than the few things you’d noted down.”
Which, of course, excluded the beam Aiden hadn’t used the other night. Part of him regretted that, but another one was glad, because he had even more questions now and the only person who could answer them was Darren Howe.
“Great. Anything else?” Aiden said, his tone coming out a little clipped.
“Uh, nope. That’s all.”
“I’ll see you in the morning, Nigel.”
“Alright, boss. Don’t come in too early.”
