The other guards nodded.
Dominic crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m going to be with Brett more during this, so Colt, I’m going to need you to take over some of what I do while this is going on.” Colt agreed without argument, not that he thought there would be. “Okay. That was all.”
They disappeared back to where they were needed, and Dominic blew out another breath before needing to see the one person who would understand what Brett was feeling: Randall.
He found him in his usual place, outside the king’s office, doing a multitude of tasks that keep Andrew on the straight and narrow. When Randall saw him, he dropped the papers he’d been holding to the table and came around to meet him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Felix is missing. Brett is currently tracing his last steps.”
Randall covered his mouth with his hands. “Oh god. Brett must be beside himself.”
“He is, though I doubt he will say so. I’ve got guards looking out for him, but I’ll be spending more time with him for the moment. He needs someone to keep him from going off the deep end.” He stared at Randall. “We need to find him. Fast.”
“Find who?” Andrew said, exiting his office.
Dominic closed his eyes briefly. He needed to let the Sutcliffes know as well, he just hoped he had more information to give them before he had to. He turned and explained the situation.
“That is literally all we know, right now. I’m waiting for Brett to come back with more information.”
Andrew rubbed a hand over his face. “We have to tell everyone. They need to know, especially Christian and Oscar.”
Dominic’s heart skipped a beat. Oscar was going to be heartbroken. Felix was his guard, but they were also great friends. A hand rested on his back, and he lifted his arm over Randall’s head to settle around his shoulders.
“I’ll tell them,” Dominic said. He pressed his lips to Randall’s forehead and his lips, and then left them to talk while he made the short journey through the corridors to Christian and Oscar’s suite. They had only got married the previous day, and this was going to be a huge blow to them. Stopping in front of the door,he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply for a few breaths, then knocked.
Christian opened the door, a smile on his face. “Dominic, I wasn’t expecting to see you. How are you?” He held the door open further, gesturing for him to enter.
He waited until the door was closed before he answered. “Not great, in all honesty.” He glanced around, seeing Oscar watching them from the sofa. “I have some not great news, I’m afraid.”
Oscar rose and went to Christian, who wrapped his arm around him. “What’s happened?”
Dominic broke the news again, and tears immediately trailed down Oscar’s cheeks.
“No! Not Felix! Daddy! Not Felix!”
Christian hugged his little and lowered his head to murmur in his ear loud enough for Dominic to hear as well. “Wewillfind him, Oscar. We will. No one in this entire place will leave one stone unturned. Understand? We will find him and bring him home.”
Christian met Dominic’s gaze and he saw the unspoken words:No matter whether he was dead or alive.
****
Chapter 12
Brett
Brett arranged for the items they’d found to be sent to their contacts at a nearby lab, one that often helped the royal family with their needs, and then arrived back at Sec HQ to find almost all the guards present.
“What’s wrong?” he asked the second he entered the room.
“What can we do?” Nick asked.
Brett shook his head. “Find him. However we can. CCTV, dash cam footage, traffic cameras, goddamn drone footage for all I care. We need to find where he was taken.”
“You’re sure someone took him?” Eric asked.
Brett paused and inhaled, bringing the calm back to his voice and demeanour. “Yes. Although there were no signs of a scuffle, the fact remains that Felix went into that alleyway and disappeared. I believe that car had something to do with it. I couldn’t see the number plate on the camera view we had, and the make and model were difficult to tell. If anyone wants to have a go at trying to get a better image of anything, feel free.” He waved his hand towards Felix’s computer.