Chapter 7

Tyler strolled past Cole and Andy into Aiden's office. He didn't bother to knock because there was really no point. If Aiden didn't want him in, she would have blocked it off from everyone. That would have been his first clue.

When the door flew open, he stopped and shook his head. Jesse was sitting on the front side of the desk with his four month old son Carson. Clint and Aiden were on the other side with their twins Kielan and Stormy. Their four year old son Dylan played with blocks by the window. The four adults were staring at computers.

Not to be outdone, Tyler pulled up a chair and turned on his computer. He leaned against the desk as he hit the share button on his Mac. It took a few seconds for the others to react but when they did, he nodded at Aiden. He smiled at the gentle laugh that erupted from his best friend and Queen.

She swiped her fingers across her iPad and the images flew up on the screen. Everyone looked at it and laughed as well. It seemed Tyler's work was humorous.

"Please tell me this is true because if it is…" She smiled at him. He knew it was genuine because her eyes lit up. "Ty, you're one of the best guys I know."

"I take that as a compliment." He pointed to the screen. "But I didn't find this. Klark did."

"How is he?" Jess asked immediately.

"He's in hiding."

Clint shook his head with a laugh. "That means he's at his hunting lodge. Although, I still don't know why he calls it a lodge. It's more like a palace on a lake."

Aiden waved it aside. "Klark's Klark. I don't mess with it too much. Now what did you find?"

"Well, Emily's Klark's bondmate and she's also the one hunting him. I think we got the latter part out of her system though." Aiden narrowed her eyes at him. "Okay, so I was a little hostile when I told her what was going on. It's no big deal."

"No big deal?" Rowan asked from the door. He closed it behind him and walked towards them. "He pretty much spat the entire thing at her."

Aiden looked at Tyler. He made a face and just shrugged. Something was going on internally that he wasn't talking about. She'd deal with that later. Right now she needed to find out about her brother and what they were going to do to get him out of this predicament.

"How's Klark?" Jess asked.

Rowan thought a moment. "He's Klark; obnoxious, smart, and incredibly wicked. His injury's doing fine. I healed it so right now he's walking with a slight limp."

"Not too much damage?" Clint asked.

The Healer scrunched up his nose and shook his head. "Nope. None that I saw anyway." The King and Queen shared a look that said they were talking mentally. When they looked back at him, he leaned against Tyler's chair. "So what's this I hear about the good senator helping us?"

Tyler sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You didn't threaten him did you?"

"No, I simply told it like it was. Mikey and I are united in this. We are going to bring down Speaker of the House Blakemore even if it kills us," Aiden stated.

"Will you bring us to the public?"

She made eye contact with her friend. "If that's what it comes down to, yes. I will do anything I can to keep everyone safe, including you. If I have to bring everyone to the light, I'm going to do it in a way that paints a picture of us being good people."

Jesse sat back, his son cradled against his chest, and nodded. "You're going to use the military aspect."

"That and use the people who work in respectable fields, such as doctors, firefighters, police officers, the works. People have a strong sense of respect for people who help others. We know everyone in this room does their job and does it well. We just have to let the public know we're here but we're not here to hurt them."

"What are you going to do about the incident with Klark?" Rowan questioned. She looked up at him. "The video appears as if he killed those people in that house. In reality they were dead minutes before he even set the place on fire, but the public won't know that until the autopsies come back. So they'll speculate that he was the one who killed them. That can be bad."

Aiden looked at her children. If they didn't solve this, it would fall back on them. She really didn't want her children, the future of their people, to have to deal with the backlash they were going to get if she waited. Klark couldn't get out of this alone so they needed to help, but her children needed a stable environment to grow up in. Granted the world wasn't a stable place, she would try her hardest to make her home a stable place for them. If they grew up thinking their uncle killed three people, they'd never trust the system. Not like she did anyway.

Tyler watched and listened as the thoughts flew across his friend's face and mind. She was torn, as she should be. She couldn't very well drop everything for the good of the one. It had to be for the good of the many. He pulled another file up and sent it to the big screen to his left.

"We have more info," he said. "Does anyone know the name Aaliyah Rogers?"

Clint tilted his head and made a face at the screen. "Where is she from?"

"She's from the Baltimore area. She was Clausen Alexander's fiancé. A day before their wedding, she was finishing her work at the Lowery Bank when a gunman came in. He held the place hostage and when the police showed up, opened fire upon the people. Aaliyah was shot and died of her wounds an hour later. After that, Clausen went off the deep end. Now he's a bounty hunter taking under the table assignments."

"The guy wasn't a gunman." Everyone turned around to look at Cole as he stood by the door. "His name was Aaron Stevens. He was one of us."

"That could be why Clausen doesn't like us," Jess speculated. "Who were the three that died?"

Rowan made a face. "Stephanie Caruso, Monty Austin, and Matthew Parsons."

With the last name, Aiden's head came up. "Are you sure it's Matthew Parsons?"

He nodded. "The source doesn't lie."

"Who's Matthew Parsons?" Clint asked.

Cole sighed and leaned against the wall. "Elizabeth Parson's brother. He was very instrumental in getting us where we are. He helped set up our accounts and build the palace before our deadline. He was a good friend of ours even if his sister didn't like us too much. She's going to take this opportunity to get the Golds to rise against us."

"Mikey won't let that happen," Jess said.

"If he knows about it, no, he won't. But what if he doesn't know? He can't help then."

Aiden bit her lip as she mulled it over. Her family was in danger. She had to help them. It was the only way to do it.

"Call Mikey," she ordered as she handed Stormy to Cole.

It took a few moments to scramble the feed. In that time Aiden began to pace in agitation. After ten minutes, Mikey's face popped up on the screen. He looked really tired.

"Have you found Klark?" he asked.

"Yeah, we have. He's safe for the moment," she replied.

He frowned. "What's wrong?"

"One of the guys killed was Matthew Parsons."

Mikey was quiet for a moment. Then he sat back and rubbed his eyes. "Does Elizabeth know? Wait. Don't answer that. It was on the news. She knows."

"The autopsy hasn't come back," Rowan offered to ease the tension. "She may not be certain.

"You're afraid she'll lash out."

"She is the newest member on your Court, Mikey," Aiden said.

Her twin shook his head. "That doesn't mean she's dangerous."

"Your Majesty, we of the Silver Court are very grateful that we have our own kingdom. You can't deny that we've been quiet. I mean no offense when I say it is your Court who has been hostile," Rowan stated.

Aiden sighed and stared at the screen. "Mikey, I love you and I respect your position, but if your faction attacks mine anymore, I will throw them in jail or kill them depending on the case. I'm tired of this bickering between us."

"I'll admit your people have been quiet since you have taken over. It's easier to discuss matters with them. But you also have hostiles," he replied.

"I know but they attack mainly me because they don't like the how I'm running things. They're stuck in the old ways and don't know how to function in this one." They stared at each other for a moment. "Are we going public?"

Mikey took his sweet time in answering but everyone in the office already knew the answer. "I think we should but we keep the Royals out of the spotlight until we see how things pan out. If people accept us, we should let ourselves be known. If not, we'll work it from a different angle. Aiden, you're the journalist. You know how these people work."

Tyler laughed. "She never went into that field. She went straight from school to this job. Personally I think it pays better."

Aiden laughed at her friend's way of relieving the stress of the room. "He's right, Mikey. I don't know. Let's get out in front of the story. Send Grant and I'll send Cole to discuss the incident with the local news. We have to get in front of it, just like you said."

Mikey nodded. "We'll do that. Keep me in the loop on your business and I'll do the same." He waved at everyone and signed off.

Aiden looked at her family around the room. They all looked at her with interest on their faces. She was in charge and she had to prove it.

"Call Klark and tell him to lay low. He is not to go after Clausen or Blakemore until I make the decision."

Tyler slammed his computer closed. "And I'm off."

He was gone within a minute. Clint shook his head as he smiled. "He's always been like that."

"Yes, he has," Cole replied. He handed Stormy back to Aiden. "I'll go call Grant."

The Queen watched her crew walk out of her office. She looked at Clint. He smiled and shook his head. That little motion told her she was doing the right thing and her family was behind her. Now just to save Klark.