The Dark Prince (The Dark Prince Trilogy #1)

by Autumn Winchester

  Without a word, Chase climbed on to the bed with his back up against the headboard, letting Summer rest her head on his chest as silent tears leaked onto his cotton shirt. He held her tightly, as her body relaxed against his and sleep took her once more.

  “I love you, my Princess,” Chase whispered out, pressing a kiss to her head, before closing his eyes.

  Chapter 31

  Chase was brought out of deep sleep by the ringing of his phone. Groggily as his wife stirred, he dug out the loud thing from his pocket, answering it grumpily. Summer shifted, opening her eyes as she tried to figure out why someone was calling in the middle of the night. She was comfortable and didn’t want to move. She even grunted out as he moved to maneuver the cell phone from his pocket.

  “What?” Chase growled out unhappily. With his arm that was wrapped around Summer, he pulled her tighter against him. He couldn’t help but love the feel of her against him and his cock didn’t mind either as her knee brushed his balls. It was her favorite spot to sleep.

  “We have a small problem,” Trent said, his voice weary. Chase was sure that he was pacing wherever he was, his face controlled in worry. Plus, it was in the middle of the night, and he wanted to go back to sleep with his wife.

  “What?” he said with a tired sigh. He was having an amazing dream before the rude awakening. In his dream, Summer was more than willing to help with his little hard problem as he had slept.

  “Well, uh, you know how I like to go through each shipment. Knowing how many items of certain things, and all that?” Trent said, his thoughts filled with worry and seeping into his voice.

  “Go on,” Chase said, still laying down. What was he doing now? he thought to himself. It was a normal occurrence for the younger man to find trouble easily. Which is the main reason why Trent was not the second in command. Trent was always thorough, so that wasn’t surprising to Chase that he wanted to keep the Prince up to date on everything.

  “Well,” he paused, trying to gather the courage to say what he needed to say. “I found something that wasn’t like the rest of the shipment.” His voice was low.

  Chase sat up, giving Summer smile as his movement caused her to sit up also, still stuck to his side like glue. It wasn’t often that Trent was so sorrowful over something like this. And Summer hated the idea of letting her husband out of her sight more than she had to.

  “Spit it out,” he sighed, bracing himself for whatever he had to say. He was used to finding an odd item out of other things that could easily make things difficult if the item was in the wrong hands at the wrong time.

  “Ifoundachild,” Trent muttered out, his words on top of one another. His voice was higher pitched than normal. He was afraid. Not much ever made him frightened.

  It took Chase a moment to understand what Trent had said. After a moment of shock, he never expected that.

  Chase kept his voice calm. “A child?” he repeated after a heartbeat.

  “Yeah. About three years old, maybe four,” Trent said, calming somewhat.

  “Okay,” Chase said, trying to quickly think of what to do here. He had never been faced with this type of issue. But he figured there was always a first time for everything, right? “Okay. Where are you?” he could just barely hear a child in the background crying now that he took the time to listen to what seemed to be going on around him, as Trent was on the phone.

  “I’ll bring her to you. She’s scared and filthy. I don’t know what to do, but she won’t let me put her down for anything,” Trent said, rattled. Not much rattled him. Even his ex-wife didn’t cause such emotions in him.

  “Alright. A name?” Chase asked, already planning to do a name search, along with missing children’s search.

  “Not yet. She won’t talk, but maybe she will to Clare. Or even Summer,” Trent said as a car door was heard in the background. Chase could tell that he had got in his car, ready to drive over. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes at the most.”

  Chase let his head fall back against the headboard, a little too hard, which caused Summer to let out a small laugh. At least something made his wife amused, he thought.

  She didn’t worry about changing out of her clothes, like Chase did, once he told her the news of a few guests coming. He didn’t sound happy, but she wasn’t too thrilled about having to get up during the night either. And she decided she should be comfortable since she knew she wasn’t going to be leaving the house at an hour like this.

  Summer did feel better all considered, finally. She wanted to say it was just sleeping next to Chase, but knew that the shock had worn off and she could process her thoughts once more. It did make getting up and letting Chase out of her sight for a few moments easier.

  Summer started a pot of coffee and some tea for herself, while Chase went to go wake Asher up, finding Clare in his bed also. The Prince had never been happier than having both girls begin on birth control that week.

  It didn’t take long before a sleepy Clare and a wide awake Asher make their way downstairs. Summer couldn’t help but laugh slightly at her sister, who simply flipped her off as she snuggled into Asher’s chest once he took a seat at the table with a huge black coffee mug. She liked her sleep more than most, and it was cold outside. Asher seemed to always be able to bounce out of bed at any given time, which annoyed Clare as she liked her sleep now that she was able to get as much as she wanted most of the time.

  Chase kissed Summer on the head as she handed him his own mug. “Thank you, honey,” he smiled, which she returned shyly.

  Summer nodded in reply as Carter came in from the living room, yawning but on alert. He had crashed in one of the rooms downstairs. Summer was quick to hand him a mug of coffee also. He simply gave her a small nod in thanks before slumping down into the nearest empty chair.

  “Anyone else showing up?” Asher asked.

  “Just waiting on Trent and he should be here any time,” Chase answered after a yawn. “He’s bringing something he found in a shipment he intercepted.” He didn’t want to cause more worry than necessary. He glanced over at Summer considering her a moment trying to judge her state of mind. “He found a child.”

  “How old?” Clare asked, seeming to be wide awake at the news. “What will you do with him? Or is it her? What’s the child's name?” she shot off. “What will happen to it? What about Trent? What about the mother?”

  “He wasn’t sure. We’ll find out soon enough,” Chase said, amused that Clare was so open with asking questions. He sometimes wished his wife was like that, as it would make things somewhat easier for both of them, but he did like Summer the way she was. He never had to worry about her asking something he couldn’t answer.

  It was only minutes later when Trent came in, Peter and Jack, as he demanded to be called, following close behind. Summer began to get up to get more coffee for the unexpected guests, but Chase pulled her back down on his lap, giving her the silent signal to not worry about it.

  Wrapped in a blanket against Trent’s chest was the child, and as he sat down, she slowly opened her dark eyes, looking around. Although the child refused to let go of the big bear of a man.

  He then began retelling how he came across the child, as she was hidden behind huge box of ammo and drugs, covered from head to toe in filth. She was still filthy, and tired. Her black hair was a tangled mess of knots and leaves. He wasn’t sure where the leaves came from, since there were no trees around the shipment dock they had been at.

  “Has she said anything?” Clare was the one that asked what everyone was thinking. Her voice was soft, knowing that the child must be frightened as she remembered the first time she was shoved somewhere, sold, and bought by nameless men. Even with Clare being older, the child would still feel the same thing as she had.

  Trent shook his head. “No. She cried at first, I think more in fear than anything else. But that’s all. She hasn’t hardly made any noises besides that. Unless I’m not in her sight. For some reason she only wants me.” He ended with a shrug.
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br />   “Where did the shipment come in from?” Asher asked, his voice low.

  “Originally from New York, but it made a few stops on the way here. And she looks to be American, so really she could have been playing around and accidentally got shut in somehow, or she could have just as easily been forced in,” Peter answered. “She’s not fond of men, but is taken with Trent for some reason. She screamed bloody murder when I attempted to touch her when I tried to check her over.”

  Clare stood and walked to where Trent sat in the kitchen chair, holding the bundle against his chest. The little girl looked so small next to the big man. She kneeled down so she was eye level with the child. Slowly, so she didn’t frighten the little one, Clare used her right hand and brushed some of the crazy dark hair out of the child’s eyes.

  “Hi, there,” Clare spoke, her voice soft and sweet. “Would you like something to eat?”

  The child simply blinked at Clare. Summer wasn’t sure if the child could understand English, or just wasn’t sure what to answer. Summer didn’t like to talk when there was a lot of people around, so she could understand if the child didn’t want to either.

  “I’ll make you something; you must be hungry,” she said with determination before standing up and digging through the contents of the cupboards. There had to be something that a child would like. Chase’s kitchen was stocked with so many things, there had to be something easy to whip up.

  The child watched everything around her with sleep filled eyes, blinking slowly, but Summer could understand not wanting to sleep. They were all strangers, just they like all had been when she first arrived. Not sure what to do to help, she simply leaned against Chase’s chest, letting his arms wrap around her. It helped for her haunting past to not make a presence.

  “I can run her face in the database, but she needs cleaned up first,” Asher stated. “But it may be a good idea to bring Ryder in on this. You can’t just keep her like a lost pet.”

  “Asher,” Trent said, keeping his voice low. “She’s more than a pet. And I don’t plan to keep her, unless she has no one waiting for her.”

  “I didn’t know you wanted kids,” Summer said through a yawn.

  “I didn’t. Well, not until I found Missy here,” Trent said sheepishly. “Valerie would never have been a great mother, so I’m glad she never was able to get pregnant.”

  He paused before remembering something.

  “We found Spike lurking about. He’s swimming with some fishes,” Trent said a little too loudly, causing the child to whimper out. “Sorry,” he whispered to her.

  Spike got his name as such, since he loathed his given name, because he had tattoos of large spikes on his white shaved head.

  “Did he say anything?” Chase asked, needing to know.

  “Said that you should enjoy your free gift,” Peter laughed. “He may have wanted to say more, but I didn’t give him the chance to.”

  It didn’t take Clare long to warm up some mac and cheese that was left over from the day before, setting a small bowl full in front of the girl.

  “Here you go, sweetie,” she said sweetly. “Eat as much as you want. I can warm more up for you.”

  Somehow, Trent maneuvered the girl so she was facing the table most of the way, and fed her small spoonful after spoonful. She ate most of it before she refused to eat another bite, her dark brown eyes taking everything in. Clare was quick to get the smallest cup of milk she could, setting it in front of her.

  “How about we get you cleaned up?” Trent spoke up towards the girl, his voice gentle.

  Chase couldn’t help but envy his cousin, knowing that kids had always been drawn to the man. Of course, they were drawn to Chase more times than not. But he didn’t want his own kids, as he didn’t want to force Summer and countless nannies to raise his own flesh and blood like he had been raised.

  The girl only leaned into the man, not fighting, nor accepting, the request. Trent stood up with Clare in tow to help bathe the child.

  “Take pics of any marks,” Peter said out, knowing that if Ryder was brought in, it would need to be done either way.

  Trent grumbled out a reply before making his way upstairs.

  “Where do you think she came from?” Summer asked towards her husband, meeting his eyes.

  “I don’t know,” Chase sighed, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. “But I will find out.” Then turning to Peter, “Did you see John?”

  “No, and my sweep I ran on him, his bank accounts are cleared out. So I’m guessing he’s in hiding,” Peter said, not concerned. “He’ll pop out soon enough. I have eyes and ears everywhere.”

  It was true. Peter had contacts that Chase knew about, and John would be found. Most likely dead, but found non-the-less. Chase desperately wanted to know what John’s plans were, but everything didn’t always get answered in their line of work.

  Jack then made his goodbyes, knowing he wasn’t needed, and Peter was quick to follow, making the excuse that they had shared a car to Chase’s house. Chase knew what they were going to go home, possibly even to bed, together. He didn’t care, although most mafia bosses would have greatly frowned upon that idea. That would have been a death sentence right then and there just because of their sexual stances.

  Clare texted Asher a picture of the little girl’s face, that was clean from dirt and grime, and he made quick work of getting the computer program set up to do a face recognition run. He took note that he didn’t see any marks on her face, at least.

  Chase led Summer to the living room, where it was more comfortable, waiting for the two other men in the house to get things set up and finished. She sat next to Chase as he talked to Carter about upcoming plans as her thoughts spun about where that child had come from.

  Summer didn’t know why someone would let a child out of their sight, nor let them go anywhere alone at such a young age. Bitter times popped up in her memory of how she was taken away from her own mother countless time before, screaming and crying to stay with her.

  “Can I see Emma?” Summer whispered out to Chase, her voice quiet as she feared rejection.

  “Of course. I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to see you,” he answered tenderly, playing with the ends of her hair. “I’ll talk to Kayla and we’ll figure out a time for you to have some alone time with your mother.”

  He hadn't been sure Summer had recognized her mother after the dinner at his parents’ house, even though he had told her who she was, but was glad to see she did, or at the very least wanted to spend time with her. Emma had always been like a second mother to him when he was growing up, and he knew how torn up she had been when Summer was snatched away from her.

  “Thank you,” she said through a yawn.

  “Any time, honey,” Chase responded gently, tightening his arms around her. He’d let her do just about anything if she asked. His goal was to make her happy to give her the love she never had. He had found her, and he wasn’t going to let her go without a fight. Knowing she’d had the best ability to be happy here helped his goal to be in place.

  Chapter 32

  It was about half an hour later when Clare came back downstairs, asking for Summer’s help to find something for the child to wear. Summer didn’t want to leave Chase’s warmth as she was content where she was at, almost asleep against his side. But she got up to help anyway after shooting Chase a shy smile. Her smiles seemed to make him happy.

  Before she left his side, Summer pressed a light kiss to his cheek, feeling the prickles of his hair against her lips. Of course she blushed beet red before rushing upstairs. Chase beamed at the action and let her go as her cheeks reddened in surprise at her own actions. She hurried upstairs, finding Trent waiting with a towel wrapped child in his arms, and Clare digging through her clothes, frantically.

  “I don’t know what a child would wear,” Clare huffed out, briefly glancing at her sister. Her voice was higher than normal, and Summer briefly wondered why. Her sister never seemed affected by anything as far as the
older girl knew of.

  “This will work,” Summer said, picking up a light colored long sleeved shirt that Clare had tossed to the floor. “It’ll be big, but we can tie the sleeves up and it will do until we figure out what will happen to her. Asher is already working on that picture.”

  “He’s great, isn’t he,” Clare mused with a dreamy sigh as she thought about the boy she had fallen in love with.

  “How can you know you love him so soon?” Summer asked, hoping that Clare could enlighten her somewhat on her own feelings. Summer loved Chase so much and she wasn’t sure that the Prince knew how deep her feelings for him were. She still wasn’t even sure when she had fallen in love with him. But she had.

  “I just do,” Clare said with a shrug, turning to her sister with a knowing look. “I always have. I grew up in his home before his parents passed away and I was homeless. I don’t know when it happened, but it did. I love him, and always will. Finding him again is the best thing, other than Chase and you. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Chase.”