The Dark Prince (The Dark Prince Trilogy #1)

by Autumn Winchester

  “I wish it was that easy for me,” Summer said sadly, refusing to meet her sister’s eyes as she looked at the floor, still holding the shirt. “I don’t think he knows, even though I’ve told him.” She had told him, right? She couldn’t help but second guess herself.

  “Summer,” Trent said, not able to help but overhear. Summer looked up at the large man, her eyes slightly wider. Yes, she got along with him well enough in the few instances they had been in the same room, but now there was no other male in the room that she felt she could trust. “He loves you with every breath he takes. Chase wouldn’t take such good care of you otherwise; you are truly his Princess. He dropped everything to take care of your needs the past few days.”

  Trent did have a point, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to accept it. It just couldn’t be that easy for her; nothing ever was. Chase had been by her side constantly, only because she needed someone to lean on. But was it worth it? Was it worth it to him showing how much he did care for her?

  “He really does love you, Summer. We all do. You are family and nothing will change that,” Trent said, sitting down on the bed so he was eye level with the girl he viewed as a sister. She was tiny compared to his frame. “I know your life hasn’t been the best, and I wish Ivan could have gotten you out, but he did everything he could.

  “Ivan did try, at least as much as he could without risking the life of his son and wife at the time. But things are different now. You have to see that. You are treated fairly here, like family. And that won’t ever change,” he finished, his voice strong.

  Trent wanted to reach out and cover her hands with his own, but hesitated. He was the type of man that liked to help others when they were down. Let it be a hug, or just making someone laugh. Not being able to do that for Summer was hard, but he refrained himself. She simply nodded, letting his words soak in. She knew she was treated better here than anywhere else. She was part of the family; had been since she stepped foot into this house. Before she even knew she would be able to stay here and call this place home.

  She knew she shouldn’t question it all, but in the short time that she had been here, her emotions had been all over the place. Today, it seemed, was the first time her emotions and thoughts were clear and drug free. Summer could see that everyone liked her. No one abused her in any way, and they went out of their way to talk to her.

  She was treated like a Princess, and Chase did love her as much as she loved him. If not more so. He showed her by his actions, and respecting her personal space. She had never been shown such respect, let alone love, before.

  It was just hard to wrap her mind around the love she felt for him in such a short time. But he was Chase. She knew that there must have been some sort of connection to that man as she grew up. It was the only explanation she could come up with at the moment. Clare was able to accept this type of life so easily without question, so why couldn’t Summer?

  Did it have something to do with how Summer was raised, as if she never should have been born? Was it because of who she was raised by part of her life, or because she wasn't showed the love she should have been after being taken from her mother? Clare had never known their father, but she had been raised for the most part by a loving family, even if they weren't her blood family.

  Deciding it wasn’t worth the time to dwell on the repeating questions in her mind, Summer took a deep breath, and then held the shirt out to Trent to dress the little girl. Her black hair was clean and brushed out, and her face looked a lot better.

  “Here,” Trent said, handing the girl off to Summer. “I gotta take a piss.” Then he was gone, leaving Summer wide eyed, lightly holding onto the girl as Clare laughed at the expression on her sister’s face. Summer had wide panicked eyes. She had never been this close to a child this young, let alone held one. What was she supposed to do here?

  The child simply leaned into Summer, seeking her warmth. The Princess wasn’t sure what to do at first, but slowly, she took the towel off the child’s body, finding no marks on her perfect skin. She was underweight, but at least she wasn’t harmed. That gave her more relief than she’d ever admit.

  She slid the shirt down over her head, and the child helped to put her arms in the correct holes before leaning her head back against Summer’s chest.

  “She still hasn’t said anything,” Clare said. “But man does she look so much like Zinna.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Summer replied, her voice quiet. “But I don’t know much about Zinna, or the life she had before Chase came across her.”

  “I know some,” Clare spoke. “But not much. She was in a compound like what we were in, and Chase found her. He took her in, willing to give her a better life. Before she knew it, she met Ryder and they fell in love after a short time. She doesn’t talk much of the time before that.”

  “Understandable,” Summer said quietly. She didn’t like talking about her past either.

  “Chase found her about five or six years ago or so,” Clare went on. “She was in worse shape than you were, and you were bad.” she gave her sister a sad look, remembering all too well how two months ago, Summer wouldn’t talk, and hardly ate at all. She was depressed, but Summer was one hundred times better now. “Although Zinna did have more fight left in her than you did, and was more than happy to go with Chase; she could sense he was a good man.

  “Ryder didn’t say much either, thinking about it,” Clare went on after a moment. “I’m not willing to ask either of them,” she laughed.

  Summer nodded, knowing what she meant. She didn’t want to ask either. But the similarities between this child and Zinna was so strange. But the girl even looked similar to Clare herself. Instead of saying anything else, Summer carried the dozing child downstairs, being careful of each step. Summer couldn’t help but shoot an annoyed glare at Trent. He held his hands up in surrender when she entered the living room with her death look.

  A month ago, she wouldn’t have dared look at Trent that way. She surely was getting stronger.

  She took her seat next to Chase, careful of not waking the child, although it wasn’t likely. Chase wrapped his arm around his wife, enjoying seeing her holding the child, as it fit her. Maybe, years down the road, they could try for another one. But only when he knew it would be safe and he didn’t have to worry about being killed, or his family getting hurt.

  Clare took a seat next to Asher, who was glued to the computer he sat on the coffee table.

  “Any luck?” Clare asked.

  “No. I can’t find anything. A few things that match, but the age, time, and race don’t add up,” Asher said, frustrated.

  “I’ll call Ryder this afternoon,” Chase said through a yawn after looking at his watch. “Someone must be missing her. I sure would be if she was my little girl.”

  “Kayla can do a DNA test to match with any records on file with missing children.” Asher said, glancing up at Chase. “That would help, at least narrow down any leads, or results. There are so many missing children all over the world. But she may not be pronounced missing yet, or she may have been abandoned.”

  “That’s true, but if that’s the case, her parents won’t be getting her back. She hasn’t hardly had any food for weeks,” Clare said, already trying to protect the child.

  “Clare, sweetie,” Asher said, trying to sooth his girlfriend. He laid a calming hand on her arm.

  “She’s right,” Summer said, standing up for Clare. “This little one shouldn’t be starving if her parents cared.”

  “There can be a number of explanations,” Chase said, soothing things over. “We’ll wait and see what happens after we get DNA test results and Ryder shows up.”

  Chase was always the man of reason. He thought out every move, every motive. He was raised that way, so it was normal to think in a rational way. When Chase looked down at his wife by his side, he found her dozing against him, the child fast asleep against her chest as a soft blanket was wrapped around her small frame.

 
He hoped that her parents were looking for her, as it was a better option than no one wanting the poor child. He had seen children as young as ten being sold to men across the world, just so their parents could have money to buy drugs or pay off a debt. It was never the child’s fault. Never.

  Trying to not have to worry about the possibilities, Chase leaned his head back against the couch, letting his eyes close as Asher and Carter talked about what needed to be done to narrow the endless search down. He kept an ear out on their conversation, making sure he didn’t need to step in at any point.

  Clare ended up falling asleep next to Asher on the floor, her head in his lap, not bothered at all with sleeping there. She could easily find a spot to crash at any given moment, almost. Trent’s loud snored filled the room soon enough, causing Carter to laugh, amused. That man could sleep like the dead, and with that snore, it would wake the dead, too.

  “What do you need to narrow it down?” Carter asked.

  “Ethnic background for one,” Asher answered, sitting back from the computer so his hands braced most of his weight, Clare’s head in his lap staying put for the most part. “Knowing that could help me narrow down what country she came from. Also, the DNA, of course. Her parents could be anyone, and no one at the same time. If she’d talk, about anything at all, to get some sort of ground on where to begin with . . . ” he trailed off.

  “Once we have covered every basis, Chase will have a plan thought up,” Asher went on, his voice quiet. “But I am hoping that we find her parents, and that they didn’t sell the poor girl to pay for something that they thought was worth more than a child.”

  Asher knew how likely that could be the possibility. All too often children, ages from newborn to eighteen and sometimes even older, are sold into sex trafficking by their own flesh and blood.

  ~oOo~

  Chase laid his sleeping wife down, her head resting on the pillow, the child still cradled in her arms. He covered them both with the blue blanket he dug out from the linen closet, hoping they would both sleep some more. He let them sleep on the couch, knowing it would be no use to put them to bed, likely to wake one or the other.

  He hated late nights, or being woken up in the middle of the night to deal with things. It always made the next day even longer. It was days like that that he lived off of coffee and hardly anything else. But it was something he learned over time to just get through it. He’d sleep later if he ever got the time to do so.

  Clare was passed out still on the floor, Asher right next to her and both covered with a blanket from her bed.

  Everyone else was passed out, fast asleep, around his living room. He couldn’t deny the way his wife looked, loving and motherly, as she held the sleeping girl. He could just picture her with a newborn baby, cuddled up and fast sleep. She’d do amazing well being a mother if given the chance.

  But he forced himself to remember he didn’t want kids. Not with the lifestyle he was born into. He knew his parents would expect him to have an heir, just because it was part of their life they led, but it wasn’t worth it to Chase. He just couldn't bring himself to bring a child into this life, always having to look over their shoulder for any threat.

  He made a call to Ryder, and then a call to his mother, telling them each what he had come across, and what he needed from both of them. Of course, they would both be by before mid-morning. He also asked Kayla to bring Emma along so Summer could have some time with her own mother. Kayla was more than happy to let the girl have time with her mother.

  Seeing the coffee had long gone cold, Chase made a new pot, making it stronger than he normally would have. He knew he needed it and so would his house guests. It was going to be a busy day once again. It wasn’t long before Trent and Carter woke up, making their way for their coffee and making grunting noises. Chase would have laughed if he hadn’t been the same way just a few minutes beforehand.

  Next, Asher and Clare were up, letting Summer and the nameless child sleep. Chase was determined to figure out a name to call the child. Maybe his wife could get one out of her by chance.

  With a yawn, he leaned against the counter, waiting for his mom to show up as he held a steaming cup of coffee between his hands, inhaling the bold rich smell. She would be the first to stop by, as it was easier to look over the child before she went into work and draw blood to check for any illness and a DNA test.

  It didn’t take long, and the ringing of the doorbell rang through the house, causing Summer to wake up as the child in her arms jumped at the unexpected noise.

  Summer slowly sat up, helping the child to sit also as she clung to Summer, not sure what was going on. Summer blinked her eyes, trying to clear her fogged up mind. She was in no way ready to wake up after such short amount of sleep. She couldn’t help but mentally remind herself that she had once lived with only an hour or two of sleep a week before living here. But her body was still trying to catch up from years with lack of proper sleeping hours.

  Chase answered the door, letting Kayla and Emma in. She had her doctor’s bag with her, like always while on house calls. He then led them both to the living room, where Summer still sat with the child who had a death grip on Summer’s shirt.

  “Hello, Summer,” Kayla greeted.

  “Hi, Kayla,” she said through a yawn.

  Emma stood back, fiddling with her shirt as she gazed up at her daughter. She didn’t want to overstep any lines. She wasn’t even sure how to act in the presence of her daughter anymore, almost like they were complete strangers.

  “I hear we have a little guest for a few days,” Kayla spoke calmly, setting her bag on the table. She looked at the little girl, taking everything in with just one look. “Hello, there.” She then sat on the coffee table in front of them.

  The child blinked, then leaned more into Summer, if it was possible. Summer wasn’t sure what to make of it, as no one had ever looked to her for comfort before.

  “Can I check you over, just to make sure you are okay?” Kayla said, her voice gentle. “I have some stickers you can have. And even a toy!”

  That got the child’s attention, as her eyes widened just slightly as she slowly nodded her okay.

  “Perfect,” Kayla said, encouraging the girl. “My name is Kayla. I won’t hurt you. I just want to listen to your heart, and take some blood samples, okay.”

  She dug in her bag, getting her stethoscope out, and then listened to the child’s heartbeat, her grip slowly loosening around Summer.

  “Can you tell me how old you are?” Kayla asked, not expecting a response. The child held up three fingers, making both Kayla and Chase beam, who stood just out of sight and near Emma. Summer couldn’t help smile down at her, too.

  “Wonderful!” Kayla said, not entirely sure if her number was right, but wasn’t going to question it. “What about a name? Do you have one? Her name is Summer, and the man that saved you is Trent.”

  At the mention of Trent, the girl tried to look around to see where he was. His voice carried from the kitchen, and she seemed to be a tad disappointed to not be able to see him.

  “Do you have a name, then?” Kayla asked again. “Once I get a name, I’m sure Trent would love to know it too.”

  “Sarah,” she whispered, her eyes beginning to water. “Mommy?”

  “We are looking for her, Sarah,” Kayla responded in kind. “Do you know where she is?”

  The girl, Sarah, shook her head.

  “That’s ok. We’ll find her,” she said, putting a Band-Aid over the small place where she had used the needle. She hadn’t cried at all. Most kids hated blood tests.

  “Promise?” the child asked, her eyes filling with tears.

  “Of course,” Chase said, entering the room more. “I have talented men that know how to search for people. We will find her.” He promised the girl.

  “Okay,” Sarah said, content for the moment over the issue, letting her head stay against Summer’s chest.

  Kayla handed her the small stuffed animal she had picked up at t
he gas station, and the little girl was quick to take it, hugging it to her chest as she glared at the offending Band-Aid, just now registering the pain.

  Kayla laughed as she stood up.

  “I’ll have results within an hour,” she said making her way to the door right as Ryder showed up, Zinna in toe. He carried a bag of clothes, knowing the child needed something to wear, even if it was boy clothes for the time being. He was able to pick up a few clothing items from the police station before leaving work.

  Zinna walked over to the child and introduced herself, also telling her who they were. Sarah shyly told her who she was, as Zinna asked her would she like to go potty and change her clothes to ones that fit. Sarah looked to Trent to see if it was ok to go with Zinna and at his nod, she took her hand to follow her, but not before looking at Summer almost pleadingly. Clare said she would help as they headed upstairs.