Page 19 of The Prodigal Prince

“I’m going home,” Mac said. “There’s no need for rumors to start flying because we go somewhere together. Silas and I will pack and get the house ready to sell.”

What could she say to that? Fiona hadn’t even begun to delve into the implications of his residence, much less realize whether she wanted him to move.

“I’m afraid not.” Gabe took care of it for her. “Now that we know where you are, your sister... no, your queen wants you back in Sargasso.”

Mac managed to keep the scowl from remaining on his face any longer than the disappointment had a few minutes earlier, but he didn’t protest. Instead, he quietly stayed near the back of the group as they headed toward the garrison.

Until the last few hours, Fiona would have thought it quite unusual for the prince, but found herself believing she’d need to reevaluate a lot of things about him.

They were seated in another dark tinted SUV. Gabe and the driver would be the only ones visible through the windshield, especially after sunset with no extra lights in the vehicle. Mac didn’t say a word, not even to complain about being in the far back row rather than further forward like his place in a hierarchy could allow.

They left out of a side gate with no media watching. Fiona breathed a small sigh of relief. Gray clung tightly to her hand across the gap between the second row captain’s chairs. In his other hand, he clung to the bear Mac had sent.

The drive didn’t take long, and they were soon aboard a private plane taxiing toward the runway.

“Tinsley and your luggage will follow soon,” Gabe told her from his seat near hers.

“What about Silas? Mac’s luggage?”

Gabe shrugged. “I’m sure arrangements have been made or will be shortly.”

Fiona didn’t care for Gabe’s dismissive attitude, but kept her mouth shut. She hadn’t seen him in quite some time and didn’t feel comfortable telling him. Not anymore. Not yet.

They’d be in Ancora in an hour or less. From there she had no idea where they’d be taken.

Exhausted from his eventful day, Gray had curled up in the seat next to her and quickly fallen asleep with his head resting on her shoulder.

Gabe didn’t look open to conversation, which suited Fiona just fine. He would want to have a conversation about Mac or something else she didn’t want to discuss at the moment.

Mac had taken a seat near the back of the plane, as close as he could get to the flight staff seats without actually taking one from the stewards.

The arrogant young man she’d met several years earlier would never have considered such a thing. Something had changed in him between the time they’d met at a private resort on an island in Sargasso and the time she’d told him about Gray several months later. Then he had been cold, distant, but not self-confident to the point of pretension.

Being a father, even though he chose not to be actively involved, hadn’t been the catalyst for the change. There had to be something else, but Fiona had no idea what it could have been.

Twenty-four hours earlier, she would have thought he’d relish a return to the privileges that came with his rank.

She noticed a change in the engine sounds. They’d already started descending.

Gabe continued to do something on his tablet. Work of some sort, if she went by his muttering.

A glance back at Mac showed that he stared out the window. Was he looking forward to seeing his sister again? What could be running through his mind?

Would he visit some favorite hang outs? A favorite restaurant?

An old girlfriend?

Why should it matter to Fiona if he did see an old girlfriend? They weren’t in a relationship any more than they had been years earlier.

The lights of the runaway grew larger as the whine of the engine increased.

Gray woke when the wheels hit the runaway.

“Where are we, Mama?” She loved that he still called her that in his sleep-filled voice.

“Ancora. It’s a city in Islas del Sargasso. This is where your father grew up.” Would he remember that he’d met his father?

She’d never shied away from telling him about his father, though she’d never been overly specific.

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