Freedom 4
Shaan had arrived in Washington DC in the middle of the hustle and bustle of peak hour at 5pm. He was exhausted, but he trudged up to the car service that had been sent to collect him by his beloved. He had already made his way through immigrations and customs, before heading off to retrieve his bags and David. Retrieving both had been easy and he found himself opening the crate and giving David some love and attention, as he relaxed into the backseat of the car service that was taking him to Zahra's townhouse in nation's capital.
Thanking the car service, he let himself and David in, he immediately took the lovable, overweight beagle into the rear yard to stretch his legs and relieve himself. He had already notified his love that he had safely gotten in and was at their new place. He sat on the back stoop and watched David, run and explore the yard, chasing a butterfly and smelling every square inch of the yard.
Shaan was surprised when less than an hour later, Zahra let herself into the town house. But at least he had prepared a dinner for them. He had done that while David entertained himself in the rear courtyard. "Hello Darling." Shaan cooed at his love, as she deposited her keys into the bowl on the hall table and came to join him in the kitchen. "How was your day?"
"How was my day?" She parroted back to him, as she climbed inside his personal space and kissed him, as he sat at her dining room table. "Long and tedious. Thankfully June is working on a deadline for a Vogue cover story and Nora has been holed up in the campaign office running data all day. Neither woman is suspicious of Alex's disappearance yet. How was your day?"
"I received word that they managed to get away from England and safely check in at their destination, Darling. I am planning to check in on the boys, after dinner." Shaan said, as he led Zahra into the kitchen. He had cooked something simple. He knew from Zahra's messages earlier in the day, that she and Ellen had been at a power lunch for politically affiliated women and that it had been a buffet lunch. So that she wasn't overly hungry.
"Mmm..." She moaned into his mouth, when he kissed her once the dishes were clean, after dinner. "I will go shower and you check in with the boys now. Then, we can salvage the rest of the night. Don't forget to take the dog out, before joining me in the bedroom."
Shaan pulled his burner phone out and dialed the other phone. Calculating the time difference between Greece and Washington DC, Shaan sighed and settled on sending a text message instead. With seven hours difference, Shaan had hoped that the boys would be sleeping.
§ How's it going? Do you need anything? §
He hoped that he would not hear from them until much later in the evening. Taking David out one last time, he settled the obese beagle in to his bed with his belongings and went in search of his love.
"After everything that has happened here today, I have been thinking ..." Bea began, as soon as she met with Pez that evening in the palace. She had opted for a long-sleeved shirt, despite the warmness of the evening. "Philip was here today, and I am sure you have seen the tabs by now."
"Ah yes, the rags. How droll?!" Pez confirmed with a chuckle. "How anyone who is worth their salt, could honestly think that Alex and my goddesses could be in a ménage à trois. Especially, since one of the women photographed is his sister. My very own, ever-scrumptious June Claremont-Diaz."
"Yes, well anyone who has spent time with Hen and Alex, at the same event as them, like you and I have, should be able to detect the thick air of horn-town betwixt them." Bea vented further. "I mean anyone with eyes can see that they're crazy for one another. Like totally over the moon, gah-gah, gone on each other. I mean, geez, the evidence of their love lays open for the world to read on the internet, providing one knows how to use google."
"So, tell me why, my dear beautiful Beatrice, why are we not looking for our dear Hazza, now?" Pez asks. She looked at him, carefully. Taking in his ever-changing chameleon of an appearance. His hair currently dyed a platinum blonde, only one side of his face made up, the other half bare. His jeans and matching denim jacket completely bedazzled in sequins, she placed her fingers across her lips delicately, in the world-renown sign for silence.
Looking around and seeing that her and Pez were alone, she smiled her charming, press smile at her brother's best friend. "Darling, could you give me two minutes and then, could you take me to dinner? I shall explain everything."
Pez looked at her strangely for a moment. In all the time he had known Bea, she had never been so forward as to solicit a date from him, in that manner. "I'd be honored to take a creature as stunning as you to dinner." Pez smiled at her, his charming smile. He could read her as well as he could read Henry, she didn't want anyone to overhear them.
Bea returned a mere ninety seconds later, a small overnight case trailing behind her. Pez raised his eyebrows in surprise but rolled with it. He could see that something was weighing heavily on her. He had known her long enough to know that she needed to speak with him, and it needed to happen away from the palace and where they couldn't possibly be overheard.
With a quick word to the closest footman, Bea allowed Pez to usher her out of the palace and into his own chauffeur driven vehicle. Before long, they were deep into the city of London and Pez was discreetly ushering her from his underground car lot to the penthouse suite of his parent's home in London. Handing her a glass of soda and lime, hold the liquor, he saw the tension almost melt off his best friend's sister. "As I was saying, we should covertly look for Henry. Not overtly. I do not think it very wise to tell anyone that we are looking for him, right now."
Bea was barely holding herself up. She looked timid, and in all the years Pez had known Bea, timid wasn't a word he would use to describe her. Bea was brave. She had gone down the rabbit hole of addiction, faced her demons, and survived. She was strong. He scrutinized her carefully and she almost recoiled when he reached out for her. Gently, he brushed the sleeve of her jumper up her arm, revealing her forearm. He could see the unmistakable darkening bruises of a handprint.
"Did that asshole grab you again, Bea?" Pez seethed in a low, angry voice. He was furious. He wasn't angry at Bea; he was livid at Philip. Henry has intervened between them time and time again. He had also confided in Pez and made Bea promise that if he wasn't available, she was to notify Pez or Shaan. Even though Philip hadn't grabbed Bea like that in three years, Pez knew Henry would blame himself. Shaan probably would too. Bea had slightly winced at his words, before Pez calmed down, seeing the look in her eyes. Her eyes very much like his best friend's eyes. "Come here Darling, you're safe now. Come give Aunty Pezza a hug." He cooed, as she gently moved to sit closer to Pez, as he comforted Bea.
Pez wrapped his arms around Bea in a warm and comforting embrace. "Thank you," she whispered, fighting back sobs. She managed to get herself under control after a few minutes, before slightly pulling back. "I have a theory." She whispered. "Run with it, for a moment." Pez nodded. "I know from Philip that Gran ordered Henry to end his relationship with Alex. No doubt, Philip had his hand in that decision, too, but that's neither here nor there, right now. Henry looked wretched, truly heartbroken, as did Alex in the tabloids. So, it seems that he must have followed through with the order. Henry is missing and Shaan still went on his vacation. So Shaan knows he is safe. Shaan was a close personal friend of our father's; he wouldn't have left if Henry was missing."
"Which means that Shaan knows where he is." Pez added, clapping his hands together. "He is safe."
Finally, June had had enough. She didn't care what her girlfriend thought; she knew something was wrong. She could feel it in her gut. She hadn't seen Alex in three days since he had returned from London. Although he had been happy upon his return, he had missed Henry and had experienced an emotional outburst on the South Lawn. Unfortunately, his little emotional breakdown had been captured by the paparazzi and they were now reporting that Alex and Henry had split up.
June let herself into her brother's bedroom. She was searching for answers. She had been the one looking out for Alex their whole life. She knew him better than he knew himself. She would be able to tell if something was wrong with him. His bedroom had been eerily silent, and he hadn't answered his phone. Something was up. She had tried calling him, but his cell had been switched off. Alex was a prolific social media poster, but checking his socials, she found he hadn't been online in almost four days. Four days was a long time for Alex to not check in on his socials. Especially on Twitter and Instagram.
Strangely, Zahra had given her and Nora some bullshit excuse about Alex studying, which June could have bought, if Alex had been home. But she was certain he hadn't been here in a few days. Alex never missed a meeting with Zahra, no matter how busy he was. It was a chance to do what he does best and annoy her to no end.
Not wanting to wait, to discuss this with Nora just yet, June headed for the Secret Service office to speak with Cash and Amy. Both agents were assigned to him, and they would be sure to know where he is. Requesting to speak to Amy and Cash, Alex's words had made both agents jerked their heads up from their desks in surprise. "Miss Claremont-Diaz?" Amy asked, surprised to see Alex's sister requesting a meeting with them.
As soon as she had sequestered them in a small room not too far from their little office on the first basement level, she glared at each of them with her harshest glare. "Where is he?" She demanded in a firm tone.
"By 'he', I assume you mean Mr. Claremont-Diaz?" Cash asked, looking over at Amy. "He sent a message three days ago; it was shortly after we returned from London. He said he needed some time and space to himself and since there were no classes this week, we weren't required to escort him. He had promised that he would not be leaving the safety of the White House."
"We can show you the message." Amy added, holding out the screen of her personal cell phone to show June. "Is he OK? He seemed kind of down and didn't want to talk about it. Plus, we have all seen the headlines in the tabloids."
She asked for a screenshot of the message her brother had sent, before she softened her stance slightly. Reading the message over and over, studying it carefully. Dissecting it in search of clues held no answers, and therefore, she had no doubt that her brother had sent this message. Only he could send the most grammatically incorrect text message to someone. Plus, he was the only one she knew who used that stupid shorthand and replaced the letter 'o' with a zero just to mess with people. She and Nora called it the ACD language and both women were fluent in it. Hastily, Amy did as requested by the First Daughter, and June let out a deep sigh. "You two best grab your gear, Alex hasn't been seen since before this text message and we need to tell mom.
Henry and Alex both stirred slightly as the cell phone on Henry's side of the bed roared to life briefly with a ping, indicating a text message had been received. However, neither man had barely stirred. Alex had just curled around Henry's naked body tighter, as Henry had snuggled closer to Alex's equally naked body. Of course, it was one in the morning and both men had cleaned up after dinner, decided to enjoy a dip in the deep, claw foot tub in the master suite, dried off, made love and promptly gone to sleep, all before midnight. Both of them feeling exhausted, sated and happy.
Waking up in the morning's dawn, Henry and Alex checked the burner cell and saw Shaan's text message. Henry quickly typed a message to Shaan, noting the time difference that it was almost midnight, back in DC. Henry had barely laid the phone back on the nightstand, when the phone began vibrating and roaring to life. Henry looked quizzically at the screen, before Alex leaned over and answered it, hitting the loudspeaker as he went. He had recognised the number, as the number that Shaan had used to text them at 1am.
"Good morning to you, from the Greek isles." Alex quipped cheerfully into the phone line, and he chuckled as he heard Zahra threaten him within an inch of his life for being a smart-ass, before Shaan's voice came over the phoneline.
"Good evening, from DC." Shaan greeted Alex, dryly. Henry muffled a chuckle at Shaan's dry wit. "Oh Sir, it is good to hear you, too." Shaan immediately added, hearing Henry's muffled laughter. "You both sound so happy. How are you both fairing?"
"Surprisingly well, Shaan." Henry replied, taking the phone from Alex's hand as he flopped himself back onto the pillows in a small sigh. "Both of us have had a full night's sleeps, plus naps."
"I do hope you two are exploring the island and getting out of the house." He tsked at them, disapprovingly. Zahra smiled as her fiancé chastised the two horny miscreants. Those two collectively, had given her the worst migraine of her career. Although Alex on his own, was a close second. "It is such a beautiful location; you both should take advantage of it."
"We have been, please do not worry about us, Shaan." Henry reassured him. Hearing Shaan's scoff and Zahra's indignation, he pressed on to correct their impure thoughts. "What I meant is, I was referring purely about sleeping. Alex and I are both finding sleep a lot easier and staying asleep longer, here. Remember what I told you was the biggest downfall between us?"
"You're both world class insomniacs." Shaan grinned into the phone line and Henry and Alex could hear Zahra's maniacal laughing down the line now. "Yes, well rest is important too. I am happy to hear that you both are getting plenty of rest, as well as sleep. Be sure to eat hearty, nutritious meals, drink plenty of water and be sure to call out if either of you need anything."
Their line to the outside world was disconnected quicker than it had connected. It had been an all too brief interlude, but Henry had moved decisively. He haphazardly deposited the phone on the nightstand and looked over at Alex. His dark curls, a stark contrast on the white pillow. Those unruly bed curls a true wonder to behold. Henry didn't know if it was possible for his heart to become fuller than what it was already. His heart was already threatening to beat right out of his chest. Alex threw him an impish grin and his heart surged, overflowing with love for the man beside him. With half a turn, it was the Latino man under him and soon Henry was pressing all of that love and adoration into Alex's welcoming mouth.
"God, I love you." Henry panted into his mouth hotly, between kisses. Henry was usually more in control of his libido than this. But being away from the restrictions of his life in the Royal Family and the trappings of that privilege, had made him feel a freedom that he had never dared to hope to feel before in his life. Alex grinned into Henry's filthy kisses. They were the kind of kisses that they preferred to save for times when they were doing things, intentionally or unintentionally, out of spite. Like at Wimbledon when Philip had started his crap. Like when Alex kissed him in the Red Room after Henry ghosted him. Like when Henry had kissed Alex after their visit to the V and A.
But right now, it was more about Henry needing Alex and allowing himself to take what he wants and needs. He had always been taught that he was not to want, nor need anyone. But this wasn't anyone. This was Alex. His Alex. Even if his grandmother hadn't have given him her orders, in no uncertain terms. He would always want Alex. He couldn't imagine any scenario where he wouldn't want Alex.
Just like Alex wanted him. Alex always wanted him. He was loud, animated, passionate and dedicated to whatever cause he was championing. Right now, he was championing Henry. He wanted Henry. Rather than using his words, he was using his actions. Very few times, since the first two met in Rio as teens, had Alex ever not succeeded in chasing what he wanted. It was something that Henry loved about Alex. It was something that set his soul on fire in the pit of his stomach.
"Need you." Henry panted once more, tearing his lips away from Alex's magical, talented lips. His own lips immediately brushed that chiseled jawline. Placing wet, hot kisses onto the skin on his neck, behind Alex's ear. It was a spot that Henry knew if he worked enough could turn Alex into a puddle of goo. He sucked harder and nipped at it, causing a visceral response in Alex. The younger man had bucked himself into Henry's body, trying rut into more contact.
"Take me." Alex moaned as Henry continued exploring that small patch of skin that tended to make Alex melt. A harsher than usual nip from Henry, had Alex yelp in surprise, before trying to muffle his own mouth.
"You can be as loud as you want here." Henry huffed against his chest, before swirling his tongue around the younger man's nipple. "No one can hear us, here." He grinned before repeating the same ministration on the other nipple, before making his way south, down the younger man's body.
"Probably the only and last time we will ever truly be alone." Alex sniped sarcastically, as he felt Henry's mouth engulf him in one whole swipe of Henry's mouth. "Oh, God! Hen!"
Waking up in the guest room of Pez's penthouse suite inside his parent's mansion was not unusual. What was unusual was that Henry was not here too. In the past, she had only ever stayed over, if Henry was here too. She pulled herself out of the last vestiges of sleep and made herself look presentable, before finding Pez.
Pez was at the island bench in the kitchen, looking radiant, as he always did. He was studiously tapping away at his laptop. No doubt working on his latest charitable project. "Good Morning." Bea said pleasantly, helping herself to the kettle for a mug of tea. She knew enough to know that while Percy OKonjo was a wonderful host, breakfast tea was made by yourself, or you didn't get a cuppa at all.
"Good morning, my beauty." Pez cooed at her in his usual flirtatious banter. His voice was sweet and melodious, dripping with honey. He stopped working momentarily and brought his eyes to hers. "I have some news. Not good news, it is very bad, I'm afraid."
"Oh no." Bea fretted. She was worried that maybe Pez had uncovered more distressing news about Henry. Or worse. Perhaps the paparazzi had snapped a shot of her entering Percy's apartment with an overnight bag and drawn their own conclusions again. That had happened five times in the last five years. Whilst it was never be good PR for the Royal Family, it would subtract from the idea that Henry was missing and buy her brother more time. She just hoped to herself, that wherever Henry was, he was happy and safe.
"I finally got in contact with our American counterparts." Pez smirked slightly at her raised eyebrows, before giving him a small chuckle. She supposed he was right. Sister and best friend - June and Nora, respectively. Sister and best friend - Beatrice and Percy. "The news is not good, I am afraid. Seems Henry did indeed end the relationship with Alex and now, Alex is missing, too."