Alveus (ABC's Inc. Romance #1) (24 page)

“Alright
then, I suppose I asked for that,” he glanced over at his cohorts.

“Yes,
you did,” Oma agreed, a little too quickly.

“What’s
this about, Pop? I’m getting hungry,” Stefan complained.

“You’re
always hungry,” muttered his older sister. Lee put his hand up to ward off
another bout of nostalgic tumult.

“You’re
right, Son,” he said. “I’m sure dinner is close to being served. I’ll get right
to the point and leave the ball in your court. The old ABC’s, what’s left of
us, have been talking, and we agree that we would like you kids to continue in
the ABC tradition of being there for one another in business, and as family.
Now that you have reunited, we don’t think that will be much of a problem, but
we would like you to take the pledge a step further. You are all working board
members, individually of Alberton Technologies, Brighton Industries, and
Carsten Enterprise, with voting privileges. We would like you to think about
incorporating the new ABC’s. It is our wish to guarantee that no one is left to
drift alone, ever again. You will meet regularly to hash out problems and give
a hand where needed. Otherwise, each business stays the same. Lexi, Dane, you
will continue ownership as always. No one has a right to interfere in the others’
dealings – as always, but be available to help each other, like the original
ABC’s. There would never have been a Carsten Enterprise if not for Al and
Henry.

“Gareth,
you will take on your father’s duties as acting attorney for the companies, be
a part of the corporation with freedom to vote as such. Reginald, Alex has
asked us to embrace you as a member of our family, as well. You have a legal
say in the running of Al-Tech, whether you want to enforce it or not, although,
if Lexi should be unable to make decisions, we would hope you’d step in. Alex
showed great faith in you and we would like you to be a part of this choice.

“Take
time to give individual thought to the suggestion. Marta, Ed, and I will be
stepping away from the responsibilities of our companies, but will always be
available for advice or questions. Our only request is that you give our
proposition serious thought.”

Lexi’s
heart wrenched inside her chest – it was because of her. This whole reunion,
the lecture – it was because she had screwed up. She’d foolishly trusted her
bad-seed uncle.

The
seniors felt obligated to her parents to make sure she didn’t lose Alberton
Technologies, entirely. That their hard work and passion didn’t get flushed
down the toilet. The pep talk pronouncing their faith in her was just to soften
the blow. In truth they believed, like the rest of the industry, that she
didn’t have what it took to save the company on her own. They had called in the
calvary. Proposed a plan disguised as an insurance policy for all three
businesses, but in truth it was Al-Tech they were hoping to save.

Lexi
almost wished that she’d been left in that hellish dry pit in the middle of the
desert; at least then she wouldn’t feel like such a disappointing burden.

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

She
was blaming herself, Dane was sure of it. And it was killing him. He wondered
what the seniors had said to her to make her feel so bad. Although, thinking
back on it, she seemed to be okay until Lee put forward the idea that they
incorporate. Dane personally thought it a sound plan. The ABC’s Inc. had a nice
ring to it, and it would honor his grandfather’s brotherhood. But, then why was
Lexi acting like she’d been reprimanded?

Raised
with impeccable manners, Dane watched Lexi perform the part of hostess to
perfection. At dinner, he noticed she just pushed the food around her plate
without eating, although topped off her wine glass several times. She joined
the conversation and laughed at the right places, though Dane heard the hollow
tone in it. And, she avoided making eye contact with him. He knew she was
hurting. The one time she showed genuine emotion was when Gretchen made an
observation about the locket she wore around her neck.

“This
looks familiar,” the eldest Carsten girl remarked, catching the heart in her
hand for a closer inspection. “Didn’t your mother make this for you? But, it
looks somehow different.” Her brows creased in reflection. Dane lost interest
and turned back to hear what Greig was saying.

After
dinner they had all adjourned to the front room parlor. As soon as propriety
allowed, Reg Mangus bid his farewells. It was clear to Dane that the chap had
been overwhelmed by his inclusion. The others had left soon after and Oma
retired to her rooms, leaving the childhood friends their privacy.

“We
hit a dead end, trying to trace the human trafficker’s web auction,” Greig
said. “I did get a lead on a smaller ring running out of Peking, though.  Dice
and his team caught the bastards, too! The more information I dig up, the more
atrocities I find. Did you know that
over fifty percent of
human trafficking victims are children? I’ve unofficially joined Dice’s team.”

A
commotion pulled their attention to the girls who were giggling as they
scrambled to be the first to grab up something from the floor. They were on
their hands and knees, in gowns, no less – and it was a sight to see. Dane’s
eyes glued onto Lexi’s delectable derriere prominently sticking above the rest
of her, as she shuffled her hands along the carpet. Another part of his anatomy
took notice, as well.

“I’ve
got it!” she proudly declared. She sat back on her beautifully rounded haunches
and waved her hand above her head in victory.

“Are
they drunk or something?” Stefan asked, wearily.

“Probably,
slightly inebriated,” Dane agreed. He remembered Lexi chugging down the
cabernet at dinner. He watched as she fiddled with her necklace, finally maneuvering
it over her face to whip it off.

“Ouch!”
she ran her fingers through her hair for a second, before turning her attention
back to the piece of jewelry in her hand. “It’s easier to do it this way,” she
shared with the others. The other two sat on the floor watching in rapt
attention as she placed whatever it was that she’d found onto the trinket. Dane
stepped in closer to see what was holding their interest.

Her
delicate fingers performed some kind of magic, transforming the filigreed heart
into… a bug? Actually, it was pretty cool. Did he hear Gretchen correctly,
earlier? Pips mom made it? He exchanged glances with his comrades who were crouched
down beside him, also trying to get a closer look. Suddenly a hand grabbed the
bauble out of Lexi’s grasp.

“Here,
let me try it,” Fani commanded. The girls were paying no attention to the guys’
intrusion, as they watched Fani play with the intricately laced trinket and,
with a little direction from Lexi, turned it back into a heart.

“Wow,
that’s genius,” Dane said. “Your mom made it?”

Lexi
turned to him, as if noticing him for the first time, and nodded. He remembered
that she’d been wearing it most every day. Now, he understood her attachment to
it. Her mother had lovingly created the piece of jewelry expressly for her
daughter.

Laughter
rang out from the rest of their group. Lexi quickly leaned over to her friend
and tried to grab the locket from her hands, but it was too late. The opened
heart was being passed around, along with wry comments and chuckles. Why did he
get the impression that the joke was on him?

“When
was this taken, man? Look at his hair!”

“He
looks like Justin Bieber!”

“Dude,
maybe it is Justin Bieber!”

“Nah,
see he’s got that dimple.”

Dane
reached over to grab the object of their ridicule, and looked. Yep, it was him,
alright – must have been about sixteen when the picture was taken. He snapped
it shut and handed it over to Lexi, who looked mortified.

“You
don’t look anything like Bieber,” she attempted to assure him. “Besides, he was
probably still a baby when this was taken.”

It
didn’t really matter to him. He didn’t even know who this Bieber chap was. Dane
just hated that they had embarrassed Pips. And there she was trying to sooth
him. He straightened up and reached down to assist her to her feet.

“Some
things never change,” Gretchen chimed in arrogantly, “Daney and the pipsqueak,
closing in ranks.”

Dane
started a retort, but noticed that Lexi was busy examining her locket,
seemingly unaffected by the remark. She turned as if in a daze and headed
toward the foyer, still casting glances at the piece of jewelry.

“Lex…?”
Fani questioned. Out of habit, she picked up Louis who was tapping at her legs.

“Sorry,
excuse me just a moment,” Lexi murmured, stepping into the dining room. She
continued on to the kitchen, but before Dane could follow, came back out
carrying a set of keys. Still acting like she was in a trance, she walked past
her gaping audience, who joined Dane to follow her down the hallway. She
stopped at the door to her mother’s lab and began trying keys in the lock.

“What’s
going on, Pips?” Dane asked.

“I
just… I’m not sure…” The correct key unlocked the door and she stepped through.
“And, don’t call me that,” she added absently, her mind still centered
elsewhere.

Dane
smiled,
she’s okay
. He followed her into the room and observed as she
strode straight to the angel motif on the wall. The Carstens crowded in behind,
shoving him further into the room, to watch. Holding the locket up to the
artwork, she appeared to be comparing the two, turning the ornament this way
and that, and then running her finger over the metal motif. She detached
something from the heart locket and slid it into the cup of the tulip in the
angel’s hand. He heard a soft click and the flower sprung open! As one, he and
the Carstens moved in closer. Lexi held out her hand toward them.

“Tweezers,”
she commanded, her eyes still centered on the open flower.

They
all scattered, opening drawers and small cupboards, quickly searching.

“Here!”
Stefan called out triumphantly. He slapped the tool into her hand as if in an
operating scenario. The rest of the group squeezed in close.

“What
is it?” Fani wanted to know.

“Just
wait ‘till she gets it out,” Gretchen chastised, as if her sister’s curiosity
would interfere with Lexi’s progress.

Lexi
turned around, holding a small computer chip between the prongs of the
tweezers.

“Move!”
Greig abruptly shouted to his siblings. “Over here, Lex.” Settling at the
workbench, he started the booting up process on the lab computer. “Lay it
gently down on the counter. It’s a micro chip,” he told them, and further
explained at Fani’s confused expression. “It holds data.”

“I
know that,” Fani huffed. “I’ve just never seen one so small, before!”

Greig
examined the chip and started opening drawers. “They’re not made for public use.
Ah, here we go.” He pulled out a plastic casing the shape and size of a regular
smart card. Very carefully, he picked up the tweezers and slid the mini chip
into a small slot in the casing. “Now, let’s see what we’ve got.” He slipped it
into the computer and looked to Lexi for her approval. At her nod, he clicked to
bring up its contents.

VOICE
ACTIVATED ― PLEASE STATE NAME

Greig
pulled the microphone toward Lexi. “Lex?” he said.

INCORRECT

VOICE
ACTIVATED ― PLEASE STATE NAME

A
few nervous chuckles from the group, and Lexi leaned in to the mike.

“
Alexiah
Alberton,” she dictated.

WELCOME
ALEXIAH

A
collective breath was released, as the screen gave up the data chip’s secrets.
Dane could not make any sense of it – it appeared to be formulas, or blueprints
of some kind. Everyone else looked just as clueless, except for Greig. The
bloke couldn’t seem to absorb it fast enough, clicking and scrolling through
screens which, to Dane, all looked the same.

“
Droid
,
what is it?” he finally asked.

“Well,
you know I’m not an expert…”

“Just
give us your opinion, for crying out loud!” Gretchen’s patience had obviously
run out.

“It
looks like Aunt Alicia formulated a robotic human eye which can actually send
direct signals to the
occipital lobe
of the brain.” He turned to face the others. “Do you understand how significant
this is? This could bring sight to the blind! Shit, it could even be used on
machines to send direct signals into the brain of the operator – much faster
than a camera signal!”

The
hairs rose on the back of Dane’s neck, “So, now we know what they’ve been
after.”

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

“They…
what?” Lexi’s gut clenched. Here she’d been so happy and proud of her mother,
excited that they had found the answer that could finally bring Al-Tech back to
its full glory – was Dane saying that the discovery brought with it a threat to
everything and everyone she cared about?

“Why
my mother showed up out of the blue, and Billy Chen…”

“Wait,
how do you know about Billy Chen?” Lexi asked. Then she remembered Stefan
talked to English that night in the car. She turned a glare in his direction. “You?
What gave you the right to…?”

“We’re
all your friends,” Stefan said, stretching his hands out as if to shield
himself from her wrath. “We were just looking out for you – making sure you
were alright. It wasn’t like we were following you around or anything.” He
looked accusingly at Dane. Lexi noticed everyone was looking at Dane, so she
also switched her attention his way.

“Is
there something you’d like to say to me,
English
?” She placed her hands
on her hips, waiting. His face remained steel, the unrelenting businessman, as
he calculated his options. Lexi raised an eyebrow.

“I
heard that Fani was worried for your safety, so I hired a PI friend of mine to
keep an eye on you,” he admitted unapologetically. Lexi slapped her hands on
his chest, pushing him backwards.

“You
sent that guy? Do you know how much he scared the living crap out of me, the
first day I visited the warehouse?” She was up in his face and pushed him
again. “The place was deserted – and creepy enough without electricity! Damn
it, Daney!” He grabbed her arms before she could give him another angry shove.

“What
are you talking about? When was this?” he asked, showing real concern.

“The
first morning I got back,” she said. “I went to check Daddy’s office safe. I
had to open the floor to ceiling blinds in able to see. The place had been
ransacked, but the safe was intact. I kept hearing eerie noises – it totally
freaked me out. I took what I needed from the safe and practically ran out of
the building. The parking lot was deserted, so I figured it had probably been
my imagination. That is until I looked out the rear of my car and saw a man
watching me leave.” Lexi looked in Dane’s eyes. “I forgot to close the blinds
in Daddy’s office. The man was standing there, staring out through them.” Tears
surfaced in her eyes just remembering the fright. “I drove straight to the
police and filed a report on Richard. Of course, me being a spoiled rich
princess and all, they didn’t seem too concerned.”  She felt Dane tense, and
then slowly let out a deep breath.

“I
think we should go back into the other room where we can be more comfortable,”
he suggested, steering her toward the door.

Lexi
moved from his side to walk ahead of him. It was one thing to have Dane feel
protective, but the least he could do was inform her that he’d hired someone to
follow her around! They were both adults and should make decisions like that
together. Here she was walking around paranoid, thinking that someone was out
to grab her again…
Crap!
She walked straight to the mini bar and pulled
out the cabernet.

“Talk
about slapped sober – I need a drink,” she grumbled.

“As
long as you don’t sing for us,” Stefan allotted, pouring himself another.