Free The Royal Stones of Eden (Royal Secrecies Book 1) by Rae T. Alexander Page B

spontaneous kind of guy.
    Mattie rotated her eyes in bewilderment, and then she reached for an overnight bag from a tall dresser and started to push clothes into it. She grabbed items from several drawers and went through the motions in her caffeine high, but she didn't know why.
    “I’m exhausted. Where are we going?” Mattie said as she made a small attempt to understand the madness.
    “San Francisco!”—David grabbed a small suitcase in the closet on his right side of the room.
    “Ok. Once again. Wait!”—Mattie comically paused. With wider eyes, she talked while she walked out of the bedroom and stepped into the cramped kitchen. Breakfast waited at the table. She opened up the donut box and looked back to the bedroom. David feverishly continued to pack.
    “We are driving to San Francisco? That is like a fifteen-hour drive isn’t it?” she spoke while she chewed the sugar and dough.
    David peeked out from the bedroom to speak—“We are taking a plane. A sort of—security plane—from my company.”
    Mattie heard him while she shoved part of a donut in her mouth. She looked for instant coffee in the stuffed kitchen cabinets. The cabinets needed new brown paint, she thought. The floor needed new tile. Where was the damn coffee, she asked herself. More caffeine would sort everything out, she thought.
    David nagged, “Mattie? Baby? We don’t have much time. We can eat on the plane if you want.”
    Mattie did not know what surprised her the most. Does David own a plane? Are we truly going to San Francisco? Is it almost dawn? Am I dreaming all of this? She felt dizzy and euphoric. She was much too giddy to list her objections, so she succumbed to the situation. She left the kitchen, returned to the bedroom, and continued to pack.
    David sorted through his luggage, sprawled on the plush comforter on their bed. His suitcase had false sides and bottoms that he opened and inspected. It was full of various devices with wires and dials. He reached up to the top of the shared bedroom closet and grabbed his Beretta Bobcat, hidden behind a stuffed teddy bear, but Mattie saw him take it down. She mumbled something then turned away.
    David had to ask, “What was that?”
    “I thought you said you got rid of that?”—Mattie showed little concern for a proper answer—the sugar rush had not yet begun.
    “I was going to, but…”—David stopped mid-sentence. He suddenly spotted something on the wall. Something flashed and blinked, just above the interior bedroom door.
    He pushed his suitcase back on the bed to give him some room. He slowly sat on the bed, and he stared at the white smoke detector, just above the architrave of the door frame. Something was different about it. He quietly but rapidly waved his arms to Mattie to get her attention. He held a finger to his lips to silence any response from her. When she finally looked at him, she stood and remained briefly motionless at her dresser on the left side of the room.
    “Honey, did you remember to change the batteries in all of the alarm clocks and smoke detectors?”—David intentionally mocked and condescended. He wondered if Mattie had understood all of his inferences and his game. They were being recorded, and the bug was in the smoke detector.
    David moved silently and gradually toward the kitchen. He lifted one of the kitchen chairs. He tried not to make a single sound. He carried it into the bedroom and placed it underneath the bedroom door frame, just below the smoke detector. He stepped up on the chair and cautiously inspected the object, and then he motioned to Mattie. He mouthed something silently to her. She did not understand his mime, but she instinctively played along.
    “Oh no! Honey, I forgot to change the batteries. Maybe you should check everything out.”—Mattie started to enjoy the game. She grinned back playfully at David.
    Then David grabbed the outer part of the smoke detector. He slowly turned its outer shell to open it up. He saw an