The king was pacing back and forth when Ben re-entered his office, his eyes anxious, silence permeating around them as the monarch waited for Ben to speak.

"It is done, Your Highness." Ben looked at his king in confusion, hopeful to get some answers now that the king's most urgent task for him had been completed. "Lindsay is comfortable in your secret room, as well as she can be considering she has no cell phone, computer, or anything to connect with the outside world."

"It's more comfortable than that bitch deserves!" the king shouted, before taking a seat behind his desk. "I won't invade her privacy enough to install cameras, largely because I don't want to see her in any state of undress, but she will be fed and given what she needs for survival; however, nothing more!"

"Your Majesty, you rushed me to secure her so quickly that we couldn't talk. Am I allowed to know what she has done?" Ben asked, knowing the king would probably confide in him, but primarily hoping he would so he could help him. He had never seen the king so distressed. There was a pain in his eyes that he couldn't describe, and for sure, didn't understand. What did Lindsay do to him during such a short meeting?

Nodding impatiently, Brian motioned Ben to take a seat. "Sit down, Benjamin. This is quite the story."

After what equated to a long and detailed explanation, with the king speaking without any interruption, Brian explained how he wanted to proceed, all in the hopes of finding his daughter in the quickest amount of time. "It goes without saying... This is my top priority. I must find her." His fists clenched and unclenched as he stared angrily ahead. "Years of her life have been stolen from me, from both of us. Ben, I can't begin to explain how this makes me feel."

"Your Majesty, I have to ask. Are you certain Lindsay isn't playing a twisted game with you, making you believe and hope that your daughter survived when she really didn't?"

"I had the same questions, Benjamin. I am hardly a fool. As I listened to her, more or less, congratulating herself for her grand deception, I thought back to that time. I had been out of the country, and you were traveling with me. Lindsay had insisted on choosing her own medical team, which I had agreed to at the time. I already had her signature awarding me all parental rights, I wanted her to be as comfortable as she could be. In hindsight, that wasn't a good idea." Brian shook his head, unable to believe how Lindsay had deceived him. He had lost eight years of his daughter's life. What had they told Jasmine? Did his daughter think he had abandoned her? He doubted she even knew who her father was. There would be so much damage control... but that was far down the road. First, he had to find her. And once he did. She would be back home. Exactly where she belonged.

Ben felt a slight jolt to his heart as he viewed the raw pain in the king's eyes. This was affecting the ruler that he would never have anticipated, but not being a parent himself, he knew he couldn't fully grasp the ramifications of this horrific act of treachery. "Not to worry, we will find her. It will take some intense research, but we will get there."

"Yes, we will. First, I want the best investigator hired to put the pieces together. I have already contacted the airlines regarding a report for the first month of Jasmine's life. Lindsay insists that Jasmine is not in Tehara, and with her frequent travels, I would be inclined to believe her. Obviously, a stranger transported my child out of the country since Lindsay was still recuperating from childbirth." Abruptly, Brian slammed his fist down on his desk. "I could kill her for what she's done. I'm not sure I won't!"

Ben smiled, not the least bit surprised or concerned by the king's savage outburst. "But you won't. At this point, you have no way of knowing what kind of relationship Lindsay has with your daughter. I have no doubt you will render justice when this is finished, but it's my feeling that you won't kill her."

"Probably not," Brian snapped, slightly annoyed at how easily Ben could read him, hoping that others couldn't do the same. "I can think of far worse punishments than death for her, and I assure you that I will... but only when I have found my child. In the meantime, I want you to personally search her former suite, and bring me all of her electronic devices - any cell phones, her laptop, etc. If she has been foolish enough to maintain contact while in Tehara, I will find the link."

"Very good, Your Highness. What about her bank accounts? Surely she is paying these people to care for Jasmine..."

"I have already contacted the bank and her statements are being faxed to me. Of course, I don't know if she has accounts elsewhere. If she does, the investigator will easily uncover that. I doubt we will find anything in her bank account that I established for her. Lindsay wouldn't be that stupid." The king shook his head, completely recognizing all of the steps that would be needed to get to the truth. In time he would.

"Yes, I agree. She is clearly trying to extort more money from you. I think she knows she has covered her tracks as best as she could. She is foolish to think that will be good enough." Ben frowned, uncertain of how Lindsay could think she could outmaneuver the king. It was impossible. Even if he didn't have unlimited resources to find his answers, he would still find them.

"I will give her a few days of solitude in the secret room. One day will probably have her desperate for release." The king coldly chuckled. "I think you remember how a few hours in there affected her. And now, she has no social media, no contact with anyone, either here or in the outside world. After a few days, I will present her with an offer. It will be her only chance for a life of freedom. All she has to do is give up Jasmine's location."

"I hope for once she does the right thing and gives you some answers. Jasmine is the daughter of a king, therefore a target, should that ever be discovered." Ben was silent as he met the king's eyes, easily reading in them that the ruler had been having the same thought. "She is a princess and should be with her family. I vow that I will do everything in my power to make that happen."

Brian smiled, the trust and deep gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, Ben. Your support is invaluable to me. For now, all we can do is wait and put all the pieces together once we gather them. In the meantime, I don't want Gus aware of this. If Jasmine cannot be found, or if Lindsay has totally duped me, I don't want him to be disappointed."

"I won't say a word, Your Highness." When the king inclined his head, Ben rose to his feet, making haste for the door, hoping his search of Lindsay's rooms would give them a place to start. The pained look on the king's face had almost been too much for him to bear. He had never expected to see such a sight and was now determined to replace his look of despair with one of hope. His hand on the door, Ben remembered what he had discovered when he had been moving Lindsay to the secret room. Justin. Hell. The king would be livid. He was glad he would be busy with other matters and not involved in that encounter.

"Was there something else, Benjamin?" the king snapped, knowing Ben hadn't paused in the doorway for no reason.

Turning around, Ben nodded. "Your news completely pushed this out of my mind. Before I returned to meet with you, one of the guards informed me that Emmett was giving Justin a tour of the house. I know you had approved of him moving about freely, but Emmett took him into the slave quarters. The one that houses your pleasure slaves."

Brian began to swear. "That rebellious little fucker!" he exploded. "I don't need this now. Fuck!" Running a hand through his hair, Brian ordered Ben along. "Go ahead and do what I told you to do; I will deal with my troublemaking slave."

More than happy about the reprieve, Ben rushed forward, knowing he was thankful not to be either Emmett or Justin. In the king's present mood, his encounter with both men could be extremely dire. He knew Emmett would respond respectfully, but if Justin didn't do the same in the presence of the other slaves, he didn't know what the king would do.

Emmett groaned as they stepped into the suite that housed Brian's pleasure slaves, all their eyes a little too inquisitive on Justin. Fuck, he thought to himself. This could turn out bad. One by one, they stood to their feet, each of them slowly approaching, all falling behind the slave that had been here the longest, the one they always looked to for guidance.

Justin looked at Emmett in surprise. "Is everyone here? I thought there would be more..."

Following a brief, but nervous laugh, Emmett answered, "The king doesn't have a harem, Justin. He is a very busy man, and often his sexual exploits are exaggerated. There are only four of them, five if we include Ethan." Emmett pointed in the direction of the curly-haired man that was standing behind the rest, staring admiringly at Justin, along with the other four men. Explaining himself further, Emmett told him, "Ethan is a new addition, a man I discovered that was down on his luck. I took pity and brought him here. The king hasn't decided about his placement as of yet."

"I don't see anything wrong with him." Justin was surprised at the number of men. He had expected Brian to have one for every day of the week. That was hardly the case. Justin's eyes moved over the dark-skinned man that approached, a tall and muscular man, with dark brown eyes, and hair that touched his shoulders. Black pants clung to his hips, but further above, he was completely naked. He slightly nudged Emmett. "Are you going to introduce me?"

Emmett looked around the room, opening his mouth to make the introductions, but froze as he couldn't decide how to best go about it. Did he openly introduce Justin as the king's slave? Would Brian want them to know that? Hell and damnation, Emmett thought. What had this boy gotten him into? Silently, he watched as Asad circled Justin like a hungry shark. This wasn't good. Already, lust was instilled in one man. Would the others follow? "Uhhh, good morning, gentleman. I was just conducting a tour, and Justin wanted to meet the king's more special slaves."

"Special?" Asad stopped his circling motion, to lean down and whisper in Justin's ear. "He is being tactful, for once. We are here for our king's pleasure. Not exactly enslaved. We can leave at any time."

Justin grunted. "Good for you." He started to add that he wished he could do the same, but stopped when Emmett loudly cleared his throat in an obvious attempt to stop him from saying too much. Looking around, his eyes briefly touching on all five men, Justin decided to comply. At the moment, they were all eyeing him like a prime piece of meat. Even though he knew any advances from these men would probably enrage Brian, he wasn't sure he wanted to infuriate him to such a degree. "I'm Justin, by the way. It seems that Emmett has momentarily lost his ability to speak."

"Understandable when he is delivering something so pretty to us." Asad licked his lips, reaching his hand upward to touch Justin's blond hair. "I've never seen such beautiful golden hair. It's not common for us here in Tehara. Absolutely stunning."

Emmett cleared his throat from behind them, quickly advising Asad, "I wouldn't touch him, Asad. He isn't here for that."

Asad took a step back, knowing that the beautiful blond belonged to their king. "Such a shame. I thought our king had given us something to play with since he hasn't visited us for so long." His eyes moved over Justin, before looking back at the others that had already retreated following the mere suggestion that Justin was taken by their king. "This one must be special not to be in here with us."

Justin smiled, his eyes touching on each one of them in turn. "Perhaps that will change in time."

At once, they all jumped when the door slammed shut behind them, the king standing just across the threshold, his eyes glittering dangerously in the direction of Justin and Emmett. Before the king could even speak, they all dropped to their knees to pay their respect, all except Justin, something that didn't go unnoticed by either the king or his other slaves.

Emmett bowed to the waist, before rising to address the incensed ruler. "Your Highness, I apologize. I was giving Justin a full tour of the estate. I guess I got carried away."

Justin snickered, rolling his eyes as the slaves gasped from behind him. "It's not Emmett's fault. I insisted on coming here."

His nostrils flaring, Brian advanced forward, rage overwhelming him to the point of being unsure if he could prevent lashing out. "Silence, my own. You have said and done enough!" He glanced at Asad, then to the others that fell in line behind him. "You may rise." Moving over to where Justin stood, the king looked at Justin coldly, saddened that the blond was forcing him to teach him a lesson, but after disrespecting and humiliating him, feeling he had no other choice.

Everyone remained still as the king removed his robe, all of them knowing that one of them was about to be chosen to pleasure their king. "Emmett, take Justin to the tower until I have time to decide what to do with him. The guards are to keep him inside. He will not have any visitors."

The king held back his sigh of relief when Justin allowed Emmett to move him in the direction of the door without saying another word. If he had disrespected him further, a full punishment would have been necessary, and he really didn't want to do that. Before they reached the door, Brian deliberately called out to Asad. Turning his head, he met Justin's eyes, before telling his slave, "Tonight, you will come to me, and bring one of the others. I don't care which one you choose. However, for now, I need some relief." Brian watched as pain and disbelief entered Justin's eyes before he walked through the door with Emmett, the consequences of the young man's actions cruelly enacted.

Lying down on the round bed that was for his pleasure, he motioned Asad forward, closing his eyes as the others moved in around him, gently removing the rest of his clothing, Asad's mouth lowered to enclose his cock, while his other slaves moved in closer, hoping to be the next one chosen. As he momentarily blocked out the stress induced by Lindsay, and then Justin's bold and improper actions, Brian gave himself over to the pleasure his slave administered, pushing the thought aside of how he wished it was Justin's mouth on his dick. He had to get his world under control again. Justin had upset the entire balance since his arrival. Now, with the search for his daughter underway, his control over everything would be absolute. It was the only way.

TBC