Clyde's handsome face turned grim as anger and anxiety raced to his head, drowning him in panic.
His big arm slowly reached to his still connected phone and picked it up from the floor, biting his lips. The big Alpha could still hear Claire's faint voice from across, then pressed the mute icon so as not to let his big sister hear him.
"The hell am I supposed to do?!" He thought, feeling confused. Apparently, the blond guy laying on his bed was the missing model!
He was thinking about telling Claire the truth, but that would be tantamount to suicide. He pondered for a moment before finally deciding on his own.
"Claire," he said, calmly regulating his breath. "I'll try to help, but you must know that this isn't Germany, so I don't have that many to trust."
All this time, Clyde had always been managing the Europe branch with the headquarter stationed in Berlin, and only came to US when his father and the company called for him. So it was kind of hard for the Alpha to trust people here.
"Alright, I'll do something about the news later. I just need your help to find and protect him." Her voice constantly lowered as she said it.
Clyde noticed something strange from his sister's tone, and the fact that she wanted him to protect the blond only raised his suspicions.
"Protect him? From what?" He asked innocently, but was actually trying to dig some answers.
"I'll explain to you later," Claire replied, her tone oddly sounded relieved. "So," she said, her usual cheerful voice returned. "How does our new Mr. CEO feel today?"
Clyde choked at his own saliva upon hearing the million dollar question. His head buzzed again and he lowered his head in frustation, reality hit him hard with the fact that he failed to embrace his throne last night. And all because of this pretty blond head fell into his arms and begged him for help.
"What CEO? There was a sudden blackout last night so the meeting was postponed for safety reason." Clyde replied, trying to find an excuse for the incident. It was true that there was a power outage before he came out of his Presidential Suite and descended to the meeting hall in the lower floor. But what his sister didn't know was that the blackout only lasted for less than 10 minutes and the meeting was postponed because he didn't attend it.
"What?! A sudden blackout?" Claire patted her own forehead, it seemed like this problem was far more complicated than she thought. Things could turn ugly, the board members would certainly blame Clyde for it. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"H-how could I?" Clyde tried to dodge. "I was locked inside my room with no service at all!"
"Ugh… Fine then. I'll try to handle the news first then investigate into the matter. Don't talk anything about your promotion to the press," she said, then her voice lowered with worries. "J… Just stay away from home for now, okay? I'll talk to dad."
"Talk to dad, huh?" His eyes dimmed as an empty gaze flashed through the pair of ocean blue sky in his handsome face. "Don't worry about me, I'm no longer a child. I can face him alone," he said in a firm tone.
Claire had always been taking care of Clyde ever since he was a child, so she was more like a mother figure to him than that of a sister. But now that he had all grown up, Clyde thought that it's time for him to walk on his own feet.
A light chuckle was heard from the 43 years old woman across the line. "I know, I've been watching you grow up to be a great man. Just be careful, Clay. If you need a help with anything, you can trust Blair."
"Blair? Do you mean Blair Anderson? The head of finance department?" Clyde asked.
"Yes. He's been a loyal staff both to the company and our family." Claire replied.
Clyde frowned. "Are you sure? That old man can't even walk without his stick."
Claire laughed at her little brother's reply. "Not in a literal sense, he can still walk without it. You'd be surprised if you find out the real reason but I'm not going to tell you that. I want you to take him to your side and be familiar with him. So save the question for later,"
"Damn… Why are you even telling me to make such an old man my ally," Clyde sighed, thinking that he would look stupid to talk to someone with more than 50 years age gap like Blair Anderson. His pride and arrogance clearly wouldn't let him look less experienced.
"Shush! It's for your own good! You'll gain a lot of insights from him. And you—" Claire's voice stopped at the sound of a door opening. "Ah, I've got to go now, talk to you again later."
Clyde carelessly threw away his phone on the crumpled white sheet once their call disconnected. He got up from bed then walked towards his desk, opening his laptop.
"Luke, how's the situation?" The Alpha demanded a report from his head bodyguard, Lucas Ramirez.
The camera shook for a while before a grim face with a long scar appeared. "We've been waiting for your order."
The man adjusted to the back camera. An old man with bath towel hanging under his pot belly and narrow hips was tied to a chair, his eyes blindfolded.
"Let him see me," Clyde said, then answered with a nod from Lucas. The masked guard behind the old man then yanked his hair and forcefully took off his blindfold.
"Let go of me! I'm a board member of the Falcon Group! You can't do this to me! Or I will— Aaah!" He thrashed, screaming. But the guard's violent kick to his chair made him tremble in fear and instantly zipped his mouth.
"Scott Morrison," The tan Alpha's deep voice echoed from the phone's speaker.
Hearing his name called, the old man's face suddenly turned bright. "Mr. Clyde! Please, please don't hurt me. I'm not wrong! I was trapped and framed!" He begged.
"You dared defy my order. You knew outsiders were not allowed to enter the hotel but you still took uninvited guests to your room." Clyde said, as if he was a judge reading the man's crime.
"No, I swear I didn't mean it like that. I was trapped, sir! Please believe me!" Scott kept denying, but it was clear as crystal that he was at fault.
The old man's pathetic sight almost made the Alpha puke, he really couldn't stand it. "That's enough Luke. Bring him to Rock Springs and prepare my flight now," Clyde ordered.
"Understood."
The Alpha shifted his gaze to the blond figure on his bed, then to the torn shirts on the floor. He let out a heavy sigh and walked to the cupboard and put on a simple black shirt.
Clyde scratched the back of his head that didn't feel itchy, thinking that it would be too much of a bother to put on some clothes on Ryley. So he rolled the model along with the white sheet and lifted him. His guards outside the door then packed his stuff and followed the man until they got to the hotel's rooftop where a helicopter had been waiting for them.
Lucas got off from the helicopter wearing all-black as he ran to his boss. His sterling grey eyes widened when he caught Clyde carrying someone covered in white sheet in his arms. But the head bodyguard could only saw a faint pale face with golden strands.
"Do you want me to call a doctor?" He automatically asked after he approached Clyde closer. "Stretcher!" Lucas responded quick, but Clyde refused. "No need. He'll stay with me," and proceed to enter the helicopter. "Tell Adrian to come to Rock Springs now."
The man's response honestly surprised Lucas, because believe it or not, those words were something that would never come out of Clyde's mouth. The Alpha had always been self-centered and he'd never kept anyone by his side.
The last time he went to a masquerade in Germany, a female Omega from a distinguished family tried to approach him. She pretended to trip on her gown, hoping the young master of the Aldric Family would catch her. But Clyde coldly moved and let her fall to the cold floor, making her embarrassing herself in front of the other guests.
Many had claimed as his lovers but those who stayed close to him knew that Clyde wouldn't treat anyone with romantic interest. And yet...
Lucas didn't dare to think further, he followed his master from behind without asking about the figure he carried and held close.
They went to the nearest airport by helicopter and moved to a private jet, and still Clyde carried the unknown figure all the way by himself.
He was clearly 'protecting' him, but no one knew whether it was just his instinct or something else.