ROYAL BRIDE (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (19 page)

“Never… find you… Do you hear me?” His hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing, pushing her against the wall and robbing her of air. She scrambled beneath his grip, kicking out her legs and trying to twist from his grasp. Claudio squeezed harder.

Just when darkness started to fill her sight, he released her. She slumped to the ground, gasping for air. Her throat hurt, but she swallowed, trying to dampen the dry passage. She heard him muttering something over her, but then they were gone. The door slammed shut and the bolt snapped into place. Again, she sat in complete darkness.

When Isabella woke several hours later, she couldn’t tell what time of day it was. The room, still shrouded in darkness, gave her no hint as to the hour. The ringing in her ear had finally stopped, but the pain in her jaw remained, a new throbbing ache to match the burn in her shoulders. The pain and her circumstances were becoming close to unbearable, and not believing Antonio could ever find her, her fear grew and grew.

Antonio would be better off with her gone. The idea of him putting his hands on another woman, holding her, caressing her, made her stomach twist, but she knew he would be able to find a woman who could give him what he wanted and be what he needed.

After all the torment and fear her capture put her through, it was the idea of Antonio loving another woman that brought forth her wracking sobs. “The louse! Why should I love him so much?” she whispered to herself. Without knowing it, he had insulted her, he had hurt her feelings, and it was obvious he wished for her to be someone she wasn't. But when he wasn’t doing those things, when he was being attentive to her needs, listening to her about her day, she felt more like a princess than when she was forced to wear her royal crown and jewels. It was in the early morning moments, when he would brush the hair back from her face, remind her of her schedule for the day, or ask if she wanted to join him for lunch. It was when he told her silly stories of his childhood that made her anxious to see him again. Even when she was irritated, she felt calmest when he arrived home. And now, she would never get to tell him or show him that she could be the wife he desired. That she could be what he wanted.

“What are you crying about?” Claudio’s voice snapped her attention to the door. He was alone. With the light behind him, she could only make out his silhouette.

“My shoulders hurt, Claudio.” She sniffled. It wasn’t a total lie.

“I don’t really care, princess. My people’s bellies ache from hunger. Their throats burn with thirst.” His voice boomed in the small room.

“Are you drunk?” She shifted on the floor, her knuckles scraping against the rough surface of the wall behind her. She didn’t need him to respond to know the truth. The room smelled of whiskey shortly after he opened the door.

“What I am, Princess Isabella…” His words slurred, and he stumbled toward her. “I am really fucking horny.”

Realizing his intentions, she scooted away toward the corner. He lunged for her and landed on his face. A grumble escaped him, and the bottle he’d been holding rolled away from him. Pushing against the wall, she tried to get to her feet. Even drunk, he was too quick and was on her in a flash.

His hands ripped her blouse, but that was as far as he got before a loud pop filled the room. She watched with horror as he stumbled back from her and sank to his knees, a dark red circle beginning to expand over his entire chest. Letting out a whimper, she forced herself to look at the door to see what was coming at her next.

“I’ll kill him again.” She heard Antonio’s growl as he jumped over Claudio’s dead body to get to her.

At first, he stopped, not touching her. She could hardly breathe. She wanted him so badly at that moment, to wipe away the memories of the past few hours. “Antonio. Please,” she whispered. “Please, hold me.”

He cupped her face in one hand and turned her head to one side. Inspecting her jaw. “He hit you. That fucking bastard hit you.” She had heard him angry many times, but never had she heard the murderous tone he used.

“My shoulders.” She shuffled her footing, turning around slightly. He helped her move so he could get to the binds around her wrists. She felt a blade run between her hands and braced herself for the rough movements of the rope. Once she was free, her arms flung forward and the strain in her shoulders eased. She let out a gasp of relief. Before she could see to it, his hands were on her, rubbing her shoulders and checking the rest of her for injuries. Isabella heard footsteps running toward the room, and she tensed.

“It’s my men. Don’t worry, love, I have you.” He glanced at her and bent down to cut the ropes at her ankles. Once she was completely unbound, he looked at her wrists.

“How the hell did you find me?” She looked over his shoulder at Claudio.

“Don’t look at him.” He pulled her chin until she was focused on him. “There is nowhere in this world you can hide that I would not find you, didn’t you know that?”

“I… well…”

“You thought I wouldn’t try?” He looked insulted by the thought.

“I thought you’d be better off—”

His finger stilled over her lips. “No more. You can tell me everything after we’ve taken care of you. Until then, not one word, do you understand me, love?”

He was completely in charge and wanted her to be seen and not heard. She nodded and said nothing more as he scooped her up into his arms. Resting her head on his shoulder, she tried to ignore her surroundings.

His men were everywhere. She had been taken to a warehouse of some sort and kept in one of the storage rooms. As he carried her up the final set of stairs, she saw the small band of men kneeling by a far wall, half a dozen guards surrounding them with their weapons drawn.

“Those are the men from the alley.” She tried to squirm out of his arms, but he held tight.

“Settle down,” he firmly commanded. Without looking at who she was referring to, he explained. “Yes, they are. They’ll be questioned at length. “

“You aren’t going to have them killed, are you?”

He gave her a look that suggested she shouldn’t push the topic and carried her from the room. She rested her head, and before they even stepped out into the open air, she had fallen asleep.

ANTONIO

She was home. She was alive, and she was home. Antonio sat outside the bedroom door of their suite, listening for any indication she had woken up. He had spent the first day sitting beside her and staring at her, but when she’d woken up the first time, she’d been frightened by his presence. She had recovered quickly, but he didn’t want a repeat performance.

The physicians he brought to the suite assured him that other than the bruise on her jaw and the rope burns on her wrists and ankles, Isabella was in perfect health. The ringing in her ear had stopped, according to her, but they wanted her to take a hearing test once she was up for it to make sure there hadn’t been any loss.

Nothing compared to the rage he had felt when she saw that bastard trying to put his hands on Isabella. He tried not to think about what would have happened if he had not gotten there in time, if he had been delayed just a few more moments. His mind conjured all sorts of horrible images.

“You have to stop beating yourself up about this.” Julian handed him a cup of coffee. “We got there in time,” he reminded him for what seemed the twentieth time that morning.

“When you find a wife, you’ll understand.” Antonio closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, reminding himself she was safe. She was just on the other side of the door.

“If you mean love, I understand that well enough.” Julian grinned. “You won’t be any good to her if you can’t forgive yourself.” Julian spoke more plainly than usual, but Antonio didn’t mind it. He’d known him for too long to let rank get between them.

“She thought I wouldn’t come for her.” Antonio felt his irritation at that confession build again. “The woman actually thought I’d be better off leaving her in that cell!” His voice hardened, and he wanted to wake her up so he could shake some sense into her.

“Well, what are you going to do about that?” Julian crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

“I’m going to have to prove her wrong, I suppose.”

Julian laughed. “You suppose? I would say you both need a lesson in honesty. You look at each other with affection, but only when you think the other isn’t looking. You love each other but are too stubborn to admit it and to admit that maybe, just maybe, one of you will need to loosen the reins of control. I know our society suggests otherwise, but not every woman was made to kneel before a man and obey his every command.”

“Times are changing.” Antonio nodded and shoved the coffee back at Julian. “But not completely.”

As he pushed the door open to the bedroom, he heard the last bit of Julian’s laughter. He promptly shut the door.

Isabella was sitting on the bed, her back resting against the headboard and a book in her hands. “You’re up.” He hadn’t meant to sound so accusatory, but he’d been waiting for her to wake up all morning.

“Yes.” She closed the book and placed it on the nightstand. “For a little while. I wasn’t sure if you were out there or not, or who was out there.” She smiled weakly. His guards had taken over their suite and almost the entire floor of the hotel. He would be glad to get back to his country estate where he could roam around free of their constant presence, and he knew she would be more comfortable as well.

“Only three are inside now, the rest are in the hallway,” he assured her and sat next to her on the bed. “You look a little tired still.”

“Thanks.” She attempted another smile but only managed half of one. The bruise along her jaw had turned a dark purple with an ugly yellowish outline, and a light bruise had formed around her neck. When he looked at the fingerprinted bruise, he could feel his heart racing again.

“I only meant that you need your rest.”

“Sleep won’t make the bruises fade faster, Antonio.” She narrowed her eyes. “I must look horrible.” She ran her fingers through her hair, loosening the curls around her shoulder. “I understand if you’d like me to skip the charity ball at the art museum. I’m not sure what I’ll look like in a few days.”

His hands framed her face, pulling her to him. His lips crushed hers and she moaned beneath the weight of his kiss, but he didn’t care. When he pulled away, he stared into her eyes. “You are beautiful. Covered in mud and glitter, you would still be beautiful. Don’t worry about the charity ball. If you are up for it, we’ll go. If not, we’ll stay in.”

“Antonio—”
“Since you are feeling so much better, we can talk about what happened.”

“I shouldn’t have ditched my security,” she whispered, her eyes downcast. She pulled out of his grasp and folded her hands on her lap.

“No, you shouldn’t have,” he agreed. “I doubt you’ll make that mistake again, though.” He sat back on the bed, leaning against the headboard with her. He reached into her lap and took her hand, running his thumb over her scraped-up knuckles. “I was wrong before.”

Her look of surprise made him smile. “Wrong? You?”

He let out a loud laugh at her sarcastic comment. “Always a brat. Yes. I should have seen much earlier what an intelligent and caring woman you are. I’ve said some really stupid things that I wish I could take back. You’ll go to school. Study whatever you want… fashion is fine with me—”

“I was thinking economics. That’s what I signed up for.”

He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her injured knuckles. “I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m sorry I didn’t give you enough credit. I’m sorry I let my stupid ego get in the way of seeing you as you truly are.”

She shifted in the bed, turning to face him. “I don’t make it easy for you. I’m trying, though.”

“Is that what all the quietness has been about?” He wrinkled his brow.

“I was trying to be what you want. I’m just not sure I’m cut out for it, though. I have a bit of a temper.”

He laughed again. “Just a bit,” he agreed. “I don’t want you to be anything other than what you are. Sometimes obnoxious, always bratty, and absolutely wonderful. You are full of life and spirit, and I thought I could crush that. Never let anyone crush that,” he said sternly.

“I signed up for classes to start in a few weeks.” She made her confession staring at his chest.

“Always a rebel,” he sighed. “I wanted you to wait unit the fall session so you would be settled at our new home, but if you really want to start now, I won’t stop you.”

Soft brown eyes met his. “You wanted me to be settled?”

“Less stress. Things have been stressful enough lately, I would say.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Now, about your source.”

“I think you’ve figured that all out.” She grimaced. “It was stupid of me to go outside for information. It should have occurred to me that it was too easy for Claudio to get me the information.” Tears built in her eyes, and he was quick to wipe them away when they fell down her cheeks. “I was horrible.”

He pulled her to him, holding her against his chest. “We were both idiots, I’d say.” He rested his chin on her head. “From now on, you won’t go anywhere for information except to me, and I’ll be as open with you as possible. We need to trust each other.”

“I do trust you.” Her voice was barely audible. “I can’t explain it—I just do.”

“Ah, Bella. I owe you another apology. Maria and Silver told me about your conversation with Maria at the banquet. I never should have made that comment to Silver. It is no one’s business how we handle our marriage affairs but ours. I’m sorry it embarrassed you.”

She pushed away from his chest to look into his eyes, more surprise lurking in her own. “You weren’t boasting?”

“Boasting? No, I was grumbling and irritated. It was a careless comment made in the heat of a moment.”

She bit the corner of her lip as though she were considering his words. “Fair enough, but don’t do it again.” He nodded in full agreement. “What about Elisabeth? I’m sure she’s devastated.”

“She’s been taken into custody by my guards. She’ll be joining us on our trip home.”

“What? Why?”

“She had nothing to do with her brother’s actions,” Antonio was quick to tell her. “It’s for her own safety. Until we know for certain she’s safe, she’ll remain in our custody.”