Undefeated: Bad Boy Fighter Romance (Fighting For Gisele #4) (9 page)

Micah had won the fight, leaving his opponent unconscious. The crowd seemed stunned for a moment, then bedlam broke loose. All around him, people shouted and cheered. In the background was a chorus of booing, in disharmony with the overriding screams of excitement over the underdog winning.

Harlan gave him a bear hug, then grinned like a maniac, while patting him on the back. Next Gisele jumped into the ring and flew into his arms. Micah’s heart swelled with pride as he hugged her tight. “I did it.” Micah lifted her off her feet and swung her around. “I beat him!”

Amid the deafening noise that filled the room, more people jumped into the ring, but Micah blocked them out. He dug his hands in Gisele’s hair, kissing her passionately, and drinking her in as if she was the air he breathed. She was safe now.

Micah had won against impossible odds. He pulled back and looked into her tear-filled eyes. “I love you, honey. We’re going to be okay.”

Chapter 10

Micah was Gisele’s hero. In a stunning performance, he had knocked Max Fromer to the mat and taken the victory. Joy filled her heart, and she was ecstatic that Micah was okay. He’d survived in the ring.

In his exuberance, Micah lifted her high so she rested on his shoulder, above the crowd. He turned in a celebratory circle, and Gisele laughed. She looked down at the beaming faces milling below. Surely some of them were high on the win, as they had profited well.

The majority had bet against Micah, but his dramatic victory garnered their admiration anyway. The thrill of the brutal fight resonated through the buzzing throng, as each man must be inspired that an underdog like Micah had taken out a ruthless fighter who outmuscled him.

Yuri had lost the bet, so was bound to let them go free. With tears in her eyes, Gisele realized they had a future.

Micah lowered Gisele back to her feet, and the spell was broken. Yuri and his henchmen reached out to drag her away from Micah, crushing her spirit, and reminding her that this wasn’t over. As the mobsters hauled her away from the event, Gisele refused to panic.

Her eyes met Micah’s, and he gave her a knowing look. The bond they had was strong, and Gisele knew that he would be there for her, as he had just proven. She raised her hand and smiled at Micah one more time.

Then Yuri’s men took her to a car with darkened windows and shoved her into the back seat. Glancing at her mobster father, Gisele was aware that the dazzle of the boxing match had no effect on him. He wasn’t enamored with Micah’s victory. Just the opposite—he’d lost big, having played for such high stakes.

The atmosphere was tense, and silence engulfed her. There wasn’t anything to say. Gisele knew what Yuri wanted, and now that Micah had won the fight, she had only the diamond to worry about.

Gisele was confined to her bedroom at the complex and kept under guard. She missed Micah so much, but this would not be a night of celebration. That would have to wait.

Predawn the next morning, accompanied by several guards, Gisele boarded Yuri’s private jet. They could make it to Zurich by that night, and go to the bank to retrieve the diamond when the bank opened on Monday morning.

Gisele slept during part of the flight, and for the most part, the guards left her alone. Yuri didn’t have much to say, which was just as well. She preferred to talk to him as little as possible.

As she looked out the window at the expanse of sky, Gisele thought about the fight. She was so proud of Micah. While he had been battling it out, Yuri and his men had been riveted on the action in the ring, buying Gisele the precious time she needed.

The flight was long, but uneventful. When they arrived, a car picked them up to transport them to the hotel. It was already dark, so she didn’t see much of the city. The accommodations were nice, although Gisele was still kept under guard. She slept fitfully that night, anxious about the following morning.

The wake-up call roused Gisele in time to eat, shower, and dress. Yuri would be impatient, so she didn’t stall. She wanted to get this over with as much as he did. As she prepared to leave for the bank, Gisele considered what she knew of the blue diamond.

The gem was pricey because of its color. Colored diamonds were scarce. The rarest color was red, but blue was a close second. Then came yellow, brown, and finally gray, the most common and least valuable.

But not all blue diamonds were the same. The range extended from light blue, to fancy blue, to fancy intense blue, and so on. A fancy vivid blue was particularly special, as it described the highest possible color rating for a blue diamond.

Gisele discovered that the diamond she had was a fancy vivid blue. She learned its current value exceeded what her father had estimated when he’d willed the treasured item to her. No wonder Yuri was so intent on taking possession of it.

As soon as Gisele exited her room, she was whisked to the car. Yuri remained silent on the way to the bank. Had it not been for the circumstances, Gisele would have been excited to see Zurich for the first time.

The city was busy, and Gisele gazed at the architecture of the downtown buildings as they drove by. Tramlines provided accessible transportation. They reached the financial district and parked off the main square. The weather was pleasant, contrasting with the heat of Vegas that she was used to.

Gisele saw a sign for Paradeplatz, a square at the Bahnhofstrasse in downtown Zurich. The area was known for its wealth, and was the center for many of the large Swiss banks. Tramlines crisscrossed near the square, and commuters or tourists waited for their rides. The headquarters of UBS was on her left, and Credit Suisse was in the center.

Yuri seemed to know where he was going, and the guards followed with Gisele in tow. The bank was built of stone, and massive. Stepping inside was intimidating. The place exuded affluence and Gisele thought of the millions that must be housed within its walls.

After all the delay, it was finally going to happen. Yuri gave her a stern look. “Are you prepared?”

Gisele nodded, but didn’t speak. Her voice seemed to have abandoned her, and her legs shook underneath her. She approached the desk with Yuri, while the guards waited in the lobby. It seemed like a dream as she went through the motions of showing her identification and asking to be shown to her safe deposit box.

She authorized Yuri to accompany her, explaining that he was her father and she would need him to examine the contents. The bank employee handled the paperwork, then led them to the safe deposits. They were contained in a vault that was an actual room, as large as some apartments.

Gisele looked around at the walls of shiny golden boxes, some large, some small. They were layered from floor to ceiling, packed in tight. She was shown to her box, and she put in her key. The bank employee inserted the second key, and together they opened her box.

Yuri slid the inner container out, and nodded to the employee. They were shown to a private room, and left alone to attend to their business. Gisele’s pulse raced. This was the moment. She sat in the chair, unsure if her legs would hold her.

With her hands in her lap, Gisele watched as Yuri opened the box. He lifted the metal lid and looked inside. At first, he stared in disbelief, then he slammed the lid closed and roared with frustration.

The safe deposit box was empty. Yuri had been tricked, faced with an empty box, just as he’d been when Andrew Shelton had swiped the blue diamond right out from under his nose. His jaw locked tight, and the veins on his neck bulged.

Gisele’s momentary pleasure at seeing Yuri open an empty box was replaced by trepidation when she saw how furious he was. Her life meant nothing now. If he had to, Yuri would torture her to make her reveal where she’d hidden the diamond.

Roughly, Yuri grabbed her arm and yanked her up. Without bothering to return the metal box, he dragged her out of the room and back out to the main floor. At seeing his expression, Yuri’s guards stood up, waiting for his instruction. Before her mobster father could take her outside and demand retribution, he was distracted by a news anchor’s loud voice.

As arranged in advance, the bank employee had his computer on and tuned to Telebasel, a television station. He turned the screen so Yuri could see it.

“If you want to know where the diamond is, you better watch this,” Gisele said.

A bit confused, Yuri hesitated, then slowly walked toward the screen. It was a replay of a story that had been televised earlier that morning. A sharply dressed female reporter relayed the shocking news in a snappy tone.

“Earlier this morning, Marie Titov, the owner of a rare blue diamond, agreed to a private interview. She refused to appear on live feed, but her representative told us this amazing story. She is a descendant of Marie Fedorovna, the Danish princess who married Tsar Alexander III in the late eighteen hundreds.

“At the age of twenty-one, young Marie’s Russian billionaire father, who is now deceased, gave her a special gift. She was his only daughter, and he adored her. For her birthday, he presented her with a fancy vivid blue diamond that he’d purchased at a Swiss auction. He renamed the gem the Marie Diamond, in her honor.

“A year later, the diamond was stolen, and has been missing for the past fifteen years. Marie Titov received an urgent wire at her Swiss estate that the precious diamond had been located, and could be recovered from a safe deposit box in a Zurich bank. The communication stressed that it was vital the gem be retrieved immediately, to avoid another mishap.

“With the assistance of the authorities, Marie Titov recovered the blue diamond yesterday morning. Experts have confirmed that it is the very diamond that was stolen so long ago. This diamond has distinguishing characteristics, so could not be mistaken for another.

“Marie Titov wishes to convey her gratitude for the diamond’s recovery. The reward of one million dollars for its return will be paid to the deserving party. The name of the person who will receive the reward has not been disclosed.”

Gisele was riveted to the news broadcast. When the show went to a commercial, she turned around to look at Yuri. But he was gone. She looked at the lobby, but his guards had vanished too. She sat down in the chair opposite the bank employee.

“Oh my God,” Gisele said, and the bank employee gave her a polite smile.

It had worked. Yuri wouldn’t bother her anymore. He was gone for good. The rightful owner of the blue diamond was a descendant of Russian royalty. Even the mob wouldn’t mess with royalty.

The great-great-granddaughter of a Russian tsar wouldn’t allow the mob to bother her again. It was lucky for Gisele that Russian royalty trumped the Russian mob. She finally had the winning hand.

“Thank you,” Gisele said, then stood and shook the banker’s hand. She left the bank, barely able to contain herself. She couldn’t wait to see Micah.

*****

Gisele was free of the mob at last. She exited the bank to call Luke, and he came to pick her up. He had only been a few blocks away. After a restful night’s sleep in Zurich, she flew home with Zeke and Luke.

Before Micah’s big fight, Luke and Zeke had gone to Zurich ahead of the mob. Through her attorney, Gisele had authorized Luke to get into the safe deposit box and remove the blue diamond. With Zeke as his bodyguard, he’d then transferred the diamond to another bank, and turned over the key to the authorities.

Accompanied by law enforcement, Marie Titov had opened the safe deposit box shortly thereafter, and was ecstatic. Or that’s how it was relayed to Gisele when the Titov family representative called to let her know the reward money had been deposited in her bank account.

Now it was a couple of months later, and Gisele was on a flight to Hawaii with Micah by her side. He squeezed her hand, then lifted it to press his lips to her wrist. Her body tingled at his touch, and her heart swelled with love.

“It’s amazing what you can accomplish with Russian royalty behind you,” Micah said, smiling at her.

“So true.” Gisele could finally have the life she wanted. “And that reward money means I can make things easy for my mother, and give her time to recover from her ordeal. My new financial advisor guided me to invest wisely, so it will be enough take care of my mother for a long time.”

“Well, Sophia keeps telling me how happy she is to have her staying with them,” Micah said. “Catarina is like part of the family already. In a big Italian family, there’s always room for one more…or so my mother says.”

Gisele was happy for her mother, and that her father’s sacrifice for them had led to their safety, after all. Catarina had been through so much, but her personality was such that she refused to let the bad guys get the better of her. She’d told Gisele, “I endured all those years without being able to see you. I won’t let the mob rob us of our chance to finally get to know each other.”

Abby had looked after her mother well those crucial few days. But shortly afterward, Micah had called his mother Sophia to tell her about his relationship with Gisele and what had happened. He described the rescue, and how relieved Gisele was to have her mother back. But after years of confinement, Catarina had no friends, and no relatives other than her daughter.

Catarina needed some time to adjust and find her way. The Rinaldi home was the ideal environment, so Micah and Gisele had flown to New York to introduce her. It was heartwarming to see how easily Catarina acclimated to her new home. Vico and Sophia had welcomed her with open arms.

It had been a wonderful visit, and Gisele had the chance to meet Micah’s parents, and his sister Daniela, whom she liked immediately. As was usual, his brothers were away on business, so she’d have to meet them another time. Sophia made them promise to come back without waiting too long. “You can visit as often as you like. It’s been way too long, since we’ve seen much of Micah. Now that you two are together, maybe he will be around more.”

“We’ve talked about it,” Gisele said, “and we’re going to get a place in New York to be near you, and the rest of his family. Also, I want to be close to my mother.”

Sophia hugged her. “That’s wonderful news, dear. We’ll get to see both you and Micah more.”

“Also, it’s been my plan to start a Pilates career, and I found a large company that hires temporary instructors at various locations on the East Coast,” Gisele said. “I can get some experience that way, until I’m in a position to start my own business.”