Alexander & Rebecca (Royals of Valleria #1) (23 page)

Her parents shared a glance, before Ettore said, “Don’t worry about us. We can handle whatever comes our way.”

Barely a moment after he said it, the room was suddenly filled with white smoke. As they coughed and staggered to the back door and towards fresh air, she felt her limbs suddenly give out. As she fell, she saw her parents collapsed on the floor nearby. Her thoughts were full of fear and confusion as the smoke scratched down her throat.

As her head hit the floor, she saw shadows in the smoke. Then there was only black as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Alex jumped from the car while it was still moving when they pulled up to the Campo’s residence on the palace grounds. Though his security agents tried to hold him back, one look from their future king had them moving aside.

Alex stepped over the dead guards near the door and began to shout her name. “Rebecca,” he called and coughed as he strode through the small house, fear growing each second he did not hear a response. When he reached the kitchen, he found her parents unconscious on the floor and, with the help of his agents, carried them outside.

Their pulses were weak, but a weak pulse was better than none at all. As his agents took care of them, he swept through the house once more, opening windows as he went. She was not there.

Where was she? God, help me, where is she?

He spied her purse on a table and carried it out, hoping for some clue, something, anything. While he searched, he called Marcello.

“I’m still negotiating with the authorities. I don’t have an update yet,” Marcello said immediately. It was not the first time Alex had called that morning.

“Something’s happened,” Alex said as he recovered Rebecca’s personal phone, but not the one he’d given her.

“If you mean the leak about you and Rebecca, I’ve already heard about it. I’ve got my people on it.”

“No, damn it,” he said and threw the purse down, finding nothing else of use. “I’m standing in the home of Rebecca’s parents and something’s happened. Her parents are near death and Rebecca’s missing.”

Marcello cursed. “How do you know she’s missing? Start at the beginning.”

“We don’t have time for the beginning. She came here this morning to see them, and I followed her here. When I arrived, the house was full of smoke. Her parents were unconscious in the kitchen and her purse was abandoned in the house.”

“Where did the smoke come from?”

“We don’t know yet, but the stove was off and none of the fireplaces are lit.”

“Sir,” one of the agents said to Alex.

“Wait, one of your guys has something,” Alex said as he put the phone on speaker.

The agent held out a small circular silver disc in his gloved hand. “We’d need to test to be sure, but it looks like knockout gas of some kind. They killed the guards, my guess by hiding in the woods nearby then just waiting for the right moment. Then they entered the building, slid the device into the room, and just waited for everyone else to pass out.”

“You said ‘they’. How can you be sure?” Alex asked.

“We did a preliminary search of the nearby woods and found two distinct footprints. No other footprints are nearby.”

“Have you done a more thorough search yet?” Marcello asked.

“We’re on it now. We called in extra agents to assist, but we haven’t found anything else yet.”

“Why didn’t they kill or take her parents?” Alex asked.

“Might have been simpler this way,” the agent said. “If they were all in the kitchen and they only wanted Rebecca alive.”

“How are her parents?” Marcello asked.

“Alive, but weak and unconscious. Ambulance is on its way. We’ll question them when they wake up.”

“I want guards on them 24/7,” Alex said fiercely. If only there had been more guards on both them and Rebecca.
If only. If only.

“Yes, sir,” the agent said as the sounds of the ambulance grew nearer.

Alex nodded and took the phone off speaker. “What the fuck is going on, Marcello?”

“I’m just as damned frustrated as you,” Marcello said through gritted teeth. “We should take the residence here within the hour, then I’ll fly back to help you.”

“Who cares about the residence? Is the guy even there?”

“No, we don’t think so, but there may be clues where he could have taken her. He may be bringing her here, even. We’ll take the house, then watch it in case he comes back.”

Alex let out a frustrated sigh. “I hate this. I feel completely fucking useless.”

“I’m sorry, Alex. We’ll get her back. You know we will.”

Alex held out Rebecca’s phone, wondering if there were any clues to be found in it. “I’ve got Rebecca’s phone. Once we’ve got her back, I want you to find out how the text messages were discovered.”

“It’s too bad she didn’t have the phone on her. We might have been able to use the GPS to trace her with it.”

“She might,” Alex said as he got on his knees and began digging through her purse once more. He had to be sure.

“What do you mean?” Marcello asked.

“She might have her phone.”

“You’re losing it, brother. You just said you were holding her phone.”

“I’ve got her personal phone, but I gave her a secure phone to use. It’s not in her purse.”

“I’ll have the agents check the house for it. Send me the number in the meantime and, if it’s possible she’s got it and it’s turned on, we may be able to use it to find her.”

“Yes, all right,” he said as hope whispered in his chest. They had to find her; there was no other option for him.

“You should fill our parents in on all this.”

“Damn it,” Alex said as he ran a hand over his face. “I’ll do that soon. I want to make sure her parents are all right first, so I’m going with them to the hospital.”

“The press will know if you go to the hospital.”

“Then they’ll know. You know Papa himself will go there once he hears what happened.”

“That’s true enough. All right, but don’t be an idiot. I’m sending more security to the hospital to protect all of you.”

“Where is all of this security coming from? Thin air?”

“You’re forgetting the Vallerian Armed Forces, brother, and Reserve Forces come in handy at a time like this.”

“Then it’s a good thing we’ve got them. The ambulance is about to leave. I’ll give you an update from the hospital.”

After he hung up, Alex slipped back into the car with a handful of agents, while another trove stayed behind to scour the house and property. His car followed the ambulance closely behind until they reached the hospital, when the driver took Alex to a back entrance secured for royalty at all times.

They rode up a rarely used elevator, also reserved for royalty, to a quiet floor reserved for only the most important patients. Alex strode into the royal waiting room and paced while he placed a call to his father, and waited for news.

***

Rebecca had been clawing at consciousness for what seemed like hours, though she had no real concept of time. She would get close enough to feel the car as it bumped along the road, for various smells to permeate through her sleep and make her nauseous, or to hear the sounds of male voices nearby, but she could never quite wake up.

The next time she almost woke, she felt a man lift her up. These hands, however, were nothing like Alex’s, something she was sure she would know in any half-conscious state. They were rougher, more careless, and groped her incessantly as they carried her. She wanted to lift her arms and her fists to fight, but unconsciousness stole the battle from her once more.

The next time she slipped away from sleep, she managed to fight her way awake. She did not open her eyes at first, but took stock of herself. Her body ached, her mouth was terribly dry, and she felt cold. The room smelled dank and ripe with mold, and was dark past her eyelids but for a small light nearby.

Her ears honed in on the drip, drip, drip of a pipe or faucet; perhaps it would be safe enough to drink and relieve her dry throat. She strained to hear voices, but none came except for her shallow breathing.

She lifted her nose in the air and took a small breath, knowing she would recognize the smell of her captors if they were the same men as before, but they were not there.

Tentatively, she blinked her eyes open and took in several things at once.

The room was bare and old. Dull gray paint coated and peeled from the walls, from which several thick pipes burst through and wove along the ceiling before disappearing into walls on the opposite sides, or down and into the floor. The pipes themselves were covered in rust and mold of various stages. There were no windows and only a single set of double doors at one end.

She came to realize she was on a makeshift bed. An old bed frame was underneath but she lay directly on hard pallets usually found in warehouses. Her hands were tied with something soft to the headboard, and her feet were tied to the baseboard.

Of everything happening right now, what troubled her most was that she was almost naked.

Her, or rather Catharine’s, skirt suit had been removed and tossed in a corner of the cavernous room. The silk camisole had been torn off and lay in tatters near the suit. Rebecca shuddered at the thought of strange men ripping off her clothes while she was unconscious; she wondered what else they had done to her. As she shifted uncomfortably, she realized they had tied her up with strips of her camisole.

She still wore her strapless bra and thong, a matching set she had purchased at the lingerie store; had that only been yesterday? She had wanted to wear it for Alex, and now it seemed too sheer, too revealing, and had too much lace.

She heard voices and she feigned unconsciousness again. She willed her breathing to stay soft and even and for her body to relax. She still jumped slightly when the door banged open, and prayed they had not noticed.

“Jesus, Jacopo,” a sophisticated voice said, and Rebecca’s mind had a spark of recognition. She had heard it before but could not remember where.

“How much gas did you give them?” he continued. “She’s still out. Heard on the news her dumbass parents are still out, too.” Her parents! She prayed they would be okay.

“It’s not my fault, Sir Lafayette,” a low voice said back. “You bought the damn knockout discs. Whoever you bought ’em from loaded ’em with too much.”

“Well, keep an eye on her and let me know the moment she’s up.”

“Will do. I wouldn’t mind looking at her more if I could rip the rest of her clothes off.”

Rebecca fought to keep her breathing normal, knowing each breathe was visible in the way her chest moved.

Lafayette laughed. “Don’t worry. You’ll get to use her as much as you want, but only after I’m through with her. I get to fuck her first; you can have my sloppy seconds.”

“Don’t seem as much fun, but all right. I could just fuck her with her clothes on, you know.”

After a moment, Lafayette said, “No, and I don’t trust you here alone with her. You’ll wait outside and check in every once in a while. We’ll probably hear her screaming for help when she wakes up anyhow. Too bad no one will ever hear her weak, pathetic voice down here.”

Rebecca felt the bed shake and shift as someone kicked it. “What a fucking whore. No, she won’t mind sleeping with us. She’s already a whore of the
Prince
,” he ended with a mocking tone.

“You sure he’ll come for her?”

“Oh, yes. I made sure of it. My plan will soon be complete.” Rebecca only needed to hear the determination and excitement in his voice to know how dedicated he was to his cause. If only there was a way for her to reach Alex.

She heard the sound of expensive shoes clicking along the cement floor towards her and she braced herself. Since she was prepared, she managed not to flinch when the alien hand caressed her bare calf and thigh, spread out over her stomach and then shifted up to her breast; the touch left trails of revulsion streaming through her.