Billionaire Romance Boxed Set (9 Book Bundle) (62 page)

After
about an hour into the drive, Will reached for his folded suit jacket and
pulled a folded map out of the inside pocket and placed it on my lap.

“I
need your help. We should be right around here,” he said as he tapped a
yellow section of the map. “I circled the monastery in red, let me know
where I need to turn. I think it’s coming up and I was told it’s hard to spot
from the road.”

As
I collected my bearings looking at the map, I found the turn off he was talking
about and placed my finger on it. “Wait, you asked about the monastery?
Don’t you think Stewart will find out? Knowing him, he’ll be there waiting for
us.”

Will
laughed. “No, he’s not going to care.”

“I
think you’re forgetting who you’re talking about. He seems very concerned about
you being in danger.”

Will’s
knuckles whitened on his hand that rested on the shifter while his face
grimaced. Thinking I struck a nerve, I dropped it. Last thing I wanted to do
was ruin a day out with him in such a romantic location. My big mouth messed
things up enough for one trip.

“The
road should be right up here,” I said after spotting a mile marker the map
indicated was before the turn.

An
old stone carved road marker had the name of our turn and Will slowed down as
he maneuvered the car onto the road. The dirt road was packed so tight from
centuries of use that we didn’t have to worry about dust flying into the car.

After
driving further down the lonely road, the monastery appeared in the distance.
The white limestone silhouette of the abbey jutting up into the sky, growing
more luminescent as we arrived.

“How
did your mom even find this place?”

“She
loved history and this is one of the oldest monasteries,” he said as we
walked among the ruins. “You can see how the church still stands with its
towers, and over there is what’s left of the cloisters and the library. The
original building is well over a thousand years old, but was destroyed first by
the Vikings, then later in wars after being rebuilt each time.”

The
abbey was the largest of the ruins and still impressive. It looked like a
medieval castle and I could easily imagine monks from centuries ago praying
there. Following the path, we came upon two pylons on either side of where the
path widened.

“This
must’ve been where the gate was,” he said as he walked over to one of the
stone columns and placed his hand on it.

His
face softened and briefly crumpled and I knew he was thinking back on his brief
childhood. It hurt to see how close to the surface those memories remained.

Hearing
a sound come from the abbey, I turned around but saw nothing.
Probably just an animal,
I thought. As I looked up into Will’s
face, his eyes brightened, and he wrapped his arms around me.

“Thank
you for coming here with me. You have no idea what this means to me,” he
said before kissing my forehead.

“Of
course. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”

“Well
isn’t this sweet,” a male voice with a thick Eastern European accent
echoed against the ruins. “Come out, Marco. It’s him.”

As
I turned around I saw another man approaching from one of the other ruins.
Marco was a monster of a man in a painted on black t-shirt and bald head. The
man who spoke looked exactly the same except for his crooked nose which must
have been busted years ago. Will tightened his grip on me as they came closer,
but it didn’t matter.

Marco
grabbed my arm and roughly pulled me out of Will’s grasp while the man who
spoke lifted a gun to Will’s head. I couldn’t breathe. I considered screaming,
but knew there was no one around to help. As I trembled in fear, Marco squeezed
his thickly muscled arm like a boa constrictor around me further as if to tell
me I was in more danger than I realized.

“Oscar,
what to do with the girl? Kill her now, yes? That will be fun,” Marco said
with a cheerfulness in his voice that sent chills down my spine.

“No,
no. We bring her to Dimitri too. She might be useful. In the least she might be
helpful in making this one talk.”

“We
only have one injection.”

“Use
it on her,” Oscar said then slammed the blunt end of the gun into Will’s
temple.

“No!
Will!” I screamed as his body collapsed to the ground. I felt a sharp
prick at the base of my neck. My body went limp as I fought him. Using all my
might, I tried to shove his enormous arm off me, but my limbs wouldn’t move.
Suddenly my vision blurred and Marco slung me over his shoulder. Hanging like a
rag doll, everything spun before going black.

Chapter
Sixteen

Will

Slowly
lifting my head off my chest, I tried focusing my eyes. Seated on a wooden
chair with my arms tied behind me, I closed my eyes and tried to push past the
throbbing in my head.

I
wasn’t alone. Voices spilled into the room, bouncing off the stone walls moist
with condensation. The grey flagstone floor chilled my bare feet as I wondered
why they took me and where I was.

“Deborah?”
I whispered, hoping she was close.

I’d
never forgive myself if anything happened to her. Inhaling deeply I caught the
faint whiff of oranges. She had to be near.

I
tried to move my arms, pushing against the ropes to loosen them, but nothing
came of it other than my realizing my arms were tied to more than just my
chair. Moving and stretching my hands as much as I could, I finally felt the
soft flesh of her hand with my fingertips.

“Will…”
she whispered, her words slurring, “please be you.”

“Yes,
its me.”

“They
drugged me…I…I…”

“Shhh,
don’t speak. I’ll get us out of here somehow.”

The
only light in the windowless room came from a single bulb dangling from the
ceiling. Voices echoed against the stone from an adjoining room. Forcing
myself to focus despite the pain in my head, I was able to make out a long
metal table and a few chairs.

Attempting
to use my legs as leverage, I realized my ankles were tied to the chair.
Pushing with my feet our chairs scraped along the stone floor. Not wanting to
draw attention, I stopped as my mind spun.

It
was useless to struggle. Whoever these men were wanted us there. They knew what
they were doing. Hearing a soft sob behind me, I flexed and struggled against
the ropes to get enough leeway to reach her hand which quickly closed around
mine.

“What’s
going on? Who are these people?” She cried, her voice filled with fear.

“I
wish I knew,” I said as a tall, thick bodied silhouette filled the
doorway.

A
man in a tight black t-shirt and shaved head nodded towards us. “Dimitri,
they’re up.” He announced with a thick indescribable accent.

“Its
about time. I was worried you killed another one too soon with that
stuff,” Dimitri joked.

Dimitri’s
accent was American but there was somewhere else underneath it. As he stepped
towards the light I was surprised to see he was a slender built man with
closely cropped black hair. His looks weren’t remarkable or startling like his
companions. Dimitri could easily blend in with a crowd. In a lot of ways he
reminded me of Stewart.

The
two men entered the small space where Deborah and I were tied. The giant man’s
face was expressionless but more calming than Dimitri’s eerie grin.

“Let
the girl go, you don’t need her,” I said knowing they only wanted me and
hoping to get Deborah to safety.

“William
Hargrove King, the third,” Dimitri said slowly as he stepped directly in
front of me. “You are correct. We don’t want her. But we don’t even want
you. Make this easy, tell us where your father is and then you can both walk
out of here.”

“My
father? If you’re asking where he is then you’re even dumber than I thought.
He’s dead.”

“Wrong,”
he said, as a strong hand struck my cheek.

The
force of his hand was enough to move our chairs back. As my cheek stung then
burned, I glared at him.

His
eyes narrowed intensely as he looked down at me. “I don’t have time to
play around, William. Again, where is your father?”

“In
a fucking cemetery. Where he’s been most of my life.”

I
didn’t know what happened. In an instant I felt pain quickly spread across my
face and down my neck. He must’ve punched me but his fist flew so fast I didn’t
see it. The chair held me so tight, the force of his knuckles jerked my head
back and into Deborah’s as the chairs jerked back. If our chairs hadn’t been
connected, Dimitri’s punch would have knocked me over.

“I
don’t have patience for this. I’m only asking you one more time before I get
the poker. Trust me, you don’t want that. Where is your father?”

Meeting
his stare as the blood trickled from my nose, I could see he wanted an answer I
wasn’t able to give. I didn’t know how to convince him of my father’s death.
Did this asshole really think he was alive?

“He’s
in the St. James Cemetery. With my mother,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Now let us go!”

My
voice echoed throughout the room. Dimitri’s goon cracked a smile before walking
out of the room.

“That’s
what he wants people to think but I know better. He’s still active. I’ve
recognized his work. He stole from the wrong man.”

“What
are you talking about? He was murdered. I saw him die!” I yelled angrily.

“A
man like that doesn’t die so easily. I know the kind of man your father is. He
wouldn’t leave his son orphaned and ignorant,” he said as he paced in
front of me.

Carefully
carrying a rusted iron fire poker, it’s pointed tip glowing red from the heat,
Dimitri’s goon almost looked giddy. I still had no idea who these men were or
why they kept asking for my dead father, but it was clear they meant business.

“Maybe
this will jog your memory,” Dimitri said as he took the hot poker from his
assistant and admired its red tip.

Deborah
sobbed from behind and I was glad she couldn’t see what was going on. I thought
back to that fateful night of my parents’ murder and realized not seeing might
be worse. I wanted to comfort her.

“Everything
will be ok,” I whispered.

Squeezing
her hand the best I could I felt her squeeze back just before Dimitri swung the
tip of the hot poker into my shoulder.

A
searing pain shot through my arm and into my neck, forcing me to let go of
Deborah’s hand. Clenching my teeth I growled in agony. The smell of burning
cotton and flesh filled the air.

I
felt heat of my blood ooze out of the wound as my sleeve became soaked and stuck
against my skin. Deborah twisted in her seat trying to see what happened.

“Fuck
you!” I said between clenched teeth before lowering my voice. “I’m
ok, Deborah. It’s just…my shoulder…a fireplace poker…”

The
room swayed between the pain in my shoulder and the throbbing still in my head.
The light went out as a gust of wind entered the room, leaving us in total
darkness. I squeezed Deborah’s hand reassuringly although I didn’t know what
was going on.

“Everything
will be ok,” I whispered.

The
sounds of confused men echoed against the stone walls from the other room. As I
tried to force my eyes to adjust, the only thing I could see was a thin line of
light seeping through a boarded up window I hadn’t noticed before.

“Stay
put.”

The
commanding male voice was familiar. I straightened, frozen as my mind tried to
make sense of it. All my pain replaced by confusion.

“It
can’t be,” I whispered.

“Who?”
Deborah asked, her voice hoarse.

I
didn’t answer her. I couldn’t. I had to be wrong. I hadn’t heard that voice in
twenty-five years.

The
clank of the fire poker hitting the floor filled the room, followed by the
smell of iron I recognized as blood. Shouts came from the other room but were
quickly silenced. I thought I heard the unmistakeable heavy boots of the large
man running but then nothing. Only deafening silence.

The
dangling light bulb switched on, momentarily blinding me as it swung back and
forth. Once my eyes adjusted, I spotted Dimitri laying face down on the floor,
the poker sticking through his chest, propping him up slightly off the floor as
he laid in a black pool of his own blood.

Just
beyond him was his giant assistant, sprawled out on the floor like a mountain.
That was enough for me. I turned as much as I could to check on Deborah and
realized the rope around us had been loosened.

Quickly
slipping out of our ties we clutched at each other, glad to be free. Deborah
pushed away and gently touched my wounded shoulder, making me wince.

“It’ll
be fine, let’s just get out of here,” I said as I looked around, unsure
which way to go.

“This
way,” Stewart said from the doorway, as he wiped his hands, his forceful
voice surprising me.

Grabbing
Deborah’s hand, I could tell she wasn’t steady on her feet. I slipped my arm
underneath hers and helped her towards Stewart into the adjoining room. We
stepped over several men dressed similar to our kidnappers earlier with their
dark tshirts and bald heads. I recognized Stewart’s work in there from the
last attempt on my life. But who was in the room with us?

Without
a word we followed Stewart outside where a car waited, its engine already
running. He opened the back door and I helped Deborah inside. The fresh air
seemed to help the affects of the drug and she smiled softly at me.

I
held her, my arms wrapped around her soft comforting body, her head against my
uninjured shoulder, as Stewart drove. It wasn’t long before I realized he was
heading towards the ruins of the monastery and not Paris.

“Stewart?
Why are we going back to the monastery?”

“There’s
unfinished business.”

I
didn’t question him. Stewart saved my life countless times. He raised me. There
was no reason to question him. He wouldn’t answer anyway.

As
he parked the car beside my roadster, I was glad to be back. The place made me
feel close to my mother again and filled me with warmth.

With
Stewart following, Deborah and I walked along the abbey marveling once again at
the enormity of the structure as we tried forgetting what we had just been
through.

“Your
mother really loved this place more than any other,” said the voice from
the darkened room.

Bracing
myself for the only possibility, I turned around. He stood beside Stewart,
shorter than I remembered and with more grey in his hair, but it was
unmistakeable. The man was my father.

“I
haven’t been back here since she passed,” he said sounding a little sad as
he looked back at the abbey. “I always suspected Dimitri watched this
place. Although that wasn’t what kept me away.”

“How?”
I asked, stunned. “How are you still alive? And why didn’t you tell
me?”

“You
couldn’t know. Only Stewart knew and he was sworn to secrecy. I had to protect
you from the men who were after me. Those men you met today.”

“Protect
me?! You’re the reason I’ve lived in danger all these years.” I yelled.

All
the pain and anger from losing my parents so young came back. It was never very
deep. Here was the man I idolized as a child, half of the world I lost all
those years ago, back from the grave and I couldn’t help but wish he was still
dead.

“She
died because of you,” I accused him. “I’ve blamed some stupid drunk
all these years, but it really was because of you, wasn’t it?”

“You’re
right, I should have known better. I was trained to know better. I got sloppy.
I thought I was indestructible. I became too cocky and didn’t realize the
danger I put my family in.”

“That’s
your excuse? You got sloppy? Fuck you Dad! This isn’t just some mess, this was
our life. I was a child! My parents were killed in front of me. Didn’t you
think about how that would affect me? And then you left Stewart to raise me instead
of doing it yourself.”

“Stewart’s
better than me,” he said quietly. “I couldn’t stay with you. I had to
leave. Then they were after me. Stewart is smarter, quicker, more lethal than I
ever was. You were safer with him.”

“Bill,
you owe Will an explanation. He deserves to know what happened,” Stewart
said. “Tell him the truth.”

Everything
I had seen of Stewart throughout the years suddenly clicked. All my suspicions
about him, the things I thought were too absurd to be true, were confirmed.
Stewart wasn’t just a driver. He was a trained killer.

“You
left your child in the hands of a killer,” I said bitterly.