Wild Rider (Bad Boy Bikers Book 2) (51 page)

“I...” Porcia faltered. “You see, that’s—”

“It was two hundred fifty denarii, from what last I heard. Her number just kept going up.”

“Is this true, Porcia?” The governor’s tone was full of amusement. “I am thoroughly impressed. I’ll put together the paperwork immediately.”

A guard leaned into the Trio's ear, urging him to leave as the crowd thinned. He nodded, and leaned in to Aeliana's ear.

“Good job with her. I only thought to vex her and Otho, but you've really put her in a spot. You'll hear from my man soon.”

Within moments, the governor was gone. Aeliana was left alone with her father and Porcia.

“I hope you are enjoying your little victory.”

Porcia's face was a cold mask of hate.

“Thank you, Porcia.”

“You will call me...”

She remembered. A freed woman, now, with no obligation to call her anything. Perhaps the paperwork still had to be filed and completed, but Aeliana stood in front of Porcia for the first time as a freed individual under the laws of Rome.

“I expect you two will want a family together. You and that damnable Caius.”

Aeliana smiled. “The idea had occurred to me.”

“It will be so
difficult
for you to have a happy life, knowing that you must fill the holes left behind by a dead wife and a slaughtered child, don’t you think?”

Back to the threats. Any sympathy she felt for Porcia—for the difficulties she suffered from Otho's explosion and the governor's disdain—quickly faded away.

“Do you really have the heart for that, Porcia?”

She straightened. “I’m willing to find out.”

Vitus cleared his throat now. “We have the child, Porcia. That threat is as empty as your pockets.”

Porcia, at the least, had the decency to look stunned.

“But you’re rich,” said Aeliana. “Have no doubts there. Your bet was changed. You put everything on Caius. A good choice.” Aeliana’s voice was cool. She did not know how it was so cool.

It looked as if Porcia did not know whether to be insulted or delighted. “Wha—how?”

“You have what you want, Porcia. The two of us shall be gone from your life. The fees for your ludus can go up double what they were. You’ll rake in a fortune from donatives from politicians alone. Every last one of them will want to sponsor your gladiators now. Including,” she smiled, “the governor, most likely. He seems a man who knows a good deal when he sees one. And as for your donation to my office, well. Consider that the price paid for a bribe.”

“A bribe? For what?”

“For not speaking to the governor about kidnapping a free Roman child, now that we have his ear. For keeping our mouths shut about how it might not be in his best interest to have the prize ludus of Puteoli operated by woman who so often drowns in gambling debts. You’ve been done a service today, Porcia. I expect you to remember it. And if you should continue to mistreat your gladiators, we will hear of it. And we will make you pay.”

Aeliana and her father left together, leaving Porcia before she had time to retaliate.

The underbelly of the arena was full of joy. Gladiators always loved to celebrate when other gladiators were freed. It gave them hope—something to live for, and something to fight for. Cheers for Caius—sometimes for Ursus—were constant and loud. The din shook the stone foundations, dust trembling from the ceiling.

And then something miraculous happened. As the two stepped down the stairs to the underbelly to retrieve Caius, Vitus grabbed her hand. At first, she thought he might be steadying himself from falling. But no. The hand stayed there, Vitus looking straight ahead, and he squeezed firmly before letting go.

“That was handled well,” he said.

Aeliana, stunned, could only nod in response.

The moment passed as quickly as it came. Very soon they were down in the underbelly completely, and her legs took her straight to Caius. He sat on her table where she had treated gladiators all afternoon, now surrounded by fellow fighters. They parted to let her pass, and Caius lifted her up to him.

Every part of him was as strong as ever. Her arms wrapped around his neck with unbridled passion, not caring for the audience surrounding them or for the dirt and sweat  on his body. All she cared about was him—his life, his hard and sure presence, his strength.

Gladiators cheered all around the Caius and Aeliana. Their kiss was long and sweet, a victorious embrace.

––––––––

I
t was a cool fall evening when Aeliana's father, Vitus, arrived at their house for dinner. Caius was home first. Aeliana always stayed late to close up shop. He warned her that she would work herself to death; she would chide him that she knew a little more about preventing death than he did.

As Vitus waited, Caius played with Fabia in the entryway, the two of them tossing straw dolls and wooden balls this way and that. Fabia's hair was wild and long, a dark streak across the air as she giggled and ran.

They lived in a small building, the same building as Caius's brother Camilla and her husband Seneca, and their children. There was not much space, but the two families had a whole floor to themselves, and so it was enough.

Most of the space in the building was taken up by the taberna in the front with Aeliana's medical office. It had opened last month, and so far it had been a booming success. She let people pay what they could—and a sign above the door advertised this fact. Often, incoming clients could not pay her at all.

As a result, those with more money often felt compelled to pay more to keep the service going. Everyone said the system would fail, and yet it worked beautifully. It was a good life she built, and Caius supported her every move.

He did the work for that she did not have time to do—running numbers for inventory, buying from merchants, scaring off drunks that wanted to harass their clients. He had no natural mind for numbers and figures, but he made do, and scaring drunks was more fun than he would have thought.

“My daughter,” said Vitus, tapping the table before him. “She thinks highly of you. I can see why. You are good with your own daughter.”

“Thank you.”

“I tried for much strength with mine. I do not know that...” Vitus drifted. His eyes settled on Fabia, tugging at the hair of her doll. “I think there are better ways.”

Caius clapped him on the back. “We judge the day when it’s done, do we not?”

Vitus nodded. “Aye. Let us hope.”

Outside, Caius saw other parents rushing their children inside as the sun continued to set. The smell of cooking beef was in the air, and maybe some rain. There weren’t many clouds overhead, but thunder could be heard in the distance.

Down the street, he saw the approaching figure of his wife. She was as lovely as ever. Their ceremony had been short and sweet, and so had been the days since he knew her as his spouse. Soon she would be home with him and Fabia, all their families together, and all would be as right as it ever was.

# # #

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• I'm so happy you've decided to read
  Heart of the Gladiator
  . Thank you for spending your time with my story.
  
• Your opinion matters. I welcome and encourage all reviews. Readers like you are the reason other readers find books they want to read! Please review this book on
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  to share your valuable thoughts.
  
• You've enjoyed book #1 in the
  Affairs of the Arena
  series. If you would like to read more tales about House Varinius and its inhabitants, check out
  Love of the Gladiator
  (#2) and
  Desire of the Gladiator
  (#3) today!
  
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- L
ydia Pax

* * * * *

––––––––

A
uthor's Note:

Like any fictionalization of history, there's a good deal here that's probably not entirely accurate (though I did my best) because sometimes sacrifices have to be made to tell the right story. The stuff that IS accurate is due to the following works, all of which are excellent and well worth your time if you have any interest in history.

––––––––

D
uncan, Mike.
The History Of Rome
. Podcast audio. Accessed 2014-2015.

Hamilton, Edith.
The Roman Way
. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 1932.

Matthews, Rupert.
The Age of the Gladiators: Savagery & Spectacle in Ancient Rome.
China: Chartwell Books, Inc. 2003.

Meijer, Fik.
The Gladiators: History's Most Deadly Sport.
New York: St. Martin's Griffen. 2003.

Potter, David.
The Emperors of Rome
. Great Britain: Quercus. 2013.

Did you love
Wild Rider
? Then you should read
Hard Rider
by Lydia Pax!

SHE WAS BORN OFF-LIMITS. BUT HE WAS BORN TO BREAK THE RULES.
Ram:

Nobody screws me. I take who I want, when I want, and I always leave them wanting more.
I want more too. Hurt this deep doesn't heal.
After meeting June, I know she’s the fix I need for the pain. 
Her family’s full of cops? So what?
All I want is her. Those luscious curves, the lips that won't quit, hips that make my heart pound like a drum.
My outlaw brothers say me and her together will tear this whole town apart. 
I don’t give a damn.

June:

I never wanted to come home. There’s nothing here but old wounds too bitter to heal.
The day I returned, I met Ram. He’s an outlaw biker built like a god, but there’s nothing divine about his desires.
When he tells me he needs an old lady to stay in his club, we start a dangerous charade. 
He gets a woman and time. I get my sheriff dad off my back. Breathing room.
But every breath around Ram is lightning hot and undeniable.
I can’t be with him for real. He’s every kind of wrong there’s ever been. Unless we’re careful, we’ll rip our lives apart.
But what’s happening between us feels too right to ignore, no matter the cost...

Read more at
Lydia Pax’s site
.