by A. L Long
When I left the hotel, I figured I’d have about an hour to get to the palace before Nikki even left the agency. The plan was for Peter and Sly to wait until Nikki gave the signal that everything was going as planned. They would wait down the block from the agency, out of sight. With Nikki’s earpiece in place they would be able to communicate with her and know when she would be in route to the palace.
I hated playing the waiting game. That was why as soon as the three of them were out of sight, I made my move. So here I was, laying under a damn bush doing something I hated doing, waiting. Adjusting my position so I could at least see what was going on around me, I saw a white van pull up to the gate. I couldn’t see who was inside, but with a logo on the side of the van showing a black silhouette of a maid and a butler, I knew Nikki had to be in the van.
Stopping in front of the house, the driver and Nikki exited the van. They were soon at the front door, where another servant appeared. I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but I was pretty sure they were exchanging introductions. With Nikki now inside and the driver driving away, I knew that it was only a matter of time until she would be getting to Paige. It was barely getting dark and I knew I had least another hour before it would be dark enough to make my move. The only thing I could do was lay back and wait.
Seeing the stars through the leaves of the bush let me know that the time was near. Rolling over on my stomach, I pulled the small binoculars out of my cargo vest to see if I could see any movement. All I could think about was Paige's reaction when she saw Nikki, or if she would even see her yet tonight. As I looked around, the only thing I could see was basically nothing. The curtains on the windows were pulled closed and most of the light coming from the palace was so dim that it was impossible to see what was going on inside. I needed to get closer. I knew the layout of the palace inside and out; at least, that is, of the map used when renovations were done over a decade ago. Peter was pretty confident that nothing would have changed during the renovations. It was an historical landmark, so changing the design wouldn’t be very profitable. I only hoped that the hidden door was still there.
With no guards milling about outside, my guess was that they were securing the inside, making sure no one got close to Paige. Against my better judgment, I needed to get out from under this bush. My best bet would be to get to the other side of the palace and find the door leading to the basement. I knew that it was hidden on the side, I just had to figure out where. Crawling combat style, I made my way to the brick fence. I knew that if I buddied my body flat against it, I would be able to get to the back side of the palace unseen.
Reaching the back of the palace, I took in my surroundings to make sure there were no guards lurking around. Pulling my night vision glasses from my vest, I tried to find the door I was searching for. Having a pretty good idea where it was, I hurried across the grass to the side of the palace. I could hear some chattering coming from the back. I knew that if whoever was talking came around the side, they would see me. Holding my breath, I lowered my body to the ground and hoped the two men talking wouldn’t spot me this low. Just as I feared, they walked to the edge of the patio. Looking up at them, they were thankfully facing the opposite direction. Both of them were smoking. I could only hear bits and pieces of what they were saying as they were too far away. The minute they said Isabelle’s name, my hearing got better.
I couldn’t stand what they were saying. I had to bite my tongue in order not to cuss at them for their disgusting conversation about what they would do if they ever became her prince. Wanting to hit something, I noticed a small lever hidden behind a rose bush. That had to be the way into the palace. While I was waiting and watching, the two men threw down their cigarette butts and head back the other way. When they were out of sight, I lifted the lever and waited for something to happen. There was nothing, no magic door, nothing. I lifted the lever again. It was then that I noticed the rose bush was moving. “What the fuck?” I thought to myself. Sitting on my haunches, I felt around the bush to find there was a gap between the ground and where the bush was planted.
Reaching under the gap, I worked my fingers inside until I had a good grip on what I believed to be a door. As I looked down, I could see there was a set of stairs leading down. I wasn’t sure how many there were since I could only see the first three steps. Lifting the door higher, I wiggled my body inside. I needed to be careful not to make a sound. I wasn’t sure where the two guards were and the last thing I wanted was for them to find me.
The minute I closed the hidden door, I grabbed my small flashlight and switched it on. Pointing the light down the steps, I could see there were about a dozen steps to the bottom. Sliding my butt down each step, I was finally able to stand on the seventh step down. When I got to the bottom there were different passages. I wasn’t sure which one to take. I pulled the map from my pocket and unfolded it. Looking at the layout, it was evident that I was at the northwest side of the palace. It was only a matter of using common sense to know which way I needed to go. Taking a right, I headed down the narrow passageway, hoping that I would come upon a set of stairs leading to the main floor.
I was getting nowhere. It seemed like I was going in circles down here. Pulling the map out again, I took another look at it. It was only then that I figured out why I couldn’t find the stairs. They weren’t in plain sight. Just like the entrance outside, they had to be hidden behind one of those doors. Beginning where I stood, I started opening the doors to the rooms. Each door I opened was like stepping back in time. It made me glad that torture wasn’t used in the States for criminal punishment. If you were guilty of a crime, you just went to jail. Some of the instruments in these rooms I had only read about. I had no idea that they actually existed. There were torturing devices ranging from a guillotine-looking device to a bed with pulley-like levers on each side. Then there were items that I had no idea what they were used for.
When I finally opened the door I was looking for, I was more than ready to get out of this medieval dungeon. Taking the steps slowly, one at a time, I headed up to the main floor. Just before I reached the top, I decided I needed to think about what I was going to do. I didn’t even know who might be waiting for me on the other side. Trying to figure out my next move, I remembered the earpiece I stuffed in my pocket before I left the hotel. Placing it in my ear, I tapped to audio and waited for a sound. I knew by activating the earpiece that not only would Nikki hear me, but Peter and Sly would too. I probably wouldn’t have a job when I got back to the States, but at least Paige would be with me. There was no way I was leaving here without her.
“Nikki, can you hear me?” I asked. When there was no response, I asked again, “Nikki, are you there?”
“Hawk, is that you?” she asked. It was the sweetest sound I had ever heard.
“Yeah. Where are you?” I replied.
“Where are you? The guys have been going crazy. They think you took off for the palace. Please tell me that you aren’t here.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t. I’m in the palace. In the basement. I need your help. I’m not sure what is on the other side of the door.”
“Where do you think you are?”
“I think I might be under the kitchen. Where are you?”
“I’m in the kitchen. It’s just me in here.”
“Okay, I’m opening the door.”
As soon as I pulled on the door, I could see that it was actually the backside of a cupboard. There were shelves loaded with canned goods, which were attached to the door. Squeezing through the small space, I pushed open the door to the cupboard. Adjusting my eyes to the light, I could see that Nikki was standing with her arms crossed in front of another door. She was so focused on waiting for the door to open that she must not have heard me.
Tapping the audio on my earpiece, I whispered, “Nikki, the door you’re staring at isn’t going to open.”
Just then she turned around, showing me a pissed off look. I wasn’t sure if it was because I didn’t come throu
gh that particular door or because I shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
“Hawk, are you crazy nuts? You shouldn’t be here,” she said in a low voice.
“I already know that, Nikki. I just couldn’t sit around with my finger up my ass waiting to see what would happen,” I remarked.
Pulling me away from the kitchen door, she whispered, “What are you going to do?”
“For now, I’m going to stay out of sight. Have you seen or talked to Paige?”
“No, not yet. The head butler was showing me around and letting me know what my duties will be. I do know that they have her upstairs. There are two big men standing outside her door. I’m guessing either to keep her in or to make sure no one gets to her.”
“So why are you in the kitchen?” I asked, confused.
“I was just getting a drink of water before I went to bed. They expect me to be up at 4:00 a.m. to start my duties for the princess,” Nikki answered, looking out the swinging door to the dinning area. “We need to get you out of here. You can stay in my room until we can figure out what to do.”
For someone who had never done this before, she was pretty smart. Walking close behind her, I followed her lead. The servant’s quarters were on the other side of the palace. The risk of us getting caught just doubled. Making our way past the huge dining area and down the long hallway, it surprised me that there was no one around. Pulling on the sleeve of Nikki’s uniform to get her attention, I asked quietly, “Where is everyone?”
With her finger to her lips, she said, “They have either turned in or are doing their hourly rounds of the grounds. We should be safe, but we need to hurry.”
Just as I said, for someone who had never done this before she was good.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Isabelle
I wasn’t sure what was going on with me, but my body hurt and I felt like I never went to sleep. The only thing I could think of that was different was the dinner that I couldn't eat. Rolling over, I hoped that a shower would make me feel better. When I got to the bathroom, there was a knock on the door. Leaning against the counter, I concentrated on my face, noticing how pale it looked. They way I looked was definitely a clue as to how I felt, which was like shit. With the knocking still happening at the door, I decided I better answer it in case it was Victor. The last thing my body could endure right now was more punishment.
Barely able to move, I slowly went to answer the door. As soon I opened the door, I lost my breath. Not because it was Victor, but because it was the last person I expected to see. “Nikki,” I cried with joy.
“Don’t just stand there, silly. Let me in,” she said calmly.
As soon as I closed the door, I pulled her in for a hug. I had never been so happy in my life. The tears began to fall with so much emotion that my cry of happiness turned into a downpour. When I was finally able to contain myself, I let go of the suffocating hug I was giving her. Only then did it occur to me that she could be putting herself in danger by being here. “Nikki, are you crazy? Do you know what will happen to you if they find out you are here?”
“That’s why you can’t keep calling me Nikki. My name is Abby,” she said.
“Abby, right. Nice wig, by the way,” I said, taking a piece of the blonde hair between my fingers. “What are you doing here?”
“We came to get you out of this hellhole,” she confessed.
“We?” I questioned.
“Yeah, Yours truly, Peter, Sly. And of course your dumb-fuck boyfriend Hawk,” she said sarcastically.
“Wait, did you just say Hawk?” I asked excitedly.
“Yeah. He actually was supposed to stay away, but his hormones got in the way. He’s been a total mess since we got here.”
I knew I needed to tame down my excitement. He didn’t forget about me. Somehow I knew deep down inside he would be coming for me. I pulled Nikki down on the couch to find out what the plan was. It took all of fifteen minutes for her to explain. I went through the instructions again with her. It was a good plan, I just hoped that it would work.
After Nikki left my room, I began thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong. In a way, getting me off this island wasn’t different than when I left the first time. I was just glad that I had some help this time. I was a worry wart, though. I was afraid that as much as I wanted their help, it would ultimately cost them their lives.
Still feeling like I could throw up any minute, I knew I needed to try and get something down. The only thing that looked appealing to me was the toast. Taking a small bite, I waited for a moment before taking another. It seemed as though I was able to keep it down. Before long, I had finished one slice of toast and one slice of bacon without feeling sick to my stomach. Covering the remaining food on my plate with a napkin, I headed back to the bathroom for a much needed shower. All I could think about was the fact that in twenty-four hours I would be off of this island and on my way back to the States. I wasn’t sure how they found me, but with only three days left until the wedding, I was beginning to get worried that I was never going to leave.
~****~
As I walked down the marble steps, I could hear chatter between the servants. With only three days left, the palace was becoming quite busy. If they only knew that the wedding would be taking place without the bride. I wished I would be able to see the look on Victor's face when he found out that I was no longer on the island. I had to hand it the Kierabali traditions. The groom to be couldn’t see the bride three days before the wedding. Everything about Peter’s plan was perfect, down to Victor being nowhere near the palace grounds.
Heading to the double doors that lead out to the back patio, I could see that Nikki was already fitting into her new role. She was assisting another servant with a white tablecloth for the dinning room table. As I passed by her, I could see the small smile on her face as she tried to hide it from the other woman. I couldn’t help but smile myself.
The first phase of the plan was to get me away from the palace. This wasn’t going to be difficult, considering the seamstress for my wedding dress fitting somehow ended up with a small case of food poisoning, which consequently made it possible for me to go to town for the fitting instead. I also knew that the chauffeur that would be driving the car was going to be Peter. Little did my uncle know that my so-called fitting was for something other than a wedding dress. It was for a disguise. In order for me to escape the palace, my uncle and everyone else had to think I was someone else.
I still had a few hours to kill, so I thought the fresh air would do me good. Opening the patio door, there were about a dozen men outside getting the backyard ready for the big event. From what I overheard, the entire ceremony was to be televised. Typically we would have been married in the church, but according to my uncle’s statement to the press, it was for security purposed that the venue for the wedding had to be changed. Security, my ass. The change was so they could keep an eye on me to make sure that the wedding happened.
As I was thinking about one day having a real wedding and marrying a man that I really love, there was a slight tap on my shoulder. Turning my body, it was a bigger man in blue overalls and a blue cap. When he raised his head, my heart sank. Hawk put his finger to his lips, signaling for me not to say anything. Taking my hand, he led me to the side of the palace near a cluster of trees. It took everything I had to contain myself. When we were far enough away and out of sight from the other men, he pulled me close and placed his lips on mine. My heart was beating so fast, I thought it was going to burst out of my chest.
When our kiss finally broke, he whispered to me, “I had to see you. I needed to know that you were okay.”
“I knew you would come for me. I just knew you would,” I said as tears began forming in my eyes.
“Shh, it’s okay, baby. I love you, Paige. I would die before I would let them take you from me,” Hawk confessed.
“About that, Hawk. I should have been honest with you. My real name is Isabelle.”
&nb
sp; “I don’t care about that. To me, you will always be Paige. You need to get back before they start looking for you. Soon you will be out of here. Are you ready for the plan?”
“Yeah,”
“Good. I gotta go.”
With one final kiss, Hawk walked to the front of the palace, while I headed to the back. There were so many things that I wanted to tell him, but didn’t have the chance. As I rounded the corner, Victor was standing on the edge of the patio scanning the area like he was ready to kill something or someone. Just as I stepped up the two steps, he grabbed my arm and pulled me near him. The hold he had on my arm became tighter. Lowering his head to my ear, he whispered in a sharp tone, “I would suggest you stay where I can see you, unless you want more of what you got yesterday, Princess.”
