Hawk: Jagged Edge Series #3

by A. L Long

  I dared not pull away from him. When he kissed me on the forehead, it was all I could do not to pull away from him. Heading inside the palace, Nikki and the other servant girl were already gone. As I walked past the dining table I thought about what Hawk said. He told me that he loved me, but what he didn’t know was that I loved him too.

  ~****~

  The ride to the bridal shop was uneventful. There was so much that I wanted to say to Peter, but couldn’t. With Victor sitting to my right and my uncle sitting to my left, it was best that I sat in silence. When we pulled up to the bridal shop, I was thankful that I didn’t have to endure their company a minute longer. Just when I thought I was clear of them, Victor pulled on my wrist, causing me to lose my footing and end up on his lap. Taking advantage of the situation, he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. Not only was it uncomfortable, the kiss was nothing more than his way of showing his control over me.

  “We will be back in a couple of hours. Be ready, Isabelle,” Uncle Maxwell cautioned.

  Without so much as a look at him, I nodded my head and exited the car. Peter was already standing at my the door to assist me. At least there was one gentleman in this group. Peter closed the door and stood outside the car until I entered the shop. Looking his way, he nodded his head, letting me know that everything was ready for me inside.

  Stepping inside, a receptionist greeted me and directed me to the back of the shop. She opened a set of wooden doors and instructed to me to have a seat and that someone would be with me shortly. As I took a seat, I began wondering what I would be disguised as. I knew they had it all figured out, but it would have been nice to know beforehand. The longer I sat the more anxious I got; that was, until Nikki showed up holding a small suitcase and a garment bag. Placing the suitcase on the floor, she looked over to me and said, “Are you ready to be transformed?”

  With a nod, I said, “Let’s get this over with.”

  Standing beside her, I watched as she began taking things from the suitcase. With everything she had, I finally knew what I was being transformed into. Handing things to me to put on, I was slowly beginning to see the change myself. When Nikki handed me the final item to complete my disguise, I placed it on my head, tucking my hair underneath it.

  With everything in place, I walked over to the full length mirror to see the new me. I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was hard to believe that it was even me I was looking at. If I didn't know better, the person I saw could have been my brother.

  “Nikki, I look really good. Nobody will be able to recognize me,” I said.

  “That’s the whole point, silly. Isabelle, I’d like you to meet Paul,” she said with a giggle.

  When I left the shop, everything that I had tried on was hidden away in a bridal gown garment bag underneath the gown itself. Nikki was pretty confident that Maxwell would be opening the bag to check its contents, but Victor would not, especially since it was bad luck to see the bride’s gown before the wedding.

  Just like she had suspected, Maxwell unzipped the bag and took a quick peek inside. Satisfied that it was only my wedding dress, he zipped the bag up and handed it to Peter to stow away in the trunk.

  Before we headed to the palace, Peter was instructed to take Victor to his home near the palace. He had spent so much time at the palace, it hadn’t even dawned on me that he had a place of his own. With a final kiss on my cheek, Victor was out of the car and out of my life forever. The minute the passenger door closed, Peter had the car in drive and exiting the estate of Victor ‘Douche-bag’ Walsh.

  We were in front of the palace in minutes. Peter rounded the car to help me out while Maxwell exited the other side. Walking over to the trunk, Peter took the bag and followed me inside. We were up the marble steps as Maxwell entered the house.

  “I think that Isabelle can manage the garment bag herself,” he spat, looking directly at Peter.

  With a nod of his head, Peter said, “Of course, sir.”

  God, how I couldn’t wait until I was out of this place forever. Climbing up the remaining steps, my two wonderful bodyguards were already standing at my door. I knew that Nikki would be providing a distraction for me so I could get down the steps and to the kitchen. I only had a short time to change into my disguise and get there before they would see that I was no longer in my room.

  The two men parted as I entered my room. I quickly began stripping off my clothing and changing into my disguise. I was thankful that Nikki helped me so that I would remember how to put everything on. There were so many steps that I needed to take and things that I needed to put on, it surprised me that it didn’t weigh down the bag and make Maxwell more suspicious than he was.

  Looking in the mirror, I was ready to go. I just needed to wait for Nikki to give me the signal. I only prayed that when she did, there would be no one else outside waiting for me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Hawk

  As I was waiting in the basement just on the other side of the secret door leading to the kitchen, I kept thinking about how beautiful Paige looked. Even though she looked pale, I figured that was normal for everything she had been through. I was just happy that she was alive and we were finally going to be together. Listening for any sound that was coming from the other side, I wanted to be prepared for Paige. I knew that she would be showing up any minute. I wanted to get as far away from this place as possible.

  Just as I was about ready to check and see what was going on, I heard two women's voices. One of them I would know anywhere. It was my baby, Paige. Opening the cupboard door, I couldn’t believe what I saw. I recognized Nikki, but Paige looked so much like a man, I had to look twice to make sure it was actually her. Stepping out into the open, I had to know for myself that it was really her. Pulling her body close to mine. I placed my lips on hers and parted them with my tongue. Other than the uncomfortable feeling of the mustache she was wearing on my lip, it was definitely her. Nobody could kiss the way she could.

  “Come on, you guys, we need to get out of here before they figure out was is going on,” Nikki whispered, pulling us from our embrace.

  “Okay, okay,” Paige snapped, pressing on her mustache to make sure it was still on securely.

  I made sure that the two girls got through the secret door before me. Closing the cupboard door, I squeezed through the small area between the shelving and the door. Once through, I closed the door and secured it before removing the latch that would allow entrance from the other side. I wasn’t sure where the other steps from the kitchen led, but if I had to guess, it was separate from this area of the basement.

  The girls were waiting at the bottom of the steps until I could join them and show them the way out. Turning on the flashlight, I got in front of them and led them down the short hallway and then through the door to the main part of the dungeon. I could tell the musty smell of dampness was beginning to get to Paige as she started to fall behind. Stopping, I went over to where she was leaning up against the stone wall.

  “Baby, are you okay?” I asked with concern.

  “Yeah, I’ll be okay. The smell down here is just making me nauseated,” she confessed.

  Taking her in my arms, I lifted her from the floor and carried her the rest of the way down the narrow hallway. Reaching the set of steps leading out of the dungeon, I set Paige down. Still holding on to her, I caressed her damp cheek and said quietly, “We’re almost out, baby. Do you think you can climb the steps?”

  With a nod of her head, she confirmed that she would be all right. Letting Nikki go first, I handed her the flashlight so she could guide us to the top of the steps. Once she opened the hidden door and Paige could breathe in the fresh air, she began to feel better. From the moment I saw her this morning, she didn’t look well. I thought that it might have been from the ordeal, but this was something else.

  Making our way across the lawn and to the front of the palace, I spotted two of the palace guards standing out front. There was no way that we were going to be able to g
et to the car with them standing so close. Our only option was to act like we belonged and pray they didn’t find anything about us out of the ordinary. Taking my lead, Paige and Nikki followed behind me. When we got close enough, I pretended to be amused by something Nikki said.

  “You got to be kidding, How the hell does that even happen?” I asked with no clue what she was going to say.

  “Well, it’s pretty simple,” she began. “Oh, hey, guys. Are you done for the day?”

  “Yeah, me and the wife have some pretty important plans for the evening, if you know what I mean,” the larger of the two men said.

  “Gotcha. Well, have a good evening,” Nikki replied.

  As we got inside the car, the two men waved goodbye to us. I couldn’t fucking believe that they didn’t question why a chauffeur, a servant, and a maintenance man would be out on the grounds this late in the evening. They didn’t even question where we were going. It was unbelievable how incredibly stupid they really were. Their stupidity just gave us a free ticket out of here. When we were far enough outside the gate, Paige removed her wig and her press-on mustache. Without her little get-up, she was even more beautiful. Taking the hand that she had resting on her lap, I lifted to my mouth and kissed it gently.

  “It’s over, baby, you can finally go home,” I said softly.

  With a tear in her eye, she said, “It isn’t, Hawk. Eventually they are going to come after me. They may not have won this time, but I know my uncle, he will never give-up.”

  “Then we will just need to make sure that never happens,” I vowed.

  “You can’t protect me all the time, Hawk. I need to let the people of Kierabali know what kind of men my uncle and Victor really are, and to do that I need to start being the person I really am, Princess Isabelle Moraco.”

  I knew she was right. She was a princess and I needed to start realizing that. Even though she would always be my Paige, I needed to call her Isabelle. Pulling out my cell, I called Peter and let him know of our change of plans. As much as he didn’t like the idea of spending more time in Kierabali, he also agreed that Isabelle needed to take care of this once and for all.

  ~****~

  As Isabelle stood in front of the podium at the American Embassy, I couldn’t help but be proud of this beautiful woman. She had been through so much over the past couple of weeks. When she told me what Victor did to her, I wanted to kill him, but killing him would be too good for him. Once Isabelle explained to the people what her uncle and Victor did, they would be spending most of their lives behind bars.

  Looking into the crowd of people, I listened to the words Isabelle shared with them. The way she carried herself, she was a princess. Most of the women had tears in their eyes, while the men just bowed their heads down in regret. “So it is with great regret that I will be stepping down as Princess of Kierabali,” Isabelle said sadly as she ended her speech.

  As she turned and walked away, there was a shout from the crowd. “Princess, marry the man that you love, and rule Kierabali together.”

  Looking up at me, her face was filled with sorrow. I knew that she didn’t want to be a princess, but I also knew that she didn’t want to let her people down. Taking her by the hand, I lowered down to one knee and said to her so that everyone could hear. “Isabelle, I love you with all my being. I have never met a woman quite like you. You have changed me to be a better person. I would love nothing more than to be by your side forever. Will you marry me?”

  Lowering herself to me, she choked out, “You want to marry me?”

  “With all my heart,” I confessed.

  “And you would be okay living in Kierabali as a prince, my prince?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then yes, I will marry you.”

  Her head lowered to mine and our lips met. I could hear the crowd going wild over her acceptance. Not only did they get their princess back, they also gained a man who loved this woman as much as they did.

  Heading back inside the embassy, it finally dawned on me that I was going to be a prince. I didn’t even know the first thing about being a prince. Dwelling on my own realization, I glanced over to Isabelle. God, she was beautiful. Looking back over to the crowd of people, I could see their joy as their cheering filled the air. I gave them a quick wave as I pulled her closer to me and gave her a tender kiss on the head. When she looked up at me with a blank stare, I knew then something was going on with her. I wrapped my arms around her as her body began going limp. With everything I had, I lifted her and carried her through the embassy doors.

  It was when I was laying her on the couch just inside that I knew someone had gotten to her. The blood was so red as it spilled from her body. Frantically, I began to yell, “Help, somebody, please help!”

  I did everything I was trained to do to help the bleeding stop. It just kept coming. Her eyes closed and my heart died.

  ~****~

  As I was sitting in the chair, the events of the day began rushing in. All I could think about was the look on Isabelle’s face. It was so empty. Like I had lost her forever. Looking over to Sly and Nikki, I could see that she was just as worried as I was. I was thankful that at least Sly was here with her. They had been getting quite close since this whole ordeal started. Lowering my head, I placed it in my hands. I closed my eyes and began to pray that Isabelle would be okay. That she wouldn’t be taken away from me.

  I was just about ready to find out what was going on with her when a doctor walked up to me. Standing, I faced him, ready to hear the critical news he had to share about Isabelle’s condition.

  “Mr. Talbott, I presume, from the news footage this morning,” he said, holding out his hand to me.

  “How is she?” I asked, not interested in the introduction.

  “She’s lost a lot of blood, but she and the baby will be fine,” he announced.

  “Wait, what do you mean, ‘the baby?’” I asked, confused.

  “I take it you didn’t know. When we checked her blood type to make sure we knew it, several other tests were run. Princess Isabelle is about four weeks pregnant.”

  “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that,” I said, still trying grasp what he just said.

  “Well, I can understand that. If you like, you may see her, she should be in her private room by now. She might be a little groggy from the anesthesia,” the doctor advised.

  Walking down the hall to Isabelle’s room, I still couldn’t believe that she was pregnant. It would definitely explain the pale look she had and the queasiness she had at the palace. I wasn’t even sure if I was ready to be a dad. I had stayed away from serious relationships for that very reason. The last thing that I wanted was to be like my dad. As much as I wanted to forget about that part of my life, I knew that it would always be there. Sooner or later I knew that I would need to let Isabelle know about my childhood, especially now that she was going to be my wife.

  Opening the door to her room, I saw the most gorgeous woman I had ever laid my eyes on. Even though her face still looked pale, her smile lit up her face when she saw me. “Hey, beautiful,” I said as I walked up to her.

  “Hey,” she replied.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “A little tired.”

  “That’s to be expected. Do you remember what happened?” I asked as I took a seat beside her.

  “Yeah, someone shot me. Why, Hawk?” she muttered as her eyes began to well.

  “Peter has a pretty good idea who it was, The cameras at the embassy will show who for sure.”

  “Victor,” she snapped.

  “Yeah. Let’s not talk about that now. We need to talk about something more important.”

  “The baby.”

  Interrupting our conversation. Peter tapped his hand against the glass window. Walking over to the bed, he stood beside me and asked, “Hey, you two, how’s the mother-to-be?”

  I had no idea that he knew. The only explanation was that Sly and Nikki must have told him. “We are fine,” I answered.

  �
��Well, I just wanted to check on Isabelle and let you guys know that Victor is being booked on charges of attempted murder. The cameras at the embassy got a perfect picture of him. Even though he wasn’t amongst the crowd, the camera was angled such that it showed him across the street in one of the rooms.”

  “Well, that’s good news,” I stated, squeezing Isabelle’s hand.

  “Got even better news for you. Maxwell was caught fleeing the country. We did some investigating on the picture you found of him and the other man exchanging briefcases. Turns out it was a payoff to have your parents killed. The money was used to put a device in the car that allowed someone to control the steering wheel. We located the man who developed the device. He said the exchange was to further his research on the product. Maxwell told him he wanted to help him develop it. In exchange for the prototype, Maxwell gave him money, saying it was an advance on the profit they would be making. It was the same device that was found in your parents’ car. Maxwell was responsible for their death. Long story short, he will be spending the rest of his days in jail.”