BILLIONAIRE'S BABY PROJECT

by Mia Carson

  “You look confused, Matthias,” Calix snapped.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “Turn it on,” he called over his shoulder and stepped aside.

  Matt listened to the morning news announcer talking about the greatest scandal in the Eridian royal family history. Pictures flashed one after the other of Daphne and him walking into the gardens together and, to his horror, one was blown up of them kissing. The reporter said there were others showing them clearly having sex, but Calix called for it to be muted again.

  “Now do you see?”

  Matt shook his head. “Who the hell took those pictures?”

  “I’m sure you had someone do it,” Alexandria yelled fiercely. “You wanted your moment of fame. Couldn’t be satisfied being her bodyguard. You had to sleep with our daughter! You ruined her!”

  “You did,” he yelled back, losing his temper. The room fell silent around him. “The both of you. In trying to control your daughter, you didn’t see what was happening right in front of your faces! You nearly broke her.”

  “And you were kind enough to pick up the pieces, is that it?”

  Matt took a step towards Calix, but Jeremiah and another guard held him back. “I learned who she really is! I didn’t treat her like a damn princess. I treated her like a woman! Like the damn intelligent and strong person she is!”

  “That’s it, get him out of my sight, right now,” Calix demanded. “We have his mess to clean up. You, sir, are banished from this island!”

  “Where’s Daphne? Where is she?”

  “Get him out of here! Now!”

  Matt struggled to free himself, but Jeremiah whispered to calm down, he’d tell him everything once they were outside. He didn’t want to, but he let himself be dragged from the room, down the hall, and finally out to the main gate of the palace.

  “I’ll take care of him,” Jeremiah told the other guards. Once they were out of earshot, he ran a hand through his hair. “Daphne’s missing.”

  “What?” he snapped. “Why the hell aren’t they looking for her?”

  “They saw the news this morning first, went to her room, but she’s nowhere in the palace, Matthias. She’s gone, just disappeared.”

  Matt paced back and forth, his heart pounding as he ran both hands through his hair. She wouldn’t run off, not like this. She cared too much for parents who betrayed her and the people who didn’t know her. Those pictures coming out this morning… that couldn’t be a coincidence. Panic rose, but he forced it down. He wouldn’t lose control until there was reason to.

  “Matthias? Do you know where she’d go?”

  “If she’s not here—where’s Ambrose?” he asked suddenly, realizing he hadn’t seen the man in the surveillance room. He should’ve been with the king and queen.

  Jeremiah blanched. “Not here. Haven’t seen him since last night, actually.”

  “And Dion? Has anyone talked to him today?”

  “No, but Agnes is here, and she’s way too damn happy about all of this.”

  “A scandal won’t be enough to take the throne away from Daphne,” Matt said. “There has to be something else. I have to find her.”

  Jeremiah nodded. “Go, I’ll text you if anything happens here. Honestly, they’re too damn worried about her not being able to find a husband now.”

  “She’s already found one,” he snapped. “And he’s not going to let anything happen to her.”

  Jeremiah grinned, but Matt took off for the garage, got on his bike, and sped into the city. He needed to talk to Dorian and see if he’d heard anything more last night. Dion was his first target. If he had to beat the man bloody to get answers, he would do it. He was banished from the island, so he might as well add to his list of crimes before he left for good.

  When he reached the first nightclub, he pulled the earbud from his pocket and placed it in his ear. He texted Dorian and waited for a response before walking to the club door. Hades seemed like a nice guy. He’d be easy enough to break first.

  ***

  Daphne’s mouth was dry and her vision fuzzy. She tried to remember exactly what had happened, but there was a blank in her memories. She moved, trying to stand, but her hands were bound in her lap and she was tied securely to a chair. Panic set in and her eyes widened. She yanked hard and yelled as she tried to break free.

  “Help! Somebody, help me!” she screamed over and over. Steps sounded close by, and when Dion appeared in the doorway, she tried to lunge towards him, but the ropes cut and burned into her. “You… you bastard! What the hell do you think you’re doing? Let me go!” He pulled a gun from his waistband, and Daphne glared at him. “I’m not scared of you,” she spat and hoped her voice wasn’t shaking like her hands.

  “Course not,” he said casually. “Don’t worry, this isn’t for you. Not yet.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? But then again, you were never quick to catch on,” he said sadly and stepped into the small room.

  The floor shifted under her feet, and Daphne caught a glimpse out the open door. A boat. They were on a boat sitting at a dock somewhere. She twisted her wrists, but the knots held.

  “You want my throne, but you can’t get it. Not if you kill me.”

  “Who said I was going to kill you, dear cousin? Oh no, I’m much more sophisticated than that.” He bent down to the TV and turned it on. Blown up all over the screen were images of her and Matt together in the royal gardens. “My, quite the scandal you and Matthias created together. Not that I can complain. No, this fits perfectly into my plans. Gave me just the opportunity I was looking for.”

  Daphne was too fixated on the images to hear him clearly. “What… what plans?” Matt… oh God. How did this happen? Where is he?

  “You cause a scandal, sleeping with the help, and run off to be with him,” Dion said and turned the TV off. “You snag a boat from the dock, ready to make a run for it, but there’s a terrible accident and… well, I don’t think you’ll make it.”

  Her blood ran cold as she glared at him. “A boating accident?”

  “Just like Marietta. Honestly, you should’ve just died then and made my life easier, but no, you had to survive. It might finally destroy your mother, though. Wonder if she’ll kill herself out of grief.”

  Daphne screamed and fought to get free, but the chair didn’t move and the ropes held fast. “I will kill you! Leave them alone!”

  “I think not. Now, I really must run. By this afternoon, they’ll be announcing your death and informing me that I am the sole remaining heir.” He stepped closer and pressed the gun under her chin as his hand slipped down to her bare thigh. “By the way, if I wasn’t planning to kill you, I’d consider taking you for a ride first. I’m sure Matthias loved you in this outfit.”

  “Get your hands off me,” she snapped and spat in his face.

  Dion snarled and smacked her across the face with the gun. Her ears rang, and she heard him speaking. Ambrose appeared in the doorway, but they left her alone and closed the door on her.

  Daphne winced, her head throbbing, and tried again to get free. There had to be a way to call for help. And Matt… What was Matt thinking right now? She knew he’d never believe she ran off, but how to tell him? The cabin had no windows, and no radio nor phone she could see. The chair was bolted to the damn floor, and the ropes burned her wrists and ankles. Dion said she would be in a boating accident, which meant at some point, he was going to either throw her overboard or blow up the boat.

  “Jesus Christ,” she muttered and struggled harder to break free.

  Marietta’s boat had crashed into another speeding across the water. She’d been thrown out, knocked unconscious, and drowned before they could reach her. Daphne remembered them pulling her lifeless body from the water, the way her parents screamed and how hurt she was to see her sister, her best friend, dead. But Daphne had survived with only a few scratches and bruises.

  “No,
you are not going to die like that,” she snapped to herself. “You’re going to get out of this, and Matt’s going to come for you. You know he will.”

  But how would he find her? When she grew tired, she stopped to conserve her energy, and worked at staying calm. A voice sounded close by. At first she thought it was Dion, but it was different… She recognized it. She closed her eyes, zeroing in on the noise and frowned. Matt. He wasn’t on the boat, was he? No… no, it wasn’t that close, yet it was… Her eyes shot open and went to her mini skirt.

  The earbud! It was still there, and the damn thing had a GPS tracker!

  The door to the cabin remained closed, and she shifted her arms, fumbling to get to the small pocket of her skirt. Every panicked nerve in her said to yell for Matt, but Dion would know and probably kill her faster. Her fingers managed to get in and under the ropes. The earbud was right there… She gripped it carefully between her fingers. If she dropped it, she’d be lost. Just a little further…

  ***

  Matt punched Hades again, ignoring the man’s pathetic whine. “Tell me where he is!”

  Dorian stood nearby, three goons knocked out at his feet, watching. “You should just answer his question before you lose any more teeth, friend.”

  Hades spat out a mouthful of blood and grinned. “Not a word.”

  Matt raged and brought his fist back again when a voice—her irresistible voice—filled his ear. “Matt! Matt—please, God, say you can hear me.”

  He dropped Hades to the floor. “Daphne?” Dorian straightened too, and Matt sighed, glad he hadn’t gone mad. “Daphne, where are you?”

  “I don’t… I don’t know. Dion’s here and Ambrose.”

  “Daphne, I need details, love,” he said, but Dorian had his cell out and motioned he was tracking her. “Are you hurt at all? If those bastards touched you—”

  “Not hurt, Matt,” she cut him off. “Tied to a damn chair and about to be killed in a boating accident.”

  “What?!” he yelled. “Daphne, where the hell are you?”

  “A boat, at a dock, but I don’t know which one,” she told him quickly. “Matt… The pictures, they were on the news. I’m so sorry.”

  He frowned as he kicked Hades in the face, knocking him out, and nodded at the door. Dorian followed, and they hit the street where their bikes were parked. “Why are you sorry? I just ruined your life.”

  “The hell you did,” she snapped. “Are my parents really not looking for me?”

  “No, they think you ran off, and I’ve been banished,” he growled.

  Silence. He counted to ten, and when she still hadn’t said anything, he called her name sharply. “Sorry, I’m here, just… How did this happen?”

  “Don’t you dare blame yourself for this, you hear me?” he ordered. “You did nothing wrong. It’s your parents and your cousin, it’s the whole damn island. I’m coming to get you, Daphne, and once I do, I’m taking you somewhere far away from all those shits.”

  First, he thought she was crying until it grew louder, and his heart clenched painfully at the sound of her laughter. “Told you. You do care.”

  “Just hang on, Daphne, we’re coming for you,” he told her.

  “Dorian is there, too?”

  “Right here, princess,” he said. “That boat won’t leave the dock. We know exactly where you are.” He held up his cell to show Matt her location, the spot pinging on the map.

  Matt wanted to say more, wanted to confess everything he’d been too afraid to say before, but saying it all made it seem like he was sealing her fate. He would get to her in time. There was no other option. He would not let her die because if she died, he’d go down with her.

  After he took out Dion and all the others who’d ruined her life.

  “We’re coming, love, just hang on a little longer,” he swore. “Just hang on.”

  Chapter 14

  Matt unlocked his old storage shed with all of his things that he hadn’t take to the palace with him. Dorian slipped in behind him, and Matt went straight to the gun safe in the back. He opened it and said he was going to give Jeremiah an update. He stepped back and texted Jeremiah, asking him to call if he could.

  A second later, his cell went off. “Matthias! What did you find out?”

  “Daphne—she’s been kidnapped by Dion and Ambrose,” he said tightly.

  “Seriously?” Voices echoed behind him, but it died down. “Guess who’s here telling them all she ran away.”

  “Dion?” How had he gotten there already?”

  “No, Agnes, with a text from Dion saying Daphne told him early this morning she was taking off. He hasn’t shown up yet.”

  “He will soon enough.” Matt filled him in briefly on what was happening at the docks. When Jeremiah asked what the plan was, Matt told him to stay at the palace. He was going to get her out of there, alive, and kill anyone who got in his way. “I’m bringing her home, Jeremiah. Then the king and queen can understand what the hell they’ve put their daughter through.”

  Jeremiah sighed on the other end. “Be careful, Matthias. Get her back.”

  Matt disconnected the call, and Daphne’s voice sounded in his ear. “What’s happening at the palace?”

  “Nothing for you to worry about, love,” he told her sternly. “Focus on a way out of those ropes.”

  “Working on it, but there’s nothing here.”

  She sounded more frantic than before. It wouldn’t be long before she lost control completely and lashed out. Daphne wasn’t one to get weaker when she was upset. No, he’d seen enough broken lamps and vases to know that.

  “Daphne, listen to me, there’s a way out of there. You’re just not seeing it,” he said slowly.

  “I’ve looked, Matt, there’s nothing,” she snapped, and he heard it there—just a little, but her anger was there.

  He chuckled. “Always so blind when it comes to what’s right in front of you.”

  Dorian shot him a look, but Matt waved it away as Daphne’s breathing intensified through the com. “What did you say to me?”

  “You heard me. Stop acting like the stupid princess everyone thinks you are.”

  “Don’t you dare talk to me like that,” she whispered harshly, but he heard fumbling in the background. “If I get out of here, I’m going to smack you so hard you’ll be dizzy for weeks!”

  He laughed again. “Sure you will, if you could ever reach.”

  “Bastard,” she snarled.

  “Am I? Well, at least I’m the bastard that knew he had you the moment he saw you,” Matt continued, hoping she heard the truth in those words, though he purposely made them sound worse. “You thought you could play with me. So innocent, so naïve.”

  Silence met his ears, and for a split second, he thought he’d read her wrong. The seconds ticked by, and when he was going to call for her again, she cried out in pain.

  “Daphne? Daphne, talk to me, damn it!”

  “I hate how easily you read me,” she muttered on a laugh. “And I have a hand free.”

  Matt sighed with relief and Dorian’s lips thinned, but he didn’t say anything. “Hate me later. And I don’t read you easily,” he added quietly. “You’re more like me than I realized.” A man yelled in the background, and he tensed. “Daphne? Who’s there?”

  “Hang on,” she muttered and fell silent.

  Dorian tapped him on the shoulder, and Matt went to the gun safe to grab his rifle and scope. The man yelled again. He knew that voice: Ambrose. As he quietly took ammo and loaded his rifle, tucking the extra rounds in the shoulder strap, he listened.

  “Dion sends his regards, but he had to go,” Ambrose said.

  “Too bad, I was hoping he’d decided to go down with me,” Daphne snapped. There was a slap, and Matt cursed as Daphne cried out in pain. His hands tightened on his rifle, his jaw clenched as his blood boiled with rage.

  “Be happy he chose to take you out this way,” Ambrose sighed. “I wanted to slit your throat, amongst other things, and fr
ame your new lover for it. It would’ve been easy enough to do after you’d snuck out of his room last night, but Dion wants it this way, and he has the money, after all.”

  Matt hung his head in disbelief. They’d snagged her right outside his room and he hadn’t heard a damn thing. Rage filled him, and the darkness Daphne helped keep at bay rose up with it. Daphne spoke, but he did not hear her words. The sound of another slap met his ears, and he slammed the gun safe shut. Dorian followed him out to the curb. He whispered they were on their way and prayed they wouldn’t be too damn late to save the woman he loved.

  ***

  Every bit of Daphne’s face stung, and she stretched her jaw from the latest slap. “The pictures… It was you?”

  “It was Orion, actually, but I sent them to the news station,” he gloated. “They were happy enough to have more gossip to spread about you.” He picked at his nails and sniffed loudly. “We’ll be setting off soon. Make your peace, princess. Sadly, your death is going to be very, very painful.”

  He cackled darkly as he left the cabin and slammed the door behind him. Letting out a breath of relief to be alone again, Daphne pulled her free hand from the ropes and went to work untying the other knots that held her to the chair. She heard the roar of the bikes over the coms. Matt was on his way to get her. She needed to be ready to run when he showed up. The rope burns on her wrist screamed in pain where she’d yanked it free in her anger, but she drowned the pain as she worked to free herself. The other knot came free, and she worked quickly at undoing the ones around her lap. The bike engines cut off, and Matt and Dorian talked about how to get to the dock.

  “Matt, be careful,” she whispered.

  He laughed, but it was dark and it wasn’t Matt talking to her. This was the soldier, the sniper, the killer. “Don’t worry, love, it’s not me you should worry about it.” A man cried out in pain, the sound cut off, and a crash followed. “It’s every man who’s between you and me. Stay put. Don’t move ‘til I tell you.”