I swooped down to drink from her mouth one last time and she cried out, stretching up to meet me and wrapped her arms tightly around me again.
This was our first step forward into a union.
Chapter 4
After donning the hotel bathrobes, we exited the bathroom together, her tucked slightly behind me.
I checked in quickly with Taylor who assured me that the threat was eliminated as he took my gun, checking the safety as he did. I turned and scooped Perri into my arms, intending to sustain her feelings of being sheltered. She was too recently exposed to be led through two floors of the hotel in this state.
She pressed her face against me, her arms around my neck in a way that made me feel larger and more powerful than usual. I kissed her on the head reassuringly and Taylor led us back up to our rooms.
Once we were behind the locked doors of our shared, two-bedroom suite, I paused.
I lowered my voice so that my security team stationed about the room could not overhear me.
“Perri, will you permit me the company of your presence in my room tonight? I cannot bear the thought of you staying in your room alone. Not tonight.”
She looked up at me, eyes vulnerable, tired, and a little afraid now that the reality of our situation had returned.
“I promise, I will be a perfect gentleman. You will be safe.”
She smiled and nodded. Then she covered a yawn she could not stifle.
I chuckled. “Okay, shower and then bed.”
I carried her into my room and smiled to myself as I recalled her preferring this décor over her room, from the times she had visited this hotel before, with her family.
Good, it was settled.
Chapter 5
He stretched his right shoulder as he watched me over the rim of his coffee cup. I grinned, knowing it was likely from sleeping on the floor, beside me. So gallant.
I couldn’t stop the smile that came over my face as I looked down at the morning crossword, in French. I know we were being pursued by my father’s men, but I couldn’t help it. I sighed, happier than I remembered ever being.
We sat together in that companionable silence, sharing scones and black coffee, for what seemed like hours.
The energy shifted when Taylor walked in briskly, made a beeline for Michael, and then stopped just beyond his shoulder and stood there quietly until he was acknowledged.
Michael never stood on ceremony with Taylor, they behaved more like trusted confidants and comrades, so this formality was curious to me.
Then it occurred to me, it had to be big.
My heart flip-flopped in my chest and my mouth went dry. I dared not move, as I wondered how bad it could be.
Michael looked up at me, coffee cup suspended in midair, likely able to see the terror on my face.
He nodded once and closed his eyes briefly, as if to reassure me that he’s got this, then set his cup down. He leaned back, very slightly, and Taylor finally moved forward to speak quietly into his ear. Too low for me, or anyone else, to hear.
To his credit, his facial features didn’t tense as he received the news, which made me feel somewhat better.
Abruptly, Taylor seemed to receive an urgent message in his earpiece and left the room briskly. A man on a mission.
Michael looked at me and said, “We will be leaving the hotel today. There have been some … developments. It is no longer safe here.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
“Taylor has secured an emissary; someone with the sensitivity and skills necessary to assist me in sending the right message to your father.”
“Message?” I squeaked, unable to imagine how anything good could come from trying to talk with him.
“Yes. He is my friend. I owe him that respect.”
I nodded. Of course, he was right. But still.
“What will you say?” My throat felt too tight to form words, but somehow, I managed.
Michael sighed, leaned back in his chair, and looked out beyond me.
Turning back to me after a long minute, he said, “The truth.” He seemed pensive but resolved.
“I am certain he is aware of The Brokerage and will find it no surprise I am a frequent patron. He knows you. Certainly, he must have known you would go to extraordinary lengths to avoid an arranged marriage.”
I nodded; this was true.
“I will remind him that I was not aware of your existence and could have not known the woman who captured my attention was his beloved daughter. I will appeal to his logic.” He shrugged. “We are friends after all, and your mother, Rondenia, will help him understand.”
I shook my head and looked down, tears brimming in my eyes. Oh, Michael, you have no idea, I thought.
“No?” he asked, his eyebrows raised.
I shook my head.
“He is a proud man. Too proud. You are a trusted friend. You purchased his virginal 19-year-old daughter. He will see this as a direct betrayal. I can only imagine how much worse it is because his sovereignty is threatened. If word got out that he and my mother, the Queen, had another child that they kept hidden from the people…”
My voice trailed off as I imagined the horrors.
“He will kill your emissary,” I stated flatly, as it ripped at my heart. How foolish I was to think I could get away from him, to choose the makings and form of my own life.
I was wrong. So, so wrong. Now someone else was going to die for my folly.
I should have stayed and married whoever he arranged. At least then it would only be my soul that died. Not someone’s husband or son.
I sobbed into my hands realizing this was all so impossible. Going back would kill me. Not going back would kill others.
Chapter 6
“Then we have only one option.” My voice was firm, determined; unflinching. Perri needed something hopeful to grasp onto.
“The Catacombs.”
Chapter 7
I didn’t understand. How on EARTH would the Paris Catacombs, with its skull- and bone-lined underground tunnels, factor into this? Or, maybe he meant the ones in Rome or those of a dozen other places?
I shook my head to clear it. No, there had to be something else. Some other catacomb. I am NOT going to hide in a burial chamber!
Michael came around the table toward me, keeping his voice purposefully low. He crouched down, took my hand, and continued.
“The Catacombs are the elite’s equivalent of a Witness Protection Program. There are services, much like The Brokerage, where wealthy patrons are allowed entry into the lives of others, a world if you will, that allows them to escape their own lives for a period of time.
“It would be quite similar to how you were raised. Hiding in plain sight but never having full access to the identity you were born to. Living in secret, not as your true self.”
“H-how long would this last?” I asked.
“Only as long as we needed it to.” His eyes were soft but his body, tense. This was serious to him. “Some enter The Catacombs for a week or two; others longer. A few decide they love it so much they never wish to return. There have even been some who decide to stay to help others, indefinitely.” He smiled. “They are called Harriets.”
I still felt extreme caution, but my eyes lit up, as I clarified the reference, “As in Harriet Tubman?”
“Yes. Exactly.” He replied.
My mind raced through the pieces, realizing that anything likened to the American Underground Railroad must be fraught with danger.
“Where is this Catacomb located?” I asked.
“Everywhere.”
“What do you mean? Like, here? In France?” My mind continued to race.
“Yes, in Paris. In Germany. Austria. Africa. Everywhere, literally. It is the sister organization to The Brokerage. No one knows how long it has been in effect. Certainly, a couple of centuries at least, just as The Brokerage has been.”
“What?! How do you know all this?” I felt incredulous. If it was so secre
t then how could he know so much?! Suddenly, it felt as if the floor were falling away beneath me; I wondered if everything around us was a lie.
He looked at me gravely, seeming to sort something internally with his pause. He glanced away, then, with a nod he looked back at me.
“Because my brother is in The Catacombs.”
Chapter 8
Her mouth hung open.
I knew it would shock her, but I wanted her to understand how much trust I was placing in her. The only person in my life that knew was Taylor. Just as she had been kept as her family’s dark secret, I too, had mine.
Taylor strode through the door, but stopped at the edge of the room, at the edge of my peripheral vision. Glancing at him fully, I knew, instantly, it was serious. I brought Perri’s hands up and kissed them, murmuring, “I’ll be right back.”
When I reached Taylor, he looked grave.
“The emissary is awaiting your instructions, but there has been a new development.” His face was tense, jaw and body tight. I knew he disliked delivering bad news and appreciated that he never withheld needed details. I nodded, indicating he should continue.
“The Brokerage. They have refunded your purchase in full.” I reeled. “And they have annulled her contract.”
Chapter 9
I was stunned, unable to comprehend what had happened. Everything, undone. Taylor gave me a moment to absorb it all.
I looked back at Perri and my brow furrowed, wondering how this news would hit her. She was so proud of the agency it took to have made the decision to auction herself. It had given her confidence, and a framework of protection and honor – there was no way to assess how great this blow would be to her self-esteem and sense of safety.
She was leaning forward intently, likely desperate to understand what was occurring and how it related to her.
I turned back to Taylor.
“As you requested, I reached out to the custodians at The Brokerage and informed them of our discovery of complications caused by her royal lineage, asking for their assistance in navigating the tensions with her father. They went into session and came out of it deciding not to risk the House. They do not want to be in his crosshairs.”
I was stunned, but I understood. The potential for political unrest was too great. My world operated on honor, trust, and discretion. Without the assistance of The Brokerage, a war would be waged over this girl. My life, as I knew it, would be over.
In so many ways it already was...
Chapter 10
When he returned to me, I was on edge, wondering how much worse this could get. I watched him sit down. His body was coiled tightly as if expecting the men with machine guns to burst through the door any minute.
My mind raced with possibilities. Were they downstairs? Had my father put a price on my head? Had my mother reached out, asking to negotiate my surrender? How bad could this be?
“The Brokerage has canceled your contract.”
It was as if he had hit me in the face. My head lolled backward, my stomach and heart seized up, and my mouth fell open.
Tears immediately sprang from my eyes and the world that was shattering before, seemed to completely explode.
Every bit of safety and protection I had put in place around me was shattered, irrevocably. There was nothing left. I was no one. My father’s power, reach, and politics ensnared me. I was now just an object to be hunted.
In less than one week, he’d ruined the ground beneath my feet; shattered the house that had committed to sheltering me in this transition; and destroyed the means with which I could begin my new life.
He demolished it all.
I pushed back from the table and ran.
I ran out the doors of our suite, past the guards, inside and out, kicking off hands that tried to reach for me, screaming to make them let me go.
Down the hall, to the stairwell. Anywhere, but where this fresh hell saturated the air.
Two flights down I realized I had nowhere to go. I crumpled to the steps and heaved my sobs against the wall. Hating that I was once again at the mercy of men.
My father. The men who pursued me. The security teams. Michael. Taylor. All of them!
Chapter 11
I found her in the stairwell, which my men had sealed off completely at each floor almost as soon as she entered it.
Moving down to where she sat, I approached her quietly from behind. I was not certain she had sensed me coming, given the intensity of her tears, so I crouched down and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. She stayed curled against the wall, hands over her face.
I moved to sit beside her, giving her silent support until she was ready. I could not imagine how traumatic this was for her.
She turned to me and cried out, “Why?”
We were alone but I did not trust the security cameras, or how sound might carry, so I placed a finger to her lips to silence her as I motioned around us with my eyes.
Perri nodded and folded against me.
I put my arms around her and held her tight. Willing her to feel my strength. I did not know what else to do.
Chapter 12
I kissed her forehead and softly shushed her as her tears began to ease. “It’s going to be okay,” was all I could repeat. “We’ve got this,” I finally added.
She pulled back and looked up to me, the sight of her hitting me square in the solar plexus. Her eyes were swollen, dark eyelashes matted with tears, and her olive complexion both flushed and ashen, yet still her beauty took my breath away. It was her vulnerability, though, that tore my heart apart.
“What will happen to me? Where will you send me? Where will I go?”
The last sentence was more like a small wail and reminded me of how young 19 was, despite all her bravado and worldliness.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Only you get to say where you go. I will not send you anywhere.” I was confused and wondered if she simply misspoke.
“No, I mean now that I am not bound to you for the fulfillment of my contract.” She looked excruciatingly sad, and it ripped at me, deeply.
“Oh, my sweet girl, do you think for one minute I would ever want to let you go?”
She blinked and pulled back a little more. “You mean you want me to stay?”
The surprise in her voice concerned me. Did she want to stay? Had her interest in me only been driven by our contractual arrangement?
Chapter 13
“Yes, of course, I would welcome you staying for as long as you felt safe and comfortable here.” His voice was kind and generous, but an edge of caution had crept in.
I pulled back, unable to leave myself in his arms in this state if he welcomed rather than wanted. The two were very different in my mind.
Did he only pursue me because he thought I was his property?
Chapter 14
We returned to the suite, silently.
I was exhausted, from the sudden emotional tumult, and the extreme, sudden uncertainty I was faced with. Within minutes of entering the safety of our familiar suite, I excused myself to my room. The last thing I wanted was to be surrounded by Michael’s security officers feeling and looking so raw. They noticed everything.
Once in my room, I ordered my two sentries out. They did not budge until I raised my voice loud enough to be heard beyond the door, and someone came over their earpiece, ordering them to leave.
I closed and locked my doors, sliding down them to the floor, feeling more alone than I ever had before.
***
After I showered and napped, I felt better. More myself.
I exited my room, intent and needing to find Michael. Instead, I found Taylor standing in the common area, ushering out a bellman who carried Michael’s bags.
“Ah, Miss Perri, I had hoped you would be awake.” Taylor walked toward me. “Michael has asked me to ensure you received this.”
He handed me an envelope that appeared to contain a letter and something else, which I could not discern. I looked up at him, shoc
ked.
“Is he gone?” My respite from the horror of the day faded, as shock, anger and… something else overtook me. Could he not stand another moment in my presence? Now that my virginity was no longer a dangling carrot? Not even a goodbye?!
My face burned at the thought of how wrong I had been about him.
“Yes, miss. He has taken rooms elsewhere. He has arranged for Maman to join you.” He must have seen a dozen emotions flash across my face in the span of mere seconds.
“Would you like me to arrange for your things to be moved into your preferred room?” he gestured to the room Michael had vacated, “it’s being readied now if you do.”
I squared my shoulders and slipped into the comfort of my life-long training. I am in line to become a queen. I would not indulge in adolescent emotions any longer. If Mr. Donovan wanted to cut me out of his life, I would take it in stride. This was nothing compared to what I would face if I ran … a country.
The thought pierced my heart and nearly dropped me to my knees. I am in exile. I am no longer in line for any throne, his or my father’s.
Later, Jannah, later. Right now, you have this to deal with, I reminded myself.
“Yes, please. I will occupy the vacated room. You may give Maman my previous bedroom, but, please, ensure she is not held waiting for it. I want her comfortable.”
Taylor watched me and I felt him notice my shift. Thankfully, he made no other move to acknowledge it, for which I was grateful. This was hard enough and I needed privacy.
“Would you arrange to have a dinner prepared for Maman and I? Something special. If you could have someone propose some menu options, I would be happy to approve them. I should also think we will dine somewhere other than here. A small conference room downstairs, perhaps? Something nice. Intimate. Alone.”
The Obsessed Billionaire: Boxed Set (Complete Vols. 1-5, A Billionaire Romance Series) Page 5
