by Diana Ames
“Have you forgotten that our car is several miles away in a ditch?” Anton asked sardonically.
“I wouldn’t put Mellissandra in that death trap anyway.” Damian laughed. “When I made the call into the village for a pastor, I also arranged for a new car.”
“A pastor?” Anton’s eyebrows shot up. “You got a pastor to come to a whorehouse? How the fuck did you manage that?”
“Let’s say the new steeple for his church will be built within the month,” Damian said, ducking his head. “I’m not above bribery to give this woman whatever makes her happy.”
Everyone stopped talking as loud, obnoxious wailing began from across the kitchen. Everyone turned in unison to stare at the sobbing Wally.
“My baby is getting married,” she cried. “It’s too soon. I just got her.”
Ryan went to Wally and pulled her into his meaty arms. He crooned soothing words into her ear until she finally settled down. When she pulled out of his embrace, she stomped over to Damian.
“You listen here,” Wally told him fiercely. “I love that girl like she is my child. You treat her wrong, and I will castrate you! You’d better bring her and my grandbaby to visit me,” she demanded before she started crying again.
“I will be so good to her, Wally, that she will get sick of being pampered,” Damian promised.
“Don’t worry, Wally,” Mellissandra said, stepping around Damian to put an arm around Wally. “You’re not getting rid of me. I’ll make him bring us around all the time. If he won’t, then I’ll learn to drive and come on my own.”
“Well then,” Wally said, straightening up and wiping her eyes, “we’ve got a wedding to get together.”
***
“Good-bye,” Mellissandra said, hugging Wally tightly. “I wish you could come with me.”
The ceremony had been performed an hour ago. It had been simple and surprisingly elegant. Wally had turned the lights down low. The sides of the main floor and stage had been lined with white pillar candles. She had placed white satin pillows for Mellissandra and Damian to kneel on in front of the pastor. The final touch though had been when the fiddle player of the band had played beautiful classical music in the background.
While Wally handled the décor, the working girls took Mellissandra and raided all their wardrobes until they came up with a proper wedding outfit for her. It wasn’t a traditional wedding dress, but it was beautiful and sexy. Most importantly, it made Mellissandra feel like she was beautiful and sexy. One girl had a floor-length white satin skirt. It was slit from her ankle up to her hip on each side. Another girl donated her handmade and surprisingly modest white corset. The material was a mixture of satin and lace, and the tie in the back was an extra-long satin ribbon. The girls tied it into a bow that flowed down like a train.
After finding the outfit, the girls spent two hours pampering Mellissandra. She thought it was more torture than anything else. They’d waxed and plucked and rubbed and brushed until all of her creamy skin glowed. Her hair flowed down her back in red ringlets, and for the first time in her life, she wore makeup.
All of that was nothing though when Mellissandra saw Damian standing in front of the pastor, waiting to take her hand. When they knelt together on the satin pillows, Mellissandra had to fight to contain her joyous tears.
When the pastor asked Damian for the ring, he faltered for the first time. Wally walked up behind him and slipped the ring off her finger. As Wally handed the ring to Damian, Mellissandra had never felt so much love in her life.
“Where did you get all those candles, Wally?” Mellissandra asked quietly in the woman’s ear.
“Didn’t you know?” Wally chuckled as she pulled away from the girl’s embrace. “Wally’s always prepared for anything and everything.” Hiding her own emotions, Wally picked up Mellissandra’s hand. “You take good care of this ring now. It’s brought me a lot of luck and a good marriage. It’ll do the same for you.”
“Thank you, Wally, for everything,” Mellissandra said, choking up again.
“Hey, don’t I get to hug the bride?” Ryan said from beside Wally. He swooped Mellissandra up into his arms. Her feet dangled loosely in the air as he held her aloft, giving her a proper hug.
“I’m going to miss you, Ryan,” Mellissandra said, sniffling.
“I’m going to miss you, too, Little Red, especially when it comes time to do my chores. You did half of them for me,” he told her. He was trying to keep their good-bye light, but it was obvious the giant was holding onto barely contained emotion. “Don’t you take no guff from that husband of yours, you hear?”
“I hear, Ryan, and I won’t. I promise,” she said.
“Sandra,” Damian called softly from behind them, “the car is ready. It’s time to go now.”
Ryan set Mellissandra back on her feet, and she turned to find the monstrosity that Damian called a car waiting. The pitch black SUV looked like it would hold ten people, but he’d said it was the safest personal vehicle available. Climbing into the backseat, Mellissandra waved one final time to Wally and Ryan. She was heading back to the castle, not as a submissive this time but as a royal princess.
***
“She’s knocked out,” Anton told Damian.
“It’s been a rough couple of days for her,” Damian said. “Hell, it’s been a rough couple of weeks for all of us. But she’s lost the most, her brother and her family, and being pregnant has made it that much harder.”
“She’s a strong woman, brother. You are a lucky man to have her.”
The yearning in his brother’s voice was plain to Damian.
“You’ll find your princess, too, Anton,” Damian said softly.
“Don’t hate me for being jealous, Damian,” Anton said. “She’s just…she’s just—”
“Perfect,” Damian finished for him.
“Yeah,” Anton agreed, “perfect.”
The two men fell into silence, but the unspoken words sat between them. Damian knew Anton was in love with Mellissandra. And Anton knew that Damian knew. Both men were determined that Mellissandra never find out.
***
Half an hour away from the castle, Anton turned to Damian.
“Captain Hicks requested an immediate meeting in the security office when we arrive. He wants us both there,” he told him.
“When was this? Did he say why?” Damian asked with a sigh. Mellissandra wasn’t the only one who was tired.
“I radioed ahead while you two were saying good-bye. I figured since we were going back, the staff could have things prepared for us. All the captain would say is that it’s extremely urgent he see us immediately,” Anton replied.
“You know Sandra will have to come with us, right? I’m not leaving her on her own during her first time in the castle.”
“I figured as much, brother, but she has been in the castle before,” Anton said, chuckling.
“As a submissive, Anton,” Damian said with irritation. “Now, she is a royal princess. She’s not going to be locked in that training room ever again.”
“There will never be another woman locked in that room, Damian. I’ve decided to stop trying to force feelings and heirs and everything else. If I find someone—”
“When,” Damian piped in.
“When I find someone,” Anton corrected, “it will have to work naturally. Whatever is meant to happen will happen, without me trying to control it.”
“Good decision, brother,” Damian said approvingly. “Good decision.”
A few minutes later, they saw the security team flank the sides of their vehicle. The escorts would see them into the castle garage safely, and then they would lead them into the security floor of the castle.
Anton grimaced as he realized they would have to pass the medical department to get to security. He hoped they didn’t see Gilly. He wasn’t up for dealing with her antics tonight, and he still hadn’t come to grips with the whole pregnancy thing either.
“Sandra,” Damian said, “it’s time t
o wake up, love.”
Anton snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Damian’s voice. They were in the garage already.
“Mmm, still sleepy,” Mellissandra murmured.
“I know, baby,” Damian said, “but it’s time to wake up. We’re home.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Captain Hicks had been informed that Prince Damian and Prince Anton were on their way up to security, and they weren’t alone. Apparently, one or both of them had brought a woman with them. Well, he’d let them know they had to get rid of her for a while. The conversation they were about to have was too sensitive to have in front of outsiders.
He watched their approach from a video monitor, and he was shocked to realize that the woman with them was the same one he’d escorted back to her village more than a month ago. That left him scratching his head as the trio entered the office.
“My princes,” the captain said respectfully. “The matter we have to discuss is urgent and…” He paused, hesitating. “Extremely sensitive.”
“You may speak freely, Hicks,” Anton told him. “Let me be the first to introduce you to your new royal princess, Mellissandra Bellaro.”
“Bellaro? Teacher Damian, you married?”
“Yes,” Damian snapped. “And my wife and I, and Anton as well, are tired from our travels. Can we get on with this, please?”
“Of course,” the captain said. “I have several videos to show you. After you have watched them, I will give you all the details and discuss with you how to proceed.”
The captain played the video of Gilly entering Damian’s apartment, the driver following shortly thereafter. They watched the driver and the raven-haired woman leave the apartment. The captain changed the video to show Gilly walking into the garage, and he made sure to point out the time stamp. He then played a video of Gilly heading into her apartment five hours later in only her lab coat.
“In the past few days, we have had two dead bodies turn up. One was the driver, who was bludgeoned to death, and the other was the woman, who apparently the two of you—” Captain Hicks broke off with an uncomfortable glance toward Mellissandra. “Anyway, time of death on both of them appears to be within a few hours of each other. Gilly claims the woman died from a heart attack, but I find that farfetched as she was only twenty-four. Prince Damian, I would like access to the club’s security tapes to see if we can place Gilly in the club the night this woman died.”
Damian walked over to one of the computers and began typing. In less than a minute, he had his club’s security on the monitor in front of him.
“When are we looking at?” Damian asked.
Captain Hicks gave him the date and time frame. He watched as Damian went through the cameras located at the entrances.
“These are always running. Unless she can fly, Gilly had to come in through one of the doors,” he told them.
After fifteen minutes of going frame by frame, they found what they were looking for.
“That’s the rear service entrance off the community kitchen. It looks like Gilly slipped in when John was taking out the trash for the night.”
“I’ve already got her entering the garage where the driver’s body was found. This puts her in the club around the time the woman died. With your permission, I have enough to arrest her. Due to her royal blood, one of you has to be present as well,” he told them. “The only thing I haven’t figured out is what is her motivation for killing these two people.”
“I know,” Anton said. “She claims to be pregnant with my child. I’m fairly certain she wants to marry me. I have told her that there is no future for us. When she saw Damian and I double-teaming the other woman…well, she seemed to snap a bit.”
“Pregnant?” the captain asked with a dumbfounded look on his face. “That’s impossible. She had some disease in her uterus and had to have it removed. I remember how broken-up her father was about it. She can’t have children.”
Ten seconds of dead silence followed his declaration. Then, Anton turned on his heel and punched the steel door as hard as he could. Mellissandra rushed over to check his hand. His knuckles looked twisted, and they were bleeding.
“You need to have this checked,” she whispered.
“Oh no,” Anton said. “If I see her now, I might strangle her. You can fix me up back at Damian’s apartment or mine. I am not going to medical right now!”
“Captain Hicks,” Damian said, “let’s hold on this for tonight. The three of us are ready to drop, and now, Anton needs some first aid. Besides that, as quiet as my new bride has been through all of this, I’m sure she’s got some questions that I need to answer. Tomorrow is soon enough to arrest Gilly.”
“Yes, sir,” the captain said.
“Does anyone else know of your suspicions?” Damian asked him.
When the captain shook his head, Damian nodded.
“Good. Let’s keep it that way. We don’t want to tip her off. She’s obviously unstable, and we don’t know what she’ll do.”
“Yes, sir,” the captain said again.
Damian, Mellissandra, and Anton left the office and headed for Damian’s apartment. His place was the closest to security. When they arrived, Damian grabbed the first-aid kit and some ice and took them to Mellissandra. As she was patching up Anton, Mellissandra’s curiosity got the best of her.
“Did you two…” She gulped. “Did you really both have sex with the same woman?”
Damian looked at her sharply. He wondered briefly if his new wife was curious about the sexual experience or if he was going to be berated for his activities before they were married. From the look on her face, he decided that it was a curious question.
“At the same time,” Damian told her. If threesomes were something she wanted to explore, he wouldn’t stifle her sensuality. He wished this particular kink was something that would have come up later in their marriage, but he was willing to do anything to please her.
“Oh,” she said, her face turning red.
“No need to blush, Sandra,” Damian told her. “You did marry the leader of the sex industry.” He chuckled at her embarrassment.
“I think I’ll be going, guys,” Anton said, standing. “I’m going to take this ice pack though if you don’t mind.”
“Whatever you need, brother,” Damian said. “Whatever you need.”
***
Anton left the newlyweds alone. He’d heard the curiosity in Mellissandra’s question, and he had to get out of there before he asked her if she wanted to try it. He could just imagine how Damian would react to that.
At the end of the corridor, Anton entered his own apartment. He was surprised to see the glow of a lamp coming from the living room. Heading to turn it off, he halted abruptly when he spotted the tiny woman sitting on his sofa.
“You weren’t even going to come check on your child?” Gilly tsked. “That’s very bad of you, Anton. I expected better.”
“What baby would that be, Gilly?” Anton asked sarcastically. “The imaginary one in your head because we both know you have no place to grow one in your body.”
“How dare you?” Gilly sputtered in outrage. “After everything I have done for you—”
“What have you done, Gilly? Murdered an innocent man and woman? That was for me?” Anton’s fury was beginning to overwhelm him. He tried to control it before it dominated him.
“All your life, all my life,” Gilly ranted, jumping up and pacing around the room like a caged tiger, “I covered up for you. I fixed the animals. I listened and held you while you cried. It was me! I am the only one who has ever loved you! And now, you treat me like this?”
Gilly stopped pacing and stood by the fireplace. Her body was quivering, and she seemed to be stuck somewhere between hurt, outrage, and just pure fury.
“None of those things gave you the right to take two innocent lives!” Anton shouted.
“You know nothing,” Gilly said bitterly. “You are the reason for everything. The first life I took, Anton, was at
your request. Do you remember that? I’m not the only murderer in this room.”
“She was pure evil, and you know it,” Anton retorted. He was glad he’d chosen to confide in Damian. Before, he would have let her remark bring him to his knees, but now, he had the strength to know that killing his mother had nothing to do with the insanity he was watching unfold before him. She could call him a murderer all she wanted, but Anton knew there was a huge difference between ending one woman’s rein of terror and taking two lives out of jealousy.
“I love you, Anton. Can’t you see? We’ll have everything when we’re finally together. We’ll rule the country, and I’ll give you anything you need to keep you happy. We’ll have a family—just you, me, and our child,” Gilly pleaded with him. “Everything will be perfect.”
“Gilly, there is no child. You are not pregnant. Wake up. You had surgery, and your uterus was removed,” Anton said.
“But I fixed it, Anton. I see how wrong it was to deceive you now. We are going to have a child. While it is true that I can’t carry it, I was still able to make our child. My father harvested some of my eggs and put them in a freezer for a day when I would want a child.” Gilly took a breath and gave him a deranged smile. “After we made love, I collected some of your essence from my body. Don’t you see, Anton, my love? Our baby is growing right now.”
“What have you done?” he whispered, horrified.
“Just what you wanted me to do, my darling,” she said. “I put our baby inside that blonde bitch you nearly beat to death.”
“Gilly, no,” he choked out. “We have to destroy that thing. It’s an abomination.”
“How could you say that?” she screamed. “It’s our child, conceived from our love!”
“Gilly, I need you to be calm right now,” Anton said. “I need you to understand that it cannot be born.” Anton took a deep breath. “Gilly, you…you’re my sister, my flesh-and-blood sister.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Anton,” Gilly said. “This trick isn’t going to work. I’m going to hold our child in my arms, and when you see it, you’ll love it and me, like we love you.”
