Alexander & Rebecca (Royals of Valleria #1)

by Knightly, Marianne

  “I can assure you both, you have nothing to fear. I spoke to my wife about Alex’s intentions not long after he mentioned them to me. She’s quite fond of Rebecca, as you know.”

  “Yes, sir,” Francine said. “However, being fond of someone isn’t the same as wanting them as part of your family. Particularly, a royal family.”

  Alex began to speak, but Gabriel stayed him with one look and spoke instead. “Rebecca will face detractors, this is true. One cannot be a royal, or a ruler, without them. However, I have full faith in Rebecca, and in Alex as well. She is an excellent woman, due to the two of you, and if I have every confidence in her, so will the nation.”

  “Thank you, Your Highness,” Francine said, blushing at the compliment.

  “None of that anymore,” Gabriel said. “There are no formalities in our family. As you will soon join ours, please, feel free to call me Gabriel.”

  “Rebecca has not been, for technicalities sake, asked a certain question. When she’s back, then we’ll see,” Ettore said as his mind trailed off.

  Gabriel squeezed his hand. “We’ll find her. Have no doubt on that score.”

  Ettore nodded just as Alex’s phone buzzed. “Pardon me, I’d better take this in case there’s news,” Alex said and exited the room.

  A message from the phone he’d given Rebecca popped up on the screen.

  Help me. Trapped in a warehouse on Ave de Burgundy. Can’t get out. Please come, Alexander. I love you. Please help me.

  A knot twitched in his chest before it settled like lead in his stomach. Things were off with this message. She did not call him Alexander, not anymore, and she had never said she loved him before. He forwarded the message to Marcello just as another popped up on the screen.

  They’ve got the place surrounded. You’ll do better if you come alone. I love you. Please help me.

  Now he knew something was off. She would never ask him to risk his life, even to save her. Rebecca was too unselfish for that. If there were an army there, she would have asked him to bring the same but to stay away while they rescued her.

  Alex forwarded the second message to Marcello as he walked into the hospital room.

  “Any news?” Ettore asked immediately.

  “I’m going to meet with Marcello now; we may have a lead on where she’s being held.” Alex shared a look with his father, knowing he would understand what he was really saying.

  “Give us a call, my son, when you know more.”

  “Yes, Papa.”

  “And don’t forgot what I told you,” Ettore said.

  “No, sir,” Alex said quickly before saying goodbye and heading quickly out the door.

  He had no time to lose.

  ***

  Without making too much noise, Rebecca had managed to loosen the ties enough to slip her hands through, allowing her to also loosen the ones at her feet. Jacopo had kept coming back in to check on her every so often, but had never looked too closely at her bindings. He had spent significant amounts of time leering at her, though, and she knew he would be groping her, or worse, before long.

  The trouble was, even though she was now freed from her bindings, there was nothing in the room to help her. No large objects to bash over heads or even small ones to help in any way.

  She only had herself.

  She had gone through a hundred scenarios in her head: waiting for them by the door then attacking, or waiting until they tried to attack her then attacking back. One idea after another flitted through her mind, and was discarded or revised.

  She thought she could have handled the attack if it had been just one of them, but there were at least two with potentially more beyond. However, she could not sit back and take what they wanted to do to her. She had to fight back, for Alex, for her parents, and for herself most of all.

  She decided the next time Jacopo came to check on her, she would try to take him out first.

  He came just a few minutes later.

  She had slipped her hands and feet loosely into the bindings again when she had heard him at the door, then feigned sleep again.

  “Still asleep, bitch?” he said as he got closer. “Leffie’s gone to run an errand, and that means it’s just the two of us here, and no one to hear you scream.” Leffie! Now she recognized the other kidnapper; it was Tavin’s head security agent. Why was he doing this?

  When Jacopo climbed over her and began to grope her chilled flesh, she refocused on the task at hand; she would have time to dwell on why Leffie was involved in this later.

  “I bet if I fucked you,” Jacopo sneered. “You wouldn’t even know it when I woke up. Whores are like that,” he said as he leaned down. When she felt his lips on her body, revulsion swum through her like a bite of fresh, scaly fish, and she fought back.

  She slipped her feet and hands out of the binds easily and pushed him away from her, sending him with a cry onto the hard cement floor. Though he had hit his head, he was still conscious.

  She pulled one of the bindings free from the bedframe and wrapped it around his neck. She pulled tightly with everything she had, while he struggled, arms flailing, to fight against her.

  When his arms finally collapsed at his sides, a gunshot rang out and Rebecca felt pain against her rib. She stepped back and Jacopo collapsed, unconscious on the floor, and a small streak of bright, red blood appeared just under her breast on the right side.

  She gasped as she stepped back and faced the gunman, Lafayette.

  “You goddamn, dumbass bitch!” he screamed. “What the fuck did you just do?” he asked as he ran over to check on Jacopo. Rebecca used the opportunity to step away slowly, hoping she had enough time to make it to the door before he realized what she was doing.

  She didn’t.

  Another gunshot rang out and she ducked her head against it. “Stop right there,” Lafayette yelled, and she gauged the distance to the door and her chances for survival.

  “Don’t even fucking think about it,” he said and fired the gun near her again. “I missed on purpose, only because I need you alive right now. That’s the only reason,” he said as he stormed towards her.

  If he was not ready to kill her yet, maybe she had a chance. She took off at a run and heard him curse before his footfalls soon outpaced hers.

  She was almost to the door. Almost. Almost.

  She was barely a fingertip away when he jumped on top of her from behind and she fell to the floor with a cry. He flipped her over and drew a violent hand across her cheek, causing her vision to blur for a few moments.

  “It’s a good thing I just picked up some duct tape,” he said as he dragged her across the floor by her arms and back to the bed. He pulled a roll of tape from his pocket and wound it around her wrists and ankles, binding her tightly to the bed. Then, with a vicious gleam in his eye, he said, “Oops. Forgot to do this first.”

  He ripped the thong from her body and she tensed at what may come next. Then he ripped the strapless bra away from her, too, the hooks leaving streaks of pain across her back as it was pulled away. She let out a cry at the feeling of the wooden pallets underneath her abrading new injuries.

  “Now let’s see what your fake prince has to say when he sees you naked and bound, and at my mercy. He deserves it for what he’s done, for what his whole family’s done.”

  He ripped off another piece of tape and covered her mouth. “Did I tell you that I invited your lover here? He should arrive shortly. In the meantime, when Jacopo wakes up, I think it’s only fair he uses you first. You did almost kill him, after all.”

  He let out a maniacal laugh and punched her again before he got off the bed and headed for the door.

  When the door banged shut, she was relieved he had only punched her, though she felt as though she were living on borrowed time. She shot a glance to Jacopo, still lying unmoving on the floor, and prayed some more.

  Chapter 18

  Alex walked alone towards the warehouse, which had not been hard to find. It had been harder, in fact, to
convince Marcello and the Royal Protection Service of his plan. It would work, he had told them, it had to. Only the conviction and love on his face had made them agree.

  It was still light out as he approached the door. The late summer days meant night dawned late and hid early. As it was, they had just passed lunch, though he had not been able to eat anything. The city was shutting down for riposo, its midday break, and the streets had been fairly quiet. The few who walked nearby gave Alex nary a glance; who would expect to see their future king in the warehouse district?

  The suit he wore had been custom designed with a prince’s duties in mind. It had several hidden pockets, perfect for a prince who could not be seen in public carrying anything but a phone, and which now held a strong beacon to signal the troops at the right moment, as well a weapon or two. Alex, though retired from the Vallerian Armed Forces, could still outmaneuver and outfight anyone who came across his path; he trained hard, even these days, to ensure it.

  Today, however, even without the training and the weapons, he would have found a way to manage. The fury inside him was its own power, and it was a power he would use to save his love. No mere man was a match against the power coursing through him right now.

  The door to the warehouse, unsurprisingly, was unlocked. He eased carefully inside and looked around. He already knew the layout of the building, had spent the last fifteen minutes learning every nook and cranny, every room, every potential hiding place.

  With the help of Marcello and an infrared camera, they had determined there were three in the building: two in a side room, and one guarding the outside. Only one person inside the room was moving.

  Alex slowly made his way towards the room, watching for any movement nearby. His shoes left soft taps along the floor, but that could not be helped. Chances were, the person behind all this already knew that Alex was here anyway.

  He checked the light under the door for shadows; none lay beyond as far as he could tell. He opened the door and slipped inside.

  He saw her and his heart stuttered before a red haze of fury threatened to undo him. She was naked and bound to a makeshift bed at the other end of the large room. Blood and bruises marred her olive skin, and he growled. Her eyes flipped to his, wide and full of fear and tears. She began shaking her head, and he read her gesture a split second too late.

  As he swirled around, he came face-to-face with a man he recognized holding a gun. “I wouldn’t try saving her, if I was you,” Lafayette sneered. He gestured with the gun and Alex walked slowly backward, past an unconscious man and the bed, to the back wall. Rebecca’s eyes followed every movement.

  “Do you know who I am?” Lafayette asked as he stood near the bed, near Rebecca.

  “You’re Tavin’s security detail,” Alex said.

  “Very good. But do you know who I really am?”

  “Why don’t you enlighten us?” Alex asked though gritted teeth.

  “Come now, cousin. Surely, you recognize me now.”

  Alex’s eyes narrowed. “You remind me of my father’s cousin, Gerald, from Switzerland.”

  “I should. I’m the man’s bastard son,” he said with a sneer.

  “He never mentioned a son, illegitimate or otherwise.”

  A look of disgust crossed Lafayette’s face. “Asshole. He wouldn’t. I heard you laughing at him and my bitch of a sister the other night.”

  “The cameras at the palace. You set them up.”

  “Of course I did,” he spat. “Had to keep you on your toes. Missed one, though, didn’t you? You probably checked all your bedrooms, but never bothered with the others, did you?” he cackled.

  Alex glanced at Rebecca, then took a deep breath; he had to remain calm. “So, I take it you’re not a fan of your father, either?”

  Lafayette scoffed. “Thinks he’s above everybody and everything, but still lowers himself to sleep with whores like yours.”

  Alex bared his teeth and growled, a wolf warning his prey.

  Lafayette merely laughed. “Go ahead and try something. If you do, I’ll get to lock you up in jail nice and tight when we’re done here.”

  “Like hell. No court will convict me.”

  “They will, for attempted murder.”

  “I am the Prince of Valleria,” Alex said, his voice growing louder with every word. “If I murder someone, no attempt about it, while rescuing my future wife, no one will convict me.”

  “But you’re not the rightful prince, I am!” Lafayette spewed forth. “I’m going to reclaim the throne.”

  Alex took a breath and calmed himself. “How in any realm of the imagination are you the rightful prince?” Alex asked in a faintly amused tone.

  “If my useless great-grandfather hadn’t abdicated his throne for a whore like this,” Lafayette said as gripped Rebecca painfully by her hair, causing her to wince in pain. “Then I would be in line for the throne right now.”

  “Don’t touch a hair on her head, asshole,” Alex warned but Lafayette merely smiled.

  “Fucking hell,” Alex said. “Is this what this has been about? You want the throne? It wouldn’t even go to you; it would go to your father, then your half-sister, Zinnia.”

  “Not once I’ve killed them. But first, you’ll abdicate the throne for this bitch, and I’ll be that much closer.” A gleam crossed over Lafayette’s eyes.

  “I’m not even the king right now. I can’t abdicate what I don’t have.”

  “Ah,” Lafayette said smugly. “But, as heir apparent, you can issue a Royal Order, including abdication of current and future kings.”

  “Are you fucking crazy? You think I’m going to abdicate the throne on my father’s behalf?”

  “Yes,” he said as he pointed the gun at Rebecca’s head. “You’ll do it for her. By signing the Royal Order I’ve drafted, you’ll not only abdicate but revert the reigning line back where it belongs: to me.”

  Rebecca shook her head, warning Alex not to do it.

  “Did you want to speak to her? Why don’t I help you with that?” he said as he reached for the tape across her mouth.

  “No!” Alex cried just as the sound of ripping tape and flesh echoed in the room. Rebecca’s cry of pain split his heart in two; he knew he would never forget that sound.

  “Don’t do it, Alex, please,” Rebecca begged, then winced in pain when Lafayette hit her again.

  “I told you not to fucking touch her.”

  Lafayette threw his head back and laughed. Had he been paying more attention, he would have noticed Alex dip his hand into a hidden pocket, where he activated the beacon hidden there, before he stalked closer to the bed.

  “I’ve already touched her plenty,” Lafayette mocked and squeezed her breast; Rebecca winced in pain again. Alex’d had enough. He was done waiting for Marcello and the troops to storm the room.

  He was finishing this himself.

  With a storming cry of battle, he ran forward and lunged at Lafayette. The gun was easily knocked away, and the fury burst forth in a tidal wave of fists.

  Alex pinned him against the floor, punching him mercilessly until his face was barely visible under the blood and broken bones. When Lafayette groaned, Alex stood and reached for the gun.

  Lafayette merely laughed, despite the pain of the bruises on his face. “Going to kill me, are you?” he asked with a nose full of blood. “Go ahead. The public doesn’t want a king who kills with his bare hands.”

  “Isn’t that what you were going to do?”

  “Hardly. I was just going to have you sign the Royal Order and then fuck your woman in front of you,” he said and started laughing again.

  As Alex pointed the gun at Lafayette’s heart, the doors burst open. Rebecca cried out again, and made a feeble attempt to hide her body from the mass of men and women storming into the room.

  Alex cursed as he removed his jacket, careful to keep the gun poised while he did so, then tossed the garment gently over Rebecca.

  “Thank you,” she said in a hoarse whisper with h
er eyes closed. Tears streamed down her face.

  All of the fight left Alex in one fell swoop, like a wave receding from the shore. He handed the gun over to Marcello and sat next to the love of his life. He withdrew a pocketknife from another hidden pocket and gently cut the tape away from the bedposts. It was still attached to her skin, but she was free.

  Her tears turned to sobs. Alex wrapped her more securely in the jacket and pulled her into his lap. He gently brushed the tears away with his thumb and rocked her while the agents secured the room.

  “I’m not done yet!” Lafayette screamed as the men began to handcuff him. He fought them off and pulled out a hidden gun.