Billionaire's Princess: A Standalone Novel (A Royal Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (Billionaires Book 2)

by Claire Adams

  As the boat driver took us away from the shore, I found an old towel and pressed it into Nick’s side, trying to stop the bleeding. He grunted when I touched it. “Is the bullet in there?” I asked him.

  “I don’t think so,” he said, “I think it just barely grazed me.”

  Once we got the bleeding stopped, I got a bottle of water out of the ice chest the driver showed me and handed it to him. “Drink it all, it’ll help with the loss of blood.”

  He grinned through his pain and said, “Yes, Princess.”

  “Your Grace,” I said with a grin of my own. He winked at me.

  He fell asleep on the way across the small channel. I was trying to tell myself we made it this far and that there was nothing to worry about, but I just had this dark feeling that the worst was yet to come. The boat ride took about half an hour and when we pulled up to dock the boat, I heard the driver trying to get ahold of Brandon on the radio. There was nothing but static on the other end and that gave me one more thing to worry about.

  He looked at me and said, “The car is here to take you to the shelter. Maybe we should get Mr. Vansant to the hospital.”

  Nicholas pulled his head up and said, “No, no hospital. They’ll track us there.”

  “You need to get that taken care of,” I told him.

  “No hospital,” he insisted. He tried to pull himself to his feet. The boat driver had to help him, he was so weak. Once we were in the car, I tried again to convince him to go to the hospital. He stubbornly refused and told the driver to take us to the shelter.

  Gabriel woke up again and as Nick lay his head over on my shoulder, my curious little son poked him in the eye with his finger. Nick opened the other eye and grinned at him. Gabriel smiled and cooed and tried to poke him in the other eye.

  Nick opened his mouth and acted like he was going to bite him and instead, grabbed the baby’s finger with his lips. Gabriel pulled it away and cracked up. They played like that all the way to the shelter. I thought my heart had never seen anything that made it so happy.

  The shelter turned out to be a barn in the middle of nowhere. We unloaded, and the driver went inside and checked things out before telling us to come in. Once we were inside, the driver used his foot to clear out a pile of hay and then grasped a brass ring in the floor and pulled up on it.

  A trap door opened and we were led down a set of stairs. I was relieved to finally be somewhere that I could change Gabriel. He was in pull-ups now and potty training, but not fully trained yet. He was babbling happily as we hit the last step and suddenly, he squealed and said, “Papa!”

  I froze, Nicholas froze, and the driver of the car pulled a gun out of his coat and turned to train it on us. The idea of a gun being pointed at my baby was more terrifying than anything I’d ever experienced. I pulled him in as tightly as I could hold him before my eyes even located Miguel in the back of the room with another huge man.

  The son of a bitch was still dressed in his tuxedo and poor Luca was sitting in a chair in front of him, half conscious and beaten almost to death. We were finally at a place where I had a hard time finding any hope.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  NICHOLAS

  We were so close. Yes, I was bleeding and on the verge of passing out, but still, we’d almost made it. I guess I should give us credit. We hadn’t done half bad for such a rag-tag crew with very little experience raiding a palace and stealing a princess and a prince.

  Now there was a gun pointed at the only two things in the world that mattered to me and Miguel Esparza and his crew outnumbered me by five big men. Fuck.

  Miguel smiled. “I’m so glad you could all join us for this little party. And there is my little man.” He took a step toward Emma and the baby and I stepped in front of them. Miguel laughed and said, “How many of these bullets to you think it will take to knock you out of my way?”

  I felt Emma’s hands on my arm. She was trying to move me out of the way. I stood my ground, but she stepped around me and gave me one of her stubborn looks. Miguel held out his arms and Gabriel reached for him, too. I felt like someone had poured acid on my heart.

  My chest was burning as I watched her place the baby into his arms. She had a tear running down her face. I knew putting him in Miguel’s arms was simply to get him out of the line of fire, but it still hurt to watch her hand him over.

  “Now, Mr. Vansant, I’m afraid we’ll need to relieve you of your weapons.” The man with the gun, the one I’d mistakenly thought worked for Brandon, motioned at me to step forward. I did, and when I started to reach under my jacket he said,

  “Alto!” Emma turned her head sharply, but I did know how to say stop in Spanish. I stopped and let him fish the gun out and then the knife out of the sheaf on my belt. He motioned the other man over and had him frisk me.

  Then I got sick to my stomach as I watched him do the same to Emma. I was surprised when he didn’t find the gun, even though he groped all of her. When he finished, he stepped back and said, “They’re clean now, boss.”

  Miguel smiled again just as Gabriel began fussing again and reaching for his Mama. “He’s hungry and needs to be changed,” she told him. With a disgusted look, Miguel handed the baby back to her and said,

  “Change him.” Emma took the baby and carried him over to the table in the corner. I tried to keep my eyes on them, but Miguel stepped in between us so that he was in my direct line of vision. The sight of him made me angry.

  “As soon as the baby is fresh and fed, he’ll be left in the care of my capable soldiers while I take the two of you upstairs and we finish this once and for all. I’m tired of our games.”

  That was when I heard the explosive sound of a gun and my heart stopped for a few seconds. Chaos ensued as the gun was discharged over and over. Both of Miguel’s men dropped one after the other. Emma had taken them by surprise.

  The look on Miguel’s face was priceless as Emma told him, “You should never turn your back on your princess. Hand Nicholas your gun with the barrel pointing at you.” I could hear Gabriel screaming, but I couldn’t see him. I took Esparza’s gun out of his hand and pointed it at him.

  As soon as I had him covered, Emma reached down underneath the table and pulled an angry, hungry, and tired, blanket-covered baby out. She continuously amazed me. A little too much, I suppose.

  As I was watching her, besotted by the vision of her and our beautiful son, Miguel reached into his back pocket and as he brought the gun around, I shot him in the chest with his own gun. He looked shocked as I stood over him. Blood was rushing from his chest and his tuxedo was saturated with it.

  “How does it feel to know that you’re going to die and I’m going to have everything you ever wanted?” I asked him. He opened his mouth to respond and blood gurgled out and ran down his chin. It was a gruesome sight, and I was slightly ashamed at how much I enjoyed it. I looked over at Emma again. She was clutching Gabriel tightly to her chest so that his face was buried against her and he couldn’t see what was happening. Her face was as pale as a ghost and I said,

  “I’m sorry.”

  She looked at me with those pretty gold flecked eyes and said, “Why? Why are you sorry? He was going to kill you.”

  “I just hadn’t meant to kill anyone, as much as I wanted him dead.”

  She stepped over bodies to get to me and when she reached me she reached up and put a hand on the side of my face. “You just ended our nightmare. Please, don’t be sorry.”

  I put my arms around her and Gabriel and although the baby was still screaming, I hugged them both tightly and wondered how I’d gotten through life this far without them.

  ********

  Most of my life, I was a good, decent, law-abiding citizen. I hoped that cancelled out the mess we left behind when we boarded the jet and got the hell off that island in the dead of night.

  Gabriel was finally content and sleeping on the plane and Brandon, who had made it out of the woods unscathed, was somehow able to find a doctor that didn’t
speak a lick of English to tend to my wounds. One day, I’d like to sit down with him and find out what happened to him, but tonight I just wanted to forget it all and get my family home. Luca went with us to the airport and the doctor tended his wounds, too. When he’d finished with us both, I said,

  “Luca, I appreciate all you did for my family. If you’d like to come back to the States with us, I’ll make sure you have a place to stay, a job, and enough cash to last you for a very long time.”

  “As tempting as that is sir, this is my home and protecting the royal family is my life. With Mr. Esparza gone, I believe things might get back to normal someday.” He looked at Emma and said, “Should I give them a message from you, your grace?”

  Emma smiled at him. “Just my brother please, Luca. Tell him I love him and as soon as I get settled, I will call him. I hope he’ll be able to visit someday.” Luca nodded and smiled at her and then looked over at the sleeping baby and said, “I’m going to miss the little guy, but I’m glad you have him back.”

  Emma gave him a hug and I shook his hand and before he left, he went over to Gabriel and softly touched his little cheek. I knew how he felt and I’d only just met him.

  The flight home was long, but because of the meds the doctor gave me, I slept most of the way. Once there, I thanked Brandon and the rest of the team and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw my own car and driver waiting for us.

  An hour later, we were back in my penthouse in Las Vegas, and although I’d only been away for a couple of weeks, it felt like a lifetime. While I showered, Emma got Gabriel fed and changed. The apartment was so quiet when I got out that I panicked for a few seconds.

  I searched the house for them and finally found them in one of the guest rooms. Gabriel was lying on the bed in just his diaper, chattering and reaching for his toes. Emma was lying next to him sound asleep. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life. I went over and sat down on the baby’s side of the bed. He smiled up at me and said something in Spanish. I resolved that first thing in the morning, I was hiring a Spanish tutor. I wasn’t going to wait any longer than I had to communicate with my son.

  “You know what, little man? You and I haven’t been properly introduced, but I’m your daddy.”

  He was still smiling and looking at me curiously as I talked. I pointed at Emma and said, “Mama,” and then at myself and said, “Daddy.”

  “Daddy,” he said in his little Spanish accent. My heart exploded. Smiling I said,

  “That’s right, little prince. I’m your daddy.” He squealed and rolled over. He pushed himself up on his hands and knees and then stood up. It was the first time I’d seen him stand. He leaned forward to try and take a step on the bed and I had to catch him. His little mouth landed on my face and I swear he gave me a kiss…a very wet, slobbery one. I loved it.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  EMMA

  ONE YEAR LATER

  “Gabriel, get down from there!” I scooped my son off the dresser in the bedroom. He liked to climb up and look at himself in the mirror. His daddy thought it was hilarious; all I could imagine was him falling through the glass mirror.

  “Elena, I have to go.”

  “Wait! We’ll be in at seven tonight.”

  “I know that. Mother sent the itinerary. Gabriel!” Now he was climbing the curtains. “I really have to go, Elena.”

  “Lord, Ariana, you are a princess for crying out loud and married to a billionaire. Why don’t you have a nanny?”

  “Because my son is going to know every day of his life that I love him.”

  “A nanny could tell him that for you.”

  “Aye! Elena, I’m hanging up now.”

  “Wait! Mother expects you to be at the airport.”

  I sighed. “It’s going to be a zoo, Elena. The press has been reporting on the visit for over a week already.”

  “Of course, it’s always news when the royal family visits. I’m sure you know how to handle the press, and besides, Daddy is bringing an entire team of people to handle all of that. How rude would it look to the world for your family to show up for your wedding and you not even come to the airport and greet us.”

  “About that, Elena, I’m just not sure I’m up for this whole royal wedding thing.”

  “Have you lost your mind? All Mother has done for the past six months is plan this wedding. If you cancel now, things will go back the way they were. You don’t want that, do you?”

  “Well since the way things were was not my fault….”

  I could almost hear Elena rolling her eyes. “It doesn’t matter whose fault it was. You almost tore this family apart and then you left when the heat got really bad.”

  I laughed. “I left when people started locking me up and trying to kill me.”

  “Details,” she said. I shook my head. Elena was born to be a princess. I scooped up my ambitious toddler again and kissed his sticky face.

  I was born to be a mother and Nick’s wife, and I loved both of my jobs. I didn’t want to get sucked into a media circus and an elaborate wedding, but I was trying to have a relationship with my family for Gabriel’s sake. This would be the first time they’d seen him in a year. I supposed I could put myself out for just one day.

  “I will be at the airport when your plane lands,” I told my sister.

  “Perfect, Mother will be thrilled.” I smiled. I was still not sure how I felt about Mother or if I cared that she was thrilled or not. But I did miss my brother and surprisingly, my sister, as well.

  “I really have to go now, Elena. Have a safe flight.”

  “Okay, Ariana, I’ll see you soon.”

  I hung up the way I always did when Elena called: anxious and with my head spinning. Nicholas and I got married at a wedding chapel in Las Vegas a month after we got back from back. Gabriel was Nick’s best man. Lynn was back in town and we had a tearful reunion just a few days before the wedding. She stood up for me and the day was perfect as far as I was concerned.

  We lived a peaceful, lovely life for three months after that before the first time I heard from my sister. She called me out of the blue one day in tears. She’d had a big blow-up with the Duke and she said I was the only one who could understand. After two hours of listening to Elena whine about how unfair life is, I still hadn’t figured out why she thought I would understand. I finally asked her why she thought I would understand and her reply was,

  “Because you ran away from all of this responsibility and obligation. Some days I feel like running away, too. Nobody knows how hard it is to be a princess…except you.” I had let her believe we had that much in common and from then on out, I received a weekly phone call from her.

  Somewhere along the way, she began to involve our mother in those calls. Mother was cold and distant at first, and I wasn’t the least bit surprised. What did surprise me was the day she became tearful asking about Gabriel. She told me she’d seen a picture of him on my brother Victor’s Facebook and he was getting so big and so handsome and he’d never know where he came from. She wailed over it for an hour. I was literally exhausted when I got off the phone with her.

  After that, I began getting weekly phone calls from her, as well. She wanted to FaceTime and Skype with Gabriel, and I became even more surprised when I realized that her feelings, the fact that she missed him, was genuine.

  My father got in on the action and suddenly almost one of my entire day per week was dedicated to my family. None of them ever apologized for anything directly, but I could tell that in their own way they were trying to make up to me for not stepping in and protecting me from Miguel.

  After I left and Miguel’s body was found, my brother had unloaded on my parents. He told them what I’d suffered at the hands of that monster. He told me later that Miguel honestly had them convinced that I was mentally ill and refusing treatment. He played on their need for positive press and told them I threatened to call reporters and do an exposé on the family. I played into their hands the day the reporter
I had hired showed up at the palace.

  My brother said they were both remorseful and devastated. I thought that was funny since they’d never told me any of that. But Nick and I talked about it and in his infinite wisdom, he’d asked me one day,

  “Who is it hurting for you to carry around all of that anger?”

  “Me,” I said. “It hurts me. I think they are all so self-absorbed that my anger didn’t hurt them at all.

  “Right, and there is one other person.”

  “Gabriel?”

  “He’s a prince. He may or may not want that title someday, but in my opinion, it should be up to him.”

  I realized he was right; just because I didn’t want to be connected to my royal family didn’t mean that Gabriel might not want to someday. So I’d sucked up what was left of the anger inside of me and decided to move forward. About six months into my marriage to Nick, in one of our weekly calls, my mother said,

  “I don’t mean to presume to be invited…but I am curious about the wedding. When is it?”

  “Nicholas and I got married already, Mother.”

  She made a noise with her lips and I could picture the look on her face. It wasn’t good. “So you’re married, but like it or not, Ariana, you are a princess. You owe it to your subjects to hold a grand wedding. Little girls dream of being a princess someday and since the beginning of time the wedding is the culmination of everything the princess has ever wanted or worked toward. In essence, a princess that gets married in a chapel in Las Vegas is taking away from those little girl’s dreams.” Her argument made no sense, but when I spoke to Nicholas about it that night he asked,

  “Would it really hurt anything to have a wedding? I mean, we can afford it. It would make your mother happy and one day when our son is grown up, which would you rather he see…pictures of a real wedding in a real church, or a quickie ceremony in a chapel.”