Arranged: A Clean Billionaire Romance (Mixing Love and Business)

by Trisha Grace

  She stared down at it and flashes of memory popped into her mind. She remembered the ladder. She’d climbed out behind Leanne and escaped the bunker through here. How had Leanne lifted the cover all those years ago? It seemed to take quite a bit of Ted’s strength to pull it up.

  “Now!”

  She flinched at his voice.

  “Don’t you want to see your friend?”

  Hayley climbed down the ladder. Once in the bunker, her brain seemed to recognize the place immediately. She headed to the room she’d been held in, and inside, sprawled—face down—on the floor next to a chair was her best friend. “Leanne!”

  Leanne turned her face to the side, and her eyes widened, but she gave no other reaction.

  “What have you done to her?”

  Ted Shears cursed when he entered the room, and Hayley followed his gaze to the things scattered on the floor. A metal tray and syringes lay amid a pool of liquid. He picked up the syringes and threw them across the room, yelling more curses.

  He must’ve injected something into Leanne.

  Ted Shears stomped toward them and shoved Hayley aside. He flipped Leanne over and lifted his hand with the knife. Hayley jumped forward and grabbed his wrist.

  His other hand reached out and his fingers clutched her throat. “You’ve changed, Hayley.”

  She couldn’t let go of his wrist, and she couldn’t pry his hand from her neck with just one hand.

  But the psycho suddenly looked down and shoved her back.

  Hayley landed on the floor and gasped for air while Ted Shears pulled a syringe out of his ankle.

  Leanne grinned. “Go to hell.” Her words were slurred, and it seemed to take much of her strength to utter those words.

  Ted Shears roared with frustration. This clearly wasn’t how he’d planned for things to go down.

  But this was Hayley’s chance.

  She ran forward and threw herself against Ted, tackling him to the ground. She quickly rolled away from him. Orientate yourself. She needed to find something to defend Leanne and herself. She glanced down at her feet, at the knife that knocked into her shoes.

  She locked eyes with Leanne, but she didn’t have time to thank her friend. She grabbed the knife and slashed wildly at Ted.

  Ted blinked and shook his head. It seemed whatever Leanne had injected into him was starting to work.

  “I didn’t come with just four men. Two more teams were right behind us. They were tracking us the whole way.” She was lying. The other team of four had split up. Two of them were with Frank and two remained at the farmhouse with Paula. “I have a satellite tracker implanted in me. They’re closing in on you right now.” Another lie.

  But the monster wouldn’t know. That was the point of Anita’s story, right?

  Hayley wasn’t even sure if satellite trackers were a real thing. She’d watched a TV series about a bunch of rich kids getting kidnapped, and they apparently had such trackers in them.

  She doubted Ted Shears would have an in-depth knowledge of technology anyway. He had, after all, been in prison for a decade.

  “They won’t find me, angel. I’ll come back for you. Even if they take me in, I’ll find a way out again. I’ll get you someday. You and this meddling friend of yours will always have to live looking over your shoulders.” Ted Shears smirked, then turned. He ran out of the room with a slight stumble.

  “Why isn’t he completely paralyzed like you?” she asked Leanne.

  “Left … a lit … little.”

  Hayley chewed on her lips. The police couldn’t find this place ten years ago. What if they couldn’t find him now? “I can’t let him get away.”

  “Hay—”

  She ran out after Ted before Leanne could complete her name. Ted wasn’t too far ahead of her. She climbed up out of the bunker, but didn’t go straight after him. She felt around on the ground where Ted had pushed her down, then grinned as she grabbed the tracker.

  She ran forward and once again threw herself onto Ted Shears, the knife and tracker clutched tightly in her hands. She only had time to slip the tracker into his back pocket before he managed to throw her off him.

  He turned to her, and she jumped to her feet.

  “I’m here!” she screamed while slashing at Ted Shears. “Help! I’m here!”

  Ted Shears looked behind her, then bolted.

  “Mrs. Nicholson.”

  Hayley turned and sighed. “Jeffrey!” She ran to him. She hadn’t expected anyone to show up. “I did what you said. Where are the rest of your men?”

  “There were spikes in the trap.”

  “What?” She swallowed. That would explain the cries of pain. “Are they … dead?”

  “No. Hurt, but they’ll survive. Your friend?”

  “Here.” Hayley ran back toward the opening and climbed down the ladder. She ran back to Leanne, who was crawling out of the room. “It’s okay. He’s gone.”

  Jeffrey glanced over his shoulder. “Does the door lock?” He pulled out a gun. “Do you know how to use this?”

  “I planted the tracker on him. Julian can track his location. Let him know. The police can go after him. You need to help me get Leanne to a doctor.”

  Jeffrey put his gun back into his holster and pulled out his walkie-talkie. He told Julian that Hayley and Leanne were safe and relayed the information about the tracker.

  “I want to talk to her.”

  “I’m safe, Julian,” Hayley said into the walkie-talkie. “Don’t let him escape.”

  “I’m on it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  IT WAS DIFFICULT for Julian to let go of Hayley the next morning after waking up. The realization that he could have lost Hayley yesterday was still screaming loudly in his mind. He didn’t want to release her from his arms. He didn’t want to get out of bed.

  He was awake at four-thirty as usual, but all he did was pull Hayley closer against himself.

  Hayley snuggled against him and only stirred when the sun had completely risen. She made no move to roll out of bed either. She rested against his chest, holding him without saying a word.

  Their silence was broken by the vibration of his phone. He would have ignored it, but Hayley insisted he answer it.

  So now, here they were, seated around the dining table with Detective Miller.

  “Had the traps always been in the woods?” Hayley asked the detective who was seated across from her.

  “I believe so.”

  Julian shook his head. “So that means the police didn’t even get close to his underground bunker the last time.”

  “Miss Casa was adamant that there was no one else in the underground bunker. With both your statements, it was more than enough to convict him, so the police didn’t have much incentive to find the bunker.”

  “How did Ted Shears know I would find the way back?”

  “He didn’t. He was watching the farmhouse with binoculars. He saw you heading into the woods, so he followed and waited for an opportunity. He knows the woods well.” Detective Miller held her phone away and stared them down before giving them a lecture on how they shouldn’t have gone after Ted Shears on their own. They should have shared whatever information they had so they could work together.

  Julian didn’t show any sign of disagreement because he wanted Detective Miller out of his place. All he wanted to know was that they’d apprehended the psychopath, and they had.

  “Are we done?” he asked the moment Detective Miller stopped speaking.

  “Yes.” The detective stood and left. Julian reached over and gave Hayley’s hand a squeeze.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Perfectly fine.” Hayley had sustained a few scratches and bruises, but none that was life-threatening enough for the doctor to admit her to the hospital.

  While they were heading to the hospital in Colin’s car, Hayley had recounted what happened. Several times, Julian had wanted to interrupt to chastise her for behaving rashly. What if Leanne hadn’t managed t
o jab that small amount of drug into Ted Shears? What if Hayley hadn’t been able to get the knife? What if Jeffrey hadn’t gotten to her in time?

  But having her safely tucked into his arm had allowed him to swallow his concern. After all, he knew Hayley didn’t think about what could have happened. She reacted. She was too loyal a person to leave her friend to a psycho-killer or to let her friend get hurt.

  Julian didn’t want her living her life worried that Ted Shears might grab her anytime either.

  “I’m glad everything’s over.”

  Not exactly. Julian would have preferred if the police had killed Ted Shears. His death would make sure that Hayley would never have to face the psycho-killer again. But Ted Shears wasn’t one to go down fighting. The moment he knew he couldn’t run, he’d dropped to his knees and surrendered to the police.

  Ted Shears probably thought he was smart enough to find a way to escape prison again, but Julian wasn’t going to let that happen.

  His new team of lawyers would make sure that Ted Shears was locked away in isolation.

  Julian would make sure Ted Shears didn’t come into contact with anyone. He would make sure Ted Shears didn’t leave his cell until his execution, which Julian would make sure didn’t take another ten years to happen.

  “Leanne wants out of the hospital,” Hayley said after checking her phone.

  After the doctor had assured Julian that Hayley was okay, they’d stayed in the hospital with Leanne until they were chased out. The doctor hadn’t allowed the police to speak with her, but Leanne was well enough to tell them what happened.

  She’d been on the way to her car after dinner and drinks with her staff when Ted Shears grabbed her. He’d knocked her out immediately, and she woke up paralyzed in the underground bunker.

  “Has the doctor cleared her to leave?”

  “I don’t think so, but I’m sure they will soon.” Hayley got up from the chair.

  “Do you want to go to the hospital now? I’m sure Frank and Paula will be there.” The two of them had dropped by this morning, but Julian and Hayley were still sleeping.

  “Paula left something for me.” She got up and left the dining room. She came back soon with a large brown envelope in hand. “Doreen handed it to me while you were in the bathroom.”

  “The annulment papers.”

  “Yeah.” She returned to her seat, and Julian held his breath while he waited.

  Hayley had said she would stay, and Julian believed her. But he also knew how important the Casas were to her. If they were to stand their ground and insist that Hayley leave him, would she change her mind?

  Hayley cracked a smile as if she could see the questions in his head. “I’m not leaving.”

  He sighed. “You could’ve started with that.”

  She chuckled. “I thought I’d made it clear enough.” She wriggled her fingers, flashing her engagement ring at him.

  “So does this mean Frank and Paula approve of our marriage?”

  Hayley flipped the envelope over. On it were the handwritten words ‘We’re happy if you are.’

  Julian grinned and took the envelope when she slid it over to him. He ripped the envelope, along with its contents, in half. “So, when do you think we should have our wedding?”

  “We’re already married, Julian.”

  “I want another wedding. A small one. You, me, Colin, and the Casas. Frank can walk you down the aisle.”

  Hayley folded her arms on the dining table. “Julian, what if I’d planned the wedding we had? What if everything I’d ever wanted was the wedding we had?”

  “Did you plan the wedding?” Julian asked. Hayley might have waited her whole life for him, but he was certain she didn’t have any say in the wedding. Not when it was planned by her mother.

  Her lips curled back. “Luckily for you, no. My mother kind of took over.”

  “So? Let’s have another. We can have it in London. We can rent a castle.”

  She frowned.

  “I saw what you were reading.”

  She closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her face.

  Julian laughed and took her hand from her face. He hooked his finger under her chin and drew her toward him. He met her halfway and kissed her. “I love you, Hayley Espel. Let’s plan a wedding.”

  Epilogue

  JULIAN ADJUSTED HIS coat for the thousandth time while he waited for the string quartet to start playing the music. The sun was setting, casting a warm orange glow across the garden of the majestic English manor.

  The first wedding must have meant a lot to Hayley, but this would mean more to both of them. They weren’t doing this because their parents wanted them to. This was their choice.

  Hayley had chosen the flowers for the stand above him. She, Leanne, and Paula had spent months looking for a dress. Julian had found the venue and booked it immediately when he saw Hayley’s reaction to the garden.

  They’d chosen the cake and picked out their wedding rings together.

  The manor was way too large for their small wedding party, but Julian didn’t care.

  Everything had been kept under wraps. They booked everything under Leanne’s or Colin’s name. If anyone checked, it would be as if Leanne and Colin were getting married.

  “Stop fidgeting,” Colin said.

  “You have the rings, right?”

  “Yes,” Colin drawled out the word. “Do you want me to show them to you again?”

  Julian glared at Colin.

  “Make sure you get plenty of shots of Julian Nicholson getting all antsy,” Colin said to the photographer. “Why are you so nervous anyway? She’s already married to you. She isn’t going to leave you at the altar.”

  Of course Julian knew that. Which was why he didn’t understand why he was so nervous either.

  The string quartet began playing before he could try and figure out why, and Hayley came around the corner, led by Frank. He knew Leanne and Paula would be right behind her, but he didn’t—couldn’t—look beyond Hayley.

  Frank could be wearing his pajamas, and Julian wouldn’t know.

  His eyes were on Hayley. She grinned at him as she strolled down the green lawn in a gorgeous dress. The sleeveless white gown was overlaid with pale pink lace embroidered with flowers.

  “You take good care of her, do you understand?”

  Reluctantly, Julian pulled his eyes from Hayley and turned his attention to Frank. “Yes, sir.”

  Frank grinned and handed Hayley over to him.

  “You look amazing.”

  “Matches my ring.” She stepped up onto the white platform. “Why am I so nervous?”

  He shifted her hand onto his chest, letting her feel how hard his heart was pounding.

  She giggled and turned to her pastor, whom they had flown in so he could preside over their wedding. Hayley had considered inviting her church friends to their second wedding, but it was too long a story to explain and they didn’t want to risk it leaking to the press.

  The ceremony was over in a breeze. Julian leaned in to kiss Hayley, then he pulled her tight against him and kissed her again.

  “All right, people.” Leanne clapped her hands. “Let’s go have our dinner while the lovebirds kiss the night away.”

  “I have a surprise for you,” Julian said when they broke their kiss.

  Hayley leaned back so she could look at his face.

  Julian spun her around to face the manor. “This is ours.”

  She gasped. “Julian.” She turned back around to face him.

  “I’ve been in negotiations with the owner, and we just signed the papers before the ceremony.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “You know I love this place.”

  “And it’s ours.” He laughed when she threw her arms around his neck.

  She glanced over at the manor, then back at him. “I didn’t get you anything.”

  “You’ve already given me everything.” He pressed his lips to hers
again.

  Hayley broke the kiss and leaned back in his arms to gaze up at him.

  “Is there something on my face?” he asked after several moments of silence.

  She shook her head. “I’m just thinking you are so much more amazing than the Julian I’d built up in my fantasy.”

  “Are you happy?”

  She nodded.

  “That’s all that matters to me.”

  Author's Note

  Hi there!

  I hope you’ve enjoyed the book. I was inspired to write Arranged after hearing and seeing the struggles of my friends and family in their marriages. One thing I’ve noticed is that women are strong.

  In every woman is an amazing strength that never fails to leave me in awe, but it’s also normal to become tired and feel alone in whatever battles you’re fighting. Know that it’s okay to cry out or even complain to God. He is always there to listen to you. He is always there for you.

  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

  You’re not alone. You’re loved, and God has promised that all things work together for good to them who love God (Romans 8:28). So hang on. Things will get better because God has your back.

  With love,

  Trisha

  P.S.: If you’ve enjoyed the book, you’ll be doing me a great favor by clicking here and leaving a review on Amazon.

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  © 2016 Trisha Grace

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