STEAMPUNK ROMANCE: An Innovative Clockwork Steampunk World Adventure: The Complete Collection Boxed Set (Mystery Suspense Romance Short Stories)

by Haven, Rose

  I have to make her understand that she belongs to me. And no matter what, I’ll make sure I get that into her head. After all, I have all the time in the world to express my feelings to her now that I have her by my side.

  I look at her sleeping peacefully beside me. She’ll be waking up any moment now. My hands are itching to touch her body but I have to wait patiently until she gets up. I want her to experience my love for her. I want her to be wide awake when I finally make her mine.

  As I am looking at her beautiful face, I hear my phone ring. It is that fellow from the restaurant.

  “Hello?”

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing calling me like that in the middle of the night? I told you I’ll be sending you your money tomorrow morning.”

  “Uh… Andrew I just wanted to ask you if that woman is alright. I don’t want you to kill her or do something stupid. I don’t know if you know it but she came to the restaurant with one of the most powerful men in the area. If something happens to her….”

  “Oh shut up! I don’t need a fathead like you telling me what to do. You just take your money and get out of Florence for a few days.”

  I end his call. I am furious again! I know fully well that she was in that damned restaurant with that stupid Graziani fellow. I don’t understand what she sees in him. He may have shitloads of money but he can never love her as much as I do. My fists curl with rage when I remember these past days that I’d spent hiding from the Polizia. Graziani had sent them after me. They’d even gone to Murlo to search for me.

  But I was here all the while…in Florence. While the Polizia were looking for me all over the place, I was busy keeping an eye on Graziani. Today, I saw him going to a jewelry shop and when he came out, I followed him discreetly for a while. That’s when I heard him book a table for two at that luxury restaurant where Matthew worked. And later, when he called Arianna and asked her to get ready, I suspected that he’d be proposing to her tonight.

  I laugh to myself at the thought. Poor Graziani! He’d be waiting for his….what did he call her….Gemma, yes, he’d be waiting for his Gemma to return from the washroom with a ring in his hand. But little does he know that his Gemma is actually MY Arianna! And tonight if anyone will confess his love for her, it will be Andrew Dioli!

  I look at Arianna once again. She is beginning to stir a little. Just a few moments more and the effect of the sedative will vanish completely. I have to make her comfortable once she regains consciousness or she’ll freak out. I have to make her understand that no one can keep her as happy as I can and I am sure she’ll understand. I know that secretly she’s in love with me too but she’s too shy to admit it.

  But tonight, there’ll be no place for shyness between us. Tonight, she’ll have to surrender herself to me completely…..with mind and body! And once that happens, I’ll take her far away from here to a place where no one will ever be able to find us.

  Chapter Two - Alberto Graziani

  “Mr. Pompous!” I laugh at the way Gemma said that. Nobody has ever called me pompous before! But Gemma, you can trust her to be completely honest with you!

  Once again, my respect for her grew when she took the blame of the waiter’s mistake on her. That is the Gemma I know. Yes, she lied to me about a lot of things….no, I wouldn’t say she lied; she just hid the truth. But then, I guess I would have done the same thing if I had been in her place. In fact, I am skeptical I would’ve been as strong as her, considering what all she had to go through.

  I will never forget the look on her face when she narrated her tale. The pain that I saw in her eyes is still afresh in my mind. I wanted to tell her to stop, but then realized how important it was for her to get all that guilt and pain off her chest. She seemed relieved of a huge burden after she’d said it all.

  I promised myself that day that I’ll make life beautiful for her and Rio. I’ll try to give both of them all the happiness and love that they deserve. I plan to marry Gemma and officially make her and Rio family.

  This is the surprise that I plan to give her tonight. On my way back from the office, I stopped at the jeweler to select a ring for her. I know she’s not the type of girl who’d want a big rock on her finger. So instead, I bought a delicate ring with rubies and diamonds placed beautifully in a floral pattern. I am sure she’ll love it. And Mrs. Antoni thinks likewise too. She knows that I’ll be proposing to her tonight. I could see the happiness that reflected in her eyes when I told her about my plans.

  “God bless both of you. I am so happy for you Alberto. I wish your mama was here to see you both getting married,” she’d said with moist eyes.

  I am waiting eagerly for Gemma to come back. Why is she taking so long, I think to myself. When she doesn’t return after more than half an hour, my instincts begin to tell me that something’s wrong. I decide to go and check myself.

  “Mr. Grazizni, can I help you?” The hostess comes up to me as she sees me getting up.

  “Can you please check what is taking my partner so long? She went to the washroom about half an hour ago to get cleaned up and has not returned as yet.” I am beginning to get a little worried.

  “Sure sir. I’ll just go and check myself.”

  When the hostess returns after about ten minutes, there is a confused look on her face.

  “Sir, are you sure she went to the washroom? There is no one there right now.”

  “What? How’s that possible?” Something that tells me that Gemma is in trouble.

  “Why don’t you call her and check where she is.” Even the hostess looks worried now. Perhaps she is thinking that my girlfriend has ditched me.

  “I would have done that long back but she’s left her phone here on the table,” I tell her.

  Suddenly, I realize that the waiter who spilled Gemma’s drink is nowhere in sight.

  Chapter Three

  “Where is the waiter who spilled that drink on Gemma?” I ask her in an impatient tone.

  “Oh, Matthew? He left about half an hour ago saying that he had some very urgent work. He’s joined the restaurant quite recently and already we’ve got quite a few complaints…………”

  “We have to find him. URGENTLY!” I almost shout. “You must be having his full name and address in your records. Please I need all the information on him as soon as possible.”

  “Sure sir. I’ll get you all the details,” she says and hurries back to check her records.

  I immediately call the police officer who’s trying to trace Andrew and ask him to come straight away to the restaurant. My gut instinct is telling me that in some way, Andrew is behind Gemma’s sudden disappearance. But still, I am hoping that this does not turn out to be true. Maybe, she was not feeling well and returned home. Though my brain tells me that she wouldn’t have done that without letting me know. I decide to crosscheck anyway.

  I call Mrs. Antoni to ask if Rio is alright. If Gemma has already reached home, Mrs. Antoni would surely ask me what happened at the dinner.

  “Oh Rio is sleeping peacefully in his room, don’t you worry. Tell me, have you given the ring to Gemma yet? What did she say?” Mrs. Antoni’s voice is brimming with excitement. This confirms that Gemma is not at home right now.

  “Uhhhh… I’ve yet to give her the ring. I’ll call you back in some time, Mrs. Antoni,” I say and hang up the phone. I don’t want to worry her unnecessarily, so I don’t tell her anything about Gemma’s disappearance.

  In a few minutes, the hostess accompanied by the restaurant manager comes to my table and gives me the details of this Matthew waiter.

  “His full name is Matthew Collis and he joined our restaurant last month. He has been quite irregular here and was even accused of stealing one of our guests’ mobile last week,” the manager informs me.

  “And you still let him continue here? How irresponsible of you!” I thunder.

  “I am so sorry, sir; I did not realize he is a criminal. He just seemed like a man down on his luck. He pleaded me to forgive him an
d I took pity on him. Sir, I know he is not a man of very high character but somehow he seems incapable of kidnapping Miss….”

  “Miss Gemma. I know that perhaps he has not kidnapped her. But he could have helped someone in doing it. I have called the polizia and they’re on their way. We’ll soon get to know what exactly happened here.” I study the address written on the piece of paper that the manager had given to me. It was somewhere near the place where Gemma had collided with my car that night.

  Chapter Four

  Now my suspicions were turning into reality. Gemma had told me that Andrew also frequented that place with his friends and she was running away from HIM that night. It was possible that Andrew already knew Matthew and when he came to know that Gemma and I would be here in the restaurant, he asked Matthew to deliberately spill the drink on her. He knew that she would come to the washroom to clean herself and he was already waiting for her there.

  My blood begins to boil as I imagine Andrew laying his dirty hands on Gemma. I have to get to her before he does her any harm. If he tries to touch her again, I swear I’ll kill him with my own hands.

  I decide I can’t wait for the officer and his team to arrive. I have to get to Matthew before he flees from his home. I ask the manger to inform the polizia where I’m going and head straight towards the address given to me.

  As I reach Matthew’s home, I am reminded of my childhood days. The narrow lanes filled with garbage and trash, the small, dilapidated houses, lack of proper lighting……the place where I spent most of my childhood was quite similar. I flinch at the thought that Gemma and Rio had to stay somewhere here too when they’d just arrived in Florence.

  I knock hard on the door of what looks to be Matthew’s home. The lighting here is so dim that I can hardly see the numbers scribbled on the walls of these small shacks. At first, there is no response. I am getting restless by the minute. If no one answers in the next minute, I am going to break open the door. But while I am contemplating whether to kick it open or just push it with my muscled arms, the door finally creeks open.

  “What do you want?” says a woman rudely from inside. In the low light, I can see that she’s not very pleasant to look at.

  “Does Matthew live here? I need to see him right now.”

  “Do you know what time it is? He’s sleeping right now. Come in the morning.” She starts closing the door.

  I put my foot in the door to stop her from closing it.

  “Tell him to come out right now or he’ll be very sorry,” I say in a menacing tone. The woman looks a little taken aback at my words and says, “Has he again done something wrong? Has he stolen something? If he has, I swear he didn’t bring anything home tonight. Please, our little babies are asleep inside. I’ll send Matt out and you can do whatever you want with him. I am totally fed up with this man.”

  Mumbling a few obscenities, she goes in and leaves the door open this time. I hear some shouting and yelling from inside the house. So much for their sleeping babies!

  Chapter Five

  After a while, Matthew finally comes out. He freaks out when he sees me and tries to close the door on my face; but I stop him just in time. I roughly pull him out and see that he is shaking like a leaf.

  “Listen carefully, Matthew. If you don’t want to spend the rest of your life in prison, answer my questions as truthfully as possible.”

  “Sir….sir, I didn’t do anything. It was Andrew….I swear to God, it was Andrew.”

  I feel my heart drop to my stomach. All this while, I had been hoping that my guess would prove to be false. But on hearing Andrew’s name, I find that my worst fear has finally come true!

  “I know Andrew is behind all this. But I want you to tell me where he’s hiding….and how did he manage to take Gemma with him. Tell me only the truth Matthew, or you are going to rot in prison for the rest of your life. The polizia will be here any moment now.”

  “Po…polizia. But why? Please forgive me sir. I’ll tell you everything….but…but don’t hand me over to the polizia, sir. I have small children to take care of.”

  “You should have thought about your children before committing this blunder. Now tell me the truth and I’ll see what I can do for you.”

  “Thank you sir, thank you so much. Andrew called me this evening. He said that he needed my help and offered me five hundred bucks in return. I…I got carried away by greed sir. I am so sorry.”

  “Continue…” I roar.

  “Sir, he told me that you’d be coming to the restaurant for dinner along with your…er…friend. He said that he wanted to settle a score with your friend. Until you arrived, I didn’t even know that the friend he was talking about is a lady.” I fasten my grip on his collar. He wants to settle score with Gemma! Good Lord! That doesn’t sound good at all!

  “Sir, I allowed him into the restaurant through a back door that is adjacent to the ladies’ washroom. He was hiding there when ma’am went in. He’d asked me to spill something on her so that she’d have to go to the washroom…………”

  I slap him hard across the face.

  “You scoundrel! Gemma took the blame of your mistake upon herself and yet you allowed her to fall into Andrew’s trap so easily!”

  “I got scared sir,” he is crying with his hands folded before me. “I thought if I tell you now, you’d probably hand me over to the polizia. Please forgive me sir!”

  “What did he do to her?”

  “I don’t know sir. I swear I don’t know. When ma’am went inside the washroom, I was serving some other guests. I did see her going inside though. When I’d finished serving them, I went there to see what was happening. I was very afraid that Andrew might harm her. But when I went inside, there was no one there. I got scared sir….I told the manager that I had some urgent work and left immediately after that.” I know that he’s telling the truth by the look on his face. He’s looking scared enough to shit in his pants.

  As I am about to ask him where Andrew lives, but just then the polizia team arrives.

  “Mr. Graziani, did you get any information on Andrew from him?” Officer Thomson asks me.

  “No. He has no clue where Andrew lives. Says he’s just met him a few times at a local bar.”

  “I guess we’ll have to wait till morning then. There won’t be many people around the bar at this time.”

  “No!” I shout. “We can’t wait till morning. Already you and your team have wasted so many days trying to get hold of that one man! I will not wait for a single second now that Gemma is with that bastard. He might harm her….”

  “But how will we find him without any clue about his whereabouts? We can’t go knocking every door around here to find him.”

  Suddenly, a thought strikes me. “Matthew, do you have Andrew’s phone number?”

  “Yes sir. I even called him a couple hours back to ask him not to hurt ma’am.”

  “Great!” Officer Thomson and I say together. “Give it to me. I’ll forward it to the Police Control Room and they will track this number. Mr. Graziani, we’ll get hold of Andrew very soon.”

  Chapter Six - Arianna Rizzio

  I can’t explain in words the sheer horror that I feel when I hear his voice.

  “What did you think, you bitch! You could run away from me? I would’ve found you even if you’d been hiding in hell……………………”

  Those words are enough to tell me that my end is near. After what I did to him back in Murlo, I have no doubts that he is going to kill me. My feet seem to have frozen. I can’t move, I can’t breathe!

  “Arianna, did you seriously believe that I will sit back and watch you get married to that Graziani fellow?” Andrew gives out a malicious laugh. “You belong to me, do you hear me? I could not make you mine that night but I won’t be repeating that mistake again.”

  I want to shout for help, but all I can do is helplessly watch him come closer to me. In the bright light, I can clearly see a big scar on his forehead that is making him look even more dan
gerous. He must have got that scar when I hit him on the head that night.

  “I…I am sorry for that night, Andrew. I didn’t mean to hurt you that bad,” I have finally found my voice.

  “Oh! No need to say sorry right now, my dear. You’ll have plenty of time to repent for your mistakes.” With these words, he puts a dirty cloth over my nose and mouth. I inhale a strange odor and soon the room starts spinning before me.

  ************************************

  My head is aching badly as I open my eyes. There is darkness all around, I blink my eyes repeatedly to focus on my surroundings. That’s when I see him! He is sitting right beside me, as if waiting for me to wake up.

  “So, finally my sleeping beauty wakes up from her deep slumber,” he chuckles. “Hope you had a nice nap, my dear.”

  “Where….where are we, Andrew?” I am scared to death. He has kidnapped me! Right now, we are in a small, dingy room that smells of alcohol and smoke. I notice that the room has no windows, just one door and a small opening far up on one of the walls. I assume that it is a basement of sorts.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Wherever we are, we’re safe here. I have made sure that no one will be able to find us.” He laughed that menacing laugh once again.

  “Andrew, you’ve no idea what you’ve done. Alberto will find us and then he’ll…..he’ll kill you. You’ve made a big mistake by kidnapping me.”

  “Keep your mouth shut,” he roars. He comes near me and pulls my hair so roughly that I shriek in pain. “I don’t want to hear that man’s name from your mouth, do you hear me?”

  He moves his eyes from the top of my head to my toes, stopping for a few painful moments on my breasts. “You are looking nice in this dress. You wore this for him, didn’t you….to attract his attention, to seduce him! Now come on, tell me, have you slept with him?”