ROMANCE: Regency Romance: Defiant Lords Complete Series: The Complete Collection Boxed Set 1-6 (Sweet Regency Historical Romance Short Stories) (Defiant Lords Sweet Regency Romance)

by Rose Haven

  “Hello? Andrew?” It’s that idiot Matthew again!

  “How many times do I have to tell you to not call me? I’ll send your money….”

  “It’s not about money, Andrew. I….I have a very important thing to tell you that I can’t say over the phone. Can you meet me right now?”

  “Are you crazy? You know that I have Ari…that woman with me at the moment. What is it? Tell me right now or I’ll disconnect the phone and switch it off. Then you’ll not get your money too.” Arianna is looking at me questioningly.

  “Don’t do that Andrew. Okay, listen to me carefully. That man who was accompanying the woman who you’ve kidnapped, he is absolutely furious about her being missing. He’s even called in the polizia to search for her.”

  I laugh at his words. That man is such a fool! How will the polizia find me now when they’ve not been able to track me for the past so many days!

  “Don’t worry, Matt. Nothing is going to happen. They’ll never be able to find me! I am leaving Florence forever in a few minutes. By the time they’ll find out that I’ve left, it would be too late!”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Where nobody will ever be able to trace me! Don’t worry Matt! You’ve been of such great help to me. I have told one of my friends here to give you your reward. You’ll get it by tomorrow morning. Goodbye!”

  “Who was it Andrew?” Arianna asks me.

  “Oh…it was a friend. You know, the waiter who spilled that drink on you?” I look at her face as realization dawns on her.

  “That waiter…he…he did that on purpose! So that I’d have to go to the washroom…..” she looks bewildered. I laugh at her expression.

  “Yes, I told him to do that. When I found out that you’d be accompanying Alberto Graziani for dinner to the restaurant he works in, I called him and told him about my plan.”

  “Oh! What a genius you are, Andrew!”

  “That I am, sweetheart.”

  “But how did you know that we’d be going to that restaurant?”

  “Well, I’d been following Graziani discreetly. You know, he was about to propose to you this evening, that fool! I saw him going to a jewelry shop from where he bought a ring for you and then reserved a table for two at the restaurant. I even heard him call you after that to get ready. He calls you Gemma, right?”

  “Uh…yes, he does. Actually, Mrs. Antoni gave me that name……….”

  “I don’t care what he or anyone else calls you. That chapter of your life has been closed forever. For me, you are Arianna, MY Arianna!”

  I bend down to kiss her again but she ducks her head in time. I don’t understand why she’s still behaving as if we are strangers! Let her do whatever she wants tonight. Tomorrow onwards, she’ll have to do MY bidding……

  Chapter Nine - Alberto Graziani

  We are finally outside Andrew’s hiding place. It is a small hotel in a very dingy locality. The Police Control Room has traced his number to this location while Matthew had been talking to him.

  I am eager to barge into the hotel and rescue Gemma but Officer Thomson believes that Andrew might harm her if he finds out that he’s been cornered. So we wait outside patiently as one of the officers in plain clothes goes inside to check in which room he’s staying.

  He comes out with a disappointed look on his face. “There is no one by the name of Andrew staying in this hotel.”

  “He might have changed his name….”

  “I showed the man at the reception this sketch of Andrew, but he says that he’s never seen him.”

  “That bastard is lying, I tell you!” I am furious. I know that Gemma is inside with that crazy man.

  Just then, a young boy, no more than fourteen or fifteen years of age, comes out of the hotel. He looks at the entire team of polizia and perhaps gets scared and tries to rush back inside. But before he can go in, Officer Thomson calls out to him.

  “Hey you, young fellow! Come here,” he orders.

  The young lad comes up to us, a little frightened.

  “Sir, I have seen that man,” he says.

  “Which man?” Officer Thomson questions him.

  “The man in the sketch. He is Andrew.” I can’t tell how relieved I feel on hearing these words.

  “Where did you see him? Has he left the hotel?” I am unable to stop myself.

  “Uhhh….Please don’t tell him that I gave you this information. He’s not a nice fellow to mess with.”

  “Don’t be scared, we’ll not tell him anything. Now tell us, where is he?” asks Officer Thomson.

  “I saw him about three four hours ago coming into the hotel. But he didn’t rent a room here like always.”

  “Was he alone?”

  “No, there were two people who came to drop him off, probably a man and a woman. He came inside and went towards the basement. I didn’t see him after that.”

  “Basement, eh? Can you show us where it is?” Officer Thomson asks him.

  “We keep it locked usually. There’s nothing much in there. But if you want, I can show it to you.” The boy takes us towards the basement of the hotel. When the owner sees the entire team entering his hotel, he gets worried.

  “What….what happened sir? I assure you there’s nothing illegal going on in here. I am a law abiding citizen of the country…..”

  “We are looking for a man named Andrew. He has kidnapped a young lady and we have information that he’s hiding in your hotel.”

  “Andrew has kidnapped someone?” He looks a little pale now.

  “Yes, you know him, don’t you? Then why did you lie when our officer asked you about him? Are you involved in the kidnapping too?” Officer Thomson asks the man sternly.

  “No, of course not sir. I lied….I am sorry I lied about not knowing Andrew. He is a regular at my hotel and often gets into trouble with people because of his short temper. I…I thought he’d again gotten into trouble and I didn’t want to get involved in his business as he’s not even staying here this time.” The owner looks sincere enough and so we assume that he’s telling the truth.

  “But still, we want to check your basement. Can you show it to us?”

  “Of course sir. Please come this way….” He leads our team towards the hotel’s basement. The young boy is following us too. The hallway that leads towards the basement is pitch dark. As we reach its entrance, Officer Thomson gestures everyone to remain completely silent.

  Chapter Ten

  “Is there any other way to enter the basement apart from this door?” he asks the owner in hushed tone.

  “No sir, this is the only way. There is a small opening in one of the walls for ventilation that opens into the back street. But no one can get inside from there unless they are lying down completely.”

  “Hmmmm…. I see. Is it big enough to push a body inside?”

  “If it is a small body, I guess it is possible.”

  I now understand what must have happened. That boy had said that there were two people- a man and a woman who’d come to drop him at the hotel. The man must be one of his friends and the woman must be Gemma. He also didn’t see Andrew coming out which means that he is still in the basement. He had told Matthew that Gemma is with him. If what he said is true, his friend must have pushed Gemma’s body through that opening. That means that either Gemma was unconscious at that time or……

  I don’t even want to contemplate the second scenario. My heart tells me that she’s still alive and very close to me at the moment.

  “What are we waiting for, Officer? We are putting Gemma’s life in danger with each passing minute!”

  “I understand Mr. Graziani. But we have to make sure he’s unarmed. If he has a weapon with him, he might harm the lady,” Officer Thomson then talks to the owner. “You try to open this door. I am sure he’s locked it from inside.” The man does as told. Sure enough, the door is locked from inside.

  “Who is it? What do you want?” comes a harsh voice from inside.

  Officer
Thomson gestures the owner to continue the conversation.

  “I am Rocco and I should be asking these questions as this is MY hotel!”

  “Oh Rocco! What the hell do you want to do in the basement at this hour?”

  “Is it you Andrew? What are you doing in here? Open the door immediately!”

  “Calm down Rocco. I will be leaving in a few minutes……………………”

  Just then a very frightened voice comes from inside. It is Gemma’s voice!

  “Rocco….Rocco please call the polizia. Andrew has kidnapped……” The rest of the sound is muffled. Probably Andrew has clamped her mouth shut. I heave a sigh of relief that Gemma’s still alive!

  Without wasting a single second, Officer Thomson and his men push the door open. Andrew looks alarmed as he sees the policemen barging in but gathers his wits in less than a second. He immediately takes out his revolver and aims it at Gemma’s forehead who is struggling to get out of his grip.

  “I’ll kill her….I swear I’ll kill her if any of you try to act smart with me.”

  “You’ll do no such thing Andrew,” I shout. I want to kill that bastard!

  “Oh I will, Graziani. And after that, I’ll kill you.”

  “No…No Andrew…Please don’t harm him. Alberto, let him do whatever he wants…” Gemma is crying. I feel so helpless at the moment.

  “What a love story, I must say!” Andrew laughs. “So sweetheart, you’d been lying to me all this while.” He hits Gemma’s head with the revolver’s butt and she shrieks in pain. I try to move towards them but he once again aims the revolver at her.

  “Andrew, let her go! You know you can’t escape now. If you harm the lady, you’ll be digging your own grave,” Officer Thomson warns him.

  “I know that Officer. You know, I actually believed this woman when she told me tonight that she loves me. But she made a fool of me! She loves that Graziani fellow and looks like he loves her too. Then where do I stand?” Andrew once again laughs like a mad man. “I guess I stand nowhere. Graziani, you win this time! But next time around, Arianna will be mine and mine alone!” He looks at Gemma with a forlorn expression in his eyes and then suddenly turns the revolver towards his head and pulls the trigger!

  “I love you Arianna!” Those are his last words.

  Gemma shouts in horror as his blood is splashed on her face and body. Unable to stand the scene before her eyes, she falls down unconscious.

  Chapter Eleven - Arianna Rizzio

  As I open my eyes, I find myself in Alberto’s room. I can’t seem to clearly remember if what happened was a nightmare or reality. But my tattered dress and the stains of Andrew’s blood on it prove that it had not been a nightmare. Andrew is no more….he killed himself! Oh God! How will I ever forget the look in his eyes when he pulled the trigger of his revolver! He almost seemed likeable in that moment. If only he could understand that I was not in love with him…. I feel tears rolling down my eyes.

  “Are you awake, Gemma?” I hear Alberto’s gentle voice. I nod my head a little as I am unable to speak at the moment.

  “Sweetheart, open your eyes. Look at me.”

  “I killed Andrew Alberto….I killed him,” I burst into sobs.

  “Shhh….. Don’t cry, my dear. And don’t blame yourself. It was not your fault. That man had mental issues. He was completely delusional.”

  “Maybe, I don’t know! He kept telling me that he knew I was secretly in love with him. And when I tried to explain that I loved you, he got very angry.”

  “Did he….did he hurt you in some way?” I understand what Alberto means by that.

  “No. He said that we’d get married tomorrow morning. And he did try to….to come near me but I asked him to wait until our wedding.”

  “And he agreed?” Alberto sounds a little surprised. I nod my head once again.

  “He just wanted me to love him. Yes, he was a very violent person, but I think he really loved me in his own twisted sort of way.”

  “Hmmm…. My heart almost stopped when I heard the gunshot. When I realized that he’d aimed the gun at his own head, I was shocked beyond measure.”

  “Alberto, where is Rio? Does he know…?”

  “Rio is still asleep in his room. It is seven in the morning now. He’ll be awake any moment. Do you want to change before he gets up?”

  I look at the state of my dress. “Yes. And please don’t tell him anything about all this. He’s already had his share of bad memories to last him this lifetime.”

  “Of course, my dear. I am really sorry you had to go through all this. I should’ve taken better care of you. I had promised myself that I’d not let any harm come your way and yet…..” I can see regret in his eyes.

  “Alberto, please. Don’t blame yourself. We should be thankful that we both got out of this nightmare unscathed.”

  “I think you’re right. You know, when I found out that Andrew had kidnapped you, I got so scared… I thought I’d lose you forever.”

  “I thought so too. Andrew was planning to leave Florence forever with me. If you’d come a little later, we’d already be on our way out of this city.” My heart fills with dread at the thought.

  As we speak, Mrs. Antoni enters the room with a cup of coffee in her hand.

  “How do you feel now, cara?” she smiles at me.

  “Better. I’ll just go and wash up.” She looks at the blood stains on my dress and shudders slightly.

  “I still can’t believe that man had the guts to kidnap you! It has been rightly said that evil ends in evil only.”

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

  It has been almost two months since that fateful night. Alberto and I are getting married today. The happy phase of my life has just begun and I am enjoying every bit of it.

  “Is the bride ready?” Rio peeps in from the door. I laugh and call him in.

  “You know, you’ve betrayed me Rio. You are supposed to be on the bride’s side and here you are---all dressed up to be Alberto’s best man.”

  “I couldn’t say no to him Ary. I love him so much.”

  I laugh once again at his innocent words. I am not getting any wedding jitters per se, but yes, I am very nervous. I’ve been plucked, waxed, ironed and God knows what other tortures I’ve been subjected to in these past forty eight hours. But as I look at myself in the mirror, I think every bit of that torture was worth it.

  My wedding dress has been specially designed by one of the biggest designers in Milan and it is absolutely gorgeous. It is difficult to believe that the woman staring at me in the mirror right now is actually Arianna Rizzio!

  Both Alberto and I were not in favor of an elaborate wedding. So we are having a small wedding celebration at the nearby Chapel with Mrs. Antoni, Rio and a few close friends in attendance. I’ve heard that there’s going to be tight security there to keep the paparazzi at bay. After that, we’d be heading to Bora Bora for our honeymoon. Alberto chose the place for our honeymoon as I’ve never travelled out of Italy. He’s told me that I’d fall in love with the place.

  As I reach the chapel in my carriage, I once again feel my nerves overtaking me. I take a deep, calming breath and step down from the carriage. The double doors open before me and I am awestruck as I step inside the church. It has been decorated with thousands of twinkling lights and the smell of roses is filling the air. I feel a tear drop from my eye as I remember my father on this special day of my life. Today, I have no one to give me away. I am walking to the altar all alone.

  As I walk towards the altar, I see Rio waving at me. I give him a big smile and then finally look at Alberto. He is looking extremely handsome in his tuxedo. He smiles at me as I approach the altar. We both look at each other with dreamy eyes. No moment could be as perfect as this one. We both are about to get tied in a lifetime of love and happiness.

  As the minister reads out the Bible verses and we recite our vows, I feel an overwhelming sense of completeness. At last, I am getting married to the man of my
dreams. The love and promise that I see in his eyes fill my heart with joy. My only regret is that my parents are not here with me today to share my happiness.

  In a few minutes, we both finally say “I do” and Alberto bends his head to kiss me. It is not a light kiss on my lips but a full-fledged assault on my nervous system. I feel myself go weak in the knees by the time he’s finished!

  “Do you want me as badly as I want you at this moment?” he whispers with a naughty glint in his eyes.

  I am too breathless to respond to that question but I guess he already knows the answer!

  THE END

  Demon Romance

  Finding Fortunes

  Submission to the Dark Forbidden Mate Series Book One

  Lucile Wild

  Demon Romance: Finding Fortunes

  Chapter One

  The fire in the center of the table began to die. Signaling the end of the meeting, its blue flames turned to a rustic orange. Several of the members nodded their heads and got up to leave. Only Preston and Damien stayed behind.

  “I noticed the empty seat,” Preston said in a low voice. He tapped his fingers absently on the table.

  “Ortho is no longer with us,” Damien said through clenched teeth.

  Preston cocked his head. To no longer be with the Slavante Brotherhood meant three things. The most common was to die. As half-breed demons, they were not given eternal life, although many did live for several hundred years. But if Ortho had passed, there would have been a ceremony for him. The second option was that Ortho had chosen to leave. In the hundreds of years that Preston had served on the Slavante committee, he’d never seen anyone leave. That meant that Damien, leader of the brotherhood, had asked Ortho to leave. And by leave, Damien would have had to kill him.

  It was rare, but it did happen. “Do you want to explain?” Preston asked in a low voice.