Prince Charming (Behind the Screen, #1)

by Iris Deorre

  Prince Charming

  Behind the Screen, Volume 1

  Iris Deorre

  Published by Iris Deorre, 2015.

  Prince Charming (Behind the Screen)

  Published by Iris Deorre

  Copyright January 2015 Iris Deorre

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Prince Charming (Behind the Screen, #1)

  Chapter One | Masters of Deception

  Chapter Two | Seduction

  Chapter Three | Back to Normal

  Chapter Four | Smoke and Mirrors

  Chapter Five | All Masks Down

  Chapter Six | The Monsters Within

  Seven | Villains

  Chapter Eight | Answers and Questions

  Further Reading: TRAPPED

  Also By Iris Deorre

  About the Author

  This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and incidents are products of author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Masters of Deception

  Harmony gazed into the fridge. The Marks and Spencers spaghetti bolognaise sounded like a treat. It had been a long day, and all she wanted to do was relax in front of the computer and talk to the two men that had caught her eye. She pulled out the meal and placed it in the microwave. A few minutes later, she was in front of the laptop.

  Fifty messages! Harmony had joined the dating site a few weeks ago. Four dates had brought no love, but there were two men who had caught her attention. She scrolled the inbox. There they were, messages from the men she actually wanted to hear from. Harmony pressed on princecharming’s message first.

  Hey, hope all is well. How was your day? I’m sure it was more eventful than mine x.

  Marcus.

  She slurped the spaghetti and smiled. She opened the next message.

  Evening beautiful, hope you had a good day. Mine was challenging as you can imagine. There’s no sleep when you’re chasing down the bad guys, haha! Anyway tell me about your day, it would be a break away from my life. xx

  Derek

  Again she smiled. Both men were online.

  Hey Marcus! I’m well thank you, even better hearing from you. What was it about your day that wasn’t great? I’m sure you’re more than satisfied with your work. I mean, it sounded like it the first time we spoke. My day was the usual. Answering phones, greeting clients and all the boring stuff a receptionist does. Tell me about your day, I’d love to hear about it! xx

  Harmony

  She pressed the send button.

  Derek, nice to hear from you again. Have you been chasing down bad guys again,haha! I find it extremely sexy. *Smiles*. My day was great, besides the usual lessons, I gave my form class a lecture on safety on the internet. I’m not sure they listened to a word I said. But hey, I’ve got to try.

  Harmony

  She sat back and waited. Finished the rest of the spaghetti and put the bowl to the side. A message arrived from Marcus.

  Well my dear beautiful lady, your company wouldn’t cope without you, so you’re a very important part of it. They should thank you for your beautiful face everyday haha! My day was okay, as I’ve said in my previous emails, I’m an artist, but also a gallery owner. I’m struggling with a picture at the moment. There’s something missing, and it’s really bugging me, that’s all. Anyway, you might be the answer to that missing piece. Your face is an art in itself. Beautiful dark eyes, lovely brown skin and yes, amazing body! You could be the answer!

  Marcus

  The message pinged.

  Oh Marcus, you flatter me! Kind of you to say those words. Maybe I will be the missing piece. Any plans this weekend?

  She sent the email, and in came an email from Derek

  Not much chasing bad guys, but catching them haha! Well I’m sure some of your students took your lecture to heart. It’s important that they are aware of the dangers of the internet. So...Are you free sometime this weekend? I’d really like to meet with you. x

  Derek

  A few more messages pinged up on her screen, but she only opened the one from Marcus.

  My plan this weekend is to ask you out on a date. I’ve been dying to do it, but have held back a little. Would you like to go out this weekend? Xx

  Marcus

  Harmony scanned the email and giggled. Both men wanted a date. She waited and thought about it. There was so much running through her mind. After a few moments she typed.

  Are you free on Sunday? Xx

  She sent the email to Derek and then typed another.

  We could go out on Saturday? Seven okay?

  She sent the email to Marcus. Harmony sat back and waited for both men to accept. Well she at least hoped they would. And as predicted both men replied.

  Saturday’s great! Can I get your number? Where would you like to go? Xx

  Marcus

  She clicked on Derek’s message.

  Sunday’s sounds like a plan! What time? Could I get your number so we could do this over text? Xx

  Derek

  Harmony waited a little, just to let them simmer. She’d give them her number, but not immediately. She clicked on a few messages that caught her interest. None of them were as thrilling as the two she’d been communicating with. She clicked on Derek’s profile. He was thirty four, six foot three, blonde with green eyes. There were five photos of him, but the one she liked the most was the one of him in a pair of shorts and a vest on a beach somewhere.

  ‘What lovely arms you have,’ she said to herself as her eyes wondered down the toned arms.

  She took her time to re-read his profile. He’d been single for a year and wanted to get back into dating. He was easy going, played football and loved spending time with his friends and family. His favourite holiday was in Rhodes. After she’d scanned his photos one more time, she ventured onto Marcus’s profile.

  He was six foot four, black hair and blue eyes. He looked like a guy out of a magazine. He was an artist, owned his own gallery and loved to play golf on his days of leisure. He was also easy going, which seemed to be the case with most guys. Why was it they were always easy going? Why couldn’t they be fun, full of life? Easy going was a bit boring and predictable, but his looks made up for it. Marcus had seven photos of himself. The man was stunning, she couldn’t blame him for wanting to show off the fact. She nodded, not smiling much. Too many thoughts spun around, but wouldn’t let them take her off track.

  Satisfied by both, Harmony responded to each email. Agreed to both dates and times, and sent them her phone number. Immediately after that she signed off.

  There were a few things she wanted to do before bed. The house was a mess and there were things to put in place.

  ****

  Marcus logged off. It had been a success, he was one step closer to finishing his picture. He sat back a moment, his hands behind his head and just thought. It would be easy, it had always worked, and the women loved his charm!

  He stood up satisfied. Took the stairs and opened a door to one of the many bedrooms. The sight was delightful! There she was, a beautiful naked blond, both arms chained to the poster bed.

  ‘Why are you doing this?’ she cried. ‘Let me go, let me go!’

  He walked up to the woman with a huge grin. ‘Now now, don’t be like that. You’re such a beautiful woman and I don’t want you looking all sad for the picture. He turned behind him. There was a big canvas he’d been working on. ‘It will soon be complete,’ he beamed. ‘I may have the final piece to this picture.’ He sat beside the woman, reached
out his hand to stroke her cheek, but she turned away. ‘Rose don’t be like that. You’re so beautiful.’ He touched her cheek even though she resisted. ‘You have such lovely smooth skin.’ He moved closer and his lips touched the side of her cheek.

  ‘Please, please,’ she begged.

  He backed away and admired the body of the beautiful woman he’d captured. Rose turned to him.

  ‘What will you do with me?’ she asked.

  ‘Make your beauty permanent. You will never age. I will capture you into my world and you shall forever be young.’

  ‘You’re a sick man!’ She spat.

  ‘I beg to differ. I’m your god. I’m giving you eternal beauty. Don’t you see?’ He stood up and walked over to the painting he’d started. ‘Look at you, look at your beauty. It will stay here forever. You’ll never go old.’

  ‘You won’t get away with this!’ She wriggled, but it was no use. The chains wouldn’t be coming off.

  Marcus didn’t respond. Instead he spent a couple of minutes admiring his painting. When he was finally satisfied he walked up to the bed, picked up the red silk sheet and covered her body.

  ‘Let’s hide you up for now. But soon, soon I’ll have the master piece.’ He winked and left her to beg for her life back.

  He stepped out and shut the door. There was a faint smile across his face. How he loved his life. He took a few steps to the right and opened the door to another bedroom. The woman with the thick dark hair and light brown skin lay in the same position as Rose.

  ‘Hello Zara.’ He walked over to her and sat down. She turned away. ‘I won’t hurt you.’

  She turned to look at him with bloodshot eyes. ‘You’re hurting me,’ she said.

  ‘All I’m doing is giving you eternal youth. Don’t you want that?’

  ‘Listen to yourself. Do you really believe in what you’re saying?’

  ‘Of course I do. You are exquisite, and I want to keep it that way.’

  ‘By doing what?’

  ‘You’ve seen what I’ve done so far. You’ve seen the beautiful picture of yourself. Don’t you understand the beauty of art? It gives life.’ He sounded happy as he said that.

  Zara cried.

  ‘Oh don’t cry beautiful one. The picture will be complete soon.’

  ‘And then what? What happens to us? You let us go?’

  He laughed. ‘Now why would I do that?’

  She burst into tears. She would die, she was certain of it.

  ‘Oh don’t cry you’ll spoil your face.’ He pulled some tissue from the box beside the bed and dabbed her eyes.

  The tears didn’t stop, how could they? The man was out of his mind! He stood up, took one more glance at her beautiful face and body, and then left her. He stood outside the door for a while, the smile wide on his face. Saturday couldn’t come fast enough. He knew it would be hard to get Harmony back to his place, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve. If that didn’t work, he’d have to charm her on another day. If it didn’t happen on the second date, he’d up his game and he was certain the third date would be a charm.

  He remembered how he’d met Rose. How they’d exchanged the most delicious emails on the dating site. How she’d laughed at his jokes at dinner and enjoyed his generosity of a shopping spree on their second date. She’d fallen for his charm, good looks and deep pockets. The third date had been a breeze, he’d picked her up from her apartment and had driven them to a fancy restaurant. They’d dined on fine food and wine and Rose had let her guard down. With too much wine in her system, he’d convinced her to spend the night with him.

  She’d trusted him. He’d been a gentleman. And the moment she’d stepped into the house he’d taken her to the room where he now kept her and undressed her, laid her onto the bed and chained her hands to the bed post. She’d giggled. Rose was drunk, she didn’t realise that the charming man was a monster. She fell asleep and while she slept he pulled up his canvas and begun his creation. He’d worked all night, inspiration had gripped him, but soon, in the early hours of the morning he realised that he needed another two women to complete the picture.

  Rose had woken up to find herself a prisoner. She’d screamed so loud that he rushed back into the room to see what the matter was.

  ‘What have you done!?’ She’d pulled against the restrains.

  ‘Calm down, you’ll damage your wrists,’ he said as he sat by her side.

  ‘What is this, why are you doing this?’ She cried.

  ‘This is me giving you the gift of eternal beauty. I’ve captured it.’ He stood up and pulled on his work. ‘See.’ He showed her. ‘You will never grow old, your beauty is here to stay, and that’s all because of me.’

  ‘You’re crazy! Let me go!’

  He tilted and looked at the picture with admiration. His mind blocked out the cries as he was drawn into the depth of the picture.

  ‘Just beautiful,’ he’d whispered.

  Rose stopped. There was no point crying. He turned to her with the same smile on his face.

  ‘Are you hungry?’

  ‘Let me go!’

  ‘That’s not going to happen. What would you like to eat?’

  She was silent.

  ‘I’ll bring you something.’ He turned. ‘You like scrambled eggs, don’t you.’ He didn’t expect a reply. He left her.

  This had been so unexpected. Rose had thought she’d found love. She’d put herself on the line to find love, but had found crazy! She’d been lucky that he hadn’t hurt her sexually. It seemed as though Marcus was turned on by his art and nothing else.

  Not long after that, he’d captured Zara, and his masterpiece was coming together nicely. All that was missing was the final peace, Harmony!

  ****

  Harmony was up at the crack of dawn. There were several messages on her mobile. She took her time to read each one. Both men were sweet, and she enjoyed the attention she got. She slid out of bed and dashed for the shower. Fifteen minutes later she was dressed and ready to go, and forty minutes later she arrived at work.

  ‘Morning Doctor Moore,’ said a nurse. ‘Did you have a good day off?’

  ‘I did thank you,’ said Harmony. ‘I had a great day off. And I’m looking forward to my weekend off.’

  ‘Yes don’t I know it! Weekends are like gold dust.’

  ‘True, but we chose this profession, so we accept it.’ she smiled and picked up what she had to take over from the other doctor. ‘It looks like a busy day.’

  ‘Isn’t it always?’

  It was a busy day at the hospital for Doctor Moore, it always was. But she loved her job and she loved to cut and diagnose. There was something about all of it that made her heart skip. She worked the whole morning, and when she’d tried to catch a break, she was called into an emergency surgery. It was a busy morning for the doctor, and she wouldn’t want it any different.

  ****

  Derek walked into the police station mid morning for his shift. He was excited and looking forward to the weekend. Harmony was one hell of a woman, he couldn’t believe his luck. He’d set out in his mind what he’d do for her. He was certain he’d whisk her off her feet and hopefully make her his.

  ‘Good morning, Derek,’ said Yasmina, his partner.

  ‘Morning, Yas.’

  ‘You look joyful.’

  ‘I’ve got a date!’

  ‘Wow, good for you! It’s about time you found love. So who is this lucky lady?’ They walked towards their office.

  ‘Her name is Harmony, she’s a teacher, and she’s gorgeous!’

  ‘Wow, you’re smitten.’

  ‘You could say that.’

  ‘Have you done a check on her?’

  ‘No, that’s no way to start a relationship.’

  ‘Ha! Online dating is a forest of unknowns. You’ve got to watch it.’

  ‘First, I think it’s Harmony who should be worried because I’m a man. And for goodness sake, what would a nice woman like her do to a detective?’

 
Yasmina giggled. ‘So what have you planned for this lovely lady?’

  ‘I’ll meet her for a drink first, see if we click. Hopefully after that she’ll agree to join me for dinner.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan.’

  ‘Yes, I just hope she’s the woman in the picture.’

  Yasmina laughed as she remembered his last date. The woman looked nothing like her picture. ‘I’m sure she is.’

  ‘I hope so, she’s amazing, and has a great personality too.’

  Just then they were called into a briefing. They stood with other detectives as the chief of police spoke to them. There was a photo of a blond woman on the board.

  ‘Missing person?’ asked Derek.

  ‘Yes, parents and friends haven’t seen Rose Armstrong for over a week. At first they thought nothing of it, but when her place of work called to find out if they knew where she was, they worried. The last time she was seen was the evening of her date.’

  ‘Date?’ asked Yasmina.

  ‘Yes, Rose was online dating.’

  Yasmina looked at Derek.

  ‘Do we know which dating site?’ asked Derek.

  ‘Yes. So far nothing,’ said the chief.

  ‘What do you mean nothing?’ asked Derek.

  ‘So far there are no suspects. All the men who had been in contact with her are in the clear.’

  ‘That makes no sense. There should be a record of everyone who joined the site.’

  ‘That’s being looked into. It’s obvious that if she was taken by an online dater, he would cover his tracks well.’

  ‘Yes, I see,’ said Derek. He thought about Harmony and hoped she wouldn’t fall into the same trap. ‘Do you think he’ll strike again, if it’s the online dater?’

  ‘If it is, I think so. We’re looking for a pattern, but there isn’t any yet. Rose is the only one reported missing so far, so this might be a one off. Either way, we need to find out what happened to her fast.’

  There was more talking. The team were assigned to what they needed to do. Derek and Yasmina headed out to speak to the parents, friends and work colleagues. They would need as much information as they could get.