Prince Ever After

by A. C. Arthur

  He knew the phrase sprung very well, even if he wasn’t American. It had never occurred to him that he would ever be in that position, but evaluating the meaning—basically that he’d fallen pretty hard for her—he admitted to himself that it wasn’t far from the truth.

  “You have no worries, Prince Roland. I never pursue what is already taken,” Denton said. “Besides, what I am asking for is something that I think will be beneficial to all of us.”

  “What’s that?” Valora asked.

  She’d flushed when Roland had spoken to Denton, but he was more concerned with making sure Denton knew Roland wasn’t going to tolerate any form of flirtation. He’d apologize for making her uncomfortable later.

  “I want to commission your paintings,” Denton told her. “We can feature them in the resort. What better way to sell the resort and this island than to have fabulous artwork by one of Grand Serenity’s own?”

  “That’s actually a wonderful idea,” Kris said.

  “It’s a fabulous idea,” Sam told them. “I wish I’d come up with it.”

  “How many paintings do you have?” Landry asked. “I would love to see them.”

  Valora shook her head. “Not nearly enough to fill a resort.”

  “We won’t be ready to open until probably late next year. That’ll give you time to paint away,” Denton told her.

  “I have to work,” she was saying, and Roland thought she sounded a little overwhelmed.

  “Nonsense, if you’re commissioned to do all the artwork for the resort, you won’t need that job at the museum anymore,” Denton told her.

  “Not work at the museum?” Valora asked. “I love the museum.”

  “Maybe you can do both,” Roland stated. “A few hours a week at the museum and then spend the rest of your time painting. You’re extremely talented, Valora. There’s no reason that your work shouldn’t be shared with the world. We can get you an agent to work on Denton’s contract with you. If that’s what you want to do.”

  “Wow,” Valora said. “I had no idea that coming here tonight would end in an offer like this. I’d like a couple of days to let this all sink in, if it’s okay with you.”

  Denton nodded. “I’ll wait until you’re ready,” he told her. I really think your pictures will be great for the resort. We can plan architecture and interior design based around your ideas for the paintings. But I’ll let you take a few days, though. Prince Roland knows how to reach me,” Denton said.

  Roland nodded. He said something about having Denton’s cell phone number and email just as Gary returned to the table. As if the way he was looking at them didn’t say something was wrong, the way he walked directly to Sam and pulled her chair from the table, announcing they were leaving, said it all.

  “What happened?” Roland asked.

  “Amari Taylor’s been sighted,” Gary said. “We’re all leaving. Now.”

  Kristian was already pushing away from the table and standing. Roland followed, noting their guards had all moved closer. Roland reached for Valora, who was already standing. She put her hand in his without question and they hastily moved from the room.

  It wasn’t until they were all in one of the service elevators heading down to the first floor of the casino that Gary elaborated.

  “He was here,” he said grimly. “He walked right into the casino and took a seat at the craps table. One of the guards saw him and called the base for verification on how Amari looked. That’s when they called me, right after they confirmed it was him.”

  “Did they catch him?” Sam asked.

  Gary shook his head.

  “Amari must have known they were onto him. He headed to a back door. Two guards followed him out and called to the parking lot for the guards out there to come in and back them up. By the time the backup arrived, the two who’d made the original sighting were bleeding in the back alley,” Gary told them.

  “Oh, my...” Landry said and then stopped herself. “He’s out of control.”

  “And that’s precisely what’s going to get him caught,” Gary said when they arrived on the first floor and the guards led them down a dark hallway.

  “He should have never come back to Grand Serenity. The fact that he did says this is personal for him. And personal means emotions are attached. Those emotions are going to be the end of him.”

  By the time Gary finished, they were outside. Three white Mercedes sedans pulled up, a guard immediately jumping from each car and opening the back door for them to get in.

  “To the palace,” Gary announced. “It’s easier to keep everyone safe if we’re all under the same roof.”

  Roland knew he was talking to him, and while he preferred his cliff house, he also recognized the logic behind his brother-in-law’s direction. He nodded at Gary and began leading Valora to a car. He paused and yelled back to Gary who was still standing outside after he’d already put Sam in the car. He was watching to make sure the princes were safe in their vehicles before he got into his.

  “Send someone for Hugo Harrington,” Roland said to Gary. “Amari might go after him again, now that I’m sure he knows things have changed between me and Valora.”

  Gary nodded. “You’re right. I’ll make a call as soon as I get in the car.”

  Roland nodded and slipped inside. He fastened his seat belt and then reached out to take Valora’s hand again.

  “Is this guy ever going to stop coming after you and your family?” Valora asked him when their driver pulled away.

  “Not until we stop him,” Roland replied.

  Chapter 15

  Val watched as the staff set the table for breakfast. She was early, she knew, but Roland had left the bedroom a while ago, right after receiving a text message from Gary. Today was the day and she was anxious for it to begin. This would be the first royal wedding that she’d ever attended. It was going to be magical, even if the royal siblings despised the woman their father was marrying. As for Val, she didn’t despise Malayka Sampson, but she wasn’t overly fond of the woman, either. Still, it was Malayka’s wedding day.

  Across the entire island everyone was eager to see snippets of this event on their televisions from the only one of the local reporters who was allowed access. Val had seen the woman last night at the rehearsal dinner. She’d been hastily taking notes while her cameraman walked around with one of the men Val had learned that Malayka hired to help supervise the event. This day was going to be huge and Val was excited to have an up close and personal spot to enjoy.

  The last week and a half had practically flown by with the palace abuzz with preparations. As for Val, working on sketches and going to the museum for the four tours a week she’d agreed to work, had been taking up most of her time. When she wasn’t working she was with Roland, and when he was working she would sit at the pool and chat with Landry and/or Sam.

  It was funny how easily she’d slipped into the routine of staying at the palace. While she knew it was for her safety, and a part of her had entertained the idea that it might be too early in their relationship for her and Roland to live together, she was enjoying herself immensely. Even if there was a madman on the loose and guards flanking them every moment of the day.

  There had been moments when Val thought this was all a dream. The quick twists and turns her life had taken in the past month seemed to be something straight out of a script. For the fun of it, she pinched herself and chuckled at the jolt of pain.

  “Torturing yourself,” her father said.

  She hadn’t heard him come up behind her and hadn’t expected to see him there. Val had thanked Roland for thinking of her father and bringing him to stay at the palace, as well. She was sure it wasn’t just for Hugo’s safety. Roland knew that all her father had ever wanted was what he foolishly thought was his rightful place in the royal family. If that meant he could s
tay there for a few weeks, or until they caught this Amari Taylor character, she would be forever grateful to Roland for giving him that.

  “No, Dad,” she replied. “Just assuring myself that this is really happening.”

  “Yes,” Hugo told her. “It really is. Rafe’s marrying that crazy gal for sure.”

  Val shook her head. “Look how beautiful everything is. The crystal is shining, the silver sparkling. The entire palace is full of flowers. And the ballroom.” She clapped a hand to her chest. “Did you see the ballroom? I snuck a peek in there before heading down here for breakfast. It’s absolutely stunning.”

  Malayka had gone all out with the elegant gold theme. There was sheer netting hanging from the gold ceiling. Tables were covered in champagne-colored cloths and there were gold chairs. Tall gold candelabra on each table had white candles ready to be lit. White roses were everywhere, spilling from massive gold vases, nestled in corners in crystal containers, strewn across each table. It smelled as wonderful as it looked, all of which made Val even more excited to slip into the gown Landry had declared was perfect for her to wear today.

  “He’s making a big mistake, if you ask me,” Hugo continued.

  “That’s probably why they didn’t ask you, Dad,” Val said as she leaned against the doorjamb, waiting for the others to join them at the family breakfast.

  This was the main dining room where Val had learned that the family took most of their meals. There was a long cherrywood table here; today it was covered with a lace tablecloth. The plates they were using were gold rimmed, and the centerpiece was composed of more roses, just like the ones in the ballroom. Early morning sunlight poured in through the large window behind the head of the table where Prince Rafferty usually sat. It was a perfect day, she thought. And the food smelled pretty terrific, too.

  “Smells like French toast,” Val said to her father.

  He chuckled. “That’s still your favorite breakfast food, after all this time.”

  She’d nodded, glad to take her father’s mind off the mistake he thought Prince Rafe was making. For the next fifteen minutes her father talked about all the food he’d enjoyed during his stay at the palace. Val only half listened. She was much more intrigued by the sound of pure pleasure she heard in his voice. It was the first time she’d heard him sound this way and she found that she really liked it.

  The next sound, however, Val was sure she never wanted to hear again.

  It was like nothing she’d ever heard before, a loud crushing sound followed by what she thought might be gunshots.

  “What the hell is that?” Hugo yelled as he moved closer to Val.

  “I don’t know,” she said, as one of the staff members came running into the dining room.

  “It’s another bomb!” the woman yelled.

  “Oh, my word!” Hugo exclaimed. “Come on! We’ve got to get out of here!”

  He was pulling Val out of the room and down the hallway before she had a moment to say anything. There were other people running, but Val looked for him, anyway. She didn’t want to leave without Roland. Screams came next, along with more footsteps. These were louder and moved quicker. She and Hugo had just reached one of the side doors of the palace when three uniformed officers pushed past them.

  Hugo kept them moving until they were out on the lawn. That’s when Val finally stopped, yanking her hand away from her father’s.

  “Where’s Roland? Where’s the family?” she asked.

  “I don’t know and we aren’t sticking around to find out. It’s taking them too damn long to catch him. Looks like he’s still going on with his plan,” Hugo insisted.

  “What do you know about a plan?” Val asked him.

  “Never mind,” he said. “Let’s just keep going.”

  They were moving around to the front of the palace by then, her father out of breath and Val still anxiously looking around. When she caught sight of Landry she ran in her direction, tugging her father’s arm and telling him to follow her. He did, and they came to where Landry was standing, four guards around her.

  “What’s going on?” Val asked.

  Landry was shaking her head. “They want to get us to safety,” she said. “There’s been some type of threat.”

  “Threat?” Hugo asked. “You didn’t hear that banging? Whatever they were threatening to do, they’ve done!”

  “No,” Landry told him. “Kris called me just a few moments ago. He said they received a tip that Amari had hired a guy to crash through the gates with explosives in his truck. They wanted to stop the wedding once and for all.”

  Val shivered at the thought. “Roland?”

  Landry touched a hand to her shoulder. “He’s safe. He was with Kris and Gary. The truck was already on its way by the time they received the tip. They barely had enough time to get the guards set up at the gate. They planned to shoot the driver and stop the truck from getting close to the palace. But I’m not sure that worked.”

  “Let’s get you a better distance away, just in case,” one of the guards said to Landry.

  They ran down an incline toward a smaller building. The guards escorted them inside.

  “Now what?” Hugo asked.

  “We wait,” Landry said.

  “Wait for what? To be killed?” Hugo continued.

  “No,” Val whispered. “Please, no.”

  * * *

  The message had been clear. The plan was for the truck to ride onto the property and for the driver to detonate enough explosives to wipe out the entire palace.

  Gary had sent text messages to Kris, Roland and Rafe the minute he’d received the call. The four of them had quickly come up with a plan. That plan had worked, partially.

  The truck driver hadn’t heeded the warnings of the guards or the police officers and, instead, had tried to break through the front. It was at that point the guards opened fire, killing the driver just as the truck slammed into the gate. Grand Serenity’s scaled-down version of a bomb squad had been dispatched while Gary briefed Roland and the others. They were just arriving when the truck made contact. The officers were immediately assessing the explosives that were in the back of the truck.

  “It wasn’t Amari,” Gary told them when he came back to the room in the separate building where the new security team was housed. That’s where he’d told Roland, Kris and Rafe they would be safest.

  “What do you mean it wasn’t him?” Roland asked. “Who else would it be?”

  “Just as the message said, he hired someone,” Gary told them.

  “So, where’s Amari?” Kris asked.

  “He’s here,” Rafe replied this time. His tone deep and somber. “If it’s personal for this guy, he would want to be close by to see our demise.”

  Gary nodded. “That’s why I have the guards searching the palace. Everyone has been evacuated until the search is complete.

  “Not everyone,” Kris said from where he stood at a window. “Look!”

  “I thought you sent guards to get her and Sam!” Rafe yelled before going to the door and opening it. He was running out before anyone could stop him, so they all followed him, instead.

  A short distance away, Malayka was running toward a group of police officers. She was stopped before she could get to them when a man came up from behind and grabbed her, slamming her to the ground. At the same time, Sam came out of the house with two guards at her side. When she saw her family, she ran over.

  Rafe was enraged as he tried to get to Malayka. Roland passed his father, so he came up on them first.

  “You stupid bitch! You wouldn’t have any of this if it weren’t for me!” The guy was yelling as he reached down to grab Malayka by the hair.

  Roland punched him. Then, when the man released Malayka and stumbled back, Roland punched him again. The second blow was because he ha
d a pretty good idea who this was.

  “If I go down, you go down! I told you that from the start! Don’t think you’re gonna live in splendor while I rot! You’re nothing but a trifling slut, just like your mother was!”

  That earned him another punch, this time from Kris. Rafe was helping Malayka up off the ground when Gary finally came around to the guy to slap cuffs on his wrists.

  “Amari Taylor, I presume,” Gary said.

  “My name is Amari Vansig. And she’s not in love with you,” Amari told Rafe. “She’s been using you all along.”

  “Liar!” Malayka yelled and lunged at him. “You’re a filthy liar!”

  “And you’re a greedy bitch!” Amari shot back.

  “Get him the hell out of here,” Rafe said as he pulled Malayka away from the man.

  Gary nodded to two of the guards, waiting until they came and escorted Amari away.

  “What are we going to do with her?” Kris asked.

  “If he’s right, and she was in on this with him, then she can go where he’s going,” Gary said.

  Roland and Kris nodded their agreement.

  But Rafe stood perfectly still. He stared at Malayka and made one simple statement. “Tell me the truth.”

  For an instant, Roland thought she might actually insult them all. Instead, she took a step back from where Rafe stood and shook her head.

  “I messed up everything,” she began with tears streaming down her face. “The plan was for me to seduce you. To get into the palace and find something, anything to blackmail you with.”

  “Why?” was Rafe’s immediate question. “What did I do to you or him that made you want this revenge against me and mine?”

  Roland recognized the seething anger that lay like a thin sheet over the hurt within his father. He knew because he’d felt it himself when he’d learned that his mother was dead.

  Malayka didn’t even bother to wipe her face. The woman who once made sure she was perfectly primped at all times was standing in the center of the palace’s courtyard wearing a white silk robe and missing one fluffy-toed slipper. There was a rip on one arm of the robe and the corner of her mouth was bleeding.