ROYAL BRIDE (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance)

by Bella Grant

  “They haven’t heard from their daughters in several weeks. Both girls were at the university together—roommates. We checked the school, and they haven’t been to classes in over a week.” Julian’s expression matched Antonio’s.

  “The school didn’t alert their parents?”

  “No. Until we asked the question, they didn’t seem overly concerned that the girls hadn’t been to classes.”

  Antonio took a calming breath. “No one is to mention this around my wife. Is that clear?” He looked into the eyes of the five men staring back at him, some with confusion. “She will run off on a crusade to help these women or to find their fathers just to kick them in the asses.” He looked at the pictures of the two girls that Julian had placed on the table, a new fear bursting through his chest. “Once we have them home safely, I may just let her.” He looked at Julian. “Send out a surveillance team right away. I want this over with within the week.”

  “There is one more matter we need to discuss.” Julian began placing the photographs into a folder. “Your sister is due to arrive next week. She would like to attend the gala at the Art Institute with you and your wife.”

  “She mentioned something about that. Apparently, Father and Mother have been badgering her about a new marriage proposition. I told her it was fine. I don’t see the trouble.”

  “No trouble.” Julian rolled the map back up and tucked it under his arm. “She is bringing only two of the six guards we have stationed with her.”

  “What?” Would any woman in his life cooperate with safety procedures?

  “She insists. She wants to remain as anonymous as possible while she’s here. She doesn’t want any sort of royal emblems on her cars, doesn’t want to take the royal plane—any of those things.”

  Antonio closed his eyes and took yet another breath. “And my parents have left for their travels in Europe, no doubt, leaving me to deal with her?”

  “Yes, Your Highness.”

  Well, fuck. Carmen had never given into fanciful thoughts of a normal life. She had been raised as a princess and knew very well the ramifications of having such a status. When she had been presented with an arranged marriage to Prince Raphael, Isabella’s brother, she had taken the news with grace and dignity, putting aside her own fears and misgivings about the union.

  Although she worried about partnering with a man such as Raphael, she had never complained. Antonio knew of her concerns only because he knew Raphael on a more personal level, including his reputation for what he liked in the bedroom. His sister wouldn’t fit into his world very well, and they both knew it.

  Meeting Isabella and presenting his own marriage instead of creating a union between his frightened sister and obligation-driven Raphael had worked out for everyone. His wife may still harbor some ill thoughts on the subject, but he never considered that his sister would begin acting against the family’s wishes. He would protect her from any bad arrangements his parents made for her, but he wouldn’t allow her to gallivant around Chicago unprotected.

  “Until this threat with Libertad is resolved, my sister is not to be with any fewer guards than she currently has. Hell, I’m tempted to double the number when she travels, and like hell is she stepping foot on a commercial plane.”

  Julian eyed him silently before giving him a nod. “Yes, Your Highness.”

  “What is it? You look as though there is more.”

  “She does not wish to stay here in your suites or in this hotel.”

  “I’ll talk with her. Her rooms will be in this fucking hotel where I can keep an eye on her.” He hadn’t meant to let his temper show, but he was quickly beginning to lose his grip on all the women who mattered so much to him.

  Isabella promised obedience, but he wasn’t foolish enough to think that would last long. As soon as he denied her something she truly wanted, she’d go for it anyway. Suddenly, he wished he had questioned her more at length about her day, and about the phone call he’d overheard the other afternoon.

  “Who is with my wife today?” he asked.

  “Jose and Saul.”

  Antonio nodded. “I would like them to report in with her activities. I want to know where she is at all times. You can forward the information to my phone.” He checked his watch. He was supposed to meet up with Silver for lunch. “I’m late. We’ll meet tomorrow morning after breakfast. Have more information for me on that hideout.”

  Each man nodded, giving him the respect of not only their prince but their leader as well. He left them to their work and headed to the car. Silver wanted to meet at a restaurant a few miles down Michigan Avenue. At the rate he saw the traffic moving when he stepped out of the hotel, he knew he’d be late.

  ISABELLA

  “What has you so occupied?” Elisabeth put her coffee on the small table that the two women shared outside a small café on Navy Pier.

  “Nothing.” Isabella waved a hand through the air and straightened in her seat. She’d been thinking about Antonio. Again.

  When he’d returned to their bedroom the night before, he had been set on punishing her, yet he had softened toward her. He obviously enjoyed a little rough play in the bedroom, and if she was going to be completely honest with herself, she had to admit she enjoyed it, too. The sting of his belt hadn’t overpowered her senses. In fact, it had electrified her entire body.

  “Sure doesn’t look like nothing,” Elisabeth muttered, catching the eye of one Isabella’s security team sitting nearby. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to get used to these guys always listening to your conversations.” She took a sip of her coffee, wiping the trace of lipstick from the white plastic cup afterwards.

  “I’m not used to it. My father never put so many men on my detail. At home, I could wander the estates and the nearby villages without any security hounding me or eavesdropping.” She gave a pointed look over her shoulder at the younger of the pair. He averted his eyes immediately and readjusted his seat so he was facing away from the two women.

  “I don’t think I believe that. Rafe never would have let you wander around unprotected.” Elisabeth tried to hide the wistful way she spoke the prince’s name, but they both knew better. Elisabeth had a thing for strong-willed men, and Isabella’s brother was nothing if not completely in charge of any situation. “Maybe his security team was better at blending in.”

  “Are you sure you won’t come back with me when I go home? You can do a lot of what you do from there. A month of pure heaven… well, as close to heaven you can get. I doubt Antonio would let me go back home for a whole month.” She could feel her lips pouting, but there was a tingling sensation inside her that told her she might just like that he was so insistent on keeping her close.

  “Speaking of Antonio, where is he? You are supposed to be on your honeymoon. It’s bad enough he brought you here. Chicago in the middle of summer is not exactly a honeymoon destination. The humidity is enough to send anyone running.”

  Isabella raised her eyebrows at her. “Have you forgotten the weather I live in? It’s humid, yes, but heat isn’t a problem for me. Not being able to go to the beach, that is the problem.” She pointed a well-manicured finger at her.

  “Then let’s go. It’s been forever since I went swimming,” Elisabeth exclaimed, looking as excited as she had when they were children and their mothers finally gave in and agreed to take them to the lake.

  Isabella looked over at her security team, who were already shaking their heads. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Too many people.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll talk with him tonight. Maybe he’ll see some semblance of reasoning.”

  “There’s almost as many people on the pier as there would be at the beach,” Elisabeth pointed out. Looking around, Isabella agreed. Besides the families visiting the area on vacation, there were several day-camps attending events at the Children’s Museum or riding the amusement rides the pier had to offer. The beach would be just as crowded.

  Antonio had been pretty firm when he told her about m
aking sure she took her safety as seriously as he did. He wouldn’t give her any details, but she knew there had been progress on finding the missing woman. It had something to do with him adding the third man to her detail and needing to be informed of every damn move she made.

  The men didn’t think she noticed them making a call or sending a text every time they arrived somewhere or just before leaving for the next stop. Antonio seemed to be dead-set against her having any freedom while he was locked up in his meetings.

  She had barely managed to avoid the topic of meeting with the admissions counselor the afternoon before. When he met her for dinner, he had casually asked her about her day, and when she tried to remain completely vague, he asked pointedly about her visit to the university. Luckily for her, she had been half-naked when he asked the question, and she distracted him. He had mumbled something on the way to dinner that he knew exactly what she had done, but he didn’t approach the subject again.

  How would she explain to him what she was planning? Eventually, he would need to know, but at the moment, she just needed to get through the application process. She’d given Elisabeth her essays for corrections, and once they were finished being edited, she could take them to JoAnna, the bright-eyed woman who was more than thrilled to have a royal princess applying to their university. Isabella had made her vow not to inform anyone that she was inquiring about the school, and she hoped her trust was not misplaced in the young woman.

  In Antonio’s country, there was one university, but from what she’d seen of it when she looked up the information online, she wasn’t sure going there would be suitable. She would have to commute into the city to attend classes as they did not yet have online education available. She didn’t think Antonio would like that very much, and she didn’t find it appealing either.

  Once she was accepted, she would sit Antonio down and explain her plans. He wouldn’t deny her. There would be no reason. And when she graduated and began to work towards higher accomplishments, he would see she held more value than just her body.

  She tried to tell herself she didn’t care what he thought. His comment the other night had sparked her engine to get going, but she wasn’t going to do all the hard work she had coming her way just because of a careless comment. She told herself that, but even she didn’t fully believe it. For whatever reason, she wanted his approval. The few times she’d caught him staring at her while she talked with someone of political power, she’d seen the glimmer of approval in his eyes, and she wanted more of that.

  “Your Highness, we must get back to the hotel soon if you are to be ready for the banquet this evening,” one of the babysitters informed her. She glared at him for daring to approach her, and his use of her title in public sparked her irritation.

  She looked around to see if anyone had heard him, scowling. “You are to remain over there.” She pointed to the other men sitting. “Not to come over here and bother me, and certainly not to announce to everyone on the damn dock that a member of a royal family is sitting here.”

  “Pier,” Elisabeth interjected with a grin. “It’s Navy Pier, not dock.”

  “Do forgive me.” Isabella flashed a toothy smile at her friend then wiped it away to glare at her security guard. “Pier.”

  “Your husband.” The shortest man of the team, but not the least muscular, she noticed, approached her with a cell phone in hand. She met his brown-eyed gaze momentarily, long enough to see that she was about to be irritated by whatever Antonio had to say.

  Not wanting to give the man the satisfaction he seemed to crave at her humiliation, she thanked him for the phone and held it to her ear with a grin. “Yes, Antonio?”

  “Why are you still out? You should be back here.” He didn’t sound overly upset, more frustrated than anything. She could hear him shuffling around.

  “I was just saying my goodbyes.” She smiled at the guard, who watched her with interest. She wondered if he was waiting to see if she would throw a fit and toss the phone into the lake. Although the thought had merit, she didn’t want to embarrass herself or give the guards the show they seemed to be waiting for. “Why didn’t you call my phone?”

  “I did,” he ground out. “Three times. You must have it on silent.” Sure enough, she found the phone in her purse and it was on vibrate. Three voicemails had been left from him.

  “Sorry about that.” She clenched her teeth slightly when giving her apology. “I thought the banquet was later this evening.”

  “It is, but we have a quick stop to make before going there. Please say goodbye and get in the car. And please, don’t give the guards any trouble.”

  She swept her eyes up to the one in particular still standing over her and wanted nothing more at that moment than to raise her foot and kick him in the groin. It would serve the pompous ass right to learn a thing about how to treat her. She was a damn princess, not some bratty toddler he was looking after. How dare he glower at her and stand over her as though she were intruding on his time.

  “Of course, Antonio. I’ll be home straight away.” She smiled wider, letting the stretch of her grin be her punishment for behaving like such a prim rose.

  “O-okay.” His hesitation was enough to make her smile more genuine. He wasn’t sure what to make of her new behavior. She hadn’t argued or given him a snotty retort. He seemed to be a little caught off-guard by the change. She would have to remember to keep that in mind for the future.

  “See you soon.” She clicked off the phone and handed it back to the guard. She waved him away and turned to Elisabeth. “I have to go.” She let out a slow breath.

  “You’d think you’d be used to all this royal stuff.” Elisabeth stood from the table with open arms to embrace Isabella.

  “Father never made me do all of these appearances. Rafe handled those things. I was just a decoration when absolutely necessary.” Isabella noticed the guard who had been studying her with such disdain earlier furrowed his brow at her comment.

  “I think Antonio will be good for you,” Elisabeth said sincerely. She tilted her sunglasses up a bit. “You have more worth than your father ever shone a light on.”

  Isabella just nodded. What was there to say to that? Growing up, she had thought her father just didn’t know what to do with her after Mother died. He had left her in the care of nannies and teachers. Rafe was the only real male authority figure she looked up to, and her father kept him from enforcing too much discipline. Which included her studies. She learned quickly and wasn’t by any means a stupid woman, but no one ever pushed her to be more than she was. And to her father, she was the pretty princess he could one day barter for political gain. What she had thought of as uncertainty on his part when she was young, she understood to be complete apathy once she was grown.

  “We’ll see. First, I’ll play the doting wife at tonight’s fundraiser.” She noticed the security team getting restless and wrapped up her goodbyes. “Maybe I’ll run away from home and stay here in America where women have more control over their futures.”

  Elisabeth gave her another reassuring squeeze. “It will all work out. You’ll see,” she whispered in her ear before giving her a little shove. “Now get going. These men are getting irritated and starting to piss me off.”

  The lead guard shot Elisabeth a hard glance but quickly dropped his gaze. Isabella motioned for him to lead the way to the car and walked behind him as the other two men trailed after them.

  ***

  Isabella had listened to her brother talk about many of his causes over the years. As the main fundraiser for his country’s hunger and healthcare problems, he had taught her the need smaller countries had for such advantages.

  The fundraiser Antonio took her to was raising money to build a new children’s hospital in a less advantaged part of the city. She found his interest in helping the Americans commendable, whereas she could see that others would take exception. Why spend his money elsewhere instead of on their own issues at home?

  She decided not to a
sk him about his view on the subject just yet. When she returned to the hotel and changed quickly, he had looked curiously at her. When she announced that she was ready to go, having decided on a simple gown that covered every part of her, his gaze had grown suspicious. Thankfully, he hadn’t made a comment to spoil her good mood and thus made her abandon her new plan for getting along with him.

  More than likely, he wouldn’t approve of her attending a Chicago-based university, online or otherwise, and she wanted him to be completely at ease with her by the time she approached the subject. It wasn’t that she needed his money for the tuition. She had plenty in her own accounts from her father, but it would make things less hostile for her if she didn’t have to fight with him to get what she wanted.

  The car pulled up in front of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital after having maneuvered through the streets of the city carrying two completely silent passengers. Isabella could feel Antonio glance at her several times, but he never made a move to speak. After several minutes of being in the car, he did scoot closer to her, his thigh brushing hers, but still made not a sound.

  “You’re in for a fun evening.” Antonio finally broke the silence once the driver had closed his door and rounded the car to open hers. “I’m told there will be an acrobatic show.”

  Although he spoke in a neutral tone and smiled a gentle smile, she wasn’t sure if he was teasing her or simply making conversation. She decided it best to simply nod. If she opened her mouth, she feared something defensive would pop out at him. Thankfully, the door opened, and she was saved from having to fill the silence.

  Isabella walked at Antonio’s side as they entered the building. The lighting in the front vestibule was bright. Balloons cascaded around every archway of the entrance to the building as well as many of the hallways inside.

  A man dressed in a red and white pinstriped carnival suit walking on stilts made his way through the crowd in the front entranceway, stopping to speak to anyone who looked interested. The summer night did not require a shawl, but knowing Antonio would find it more appropriate, she had worn one. He slipped it from her shoulders, letting his fingers linger over the skin of her neck as he did so. He handed the shawl to another man, probably one of the security team—she hadn’t bothered to memorize all of their faces as Antonio continually changed who was with her, probably out of fear that she would learn to manipulate them.