The Dark Prince (The Dark Prince Trilogy #1)

by Autumn Winchester

  Summer could understand that. It was better to stay out of the limelight than see things. She had seen more than enough already, and knew there was no turning back from this life. A crappy life, but a life all the same.

  She tentatively took a seat on the floor in one of the corners behind the door, not trusting the other girl even if her life depended on it. She pulled her knees up to her chest as Valerie gave out a huff. Valerie wondered why Chase chose this girl out of all the ones that had thrown themselves at that man. She would even have married the Prince, but was taken with Trent and he met her needs better than anyone had before. Plus, her father set up the entire thing, and she didn’t dare go against him.

  Arranged marriages were still common among both of their families. Normally, the men had more choice over the matter than any female got, and Valerie hated it. She hated being married, hated having the way she was expected to be a mother and be perfect. She knew she wasn’t perfect, but she played the part that she was taught to do.

  “I can’t believe he married you,” Valerie mumbled out, knowing that Summer wouldn’t reply back to her. She could play nice in front of others, but Valerie wasn’t going to drop everything like Chase wanted. Valerie was jealous. The more that had been told to her just the day before rang louder and louder as the seconds passed by. Maybe she would take that man whom she had spoken with up on his offer after-all.

  Summer really couldn’t believe Chase married her either. She was no one, but yet, he wanted her and only her. He kept saying she was his Princess, and she really didn’t understand why. She wasn’t anyone special or outstanding in any way.

  As the two girls were settled into the safe room, Carter forced the two men dressed in regular street clothes, hands behind their backs, to the back room that contained a few chairs, and nothing else. The lone light was bright towards the middle of the room and darkened out to the walls and corners.

  “Sit,” Carter said darkly in his slight Jamaican accent, pointing his free hand to the chairs, his gun still raised at them. They obeyed, fearing for their lives.

  Carter was born in Jamaica, and lived there for a few years. His mother was Irish, so his skin wasn’t nearly as dark as most of his heritage. But because of his mother, his temper was strong and no one ever dared to get past him.

  Chase and Trent stood in the shadows of the room, watching as the two unnamed men took a seat. They didn’t fear of being shot, knowing that Carter had already checked them for guns, or any other sort of weapon and taking them before bringing them in here.

  “Clean,” Carter said before exiting the room and closing the door behind him. He took a stance in front the door, ready to step in with one command.

  “Look at what we caught,” Trent said, taking a step out of the dark corner. He took a thrilled breath as they both jumped, not knowing he had been there. It was his favorite part of his job; scaring the shit out people. “Who are you?”

  “No . . . no one,” the skinnier of the two answered in a shaky voice. He was black, and a little on the lean side so not the usual type of lookout man that Meads would hire. His eyes were bloodshot, and that little detail said he was doing this for drugs. There was a small cut above his eye, showing that he had fought against Carter, and not well as he sat here in the chair now.

  The other man was more beat up, and pale. He had long black hair. He looked more like a geek than anything else.

  “Well, that seems to be a name I don’t know. You see, I don’t let just anyone in my place of business. Families come here, and it is my duty to make sure that those families are not harmed. So now, I will give you one more chance. Who. Are. You?” Trent asked in a deadly voice. He even looked at his own hands, making it seem like he was harmless. At least until he said the last three words, looking both of the men dead in the eye.

  He may be a happy go with the flow kind of guy, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be tough when needed. He loved to have control, and took pleasure in letting men fear him.

  “Taylor, and that’s Tommy,” the black man said, trying to not look at Trent.

  “What do you two want with me?” Trent asked, circling the two sitting in the chair. He wasn’t in the mood for games today. Not when there were two women in his building, one of which probably scared to death.

  “We were told to sit there and watch. Take a few pictures,” the one named Tommy said.

  “Who hired you?” Chase asked, stepping out of the shadows. His green eyes were dark, his arms folded over his chest so his side gun was seen easily in the dull light.

  “We don’t know, man!” Taylor said hurriedly, knowing exactly who this man was. “We just needed money and took the first job that was offered to us.”

  “That’s not the answer I was looking for,” Chase sighed, shaking his head. That was the sign for Trent to pull on Tommy’s hair, forcing his head back up towards the ceiling.

  “Okay, man. It was someone by the name of Blackhawk,” Taylor shouted.

  That son of a bitch! Chase thought, but kept his face hard. He knew exactly who that was. Well, sorta. Truthfully, Chase had never seen the man face to face. He wasn’t sure if Blackhawk was on his side, or against him.

  “What pictures did you take?” Chase asked instead, shooting a fierce glare at the two.

  “You. And that woman you were with. She‘s a pretty thing,” Tommy answered, even though he was in no position to say such a thing. He even licked his dry lips at the thought of her. “But the pictures were to be destroyed. He told us to make sure no one saw them. It was all a rouse for Jason to think he had one up on you.” Then why even take them? Stupid idiots!

  “She’s my wife,” Chase snarled, as he backhanded the pig for his disrespect. If it wasn’t for the fact that this place of business was violence free, Chase wouldn’t have stopped from shooting either men.

  But that meant that Blackhawk was trying to warn the Marcel men of something. Now, that was a smart man, whoever the fuck he was.

  “Tie them up. I’ll let the pigs have these two. They aren’t worth my time.” With that, Chase turned and left the room, Trent’s happy laughter following him. He nodded to Carter, who already knew what to do. The cops would be here in minutes. He wanted to shoot them both, but was just able to contain the pull to do just that. He’d go home later and take his fury out on his punching bag. That would hopefully do the trick.

  Chase made his way to get Summer and get out of dodge before the cops showed up. He didn’t want to deal with them again. He had too many accounts that he had to answer questions for.

  Entering the key code to the sound proof room, he then opened the door. Valerie instantly stood, hands behind her back. She was told to be ready for any demand given to her by her husband and she didn’t want to work here longer than she already had to. Chase didn’t spare her a glance, instead, walking to a frightened and tearful Summer after seeing her in the corner. His hard look melted away and was replaced by a look of calm.

  “Come, Summer,” Chase spoke gently, helping her to stand. For now, he ignored her tears. He’d find out what was upsetting her later. Now wasn’t the time.

  Once they were both in the car, after helping his wife inside, Chase took off, tires spinning in the dirt. He was seconds away from having to deal with the pigs. A text came in as he turned at the stop light.

  Thanks!

  - R

  “What’s wrong?” Chase asked, as he took his time to drive back to his house. He had to know what made Summer upset. What is because she didn’t expect what would happen, or was it something that Valerie had said? Chase knew that Valerie tended to be a little headstrong, and never took her words to heart.

  Summer shook her head. She didn’t know how to say what was wrong. She was scared. Scared of her father. Scared of what would happen next. And scared that Chase could be hurt. She was overwhelmed with being so cared for; for having Chase want her when Valerie made it clear that Chase never cared about anyone outside of family.

  But most o
f all, she didn’t know how to get her mind wrapped around the fact that she was worried about Chase in the ten minutes she had been in that room with Valerie.

  Her words hadn’t fazed her to much, as Summer had heard much, much worse.

  Chapter 11

  Chase made a quick stop at McDonald's drive-thru, ordering two ice cream cones and a small order of fries. One vanilla, one chocolate. Who didn’t like ice cream? And he could never help but dip his French fries into the cold cream. He thought maybe it would help smooth over whatever Summer’s sadness was about. He was sure that Valerie wouldn’t have said anything to cause these tears, but of course, he wasn’t going to put it past his sister-in-law. It was common for that woman to do whatever she felt like, punishments be damned.

  Valerie was used to having her way, which is why she was attracted to Trent, as he gave her everything she wanted, but also discipline like she craved. It also didn’t help that her father pretty much demanded her to marry Trent a few years ago. It was to keep her family safe against threats, as her father was known to gamble against men who would take whatever they felt like.

  Trent had known for a fact that Saul Rodrigo owed the Meads a large amount of money. Along with a number of other people. And to make sure that Valerie was not the one that had to pay that price, Trent accepted the marriage proposal.

  Chase didn’t think it was a good idea for his cousin to marry that woman, and he made sure to tell him that, but Trent wanted to help, and Valerie’s beauty was appealing to him. She always had prided herself on her looks alone. She had to be perfect.

  Chase’s mind kept replaying everything, wondering what could have made Summer upset, and yet nothing rang a bell. Maybe it was her emotions still leveling out? Or maybe it was just a girl thing. It wasn’t often that he took notice of girls when their emotions got in the way. But he was worried about his wife. He always would be, too.

  “Which one?” Chase asked as he prepared to pull away from the drive through. Summer shrugged. She never had ice cream, so it didn’t matter to her.

  “I like chocolate best,” Chase mused, trying to drag an answer out of her as her tears slowly dried. “Do you want the vanilla?” Summer shrugged again. She was sure her voice wouldn’t work right now anyway.

  Chase ended up handing Summer the vanilla ice cream cone, touching her fingers with his as he did so. They both felt the small shock from the small touch. He then placed the small bag of fries in the cup holder between them, hoping she’d help herself.

  “I am sorry for whatever happened that made you upset,” Chase said again, his voice quiet. He couldn’t stop apologizing. He didn’t know what to say to ease her fears. “My cousin who works for FBI took those two men into custody.”

  He took a few licks of his ice cream, watching Summer out of the corner of his eye. She slowly licked her own, enjoying the taste of the ice cream. She didn’t want to act like an animal and make a mess, but it was starting to melt, even with the AC turned on. It was a good thing it was a pretty small serving, as she wasn’t sure she’d be able to eat it all as it was.

  Chase knew that Meads was only stating that he knew Chase had married. But now that the news of who is wife was out, Chase was prepared for just about anything.

  “Tomorrow, we will be going to dinner at my parents’ house. They would like to officially meet you,” Chase stated once his ice cream was gone and Summer’s was just about gone. “You don’t have to worry about anything there. Just act like yourself.”

  That was a problem. Summer didn’t know who she was. She had never tested boundaries, never behaved out of what was deemed appropriate. She had learned from early on to behave a certain way at all times, in and away from the eyes of everyone. It had been engraved into her head for years on end.

  “My parents may ask a few questions regarding us having children. My dad wants me to have an heir, but right now, I do not want one in any way. It’s too soon for both of us, plus it would put you and any child in danger from the men that want me dead,” Chase went on. “So you can ignore all talk about kids for now.

  “I also want you to have time to figure out who you are as a person on your own. Having a child right away won’t help you there,” he went on. “I want you to explore hobbies to see what you want to do with your life.”

  The little bit of time she did have to herself that wasn’t filled with chores or sleeping, she had enjoyed to read anything she could get her hands on. Instead of answering, she nodded once more, turning to look out the side window. She already met Kayla, but she was a little on edge at that time, considering she had barely known Chase.

  She still didn’t know him. And Summer wasn’t sure she wanted to. Would it matter in the end?

  “Sunday, I have a few meetings, but you can stay home with Clare and look over the programs for a GED. I really would like you get whichever program you want chosen soon. Also, I’m sure you don’t know how to drive, so I would like to start lessons soon. There may be times I will need you to drive for me,” Chase said, just trying to let her know what would be going on for the next few days to weeks.

  There had been times when he happened to get shot at while leaving a meeting and had to call one of his security members to help drive him home, to a hide-out, or even to get stitched up. He would like Summer to know how to drive for many reasons, though. But with him taking her out more often, it would be best if she knew how. Even with the protection detail following them both around, he’d rather be safe than sorry.

  Although Summer knew how, simply because she had to drive her druggy handler around at the age of fifteen, she didn’t really want to drive, fearing that she’d crash and be in huge trouble. She knew that Chase’s cars cost more than her own life. But she would if she had to. Summer would do just about anything, just because that’s how her life worked. Obey, or be punished harshly. And she knew how brutal any punishment was.

  “Your ID should be in the mail in the next few days,” Chase went on. “And also a bank card for you to use when you see something you want. Clare’s too.”

  By the time they got home, storm clouds were rolling in and Chase parked in the garage. The wind had picked up and Summer could tell that this storm would be strong. She wasn’t a fan of storms, so she hoped that the house held out most of the sounds, or she was kept busy enough to not dwell on it.

  Chase waited for Summer to enter the house first before he followed, shutting the garage and the mud room doors. They found Clare sitting at the table, looking through the papers Chase had printed off the day before for online schools. Summer made a dash up to the room she had first slept in, hoping to be left alone for a while. She wasn’t a people type of person, and being stuck in a car for an hour, plus a room with Valerie, was more than enough for one day.

  If Summer were able to, she’d hide away from the entire world, never to be seen again. Her thoughts hadn’t calmed, and she didn’t know how to handle these feelings. She had only known Chase for a few days, but yet, he treated her so nicely. Even his family that had met her for the most part.

  Taking a few deep breaths, she decided to go ahead and look over the GED courses as the wind picked up outside. There didn’t seem to be much else to do at this time, as the spare room was completely cleaned, thanks to Chase.

  That is where Chase found her an hour later, surrounded by papers with notes written all over them as Summer sat on the bed she had slept in that first night. It seemed to be so long ago, when it had been just a few days. Rain now pelted against the closed windows. Summer was glad that there wasn’t thunder and lighting, knowing that alone would put her in a panic with everything else going on.

  Summer glanced up at Chase before turning her attention back to the papers, looking over them once again. She had a list of pros and cons on each, plus a list of what she liked best out of each program. Her writing was sloppy, but she tended to be a planner when it came to big decisions like this. This would set her up for college, if she was still able to do some classes l
ater on.

  There were only six options, but it was more than enough. None of them, of course, contained prices or tuition fees, so that wouldn’t be allowed to affect her decision. She knew that Chase had money, but he didn’t need to spend it on her. She knew she’d have to pay it back somehow in the end.

  “Any luck?” Chase asked, standing next to the bed with his hands in his pockets. He kept his form as nonthreatening as possible, knowing she was under more than enough stress and worry as it was. He glanced at the papers one more time before looking at Summer. He saw that her emotions were leveled out, though her eyes were red from crying. She did look more content now.

  He would give her the whole world if it made her happy, but knew that she didn’t want much, if anything at all. She’d be content with just a bed to sleep in and food in her stomach. Nothing else mattered to her. But he was on a mission to change that.

  She shook her head. She really didn’t know which one would be best. She set two aside with the word ‘No’ at the top, then underneath her reasons why she didn’t choose them. One had started already, and the other program looked to bland for her. She was smart, at least when it came to books. The subjects that would be covered were something she felt like she knew already.