The Throne of Fear: The Romano's

by Stella Andrews

  Leaning back, I click my fingers and a waitress hurries over. “Champagne.”

  I issue the command as I settle back in my seat, and Drew nods respectfully. “So, we can expect to see a lot less of you in future while you play at being the happy couple.”

  “Maybe at first.” Drew sits back with a smug look I want to remove from his face as a matter of urgency. “We are men of the world, Mr. Romano, and we both know it would take a special woman to replace the need for this in our lives. I may be married soon, but I will always be a member of this club; she just doesn’t need to know about it.”

  He laughs and I watch him through hooded eyes. It’s exactly as I thought, an arranged marriage with the love of my life as the sacrifice. I wait for the waitress to deliver the champagne and then, leaning forward, pour us two glasses. Raising mine, I hold it out in a toast and say blankly, “To the happy couple.”

  Drew raises his and chucks it down his throat as if its water and sets the glass on the table with a resounding thump. “That’s good stuff.”

  “Only the best for me, Drew, you should know that by now.”

  He sits back as I pour him another and say as if I’ve had a sudden thought. “I’m having a private party on the Black Heart tomorrow night. Maybe you would like to bring your fiancée on board. Just a small gathering of influential people, like Harrison Scott, for example.”

  The bait hooks him immediately and I watch his eyes narrow. “We would be honored to attend.”

  “Good, 7 o’clock on the dock, bring your poker face though, I have an interesting game lined up.”

  I watch the spark ignite in his eyes because we all know he excels at poker. He is a worthy adversary, and plays to win. He knows he’s one of the best, and I see the greed pass across his face as he contemplates making a killing.

  He nods and I take that as my cue to leave before I take my gun out and do this the easy way instead.

  “Have a good evening, Mr. Warner. Enjoy your champagne.”

  I turn to leave and almost as soon as I’m half way to the door, the girl is back on his lap. I’m guessing he’s in for a long night and expect he’s already booked one of my private rooms upstairs. No matter because the trap has been set and now it’s up to me to snare a rodent.

  While Drew plays, I work and instruct Richie to gather enough evidence on Drew to ruin him. As expected, Drew spends the evening in one of my private rooms and I make sure to capture every sordid minute of it. I like to have something on most of the people in this town who make it way too easy for me. I work long into the night because I have a particular kind of evening in store for the happy couple tomorrow and everything needs to be in place.

  By the time Drew staggers home, I have finalized the details of a mission to set my angel free.

  If I worry about what she’ll think of what I have planned, I push it away. It’s for her own good and she may not see that at first, but by the end of it she will thank me for it.

  As I retreat to my private apartment the walls close in on me. It’s lonely being me. It always has been. Sitting up here in my ivory tower set aside from humanity, I often wonder what it would feel like to share it with someone. My brothers have found their soulmate, I have one that is out of reach. She’s the only one I want, and not being able to do anything about it has damaged my soul. I have watched her from afar, desperate for just one glimpse of something that can never be mine because I’m under no illusions—she can’t. Not all the time her father governs this State. He may turn a blind eye to our dealings in return for a backhander on the odd occasion, but he will never accept our company. Ironic really, when he’s worse than us.

  Thinking of Governor Thompson makes my blood boil. The file my family has on him would make a bestseller. He is the worst kind of criminal because he hides behind respectability. God isn’t the reason he goes to church every Sunday, the voters are. His whole life is contrived to win votes, and his family play the perfect accompanying roles. He presents a carefully crafted façade that I could destroy with one leaked photograph, or a word in the right ear. We keep him in his position because it is better the devil you know and all the time he’s here, she is.

  I already know I can’t sleep and so at 3 am pull on my sneakers and head to my private running track. I need to channel my aggression, my energy and my thoughts because tomorrow I will meet Ivy for the second time in my life and the thing that scares me the most is that she will hate me for what I do next. I couldn’t bear to see her look at me through those gorgeous eyes with distaste, derision and fear. It would cut my heart out, but I need to be cruel to be kind.

  As I ponder the meeting, I drive myself to the brink of exhaustion. It’s what I need - to push myself, to reach breaking point in order to shut away the pain of unrequited love. My heart no longer feels as if it belongs to me because when you give someone your whole heart and she doesn’t want it; you can’t take it back. The worst feeling is falling for someone and knowing they won’t be there to catch you. There is nobody to catch me, only my family, and they want to kill me most of the time. I know I’m a difficult bastard to live with, so I retreat here and punish myself for falling in love with someone who can never be mine.

  Chapter 6

  Ivy

  I dreamed of him again. My knight on black steel. The man who watches from the shadows and filters his way into my soul. I always dream of him when I’m feeling at my lowest point. It’s as if he gives me courage and hope. Someone is out there, looking out for me, an escape, a promise of a better future, someone who loves me. I always think of him when I’m in hell because it’s where I live most of the time.

  As soon as I was released from the punishment room, I was locked in my room with no food and just a jug of water. I prefer it that way, at least it spares me from spending time with my family. I know it’s wrong what they do. Nobody should treat another human being like this, but I’ve kind of got used to it and now it’s my kind of normal. I wonder when mom decided it was acceptable to treat me this way. Perhaps she suffers the same, or worse. Maybe it’s all she knows and is resigned to it. The only way out is to swap one madman for another because I’m in no doubt Drew is waiting to carry on where my father left off and that probably begins tomorrow night.

  I shiver with revulsion at the thought of what that will involve but I am running out of time because now my parents have made their feelings clear on the subject; I have no wall to hide behind. Drew will expect me to go along with his plan, or else.

  I have only a few hours left to escape, but where? I have nowhere to go, no money and no contacts. They have made sure of that. I have friends, but they live with those of my parents. One phone call would be all it takes to return me to more punishment and a lifetime of fear.

  I can’t even cry anymore because any tears I had dried up years ago. I am broken, mentally and sometimes physically. My father’s heavy handedness sometimes goes a step too far, and I have spent many days locked in this room while my bruises heal and fade. Occasionally he draws blood and there are many faded scars on my body where he has enjoyed himself a little too much. Easily explained away as the usual rite of passage for any child who likes to play outdoors, but they are more sinister than that. My father is a violent man and my mother is not much better.

  Many times I went to her crying and afraid, only to feel the back of her hand for daring to spread lies about my father. More often than not, she was the one who spanked me, or pulled my hair and hissed that I was an ungrateful bitch who needed to learn my place. In public she was the perfect mother, expecting me to play up to the image and prove how amazing she was. If I didn’t, the punishments would last long into the night and I’m weary of it. I live with abusers and there is nothing I can do about it.

  Once again, I think of my black knight and my heart settles. I’m safe with him, I just know it. Something about that lone rider tells me he’s here for me. A shadowy figure that means me no harm. My guardian angel and the man of my dreams all rolled into
one—in my head, anyway. Knowing my luck, he would turn out to be old and gray and sent by my father to make sure I’m keeping in line.

  I know in my heart he’s not. He’s perfect in every way, and if I had one wish, it would be to slide behind him on that bike and head off into the sunset and never look back.

  The next day is spent following mom around town shopping for an engagement outfit because in seven days’ time we are hosting my engagement party at home and have invited Miami’s elite. People of influence, hangers on and only the rich, and connected have an invitation. I’m dreading it because I will have to hold Drew’s hand and plaster a happy smile on my face when all the time I’m dying inside.

  Mom chooses the outfit she thinks suitable, and we meet up with one of her so-called friends for lunch.

  Hilary Masters, another society bitch who looks just as fake as my mom. We are sitting overlooking the water in another upmarket eatery and the fact it’s a beautiful day outside merely highlights the ugliness inside.

  “So, Ivy, you must be excited to be marrying Drew, he’s quite a catch in every way.”

  “Ecstatic, Mrs. Masters.”

  Mom laughs. “We all are. It’s a match made in heaven, Hilary. Drew is a man going places, and Ivy is a lucky girl. Together they will go far and we are excited for them.”

  “Yes, I can see you must be.” Hilary looks at me with a sharp gaze and I shrink under it. I must maintain the appearance that everything is good in my life because if my mom thinks otherwise, I can look forward to more punishment when I get home.

  “So, when is the happy day?”

  “We don’t want a long engagement.”

  Mom speaks for me as usual, and I just nod in agreement and smile until my cheeks hurt.

  “We were thinking Spring. Such a lovely time of year to get married and Europe is at its finest then.”

  “Ah, the honeymoon. What will that involve, country wise, I mean?”

  They share a laugh and I feel sick to my stomach thinking of what that will mean for me. The thought of Drew even touching me makes me want to hurl, and that disgusting thought is probably happening this very day. Grabbing a glass of water, I gulp it down and my mother’s raised eyes make me sit me a little straighter and smile when I’m dying inside.

  Tonight - I can’t bear the thought of it.

  Their conversation turns to people they know and as usual they tear the person down and trample on their character, taking pleasure in another person’s problems. I will never be like my mom, if I know anything it’s that. I won’t be the type of smug bitch who thinks she’s better than everyone else and spends her days going from one social engagement to another with a lot of shopping trips in between. I’m better than that and if I had just one wish, it would be to set up a cake shop in a small town and live a simple life, baking cakes and serving customers who are genuine people and not the plastic parasites these people are.

  But how can I live a life I don’t know the first thing about making happen? If I run, they will find me. My father’s reach is long and wide, and I would be rounded up and punished for my foolishness. I need to be clever about this, but how? They hold all the cards and I’m no good at the game that they are masters at. I need a miracle, an act of god, a guardian angel.

  Just before 6.30 I stare in the mirror and see a haunted girl looking back at me. My time has run out, and I am packed for an overnight stay I never wanted in the first place. Mom insisted on packing the bag herself and I cringed at the sexy underwear and silk nightie she folded in tissue and packed along with a simple shift dress from Chanel for brunch the next day. She has thought of everything and my case resembles a whore’s because she is determined that when I return tomorrow, my virginity will not be coming back with me.

  Her final words on the subject were to not let Drew down and do everything he asked. I feel so sick I want to hurl all over her seduction kit. The thought of it makes my skin crawl and my heart beat faster than is healthy. How do I get out of this?

  Drew called and told me to dress to impress because we are attending a drinks party onboard a yacht of one of his friends. There will be influential people there who he needs to mix with, and it should be over by 9 pm.

  He is waiting as I head downstairs and I see him laughing at something with my father as they grip two glasses of whiskey and I tremble inside as they look at me and strip me bare in seconds. Drew is looking at me with a hunger that is hard to ignore and my father is watching me carefully in case I do, or say the wrong thing. Mom is holding a flute of champagne and is watching me keenly, expecting me to play the part I have trained for all my life.

  Setting his glass down, Drew heads across and runs his hands around my waist and draws me close, leaning down and whispering in my ear, “You look beautiful, Ivy. I can’t wait to see you out of that dress later.”

  I smile sweetly as he pulls back and my father says loudly, “You make a striking couple. Now remember to have fun, and I don’t expect you back until late tomorrow. It’s time Ivy had a little freedom, but I’m trusting you to take care of my little girl.”

  Drew almost stands to attention. “You can rely on me, sir.”

  My mother looks at him as if he hung the moon and purrs, “We know you will. Ivy is a lucky girl to have you as her future, Drew and I know she considers herself very fortunate.”

  They all look at me and I nod, accompanied by a smile that is as fake as their concern. “Yes, I am.”

  Drew smiles pompously and to anyone else looking in, they would think this was an image of perfection. Something to aspire to and as if I have everything I could ever want in life. I have nothing. I am alone and afraid with nowhere to run and the walls are closing in on me, much like the ones in the punishment room.

  Chapter 7

  Romeo

  For the first time, I’m nervous. I don’t get nervous; I make others nervous, but for some reason I am - because of her. Everything’s in place and as the boat fills up with my invited guests, I only want to see one. Ivy.

  I can’t even make small talk with those who try to grab my attention because I’m so on edge. Finally, we will meet after all these years. Will she remember me? I wonder if a fleeting memory from the past influenced her as much as me, or did she forget about me instantaneously?

  Richie is doing a good job of keeping everyone away. He knows I’m on edge and is doing what he always does—protecting my back.

  I stand watching in the shadows as Miami’s finest venture on board, dressed in designer gowns and suits, the sound of their false laughter swirling around me like a bad dream.

  I watch Harrison Scott step on board with the confidence of a man who knows he’s assured of a bright future and he is. Unlike Drew Warner, this man was born to be President. Whiter than white and not a corrupt bone in his body—yet, anyway. He is holding the hand of his fiancée; Stephanie Lawrence and she suits him. The golden couple, the voter’s favorite and a couple destined for Washington. They are only here because I donate heavily to their favorite charity. Orphans, children with no parents and no prospects. It’s a charity I can identify with first hand and I give as much as possible to help kids who have no one else. Harrison will not stay long. Just long enough to show his respects before heading home, duty done. He likes to distance himself from my family for fear of scandal, which is why I will keep my distance from him out of respect for what he does. He’s a good guy, I’m a bad one. We know our boundaries.

  Stepping forward, I approach him to pay my respects. As I do, I see the fear in his fiancée’s eyes mirrored by lust and I smirk to myself. It’s always the same, every girl loves a bad boy and they can pretend all they want in public, but that woman is craving something she should never have, or want. Me.

  Stepping forward, I extend my hand and smile politely. “Harrison, Stephanie, thank you for coming.”

  Harrison shakes my hand with an iron grip and I turn to his companion. “Stephanie, you look beautiful as always.”

  She smil
es nervously as I take her hand and kiss it gallantly before saying politely, “Please, make yourself at home, enjoy the party. You may be interested to know I have invited Drew Warner and his new fiancée; I believe you have much in common.”

  A look of distaste crosses Stephanie’s face and she nods as Harrison says tightly, “If you mean our aspirations, then yes. If you mean our personalities then definitely no.”

  I smile and remember why I like this man so much. Straight up, no bullshit and not afraid who knows it.

  My eyes flick to the side as I see some new arrivals making their way on board and everyone else fades into the background.

  She’s here.

  I gaze at her with pure hunger as I take in every detail of a woman crafted in perfection. Her long blonde hair shines in the light of the moon and is slightly curled at the ends, making it bounce around her shoulders as if it’s got a will of its own. Huge cornflower blue eyes are looking around in awe and she looks so small and vulnerable in this sea of sharks. Her gold dress shimmers in the moonlight and clings to a body a man would happily die to explore, and her figure rivals any supermodel as she stands like a thoroughbred racehorse in a field of donkeys.

  With his arm wrapped around her is the man of the moment and I feel physically sick as he guides her through the crowd, nodding at influential people he desires to add to his little black book and openly flirts with their companions. Ivy looks small beside him, yet stands taller than most as she smiles politely and nods, playing the part of an adoring fiancée. It’s like a punch to my heart. Is she happy, does she love him, will she hate me? I can’t begin to dwell on that possibility and instead straighten up as Drew notes the company I keep and heads straight for us.

  My mouth dries as I wait for the moment we meet for the second time, and it’s only the shield I wear so well that protects me from making a complete fool of myself.