Arianna & Finn (Royals of Valleria #3) (23 page)

Arianna sat up. She took a deep breath and told her most of what happened during Henry’s visit. Her mother’s brown eyes darkened in anger with each word she spoke.

“Have you told your father?”

“It just happened. I came straight to you. Mama, there’s something else. I think I could be pregnant.”

Genevieve’s gasped and her eyes widened. “Henry’s?”

Arianna shook her head. “Finn’s.”

“Oh. Well, no wonder you don’t want to marry Henry anymore.”

“I’m not sure that I’m pregnant. Actually, Henry was the first one to suggest it.” Accuse her of it, more like.

“That doesn’t give him the right to manhandle you.”

“No, I know.” She told Genevieve what Henry had said about raising Finn’s child. “But I can’t have my child grow up with a father like that. I just can’t. Oh, Mama, what do I do?”

Genevieve brushed back some of Arianna’s hair, which was several shades darker than her own dark blonde. She cupped her daughter’s face, and caressed Arianna’s cheek with her thumb. “Let’s see if you’re pregnant first. Then, we’ll talk to your father.”

“We need to talk to Alex, too.” Arianna told Genevieve that Henry had exiled Finn. “I’ve got to find him, Mama.”

“Where do you think he’d go?”

“Home to Brazenbourg, I’m sure of it. He loves the country and his people too much to abandon them to Henry’s tyranny.”

“Then we’ll see what Alex can do. Come, I’m going to call the royal physician to check on you.”

“Oh, but he’ll tell, won’t he?”

“He’s paid very well to be discreet, trust me.”

The physician came quickly and, though the blood tests confirming the results would take time, several home pregnancy tests all confirmed what Arianna knew to be true: she was pregnant.

Even while the euphoria of becoming a mother filled her, despair at never seeing Finn again did, too.

Genevieve requested that Gabriel and Alex both come straight to her as soon as possible; a demand like that was never ignored. Arianna was sitting, holding hands with her mother, when they arrived.

“Arianna, what are you doing here? You should be in your room.” Gabriel’s sharp voice caused the tension to grow and her heart to race. What would her father think of her?

“Sit down, Gabriel.” With a pointed look from Genevieve, he sat down, as did Alex, whose face was etched with concern.

“I’m sorry I disobeyed you, Papa, but I needed help so I came to Mama.”

“Help?” Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. “Help with what?”

“It’s all right. Go ahead and tell him. All of it.” Genevieve squeezed Arianna’s hand in encouragement.

Arianna took a deep breath and told Gabriel and Alex everything that happened during Henry’s visit. When she got to the part about the bed, Gabriel and Alex both stood, eyes flaming with fury, mouths in a hard.

“I’ll kill the bastard with my bare hands,” Gabriel said.

“I’ll help,” Alex added.

“Why didn’t you call for help?” Gabriel asked. “There are guards just outside your doors.”

“I didn’t think of it. I’m sorry, I know that’s horrible, but I didn’t. Not with what happened next.”

She took another deep breath. “Henry asked me if I was pregnant with Finn’s child. He said he’d raise the child as his own if I was.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Why would he agree to that? He’s just banned his only brother from the country. I can’t see him wanting to raise the man’s child.”

“He’s impotent. At least, that’s what he told me. He was injured in the crash that killed his parents, he said. He knows this is the only chance to keep the royal bloodline going.”

Alex cursed. “I knew we shouldn’t have let him go.”

The hair on the back of Arianna’s neck tingled. “Go?”

“He left for Brazenbourg this morning. My guess is that he left just after visiting you.”

“Finn.” Arianna said the word aloud before she could restrain herself.

“Do you love Finn?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes, I do,” she admitted to both herself and them. “I do love him. Mama.”

“I know, I know,” Genevieve said as she pulled Arianna into her embrace. “It’ll be all right.”

The sight of his daughter crying tore Gabriel’s heart in two. He sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. As he stroked her hair, he remembered her crying as a young child with scraped knees or as a sister being teased by her older brothers. Now, she was a woman, and what the hell was a father supposed to do when that happened, when all he could picture was the little girl she once was in his arms?

“Don’t exhaust yourself,” Genevieve said as she stroked Arianna’s back. “It’s not healthy.”

“Why isn’t it healthy?” Gabriel asked, though he already knew the answer.

“Because Arianna needs strength for our grandchild.”

“Oh my God,” Alex whispered. “Truly?”

Genevieve nodded. “We called the royal physician to examine her. He took some blood to confirm, but five home pregnancy tests say we should expect a bundle of joy.”

Alex looked flummoxed. “But you’ve only known Finn for about a week. How is this possible?”

“That’s more than enough time, my son,” Gabriel said, as he continued to stroke his daughter’s hair. “Trust me.” He gave Genevieve a secret look; they knew only too well how quickly pregnancy could come when it wanted to.

“I’m sorry, Papa.” Gabriel lifted Arianna’s head and she faced him with teary eyes.

“Why would you be sorry for such a blessing?”

“I know it’s not how you envisioned your first grandchild being born.”

“I envisioned my grandchildren being born healthy to loving parents, and that’s what you soon will be. Tell me: do you really love Finn?”

“Yes, Papa. I really do. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall in love with him, honestly.”

Gabriel laughed. “Of course not. Who does?”

“We need to find Finn,” Genevieve said. “Arianna thinks he may be in Brazenbourg.”

“He is,” Alex replied. “Or he’s well on his way there. He’s sneaking across the border, from the French side.”

“What does he plan to do?” Arianna asked, her voice hoarse from her tears.

“Confront Henry, I assume. He’s also gone to check on his contacts regarding the information Henry supposedly has for us. In light of recent developments, however, my initial thoughts that he was just toying with us seem to ring true.”

“I agree, my son,” Gabriel said.

“What are you talking about?” Arianna asked.

Gabriel gave Alex a nod to speak freely. “We suspected, almost as soon as Henry’s offer came, that something may be amiss. I admit, I was keen last month to at least meet with him, and hear what he had to say. I can say that not long after we did meet with him, I didn’t trust him.”

“You were right,” Arianna sighed.
And she was wrong. Again
. Now, she had not only put her family’s life in danger again, but now Finn’s, the father of her child.
What had she done?
“We need to find him.”

“We will,” Alex said confidently. He strode over and took Arianna’s hand, giving each one a kiss, before dropping a kiss to each of her tear-stained cheeks. “He’ll contact me as soon as he knows something.”

“Are you disappointed in me, Alex?”

“No, I’m not. And you shouldn’t be disappointed in yourself, either. A positive attitude is best for a pregnant woman.”

Arianna huffed a laugh. “An expert on pregnant women, are you?”

“I did live through Mama’s seven other pregnancies, you forget.”

“So did Cat.”

“That’s beside the point. I’m going to be an uncle, and Uncle Alex knows best.” They all laughed.

Arianna pulled her hands away to brush away her lingering tears. “You’re so full of it. I don’t know how Rebecca puts up with you.”

“Neither do I,” he replied honestly. “Come on. Let’s tell the rest of the family.”

“Oh, Alex, Papa, Mama. I don’t know about that.”

“No one’s judging you, my dear,” Genevieve said softly. “Tell them, and let them make a fuss over you, all right? Then you can go to bed early. Tonight, you’ll stay in here, in our apartments.”

“Oh, Mama.”

“No, I won’t hear of anything different. Now that you’ll be a mother, you’ll understand the need to take care of your children, even when they’re grown.”

Arianna nodded. As they rose and left the room - Alex messaging the rest of her siblings to meet in the shared family living room - her hands once again went to her womb. She said a silent prayer for both Finn and their child.

Please be safe, Finn. I love you
,
and I love our child.

After a restless night’s sleep, which had been filled with dreams of Arianna and nightmares of her slipping away from him, Finn woke early and met his contact at the edge of the golf course.

“George,” Finn said and shook the man’s hand. Had it only been several days ago since he was strolling by George’s stand on Food Street with Arianna?

“Prince Finn,” the bear of a man responded as he shook back. “I just want to say, right up front, that all of us vendors, and many other besides, don’t believe the lies in the paper, not one word.”

A small sense of relief filled him; at least not everyone was intent to believe Henry’s lies. “Thank you, my friend.”

They both climbed into his van and George began driving away. “I’m not the only friend you have; many have joined together to help you.”

“I’m not trying to lead a revolution here.”

“Neither are we; we only want to help, however we can.”

“Can you get me over the border?”

“Yes. One of the border guards is a friend and has agreed to help us.”

That didn’t sit easy with Finn. “Are you sure you can trust him? Henry has spies everywhere.”

“Trust me, Prince Finn. Henry does not have as many spies as he thinks. Let’s go.”

As they slid into the car, Finn asked, “How is the rest of the country faring with the news?”

“Split, I would say, with the majority of us not believing a single word of those piece of shit articles.”

“And the rest?”

“They either believe it, because they’ll believe anything printed in a paper, or they’re unsure of what to believe.”

“This paper is usually quite reputable. I don’t understand why they would print these lies.”

“Word on the street is that Prince Henry forced their hand. My guess is blackmail, but that’s unconfirmed.”

But it was likely. Considering everything Henry had done to Finn, a little blackmail to get what he wanted would be nothing.

“Where am I taking you once we get across?” George asked.

“The capital.”

“That’s a dangerous place just now.”

“I can’t worry about that. I need to meet with some of my contacts.”

“As you say, Prince Finn, but I’m going with you.”

“George, you just said it’s dangerous. You’ve got a family.”

“That’s true. But I’ve also got a country it’s my duty to protect. Now hunker down in the back. We’re almost to the border.”

Finn hid underneath several piles of quilts and blankets. George’s van had been filled to the brim with items in the back; if anyone tried to search, it would take them days to sort through it all.

His body stiff with tension and the need to remain still, he held his breath as they made their way through the border. These days, it was easy to cross from one European border into the next, but that didn’t mean that Henry hadn’t taken extra precautions in case Finn tried to go back.

After George chatted with the border guard for a few minutes, the van started moving again, and Finn breathed a long sigh of relief.

“You’ll have to stay down until we get to the capital, Prince Finn. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to risk you being found.”

Finn peeked through a blanket. “Thank you, George. Just let me know if trouble comes.”

“Yes, sir,” George said, and he sped off down the highway.

It was a few hours later when Finn came upon Jacob’s café. Even at first glance, Finn knew something was wrong. Newspapers were scattered and ruffled near the entrance, the windows shuttered, and the café door was locked with no signs of light or life inside.

Finn and George returned to the alley where they’d parked the van and tried the back door; another bad sign: the door was unlocked. Jacob would never leave it unlocked.

As they entered the back office, Finn flipped on the lights. Then they both gasped.

Jacob lay unmoving on the floor, a small pool of dark blood beneath his head. His face was pale as light. Finn rushed to his side and took his pulse; it was faint but it was there. He was also barely breathing. While George called an ambulance, Finn tried to rouse him.

Finn slapped Jacob’s cheeks. “Jacob. Jacob.”

After several long moments, Jacob groaned and shifted his head, then groaned even louder.

“Don’t move, Jacob. It’s Finn. Can you speak?”

“Barely,” he whispered. “They got me.”

“Who got you?”

“Didn’t even see them coming. Just felt something bash my head in, and then nothing. I got too close.”

“You’ll be all right. We called for the ambulance.”

“No cops.”

“It’s too late.”

“Not too late for you.” Jacob pulled Finn closer with what seemed like every last bit of strength. “You should take the dough in the freezer. Middle row, third from the front.”

“All right, Jacob.” There was no time to ask more questions; Jacob had closed his eyes and was fading fast. “My friend George is here. Here’s a butcher and a savant at cooking meat.”

“Uh-huh,” Jacob said, his grip slipping on Finn’s shirt.

“Listen to me,” Finn said with fierce determination, and Jacob’s eyes fluttered open again. “You thought about stocking some cooked meats in your bakery, for the lunch crowd. You had a meeting with George. When the café door was locked, he tried the back and found you. Do you understand?”

Jacob nodded and his eyes closed again.

“How about you?” Finn asked George.

“I understand. I’ll stay. And don’t worry about your friend. Despite how bad he looks, he’ll survive.”

“How do you know?”

“I was a doctor in another life, but that’s a story for a different day. Will you be okay on your own?”

“I’ll have to be. I’ll contact you if I need any help, but it’s best to keep your distance from me now. I’m sorry. If we put it on record that you found him, they may come after you, and I never meant for that to happen.”

George grinned smugly. “Let them try.”

Finn nodded, then ran to the freezer. He grabbed the dough Jacob mentioned, and snuck out through the back door they had entered through. He grabbed his backpack from the van - his other bags would just have to stay put - and used the alleys as a convenient place to hide.

He eventually found an abandoned warehouse and snuck inside. He broke open the dough, letting frozen pieces scatter around the floor, and pulled out the papers hidden inside.

His eyes skimmed the papers, growing wider with each line of text. He felt himself getting weaker by the second as he read page after page, and his face paled to almost translucent white - almost as white as Jacob’s had been. Holy fucking shit. Jacob had discovered everything: Henry’s true motives and who had really betrayed Valleria, and it wasn’t good.

With trembling fingers, Finn called Alex, who picked up on the first ring.

“Finn, how are you? Where are you?”

“I’m back in Brazenbourg, in the capital. I know, Alex. I know it all.”

“Tell me.”

“It’s Henry.”

“What about Henry?”

“He’s your traitor.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Henry has been selling secrets to Gardar Rus, and others. By the proof in my hands, Henry has been plotting against Valleria, France, and others for years. He’s the one who arranged for Vlad to try to capture and torture your brother.”

Alex cursed. “Why is he hell bent on destroying us?”

“Based on these papers, he was trying to stage a power coup with Vlad, to take control of the various countries surrounding them. Even when Vlad failed last month, Henry kept going with his own plans.”

There was stony silence for several seconds before Alex replied. “Damn it! If Henry hates us so much, why the hell is he engaged to Arianna?”

Finn collapsed against the dusty, moldy table he’d been using. “Engaged?” he croaked.

“Yes, sorry, I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that. Arianna agreed to marry him yesterday morning.”

“Fuck!”

“Wait. She also realized it was a bad idea and decided she’d made a mistake last night.”

Hope bloomed in chest, desperate to overcome the fear and despair that lay there, too. “She did?”

“Yes, and you’re one of the main reasons for it.”

“She doesn’t hate me?”

Alex paused, as if considering something, then spoke again. “I’ll let her tell you when this mess is over. It’s not my place. Suffice it to say, I don’t think she hates you.”

“Thank God,” Finn murmured and sagged in relief. “Can I speak to her?”

“No, and neither can I.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“She’s gone. She left sometime in the night.”

“Where did she go?”

“To find you.”

“What? What the hell is she thinking?”

“She’s thinking about you. Be on the lookout for her.”

“Doesn’t she have guards with her?”

“Just one, which isn’t enough, in my opinion. She’s traveling by plane straight to your capital.”

“Why don’t you stop her?”

“We’re trying. She used a commercial flight so we can’t just turn it around without arousing suspicion or the press. My brother, Marcello, is flying over to meet her, but he’s still a few hours behind her. Until that happens, keep her safe. She’s very fragile right now.”

“What does that mean? Is she hurt?”

“In a manner of speaking. Look, you should know that Henry paid her a visit.” Alex went to describe most of what happened, but left out any mention of the pregnancy.

“Shit, he’s such an asshole.”

“On that, we agree. Why would he do it? Even if he married Arianna, there’s no way he could ever be crowned king of Valleria.”

“Maybe he planned to harm Arianna only, or perhaps he planned to kill us all; I just don’t know.” Realization dawned on Finn. “Maybe he planned an attack during a wedding?”

“Jesus. You think he’d kill all of us, and risk killing himself to rule Valleria? That’s a long way around. Besides, he’s already ruler of Brazenbourg.”

“But it’s not enough for him, it never has been. He’ll only be the Prince of a small nation here; in Valleria, he’d be called ‘King’. He always hated being called ‘Prince’, especially since I was called that, too.”

“Your brother’s mental state needs to be examined.”

“Don’t I know it?” Finn ran a hand over his face. “Look, I’m sending you a copy of these documents. Have your people take a look at it, and contact the International Police Force. I’ll need their help.” Finn scanned the documents with his phone and messaged them off to Alex.

“I’ve got the documents. What are you planning?”