The Tycoon's Virgin Bride - Part 3 (The Corskovi Dynasty) (4 page)

 
Heated anticipation coursed through
Hannah’s blood as she looked helplessly from Andre to Gustav.

Both
men were standing inches away from each other, their eyes locked into a
dangerous stare down. Gustav, her groom had his jaw clenched with a menacing
stare as he slid his hand in his inside breast pocket where his pistol holster
would be. At the same time Andre, her best man—whom she’d fallen in love
with and made love to had his jaw set with his dangerous gaze ready to pounce
on Gustav.

This
was a nightmare.

The
frigid tension was shattering her nerves.

Hannah
felt violent swings of hot and cold sensations throughout her body. As
overwhelmed as she felt gaping at the two angry men in her presence who looked
as if they were ready to tear each other apart right there in front of her, the
adrenaline rushed through her veins and pumped all sorts of horrible scenarios
in her mind.

This
was too much. She loathed this hot and cold feeling she was getting. She could
almost visualize blood being spilled any moment now. She felt it in her gut.
Why had Andre turned her away from him? Was he aware of what transpired between
she and Gustav earlier? Oh, God! That would be a disaster. Hannah felt her
stomach squeeze. But then Gustav should have been the one who was pissed with Andre,
shouldn’t he? He was after all her groom.

“Well,
now isn’t this something. We meet again,
Corskovi
.”
Gustav spoke with his fake Russian accent.

“You
have no business being here,” Andre said in a low dangerous voice. His dark
eyes glared at Gustav.

“Oh, on
the contrary,
Corskovi
. You see I’ve come to collect
my bride. You know, the one you
fucked
just before we were to marry at the chapel in Vegas.”

“She
doesn’t want you, Gustav or James or whatever the fuck you call yourself these
days.”

“Oh,
good. So you know my identity. I knew it wouldn’t be too long before your men
were able to figure it out.”

“Exactly,”
Andre’s jaw clenched. “You were obviously sent here to spy on her not to marry
her so she’s not really your bride after all now, is she?” Andre’s voice was
low and chilling, he tilted his head slightly as if mocking Gustav. Andre had a
slight smirk on his face but his grin did not touch his dark eyes.

“Is
that what you believe?” Gustav answered in his American accent now. “I guess
you don’t know the full story about why I was really sent here.”

“Not
yet and I really don’t care right now. Get out!”

“Not
without Hannah,” Gustav challenged.

Andre
made a sudden move towards Gustav and Gustav pulled his pistol in a lightning
speed motion.

“Stop
it!” Hannah screamed, covering her ears with her hands while squeezing her eyes
shut. “Please! Gustav! Andre! No!”

Her
heart pounded against her ribs like a wild horse on a racetrack, beating fast
and hard in her chest. Gripped with a paralyzing fear, Hannah rushed in between
the two men, her eyes pleading with Gustav as she faced him while her body
shielded Andre.

Then a
loud gunshot sounded and Hannah collapsed in Andre’s arms. Everything went
dark.

The
tiny country of
Melipos
situated near France on the
Mediterrean
Sea was particularly beautiful at this time of
the year. The gorgeous island flowers bloomed everywhere and the weather was
spectacular—a nice warm climate surrounded the island with gentle breezes
from the surrounding body of water.
  

Barrington
House was a gorgeous fifty-room mansion situated on a hill overlooking the
grand city of
Estille
. It housed a beautiful rose
garden, vineyard, tennis court and several water fountains on its large forty
acres of land.

As Mr.
Conrad Barrington looked longingly at an old photo of his son, sorrow bled into
his heart. He’d wished he had not turned his back on his son years ago. But it
was too late. Junior was dead and gone now.
 

Now, he
waited for news of his grandchild Hannah who should have been named Hannah
Barrington but because he had put a stop to his son having anything to do with
the maid who gave birth to Hannah, she was instead named
Steeles
after some other man in America that Hannah’s mother had worked for. Donald
Clive
Steeles
Peterson was the name of that businessman
according to his sources.

Conrad
was now anxiously awaiting news to see if Hannah were still alive and well and
if she could find it in her heart to forgive him.

Of
course, if Hannah were in fact deceased then the will that his lawyer had drafted
up and that which is still awaiting his signature, would stand as is. Sherry
Elroy James, his lifelong housekeeper would inherit everything he owned
including the grand estate, his offshore accounts and all his stocks and bonds.
He’d already given his share to charity while he was actively working. He
didn’t feel the need to give anymore not knowing exactly how well the funds
would be distributed since he wouldn’t be around to supervise.

Sherry
entered the bedroom where the invalid elder sat looking out the window to a
breathtaking view of his beautiful rose garden. Sherry looked much older than
her forty-two years. Her skin was wrinkled and she had dark circles under her
eyes.

Working
practically seven days a week would put that sort of strain on a person. She’d
been in the Barrington’s employ for way too long. It was time for her to retire
now. Reclaim her life back. But old Mr. Barrington would never let her go. She
was indebted to him for life, wasn’t she?

He’d
saved her from doing time for a petty crime she had committed when she was
younger by providing her with an alibi.

But
then she had to pay the price by being his slave in every sense of the word for
all these years.
To be on his beck and call day and night.

When he
ran for office, of course he started to pay her a small salary to make it look
good on the books. But that was it. She was already pregnant when she had met
him and came to work for him. She was a pregnant teen in trouble with the law.

Thankfully
she was able to give birth to her child in this nice home. But he’d made sure
that she was isolated from the rest of the world. He’d kept her his servant for
life. Now his life would soon be over and she who had nothing else in the world
but the clothes on her back and a grown child would have to start all over
again.

“Mr.
Barrington, sir!” she called out in a weary voice.

“Yes,
Sherry,” his said, his voice cracking and hoarse.

“It’s
time to take your blood pressure tablet.”

“Not
now.”

“But
Mr. Barrington.”

“Sherry.
Please,” he said, trying to smile, “you’ve been so good to me all these years
and have put up with my…nonsense. I’m getting old now. I’m tired. I just want
to be left alone. Is Peter here?”

“Yes,
your lawyer is in the den. Whenever you are ready to sign, he’ll bring the
papers up to you.”

“Good.
Now get me a glass of warm milk with honey and…”

“A shot
of vodka,” Sherry winked with a grin. “I know.”

“You
know me very well, don’t you, dear?”

“Yes,
sir.” Sherry curtsied to the elder then turned and left the room.

Later
after she’d given the old man his drink and returned to her quarters, her cell
phone rang in her room and she glanced at the screen before answering it.

“Why
are you calling me now?”

“Because,
I want to give you an update on Hannah.”

“I told
you not to mention her name just in case the conversation is traced.”

“Sorry,”
the voice on the other end of the phone said. “Anyhow, there’s been a slight
delay but things are moving along as planned.”

“I hope
so.”

“They
are. Trust me. I think she will be out of the way for good now. Everything is
on course.”

“Good.”
With those words, Sherry hung up the phone and leaned back in her bed inside
her dark room with no windows. Her heart pounded hard and rapid in her chest.
It was close. Things were moving along. And soon, the entire estate would be
hers. She couldn’t wait. She’d more than earned it. It was not going to be
taken away from her now by some wretched bastard child of Conrad Junior whom
doesn’t even know anything about the
Barringtons
.
That would be so unfair for her to appear in the picture with her gold-digging
mother now of all times. It was a good thing Sherry had eavesdropped on Mr.
Barrington’s phone conversations to discover that he was looking for the
illegitimate child of his only son. The one he had denied years ago.

Sherry
had made friends with the other help in the mansion including the security
which wasn’t too difficult since Mr. Barrington had disgraceful manners to all
those in his employ. She’d made a deal to try to find the girl before Mr.
Barrington did and either send news that she was deceased or eliminate her
altogether. It was a cruel plan but very necessary. Life had been so tragic for
Sherry. She only learned how to take what she wanted in life since it would
never be given to her.

Finally
all those years of looking after that miserable old man, being his slave, his
beating toy, his lowly servant would pay off. Sherry closed her eyes and fell
asleep.

“What
happened?” Hannah woke up in Andre’s master bedroom with a throbbing headache.

“You’d passed
out, Hannah,” Andre’s low, deep voice was soothing and calm.

Hannah
propped herself up on the bed. “Was I…?” she felt around her torso wondering if
she was wounded.

Andre
grinned. He looked positively gorgeous when he grinned and a dimple appeared on
his beautiful cheeks. “No, dear. You were not shot. Nobody was.”

“Then
what happened
?...
Oh, no! Gustav!”

“No. He
didn’t fire his gun. Besides, he has a silencer on his firearm.”

“But…but
I heard a gunshot.”

“Yes,
you did. It was Hans.”

“Hans?”

“Yes,
he came into the apartment by the side entrance and saw the commotion and fired
a warning shot. It was a blank bullet. No harm done. He just wanted to grab our
attention.”

“But
what about that huge guy outside the door to your apartment.”

“Angus
works with Gustav. He’s…should I say under control. He won’t bring any harm to
you.”

“Oh,
God! What about Gustav?”

“I’m
right here, Hannah,” Gustav’s smooth voice sounded as he made his way over to
the bed. Andre seemed a bit annoyed that Gustav was approaching Hannah but said
nothing as he continued to lean over Hannah sitting beside her on the bed.

“Andre
and I…well, let’s just say we came to an agreement,” Gustav finished his
sentence.

“An
agreement? What kind of agreement?” Hannah queried, confused.

Andre
sighed deeply. “It looks as if we’ve tracked down the person who is trying
to…harm you.”

“You
have?” Hannah sat up properly in the bed now. Her heart beating hard like
thunder in her chest. So this was real? Somebody
was
trying to kill her. Oh, God! She was breathing fast and hard
again.

“
Shh
. Calm down, Hannah. No one is going to touch you.” Andre’s
deep, silky voice soothed her but her heart was still reacting to the fear of
what could happen.

Gustav
stood firm by the bedside opposite Andre, his hands shoved into the pants
pocket of his suit. She could still feel the softness of Gustav’s touch on her
body just moments ago and guilt tore through her at a rapid speed. God, what
kind of woman was she? She’d almost gone all the way with Gustav. But then
again, he was still her groom-to-be technically speaking. Though her heart
belonged to sexy as hell Andre
Corskovi
. Never before
had she been so torn over a man. Over two men!

“Hannah,
you may as well know the full truth now.”

“Not
now,” Andre interjected, his voice low and dangerous.

“We
have no choice, Andre. We must let her know what’s going on.”

Andre
stood up and shoved his hands in his pants pocket. He walked over to the window
in the room and gazed out, his jaw clenched, his eyes deadly with a flash of
anger in them.

Hannah’s
emotions seemed to be whirling out of control again. Why were they treating her
like a fragile child? She was a grown woman, damn it! And if her life was in
jeopardy, she damn well had a right to know everything that was going on.

“Andre,
it’s okay, I can handle it. Gustav, what were you going to tell me?”

Gustav
looked over to Andre whose back was turned on him and then he faced Hannah.

“Hannah,
you remember I told you about your paternal grandfather?”

“Yes.”

“Well,
his maid or help Sherry Elroy James as you know was the one who had disguised
herself as your long lost husband and paid a great sum to detectives to track
you down under the false pretence that she was trying to find you to come back
home.”

“And?”

“Well,
she’s had accomplices to assist her. The one that had poisoned the champagne
that…we were supposed to drink on our honeymoon.”

“What?”

“Yes.
The bottle as Andre had informed you before was tampered with. Now we were able
to track down who hand delivered the bottle.”

“Who
was it?”

“The person
is waiting for me in New York.”

“What?
Why? Gustav what the hell
are
you talking about?”

“I’m
one of their sources.”

“What?
You…you want to kill me?”

Gustav
grinned and shook his head. “No, Hannah. I would never do anything to hurt you.
Ever.”

“Then
what are you talking about?”

“You
know I am a man of many disguises, right?”

“Oh, I
get it…”

“Yes.
You see this person who works for Sherry Elroy James has never met me but has
hired me to help with…her plans for you. She’s only spoken to me on the phone.
For all she knows, I’m some French guy.”

Hannah
almost giggled. If it weren’t so damn serious it would have been hilarious.
This idiot person who was trying to kill her was talking with the man of many
accents and disguises and didn’t even know it.

“Well,
when do we leave?”

“You
won’t be going anywhere,” Andre said as he turned around to face Hannah now.

“But
you don’t expect me to stay here…in Canada!”

“Yes, I
do.”

“Andre!”

“Hannah.
No!”

Hannah
felt heat rush to her cheeks, she felt acid rise in her throat. This was all
too much for her. “Andre, I’m not a kid. I’m a woman and I am going to New York
with the both of you. I want to see who this creep is. I don’t necessarily want
to speak to him or her. I just want to be there.”

“Fine,”
Andre finally gave in. “Have it your way, Hannah. But I’m warning you. Let us
deal with the takedown.”

“The
takedown?”

“We’re
going to entrap the person and let the authorities take over. But first we need
to get everything on tape.”

“I
see.”

“Are
you sure you want to go with us, Hannah?” Andre asked one more time as he
leaned closer into Hannah. She caught the sweet scent of his manly fresh
cologne and felt the warmth of his breath on hers. She hugged him and squeezed
him tight.

“Yes,”
she whispered. “I just want to be with you.”

Gustav
left the room immediately before Hannah could thank him and tell him that she
was grateful for all he had done and was doing to protect her. But it was too
late. God, she must have seemed like a real bitch to
have
hugged
Andre like that in front of Gustav. She just hadn’t thought
beforehand. What was wrong with her?