Once Upon a Royal Billionaire Read online

  “How dare you.” She twisted and tried to wrench her hand out of his grasp. But he shook her in response and her teeth rattled. “Stop!”

  “I want back into my baby girl’s life.”

  She shook with rage and fear, but she held her tongue. “Why?”

  “I just do. So, we’re gonna make that happen, or I’m gonna start telling people how you really are.”

  “You can tell the truth about me any time you want.”

  “I don’t think you’re gonna like it if the real truth gets out.”

  She looked around, certain he was again putting on some kind of show. “I’m serious. I have nothing to hide.”

  “Emily? Is that you?” The front door opened, and as soon as her father saw Jackson, he barreled out and punched him in the face.

  In his inebriated state, Jackson fell to the sidewalk, and Emily and her father rushed inside and closed the door.

  With shaking hands, Emily called the police to report Jackson was on their property and that he’d threatened her. Then she fell into her father’s arms. “What does he want?”

  “I can’t figure it out. He’s never really cared for Lily. Never shown an ounce of interest. But if you have to move, we’ll help. Whatever it takes.”

  “Where’s the security team?”

  “It seemed quiet, so I sent them home.”

  At the look she gave him, he lifted the phone to his ear and arranged for them to return. “I want someone watching the entrances to the house at all times.” He hung up, then he shook his head. “The last we heard, Jackson left town. It’s been quiet.”

  “He called me, acting weird, as though I’m the problem. He’s made threats. I’m scared.”

  “We’ll get this figured out and get a tighter detail. And you already reported him, so that’s all you can do for tonight.”

  “I gotta get to bed, Dad. I can’t hardly think. Tomorrow let’s talk about this and Mountain Blue.”

  “You get some rest, love. I can’t wait to see Lily’s face tomorrow when she sees you.”

  That brought a very tired smile to her face. She needed her baby girl. As she crept along the hallway, she peeked into Lily’s room. Just her nose peeked out of the blankets. The innocence of her serene forehead while she slept brought a smile of relief to Emily’s face. Everything was going to be just fine. How could it not be with a sweet child like Lily in the world?

  Emily barely washed her face and brushed her teeth before she fell into bed. The last thing she did before drifting off was check for any communication from Rhett. None. She told herself he would call tomorrow. He couldn’t stay mad forever. But a part of her thought he just might. The last time they’d drifted apart, ten years went by before either of them had reached out.

  13

  A few weeks went by with no further run-ins with Jackson. Emily started to breathe easier. The school assured Emily that they’d had no communication with Jackson at all, that Lily was doing fabulously, and that they would keep a tighter watch where she was concerned—especially after Emily had shown them the satellite image of Emily talking to her father. They were shocked he had been there, and no one had known.

  Rhett hadn’t reached out at all, so Emily let him have his space. She had been busy liquidating some of her own personal investments.

  Her father thought it a good idea to pull in her brothers and for the whole family to brainstorm what the next step would be for Mountain Blue. That meeting would take place in a couple days. Things were mostly looking up.

  The men they had monitoring Jackson had reported he’d gone missing again. She didn’t like the insecurity of not knowing where Jackson was, and she didn’t like worrying about him hurting her daughter. But they’d done all they could for now. Security was at her school, and they had her home under constant surveillance.

  The one true thorn in her new garden of hope was Rhett. She missed him. Now that she’d had him back in her life, she wanted him back for good. What had kept them apart to begin with? She couldn’t even remember. Why hadn’t she planned to just stay by his side and never leave? Now that she’d paid everyone back all the money they’d lost and he’d cleared up the press problems in his country, maybe they would have a chance. If he’d see it that way. But so far, the silence on his end told an entirely different story.

  She came down the stairs just as the doorbell rang. Someone in her dry cleaner’s white uniform stood outside—they must be there to pick up her laundry. She grabbed the bag and opened the door, and Jackson’s menacing, mocking grimace met her. She lifted her hand to get the security team’s attention, but Jackson rushed into the house and slammed the door behind him.

  She tried to slow her breathing. “Get out. Now.”

  “No. We’re gonna sign some new papers before I go.”

  “What papers? What are you talking about?”

  “These.” He handed her a folder. She sifted through paperwork that would revoke his restraining order and grant him partial custody of Lily.

  “No, you’re insane.”

  “You can’t take my daughter from me.”

  “She was never yours. You hurt her. I pray every day she doesn’t remember you.”

  “Oh, she remembers me. She promised never to try to make me mad again.”

  “What did you do?” She rushed at him in a rage. But he lifted his arms and easily blocked her seemingly weak punches.

  “Leave her alone, you sick pig.”

  “She needs a father in her life.”

  “Why are you suddenly interested in her?”

  “I’ve always been interested. I just finally got the courage. If you’re gonna steal her away to another country, to live in a castle or whatever, I want some part of that too.”

  “So you think you would have some kind of claim on her royalty?”

  His eyes widened like he’d given away a secret. “No. Just that she’ll be far, and I won’t get to see her.”

  “You can’t see her anyway. I have a restraining order out against you. And if you touch her again, if she has to worry about upsetting you even one more time, I’m gonna help you understand what it means to worry about upsetting someone. I am so, so tired of you, of the hold you had over us. You don’t deserve to be in my life or Lily’s, and it’s pretty clear the courts and the police agree. She reached for her phone to call 911, but he snatched it from her hand faster than she could pull it out.

  “I see you won’t listen to reason. Let’s do this the harder way.” He snatched the papers back and held them up. “I need these signed before I leave here.”

  “And I’m not going to sign them.”

  He grabbed her wrist and dragged her down the hall to the kitchen table. “I have something that might change your mind.” He threw her down on a kitchen chair. She stood right back up, but he pulled out a gun and wiggled it at her.

  She sat again, slowly. “This won’t hold up in court. A signature under gunpoint isn’t legally binding.”

  “It will be legal enough to get temporary custody, and that’s all I need.”

  She gasped. “Just leave us alone.”

  “I will—if I get what I want.”

  Emily searched her mind for something, anything, she could do to get rid of Jackson. But with him standing over her, holding a gun too close to her face, she had no ideas. The best thought she had was to stall.

  “Where have you been, Jackson? We’ve heard nothing for years, and then all of a sudden you just pop up?”

  “I’ve been busy.” He pulled the paperwork back out and flattened the wrinkles. Then he placed it in front of Emily. He patted his pockets then looked all around them. “Pen. Get yourself a pen.”

  She stood.

  “No! Changed my mind. Tell me where I can find a pen in the kitchen.”

  “I’ve been gone, so I don’t know for sure.”

  He backed up and started opening drawers, running his hand through them without looking, his eyes always on Emily.

  She waited
for her chance.

  Then when he made his way over to the junk drawer, he looked down for a moment, and she raced out of the kitchen, heading for the front door.

  She rounded the corner, fleeing through the living room.

  Jackson tripped on something behind her, but he was getting closer. She could smell his rancid sweat. She reached for the doorknob, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away, her legs and arms kicking and swinging in the air.

  He’d needed both hands to stop her, so the gun wasn’t pointing at her anymore. She elbowed his gut, and he grunted. Then she reached back to scratch at his face, aiming for his eyes, everything they’d taught in her self-defense classes. But she just wasn’t very strong. He barely flinched when she pounded into him, and he dodged her hands and grabbed her wrists so that she couldn’t reach his eyes.

  But she was not giving up. The house phone rang and Rhett’s number was announced over the intercom. “Hello!” She called out. Maybe their smart speaker would hear her from the front of the house. The phone rang again. “Hello!” she shouted.

  “Be quiet.”

  But the ringing stopped, and a voice, the best voice in the world, said, “Emily?”

  “Rhett!” She shrieked.

  “Emily! What is it? Emily! Are you there? Answer me!”

  But Jackson had his hand firmly over her mouth and was leading her toward the back door.

  She kicked like crazy, trying to scream through his hand, but Rhett had gone silent. Then the door crashed open and two security men from out front rushed Jackson. He whipped his gun out and held it at her head. “Don’t move. Emily and I are leaving together. If you give me trouble, I shoot.”

  The guys held up their hands. “Okay. Don’t shoot. It doesn’t have to get to that.”

  “Don’t talk, just back away.”

  The security guards kept their hands in the air and slowly backed up to the front door. Movement caught her eye out the window. She wasn’t sure who or what was out there, but she placed a whole lot of hope on that one flash of movement.

  Jackson dragged her toward the door to the garage. “What kind of car you got in there?”

  “I don’t know. It works.”

  He yanked her hair. “Don’t be getting sassy with me. Are the keys out there?”

  “Yes.”

  He moved toward the garage, both his hands occupied with keeping her restrained and holding his firearm. The gun felt cold and paralyzing against her head.

  “Ouch, you’re hurting me. We’re alone. Do you really think the gun is necessary?”

  “You gonna cooperate?”

  “Yes. If I sign, then you’ll leave?”

  “I can’t leave without you now. Your security showed up, didn’t it?”

  The more Emily considered her options, the more hopeless she felt.

  Rhett circled the house, waiting for his moment to slip inside. Jackson had looked crazed, under the influence of something, and desperate enough to kill someone. He’d called in backup, but as soon as Jackson put a gun to Emily’s head, he’d called them off.

  He crept to the garage and slipped in through a side door. He moved into position and waited.

  Within a few moments, the door to the house opened, and a defeated-looking Emily was dragged into the garage. “Put the gun away,” she said. “I’m walking. We’re going.”

  Jackson considered her for a moment. Then he shook his head as he relaxed his arm, the gun moving away from Emily’s head.

  Rhett leapt out from his hiding spot at the same moment Emily reached for a hammer on the workbench. They came at Jackson from both sides. Emily swung at him first, the hammer cracking into the side of his head. Rhett swung at his face and was able to land a punch before he slipped to the ground.

  Emily nearly collapsed, herself. She reached out a steadying hand to grip the workbench.

  Rhett ran to her and lifted her into his arms. He ran back into the house, cradling her all the way to the front room, where he placed her on the couch. Then he called in the security.

  The house was filled with running feet, but Rhett focused on Emily. With his hands on either side of her face, he studied her. She looked tired. “Are you okay?”

  She started to nod and then shook her head, her lips trembling. “No.” She leaned forward and pressed her face into his shirt and cried.

  And he held her.

  Someone showed him Emily’s father on the phone, and he nodded. But he said nothing and just held his best friend, the woman he loved, the one he’d promised to always stay a part of her life.

  After a moment, her crying eased and the men cleared out—Jackson had been taken out through the garage. They were sitting alone in a quiet house.

  He held her in silence until he heard a quiet sigh. “Nice place,” he said.

  She laughed. A small little chuckle. He joined in, and soon they were both laughing together.

  Wiping her eyes, she leaned back. “How did you get here?”

  “I wanted to see you.”

  “You can do that now, just leave Aegira?”

  “I am the king.”

  “But—”

  “I know. Last time I was also the king. But I’ve made some decisions, and one is that some things are more important than my country or my crown.”

  “What?” Her eyes widened, and she looked as though she might disagree with him.

  “You, for example.”

  She swallowed, considering him as her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know what to say. Does this mean you forgive me?”

  “Forgive you? Of course. You were just doing everything you could to save your family legacy.”

  “Yes, but I am sorry I wasn’t more upfront about it. I hadn’t seen you, or any of the guys, in years. But once I realized everyone was still the same, that our friendship was still strong, and that you and I were, well, whatever we are, I should have spoken up.”

  “Let’s not worry about that now. Jackson is gone. Lily is safe at school. Your parents have been notified. So now we just need to decide what you need most. Food or a hot bath?”

  “What do I need most?” Her expression took on a sly slant. “You are here.” She rested a hand on the side of his face and sat up on her knees in front of him. “And the house is empty.”

  “Oh, is it?”

  She nodded and inched closer.

  “Then we’d best make use of this opportunity.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Cradling her in his lap on the couch, he studied her face. “I feel like the most important thing in my life is right here in front of me. And at an elementary school nearby.”

  Her eyes welled with tears again.

  “Oh, no more tears. I can’t see you in tears.” He kissed away the moisture from each eye.

  “Even if they’re happy tears?”

  “I can’t always tell the difference.”

  She smiled, and he thought the sun had entered the room.

  “I lived my life without you for all these years, wishing you were still a part of it. Then I thought about having to do so again.” He shook his head. “I love you, Em. I’ve loved you for a long time. You were my very best friend and then my teenage crush, then my college love, and now as the only love of my life, the woman who holds my happiness and my heart in her hands. I love you.”

  She sat forward so that their faces were inches apart. “I love you too, Rhett. You may be my best friend, but you are so”—she pressed her lips to his and energy zinged through him—“so much more.” Then she wrapped her hands around his neck, and he dipped her again across his lap, his mouth chasing hers until he covered her lips and became lost to their sweetness.

  14

  Lily came home from school, and as soon as she saw Rhett, she ran toward him shouting, “Uncle Rhett!”

  He picked her up and swung her around. “Now that’s the welcome a man should get every day.” The gaze he gave Emily melted her on the spot. Could all this really be happening?
>
  The front door opened again, and even though Emily couldn’t help a small gasp of fear, her smile returned quickly as her parents walked in. They gathered around the kitchen table, eating an after-school snack with Emily as they talked about what to do next. Rhett was all about saving Mountain Blue. He even had some awesome ideas. But Emily and her father both shook their heads.

  Her father smiled and rested a hand on Rhett’s shoulder. “I appreciate all you’re trying to do. But Mountain Blue has had her run. She’s been good to us, and I think we can move on to something else.”

  Rhett turned to Emily, his eyes full of concern. “Do you feel the same? We could still give this a go. I think there’s lots of life left in the company—the name is known all over the world.”

  A part of her grasped onto the lifeline that Rhett was throwing her, but the rest of her wanted to turn the page on that chapter and move on to something new. She shook her head.

  Rhett toyed with a fork for a moment then cleared his throat. “I would love to see you come to Aegira. Perhaps there’s something to build there?”

  Mr. Harrington’s eyes sparkled. “Exactly my thoughts. We created Mountain Blue while living on the Mediterranean. I think it’s time to go home.”

  Every eye turned to Lily, who was building a tower of cookies on her napkin. She noticed the attention. “Do you want a cookie?”

  “No, baby. But I was just wondering if you’d want to go see where Uncle Rhett lives.”

  Her eyes widened. “Is it a castle?”

  “Sort of. More like a palace.”

  Her eyes widened, and then a grin grew on her face. “Will they have to call me princess?”

  Rhett leaned back and laughed, obviously delighted. “They just might, little darling.”

  “We have a house there too,” Emily said. “And I’m thinking about living there for a while. With you and Grandma and Grandpa.”

  “And Uncle Rhett.”

  The smile he gave her melted her heart again.

  “Yes, and Uncle Rhett.”

  Lily thought about it for a moment. “Can we go tomorrow?”

  Emily exhaled, relieved. “Yes, baby, we can leave tomorrow. We’ll get someone to pack up your things, but you and I and Rhett can fly in the airplane tomorrow.”