Gaia
The guard led me away, taking me back into the room where Stephen and my mother sat looking pleased with themselves. They were watching a security monitor which displayed the front of the house. Although nothing was happening, Stephen’s attention stayed focused on the screen. His men scoured the area, but there were no Cavalieri. And then I heard it, gunshots. Screams. My mouth tugged into a smile. They’d used the side entrance Gabe and I had told them about. My mother looked at me, her face a mask of fear.
“You - You did this?”
I smiled at her. They could pull a gun on me right now, and I would still be pleased with what I had done. Because it was right.
Just then Arthur burst through the door, and within seconds he was holding a gun to Stephen’s temple.
“Say goodbye, old man.” He growled.
I felt the gun press against my back, and I froze.” “If he dies, so does she.” My mother said from behind me. Arthur looked up, his gaze moving from me to her.
“You’d kill your own daughter for a man who didn’t care about you for twenty-five years?” He growled.
“This was all part of the plan.” She argued. “It was all for the Castello name.”
“You will die today, Giorgia,” Arthur said calmly. “But if you let Gaia go, it’ll be less painful.”
“Let Stephen go, and I won’t kill her, Arthur. I mean it.” But her voice shook.
One second the gun was pressing into my back, the next someone was screaming at me to duck. So I did, and when I turned my head, Geraint fired. I heard the thud of my mother's body hitting the floor behind me.
Arthur stood in front of Castello. “You always said I was a king, now it’s time for the king to remove all evil from his kingdom.”
He placed the gun to Stephen’s forehead and pulled the trigger. The old man fell sideways onto the floor.
Arthur dropped the gun and ran to me, kneeling and wrapping me in his arms.
“Are you okay?” He searched my face and body for injuries.
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I am perfect.”
“Gaia, I thought I’d never see you again.”
“You getting soft, Calthorpe?”
He laughed and hugged me again. “Just stay right here.”
Men were bursting in, and he shouted orders. I looked at the man that was once my grandfather, and my heart ached that my family was built on lies and deceit. My jaw twitched as I watched Arthur’s men bag my mother and Stephen. I should’ve felt something now that she was gone, but I didn’t. She was willing to kill me for him, a man who had left her for twenty-five years.
Arthur gathered me in his arms, and I finally took a deep breath. This was where I wanted to be every single day of my life. When he finally let go, there were several pairs of amused eyes on us. We stood, and he cleared his throat. “Get this mess cleaned up,” he said sternly as we walked out of the room hand in hand.
When we arrived at his house, a doctor was already there to check him out. I was thankful he didn’t have a concussion, just needing a couple of stitches on his head.
“You took a few pretty bad blows to the head, Arthur. I’d suggest a lot of rest. If you feel dizzy or odd, just make sure to give me a call.” He left some strong painkillers, and when we were alone, Arthur suggested a bath.
“Like now?” I frowned.
“I actually am serious about the bath. Look at us, Gaia.”
He did have a point. I led him upstairs and was about to open my door when he stopped me. “Let's go to my room.”
I had never been asked to his room and the fact that he wanted that now surprised me.
I opened the door to the largest, most stunning room I’d ever seen. That bed had to be a double king-size. He led me into his massive bathroom and ran the water, pouring in some masculine smelling bubble bath. Steam filled the room, and when the bathtub was full, he undressed, slipping into the water and resting against the tub.
“Are you just going to stand there?”
