Prince and the Pauper

Chapter Thirty-Three

The instructions were clear. Nobody was allowed access to the suite no matter who they were. I was not to go near the windows or leave the suite, and I was to listen to Harry no matter what. Ordinarily I would have argued, but given the dire circumstances I obeyed, and was willing to let Harry's protective side take control. I was barely stable myself. One minute I was on the verge of a panic attack, the next cracking jokes to try and remove all the tension surrounding us like thick fog. Zaiden had five of his best security men on watch. Two were stationed in different cars outside Styles Motel, keeping watch for both Dante and Sebastian.  One was stationed at the front posed as the doorman, another in the foyer, and a final in the elevator. Nobody was allowed entrance into the hotel unless a key to their room was shown. It helped ease some of the fear, but the paranoia was running a muck in my head, and as of consequence I had locked myself away in our bedroom, the curtains were drawn around the bed keeping me safe, and Harry was by my side, my body curled into his as he held me close. I let my eyes flutter closed as his long fingers trailed over the side of my body, and I buried my face into his chest. The soft touches made it hard to stay awake, and Harry would occasionally kiss the top of my head, and darkness pulled at my senses, lulling me off into a sleep.

"C'mon Geordie." I groaned as I sat on the couch, waiting for him to step out of the bathroom. The minute he had come home from school and told me all about his first crush I had made it my mission to turn him into a lady-killer. The more chances of Geordie dating meant the less he would be home, the less subjected to the rundown flat we lived in, and the sketchy landlord that lingered around more than necessary.
"Dev, I look like a dweeb." Geordie moaned through the bathroom door, making me laugh at his frazzled state.
"You looked like a dweeb before with your stained clothes and unkempt hair. You can't possibly look anymore hideous than you did before." I teased, knowing it would provoke him to come out and show the finished product.
"Says you miss 'I never wear anything besides ripped jeans and baggy plaid shirts'!" Geordie retaliated, stepping out of the bathroom in his clothes I picked out.
"Well don't you look...civilized." I smirked at his simple black shorts and a white buttoned up shirt.
"I look like I visited our grandmother." He rolled his eyes, making me laugh again.
"You have never been tormented enough to meet that old hag." I pointed out, and he nodded in agreement.
"The same as our drunk of a mother?"
"Down to the same red hair of hell." I sighed, and Geordie shook his head. It pained me to know at eight years old he was aware of his messed up home life. He hadn't even been allowed the chance to be a kid, forced to grow up far too quickly, just as I had.
"So chicks dig this?" Geordie cringed as he gestured to his clothes, and I quirked my brows.
"Oh you mean do girls dig a man that looks like he actually owns more than one pair of pants? Yes." I quipped.
"Oh yes, because we are so privileged with all we own." Geordie snipped.
"At least we have a roof over our heads, Geords." I pointed out.
"Dev, they couldn't even be arsed saving money from their alcohol or pokies to buy you a bed." He pointed out again. Sometimes he struggled with the younger sibling factor, trying to look out for me, and I smiled at his concern.
"I'm fine Geordie."
"No you're not." Geordie argued sharply. "I saw the bruises beneath your baggy clothes. I heard the smacks through the walls." His eyes swelled with tears and I lost my smile, holding my arms out for him, and he collapsed into me, wrapping his skinny arms around me.
"Let's just go through with our plan, sis. Let's run away. They wouldn't ever hurt you again. I know they've both taken off now, but what if they return? What if  they hurt you again?" Geordie pleaded into my shoulder, and I sighed as I tried to calm him down.
"I'm eighteen, Geordie. I wouldn't be able to provide for us if we moved from here."
"You earn enough for food. We can live in the woods down by the border of Adlington, in that abandoned hut."
"Live in the woods? Do you hear yourself?" I tried laughing, but Geordie pulled back with a determined expression.
"It isn't any worse than here. I hate living in this hell hole that is tainted with bad memories. I hate hearing creaks in the middle of the night and freaking out that it's Mia back with her vicious hands that scratched  at you for breathing."  I grimaced at the haunting memories, the sting that her nails left after she raked them down my arms still burned in my memory.
"When I have saved enough, I promise we will move far away from here. Out of Wentworth even. I promise you, but it is going to take time."
"Time is all we have." Geordie retorted, and I shook my head as I still held on to him.
"No. We have each other, brother."

A soft humming floated through my ears and stirred me out of the memory. One of my eyes flickered open after the other, and my eyes swam into focus on Harry lying beside me, his hooded eyes holding fear that we were both fighting off.
"You were dreaming about Geordie." Harry murmured, and I nodded lightly.
"Mhmm. How'd you know?" I whispered, nuzzling in closer to him.
"You said his name in your sleep." Harry confessed what I had already concluded in my head.
"Zaiden is still in the lounge but informed me his men have seen no sign of either Sebastian or Dante." He ran his thumb along my cheekbone and I forced a brave smile.
"My mother also called." He continued. "She says Drake has agreed to fabricate a meeting with Trace and others they work with to distract him."
"Drake agreed to help?" I asked sceptically, and Harry nodded with a grim smile.
"I know he has been nothing but hostile with you, but I gave him an ultimatum. He needs me to continue his crisp clean reputation, as the new construction where the hospital used to be is all the talk in uptown. He needs positive press. That means me also maintaining a certain standard. I said if he wants me to be the perfect son, he needs to be the perfect father."
"So he's making an effort to be helpful to us, to help himself?" I summed up, and Harry laughed with a slight  nod.
"One thing we share in common, our family members are either evil or selfless. There is no in-between." Harry raked his fingers through my hair slightly and I glanced up at him.
"Harry."
"Mmmm." He hummed in response.
"If Dante does get me-"
"No." Harry cut me off, gripping me by the shoulders and rolling my beneath him. I gasped as I looked up at him, his eyes ablaze with a new found determination.
"We are not going to play the 'what if' game because it's not going to happen. Period. I will not let anybody hurt you again, especially my vermin of a brother." I bit my lip as he spoke with such fierceness it was like I had flipped a switch.
"They are only planning this to distract you and make you call off the fight. They know they can't win, and they're not willing to leave Adlington and leave us alone." I explained delicately, and Harry shook his head, dark curls tickling the skin on my neck.
"If they ever lay a hand on you..." he flashed a sharp smile that perfectly expressed the threat behind his words,
"I would repay the favour ten-fold until it pained them just to breathe." Harry threatened darkly, causing my own breath to falter.
"Does that frighten you?" Harry asked me, his head dipping lower, our noses brushing in an eskimo kiss.
"It should." I admitted, my hands gripping at his shoulders and pulling his body down closer. "But he hurt my brother. He deserves what is coming his way."
"Maybe we are a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde." Harry teased, making me giggle as he ghosted kisses up my throat, his teeth biting and nibbling, licking, making my eyes close.
"Problem." We were pulled out of our intimate embrace as Zaiden barged into the room, phone in hand.
"What?" Harry grunted, dipping his head down and ruffling his fingers through his long hair, and brushing it off his forehead to fix the mess my hands had created.
"One of my men have spotted Dante approaching from West of Linton Boulevard, and Sebastian approaching from the East."
"They're circling us like damn vultures." I mumbled, sitting up and walking over towards Zaiden. 
"Well they better have strong wings. They will be circling for a long time." Harry warned, storming out of the room and into the lounge, Zaiden and I hot on his heels. 
"I just got off the phone with Monica." Zaiden said. "She was waiting outside the boardroom where Drake is holding his 'conference' with Trace, she said he hasn't left." 
"Maybe it's just the two of them." I offered, but both Harry and Zaiden looked sceptical.
"There were three of them that day, Dev. I doubt Dante would just let one of them off the hook." Harry shook his head and paced up and down the lounge area. 
"And that third man could be anyone. That must be how they know we left work. They were tipped off." Zaiden continued, and I rubbed my sinuses in frustration.
"Who?" I asked, and they both cussed, clearly as lost as I was. A beep sounded by the speakers on the elevator panel, the sound signalling somebody was requesting entrance, and we all froze.
"Mr Styles, I need to talk with you and Devonne, urgently." A voice resonated from the speakers by the elevator. I recognized it as Chandler.
"Not now." Harry growled as he held the button down,  delivering his harsh response.
"You don't have anytime." Chandler sounded panicked, and Zaiden and I glanced at one another as Harry went rigid, arms braced against the wall by the elevator. His back muscles contracted through his shirt as he drew the same conclusion I had as to what Chandler had to say.
"Chandler." Harry drawled into the speakers.
"I'm so sorry, Harry. Devonne. I wanted out, they wouldn't let me." I felt my heart plummet, and Zaiden ran a hand down his mouth. I saw the prominent vein in Harry's neck, and I knew he was finding it hard to digest too. Harry gave the curt order for Chandler to be allowed entry, and he was soon escorted in by a security member. Zaiden was practically holding Harry back when a guilty looking Chandler walked in, his forehead slick with sweat.
"One minute to explain yourself Chandler, or I swear to God..." Harry seethed, and I collapsed onto the nearest couch, burying my face in my hands. Once again I had been betrayed by a friend, and once again I felt my heart shatter at the revelation.
"I was in so much debt." Chandler blurted, blonde hair flopping over his glassy eyes. "Dante offered me a way out. He said he had a job he needed help with, and I would receive a generous reward." A hoarse whimper dissolved in the back of my throat, knowing what job Dante had been referring to.
"I didn't know the job until we arrived there. At that supermarket on Grover." Chandlers voice was now shaking and I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I was finding  it hard to breathe.
"I wanted out instantly. But Dante said since I had driven there, I was already an accessory. He said my hands were already dirty, and it was my word against his and Sebastian's. I was out numbered. They said if I backed out they would call the police and say it was my fault. That the gambling debt had caused me to act irrationally out of desperation." Harry looked beyond furious. He tried shoving Zaiden off him, but Zaiden's bigger built won out, and Harry's chest heaved up and down with his efforts to break free.
"That's how you justify attacking a ten-year old kid?" Harry spat, jaw clenched.
"I didn't hurt Geordie!" Chandler practically gabbled. "I never would! I didn't even see the bat until it was too late. Dante and Sebastian had guns, I thought they would be used as empty threats to get the money, to call the clerks bluff,  and we could make a clean getaway."
"You were wrong." I stood to my feet, and Chandler looked at me with a mortified look.
"Dev I am so sorry for what happened to Geordie." He sounded sincere, but the heartache in my heavy chest made it too hard to accept.
"That's why I came here to warn you. They think I am going to unlock the back entrance, but I didn't. I came up here to warn you. To help you." He pleaded.
"That makes it okay?" I hissed.
"Dev." Zaiden called with authority, trying to hold off me stalking towards Chandler slowly. He had his hands full keeping Harry at bay, and he couldn't restrain both of us.
"Where was your help in court? Where was your help when Geordie was in hospital?" I demanded, inches from a trembling Chandler.
"I couldn't." He whimpered like a lost puppy. "Not with Dante breathing down my neck."
"This afternoon, downstairs at work, you acted like you hated Dante. That you wanted him to pay."
"I do!" Chandler argued, shooting Zaiden a pleading glance. "I do want the fight to happen, and I want Harry to kick Sebastian's ass and send those two monsters packing!"
"How long have you known they were coming after Devonne?" Zaiden barked, making Chandler gulp.
"Dante was talking about it a few days ago." He confessed weakly.
"Days?" Harry boomed, surging forward, only to be yanked back by his best friend.
"I thought I talked him out of it. It was Sebastian and I against Dante. Obviously Sebastian has cracked."
"Weak excuse." Harry snarled. "Weak boy. Weak excuse of a human being!" Harry yelled, and in an instant he was out of Zaiden's arms, and he yanked Chandler up against the glass wall, making him holler in fear. |
"I can help you get out of here safely!" He urged towards me, and I placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. He stiffened, and maintained his hold on the traitor before us.
"How?"
"In the kitchen downstairs. There is an alley where we dump the rubbish from the kitchen. You can escape there." Chandler offered, but Harry let out an incredulous laugh.
"You  think Dante will overlook something like that? You're dumber than you look." He spat, tightening his hold around the collar of Chandler's shirt. It was true, Dante would suspect it, and the chances of us being able to sneak out of the building unseen seemed  highly unlikely.
"There is some-" We all froze when the lights all turned off, plunging us all into total darkness. The glass window with the lit up streets below and skyscrapers provided some light, but only hitting the hard angles of our faces, the rest of the room was black. I saw Harry's silhouette release a quaking Chandler, and he was by my side in a flash. Harry pulled my body into his and I leaned in, fear squeezing at my throat.
"Stay close." I heard Zaiden instruct, and I felt Harry kiss the top of my head gently, the  room fell into total silence, listening for the slightest movement. The beating in my heart grew faster, and Harry tried soothing me with gentle sounds, but I knew the odds were not in our favour. They somehow got access, outsmarted trained professionals, and I felt like I was going to be sick at the thought of being in the hands of the cold-hearted Dante Styles.
"Backs to the glass window." Chandler suggested. I saw Harry hesitate to listen to his advice, but we all knew it was a good idea, keeping our backs to the window so we couldn't be snuck up on. Begrudgingly Harry led us against the wall, and Zaiden followed suit, all four of us lined up against the wall, trying to see through the blanket of darkness in the suite.
"What a pity." A snide voice cut through the darkness. I tensed as if a hand had clasped the back of my neck and squeezed, and Harry's grip on me tightened protectively. The lights flickered back on, and Dante and Sebastian stood before us, a sinister smirk upon their thin lips. The effect was of ice cubes being dropped down my shirt. Dante looked cool and confident as always, and although Sebastian looked a little tense, he too wore a gloating smile.  
"How did you get in?" Harry demanded to know, and Dante laughed humorously.
"Daddy dearest of course." He snickered, making Harry tense further.
"Not possible he-"
"Is a skilled and talented liar." Dante gloated, and Harry took a step towards his evil brother, pushing me behind him protectively. I felt Zaiden pull me in closer to him as he angled his body slightly diagonally to the left, and Chandler caught on, angling his body the other direction so I was boxed in between the back wall and three men surrounding me to protect me.
"Mom is outside the office the meeting is in, waiting to see if Trace or Drake left." Harry said slowly, but an edge of doubt crept into his voice, and Dante smirked higher.
"Mother is outside an empty boardroom. Drake never arranged a meeting. It appears for once, me and our father agree on something." He explained.
"That your psychotic ass needs to get locked up?" Zaiden cut in, but Dante raised his hand and flicked his wrist, as if flicking off the insult.
"That the little girl behind you is a stain that needs to be removed." Dante threatened.
"I will sooner end you before you lay a hand on her." Harry said darkly, his tone filled with promise. I watched on carefully, my eyes landed on Sebastian, and I nearly burst into tears as he stared back with a blank expression.
"I never mentioned killing Devonne. I just need her out of the picture, from our  family." Dante spat at me, and I shook my head, trying to fake as much courage as possible, but I was wearing a thin mask.
"We are not a family. I have my mother,  and I have Dev, I have Geordie. But you?" Harry shook his head with a razor edged smile, "you will always be the product of a filthy mistake." Dante lost his smirk, but his eyes darkened, and he stepped in closer, only a few feet from Harry.
"Quit the melodramatics." He dismissed. "We're flesh and blood. We won't even need to hurt her if you throw her to the curb. Leave her, brother, and all will be well." My eyes narrowed to slits, and Harry clenched his fists, restraining himself.
"I didn't want it to be this way." Dante shook his head, before removing his phone from his pocket and dialling a number. The other line picked up instantly, and Dante  smirked as he spoke into the phone, eyes still shimmering with excitement as he smiled at me.
"Trace." He greeted, and I threw my head back in anger. How could all these men all hate me so much? I had done nothing wrong, and yet I was constantly on the receiving end of their malicious attacks.
"You're at the hospital? The gun fully loaded?" My heart dropped, and I pushed past Harry, trying to reach Dante and stop him. Harry caught me and I screamed out.
"No! Don't you dare!" I shrieked, Harry forcing me into his chest, and glaring at his brother. I knew Harry was determined to rip into his brother himself, but he also knew he couldn't let me get too close. God knows what other sly tricks they had up their sleeves.
"You are not going to cause a shooting in the hospital. You'll kill countless innocent people." Harry said , but Dante gave a cold shrug.
"I have no other options left. All eyes are back on me since you two lovers shacked up. You have turned your back on me and Drake, which shows to the press that there was a feud. It didn't take long for them to realize it was about the mud-rud infant."
"You bastard!" I yelled, lunging again, but Harry barely budged as I wrestled against him. One arm locked around my waist and the other holding my head to his hard chest, I was strapped to him. The need to lash out and destroy Dante for good was too strong.
"I am not going to get re-trialled. The only way that can be prevented is if the opponent is dispensed of. Geordie is but a vegetable, so that leaves Devonne." The cold manner he spoke of towards my brother made my blood boil, and I screamed out in frustration.
"You said you weren't going to kill her." Chandler squeaked up, and Dante smirked at the sound of his voice.
"Actually I said I hadn't mentioned killing her so far. I hadn't. Now I am talking about doing the world a favour and removing the trash." Dante clarified, and all the air was expelled from my lungs.
"You can't be serious?" Zaiden asked incredulously, but Dante only stepped in closer.
"Bash." My voice squeaked, and his eyes wavered with emotion, but one glance from Dante and he went back to an emotionless face.
"I'm not letting you take her." Harry hissed, and in and instant Harry lashed out, throwing his brother to the ground. I watched stunned as Dante stood back to his feet, laughing darkly as he glared over at me.
"Four of us against two of you. Do the math Dante." Harry suggested, making Dante smirk.

"Four? I count three." Confusion was instantly yanked out of me when I felt Chandler's grip on me harshly grab me and throw me forward. I yelled out and stumbled right into Sebastian's arm, who held on tightly, his fingertips digging into my flesh.
Devonne!" Harry shouted, racing ahead but a sudden click filled the room, and I felt my body turn to lead as a gun was raised to my head, making everybody cease movements. Harry watched me with pain swirling in his eyes, tears threatening to spill over.
"Brother, please." Harry pleaded, but Dante gave a curt laugh.
"Now you play the family card?" He mocked.
"You don't have to do this. You got away with Geordie's attack." Zaiden said slowly, but Dante shook his head.
"Legally, yes. But Adlington is finding it hard to believe that ever since you two got together." He hissed at Harry. "We were fine as brothers until you two started dating. Then she poisoned you against me, the world noticed, and now they came to the conclusion that she somehow made you see the light about me."
"It's the rumour mill, for God's sake put the gun down at let her go." Harry begged, the first few tears dripping from his eyes, making my heart shatter.
"Three days." Dante said finally. "Let the paparazzi talk about the disappearance of your lover, make a statement about how your loving brother is helping search for her. For Devonne's sake, hope they believe it."
"And if they don't?" Zaiden said slowly.
"Then it will be a matter of time before the case of Geordie is reviewed, and it is not going to go well for me. I will be charged for assault, attempted murder, and lying in court. If I pay for those sins for the rest of my life, she will pay with her own pathetic life." I felt tears running down my cheeks as Sebastian tugged me towards to door, gun still aimed at my skull. My eyes darted back to see Harry forced to stand there helplessly  as I was dragged  away.
"Dev." He  cried, collapsing to his knees as he had no choice of trying to help with a gun aimed at my head.
"I love you Harry." I cried, the doors to the elevator sliding shut before the potential last words I would ever hear from Harry could reach my ears.
"I love you  Ange-"