Run & Hide

Chapter 1

Dead Wood

The smell of rubber was intoxicating, too intoxicating. Ruby just wanted to stay asleep but something just wasn't right, with great effort she opened her eyes, her eyelids shaky and she wondered why? She was shocked by the scene before her; it was dark, wet and cold and she lay in a mount of rubbish. Rubbish! How on earth did she get here? She tried to get up, but as she sat up she scowled in pain, her eyes shot downwards and she noticed her jumper was soaked with blood, it had to be blood, otherwise how could she explain the pain shooting up her side. She managed to get up somehow and staggered towards the road, the questions buzzing through her head- even walking was draining her of what little energy she had left. She reached the street, searching for a pay phone but it was derelict, empty of life. She grimaced. This was not good at all, she stepped into the street, gasping for breathe but her legs collapsed underneath her and she hit the road with a thud, screaming in agony, clutched her side, feeling the tears forming. A flash of light illuminated the buildings, getting brighter and as she turned her head she noticed the car speeding towards her.

Javier hated being set up on blind dates but his sister had a way of insisting on it. So what, if he had been out of the dating loop for a while now, he loved his job, he was dedicated to his job. Don't get him wrong, he loved women, women of all shapes and sizes but he hadn't met a woman who had that thing, that X Factor. The woman that his sister Katrina had set him up with; was nice to look at but she had an annoying whiny voice and not enough brain cells to complete a conversation topic. He had also never met a woman, who was so consumed with her vanity, that she had stared at her reflection in the spoon, the glass as they sat by the window and re-did her lip gloss at least a dozen times. Did Katrina even know him at all? He didn't like cheap women either. She had literally offered herself to him before and after dessert, each time declining the offer. he was a man who liked the chase, not a cheap woman.

He pressed down on the accelerator, after having dropped his date off at her apartment in a seedy neighbourhood, which he was surprised, she seemed so high maintenance and rich. He turned the corner, onto a road and noticed straight away that all the street lamps were out, definitely a seedy area if the council couldn't be bothered to fix it.

He saw something up ahead before his car lights focused, she looked like a deer caught up in his head lights and he stamped on the brakes. The car skidded to a stop eventually and he climbed out, running towards her and immediately noticed the blood on her sweater. He must have frightened her, as she now lay on the soaking road, the rain making her hair clumpy and she was as white as a sheet. He bent in front of her, looking around and lifted her into his arms and carried her to his car, gently placing her in the back seat and getting into the front.

Javier kicked the emergency doors of the hospital open, holding what felt like dead wood in his hands and was met by a herd of medical staff with a gurney. He gently laid her down and she was ushered away, whoever 'she' was. A nurse stayed behind and asked him if he was in need of medical attention and he shook his head. He sat down in one of the upholstered seats in the waiting area of A & E and waited it out. It had been barely fifteen minutes before someone came looking for him, when he looked up, he saw a pair of familiar blue eyes.

"Jay, never thought I'd see you so soon from work," Javier clasped hands with his colleague Thomas Raker.

"It wasn't in the books, trust me," Javier responded.

"The nurse said you were the one who brought her in," Tom said, getting straight to the point and that's what he liked about his colleague, business as usual, "Where'd you find her?"

"She was smack bang in the road, down Dart Street, bad neighbourhood. Who is she?" Javier asked.

"Jay, I wouldn't recognise her either in the state she was in, but it seems she's the missing heiress," Tom raked a hand through his hair, "Ruby Lee Carlton, of Lee Carlton Technologies, her father is on the way but as this has opened up as an investigation, y'know I have to take a statement."

"That's fine, fire away," Javier said.

"She would like to see you," the nurse crept up beside the two men, she looked pointedly at Javier.

"I'll be back," Javier said to Tom and followed the nurse to the room. Upon arrival, he noticed that the medical staff worked swiftly and quietly, they had managed to clean and wash her hair and she looked like sleeping beauty, except this wasn't a fairy tale, this was the opposite, a nightmare. Her hair, he noticed was the colour of fire, red and ethereal. She leaned against a stacked amount of pillows, the TV on but barely noticed, her hands clasped and as he entered the room, she looked up.

"Hi," she whispered barely.

Javier took a seat beside her bed, "How are you feeling?"

"I could be better," she grimaced, "If you hadn't been there, I could have died, so I wanted to thank you."

"I'm sure any one would have done the same," Javier replied back.

"Not just anyone, my killer left me to die... or he didn't finish off the job, who knows..." she stared at her fingers. "The police man who was here earlier, Thomas I think he said his name was, he said you're a private investigator..."

Before Javier could answer back, a barrel of men ran through the door and he watched as Rose's eyes widened with alarm, she clutched her blanket and he noticed her breathing went up a notch. Her father clutched her in a hug, a hug she didn't return and as she leaned back against the pillows, her eyes darted from the men standing around her.

"How are you feeling my dear?" her father asked, touching her face, Ruby flinched as if her father had somehow hit out at her. Javier watched closely at his reaction, he didn't step back.

"Happy to be alive," she replied back momentarily.

"I have made arrangements for you to be moved back to the house..." her father said.

"No!" Ruby interjected.

"No?" her father said, "Why ever not?"

"No, I don't ever want to go back to that house again," Ruby spoke clearly, "And you can't make me."

Her father stood silent for a few moments and then realised Javier's presence in the seat beside her bed, "And who are you?" he asked arrogantly.

Javier stood to his awestruck six foot two, towering over the elderly man by a whole foot, he struck out his hand, "Javier Romano, some folks call me Jay."

"And who might you be?" the arrogance of the man.

"This man, Don, is the man who saved my life... I would appreciate it if you paid him a lot more respect, if he wasn't there then, I would be dead in the water," Ruby spoke out, speaking of her father as if he were a stranger, "I won't be returning to the house, like I said, I am going back to my apartment without your security specialists."

"I don't think that's a good idea," her father began.

"I think it's a great idea, considering I was abducted from your house in the first place," Ruby said with pure contempt.

Epilogue

Benito clambered up the stairs in three's, his long legs appreciating the stretch.  As he headed towards his bedroom, he immediately closed the door behind him and headed straight to the safe and putting in the combination, as the door opened with a spring, the green emerald twinkled back at him.  It sat on black velvet in the far end of the safe, the greenest of the green sitting on a thin band of gold, it was his mothers and his mother's mother before that and in his heart, he wanted Lenny to have it.  He loved her, he couldn't think of anyone else who deserved it more.  He pulled the ring out, such a delicate stone as he looked at it, the sun shine making it twinkle and sparkle, he sighed thinking of the words to say... when the door opened and he spun around to see her hand on the door handle and Lenny leaning against the doorjamb.

Benito was on his knees and in his fingers he held a ring.  She could see how beautiful it was, from where she was standing.  The light from outside touched it and it glowed with colour, making the green more pronounced.  His eyes were soft and there was a warmth to them, she had only seen when she had caught him staring at her.  He was on his feet before she could bat an eyelid, closing the distance between them. The ring disappeared and she felt his fingers touch the fringe of her hair, he was looking at her with new emotion, emotion she knew, that he needn't explain.  It was strange, she seemed to know these things with a mere feeling, a sense of touch, either that or she was completely infatuated with this man. He had saved her and he'd been there, even if she didn't know it herself at the beginning.  She had been rescued and how on earth was she going to tell him, she-

"There's something that I have to tell you Lenora and I had hoped to tell you in Siena," he began, his eyes never leaving her face.

"What is it?" she said, with a hint of panic in her voice.

She watched as he went down on one knee and everything she wanted to say, escaped her.  He was proposing to her. She could do nothing but gawp at him, very un-princess like but to hell with her title, she stood here as a woman and he stood there as a man, who wanted to spend his life with her.

"Why Siena?" she rambled.

"Because Siena is beautiful and I know you would like it, but as you have indeed caught me red handed, we shall see it another time, perhaps.  I have asked your grandfather for your hand in marriage and Lenny, it would be the greatest honour if you would be my wife?" His eyes locked on to hers.

"Is that it?" she said, "Is that all you needed to say?" She pulled away and saw his features cloud over and still he didn't get it.  She turned away slowly and left the room.

Benito was on his feet and was after her, she was already on the ground floor and her back was to him, biting her finger nails as she stared outside the window, before he got any closer to her, she spoke out, her voice melancholy, "Marriage is great, but without a key ingredient... it's meaningless... just a piece of paper... I know I should be happy now, smiling from ear to ear but somehow I feel, I don't know... lost."

Benito turned her towards him, cupping her face with his hand, "Lenny look at me," her eyes stole away from his and he shrugged, "I love you, I have loved you probably since the first time I was told to watch out for you... and in my head, I don't know... I just wanted to be with you... we don't have to get married, if you don't want to-" He didn't get to finish what he wanted to say as she lunged into his arms and hugged him.

"Of course I want to marry you, I just wanted to hear you say you love me first because I love you so much, love you, love you, love you," splattering kisses all over his face.

"Wait a minute beautiful," he grinned, "I haven't done the most important thing yet,"

"What's that?" she drew back at inch

"Put a ring on it," he smiled, slipping the precious emerald onto her finger.

***

"Benito and Lenora were wed in the cathedral where all the previous generations of the Italian monarchy had wed, it was a lavish affair, covered by all the press around the world.  Lenora wore a specially made Vera Wang dress, encrusted with Swarovski crystals and  yards upon yards of silk and Benito had dressed in his military uniform and now they were husband and wife.  To them, it was just a fusion of their love and the joining of their lives, but it indeed is much, much more"  Albert said, smiling as he read the caption from the newspaper, as he sat in his Vintage bookshop, "My sweet Lenny, you are a Princess afterall."

Principessa: Planned Action

It was quite some time later when Ben woke up, his eyes immediately focusing on the still body beside him. The blanket was draped over her elegant back and her hair strewn across the pillows, her eyes were closed as he had made love to her three times during the course of the day or days, he couldn't quite remember. He'd been lost in her, bewildered and he knew that indescribable feeling in the pit of his stomach was. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, she was beautiful to look at and he felt himself yearning to hold her and to never let her go. The thought of letting her go and for her to start her duties and obligations as a Principessa were crawling their way back to the front line.  The thought had been edged back to the very bottom of his mind space, he had immersed himself deep into this fantasy world with her in it, he was grappling at straws now, leaving her and letting her go was something all too frightening for any man who had to leave his woman behind. 

He got out of bed quietly, not to wake her up, grabbing a pair of cotton bottoms and strode downstairs. He put on the kettle and paced up and down the length of the living room. His hair was a mess but he knew what he wanted and there was nothing and no one who was going to stand in his way. He picked up his mobile phone and dialled the Palace's number, informing the receptionist who he was and that she divert him to the King.

***

It was a slobber of a dog that woke Lenny up from a for filling sleep. She sat up slightly and Ugo the dog decided to jump on her at that moment.  She laughed out loud, languishing at the contact.

"You bad bad dog," she said playfully, tickling his ears, "I was having such a beautiful dream where I was just about to..." she paused and smiled, "Never mind."

Lenny got up and looked around the serene room, Benito was no where in sight. She walked to the adjacent bathroom and had a quick shower. Blow dried her hair and slipped into a flowery dress and sandals. She spritzed on some perfume and didn't bother applying any make-up, as she had found out it would come off her face from the constant heat, leaving her face drier. She put on some moisturiser instead and headed downstairs. Ugo followed behind her. He was no where in sight, odd she thought. She called out his name, but there was no response. She headed into the kitchen and so, Ugo followed.

"Do you want something to eat honey pie?" she said to the dog and watched as he went up on his hind legs to agree, "Aren't you a cutie, well, what does Benito give you... I'm sure there is something special for you to munch on... ah-huh, found it." She filled his bowl up with scrunchy treats and also filled a bowl of cold water for him and laid it down in the corner away from the stove, "Buon appetito, my love," she said as she patted his head. She watched endeared, as he munched on and she headed back to the stove to start breakfast.

Lenny was about to take out a frying pan from the cupboard when Benito strided through the door from the garden, holding a mobile phone. He was shirtless and was only wearing his cotton bottoms. Lenny froze, clutching the frying pan for dear life, she couldn't keep her gaze from him. He walked over to her and took her in his arms and kissed her with such passion, there was going to be an awful bang.

"Hello Lenny," he whispered, "Sleep well?" Lenny nodded. "I was thinking of taking you to see Siena, it's a bit urban but a joy to see and it'll be nice to see something other then the confines of this place- I'll just get changed and we'll be on our way. Are you okay to wait for an hour or so before we get brunch?"

"That's fine... " smiled Lenny, "I'll just be here, for you."

Benito smiled, "I'd like that, thanks." And disappeared upstairs.



Principessa: Decode

She was aware she had been chewing his ear off with mindless chatter about a number of things from articles she had read about Tuscany and the surrounding towns and the things she was looking forward to seeing, tasting and most for being herself and not a Princess. She'd noticed Ben had grown quiet beside her and from the corner of her eye, she could see him looking at her, looking at her in a different way... not the way, a passerby would stare at a traffic accident. She stopped abruptly in her tracks and turned towards him, the light Summer breeze dancing with the loose strands of her hair, flicking them out of the way, she looked at him,

"Why are you staring at me like that?" it came so suddenly, she didn't have time to take them back.

He carried on looking at her, which made her feel a little uneasy... he had mentioned earlier in the day, that she was beautiful and that had made her blush but everyone said stuff like that, it probably didn't mean anything. Suddenly, she could feel his fingers tilting her chin towards him and his lips coming on hers. She closed her eyes, lost in the frisson of passion, of love... no, she shan't even cross that line. Those two things were completely separate. She mustn't by all means, get her knickers in a twist and think that there really could be a chance for love, but then, why would her grandfather send her away with him for a couple of days, did he have some sort of master plan up his sleeves? She had found out that Benito had been there all along, whilst she'd been in London. She had always felt that someone was watching her, but never even felt it threatening. No, she simply shouldn't think that he even wants her here... this was strictly his duty... and this... what was it?

Ben's hands were in her hair, drawing the kiss deeper in the depths of passion and she felt exhilarated, the kiss was gentle to begin with but settled on such urgency, she couldn't help but pull him into her. Oh god, let there be more she said to herself. No... she pulled away... she could see the glassy expression of surprise written in his eyes,

"What do you want from me?" she heard herself ask, touching her swollen lips, "What is it, that you think I can give you?"

"All I want is you... I want to make love to you, with you... in my bed Lenny," he replied back.

What could she say? This man standing in front of her with his dog running circles around them. What could she say... should she even go there? But they had been there, back at the palace but somehow, this felt much different, as if they were threading on very thin ice. Somehow, she didn't even hear it at first... or maybe she refused to hear it, but she must have said yes, because he was kissing her again, as if his life depended on it.

***

He led her back to the Villa, the glow of sunshine washing over the glass giving it a crystal glimmer. Lenny was amazed at how beautiful the effect of the simplicity of the sun made everything in Tuscany look so dazzling. The sun in London never had that effect, of course, she was always happy to see the sunshine in London, because they hardly ever got sunshine but even when it was there... it definitely made everyone a little bit more optimistic, here in beautiful Tuscany, it made everything glow including the people standing in it. She could feel her heart beating strongly and as she sighed quietly, she could feel Benito's hand in hers, his hold on her strong and masculine. He led her up the stairs and towards a bedroom.

She watched Benito open the veneer exterior door to the bedroom where a four poster king sized bed stood proudly against one of the walls and a marble fire place stood opposite it. There was an en suite bathroom adjoining the master bedroom and a walk in closet behind the door. This place was definitely something. Her eyes locked on a guitar near the window.

"You play the guitar?" she asked without thinking.

"Yes sometimes," he smiled.

"Will you play me something?" she asked.

"What would you like me to play?" he said, letting go of her hand and turning towards her.

"I don't know, anything,"

"Take a seat," he said softly, retrieving his guitar from the window. He watched her take a seat on the edge of his bed and watched patiently, as he sat on the other side of the bed and began strumming a melody.

She watched him zone out, he started strumming the strings and humming lightly to an unfamiliar melody... it sounded beautiful and strangely erotic. It gave her goosebumps, made her throat dry, wow, he was so talented. She was immersed in his musical ability, the strings, the sound... everything was so full of passion, she couldn't see life without it. Could she see life without him? She didn't want to start thinking like that again, overly thinking just brought you to a place of now and no where and she wasn't prepared to even go there. She hadn't realised he had stopped playing and was staring intently at her.

"Are you okay Lenny?"

She had been focusing on the corner of the room for quite some time, before she came back to reality and to his question, "Yeah, fine... you? You play the guitar so well."

He looked at her curiously, "Is something troubling you?"

"No, your music was just wonderful... I was just kinda thinking... how you know... how long you've been playing that's all,"

"I've been playing on and off for a few years,"

"A few years? But you play like you've been playing forever," she commented.

"You are very observant Lenny... well, I got into the guitar because living in Tuscany, we don't really have much to offer in terms of entertainment. See, everything is found in the cities of Rome and Naples but here, in the hills... we had to find something to amuse ourselves. Music was the only outlet, a place where I could grow and consistently continue to... you are staring at me now," Benito laughed, "I wonder why?"

"I'm just... constantly surprised, that's all... your talent is endless..."

"I'm nothing special Lenny, I am just a normal Italian man..."

"But you see, you're not... you're so much more... you're special... "

"Special... in your eyes... but I'm not, I'm merely average..."

"Average? No... I won't allow you to think that... not on my guard," the passion was written all over her words, she crawled on all fours and rushed to him, grabbing him and kissing him, until he couldn't breathe anymore. He kissed her back... and rolled her gently on the bed... he was definitely going to show her, how beautiful she was... and how she made him feel.

Principessa: Tuscan Hills

Ben watched the road, he'd taken a side lane, a route that was all too familiar to him.

The sun was just about rising from behind the Tuscan hills before him, edging towards the vast open blue sky. He looked at the passenger in the seat beside him. A tendril of her hair swept across her face and her pale lips were slightly a jar and he could faintly hear her breathing. He was glad to be nearing his villa, he couldn't wait for his creature comforts, his armchair and the familiar sounds of the villa creaking, to Ugo, his Italian Segugio who he had with him since he was a puppy, but he was most glad to see the Tuscan hills and the now subdued fog. This was home and he couldn't wait to embrace it with open arms. His villa was in sight, perched on the rounded green mound surrounded idyllically by Cypress trees and green shrubbery. "Home at last," he said to himself, "Home at last."

Lenny prised her eyes open and she jolted back in the bed, as a pair of chocolate brown eyes stared back at her. It was a dog looking at her with such intensity, she hadn't expected it.

She smiled at it, "You scared me half to death there love... what are you doing, being my watch dog?" she laughed as she stroked it, "You are ever so beautiful aren't you? Yes, I think you know that... but I won't tell."

"Yes, she is," came the voice and Lenny looked up to see Ben grinning as he leaned against the door frame, he had changed, he was certainly refreshed and looking so at home. She steered her gaze back at the dog.

"Yes, she definitely is beautiful," Lenny said to fill in the silence, as she stroked the dog. She was nervous, which surprised her, she'd spent countless times with Ben before, how could she be feeling like this all of a sudden.

"Except she isn't a she, she's a he," Ben folded his arms.

Lenny looked up at him and pointed at the dog, who had now crawled into her lap, "She's a he... but you said..."

"I was talking about you," Ben interjected.

Lenny could feel herself go a deep shade of red, she told herself repeatedly to stop it but she felt herself go even darker.

"I think he quite likes his current spot, would you like me to bring up lunch to you?" Ben said, half turning towards the landing.

"No... no, I will take it in the kitchen, if that is okay?" Lenny said stammering.

"Certainly, if you want to follow me... or change, it's up to you," Ben said.

"I'll follow you and change later," she replied.

***

When she followed Benito down the stairs, her eyes soaked in the architecture of the villa... though the frame was cast in old fashion Tuscan Villa decor, the large glass panelled roof provided a lot of light and gave the area a lift, down below she could see a fire place and what looked like a comfy brown leather armchair and a corner couch of the same colour, an ornate mahogany coffee table in the middle. It was one large spacious room, split into various areas. The breakfast bar separated the area between the living room and the kitchen.

"This place is beautiful," Lenny said.

"I'm glad you like it," he smiled to himself, "What would you like to eat? I took the liberty of making you a bacon butty... typical English comfort food, right?"

"How thoughtful, no, that would be great," Leona beamed at him. He smiled back.

"Hey Ben, as we're here together... I just wanted to say... well, I just wanted to apologise for my behaviour towards you yesterday... I came across as a spoilt brat...." Lenny began.

Ben put his hand up, "You don't need to apologise... Lenny, let's just forget about it, okay?"

Lenny nodded, "Okay, sure... thanks... so, how long have you lived here?"

"I brought this when it was a lot smaller and over the years, made a few changes here and there... but more or less coming up to ten years," he replied.

"It's so beautiful, I just can't stop staring at it," Lenny said, diving into her Bacon Butty, "This is soooo good," she said with a mouthful of food.

He smiled, drinking an espresso, "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly, tired... I don't know what's come over me so suddenly... it's like I haven't had a proper rest in ages."

"It's been pretty crazy the last couple of days for you, with finding out the truth about your parents... it would drive anyone to feel stressed out. We'll rest out here for a couple of days and then take in some sight seeing later on this week," Ben said setting the espresso cup onto the table. He watched Lenny devour the Bacon Butty with such hunger, you'd think she hadn't eaten in days. Ugo, was watching her with brown steely eyes, he watched her feed bits of bacon to his dog and watched Ugo lick her fingers. As if, caught red handed, Lenny looked up, "Was I not supposed to be feeding your dog?"

He smiled, "Ugo's supposed to be on a special diet."

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." she said looking down at Ugo and ruffling his ears.

"You're probably going to be his new best friend, now that you've fed him something meaty. Do you fancy going for a walk just around the hills?" Ben said, "If you're feeling a bit tired, we can put off?"

"No, a walk sounds good. I've been cooped up for so long, I could do with a walk," Lenny smiled.

***

They walked for twenty minutes up and down the Tuscan Hills, he listened to her talking and it reminded him of the walks they'd taken in the Palace Gardens, which seemed like a long time ago. Even though she said she was tired, he could see the twinkle back in her eyes and the tone of excited pleasure in the way she spoke. It was so easy being with her this way, without obligation, without restraints.

She stopped walking and looked at him, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He couldn't help himself, he tilted her chin up and leaned forward, clasping his lips onto hers. She tasted like honey and that drove him crazy. With the back drop of the Tuscan Hills and the sun over head, what more could he ask for? What more could she want?