“Him!” Hollie points at me with one trembling hand. “It was him.”
Xena follows her hand to me and immediately, her demeanor changes. Instead of comforting Hollie, she pulls back, much to Hollie’s visible alarm.
“Xena, meet my fiancée,” I say as I stand. “She’s a little fragile.”
“Chick…” Xena sucks on her teeth and eyes Hollie as she stumbles away from me.
“Please! Why won’t you listen to me? I saw it! Call the cops or something, please! I just want to go home, but he threatened my family and kidnapped me. Please, you don’t understand. He’s a monster!”
“No, chick.” Xena scoffs softly. “Sounds to me like you don’t understand.”
“What?” Hollie gapes at her and suddenly becomes rooted to the spot as I approach. “Are you insane? He’s a murderer!”
Xena rolls her eyes and stomps past me, pausing to place her hand on my arm. “I’ll rally some of the girls for you. How many do you need?”
“Three. Can you meet me at the chapel in an hour?”
“Sure thing, honey.”
“What the fuck?” Hollie gasps hoarsely.
Disappointment swells as she darts away from me. Rather than chase her, I return to the bar and order a beer while Stu watches from the balcony above. To her credit, Hollie tries her best. She tries to talk to every single dancer and even a few patrons, but most guests here are far too ashamed to be caught here to actually bring the cops when there’s no longer any serious danger. Every girl gives her much the same reaction—concern that melts into understanding or irritation when she points out me as the demon in her life.
I am the demon. Deep down, I know that this is hard for her. But my father was abundantly clear. Hollie is a liability—which she is painfully demonstrating right now—and she needs to be silenced for good. He offered to kill her or sell her so far away that nothing she says will ever matter, but I refused. Spinning the lie that we became engagedbeforetonight will be hard to sell if she reacts like this in every public setting.
But it’s the only way to save her life and in turn, protect me if she runs her mouth to the wrong person. She reminds me of a cat caught in the grasp of a vet.
My beer is drained by the time Hollie, exhausted, makes it back to my side with fury burning in her defeated eyes.
“What kind of man are you that not one single person here cares that you’re a murderer and a kidnapper?”
I spin in my stool, brushing the now-damp towel away from me. “You’re judging me on two small actions.”
“Two pretty horrific actions,” she spits, her voice trembling.
“Hollie. I wanted to make this as simple as I could for you, but you’re making it incredibly difficult.”
“Oh, I’m the problem?” she yells hoarsely. “Maybe you should have kidnapped a quieter girl then!”
“Did you forget what I said?”
She looks me right in the eye. “You’re doing everything you can to stop your precious daddy from killing me, so no, I don’t think you’d kill my parents either!”
Hollie’s on the right train but careening down the wrong track. I stand and catch her arm, keeping my grip firm even as she violently tries to jerk away from me. “I never said I would kill your parents to get my way,” I say, bringing my voice down low. “Where’s the fun in that? Keeping them alive is much more beneficial.”
Her eyes widen as she catches on to my threat, but where I expect more snapping fire and pushback, she suddenly relents and defeat floods her eyes and posture. Even her struggles cease, and she stands there, limp, as if she’ll fall over the second I release her.
She’s right. I am a monster. Being viewed this way due to my size, my bulk, or even how I present myself has never been an issue. So why is it suddenly one now? Why do I want to shake her until she opens her eyes and realizes I’m trying to help her?
“Hollie—”
“Whatever.” She cuts me off, her gaze down to the floor. “If it’s so fucking important, sure, let’s go get married.”
I tell myself it will be worth it as we drive a few blocks to the chapel. It’s not far and this late at night, Stu called ahead to wake up someone capable of performing a brief ceremony. Luckily, it’s someone on our payroll so if Hollie decides to act out again, it won’t cause any problems. Keeping her quiet won’t be much of an issue once that ring is on her finger and I’m protected by spousal privilege in the eyes of the law, but until that moment, every second is a risk.
Inside the chapel, Hollie follows me to a small room fitted with a single mirror and a small couch.
“What’s this?” She doesn’t look at me, but she walks to the middle of the room.
