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“Yes, sweet cheeks. You’re in the same boat,” Seth said, addressing Heather.
A wail escaped Ellie’s lips as she absorbed the seriousness of the situation. She looked away, certain this bastard would enjoy her tears and unwilling to give him that. After she collected herself, she said, “You didn’t tell us why you’re doing this.”
“Oh it’s definitely for the money,” he hurriedly replied. “But I would take out Allister McCall for free. I’m a professional and in my line of work, when someone tries to deliberately embarrass someone or ruin their reputation, particularly in front of their peers—and apparently someone was watching me at the airport—you tend to revel in the revenge. You plot and plan it carefully so there are no mistakes. I’ll enjoy taking Allister out, Ellie. Like I said, I’d do it for free.”
Heather balked at that. “And to think you said you weren’t cruel.” She snorted. “You’re evil, mean, and want to torment Ellie.”
“Shut up, Miss Powers. I have no respect for you. The only reason you’re here now is because Ellie will soon have a decision to make.”
“Respect?” Heather shook. “Why would I care if someone like you respects—”
He slapped the hell out of her then. Ellie screamed. Heather never made a sound.
Ellie immediately squatted in front of Heather, gripping her arm. “Let me see.”
“I’m fine,” she said, keeping her palm against her face.
“She didn’t do anything to you!” Ellie yelled, rising to her feet. “And Allister never did anything to you either.”
“We both know that’s untrue. Have a seat.” He pointed at her chair. “And don’t get up again unless I give you permission.”
Seth opened the door, stuck his hand in his jacket and removed a bloody handkerchief. He placed it on the desk when he returned, offering it as a reminder, no doubt. He never mentioned the soiled cloth. Instead, he said, “When I was a boy, my father worked for two wealthy surgeons in Pensacola.” He seemingly awaited her reaction. When she didn’t give him one, he said, “You seem surprised.”
She didn’t “seem” any certain way because she didn’t have an opinion. She wasn’t sure how any of this mattered anyway. Besides, all she could think about was how she might reach out to her men—Allister, Bradley, Ryan, and Derek. They must’ve been frantic, sick with worry.
Seth circled her, seemingly entranced. “It was a long time ago, but I’ve never forgotten my childhood or how my father lived his life. Every morning I watched him leave with his head held high and a smile on his face. Every evening he came home with his head bowed in shame. On occasion, he’d have tears in his eyes.
“One day I asked him about his attitude and his work. I wanted to know what happened during his day. What was so terrible at his employer’s home that he would come home at night stripped of his confidence, harboring despair? I asked because it was a need to know situation. If you’d been in my shoes, you would’ve wanted to know. Right, Ellie?”
When Ellie didn’t answer, Heather quickly said, “She would.”
“I didn’t ask you, Heather,” he snapped. “I asked Ellie.”
After a few silent moments, she slowly nodded.
“I didn’t hear you, Ellie.”
“Yes. You’re right. I’d want to know.”
“Of course you would. It’s an interesting story. My father looked me in the eye on that particular day and said, ‘Son, nobody hands you the keys to the kingdom. If you want them, you sneak up on that castle like a thief in the night and you take them. Once you have them, cling to them, hold them close and never forget what you had to sacrifice in order to get them. How you get them doesn’t matter. How well you guard them after you receive them is worth its weight in stone.
“I’ve often thought about that. Where I came from, the old folks would say things like ‘worth its weight in gold’ but on this particular day in this particular conversation, my father had said, ‘worth its weight in stone’ and I always found that fascinating.” He took a deep breath and studied Ellie intently. “Do you wonder what he might have meant there?”
“No.” She didn’t care about his stupid story or his childhood.
“I’ll tell you what I think he meant. Family and loved ones are valued more than gold. Some friendships, the same. But when one steals away with something they aren’t meant to have or something that doesn’t belong to them, if they take it by any means possible, then they have dead weight and some random ‘thing’ of no value.”
“And you think your father wanted you to have something of little value?”
“I think he wanted me to embrace the world by any means possible. At the same time, he knew because I was his son, that once I received these things, they would hold no substantial meaning in the end.”
“Then perhaps you should learn from that,” Ellie suggested.
“I have, Ellie.” He circled her once more and then returned to the desk, relaxing there as he’d done before. “Which is why I’ve decided to let you and your friends live.”
Heather whimpered. Ellie released a ragged breath and said a quick prayer of thanks.
“All you have to do is marry me. If you’ll do me the great honor of becoming my wife, I’ll even let Allister live. The others will survive, too.”
