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She couldn’t explain it.
Glancing back to see if he’d followed her, she saw nothing, only an empty hall that stretched out behind her. Paranoid much? She needed to get home and take a long bath fragrant with gardenias, so that she could forget everything. Absolutely everything!
Turning to the door, she gasped.
Lacy Lynch!
Shock froze her.
The hard man’s face leered into hers as he stepped closer. His hand landed on the door with more strength than she remembered from before. His black hair had grown out longer, too. His dark eyes were murderous. Although Lynch had spent the majority of his life behind a desk, he was lean and sinewy like an aging panther.
She hadn’t screamed yet. Why hadn’t she screamed? Her whole body felt frozen. She took a deep breath and his hand slapped over her mouth. “Oh no, you don’t!” He swiped the keycard from her hand over the lock and threw open the door before dragging her inside.
West’s hotel reservation was a multi-room suite with all the bells and whistles. The living room stretched out before her with a magnificent view of the city glistening under a sunset that seemed almost otherworldly.
Was she really going to die in here?
“You sent me on quite the goose chase, little girl,” Lynch hissed. “I should never have believed you went off to Nashville to show off your new boyfriend to your daddy. You wouldn’t want him anywhere near him. I mean, if you were smart.”
She had all sorts of snarky comments to make back at him, but she was only able to release a distressed sound under his hand.
Apparently that suited him just fine because he kept talking to his captive audience. “I told you I’d get you back for ruining me… West too! Though, I have a feeling that he would only be relieved if anything happened to you. You’ve worn out your welcome. Not surprising for a Trout.”
She stepped on Lynch’s fine European shoes to get him to release her, and when that didn’t work, she kicked back at him. Lynch spun her around, pushing her against the wall. She made all sorts of squawking noises before he covered her mouth again. “Don’t worry, I’ll get West back, too!” he said. “I don’t play favorites. The guy’s crazy protective of his family. I know, weird, huh?” She struggled, hating that such a jerk could be so strong. It wasn’t fair. She couldn’t get free. Cole and… West even, could make mincemeat of him. She was so angry!
“When does your new little boyfriend get here?” he asked.
Her body tingled with the additional horror, and she shook her head. “Never!” At least she tried to say it, but it sounded more like an, “Ehmpha.”
His eyes ran over her as he watched her with new interest. “Maybe your father will give me a pretty penny for you.”
Her father would have his head!
But Lynch didn’t seem like he was thinking rationally. He looked unhinged. Fear threaded through her. The usual threats wouldn’t work against him, especially when he wouldn’t let her speak!
“Did you like my texts?” he asked, sniggering. “I meant every word. Of course, a part of me wonders why I’m wasting so much effort on you…you, who nobody cares about really, except as a pawn. You were a pawn when you ruined me, and you’re a pawn now. You have to know that it doesn’t matter to anyone whether you’re alive or dead—you’re so worthless, your momma took off without a word, and your daddy only thinks of you as his prized pet; not even that new cowboy of yours can really love you. He only sees dollar signs when he claps eyes on you.”
That’s when she broke. Everyone was being so mean to her today! She ran her pointy-toed shoes into his knee and scraped the heel down his shin. He bellowed out, but his hand loosened from her mouth leaving her free to scream at him. “You loser!”
She ran for the door.
He grabbed her from behind, dragging her back. She hit back at him, though it felt like one of those bad dreams where nothing she did had any effect on him.
She wanted to hurt him like he’d hurt her. “You didn’t need me to ruin you,” she cried out, “because you already did it to yourself!” He tried to get his hand over her mouth and she bit at him, shrieking as loudly as she could. Someone had to hear her! Were these fancy suites really that soundproof?
Maybe!
Losing hope of recruiting a rescuer, she worked on ripping him apart instead. “You don’t know what love is! You don’t know anything! Cole loves me and I’ll–I’ll die loving him.”
He tugged her back, finally getting ahold of her. “You think so, huh?” He laughed darkly and tugged out a long serrated knife from a side holster. “Let’s wait for this Romeo and see if you’re right.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Cole left his momma’s hospital room, his thoughts in chaos over everything happening. It could take weeks for this new heart to fail completely. He couldn’t bear to watch, except he would be there for his momma every step of the way.
Stretching out his stiff shoulders, he searched for Eva. She was nowhere in sight.
His stomach sank. He had a feeling a few hours earlier to not let West take off on his own—his older brother had been wracked with grief and possibly more viciously blunt than usual. He must have said something to Eva to scare her off.
