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The darkness in his eyes turned murderous. “Who told you that? Those irritating bodyguards of yours? I wish that man had actually done his job and forced you to fire them.”
“What man?” I inched farther away.
“The one who attacked you,” he said with a sigh. “I assumed you’d balk if the guards failed at their jobs, but apparently, you are very attached to them. It was a pain in the ass to circumvent them. That back passage in the women’s bathroom was a godsend.”
My heart pounded in my ears. Neil had been behind that the whole time? He’d intentionally scared me half to death and made me fear going outside?
Who was this man? How had I misjudged him so long? How hadDadmisjudged him so long?
“They saved me both times. They did their job well, and always do,” I said.
I was attached to them. I loved them. And I knew they still loved me. If I had disappeared from the venue, they were definitely on their way to find me. It was just a matter of when. I had no idea how long I’d been out or what measures Neil had taken to get me here.
“Fucking Troy,” he grumbled, pacing in front of me. “If he hadn’t hired them, we could have circumvented all of this. If I’d known you’d say no, I would have put you away the way I put away your father.”
My blood ran cold, and it felt like a lead weight was on my chest. I coughed, just to jumpstart my system into breathing again.
I couldn’t believe it.
The abnormalities of Dad’s post-mortem toxicology report hadn’t just been a fluke. It had been my worst nightmare.
“You didn’t,” I said, tears pricking my eyes. Neil didn’t respond. Those few tears immediately erupted into full-body sobs.
He’d taken my father from me. He should have been here at the gala, talking with friends and getting people to donate. But he was in the ground. And for what?
“I did.” He shrugged, as if he’d just flushed a goldfish down the toilet. “I came to him with a deal, and he turned it down. I assumed that he’d left something to me in his will, so I took care of him. As it turns out, he left it all to you.”
“Probably because he saw right through you.” I sniffed and wiped my eyes, my hands streaked with makeup. “You’re the worst kind of person. How could you? He trusted you!”
He wasn’t fazed by that at all. He just shrugged again.
“Marry me, and all of these problems will go away. You’ll be able to go freely, and we’ll marry in a nice ceremony. Your wealth will help me out, and then we’ll be able to build more. I guarantee that. I’d even give you a child if you wanted one.”
My shudder ripped through my whole body. The thought of him touching me literally made me want to throw up.
“Are you insane?” I let out a hysterical laugh among my tears. “You just admitted to murdering your best friend. My father. And you hired someone to try to kidnap me. I’m not going to marry you.”
He sighed, looking down at me with disappointment in his eyes. He had to be kidding, right? In what way did he think kidnapping me would make me want him?
“Well, I’d hoped you’d come willingly at lunch. I was planning on asking then. But now we’re here, and I’ll have to do some convincing,” he said. “I can make your life hell, Taylor. Easily. I was holding back before, but I don’t need to now.”
I didn’t want to find out what that meant. I backed away more, and he kept his distance, looking down at me with disdain.
He was telling me all of this stuff about his true intentions freely, stuff that could put him in jail. And that meant that he might not have wanted to keep me around to tell anyone about it. It was either that, or he was going to throw me out into the world with this horrible secret and do awful things to me if I said anything.
I had to stall him until my guys came to save me. The problem was that I didn’t know how long that was going to take.
CHAPTER34
Cody
Taylor spent a lot of time in the bathroom, but usually not this long.
I checked my watch and sighed, watching more women go in and out. Was she okay?
“Excuse me,” I said to a woman who I’d seen going into the bathroom. “I’m looking for Taylor Bailey. Did you see her inside?”
“I don’t remember. I can go back in and ask,” the woman said. “What was she wearing?”
