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She says, “I promise I’ll get word to him.”
“Thank you.” A tear rolls down my cheek and I admit, “I’m so scared that I won’t be able to stop him if he comes at me again.”
“You could come with me…”
“To your house?”
She whispers, “No. I’m leaving town. Tonight.”
God, how I wish I could say yes. If I leave, he’ll be able to find me. If he doesn’t come after me, he’ll go after one of my sisters.
I shake my head. “There’s no way I can just walk out of here.”
“If you’re worried about the color of your hair, we can hide it.”
“He put a tracking device in my neck in case I tried to run again. As much as I hate it, Kieran is my best bet.”
Her eyes widen in horror. “Then I’ll call him as soon as I leave.”
Without thinking, I throw my arms around her in a quick hug. It’s then that I realize she’s pregnant. Is that why she’s leaving? Is she in some kind of trouble? I wish I had time to ask, but each moment that she’s in here is a risk with Max so close.
“Thank you, Ellie. You better go before he comes in here.”
She gives me one last look before slipping out of the room. The moment she’s gone, I wonder if I’ve made yet another mistake. How do I know if the device in my neck even works? Max might have been lying about it. Or he could be telling the truth. I blink away the hot tears that fill my eyes. I will not cry. I won’t! Instead, I sit on the foot of the bed and watch the clock, hoping and praying that Ellie can get word to Kieran because he’s my last hope.
* * *
Time drags. With each minute that passes, I feel more defeated. Max comes to check on me a few times, making comments meant to barb, but I barely hear. We eat dinner in the room, but only because one of Max’s men tells him we should stay in tonight. If I cared, I might try to listen and see why, but I don’t care. I order from the room service menu and sit by the window, looking out while I eat.
By midnight, the heavy sense of dread lingering in my stomach has morphed into a bittersweet anger. Ellie must not have been able to reach Kieran. Or maybe she did, and he just didn’t give a shit. I mean, he doesn’t owe me anything. He made that clear the first time I went to see him. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up, dammit.
Max enters the bedroom around two, ordering me to sleep next to him. My eyes don’t shut once. His alarm goes off at nine, and he rolls away from me, passing gas as he stands. I don’t even react.
“Once I get out of the shower, I want you dressed. We’re getting married today and then coming back here to consummate the marriage.”
He’s trying to goad me. I won’t give him the satisfaction.
“Did you hear me?”
“I heard you. I also know you told my father that you would give me a proper wedding.”
He snorts. “Proper wedding. You’re not a virgin, so why do you need a proper wedding? Besides, your father has no room to make demands. Especially when he asked to borrow an additional 100k.”
Oh god. He didn’t!
One look at Max confirms that he did.
“Wear something red. That color gets my dick so har—”
His words are cut off as the door to the bedroom is kicked open. He spins, reaching for his gun, but it’s too late. Kieran Van der Zee walks in, his long hair blowing behind him, making him look like a superhero. I laugh out loud at the thought, which I blame on sleep deprivation. Kieran pays me no attention, his gaze focused on Max.
“I’d suggest holding your hands up, seeing as how I already have my gun and you’ll be as dead as your men before you get yours.”
I realize he’s holding a pistol with a silencer on it, and it’s aimed right at Max. Max must realize this too, because his face turns a deep shade of purple as his hands lift slowly into the air.
“Very good. Here’s how this is going to go. The girl is coming with me, and you aren’t going to do anything stupid, like trying to come after us.”
Max turns even darker, and he sputters, “That girl is my fiancée.”
