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“What?”
“Don’t play dumb. I know you’re loaded. I know your parents are practically billionaires. I finally put it all together. Your nice car, your nice clothes—and your name. There’s no way you’re not related to them. I want you to give me half a million dollars.”
She scowled at him. “You’re a bigger idiot than I gave you credit for if you think I’m going to give youanything.”
His eyes sparked with a fury she hadn’t seen before and he launched toward her, grabbing her wrist. She sucked in sharply, attempting but failing at pulling away from him. His words were laced with venom as his hot breath fanned her face. “You will give me every penny I’m asking for. Otherwise, I go to the press.”
Her brows creased, confusion consuming the fear.
“I reached out to your parents yesterday.” His grip on her tightened. “Imagine my surprise when they said they’d never heard of me. Not only that, but they let me know I was invited for your next family dinner.” He clicked his tongue. “Now why would the only daughter of a well-known wealthy family keep secrets like this?”
Sarah’s jaw locked tight. She wasn’t going to give him any satisfaction over the answers he sought.
“You want to know what I think? I think it’s because they have this beautiful little story of their perfect little girl being the best student and an upright citizen. Finding out that she was involved with a criminal like me, or worse—that she had instigated the whole string of crimes a few months ago—now that might ruin their family’s reputation.”
He’d hit the nail on the head. He knew right where to strike her and strike hard. This was yet another reason why she’d made a deal rather than go through the courts. If her name was in the papers, it wouldn’t take much for people to connect the dots.
She’d been a fool to believe that Kenneth wouldn’t come looking for her and figure out about her family. She could kick herself for not being more careful about her identity.
Lifting her chin, she spewed the only words that came to her mind. “I have an army of lawyers. I can make one call right now and get them on this.”
“But you won’t. Because you’ll losesomuch more.” He leaned in so close she almost thought he was going to kiss her. But instead, he whispered. “If you tell your parents, you lose their respect. They lose the reputation they’ve built on strong family values. That would lead to articles in the paper—everyone loves a good local scandal. How hard do you think it would be to get that information over to the local news in Copper Creek? How do you think people will treat you when they realize what an awful person you really are? What would Dax think?”
Her blood ran cold as ice. His words had made it perfectly clear that he’d been watching her for weeks, not days. Sarah might have changed a lot since arriving here and starting her community service. But that wouldn’t do her any good when the truth came out. Some of the townspeople might shrug off that sort of thing, but not all of them. There was a great deal of gossipy and judgmental members in this community.
And what about Dax? How would he react to knowing all of this? He might have alluded to having a colorful background as well, but it couldn’t be as bad as being the one person to target a whole town of hard-working people. These were his friends and family.
Her stomach roiled. She didn’t have the money to pay Kenneth. That money would only be made available after she accepted a job at her parent’s firm.
Sarah yanked her hand out of his grasp. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to get you any money. I don’t have it.”
Kenneth’s eyes narrowed. “You’ll figure out a way, or I’ll tell everyone your secrets.”
“I’m telling you the truth. I don’t get a cent of that money until I start officially working for my parents.”
“Didn’t you say you only had one or two more classes to take? You’re smart. You can figure out a way to make this happen.”
He took a step away from her, his features now smooth as if he hadn’t just blackmailed her, holding everything that was important to her over her head. “I want it deposited into an offshore account by the end of the summer.” He winked at her. “Or everything that you love will be ripped from your grasp.” He whistled, wandering down the path in the opposite direction from which she came.
Her heart pounded angrily, and her hands shook. She’d seen all the movies. If she gave in and paid a ransom, he’d just come back for more. The only way to stop him was to take away his power.
And that meant doing the one thing she had fought so hard not to.
She’d have to tell her parents everything. She’d have to confess to Dax. And she’d have to get out ahead of the tabloids and press.
Sarah’s shoulders slumped, a tear finally escaping from behind her eyes. Deep down, she knew she wouldn’t be able to do any of that. When the time came to be done with her community service, she’d be going home and taking a job from her parents at the firm. She’d leave behind everything she’d grown to love about this place and return to the life she now realized was an empty shell of what she really wanted.
24
Dax
Dax hung the rope he had coiled on a nail near the barn entrance and leaned his forearm against the entrance as he stared out at the ranch surroundings. This view really was a little slice of paradise.
One day he could see a life with Sarah by his side as they ran a ranch together. Granted, they would have to start out small, but that wouldn’t matter as long as they were together. Sarah had a knack for training. Maybe they could start a little business together.
He smiled. He had his work cut out for himself with a girl like Sarah. But he’d known that from the first moment he’d met her. She was exactly the kind of fire he wanted in his life.
There was only one problem with the way he felt about her.
