PROLOGUE
Two Years Earlier
Justice dug under her mattress trying to find the cell phone that her grandmother, Norma Jeane Hobbs, gave her. Her grandmother was worried that her father was up to “no good,” as she put it, and unfortunately, her granny’s intuition was dead on. Justice couldn’t believe that her father locked her away in her childhood bedroom like a prisoner in her own home. She was afraid to ask any of his guards for help, knowing that he either owned most of them or they were foolishly loyal to him. Either way, she couldn’t take the chance that any of them would rat her out rather than help her.
“Yes,” she hissed under her breath as she pulled the cell phone free from where she hid it. She turned it on and prayed that she remembered to turn the volume off before she stowed it between the mattress and box spring. The screen lit up, and luckily for her, the phone made no noise to give away the fact that she was calling in the cavalry for help.
Justice thought about calling the police, but she knew that would get her nowhere since her father owned most of the localauthorities. She knew that the only person she could trust was her granny, and she didn’t hesitate to dial her number. Her grandmother answered the phone and started talking before Justice even had a chance to say hello.
“Justice, if you’re using this phone, I know you’re in trouble. Tell me where you are and I will send help.” Justice smiled at the way her grandmother seemed so sure of herself, always in control and capable of taking charge of even the worst situations.
“He has me locked up in my old bedroom, Granny. I have no idea what he plans on doing with me, but he has two guards outside the bedroom door,” Justice whispered into the phone, praying that they couldn’t hear her through her door.
“I have a feeling that no good son of mine has plans to use you to get what he wants—a higher political office. I’ll send Charlie and the boys right over to you, don’t you worry.” Justice whispered her thanks and hung up at the sound of footsteps outside the bedroom door. There was no time to hide the phone again, so she threw it under the bed and then sat down and tried to look as casual as she could, not wanting to give away the fact that she had just called in a rescue team. The door swung open, and her father strolled into her room.
Anthony Hobbs always dressed to impress, and today was no exception. He loved to flaunt his wealth and power and always dressed the part. He unbuttoned his suit coat and slipped his hands in his pockets. That was about as casual as her father ever got in front of other people, including her.
“Justice darling, my guards tell me that you are refusing dinner. May I ask why?” She hated the way her father still spoke to her like she was a twelve-year-old little girl. She was twenty-one years old, and being held hostage was really starting to grate on her last nerve.
“Well, Daddy,” she said, emphasizing the word “Daddy” to let him know that term of endearment was a false one. “I’m not hungry. You’ve held me here for hours now, and I’d like to get back to my life if you don’t mind.”
Being back in her childhood home creeped her out. She visited under the pretense that her father had a few items of her mother’s things to pass on to her. Her mother died when she was just fifteen, and Justice and her father never really got along. Part of that might be the mistrust that she felt for him every time he walked into a room. The other part might be because she suspected that her father killed her mother, but that had never been proven. Hell, his constituents had that rumor nipped in the bud before it even became a blip on the local law enforcement’s radar. As soon as Justice turned eighteen, she packed her bags and left for her grandmother’s ranch. She lived there in a little cabin that was on the property. Justice liked being close to Norma Jeane, but still had her place to go back to every evening. At least her grandmother knew how to treat her like an adult.
Her father pretended to notice a speck on his suit and worked on brushing it off, effectively dismissing her statement. “You are going to have a new life now, Justice. I think that you and my good friend, Jordan Wolf, are going to be very happy together. We shall announce your engagement tonight at my campaign headquarters.” Justice gasped and bolted from the bed, trying to run past him, but he blocked her with his body and reminded her just how forceful he could be when he wanted his way. He threw her back against the bed, and Justice knew better than to try to get back up.
“Eat, don’t eat, I don’t care. Just be in the dress that I placed in your closet by seven. And, for God’s sake, put on some makeup and pull back your hair.” Her father turned to leave, stopping in her doorway. He looked back over his shoulder. “Fair warning, Justice—give me any trouble and I’ll give Jordanthe green light to start the honeymoon early. He’s been dying to get his hands on you since I agreed to this little arrangement.” With that, her father disappeared into the hallway, her door shutting and locking behind him. Justice slumped down onto the bed and almost gave in to her despair until she remembered that her grandmother was sending in help. She just hoped they showed up before her father announced her pending nuptials.
The thought of marrying Jordan Wolf made her a little nauseous. She met him on a few occasions, and the way that he watched her gave her the creeps. He was from one of the prominent families in Goose Creek, and he was a major financial backer of her father’s Mayoral campaign. She knew that her father was desperate to have Jordan back in his bid for Governor, and it looked as if he had found a way to do so—by using her. Jordon was quite a bit older than her, and the thought of being “sold off” to the highest bidder made her sick. Honestly, she came to expect no less from her dear old dad. He always put his career needs above hers and her mother’s.
If she didn’t get away from him now, she never would. For now, she had no choice but to play along with the whole charade and hope like hell that her grandmother could get her out of there. Otherwise, she was going to end up being sold off to a man who would destroy her, and she couldn’t let that happen.
Justice waited until the very last minute to get into the hideous skin-tight dress that her father bought for her to wear for her engagement announcement down at his campaign headquarters. She threw herself together and washed her face, hoping to hide the fact that she spent the last thirty minutes crying into a pillow. Maybe it was too much to expectfrom her grandmother, but a part of her still hoped for some small miracle to happen, allowing her to escape her father’s plan. If she were lucky enough to get away from him this time, she would run and wouldn’t look back. She knew that he would stop at nothing to have his way, and she wasn’t about to sit around and wait for him to make his next move. But with each passing minute, she worried that her escape was just a fading fantasy that was further and further out of reach.
Justice jumped at the knock at her door and didn’t bother to call for whoever it was to come in. She had no choice in the matter, so why waste her breath? Her door opened, and Jordan Wolf sauntered into her room. The sight of his smiling, smug face made her want to punch him, but she knew that he would easily overpower her. He was a big man, and his financial reach was even broader. She wouldn’t be able to out power or outrun Jordan Wolf, and that thought paralyzed her with fear.
“Well, don’t you look yummy? Maybe pull your hair up, though, so I can see that pretty neck of yours,” he purred, running his fingers down the side of her neck and resting his hand on her shoulder. She wanted to shrug him off and tell him to keep his fucking hands to himself, but she also knew that he liked a challenge. The last thing she needed was for him to see her as a conquest, although judging by the way he was looking at her, it might already be too late for that.
“What, no kiss for your fiancé?” He leaned down as if expecting her to make an effort and kiss him.
“I’m not sure what my father has promised you, but I’m sure that whatever it was isn’t worth the amount of money he will expect in return.” Justice knew that it was a long shot, but if she could get Jordan to see that she wasn’t worth his trouble, that might be her ticket out of the hell that her father was dragging her into.
“Oh, honey, I’m pretty sure that you are going to be worth every penny that I promised your father. In return for my generous support of his campaign, I get you. I call that a win-win deal.” He leaned down and grabbed her jaw in his big hand. The bite of pain told her just what kind of man Jordan Wolf was. Her instincts kicked in, and she fought to free herself from his grasp. His eyes flared, and she could see his desire, feel it in his erection that pressed up against her when Jordan shoved her onto her bed. Justice kicked and screamed as he tugged at her evening gown, freeing her breasts. “I like a woman with a little fight in her, honey. You and I are going to have a lot of fun together as I work on taming that wild spirit of yours.” He pressed her into the bed and sealed his mouth over hers, making it harder for her to breathe. When he finally let her up for air, she coughed and gagged, still fighting to free herself. He easily pinned her down, not allowing her even a little wiggle room.
“How about I take you for a little test drive to see if I’m truly getting my money’s worth.” He ripped her dress down the front, and she screamed for help, knowing that the guards would do nothing to help her. Justice closed her eyes as Jordan kissed his way down her body. She never had a man touch her that way, and she hated that her first experience was going to be with a monster who could so easily take what she wasn’t willing to give. Jordan leaned up from her body to undo his fly, and she took her cue to fight again. She scratched his face with her nails and kicked until he rolled off her, holding his now bloody cheek.
“You bitch! You scratched my face and we’re going to be on live television in thirty minutes,” Jordan growled, pulling a handkerchief from his jacket to blot his face. “You will pay for this later. Right now, you need to find another dress to wear and fix your face.” He stood and walked from the room, slamming the door behind him. Justice jumped at the noise but was thankful that he was gone. She could hear Jordan yellingthrough the house, looking for her father, no doubt to whine about her mistreatment of him. She almost wanted to laugh, but knew that he was a man who was used to getting his way. Jordan would make her pay for what she did to him. Justice pulled on the clothes that she had been wearing earlier, not having any other options available. What more could her father do to her if she disobeyed his orders and showed up at his press conference in jeans and a sweater? She knew that if her grandmother’s men didn’t arrive before they left, she would have to announce to the world that her father was evil, forcing her to marry a man who’d promised him money towards his campaign. That would teach him to use her to get what he wanted. She wasn’t a pawn to use to further his game, and she wasn’t going to just lie down and take it anymore.
Justice sat back down on the bed and tried to think through her options. She fished the cell phone out and found that she had cracked the screen when she threw it to the floor earlier. She cursed, knowing that she was running out of options. Justice heard a thud against the door and held her breath. She didn’t know if she should hope for it to be her father or Jordan to walk through the door. Neither one gave her any hope for escape. She looked around the room for something that she could use as a weapon and decided that the heavy crystal lamp on the bedside table was her best option. Justice picked it up and knew that the weight would be enough to knock out whoever was trying to get into the room. She stood on the side of the door waiting, the lamp held high over her head. The person on the other side seemed to be struggling with the lock, and she was starting to wonder what was taking so long. A few minutes later, the door unlocked and slowly crept open.
“Miss Justice,” a man’s voice whispered. Justice lowered the lamp, knowing the voice of her grandmother’s ranch foreman anywhere.
“Charlie?” she whispered back. He fully entered the room and tucked his gun back into his shoulder holster. “Oh, Charlie, thank you so much for coming.” Justice threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, almost as if he were her lifeline.
“Don’t thank me yet. I still have to get you out of here, but your grandmother has created quite a distraction outside.” Justice ran to the window and looked down to find her granny holding a shotgun at her father, and she was cussing up a storm. The sight made Justice smile, but she worried that it would only be a matter of time before her father’s guards would get the drop on her grandmother, and they would stop at nothing to keep her dad safe.
“We need to get out there before she gets herself killed,” Justice squeaked.
Charlie laughed, “I think I’d be more worried that she’s going to kill her good-for-nothing son, but I agree—we need to get down there.” Charlie led the way down the grand staircase and right through the front door. Every security guard her father employed stood out front, surrounding him. Granny Norma effectively cleared the way for Charlie to sneak Justice right past them to his pickup truck around the corner.
