“I just want what?”
Why did those eyes fascinate her so?Why did they compel her to say more than she should?“Revenge.”
He smiled.She’d never thought a smile could be so menacing.“Very perceptive of you, Miss Randall, or whoever you are.”
“I won’t let you use me.”
“Oh, you won’t?”Amusement crept into his voice.“And just how do you think you will prevent it?”
Shea balled her fingers into a fist.It had been another foolish statement—she was in no position to challenge him—but then she had been incredibly foolish since meeting Ben Smith yesterday.“He won’t care.”
“Oh, I believe that,” Tyler said.“Randall’s never cared about a damn thing in his life.That’s why I don’t think much of Ben’s bringing you here.”
“Then let me go.I don’t even know where I am.”
“I believe that too,” he said.“Unfortunately, you’ve seen some faces you shouldn’t have, and even more unfortunately you apparently can draw them.So you stay here.”His voice hardened.“Believe me, I don’t like the idea of having Randall’s get around any more than you want to be here.”
“You can’t mean … to keep me here.”
“Now you’re getting the idea, as distasteful as it may be to both of us.”
She felt numb, uncomprehending.How could this happen?She had been safe her whole life, safe and comfortable and well liked.She’d never had an enemy, and now this man, who obviously hated her father, and therefore her, was threatening to hold her captive in these mountains.She knew her terror was probably reflected in her eyes, and she turned away so he wouldn’t see it.She didn’t want to give him that satisfaction.“You’ll hang,” she whispered.
He laughed.“I would have welcomed the noose ten years ago,” he said.“Now I don’t give a damn one way or the other, as long as Randall joins me on the scaffold.”His voice lowered.“And he will, Miss Randall.He will.”It was like a blood oath, and Shea felt a cold wind blowing across her, though the trees were still.
Shea swallowed.Dear God, she believed him, and what could she say to a man who didn’t care whether he lived or died?
His words echoed in the silence.She had to break it, no matter how inadequate she sounded.The silence made the words stronger, more invincible.
“How long do you think you will keep me?”She turned back to him, trying to make her expression indifferent, like his, but she knew she failed miserably.
“Think?”His raised eyebrow seemed to mock her.
Shea glared at him, terrified at spending any time with this man who hated so strongly.The thought of it alone sent worms of apprehension crawling through her body.“If you hurt me …”
“Oh, I have no intention of hurting you.You aren’t worth the effort.But you will obey me.”
Oddly, she believed the part about his not hurting her.She should still feel terror, not just for the father she’d never met but also for herself.
“You can’t keep me here,” she tried again.“People will be looking.…”
Tyler looked at Ben Smith, who shrugged.“There was no one to pick her up.I don’t think she was expected.”
“Just dropping in?”That smile again.The smile that was no smile.“Miss Randall—if that’s who you are—I want some answers.”
“What for?”she retorted indignantly.“You already read my letters.”
“They say damn little, and nothing about a daughter.So I ask you again.Why are you here?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Everything to do with Randall is my business.”
“Because he testified against you?Because he did his duty?”
“What do you know about it?”His voice was hard now, some of the hoarseness gone, and his eyes were glittering.
“I … the clipping …”
