“No,” I answered, picking up a miniature cherry and cream cheese Danish.
“For Christ’s sake,” he muttered.
Then, he stomped over to me, picked up my purse, took my arm in his free hand, and started dragging me toward the door.
“Listen up, jackhole,” I said as he frog marched me down the hall. “I’ve been fairly compliant so far, but don’t mistake that for me doing whatever you say when you say it.”
He sighed. “So, you’re saying that now that you’ve eaten, you’re going to start giving me shit again?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good to know you’re predictable,” he said beneath his breath as he steered me past Poppy’s desk and out the front door.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw a flash of Poppy’s face as we left. Instead of looking angry as I expected, she looked skeptical and more than a little curious.
I wasn’t sure which I hated more, her curiosity or her disdain.
Daniel walked me back down to his car. This time, he walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for me.
When I stood there and stared at him, he snapped, “What?”
“Is this a trap?” I asked.
“Get in the damn car, Cari, or I’ll put you in it myself.”
Judging by the intense frustration on his face, I didn’t doubt he would. I narrowed my eyes and stomped over to the open door, making sure to catch his toe under one of my heels as I passed him.
He grunted but didn’t say anything as I climbed into the car. He tossed my purse into my lap and slammed the door.
Once he was in the driver’s seat and backing out of the parking space, he said, “You need to behave when we get where we’re going.”
“Fat chance,” I mumbled.
He jerked the wheel and slammed on the brakes, the tires squealing as he pulled onto the shoulder. Then, he turned toward me, putting his hand on the back of my seat.
In a blink, his face was inches from mine and his eyes glowed with green fire.
“I have been extremely patient with you since last night,” he said, his voice little more than a growl. “But my patience is about to end. Be quiet and polite when we get to the resort or you won’t like the consequences.”
Once I got over the urge to pee my pants, anger flooded me.
“Listen up, you…you…asshole,” I said, smacking him in the shoulder. His body might as well have been made of stone because he didn’t move at all. “I didn’t ask for any of this and you have no right to treat me like this.Yourevealed yourself to me.Youkidnapped me! So, if you don’t like the way I’m behaving, you have no one to blame but your fucking self!” I shoved him in the shoulder again. “What are you going to do? Kill me? Bite me? Lock me in the cellar with nothing but a dirt floor and a filthy blanket?”
“No,” he shot back. “But I will take you to the jail and make you Garrett’s problem and believe me when I say he won’t find your sass as cute as I do.”
My stomach pitched at his words. I chalked it up to him threatening to throw me in jail rather than him calling me cute.
“Sass?” I asked, my voice shooting up an octave. “You think this is sass? This is righteous anger!”
“Whatever it is, just shitcan it until after I’m done at the resort. I can’t protect you if you piss off the wrong person.”
I wanted to point out that I’d behaved myself around Marjorie and Poppy but refrained. I was still stuck on his comment about protecting me.
Protecting me? He was a kidnapper!
“Are you going to do what I said?” he asked, his tone suspicious.
“This once,” I snapped back.
