My lips twitched at her observation. Always thinking of others instead of herself.
But her father wasn’t budging. This had been a possible outcome. That he would try to deny his former crimes in this moment and waste enough time to have me discovered. It was time to up the ante and force his hand.
“Here’s how this is going to work.” I took a step forward, holding out my hand. “You give me Amanda, or I’ll kill the whole of the earl’s family and pin their deaths on you.”
“You can’t stage something on that level,” Loring mocked, but there was a real thread of fear in his voice.
“Can’t I?” I took another step. “Remember that sunset cruise your wifehadto have? It would be a shame if the vessel sank and you collected a fat insurance check. NEB Co. already has the paperwork filled out, ready to file, to make you a very rich grieving widower, Mr. Loring.”
Blackmail, pure and simple. Loring wasn’t going to sink the ship, but I had everything set up to make it look like that was his plan. Not that it would ever come to that.
The lawyer sat back down, hard enough to make the white wooden folding chair shiver. He knew he’d been beaten. “Take her.”
Coward.
Amanda sucked in a sharp breath, rounding on her father. I didn’t miss the way her fists clenched at her sides. The hate wafting off her was the sweetest scent.
See him for the rat that he is, fiore mio.
I was beginning to doubt if this betrayal would be enough.
No matter, I would show her every sin he’d committed. Even then, pleasing him was ingrained in the very fibers of her being. It might take years to purge it.
On to business, then….
I clucked my tongue. “That’s not how a father gives the bride away.” My outstretched hand jerked, waiting. “Give your daughter away, Loring.”
“Dad, no! What are you—you can’t be serious!” Amanda tried to back up.
But in an attempt to save himself, the bastard reached for his daughter and tugged her forward. I bristled at the grip he had on her slim arm. Closing the distance, I grabbed her hand, wrenching her out of his grip. The symbolism was there, and he’d touched her long enough.
“Daddy, no!” Amanda gasped.
I held her tight. “My thanks, sir.”
Loring opened his mouth to speak. A whistle brushed through the air, and the barb stuck out from his throat. My hitman never missed the mark.
Amanda screamed.
“Hush now, fiore, it’s only a tranquilizer,” I chuckled as I tugged her along.
Amanda jerked hard. “You psycho! Let me go.”
“Not going to happen, Mandy. I’ve waited too long for this.” With that, I scooped her into my arms and carried her, despite her pounding fists, through the trees.
Chapter 22 –Amanda
He called me Mandy.
Shock set in somewhere between the first car ride and the second. The flight between those was a blur; all I could tell was that it was short. We weren’t far from Martha’s Vineyard, but that didn’t mean much.
The masked man called meMandy!
I forced blood to warm my extremities. Sunlight filtered through the tinted windows of the luxury car as we sped over the coastal road. I lifted my fingers to let the muted light glint off my skin. Why was he doing this? What was behind this obsession that drove him to destroy my wedding? He wanted me, so he took me. That felt too simple. My analytical brain said there was more, something I was missing. But I couldn’t figure it out.
“What happens now?” I managed to ask.
The devil was still wearing the mask. It was fixed straight on the road, but I felt his attention shift to me.
