It was impossible to tell which bothered him more, that I’d defied him, or the way his hulking bodyguard shifted, uneasy.
Another piece came into focus. Plavko hadn’t said“It’s done”earlier. He’d said,“It’s Dunn.”As in Deputy U.S. Marshal Jason Dunn.
Here now in Croatia to find me, because that was what he was so good at.
“You want to stay? Fine. Come here,” Ryan commanded, “Laurel.”
The force of the word was crushing and unrelenting, and trying to resist only made it worse. The pain was similar to when I tried to recall memories.
No, not similar—it was exactly thesame.
But I had no choice, utterly powerless.
One new memory was all I had, so I clung to it as the only thing I knew was true and let it unlock another while I marched forward. My rain-soaked body was huddled together with Jason’s under a blanket, the fire crackling in the fireplace and the heat between us burning much hotter.
“This man wants to take you away from me.” Ryan turned me in his arms to face Jason, wrapping me so tightly I couldn’t move. “Tell him you want to stay.”
The muscles running along Jason’s jaw tensed. He spit another mouthful of blood on the floor and his face turned to steel. “She won’t do that.”
“Really? Maybe I should convince you how in love we are.”
My heart galloped, and since Ryan couldn’t see my face, I let my terror show through for a fraction of a second.
Then he had me turned to him, his mouth covering mine, muting everything but the loud voice in my head. The one I now recognized as Dr. Vorbusch’s and not my own. I collapsed under his power, unable to fight back, hating every second of it.
When the torturous kiss ended, he gauged my reaction and looked satisfied he still had control.
“I love you.” His voice was devoid of any warmth.
“I love you,” I parroted back without emotion or meaning. A programmed response. But I could feel the damage it was doing to Jason, and I died a little inside. Fuck, I had to do something.
The gun Ryan had brought with him was meant to be used on the man I loved.
He believed I knew nothing of this man handcuffed to a chair. Could I use that to my advantage? Jason was defenseless, and Plavko loomed over him, threatening more violence.
I’d have to get rid of them both before I made my move.
And I could only hope that Jason could forgive me for what I was about to say. “I’m tired, Ryan, and it’s our wedding night.” It was a struggle to make it sound seductive, to dangle the thing he seemed to most want from me. “Let’s go to bed, and you can deal with this tomorrow. Maybe Plavko can find somewhere to put him until then.”
Could I actually hear Jason’s heart breaking?
No, it was the chair he was sitting in. His fury was so intense, it was nearly palpable. Plavko drew his gun and hooked his other hand under Jason’s arm so he could yank him to his feet.
My heart stopped as the gun was wedged beneath Jason’s chin, and he went utterly still. Beside me, Ryan chuckled. His mouth curled into a smile like this was one of the best ideas he’d ever heard.
“Put him in the studio,” he said, waving Plavko off. The tall man nodded and shoved Jason through the doorway.
His tortured voice came from the hall. “You don’t have to do this, L!”
I played my part the best I could, not letting any amount of the massive emotion I felt show in any way.
Not even when Ryan took my hand and led me to the bedroom.
It was so hard to focus because worry crowded so much of my mind. I tried not to tremble as I stood beside the bed and pretended this was what I wanted. Ryan was oblivious, almost giddy with excitement as he pulled his gun from his waistband and set it on the nightstand.
“If we’re going to do this,” I said, “I have a... condition.”
He sauntered toward me and kissed the side of my neck, and I had to pretend my skin didn’t want to crawl away. His lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “Yeah? What is it?”
