Page 61 of Boss

“I’ll confess. I’ll tell the police about Daniel, about everything. I swear.”

He didn’t respond.

She decided to leave it at that for now. Whatever madman ideas he had of torturing her, and her accomplice, had to have passed by now.

The horse ride was a bit uncomfortable. She ached in her chest, her neck, and her shoulders from the accident. And of course her head throbbed with excruciating pain. Each gallop made her bounce on the saddle, and she winced.

“How bad are you hurt?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Everything hurts. Not just one thing.”

“Does it hurt when I do this?” He squeezed her between his arms. To her surprise it did and it didn’t. She wasn’t sure how to respond. Only a masochist could find comfort in the arms of her tormentor.

“Ah no, not exactly,” she said while looking around. “Where are we?” she asked to divert the conversation in another direction.

“Outside of Haslet,” he told her. “You’re at the Marshall’s oldest ranch. My father’s great-grandfather won almost eleven-thousand acres of land in a poker game. This is what is left.”

“Are you kidding?” Kassidy looked out over the prairie covered in snow. “A poker game, really?”

“You’ve done your research on my family. You should know pretty much everything about us. Did you skip that part?” he asked with a bite of sarcasm.

She bit down on her bottom lip. She’d done her research on his father and him, not the entire family. She was never interested in what made them rich bastards. She wanted to use their greed to keep them from destroying lives. Atone for the lives of her own family. She wanted to avenge Clarissa. They were in the middle of nowhere from what she knew of the area. Haslet was a small town outside of Dallas.

“Are you dizzy, nauseous?” he asked.

“A little nauseous I think. The horse ride isn’t the most comfortable.”

“We need to get you out of this weather. Hold on for me,” he warned. Before she could respond, he leaned in on her back and urged the mare to go faster than a slow trot. Kassidy squealed in fright closing her eyes tightly shut. The horse picked up speed and she felt everything, the wind, and road, all of it. And then she could feel the horse turn right she whimpered. What if she was thrown? This was dangerous. The snow came down in a heavy pour, and when she opened her eyes, she could barely see anything. But Tarek had control. He pulled back on the horse’s reins and they came to a slower pace. The horse brought them to the front door of the ranch.

Tarek got off the horse first and then helped her. She tried to stand, to walk on her own, but she found her legs to be too weak and sore. Using caution, Tarek again swept her up in his arms.

“This is not necessary!” she protested, pushing at his chest. “I can manage to walk if you give me a chance.”

He ignored her protests. Carrying her seemed to be an effortless act for him. He carried her as if she weighed nothing. And Kassidy was a good one hundred and fifty-five pounds. She put her arm around his neck and let him carry her back inside.

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