Page 54 of Love Bites
He jolted back at her words, his eyes going wide as the weight of what she was saying settled in. Fiancé? Her things?
His heart nearly stuttered to a stop at the heavy implications. Katheryn wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. She wouldn’t abandon him like that, not after everything that happened between them. And if someone was leaving with her things and signing out of the hotel…
It wasn’t a stretch, the direction his thoughts took him towards.
If Katheryn left, it hadn’t been of her own free will.
He tried to remember every conversation he’d ever had with her regarding her ex. She didn’t really talk about him a lot, but the things she had mentioned led him to believe that there had been emotional abuse involved.
His palms grew hot, heart beating faster. Rage surged through him, hot and calming. A quiet settled over him like the calm before the storm. Something primal and dangerous in his instincts that threatened violence and death, taking him back to the primitive ways of ancient vampires.
The rich bastard had taken her. He’d taken Ignacio’s Soul Mate.
And Ignacio would do whatever it took to get her back.
25
They landed in Washington, and, as suspected, Hunter and his guards led Katheryn kicking and screaming. She did all she could to escape, but it took all but a minute to realize that Hunter’s ‘reach’ was far and wide. No one stopped to help her. No one cared. That’s what money did.
It didn’t matter how hard she protested, he didn’t buy into her “I have to go to the bathroom” bit. He’d merely accompanied her. He hadn’t even let her change out of the dress Ignacio had bought her, which had become uncomfortable after hours on the plane.
Hunter didn’t slow his pace or stop dragging her with him until they were finally inside the apartment they’d shared before she’d left him. Everything looked incredibly neat and tidy. There was no evidence of Hunter’s infidelity or of the lamp Katheryn had angrily thrown at him. The lamp had even been replaced with an exact replica. For a moment, she contemplated grabbing it and hitting him over the head with it then making a run for it. The idea was tempting.
“You can unpack and change now,” Hunter told her in a casual tone. He went to the closet and began pulling out clothes for himself and setting them neatly on the bed. Dress pants, white shirt, a vest and bright red tie. “I have a meeting to attend so I won’t be able to entertain you for the rest of the evening. Do you think you can manage on your own without causing a riot?”
She gave a very unladylike snort, something she never would have dared to do before. It wasn’t proper for a woman of her position to snort like a pig or to make any commentary at all. Basically, Hunter wanted her to be a well-programmed robot rather than a wife.
“I’ve informed your mother and father of your return. They advised me they would like to take you out for tea. You will be escorted anywhere you need to go, of course, so don’t get any ideas about escaping. As I said, you belong to me.”
“I’m not property, Hunter.” Katheryn was annoyed. He had always had an attitude, but now, he treated her like a car instead of a human being. She had stopped her hysterics, knowing it would do no good to have him hit her again. Instead, she’d comply until she could find a way to escape and phone Ignacio to let him know why she’d never showed. God, he must have been worried about her.
“To me you are,” he retorted as he began to undress. “And I don’t want to hear anymore arguments on the matter.”
He stripped down to his boxers and reached for a neatly folded towel. “I’m going to bathe before my meeting.”
As soon as Katheryn heard the water running from the bathroom, she bolted for the front door. But as soon as she wrenched it open, she found her path blocked by an enormous gorilla of a man in a suit. He wore dark sunglasses that hid his eyes, but she was sure they would have been as grim as the rest of his pinched face. Katheryn took a step away from him as he reached out for the door handle and reclosed the door.
So much for my great escape,she thought lamely. She should have known the opportunity was too good to be true. Hunter would never have just left her alone with the perfect chance to escape.
When Hunter emerged from the shower some time later and found her silently fuming, he merely chuckled. “Escaping is futile, Katheryn.”
He went to the side of the bed and began pulling clothes on his skinny frame.
Katheryn said nothing, didn’t even spare him a glance. She kept her gaze straight ahead as her mind turned over the possibilities for escape.
When the cons in her mind became greater than the pros, she heaved a sigh and let her mind drift elsewhere. She thought of Ignacio and wondered what he was doing at that moment. If he’d realized she’d been taken yet or if he was still waiting for her at his house.
She stared out the windows at the bright sunshine and remembered the time difference. Ignacio would be awake by now. Somehow, she’d have to get a new phone, since Hunter had taken her purse after he’d slapped her, and the phone inside.
If Hunter planned on having her trailed everywhere, maybe she could go on a shopping spree. She’d pick up some new clothes, a new phone and make a cash withdrawal. She’d use some excuse about needing new dresses for parties and make him hold her bags as she tried on clothes in the dressing rooms. Then, she’d slip out when he least expected it. She could get a ticket and escape right after she called the police on Hunter.
“I need my phone back, Hunter,” Katheryn stated impetuously.
Hunter eyed her suspiciously as he did up his tie. “No.”
“I thought I could go and—”
“No, Katheryn,” he interrupted, shooting her a stern glance. He picked up his vest and put it on, buttoning it up. “I don’t need you running around town. If you need to make a call, the house phone is available to you and if you need anything else, let me know or let your escort know, and it will be delivered here.”
