Page 31 of Sweet Surrender
“No,” I replied feebly, not able to meet his eye. Shame had joined theparty, and I wanted nothing more than to switch off from the myriad of emotions coursing through me.
Leaning forward, I swiped one of the tumblers off the table, not givinga shit if Nash had poured the drink for me or not. In one gulp, I emptied the glass, wincing as the whiskey burned its way down my throat.
“Well, even if that is the case, it doesn’t change the situation. I’m stillowed money,” he said coolly.
My head snapped up from where my gaze had fallen back onto thephotos. “I told you, I didn’t sign that contract,” I gritted out, anger dominating all the other feelings running wild in me.
“And you can prove that?”
“You know I can’t!” I screeched, jumping to my feet. “I can’t proveanything, just like I couldn’t prove it to the police when I reported Liam. But you know what, Nash? It doesn’t matter. I don’t have the money to pay you back, so either deal with Liam and get the money back from him, or report me to the police. Quite frankly, I don’t give a fuck either way. I’m done.”
And I was. Done with this whole damn mess. Done with trying sofucking hard to keep my head above the water, when all I wanted to do was sink to the bottom. I didn’t have the energy to fight anymore. Let the authorities throw me in prison for failing to pay the money back.
At this point, prison seemed like the easier option. At least I’d have aroof over my head, and three meals a day.
“Sit down, Savannah,” Nash said authoritatively.
“No, fuck you.”
He responded by chuckling darkly, before muttering under his breathabout how defiant I was, and that was the final shove I needed to get my ass out the door.
I spun, intending to get as far away from Nash and this wholedamn situation as fast as I could, but before I could get too far, the TV flickered to life, and the image on the screen stopped me in my tracks.
“Liam?” Within seconds, I’d abandoned the path to the elevator, and Iwas standing in front of the huge screen, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.
The image was grainy, but clear enough for me to make out Liamsitting on the floor of what looked like a prison cell. His hair was mussed up, and I couldn’t tell whether the dark marks under his eyes were bruises or dirt.
The same with his clothes, only a horrible feeling crept through methat it wasn’t dirt on his white shirt, but dried blood.
But the state of Liam wasn’t the worst part. Standing in the room with him was another man, his suit tight on his huge, muscular body, and a mean scowl on his face. My heart leaped into my throat as my eyes fixed on what he was holding in his hand.
A gun.
Despite everything Liam had put me through, my heart ached atseeing him. I didn’t think I loved him anymore, months of living with his betrayal had ruined the chance of love for us, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to come to harm. He needed help, not being locked up like some kind of animal.
“What the hell is this?” I cried, turning to find Nash watching meintently.
He slowly took a sip of his own whiskey like he had all the time in theworld before he responded. “That’s my insurance policy.”
“Your insurance policy?” I stormed over to him, hovering over him ashe relaxed on the couch. “What the fuck is wrong with you? What the hell have you done to Liam?”
Nash stood, pulling himself up to his full height and now toweringmenacingly over me. “Would you rather it was you in that room?” My brows shot up in surprise. I didn’t know anything about Nash, but he’d never struck me as a violent man. I opened my mouth to respond, but Nash cut me off. “See, here’s the thing. I interrogated Liam, and he swore blind that youdidsign the contract, so either he’s the liar, or you are.”
The bastard!
Words failed me. Even after all the deceit, there was still a little part ofme that hoped Liam would somehow sort out the chaos he had caused. But hearing Nash say that Liam had lied about me signing the contract was like taking a sledgehammer to my hope and smashing it to smithereens.
“I didn’t sign the contract,” I hissed, not knowing what I could do tomake this man believe me.
“Be that as it may, I’m still owed a debt. But I’m willing to offer you adeal, Savannah. A deal as to how that debt is repaid.”
“A deal?” I stuttered, trepidation now kicking in. Whatever deal Nashwas going to offer, I knew it wasn’t going to be good. “What kind ofdeal?”
A devious smile crossed Nash’s face sending a tingle of fearshivering down my spine. “You can walk out of here with your debt to me cleared. Hell, I’ll even clear the rest of your debt for good measure so you can start afresh. But if you take this option, Liam pays with his life. He’ll be dead before you step foot out of this hotel.”
The blood in my entire body turned to ice at his words, and disbeliefrushed through me. Taking advantage of my shocked state, Nash stepped forward until his chest brushed against mine. He leaned down, his hot breath brushing against my ear.
“Or, you can take the other option,” he whispered, and despite howmuch I hated him in that moment, as his delicious scent wrapped around me from how close he was, I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding madly.
