Page 84 of Keeping Guard
He sighed as if she were trying his patience. “Wrong. He’s totally legit.” He chuckled. “Just easily bought.”
“My father won’t turn over Elk Antler to you, not after this stunt.”
“He will if it means you get to live. After he’s gone, who knows what your future will be, if you even have one.” He walked to the door. “Think about that. Do you want to live, Peyton? I’ll be back. Put the gown on. I want my bride looking pretty for me.”
“Why are you doing this for just a few shares of the business? It doesn’t make sense.”
He paused. “I guess there’s no reason not to tell you. Consider it my wedding gift to you. Two reasons. For one, I’d gotten myself in a bit of a jam money wise and had a few gambling debts hanging over my head.”
“Since when do you gamble?” She’d never seen any sign that he wagered on anything.
“Does it matter?”
“I suppose not. How much do you owe?”
“Enough that there were people you don’t want to mess with demanding payment if I fancied continuing to breathe.”
“Okay, so we’ll figure something out, a way to pay them.” That was an outright lie. She had no intention of helping him in any way, shape, or form, but if he believed her, he’d let her go.
“Such an innocent little thing you are. It’s too late for that. Thomas Guillain has paid the debt.”
“Why would he do that?” Thomas Guillain was a slime ball liquor distributor. There were rumors that he had ties with the mob and that he laundered money through various businesses he had a stake in.
“Because when I own Elk Antler, he’ll be a silent partner.”
“You can’t be serious. You’ve heard the rumors about him. He’ll force you to do illegal things, like launder money through Elk Antler.” The thought of Thomas Guillain getting his hands on her father’s brewery, a business he’d put his lifeblood into, made her sick to her stomach. “I won’t let you do this, Dalton.”
He laughed. “You don’t have any say in the matter. As for the second thing, you were promised to me by your father, and I mean to have you.”
“Why? You don’t love me, so way does it matter?”
“It’s a matter of principle, sweetheart. You’re mine, and I keep what’s mine. Besides, no one will question my ownership of the brewery if you’re my wife.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Put the damn dress on.”
She flinched at the sound of the door slamming behind him. She went to the door and tried to open it. The jerk had locked her in. Fury poured through her that Dalton would let someone like Thomas Guillain get his hands on Elk Antler. Not on her watch. First chance she got, she was going to poke his eyes out, and then she was going to do as much damage as she could to his baby-making parts so there would never be a child with his DNA.
Where was she? Dalton had blindfolded her as soon as she’d gotten in his car. Leaving with him was probably the biggest mistake of her life, but it was hard to argue with a gun. Afraid that if she fought him, it would wake her father, and what if Dalton shot him?
She glanced around. The room was about the size of her walk-in closet. Where was she? She had her tracker on her, but Dalton had made her leave her purse, which had her phone in it, in his car.
Noah would find her, she was sure of it, so she needed to buy time. There were two windows, but they were boarded up from the outside, so no escaping through them. She searched for something to use as a weapon, but other than a faded futon, there was nothing else in the room.
She glared at the gown. She should have burned it instead of just throwing it in the water. What about the coat hanger? It was a wooden one, and she could do some damage with it. He’d notice it was missing, though, if she wasn’t wearing the gown when he returned.
As she saw it, she had two choices that would keep Dalton from noticing the hanger was gone. “Nope, not putting you on, stupid dress. Didn’t like you the first time around, hate you now.” Second option then.
The gown wasn’t as easy to rip apart as she would have thought, but she finally had it torn in strips. She stuffed one of the thicker ones in the pocket of her shorts. If she got a chance, she would cheerfully strangle Dalton.
Next, she went to work on the hanger. The metal hook was easy to unscrew, and she stuck that in her other pocket. It would come in handy if she got a chance to poke his eyes out. Pulling apart the hanger was harder, but she managed to break it in two parts. Where to hide it? She needed it on her, where she could get to it. She slid the smaller piece inside her shorts and panties, along the outside of her hip. After a few practice steps, she nodded, satisfied that it would stay in place. Hopefully Dalton wouldn’t notice the slight bulge at her side.
Weaponized, however paltry, she waited for Dalton to return so she could make him sorry for kidnapping her. How could he even think she or her father would go along with his ridiculous scheme?
The door opened, and she backed up to the wall, pressing against it. When should she attack? Not in the room. If he managed to overpower her and take her weapons away, he’d lock her up again. Better to wait until she was where she could escape from the house or whatever this place was.
Dalton entered, carrying a champagne bottle and two flutes. His gaze swept over the floor, taking in the destroyed dress. “Guess that means you’re getting married in your shorts.” He held up the bottle. “I thought you’d like to celebrate our marriage.”
