Page 256 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 1

“You were watching the ranch?” Reggie gulped. Dear lord, had he gone mad?

He nodded. “Of course I was, butterfly. I missed you. Now, what say we go inside where it’s a bit warmer and we can talk.” His voice was smooth as he crowded in close and Reggie knew he’d force the point if she didn’t let him in.

Biting her lip, she turned around and opened the door before walking inside.

“Don’t think much of your choice of motel room, butterfly.” He wrinkled his nose, sneering at the plain but clean room.

“Well, it’s not like you left me with much choice. You got me fired and took all my money, remember?”

The slap caught her unawares, and she stumbled backwards in shock, holding her hand up to her throbbing cheek. Tears flooded her eyes, and she blinked furiously to hold them back. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“That’s quite enough of that, you little bitch.”

“And the real Lance appears,” she muttered to herself, watching him warily. She should never have left the ranch. What a fool she’d been! No matter what, she should have stayed and confronted Alex. Now she was stuck in a tiny motel room with a mad man bent on hurting her.

“How did you find me, Lance?”

“That was easy, you stupid cow.” He paced in front of her, basking in his cunning. “After I couldn’t get anything out of you, I got that silly bitch Angel to call you. I had to find something to bribe her with first, or I would have done it earlier. Found out she’d been cheating on her husband and I threatened to expose her unless she helped me. I knew you trusted her, that you wouldn’t suspect her of helping me.”

He was right. But she couldn’t believe he’d done that to Angel. “You asshole.”

Suddenly, her arm was caught in a bruising grip, and he shook her harshly before shoving her away. She hit the wall with a thump, knocking her head. Blurrily she watched him coming toward her as she slumped onto the floor.

She needed to turn his attention, to find some way to get past him. If she could just get out the door, she knew she could easily outrun him. “Why did you want to find me, Lance? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me.” She watched as he undid his belt, and holding it by the silver buckle, began to swing it back and forth.

Thwack! The belt flicked in front of her, not touching her, but scaring her so badly that she screamed in fright while he laughed cruelly.

“I came because you stole from me, you little bitch.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t steal anything from you!”

Reggie let out a cry of pain as his belt lashed out again, this time making contact with her face and arm.

“Don’t bother lying, bitch. You have my luggage. I want it back.”

“Your luggage? Are you serious? This is all over some luggage?” He dropped the belt, and grabbing her by the hair, dragged her into the middle of the room where he kicked her in the ribs, hard. Sharp, piercing pain stabbed at her, robbing her of breath as he screamed down her.

“It's my luggage, you bitch! It’s got the pen drive I need in it. I want it back.”

“What pen drive?” she asked. What was he talking about?

“The one I was using to store software secrets on that I was going to sell to the highest bidder. I took it with me on my last trip and it should have been safe in the hidden compartment until I went to go find it and realized you’d taken it! I want it back!”

He was insane. He was selling trade secrets to the highest bidder?

“Now, we’re going to go back to the ranch and you’ll get me what I want, without letting that idiot cowboy you’re living with know.”

“Lance, I can’t do that.”

He smiled evilly. “You will. You just need a bit more convincing.”

Chapter Eleven

Alex ended the call. “She checked into Sunnyside Motel ten minutes ago.”

“Good old Millicent. Still the town gossip, then?”

Millicent was the owner of a small, run-down motel in town. She knew everyone’s business, and thank God that she did. Alex sped toward the motel, a bad feeling in his stomach urging him to hurry.

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