Authors: Ribbon of Rain
Chapter1 (28 page)
“What do you want to drink, Katherine?”
The husky voice irritated her, but she forced a docile smile.
“White wine would be nice.”
Carl looked doubtful.
“Are you sure you feel up to it?”
What game was he playing now?
“I feel fine.
A little tired, but that’s to be expected after the tranquilizers.”
Damn it.
She hadn’t meant to be accusing.
Alienating Carl wasn’t part of her plan.
Too many slips of the tongue, and he’d know she was playing him for a fool.
“Yes, well, I’m sorry about that.
Knowing what a spitfire you are, I didn’t want to take chances.”
Carl walked to a bar on the other side of the room and poured two glasses of wine.
She watched from the corner of her eye to make sure he didn’t add anything to either.
“Thanks,” she murmured, curling her fingers around the stem of the crystal glass he handed her.
He raised his glass.
“A toast to the future.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“Do I have one?”
She tilted her head at an angle, attempting to gaze at him seductively.
His gaze dropped to her breasts, and a flash of desire flashed in his eyes, causing her stomach to roll with nausea.
“That’s up to you, my sweet,” he whispered bending to kiss her neck.
“I certainly hope so.”
She gulped a mouthful of wine.
“Enlighten me.”
“In due time.”
Kat wandered toward the sliding glass door.
The drapes were a heavy brocade material.
The glass door opened onto a large patio lavishly decorated with exotic potted plants.
The plants were tiered on three different levels, arranged in such a way to make the patio enclosed and private.
A small table with four chairs sitting in the greenery looked inviting.
“Can we sit outside?”
“It’s too hot this time of day.
Perhaps tomorrow morning.”
What a control freak.
She prayed for patience.
A movement outside caught her eye.
A guard, dressed in military fatigues and armed with a rifle stood about fifty feet from the patio.
She guessed the entire perimeter of the property was patrolled in a similar fashion.
“Are you expecting company?”
“Excuse me?”
Kat nodded her head toward the glass.
“I noticed your guard.”
He waved his hand in dismissal.
“Nothing out of the ordinary.
Just standard procedure.
One never knows when unwanted company might show up.”
“Believe me, I know the feeling.”
He chuckled.
“That’s another thing I like about you, Katherine.
Your sense of humor.”
She handed him her empty glass.
“I’d love some more wine.”
After a slight hesitation, he took the empty glass and refilled it.
“People are going to miss me, you know.
I really should call my sister and let her know I’m okay.”
“Stop worrying your pretty little head about it.
Everything will be fine.”
Kat grit her teeth.
Pretty little head?
The man was a chauvinist, as well as a murdering control freak.
Maybe he didn’t pull the trigger, but she knew he’d masterminded her parents’ murders.
Gathering courage, she sauntered to where he stood and placed a hand on his chest.
“Carl, I don’t mean to rush you, but I need to know.
Am I a guest or your prisoner?”
She considered batting her eyelashes, but smothered the idea.
Her powers of seduction were limited.
She’d never carry off something as silly as that.
A lily-white hand covered hers.
“After dinner, Katherine.”
Kat stared at those hands and shivered.
White, long, bony fingers.
He’d probably get a blister if he opened a jar.
Taking her glass of wine, he set it on the table, grasped her hands and placed them on his shoulders.
He encircled her waist and drew her against his body.
Like an animal caught in a trap, Kat’s senses panicked.
As if in slow motion, she watched his mouth lower toward hers.
Soft lips touched hers, gently at first.
Kat closed her eyes.
She could do this.
Encountering no resistance, Carl’s mouth continued to lightly tease.
Kat relaxed her muscles.
Perhaps this wouldn’t be too bad.
As quick as the flash of a lit match, his gentleness vanished.
A hand locked on her jaw, and thumbs pushed until her mouth opened, before he thrust his tongue down her throat.
Kat conquered the urge to gag.
She moaned and prayed Carl would think it was in passion and not disgust.
Keeping her eyes closed, she tried to pretend it was Jude’s mouth devouring hers.
Carl’s hands traveled down her back to cup her buttocks, pulling her against his erection.
Fight or flee.
The words pounded in her head.
Jerking her knee into his groin would put an end to this nightmare.
And then what?
She had a better chance of survival and escape if she played along with whatever sick game this man had in mind.
He released her mouth and buried his face in the hollow of her neck, his breathing so ragged she wondered if he was having a heart attack.
If only she’d be so lucky
.
Someone cleared their throat from behind them.
“What is it?”
Carl snarled.
He pushed Kat away from him with such force that she stumbled against the table before regaining her balance.
“Your meal is ready, Senor.”
Maria wrung her hands together, so nervous that body trembled as much as her voice.
Kat smiled to protect Maria from Carl’s wrath.
“Thank you, Maria.
We’ll call you if we need you.”
Kat held out her hand to Carl.
For all she knew, he could turn his anger against Maria to her.
“Shall we?”
“Gracious, as well as beautiful.
I’ve found quite a prize.”
Carl sat and helped himself to large portions of the numerous dishes Maria brought from the kitchen.
The wine settled in Kat’s stomach like a watermelon.
The rich Mexican food made her nauseous.
Looking for a dish that would do the least harm, she spied a green salad.
She reached for it as if it were a lifeline.
“Come now, Katherine,” the silky voice rustled over the table.
“You must eat more than that.
Although you’re a pretty little package, I wouldn’t want you any thinner.”
Christ.
He talked about her as if she were an animal being fattened up for slaughter.
A giggle rose in her throat.
That might not be far off the mark.
The meal continued in silence.
Kat did her best to eat the salad, but no matter how long she chewed the food, it refused to go down without water.
“I’m going to put my proposition on the table now.
What you do with it will decide your fate.”
Kat stiffened.
Now he had her attention.
The queasiness in her stomach temporarily forgotten, she focused on him.
“I’m listening.”
“It’s no secret I want Loon Lake Lodge.”
His long tapered fingers buttered a roll.
“Your parents refused to sell, and a few days ago, you did the same.
Have you changed your mind?”
Was this a trick question?
Kat held herself immobile, trying to figure out the rules of his game.
“I’ll never stop loving my home.”
She hedged the question but answered truthfully.
“I take that as a no.”
She squirmed in her chair.
“You’re putting me in a difficult situation, Carl.
I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”
“As usual, you’re right.
As I see it, I’ve got three choices.
I make you disappear and deal with
He stopped speaking and Kat knew he was gauging her reaction.
She gave him no satisfaction.
“Or, I force you into marriage, and on the honeymoon you’ll have a fatal accident.”
Again he paused.
Jaw thrust forward, she blurted out her thoughts.
“Let’s hear the third option.
Can’t say I’m too thrilled with the first two.”
Carl brushed a crumb from his sleeve before answering.
An air of arrogance settled over him, creating icy chills deep in her bones.
“Your third choice is to marry me willingly.”
Kat was too astonished to react.
He couldn’t be serious.
Her eyes searched his in an attempt to ferret the truth.
“Sounds far-fetched, doesn’t it?”
Reaching across the table, he poured them each a cup of coffee.
Kat nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
“I assure you I’m serious.
We’d make a good team.”
“Would I be your prisoner for the rest of my life?
Unable to come and go as I please?”
“Not as long as I could trust you not to double cross me.”
Her hands wrapped around her coffee cup.
“Then, I guess you have yourself a bride.”
She hoped God wouldn’t strike her dead.
She didn’t even want to live in the same zip code as Carl Winter, never mind marry the man.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
He smiled. “I’ll make the arrangements.
We’ll get married the day after tomorrow.”
Kat lowered her eyes to prevent him from seeing the terror she knew would be reflected there.
The day after tomorrow was too soon.
What was she going to do?
*****
The elevator wasn’t moving fast enough for Jude.
Anxious to find Kat, he paced back and forth in the small confines.
“For Christ’s sake, Jude.
Stand still.”
Frank’s irritation irked him.
“I need to find Kat, Frank.
God knows what that maniac has done to her.”
“I’ve told you…”
“I know.”
Jude cut Cody off in mid-sentence.
“She can take care of herself.”
“You are quite attached to this young lady,” Frank commented.
“She means everything to me.”
Jude refused to further satisfy Frank’s curiosity.
Four o’clock in the afternoon and people still bustled around the Bureau as if it were mid-day.
The three headed toward Frank’s office, Red at Jude’s side.
“Hey, Frank, what’s with the dog?”
“Hi, Jude, how’d the wilderness trip go?”
None of them exchanged pleasantries with the other agents.
They stalked to Frank’s office as if on a mission.
Frank picked up the phone and dialed an internal extension before he even sat behind his desk.
“Hogan?
Do you have that information I requested?
Good.
Bring it to my office.
Now, not five minutes from now.”
Agent Hogan arrived carrying a stack of paper at least two feet high.
At Frank’s disgruntled look, Hogan smirked.
“I tried to tell you.”
“Where’s Perkins?”
“Locked in the conference room threatening to sue you, the Agency and the entire
He’s demanding to know what he’s charged with and wants a lawyer.”
Frank sighed and rubbed the middle of his forehead with the palm of his hand.
“Shit.
What a mess.”
Jude began thumbing through the listings of Carl’s properties.
“Are these in any order?
Alphabetically or according to States?”
The question earned him a disgusted look from Hogan.
“Didn’t have time.
Christ, the man incorporated a hundred fifty holding companies.”
“Fucking great.”
“Eliminate anything that isn’t a border property,” Cody suggested.
“Look.
I’ve been thinking.
Just because we heard his pawns say they’d be going to
He could be holding her in any of these places.”
Jude paced around the small office.
“It’s time to question Perkins.
Perhaps he knows something that will shed some light.”
