Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
“Feel a little better?” he asked.
“Yes. I hope these are not someone else’s underwear I have on.”
“All new. We keep quite a few spare bits of clothing on hand in case of emergency.”
“Do I want to know why?”
“No. You don’t.”
They ate in silence and left. Eimear looked around again while he paid the bill, catching the eye of a rather large man looking at sunglasses nearby. It was now or never. She straightened up and walked directly toward him.
“I need your help,” she said loudly. “This man kidnapped me and is holding me hostage. I need you to call the police and keep him away from me until they get here.”
The man looked at her, not seeming even the slightest bit alarmed by her revelation. He glanced over her shoulder at Fergus, looking him up and down and then laughed.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Please help me.” Several of the people around them looked at her and then went back to their meals. The man just chuckled and walked away. She looked around, bewildered. “What is wrong with you people? He kidnapped me!” she shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at Fergus.
She turned to look at Fergus, who stood looking at her with a bemused expression. Not one person responded to her pleas. Instead, he walked over and grabbed her by the arm, marching her out the front door.
“Do you feel better now?”
“Better? No. What is wrong with those people? Who ignores someone who has been kidnapped?”
“Wrong place for someone like you to ask for help. I told you that my friend owns it.”
“It was like the Twilight Zone in there!” she bleated, still in a state of disbelief.
“Come on, Eimear. We still have some driving ahead of us.”
His tone was unnaturally calm. He had known she would try to get away or get some help and he knew that she couldn’t, not in that place. What had made him so sure that she wouldn’t climb out the back window, though? How could he have been so sure of himself?
Frustrated, she looked out the window, watching the trees roll by as they made their way up into Maine. It felt like they had been on the road forever when he finally pulled onto a small road. Wherever they were going, they must be almost there, as she couldn’t imagine this tiny little gravel road leading far.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Fergus
Fergus hadn’t been to the cabin in years, but it hadn’t changed. There was a small crew from one of the local clans that kept the place up, and others had visited from time to time. It was the perfect place to bring her. Only a few people knew about it and it was secluded, situated in the woods, overlooking the large lake that sat to one side. There was nowhere for her to go, at least not quickly. He’d overtake her before she could even get to another house or the road.
He’d not been surprised that she’d tried to get help at Griff’s Diner. It was completely expected. What he didn’t expect was that it had taken her so long. She’d try again, maybe more than once. He’d have to watch her, perhaps even tie her back up. He hoped not, but he’d do whatever he must to get what he wanted out of Doyle.
“We’re going to get out of the car now. You can follow me into the house or you can make a run for it, but there is no place to go out here, and you will not like what you see if I have to chase you down.”
“Fine,” she replied, still sullen from the episode at the diner.
She stepped out of the car and waited while he grabbed their bags, then followed him inside. He could see her looking around, scoping the place out, and considered whether he should tie her back up again. It was going to be harder keeping an eye on her without any backup, but he’d manage. It was safer this way. Doyle would be even more fired up once he discovered that his men were gone, which he probably had by now. The only way to get a man like him to give in was to have something to hold over him. That something was his blushing bride.
“This is your room,” he told her, pointing to the room beside his own.
“Bars on the windows. It’s just like home,” she sneered.
“You’ll be locked in at night.”
“What if I have to go to the bathroom?”
“You worry a lot about having to piss,” he observed. “There’s a shared bog between our rooms. I suggest you knock before coming inside.”
“Lovely.”
“Look, it doesn’t have to be that bad. Just behave, and you’ll come out of this fine.”
“I’m getting married in three, well, more like two days now.”
“You would still marry him after what I told you?”