Billionaire Bachelors 6 ; Runaway Heiress(57)

"I'm really worried about my father right now, Charlie. Can we stop by and see him, then we can leave and talk about us?" Bree asked in what she hoped was a convincing voice.

"No, we can't go back in there. If we do, Chad won't let you leave. Can't you see how obsessed with you he is?" Charlie asked as he shook her, making sure she was listening to him.

Bree thought that was rich, him calling Chad possessive, when he'd been stalking her, breaking into her home, and had her held against her will at that very moment.

"I know, Charlie. He doesn't give me time alone, but we can sneak in the back door, and I can peak in on my father. I don't even have to go in the room with him," she pled. If she could just get inside the hospital, she could notify security and get away from the psychotic man.

She saw him considering her request, so with her stomach turning at the thought of touching him, she reached her hand up and cupped his cheek, trying to act reassuring that she actually cared about him.

He bent down and kissed her again, and she forced her body not to tense. She was so close to him taking her back. He pulled her tightly against him once more and she fought the tears wanting to fall. If he saw even an inkling of her disgust, he'd never let her in public again.

He pulled away and looked in her eyes, then his narrowed.

"You almost had me fooled. You're just trying to get away from me. If I take you back in there, you're going to run away. I know you'll come to love me, though. I just have to get you away from Chad and everyone else for a while," Charlie roared.

He grabbed her arm and started leading her around the pond, farther from the hospital. If he got her too far, she knew her chances of survival became slimmer than they already were. She started fighting against him, but he just pulled harder, laughing like he enjoyed her terror.

***

Chad ran through the parking lot of the hospital grounds, searching for any sign of Bree. He checked each car as it passed him, looking for anything unusual. Nothing! It was like she'd disappeared without a trace.

His phone rang.

"Tell me you have good news," he barked into the mouthpiece.

"Security footage showed she exited the back door about twenty minutes ago," Trenton said with hesitation. Chad tensed.

"A man met her outside; they chatted for a few minutes, then walked toward the trail at the rear of the hospital. The trail leads down to a serenity pond for visitors. Chad, I saw the footage  –  it was Charlie. I don't know if anything is wrong, but I just …  I can't imagine she'd just disappear like that, not with my Dad in here like this … " Trenton trailed off. 

Chad changed direction while still holding the phone to his ear.

"How well do you know Charlie?"

"I've known him since high school. I don't …  there's no way …  I can't imagine him being involved in any of this. Maybe, somehow the stalker found out she was here and ambushed them," Trenton trailed off.

Chad could hear the pain in Trenton's voice. Trenton didn't want to admit it, but it looked like they may have found their perpetrator. His stomach turned as he thought about the man with her. He should have done a better background check on him, but he was Trenton's friend …  Chad didn't have time for excuses. He had to get to Bree. Hopefully, she was just sitting at the pond, visiting with an old friend, but his gut told him that wasn't the case.

He found the trail and silently ran down it.

"I'm coming out. We're right behind you," Trenton said before disconnecting the call. He knew Chad was close and wouldn't say anything further.

He shouldn't have let her out of his sight at the hospital. He could've escorted them to the room and waited outside. He had many what ifs running through his head, but he knew those didn't do him any good.

Chad felt his adrenaline kick into high gear as he neared the pond. He heard Bree cry out and his body went into fight mode. He had his answer. She was in danger.

He pulled out his gun as he made his way the last several feet. He spotted Charlie dragging Bree down the trail. It looked like he was leading her to the other side. He must have some sort of exit strategy planned. Charlie underestimated Chad.

Chad hid among the trees as he trailed about fifty yards behind them. He tensed when he noticed the gun in Charlie's hand. He'd been afraid of that. Chad couldn't risk Bree getting shot in the heat of battle.

He moved closer as he tried to get a good aim on Charlie. He had no problem shooting the man threatening Bree, but he didn't want Charlie's gun to somehow go off and hurt her. Chad needed to get him to point the gun somewhere else.

"Do you want me to shoot you right here?" Charlie cried when she continued to struggle against him.