Billionaire Bachelors 6 ; Runaway Heiress(58)

"Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of you wanting us to be together?" she snapped.

"I don't have to kill you, Bree. I can shoot you in the leg, then throw you over my shoulder. The pain is excruciating, but you'll be too busy focusing on that to fight me anymore," he threatened. Chad wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp.

"Just let me go," Bree begged as a tear fell. That seemed to stop him in his tracks.

"I can't, you don't understand. I really do love you."

"This isn't love, Charlie," she sobbed.

"You'll love me, you will," he said with determination.

Chad realized the man had completely lost his mind. He somehow thought he could make her love him. When he realized that wasn't going to happen, he'd have no other choice, at least in his mind, than to kill her. He wouldn't even care if she was pregnant. Heck, as twisted as he was, he'd probably wait until the baby was born, then kill her and take the child, thinking he'd at least always have a piece of her.

Chad would never let the situation get that far. They weren't getting out of his sight. He continued to track them, drawing closer as he waited for his chance to strike.

Charlie grabbed her arm again and pulled her close and Bree threw her head back as she twisted away. She turned in Chad's direction and their eyes locked together. He tried to silently signal her to not give him away, but her eyes softened and her lips turned up in just the barest hint of a relieved smile.




 

 

Charlie didn't miss her changed demeanor. He moved faster than Chad expected him to, and whipped their bodies around so Bree was shielding him as he held the gun out and looked into the bushes, straight where Bree had been gazing.

He pressed his finger in and the gun fired, the bullet flying toward Chad. Lucky for him, Charlie was a bad shot. The bullet slammed into the tree two feet to his left, splintering the wood. The man also hadn't been smart enough to place a silencer on the weapon. He'd just given their position away to the rest of Bree's family and probably the entire security force at the hospital.

"It's over, Charlie. Just let her go. Don't make this any worse for yourself," Chad said calmly, keeping his body blocked behind a large tree. He knew the man wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in him and he'd be no good to Bree if he was dead.

"You got here faster than I thought you would, Chad. If you take one step closer, I'll put a bullet through your bastard child," Charlie snarled.

Chad had no doubt he'd do just that.

"How do you think this can end, Charlie. You know I can't let you take her."

"You don't have a choice," the man screamed as he took a few more steps down the trail, dragging Bree with him. She stared at Chad, her eyes filled with tears.

"Charlie, how do you plan on leaving?"

Chad knew he needed to keep saying his name. The more he humanized him, the more he'd think about the bad choices he was making. He looked to Bree, but only for a moment. He had to keep his eye on Charlie. If he could just get one shot in, that's all it would take to end this whole thing.

Bree started to pull against him and Chad wanted to yell at her not to. He didn't want her getting accidentally shot. He knew Charlie didn't really want to shoot her and only would if he felt he had no other choice.

Charlie ranted at her, then jerked against her chest, causing her head to slam against Charlie's body. He'd pay for the agony he was inflicting on Bree.

"Why, Charlie. Why are you doing this?" Chad asked.

"Do you really need to ask? She's mine and always has been, from the very first time I saw her. She was too young then, so I waited. I watched her date other men, but I knew it wasn't serious. Then, she got on this kick about being independent. I figured that was my perfect time to be with her. She didn't want her family smothering her, but she needed someone. I figured if I scared her a little bit, she'd come running to me. It was perfect, too, because she'd been getting threatening letters. Trenton showed me. It wasn't hard to escalate things to break-in's and stalking. It all would've worked out, too, if you hadn't gotten involved," Charlie sputtered. 

"Even if Chad and I hadn't gotten involved, I wouldn't have come to you, Charlie. I wasn't looking for a relationship. I just wanted to focus on me for a while. What happened with Chad and I wasn't planned. It just happened," Bree said gently. She was trying to appeal to the boy she'd know so long.

"You're wrong, Bree. You would've needed me  –  I know it," Charlie argued. She was telling him they didn't have a chance, yet he was determined to change her mind.

Chad didn't want him to come to the realization that she'd never be his. Once he had nothing to lose, he had no use for her anymore.