Their Virgin Hostage (Masters of Ménage #5)(29)

She clutched her dog. "If you're so worried about me, why did you kidnap me from a beautiful bridal suite in Manhattan and bring me to this wilderness?"

He sat down on the bed, his big frame incongruous against the flowery comforter. He was a masculine beast in feminine surroundings. "You won't believe me, but we're trying to protect you, bab … Kinley."

Yeah, she was buying that. "This is about the big guy's revenge. How did you get wrapped up in this?"

"Dominic and I stick together through thick and thin. Always have, always will."

So she guessed the idea of trying to divide and conquer them wouldn't get her anywhere. If Law was willing to risk prison time to help Dominic, that said something serious about their bond. The only person she'd do that for was Annabelle, so she knew they must be thick.

"Look, I'm sorry about his sister. But I don't think I can do anything to give him the … closure he's looking for."

Kinley really was sorry. She couldn't imagine losing her sister. Becks might not be the most thoughtful sibling on the planet, but she was blood, family. Whatever his faults-and she'd bet there were plenty-Dominic had really loved his sister and grieved her now. Losing her to an overdose must have been terrible.

"Carrie never took drugs," Law said softly. "I grew up with her. I was in the same grade as Dominic, but we came from different sides of the tracks, to say the least."

"He came from money." She could tell. He had an air of authority that she'd seen emanate from the wealthiest of men. It came from the world being at their feet.

"A lot of it. And Ry and I … didn't." 

"So how did you two meet Dominic?" Usually kids with such divergent upbringings didn't meet. She and Annabelle were the exception more than the rule.

Law shrugged, not like he didn't know, but like he was uncomfortable. "My dad ran off when Ry and I were kids. Mom … well, she did everything she could to keep us clothed and fed. I was out hustling kids out of their money at the movie theater one day. Cards, dice, whatever game of chance I could rig. I didn't beat anyone up for it, but some of the other little pukes did. They started picking on Dominic because he was rich and hadn't gone through puberty yet, so he was small. I thought three teenagers against a twelve-year-old was crappy and unfair. I was a few months older and had already started my growth spurt … and I liked fights, so I jumped in. Ry helped. Dominic became our best friend after that. Since Carrie was younger than him, I kind of watched her grow up. She didn't do drugs. Not ever."

Had Law been in love with her? She knew she shouldn't care, but he was being so gentle now, it was easy to imagine that he'd bestowed that tenderness on Carrie in the years he had known her before she'd died. Yet... Kinley hated to admit that Law being in love with Dominic's late sister bothered her.

"Maybe not as a teenager," she argued. "But she was a model. That world is very fast. You can't know what she did, then. Unless you were with her in New York."

He shook his head. "Oh no. We were getting our asses shot off in Afghanistan."

"You and Riley?"

"No, me and Dominic."

Why would the rich guy go into a warzone? "Did he go to one of the academies?"

"We were nineteen when 9-11 happened. Dominic said he couldn't sit in a classroom when his country was in danger. He left Harvard to join up. I followed him." Law shrugged. "I couldn't let him go alone."

Her sister wouldn't even go to the bathroom with her. Only Annabelle had ever been that kind of friend. She knew the deep connection it had taken for Law to follow his friend into battle. Kinley even had to give Dominic some grudging respect. What kind of courage had it taken for him to leave his wealth and privilege behind to serve his country on the other side of the world?

Of course, Law could be lying, too, to win her goodwill or sympathy or whatever. Kidnappers were criminals who didn't normally do good things. "I don't need to know your history."

She just wanted to escape. Maybe she and Greg could rearrange the wedding quickly with the same understanding in place. Certainly, she could convince him to pay for her father's procedure until they could schedule the ceremony again. The first payment to the hospital was due in a week. Her fiancé wouldn't punish her father by making him skip his treatment because she'd been kidnapped … would he?

"Yeah, you need to know this part. We had finished up our third tour of duty. We were back here in the States for training. Carrie had married Greg while we were gone. By then, we'd moved onto Special Forces and our missions were a matter of national security. We didn't go to the wedding, but Riley did. He told Dominic and I both that he had serious concerns about how Greg treated Carrie. One night a couple of months later, Dominic got a phone call from her. She left a voicemail because, well, we had the night off and we were taking advantage of it."